I
 
 DIARY OF A TOUR 
 
 ' 
 
 
 i. 
 
 a .*'.* 
 
 WITH LETTERS. 
 
 BY 
 
 VOLUME. 
 
 LONDON: 
 HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 13, GEEAT MAELBOEOUGH STEEET. 
 1879. 
 
 All Sights Reserved.

 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE following short Diary consists of literal 
 extracts from one kept by me at the time 
 of our Tour, and of letters of the same period 
 addressed to relations at home. I have thought it 
 better to give both, though necessarily involving 
 some repetition, as the letters are often more ample 
 than the Journal, while the latter preserves the 
 sequence of events. They touch on no scientific 
 or political subjects, merely giving an account of 
 such incidents as happened day by day. The way 
 of travelling at that time, fifty-two years ago, 
 may be amusing when contrasted with the present 
 easy and rapid means of transport in distant 
 countries ; and some interest may be found in the 
 brief notices of sundry great personages who after- 
 wards filled distinguished places in the history of 
 the countries through which we passed. 
 
 E.M.W. 
 
 Motcombe House, Shaftesbury. 
 August, 1879. 
 
 2CCSM7
 
 DIARY OF A TOUR 
 
 IN 
 
 SWEDEN, NORWAY, AND ETJSSIA. 
 
 ON Saturday, May ipth, 1827, we started from 
 Grosvenor Square for our expedition to 
 Sweden and Russia. We had sent the carriage ready 
 packed to the Tower Stairs, close to the Custom- 
 House, on Friday afternoon, and this morning 
 Belgrave* and I, his servant Gartner, a native of 
 Riga, who had been our servant in the Spring, and 
 my maid, left Grosvenor Square at half-past nine, 
 and reached our place of embarkation at ten ; when 
 we immediately got on board the ' Hylton Jolliffe,' 
 
 * My husband, Richard, afterwards second Marquis of West- 
 minster, but who was then Viscount Belgrave, in the lifetime of his 
 father, Earl Grosvenor. 
 
 B
 
 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Captain Downie, and weighed anchor at eleven 
 o'clock. We passed the greatest part of the day 
 in sailing down the Thames, between its ugly 
 banks. We remained most of the time upon deck, 
 dined in Belgrave's cabin, and drank tea there in 
 the evening. 
 
 There were a good many passengers, principally 
 foreigners, returning home, and some English. We 
 undressed at night, by which time we had got out 
 to sea, and went regularly to bed, and slept quite 
 comfortably till morning. Belgrave called me at 
 half-past ten, I was soon up and dressed, and went 
 to his cabin where we breakfasted; but the sea being 
 a little rough, and as I was rather uncomfortable, I 
 lay down in my cabin while Belgrave dined in his 
 own. I came up afterwards, but it was cold and 
 disagreeable. In the course of the day two little 
 birds alighted on the deck, apparently quite ex- 
 hausted from fatigue ; one of them flew away again, 
 the other was caught and put into a cage; but it 
 also died in half an hour afterwards. 
 
 Monday, list. A very fine day ; the sea was 
 quite smooth, and the weather hot. We were off 
 Heligoland about four p.m. ; the most miserable 
 looking place that can be seen. We stopped off 
 Cuxhaven for an hour, about six, while some of
 
 The Elbe. Hamburg. 
 
 our companions went on shore in a boat to get 
 some eggs and milk. The sail up the Elbe this 
 evening was beautiful ; the river full of ships of 
 all nations. We met a Danish ship, the passengers 
 in which, recognising some of their friends on board 
 our vessel, gave them first a round of cheers, and 
 then fired a salute ; at the same moment an Ameri- 
 can ship was passing on the other side, which 
 afterwards crossed the Danish ship's bows ; and 
 the effect, together with the smoke, and a splendid 
 setting sun, was beautiful. We anchored about ten 
 o'clock in the river, after taking in an intoxicated 
 Ostade pilot, whom we afterwards exchanged for 
 one of greater respectability ; but, the river being 
 full of sand banks, it is not safe to proceed up it 
 by night. 
 
 'Tuesday , iind. Everybody was up early, im- 
 patient to arrive at Hamburg ; the shores of the 
 river became very pretty, and we saw a fox running 
 about on the sand. The banks are covered with 
 villas and gardens, and small villages; there is a 
 good deal of low wood, but the soil is all sand. We 
 passed Altona, a singular and handsome looking 
 town, enlivened with plenty of shipping ; the houses 
 as usual, very tall, with ornamented gables, and a 
 large admixture of trees. Arrived at Hamburg 
 
 B 2
 
 4 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 before twelve. The ship was very soon cleared of 
 its passengers ; but we remained till the carriage was 
 placed in a boat, and we proceeded with it to a 
 landing place belonging to a timber-yard; but seeing 
 that the horses, which one of the passengers had 
 promised to send, were not there to meet us, we 
 desired the man to row us to the usual landing 
 place. We, therefore, went on up a very curious 
 part of the town, with enormously tall ornamented 
 houses, like those in the pictures of Venice ; the 
 canal was positively crammed full of boats, so that 
 we had some difficulty in getting on. The Custom- 
 Housej where all passports are examined, is at the 
 entrance of this narrower part. We were kept wait- 
 ing an immense time before we could get up to the 
 place where is the machine for disembarking car- 
 riages and heavy weights ; but there was a boat in 
 the way which had to be unladen first, with two 
 enormous green trunks bearing the Russian Imperial 
 Arms upon them. This royal obstacle being, at 
 length, removed, our carriage was soon disembarked, 
 and we sent for the horses; a pair of long tailed 
 chestnuts soon conveyed us to the Hotel de Russie, 
 where we found a comfortable apartment. 
 
 We ordered dinner for half-past five, and Bel- 
 grave went out to find a Monsieur Stacher, who
 
 The Alster. 
 
 had been recommended, poor man, as being useful^ 
 by Mr. W. Wynn ;* he also paid a visit to the 
 Bank to arrange for some supplies of money. To- 
 wards the conclusion of dinner arrived M. Stacher, 
 full of good intentions, which somewhat failed in 
 the execution, seeing that he did not order horses, 
 as he had promised to do, and gave us a vast deal 
 of intelligence as to roads, payments, &c., the whole 
 of which turned out, in the sequel, to be utterly 
 wrong. 
 
 In the evening, we took a drive in a caliche 
 with a pair of long-tailed black horses, round the 
 environs of the town, which are extremely pretty, 
 full of villas with gardens of lilacs, laburnums, 
 tulips, &c. Almost every one of these houses had 
 its large centre door wide open, with a table co- 
 vered with a white table-cloth and with refresh- 
 ments, as if their owners were expecting visitors. 
 We met many open carriages, full of people, going 
 out on pleasure expeditions. Our drive took us 
 by the Alster, a fine wide river, flowing through 
 very green rich-looking meadows ; the verdure and 
 
 * Mr. (afterwards Sir) Henry W. Williams- Wynn, a younger 
 brother of the late Sir Watkin Williams- Wynn, Bart., M.P., and of 
 the Right Hon. C. W. Williams- Wynn, M.P. He was British 
 Minister at Copenhagen from 1824 to 1852. He died in 1856.
 
 6 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 thickness and height of the grass was remark- 
 able; the trees also were in full foliage. When 
 we returned home, we had lemonade, and the 
 additional solace of receiving a very heavy bag of 
 dollars from the Bank. 
 
 Hotel de Russie, 
 
 Hamburg. 
 Tuesday, May zznd, 1827. 
 
 My dear M 
 
 How glad you will be to hear that we have had 
 the most prosperous of voyages, the most com- 
 fortable of cabins. Belgrave had one, and his 
 servant another upon deck ; and I and my maid 
 one in the State cabin. We had the very smoothest 
 of seas. Saturday was delightfully fine, the sea 
 being like glass the whole way. On Sunday came 
 a little swell, and I was a very little sick in the 
 evening. Yesterday, Monday, quite delightful, and 
 sailing up the Elbe charming. We were obliged to 
 anchor in the river last night, as it is dangerous to 
 thread one's way up it at night, from the sand 
 banks ; but that did not signify, for we slept like 
 tops every night. We got here before four p.m., 
 being retarded by the disembarkation of our car- 
 riage ; thus we unluckily could not get up to the
 
 Hamburg. 7 
 
 pier, where are thousands of boats, on account of 
 the unloading of an enormous panorama of St. 
 Petersburg, conducted by a bear of the true Cossack 
 sort. 
 
 This old town is very curious, full of ships, 
 carriages, and pompous horses. Our hotel is very 
 good, and there is a most excellent cuisine ; we have 
 had just now for dinner, among other things, " the 
 thing I eats with mutton-chops," and the mutton- 
 chops themselves, besides Rudesheim wine and 
 Vanille ice. Belgrave is just gone to the Bank with 
 a most civil old Mr. Stacher, a sort of burgomaster, 
 recommended to us by Mr. W. Wynn, he does 
 nothing but kiss one's hand and make the most 
 civil speeches ; and we are going to take an even- 
 ing drive in a caliche round the ramparts. How 
 you would like to see these curious old houses ! 
 We go to-morrow to Ploen, forty miles off, next 
 day a very short distance further, to Kiel, where we 
 are to embark, at four in the afternoon, for Copen- 
 hagen. We are to make this part of our journey 
 by steam ; it will take us about twenty-four hours, 
 and Mr. Wynn expects us at Copenhagen. 
 
 Wednesday, May i^rd. We got up at six ; but 
 as we had another visit from Mr. Stacher, and as
 
 8 Diary' of a Tour. 
 
 Belgrave had a good deal to learn from the master 
 of the hotel about money, which is very difficult to 
 understand, we did not get off till half-past eight, 
 by which time all was ready. We found our car- 
 riage drawn by four long-tailed, grand-looking 
 horses, without blinkers, and driven by one postil- 
 lion, who rode the near wheeler and drove the other 
 two before him ; both driver and horses displayed 
 great prudence and sagacity. We drove through 
 some of the streets, which have all the same curious 
 picturesque and clean appearance, and, at length, 
 arrived on the high road, which certainly would not 
 be admitted for one yard as a part of the King's 
 highway in any cross lane in the most unfrequented 
 part of England. 
 
 It is impossible to describe the unvarying bed of 
 sand, diversified with enormous stones ! Our best 
 pace was four miles an hour ; our first stage was 
 one of twenty -four miles, which we performed at a 
 foot pace, our horses occasionally stopping to eat a 
 little brown bread by the way. One of the leaders 
 chose to kick prodigiously, till the driver changed it 
 and rode it himself, when it became quite quiet. 
 Our good-natured horses arrived at the end of their 
 first stage, Aldersloe, without being apparently tired, 
 and we waited about an hour for the next relay,
 
 Segeberg. 9 
 
 which conveyed us by the same admirable roads to 
 Segeberg, our next post, about eight English miles, 
 here we had to wait the usual time for our unordered 
 horses. We had intended to sleep at Ploen, and in 
 fact, we had been recommended to do so; but being 
 so retarded, we found that we could not possibly 
 reach it till one in the morning ; we therefore 
 decided upon taking our chance of accommodation 
 at a little unknown village, Bornhufte, about ten 
 English miles from it. 
 
 We went over a road as good (or bad) as before, 
 and through the most extraordinary wastes and 
 deserts of sand I ever saw. It was getting very 
 dark, and as we came suddenly to a full stop, we 
 asked what was the matter. We were told " the 
 bridge is broken," we were, therefore, obliged to 
 make our way through the water ; our servant got 
 down to turn the leaders, who did not seem much 
 to understand the ceremony, but were quite willing 
 to do anything in their way to facilitate our pro- 
 gress ; we got through very successfully, threaded 
 our way through a pine-wood, and then came out 
 on the wildest of commons, where there seemed to 
 be no road, but only a number of different tracks. 
 Here we stopped again, and* were told that the 
 driver was not sure of his way, but was gone to
 
 10 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 look. This must have done him much good, or, at 
 all events, it must have been a difficult matter, as it 
 was quite dark ; however, he soon came back, say- 
 ing all was right, and we speedily arrived at Born- 
 hufte. 
 
 Here we had some little difficulty in making out 
 the inn, where we were received by loud barkings 
 from two irritated mastiffs, who were, however, 
 soon appeased. The people of the house, who 
 were all gone to bed, were roused up, and showed 
 us into a tidy room with two very clean beds, which 
 was a joyful surprise. The servants were also com- 
 fortably lodged, and even the carriage, for we were 
 surprised on opening our bedroom-door to find it 
 close to us; the fact is, that it had been placed in 
 a sort of archway which ran through the centre of 
 the house. We found our beds very soft and com- 
 fortable, and after supping on our own provisions, 
 we slept till six next morning soundly. 
 
 Thursday, May i^th. We had the young mastiff, 
 a most amiable animal, to breakfast with us; and 
 saw a great many people going to church, it being 
 Ascension Day. The women were tolerably well 
 dressed, in close caps, gilt at the top, and, generally 
 in black petticoats ; fehe men wore loose coarse coats, 
 and ill-made, dirty boots. The postmaster had a
 
 Kiel. Holstein. 11 
 
 long but friendly dispute with Belgrave to prove 
 that he had paid him too much for the horses, which 
 is not a common complaint. 
 
 We set off soon after eight on our next stage, 
 twenty English miles in length, for Kiel, where we 
 arrived at two, after passing along rows of hedges 
 nearly devoured by those horrid reptiles, enormous 
 locusts, who were in such numbers as to cover the 
 trees. 
 
 The whole of Holstein is flat, dull, and un- 
 interesting, very green, rich-looking fields, with 
 hedges like the uglier parts of England. The vil- 
 lages are very few, but many large farm-houses, 
 with enormous roofs and one great gateway ; in most 
 of these the house seems to consist of one parlour, 
 and all the rest is one large room ; in the centre is 
 the fire-place and kitchen, and the rest is partitioned 
 off for cows, poultry, &c. The family sleep in 
 small cabins ranged round like those on board a 
 ship. The roofs are of thatch, very steep and 
 picturesque. The houses themselves are constructed 
 of a mixture of brick and wood, like an old Cheshire 
 house, and very pretty to look at. There seems to 
 be an all but universal taste for flowers ; every win- 
 dow is filled with nosegays of lilacs, daffodils, tulips, 
 ranunculuses, lilies of the valley, &c.
 
 12 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 On arriving at Kiel, Belgrave's first care was to 
 get the carriage on board the steam-packet, which 
 was to sail at four ; but it proved a very difficult 
 matter, for the captain at first refused to take it, 
 saying it was too large ; at last, however, he was 
 persuaded to consent, but the men were very awk- 
 ward about it, taking it off the wheels, and nearly 
 letting it go into the water. At length, however, 
 the work was performed, and Belgrave came up to 
 the inn (Hotel de Hambourg, Fischer,) to dine. 
 The inn was remarkably nice, and the dinner ex- 
 cellent. We should have much liked to have seen 
 more of Kiel, which is a very pretty and clean 
 town, but we were obliged to go down immediately 
 to embark. 
 
 Our vessel was the f Caledonia,' built at Glasgow, 
 the captain Danish, but speaking English, and a 
 Scotch engineer. At first there were several pas- 
 sengers, but they soon left us to go to some place on 
 shore, a few miles from Kiel, and we luckily re- 
 mained a small party, only a few gentlemen and two 
 ladies, and both very good-natured Danes, one of 
 whom spoke French ; they were returning to Copen- 
 hagen on the death of their sister. 
 
 The Baltic looked wild and gloomy, but it was 
 not rough, and Belgrave passed the night very
 
 A Night in the Baltic. 13 
 
 comfortably in the carriage, as being more fresh 
 than going down below. At ten I went down into 
 our cabin, which was a most comfortable one, with 
 four large beds, of which the two Danish ladies, my 
 maid, and myself, were the occupants. 
 
 Friday , i^th. As I wanted to be up very early 
 this morning I did not undress, but slept without 
 waking till six, and then went upon deck. I found 
 we were getting among the islands ; we coasted 
 Zealand the whole of the way to-day, the islands 
 are pretty and well wooded ; but it was rather a 
 gloomy morning, and no sun, so they did not look 
 to advantage. People came upon deck by degrees ; 
 I sat in the carriage and on deck alternately, as there 
 was rain, and about half-past one we all went to lie 
 down, as there was a bit of rough sea. We speedily 
 sighted the Swedish coast, and at half-past three 
 we had a very good dinner in the cabin ; and when 
 it was over were soon in sight of Copenhagen. 
 
 In approaching it we saw many vessels, (though 
 nothing like the numbers in the Elbe,) among others 
 a large English ship laden with timber from Prussia, 
 which had run aground near the shore, and could 
 only hope for a high wind and a high sea ever to 
 move again. Before arriving at Copenhagen there 
 is a tremendous battery of great strength.
 
 14 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 The passengers, of course, all disembarked as 
 soon as we got near the pier ; we stayed for our 
 carriage, which they managed to land better than at 
 Kiel, and it was soon put on shore. A Mr. Baines, 
 a fellow-passenger in the steam vessel, had sent 
 down horses to meet us, and we had no difficulty in 
 settling ourselves in the Hotel d'Angleterre by nine; 
 the drive thither through the streets is very pretty, 
 and the town looked handsome and gay. We had 
 a good supper, and arranged our apartments, which 
 seemed very comfortable, and went to bed about 
 twelve. 
 
 Saturday, 1.6th. We had a good long sleep, which 
 was very refreshing, and immediately after breakfast 
 set to writing our letters, as the post for England 
 was going that evening. I afterwards wrote all this 
 journal, for which I had plenty of time, as in the 
 afternoon it began to rain, and continued in torrents 
 through the day, which we, therefore, passed at 
 home.
 
 Copenhagen. 1 5 
 
 Copenhagen, 
 
 Hotel d'Angleterre. 
 Saturday, May 2 6th, 1827. 
 
 Dearest M 
 
 Never were such lucky people as we are with our 
 sea-voyages ! We have had a most excellent pas- 
 sage from Kiel of twenty-six hours, the sea not at 
 all rough enough to make one sick, a very nice 
 extremely clean little steam vessel of twenty-eight 
 horse-power, and very few passengers. The name 
 of the vessel was the ' Caledonia' ; she had been 
 built at Glasgow, the captain Danish, though he 
 talked English very well, and the engineer Scotch. 
 But I must begin where I left off, at Hamburg, 
 which we left about quarter-past eight on Wednes- 
 day morning ; such perfections are the roads of Hoi- 
 stein that we were fourteen hours in going between 
 forty or fifty English miles. The roads are the 
 deepest sand that can be conceived, interspersed 
 here and there with enormous stones ; but they baffle 
 all description, so I won't try to picture them. They 
 drive very carefully and well, one postillion managing 
 all the four horses, who are grand creatures, with 
 long tails, like those in Wouverman's pictures ; they 
 seem uncommonly gentle and good-natured, and go
 
 1C Diary of a Tour. 
 
 trotting on (or rather walking in these roads) long 
 stages of twenty-four miles, more or less, without 
 seeming the least tired, and only eating a little 
 brown bread now and then. One of our drivers, 
 however, as nearly as possible overturned us by the 
 strangest invention of suddenly turning out of the 
 road down a steep muddy foot-path, and running 
 us against a tree ; after we were extricated from the 
 danger, he gravely drove us down into a small river, 
 and up the middle of it for some way, then sud- 
 denly, by a sharp turn up again, into the road ; on 
 our inquiring the cause of this wonderful proceed- 
 ing, and why he did not go by the natural road 
 over a very good looking bridge, he said he thought 
 it was a pity to go over the bridge as it was quite 
 new ; on which our servant cried out in a transport 
 of indignant contempt, "cest excellent, il veut 
 menager le pont !" We got on as best we could, and 
 our carriage stood it all perfectly ; it is a very pretty 
 dark green nice carriage, and a very strong one too. 
 We could not have got to Ploen before one or two 
 in the morning, so we stopped at a very small vil- 
 lage, which we reached at half-past ten, having 
 passed through the most desolate district of sand 
 which can be imagined. In the middle of it we 
 stopped in the dark, the postillion fearing he had
 
 Kiel 17 
 
 lost his way ; but he was right, which was lucky for 
 us ; so there we arrived, and found every soul gone 
 to bed, except some angry dogs, who were making 
 a great noise ; they were, however, soon appeased, 
 and the people got up and gave us a clean room, 
 with very clean beds, which was pleasant, inasmuch 
 as we did not expect to find any such luxuries. 
 The next morning we had some fine tubs of clean 
 water, and a very good breakfast ; a good-natured 
 young mastiff came to breakfast with us, and then 
 we set out for Kiel, where we arrived, by the same 
 sort of roads as before, about two o'clock ; got the 
 carriage on board the steamboat ; had an excellent 
 dinner at the nicest and prettiest inn possible, and 
 embarked at four. 
 
 Kiel, I should tell you, is a beautiful little town, 
 full of picturesque old German houses. The hedges 
 during the last part of the journey were devoured 
 by locusts nasty beasts. The country very flat and 
 dull, but excessively rich, and green to a wonderful 
 degree. The gardens were all full of lilacs, and the 
 windows quite gay with nosegays of ranunculuses 
 and lilies of the valley. Our only lady companions, 
 on board the ship, were two very good-natured, 
 innocent Danish women, who were returning to 
 Copenhagen ; they grew very fond of me, and we 
 
 c
 
 18 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 all got on very well together in an excellent cabin 
 with four large beds. I slept all night, and got up 
 very early to come on deck to see all the islands 
 that we were swimming among. We saw Zealand 
 all the way. This place is approached through a 
 tremendous battery, which is said to be " untake- 
 able." We got safely lodged, our carriage dis- 
 embarked, and everything arranged by nine o'clock ; 
 had a very good supper, and found our hotel very 
 comfortable ; we have a very handsome apartment, 
 like a French one, lined with crimson silk. I am 
 writing just after breakfast, so have not seen Mr. 
 Wynn, or anybody else, as yet ; he is at his country- 
 house, about nine miles from here, but is expected 
 in town this morning, as the King has a review in 
 the evening ; I dare say we shall go to it, but till 
 we have seen Mr. Wynn we cannot settle how long 
 we stay here, or anything. This town looks very 
 gay, and has many large and handsome squares, in 
 one of which we now are, and magnificent curious- 
 looking houses, quite different from what I expected. 
 I am as well as possible, and have got a large nosegay 
 of lilies of the valley. 
 
 Sunday, ijth. After breakfast we read the morn- 
 ing service, and then took a walk down the Oster-
 
 Fredericsthal. 19 
 
 strasse, the region of the shops ; we were scandalized 
 to find them all open, but found that they were all 
 kept by Jews, and would therefore naturally, I 
 suppose, have been shut on Saturday. We came 
 home about two o'clock, dressed, and went in a 
 hired chariot and pair (of slow horses) through nine 
 miles of horrid road, the first seven through a 
 hideous country, to dine with our Minister, Mr. 
 Williams Wynn, at his country-house at Fredericsthal, 
 a house which he has hired of Count Schulin. It is 
 situated in the middle of very fine woods, close to 
 two beautiful lakes; the house itself, however, is 
 most miserable, it has bare unfurnished rooms, with 
 no communication except through each other, these 
 are hung with English prints and a few wretched 
 pictures. The garden would be pretty if well taken 
 care of; but it is now very like a neglected Scotch 
 " policy," with nettles and long grass growing all 
 over the strawberry and flower-beds. Nothing, in 
 short, could be more forlorn, or give one the idea of 
 greater desolation, than the house and grounds, 
 though beautifully situated in the midst of wood and 
 water. We dined as soon as we arrived, and then 
 went out walking about the grounds, then took an 
 open carriage and drove to a villa of Madame 
 Brune, where we got out and walked about, and
 
 20 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 then drove back to Mr. Wynn's, had tea, and came 
 home in a regular rain ; we arrived about half-past 
 ten. 
 
 Monday ', i%th. Got up rather early and break- 
 fasted. Mr. and Mrs. Wynn came at eleven and 
 gave us information about our future journey. Mr. 
 Wynn and Belgrave went to the bankers, Mrs. 
 Wynn and I to several shops in the Osterstrasse to 
 buy gloves, ribbon, crape, &c., &c. We met Mr. 
 Wynn and Belgrave in the street. I came home 
 with Belgrave, and we went again at two to Mr. 
 Wynn's, and walked with him again down the 
 Osterstrasse to see a curious old round tower built 
 by Christian IV., round the inside of which is a road 
 so broad that a carriage and four might drive to 
 the top ; however, we stopped half-way to see the 
 University Library, and a collection of curious old 
 things which had been found in the Tumuli, flint- 
 knives and spear-heads, (before the use of iron, and 
 the consequent improvements in metal,) old swords, 
 spears, &c., &c. We then took leave of Mr. 
 Wynn, and came home for a short time ; set out 
 again and went to Mr. Been's, a very good shop, to 
 lay in a provision of tea, which is remarkably good 
 here, sugar, and arrow-root for our journey ; went 
 on by the palace and to the pier, then had a beauti-
 
 Limlye. 2 1 
 
 ful walk round the ramparts, whence we had the most 
 magnificent view of the harbour, the sea, (which 
 was quite blue,) and the Swedish coast at a distance. 
 On the other side, the town, with its trees, pic- 
 turesque houses, and old towers, looked particularly 
 well in a bright sunshine, and the walk was delight- 
 ful, though I was thoroughly tired. We saw the 
 Queen returning from witnessing the review ; she 
 was in 'a small caliche^ drawn by six very pretty, 
 long-tailed, little black horses. We came home 
 exhausted and hungry at a little before seven, dined 
 at half- past seven, passed the evening in paying our 
 bills, writing this journal, &c., received a visit from 
 Mr. Fenwick, the Consul at Copenhagen, and then 
 went to bed. 
 
 Tuesday , lyth. We had had our carriage raised 
 and repaired in some trifling details by an English 
 coachmaker, and again set forth in it this morning. 
 On our departure from Copenhagen at half-past 
 eight, we went by the same road along which we 
 had gone to Mr. Wynn's at Fredericsthal, conse- 
 quently the first part was dull as well as ugly ; but 
 at about eight miles from Copenhagen the road 
 began to be wooded, and we very soon improved in 
 point of scenery. At the village of Limbye we 
 picked up some letters from Mr. Wynn, and also
 
 22 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 some sheets, with which Mrs. Wynn very kindly 
 provided us, and continued our journey to Friederics- 
 berg through beautiful forests, principally of beech, 
 forming part of the King's chasse, and containing 
 chevreuil. On arriving at Friedericsberg we walked 
 to the old palace, which is a very handsome build- 
 ing, surrounded by three moats, and approached by 
 drawbridges and gateways. It is built of dark red 
 brick, the cupolas, minarets, and very steep roof 
 are all of copper ; the palace itself is something 
 between Burghley and the French castles of the 
 time of Francis I. The towers are very handsome, 
 the house is built round three sides of a large square 
 court ; the doors are very much carved, and the 
 most remarkable of the many curious things within 
 is the chapel, which is long and narrow ; the ceiling 
 of the King's pew is a mediocre performance of 
 King Christian's own hands, made of ebony and 
 ivory. The pew is lined with curious panels, painted 
 on copper, with subjects from the Bible; at the 
 further end is a sort of modern throne in very bad 
 taste, on which the King was crowned. All the 
 Danish Kings have been crowned here. But the 
 most remarkable part of the whole is the ceiling, 
 which is of white and gold, but so rich, so delicate, 
 and so much in relief, as to resemble a piece of
 
 The Palace of Friedericsberg. 23 
 
 jewellery ; it is the most beautiful thing possible of 
 the kind. The doors of the pews are all in marque - 
 terie. The shields of the Knights of the Order of 
 the Elephant* are hung up in this chapel ; among 
 them was that of the Duke of Wellington. Over 
 this chapel is "The Knights' Hall," one hundred 
 and sixty-five feet long, but not high enough in 
 proportion. The ceiling is perfectly flat, but so 
 strange and so extraordinary, that it is difficult to 
 describe it in any way. En relief y over the whole of 
 this enormous space, and there is not an inch but is 
 covered with birds, beasts, fruit, flowers, men, 
 angels, stories from the Bible, representations of 
 trades, &c., all richly carved, coloured, or gilt, in 
 strangely formed compartments. The effect is 
 singular and rich beyond description, and is like 
 one large field of enamel, or of Florentine wood. 
 The walls of this, and of many other rooms, are 
 covered with pictures, principally portraits, some 
 very bad, but many very singular and entertaining ; 
 and I should think among them must be some very 
 
 * This chief royal Danish Order dates from Christian I., A.D. 1458, 
 though some writers claim for it a still higher antiquity. Originally 
 religious, it is now secular, like our own Order of the Garter. It is 
 under a presidency of a Chapter of the Royal Order, established at 
 Copenhagen in 1808. The annual festival of the Order of the Ele- 
 phant is January ist.
 
 24) Diary of a Tour. 
 
 curious ones, but we had not 1 time to look at a 
 hundredth part of the collection; of those which 
 we did see, the portraits of Christina and Charles 
 XII. were the most remarkable. We saw the room 
 inhabited by poor Queen Caroline Matilda,* and 
 written by her on a pane in the window, 
 
 " O keep me innocent, make others great." 
 
 There are fine gardens belonging to this palace, 
 which, with some care, and a good deal of additional 
 furniture, might be made a delightful habitation, 
 surrounded as it is by its beautiful forests ; but the 
 Royal Family never go there. 
 
 We returned to our inn, and soon went on by 
 Friedensbourg, another country-seat of the King 
 a common, modern looking house, with fine woods 
 and a lake. Thence on to Elsineur, a sandy road 
 all the way. It was near six o'clock when we 
 arrived ; Belgrave went to find Mr. Chapman, a 
 merchant, to whom he had a letter from his brother, 
 who was a passenger on the Hamburg steamboat 
 with us. Belgrave soon found him, and he took us 
 to see the Castle of Cronberg, which is a beautiful 
 building, and finely situated ; it stands quite by itself 
 on the sea-shore. It is of brick and stone, with fine 
 
 * Sister of George III., and wife of Christian VII. of Denmark.
 
 llelsingburg. 25 
 
 towers, and built entirely round a court ; it is now 
 used for barracks. We mounted up to the top of 
 one of the corner towers, which commands the most 
 beautiful of views over the town, the sea, and ship- 
 ping, and the Swedish and Danish coasts beyond. 
 We also went into the chapel, which is now entirely 
 dismantled and used as a gymnase for the soldiers. 
 We then went to Mr. Chapman's house, where I 
 waited some ' time while Belgrave and he went to 
 see about embarking the carriage. This was at last 
 effected; we embarked ourselves in another smaller 
 boat, and, as there was no wind, we rowed over 
 four miles to Helsingburg ; we went to Mr. Mohl- 
 berg's inn, where, though the town looked poor, 
 we found a very clean and comfortable apartment. 
 Belgrave went down again to see the carriage landed, 
 and was kept a long time by the tiresome slowness 
 of the Custom-House people ; at length he re- 
 turned to supper, about eleven o'clock, in a large, 
 clean ball-room, and then went to our beds, which 
 we found very comfortable. 
 
 Wednesday, joM. We breakfasted on some of 
 our own tea ; the bread here was very tolerable, and 
 the eggs excellent. After breakfast Belgrave set 
 out to find the Commandant, Major Katterholm, 
 who came here with him, with a very fine pointer,
 
 2(5 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 exactly like Dash, at Eaton.* The Commandant 
 talked bad French, but was very useful in pro- 
 viding us with a hussar to drive us through 
 Sweden, for it is very necessary to have a trusty and 
 good one. Lord Bloomfieldt had written, asking 
 for one to meet us, but as it was only the day before 
 we came away, our hussar could not possibly arrive 
 in time. Fortunately we also dispatched a forebud 
 to order our horses on the road, who set out at 
 two to-day, and Belgrave bought a carriage, to take 
 part of our luggage and the peasants, who must be 
 conveyed, in order that they may bring back their 
 horses. Belgrave was very busy writing and settling 
 matters all the morning, and I wrote letters, and am 
 now writing this with the help of a great thunder- 
 storm, which is growling and rattling incessantly, 
 the rain also pouring in torrents like a water-spout. 
 In the afternoon we had a visit from Mr. Turing,J 
 who was very civil, and very kindly lent Belgrave 
 some money, of which he found he had not enough 
 to get on to Gottenburg. While I was writing my 
 
 * The Duke of Westminster's seat near Chester. 
 
 f Benjamin, first Lord Bloomfield, G.C.B., &c., then Minister- 
 Plenipotentiary at the Court of Sweden. He died in 1846. 
 
 J The late Sir J. H. Turing, Bart., many years Her Britannic Ma- 
 jesty's Consul at Rotterdam. He died in 1860.
 
 Helsingburg. 27 
 
 letters I had a pain, which came on suddenly in the 
 muscle below my knee, which increased so rapidly, 
 and swelled so much within an hour, that I was 
 hardly able to move for the rest of the day. 
 
 Helsingburg. 
 Wednesday, May soth, 1827. 
 
 Dearest M 
 
 I am obliged to write on nasty inn paper, as I 
 have let Belgrave go out after the Commandant 
 with the key of my writing-case in his pocket, 
 and as he has gone to settle about a hussar to drive 
 us, (for Lord Bloomfield's coachman cannot, we 
 think, get here in time,) and an estafette to precede 
 us, heaven knows when he will come back, so I 
 won't wait. 
 
 We went to dine on Sunday at Mr. Wynn's, nine 
 miles from Copenhagen ; he has got a place situated 
 in the most beautiful and luxuriant woods, close to 
 fine lakes ; in fact, nothing can be prettier than the 
 exterior, but the interior ! Imagine all you can that 
 is most comfortless and forlorn in a combination of 
 an unfurnished Scotch and French house, and you 
 will have it ; for living-rooms, an enfilade of three 
 or four apartments, which have no access but through 
 each other, and about seven bedrooms, also en suite,
 
 28 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 to which there is no access but "through each 
 other," but in which they, six children, maids,. &c., 
 contrive to rest, all packed together. A few Eng- 
 lish prints and some bad pictures serve for all 
 decoration, and a garden, which would be pretty if 
 it were not full of long grass and nettles. They 
 can get the house at present for only a year ; so it 
 is not worth while to do much to it, and they make 
 the best of it as it stands. 
 
 On Monday, we walked, I believe, all day. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Wynn came to Copenhagen, where they 
 have an excellent town-house ; so I first made, in 
 her company, a round of the shops, which are very 
 bad ; then we went to an old round tower built by 
 Christian IV., with a broad drive up, so that a 
 carriage and four might go to the top. In it I saw 
 a curious collection of old Scandinavian arms ; then 
 I went to other shops, and Belgrave and I took a 
 long and most beautiful walk on the ramparts, 
 whence the views are splendid. We saw Her 
 Majesty the Queen* coming home in a very small 
 green caleche drawn by six very pretty little black 
 horses, very slow, with very high action, a very fat 
 
 * The Queen of Denmark. Her Majesty was Princess Sophia of 
 Hesse-Cassel ; she was the wife of Frederick VI., whose reign lasted 
 from 1808 to 1839.
 
 Copenhagen. 29 
 
 coachman, and one cm ant-courier. The Hereditary 
 Prince,* and a pretty Princess, whom we saw in 
 England some two or three years ago, were just 
 gone off to Lubeck. We found that we had seen all 
 that there really was worth seeing at Copenhagen ; 
 and as we wanted to get on, we left it yesterday 
 morning. Mr. and Mrs. Wynn were most kind ; 
 and she has been of the most essential use in pro- 
 viding us, besides information, with a further supply 
 of sheets, towels, &c., for our northern journey. 
 There are very nice gloves to be had at Copenhagen, 
 but with such an odd smell that it takes off from 
 their merits ; however I am to have some by the 
 winter, and if the smell goes off and you like them, 
 you shall have some too ; but they are not so nice as 
 the Dresden gloves. The tea is beyond anything 
 good at Copenhagen ; we have a whole store of 
 Pekoe with us, besides arrow-root, &c. ; and as we 
 find nothing at the inns, in future we shall lay in 
 provisions of meat and bread when we find them ; 
 and besides my bed we have sheets, mattresses ready 
 to stuff with clean straw, &c., so I daresay we shall 
 do very well. 
 
 On leaving Copenhagen yesterday we found the 
 country at first ugly, till we came to the most beau- 
 
 * Afterwards Frederick VII., King from 1839 to 1863.
 
 30 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 tiful forest, almost all of beech ; magnificent trees, in 
 short the prettiest thing that could be imagined; 
 and at about twelve miles from Copenhagen we 
 stopped to see Friedericsberg, a beautiful old palace 
 of the Kings, built by Christian V. I wish I could 
 describe it, but I cannot. It is six times larger than 
 Chenonceaux, with rthee moats round it ; the palace 
 is of dark red brick, and it has a copper roof termi- 
 nated with beautiful cupolas and minarets. It has 
 also a great deal of stone work, statues, and arcades, 
 something in the way of Hatfield ;* but much more 
 picturesque and decorated, with towers of all shapes 
 and sizes surrounding a large courtyard. The 
 chapel is very handsome ; without any exception it 
 has the most magnificent, refined, and finely-worked 
 ceiling of white and gold, in high relief, that I ever 
 saw. That of the gallery at Northumberland 
 House,f is as nothing in comparison of it. Above 
 this chapel is " The Knights' Hall " above one 
 hundred and sixty feet long ; with the most extra- 
 ordinary ceiling I ever saw, a sort of Florentine 
 work en relief with coloured fruit, flowers, angels, 
 and long stories from the Bible and history all over 
 
 * Lord Salisbury's seat in Hertfordshire. 
 
 f The Duke of Northumberland's town-house at Charing Cross ; 
 demolished in 1874.
 
 Elsineur. 3 1 
 
 it ; not an inch but what is highly worked, coloured, 
 or gilded ; the effect is wonderful, like one of the 
 enamelled bracelets ; the ceilings at Eaton are meagre 
 in comparison, though this, from being flat, has not 
 the same effect which they have on the eye ; but no 
 description can give any idea of it. We saw Queen 
 Caroline Matilda's room, and some of her hand- 
 writing on the window ; and rooms without end full 
 of the strangest and most extraordinary, and I should 
 think, very curious, old portraits of everybody con- 
 nected with the Royal Family of Denmark, and 
 many others. We had not time to look at one 
 hundredth part in detail ; there are curious portraits 
 of Christina, Charles XII., &c., and delicious old 
 family pictures ; there are also fine gardens, and a 
 park adjoining the forest I have mentioned, and a 
 stud, with, I believe, some good horses. It is a 
 delightful place, and might be made both gay and 
 comfortable for living in ; though they never go here 
 to stay, but prefer Friedensbourg, a little way from 
 it, with fine woods and lakes, but a common modern 
 looking house. 
 
 We came on to Elsineur, where we found a very 
 obliging Mr. Chapman, to whom his brother, whom 
 we met on the Hamburg packet, had given us a 
 letter. He took us to the exquisite old castle of
 
 32 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Cronberg, which is most curious. We saw Caroline 
 Matilda's three rooms where she was imprisoned ; 
 and more triste ones cannot be imagined. We went 
 up a very high tower, and from the roof, just as at 
 Dunrobin,* we had a pleasant view of the sea, the 
 shipping, and the Swedish coast. We then embarked, 
 and soon made our passage of three miles over to 
 our present quarters, a poor town with an extremely 
 good and clean inn ; we stay here to-day as we have 
 many arrangements to make. Belgrave has bought 
 another carriage, which is quite necessary, as the 
 peasants whose horses take us, must be conveyed in 
 it in order to bring back their horses, as well as 
 part of the luggage. We go with six horses, the 
 carriage with two, and our cm ant -courier departs to- 
 day. We are to get to Gottenburg the day after 
 to-morrow, and then we go on to Christiana. 
 
 The Commandant has just been to visit us with a 
 charming great brown pointer, and he has provided 
 us with a very trusty hussar who does not drink, 
 and is a very good driver. There are country 
 people selling fish, grain, &c., in long narrow carts 
 drawn by tractable ponies something larger than 
 Scotch ones. I have just bought some beautiful 
 
 * The property of the Duke of Sutherland, in Sutherland- 
 shire.
 
 Falkenlterg. 33 
 
 flowers, tulips, daffodils, and lilies of the valley. 
 The head waiter here is a Scotch woman ; but she 
 has lived so long abroad, that she is become quite a 
 foreigner, and talks a very Swedish patois of Scottish 
 English, if you can imagine such a thing. 
 
 Thursday, yist. When I got up, I found my 
 leg equally swelled and painful ; but nothing could 
 be done, so we departed soon after eight o'clock, 
 and came through a prettyish country with fine woods 
 for eighty-five miles to Falkenberg. The stage 
 before reaching that town is beautiful, made up of 
 woods, and a great deal of wild ground interspersed 
 with birch copses. The woods were full of gentian, 
 lilies of the valley, wood-anemones, &c. 
 
 Our equipage was arranged as follows we had 
 hired a coachman (Hu'berg), recommended by the 
 Commandant Katterholm at Helsingborg ; he sat 
 upon a wooden seat, constructed at Helsingborg, and 
 placed upon the fore-trunk with room for another 
 by his side, where sat one of the peasants to whom 
 our post horses belonged. These horses were like 
 a better sort of highland pony, but in bad condition, 
 having been half starved by the heat of the pre- 
 ceding summer. We had bought our own harness 
 at Helsingborg ; it was very simple, mostly made of 
 leather, though the reins were of rope ; the horses 
 
 D
 
 34 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 * 
 
 had sometimes four shoes ; sometimes two only, on 
 the fore feet, and sometimes none at all. We had 
 six horses to our carriage, and two to the little one ; 
 they were harnessed four-abreast next to the 
 carriage, and driven by the coachman, the two 
 leaders being managed by a postillion ; the latter was 
 usually a great heavy peasant, who rode without a 
 saddle or stirrups. In spite of the primitiveness of 
 our attelage, these little animals went very well, and 
 securely, at the rate of between seven and eight miles 
 an hour ; the roads were very good, and our coach- 
 man was a very good driver. At one place, 
 however, we found the bridge across a river com- 
 pletely broken down, and we had to cross upon a 
 temporary bridge made of planks, which lay level 
 with the river ; all the horses were taken off except 
 two, which brought us very successfully over the 
 bridge. We had to wait for our horses at each 
 stage, as we performed them in a shorter time than 
 we expected, and we found at the end of the day 
 that the forebud was not far enough before us. 
 The stages were short, generally of about nine or 
 ten English miles. At ten o'clock we got to Falken- 
 
 D D 
 
 berg, famous for a large salmon fishery near the 
 mouth of the river. A baddish inn, the people 
 could talk only Swedish; we had an indifferent
 
 Gottenburg. 35 
 
 * 
 
 supper, and I slept for the first time in my own bed, 
 which we carried with us, and which I found very 
 comfortable. 
 
 Friday, June ist. We left Falkenberg at eight, 
 a.m., came through a bare country, extremely like 
 parts of Scotland, only in some places more wooded; 
 towards the end of the day had to wait for the 
 horses as before, but reached Gottenburg about 
 eight p.m. Here we were kept a little time at the 
 Custom-House, but referred the searchers to the 
 imperial. This, as I should have mentioned before, 
 travelled in the little open carriage of the country, 
 which Belgrave had bought at Helsingborg, and 
 which contained my bed ; and was drawn by two 
 horses, which Gartner drove occasionally at a 
 furious pace, accompanied by one of the peasants, 
 the owner of some of the horses. The peasants 
 are very anxious to go on these tours along with 
 their horses, in order to bring them back ; and 
 besides the three, who regularly went with us, 
 another would sometimes run by our side the whole 
 of the stage. When we arrived at Gottenburg, 
 where Gartner soon followed us without anything 
 having been opened at the Custom-House, Bel- 
 grave immediately set out to find Mr. Dickson, to 
 whom we had a letter, in order to get some advice
 
 36 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 for my leg, which was still very painful and 
 much swelled. It was pouring with rain ; but 
 he soon discovered an English physician, Mr. 
 Lambert, who came to us without delay, and 
 prescribed rest, and promised that he would see 
 me again the next morning. Our apartments were 
 tolerable. 
 
 Saturday, June ind. We had an early visit from 
 Mr. Dickson, and soon after another from Mr. 
 Lambert, who said that I might put on leeches, 
 and must keep my leg up ; accordingly he sent 
 eight leeches, and more voracious animals never 
 were seen. I could hardly prevent them from 
 biting my fingers in taking them out of their glass; 
 and they fixed the moment they were applied, 
 biting like pen-knives ; we put on seven, and never 
 saw anything like their size, and the quantity of 
 blood they took away, as well as what rushed out 
 for some time afterwards. I remained all day 
 on the sofa, and Belgrave went to dine at Mr. 
 Dickson ; he there met Count Rosen, and his 
 two sons, and Mr. Hainson, the English Vice- 
 Consul. 
 
 Mrs. Dickson was a Swede, but speaks both 
 English and French. Mr. Dickson is Scotch. Mrs. 
 Dickson sent me some Vanille Cream and dessert
 
 Gottenbnrg. 37 
 
 in the evening. When Belgrave came home, we 
 drank tea and went to bed. 
 
 Sunday^ yd, I was better, but Mr. Lambert 
 would not let me leave Gottenburg before Tuesday. 
 Belgrave went, after breakfast, to Mr. Dickson, 
 and returned before one to dress, in order to go 
 to dine in the country, about seven miles from 
 Gottenburg, with Mr. Wyk. Count Rosen's son 
 came to fetch him. Bokedal, Mr. Wyk's place, is 
 a villa prettily situated about eight English miles 
 from Gottenburg on the Stockholm road. Bel- 
 grave was conveyed there in Mr. Dickson's 
 barouche. He met there a party of about thirty, 
 who entertained him very hospitably. They dined 
 at three o'clock, and drank toasts after dinner, 
 the first being the health of the stranger who visited 
 their country ; they then sang several songs and 
 national airs ; the morning had been wet, but they 
 walked out for a short time after dinner, and 
 Belgrave then returned home, accompanied by 
 Count Rosen, in Mr. Dickson's carriage, reach- 
 ing Gottenburg between eight and nine o'clock. 
 I remained all day on .the sofa. Belgrave came 
 in with Count Rosen, who made us a long visit 
 after that we had tea and went to bed. We 
 found the bread, butter, and cream at this hotel
 
 38 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 (Segerlinds) very good. La cuisine, otherwise, only 
 tolerable. 
 
 Monday, ^.th. This morning arrived Setterberg, 
 the coachman recommended by Lord Bloomfield, 
 having travelled six days and nights to catch us 
 up ; he had been down to Helsingborg, and then 
 had followed us up to Gottenburg; we were, at 
 first, rather puzzled, being already provided with 
 Hiiberg, but finding that our new friend spoke 
 English, and was highly recommended as a useful 
 servant as well as a very good driver, we deter- 
 mined on taking him. Hiiberg then requested to 
 be allowed to go on as forebud, which answered 
 very well ; and we found it, in the sequel, very 
 useful to have a regular forebud of our own. 
 
 When I got up I found my leg so much better, 
 that I was able to walk without the least inconve- 
 nience, and therefore accepted Count Rosen's 
 invitation to dine at his house. In the morning, 
 we had visits from him and his daughter, and Mr. 
 and Mrs. Dickson. At half-past three, he sent 
 his carriage to take us to dinner ; we found a party 
 of about twenty-fouf, consisting of himself and 
 Countess Rosen, their three sons, Mademoiselle 
 de Rosen, Mr. and Mrs. Dickson, Count Platen, 
 a Baron d'Argleswelt (from L'Ostro-Gotha),
 
 Gottenbury. 39 
 
 Captain Schultz and several more gentlemen and 
 ladies. 
 
 The avant-repas of salt fish, tongue, brandy, &c., 
 was served in the outer room ; but we very soon 
 sat down to dinner, and as Swedish dinners are, 
 I suppose, all alike, I will give the description of 
 this, once for all. The dessert is placed upon the 
 table before the meal commences, and the dinner 
 is carried round, dish by dish, all ready carved, 
 and offered to each person, beginning with dried 
 salmon ; then followed macaroni, stewed or roast 
 beef, eggs and ham, or veal, soup, some other meat, 
 fish, chicken and blackcock ; then cream, which 
 generally concludes the feast. 
 
 There are a great many sorts of wine here, and 
 the gentlemen drink a great deal during dinner, 
 which from the dishes being carried round singly, 
 with an interval between each, is rather a Jong 
 proceeding. But, en revanche, they are a very short 
 time at dessert, and both gentlemen and ladies go 
 together back to the drawing-room, where coffee is 
 served. Before they move, however, the gentlemen 
 frequently sing one or two songs ; and at Count 
 Rosen's, Captain Schultz sang a beautiful little 
 Swedish song, without music, before we left the 
 dinner table. After dinner, a Monsieur de Berg
 
 40 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 came in, and sang a great deal, quite beautifully, 
 having a very fine voice, and great taste; Captain 
 Schultz, whose voice was almost equally good, also 
 sung frequently ; and the national Swedish air 
 answering to our " God save the King" sung by 
 him and Monsieur de Berg together was beautiful. 
 After some time we had tea, and the evening passed 
 most pleasantly between singing and talking, till 
 half-past ten, when we returned home. 1 forgot 
 to say that after dinner, Count Rosen proposed 
 our health with a " short" and appropriate speech, 
 and Belgrave then proposed that of Madame de 
 Rosen, before we got up from dessert. 
 
 Nothing could exceed their kindness, and the 
 perfect ease, and pleasantness of the whole evening. 
 Count Rosen's house is a good one and very prettily 
 situated, looking out on the sea ; the rooms, like 
 all foreign ones, were perfectly bare, with only a 
 sofa and a few chairs ranged against the wall, and 
 those such as would hardly be admitted in an En- 
 glish inn: but such is the custom, and one never 
 
 D ' 
 
 thinks about it. Count Platen,* whom I men- 
 tioned as one of the company, is a very distin- 
 guished person ; a fine good-natured old man of 
 about seventy. 
 
 * The father of the late Swedish Minister in London.
 
 Trothdlta.. 41 
 
 Tuesday, ^th. We got up at six, as I was quite 
 well enough to continue the journey, and received 
 from Mrs. Dickson two bags of excellent rusks; 
 we had also laid in a provision of tongues, some 
 salt beef, chocolate prepared with Iceland Moss, 
 some wine, and plenty of white bread, besides what 
 I formerly mentioned. As we were going away, 
 we met at the door, one of the gentlemen who had 
 been our fellow-passenger from London to Ham- 
 burg. We fared very well at this hotel ; all its 
 passages, staircases, &c., were, as usual, horribly 
 dirty. We found the horses much thinner, and in 
 worse condition to-day than heretofore; but our 
 new coachman managed them extremely well, and we 
 went on at a great pace. We passed through Lilta 
 Edit, where a new canal was being cut, and got to 
 Trothalta by about six. We found a very nice 
 apartment in a house close to the inn, and belong- 
 ing to it it was a -mere country inn; but our 
 rooms were decently clean, and so there was no- 
 thing to complain of. We ordered dinner, and 
 then proceeded with Mr. Allen, the superintendant 
 of the saw-mills, to whom Mr. Dickson had given 
 us a letter, in order to see the falls of the river. 
 They are more beautiful from their -number and 
 variety than from any one great volume of water,
 
 42 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 and are, therefore, not to be compared to those of 
 Schaffhausen. Still they are very fine, and from 
 the saw-mills being built over the middle of the 
 river, one can stand exactly over some of the falls, 
 which has a very fine effect. 
 
 The rocks in them and around them are magnifi- 
 cent, and the banks are very high, and covered with 
 masses of fir wood. There is a short bit of what 
 was intended by Christina for the line of the canal, 
 excavated between rocks of an amazing steepness. 
 The work, however, being suddenly stopped in the 
 middle, there comes a straight fall, perfectly perpen- 
 dicular, of a very great height. Some adventurous 
 women insisted on wading to nearly the edge of 
 the fall to poke down for our amusement some 
 large trees which had become wedged in the rocks ; 
 it seemed to me the most frightful and dangerous 
 
 o o 
 
 work ; and it was not till after repeated signs, nor 
 finally till we had beaten a retreat, that they could 
 be persuaded to give up their object. 
 
 We went down the canal in a boat, getting out 
 occasionally to see the most remarkable places ; we 
 then rowed about two miles further down^ and 
 again landed to inspect the locks which are very 
 curious, being constructed between perpendicular 
 rocks of great height, with a path and railing carried
 
 Wennersborg and Odesvalla. 43 
 
 along the edge of the precipice on one side. 
 They are eight in number, three adjoining the river, 
 and five up the side of the mountain ; and were so 
 made in order to raise the water to the level of one 
 hundred and twenty feet above the river. 
 
 We rowed back again and took leave of Mr. 
 Allen who is a very sensible intelligent man ; and 
 returned to our inn, where we supped soon after 
 eight on salmon. 
 
 Wednesday, 6th. We set out at eight a.m. ; 
 passed through Wennersborg at the head of the 
 Lake Wenner, and through Odesvalla. The country 
 about this place is extremely pretty, with woods, 
 rocks and lakes, all of which seem never to come 
 to an end. As we advanced, the country became 
 less pretty and more barren ; we got to Hide about 
 seven. Before arriving at Hide, our off leader fell 
 down, on which all our assistants the coachman 
 excepted went into a most dreadful fright, and the 
 furring noise which they immediately set up is not 
 to be described ; all in various tones of horror and 
 lamentation. Pr-r-r-r-r-r-r-uh ! being the kind of 
 sound with which they stop their horses. The 
 horse, poor beast, was up again in a moment, and 
 no mischief done. 
 
 We found our forebud who told us that the
 
 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 inn was full with a Justice meeting, but that at a 
 smaller house, about two hundred yards from it, we 
 should be provided with a couple of rooms. We 
 accordingly went there, and found two very decent 
 apartments ; one for ourselves, and the other for my 
 maid. Gartner and the coachman were accommo- 
 dated at the other inn. We had a supper of 
 black-cock, potatoes, and six lobsters, all of which 
 were excellent. 
 
 Thursday yth. We got up at four a.m., and were 
 off by a quarter past six ; it soon began to rain, and 
 poured in torrents, which did not cease till after we 
 had crossed the ferry of Swinnesund. This 
 separates Sweden and Norway, and is a very beauti- 
 ful pass. The bridges are constructed out of the 
 bodies of trees placed across and covered with a 
 little earth, and each one has generally in it two or 
 three or more holes passing completely through it, 
 so that the water below is perfectly visible, and it is 
 a miracle how the horses gallop over without falling, 
 in which case they must be killed, or at least break 
 their legs, as it would be impossible at the pace 
 they go to stop the others. It is often necessary 
 to put a drag on one wheel, and very frequently on 
 two. 
 
 The rain began to clear away as we approached
 
 Frederic shall. 45 
 
 West Goard, and by the time we reached the inn, 
 the day was quite fine. We found this inn much 
 better and cleaner in appearance than most, and 
 after eating some cold meat, Belgrave and I got into 
 our little open wicker carriage to see Fredericshall, 
 about four English miles off. Setterberg went with 
 us in another little carriage with one horse. We 
 had a pair of very good steeds which Belgrave 
 drove ; the view from above Fredericshall is very 
 pretty, embracing the town, the sea full of islands, 
 and the fortress which stands in single masses of 
 two or three distinct bodies of buildings perched on 
 high rocks immediately overhanging the town. 
 Fredericshall looks as if it was a new settlement, 
 from the quantities of new houses which are being 
 built, the greatest part of it having been burned last 
 year. The houses are almost all of wood ; as indeed 
 is generally the case in Norway. 
 
 We drove through the town, up a steep paved 
 road, half way up to the fortress. Here we left the 
 carriages and walked up through the Castle, taking 
 a soldier as a guide to the spot where Charles XII. 
 was shot. This spot is marked by a very small 
 shabby white obelisk with a concise inscription and 
 the date. 
 
 The situation of the fortress is delicious, with
 
 46 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 green banks, woods, and beautiful walks ; behind 
 it the view from it also is splendid, looking up into 
 the interior of the rocks and mountains of Norway ; 
 and on the other side over the town, the sea and the 
 islands beyond. 
 
 The place where the King was killed commands 
 this view, and looks straight at the fortress, from 
 whence, however, it is too distant to be reached by a 
 pistol bullet. The ground was covered with wild 
 flowers, and particularly heartsease, with which the 
 fields along the whole of the road were often quite 
 purple. 
 
 The pavement of the town is horrible ; we got 
 back to West Goard soon after three, and proceeded 
 again in our own carriage as before ; we went 
 through Fredericstadt, a small pretty fortified town ; 
 crossed a ferry there with very little trouble, as the 
 men understood taking in and out the carriage, 
 We continued our journey on a very fine evening ; 
 but the roads were not so good as usual, owing to 
 the quantity of rain which had fallen ; and in one of 
 the jolts occasioned by the numerous holes, the iron 
 bars which support the hind seat became bent. 
 We were, therefore, obliged to proceed slowly and 
 with caution, till we got to Moss at a little before 
 twelve. We were disappointed in the inn which
 
 Bide. 47 
 
 we had been told was very good, but indifferent was 
 all we could say for it. We went to bed at half 
 past one, somewhat sleepy. It is but fair to say, 
 that though we had been warned that we should 
 get nothing to eat at these inns, yet with the assist- 
 ance of our forebud we mostly found a good dinner, 
 and that the eggs, and cream, and milk were very 
 good ; we, of course, ate our own bread, as that of 
 the country is disagreeable ; but with this, and our 
 own tea, our fare was as good as travellers could 
 desire. 
 
 Friday^ 8M. As we were to have but a short 
 journey to-day, we did not get up till eight, 
 and had the advantage of tubs of very fresh water, 
 which we usually found everywhere; at Hide, in- 
 stead of one of the usual kind, I had a slop-basin 
 besides. We set out about ten o'clock, and came 
 through a very pretty country of very fine rocks, 
 covered with woods all full of wood anemones 
 green fields, and beautiful lakes, the whole looking 
 like a magnificent park, and the hills most abrupt, 
 indeed, almost violent ; the horses, too, became 
 much improved, being fatter and in better con- 
 dition. We have had some very nice horses since 
 we came into Norway, most of them are dun, with 
 eel backs, and however wild their manners may be,
 
 48 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 the moment they are in harness they are perfectly 
 quiet, and go without any tricks, pulling very 
 evenly, and with all their might. Our road, in the 
 latter part, lay through woods, and was very wet. 
 On descending Mount Egebert, the view is one of 
 the most superb that can be conceived ; the whole 
 district lies around you and at your feet like a 
 panorama. 
 
 The town of Christiana is immediately below, at 
 the head of a large bay, with many ships and many 
 islands ; the country around stretching out in a large 
 fertile plain till it reaches a boundary of magnifi- 
 cent mountains covered with black looking woods. 
 all together, forming the most beautiful outline, 
 while the whole of the view is grand from its 
 immensity. The descent from Mount Egebert to 
 the town is terrific from its steepness, the road 
 making very sharp turns and zigzags ; we got 
 down, however, very successfully, dragging two of 
 our wheels, and on arriving in the town we met our 
 forebiid, who told us that he had been unable to 
 get rooms at Mrs. Werner's, where we wished to 
 lodge, as that house was quite full ; but that he 
 had taken rooms at Carstang's, where we did not 
 wish to go, but as there were no other inns in the 
 town we had no option, and consequently went
 
 Bokestadt. 49 
 
 there. We found a very good apartment cleaned 
 out for us, and were very comfortably established 
 about seven o'clock, and at nine had an exceedingly 
 good dinner. 
 
 Saturday, gth. I stayed at home all the morning. 
 Belgrave went out to call on Count Wedel Jarls- 
 berg, to whom we had five letters, and whom he 
 saw in the middle of parliamentary business, as the 
 Diet was sitting ; he asked us to dine with him the 
 next day at his house in the country, called Boke- 
 stadt. Belgrave then called on Count Sandels, 
 (the Governor of Norway,) to whom we had also 
 letters, and whom he found at home. We dined 
 at four, and took a walk late in the evening on 
 some high cliffs, looking down on the sea, where 
 we saw both men and horses bathing ; we then 
 walked all about the town and on the piers, and 
 called on Mr. Keyser, to whom Belgrave had a letter, 
 but did not find him at home. 
 
 Sunday iQth. We got up at half-past seven; 
 tried at breakfast some of the chocolate with Ice- 
 land Moss, which we found very palatable. Bel- 
 grave went afterwards to the Norwegian Church, he 
 came home about half- past eleven and read prayers 
 with me ; we had afterwards a visit from Monsieur 
 Berg. At half-past one we set out, en demi parure, 
 
 E
 
 50 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 in a hired chariot and three, to dine at Bokestadr, 
 Count Wedel's house, about eight English miles 
 from Christiana. The road to it is, as usual, 
 very pretty, lying by the water-side, and through 
 fields, gardens, and forests. We arrived a little 
 before three, and found most of the company, 
 altogether amounting to about twenty-six, already 
 assembled. We found Count Wedel exactly what 
 he had been described to us, extremely frank, good- 
 natured, friendly, and open-hearted ; the house is 
 very pretty, it seemed comfortable and nicely fur- 
 nished, a large drawing-room full of pictures and 
 furnished with green damask, a suite of several 
 rooms and a very pleasant and cool dining-room. 
 All the party, though so numerous, came, as Count 
 Wedel said, uninvited, for he keeps a table ouverte 
 with a large number of covers, which are generally 
 most full on Sunday. After dinner we had coffee 
 and tea in the garden, where we sat and walked. 
 It is prettily placed on the borders of a clear little 
 lake. We went to the kitchen garden, and to the 
 stables, where we saw seven beautiful little Nor- 
 wegian horses, dun or cream-coloured, with eel 
 backs, and black manes and tails. Count Sandels, 
 the Viceroy of Norway, and his wife, came in the 
 evening, and when we returned' from our walk, we 
 
 J 
 

 
 Bukestadt. 
 
 had a repast of tea, punch, porter, oranges, &c. 
 Count Sandels solaced himself with oranges and a 
 glass of porter, in which he inserted lumps of sugar ! 
 We passed a very pleasant evening, were delighted 
 with Count and Countess Wedel, and returned home 
 between nine and ten .o'clock. 
 
 Monday nM. We got up at seven, and break- 
 fasted at half-past eight; soon after Mr. Myggind, 
 the English Vice-Consul, arrived, to assist Belgrave 
 in writing out the orders for horses, which the 
 forebud was to leave at all the posts on the road to 
 Drontheim. This labour took up the whole of the 
 morning, and it was two o'clock when Hiiberg was 
 enabled to set out on his journey. 
 
 We then went with Mr. Myggind to look at 
 some lodgings for me, when I was to return from 
 Count Wedel's at Bokestadt, which was to be on 
 the Sunday following. We got home to dress only 
 at half- past two, to go to dine at Count Sandels, 
 four English miles out of town. We arrived at 
 half-past three, and found a large party of above 
 thirty people, among whom were Count and 
 Countess Wedel, La Baronne Wedel, Madame 
 Folkt, &c., &c. There were present, besides several 
 ladies, Admiral Fabricius, several gentlemen and 
 officers, and Mr. Myggind, who returned in our 
 
 E 2
 
 52 Dianj of a Tour. 
 
 carriage after dinner with us. Count Sandels' 
 house is about half-way between Christiana and 
 Bokestadt, and very prettily situated in a garden 
 on the lake. The dinner was remarkably handsome, 
 and would have been considered so anywhere, even 
 in London. We stayed a short time after dinner 
 and took coffee, and returned home by seven, as 
 we had a great deal of packing and arrangements to 
 get through for the next day. Mr Myggind came 
 again with the account that the lodging we had 
 seen in the morning could not be had, but that he 
 had seen another nearly opposite our hotel. I went 
 with him to look at it, and found it very nice, but 
 the people could not be sure of letting it till next 
 Thursday. We left the negociation in the hands of 
 Mr. Myggind, who then wished us good-night, 
 after having been of the greatest use to us through- 
 out the day. I forgot to say, that in coming home 
 from dinner, we stopped with him at his house, 
 which is small but very pretty, beautifully placed 
 on the edge of the sea. We were well occupied 
 in the evening in arranging the canteen, and all 
 the preparations for Belgrave's journey to Dronthiem, 
 which he was to begin the next day.
 
 Christiana. 53 
 
 Christiana, 
 Monday, June nth, 1817. 
 
 Dearest M 
 
 Here we are living " habitually, like the angels," 
 in the capital city of Norway, which I think sounds 
 very imposing and dazzling ; how you would like 
 this most beautiful of countries ! Shall I tell you 
 all that we have done since quitting Helsingborg ? 
 where, when I was writing to you, I had a strange 
 pain and swelling that came on in the muscle below 
 my knee, which in the course of an hour made 
 me quite lame. I could not, of course, tell what 
 it was, so I let it alone, and next day we set out 
 in the Swedish manner, having sent on an avant 
 courier the day before to order horses, six of them 
 to draw our carriage, and two to draw a little open 
 wicker carriage and part of our luggage. Ours are 
 harnessed four abreast, driven by the coachman, 
 the pair in front have a postillion, a great heavy 
 peasant without saddle or stirrups. 
 
 The horses are like a better sort of Scotch pony, 
 but in Sweden they are in bad condition this year ; 
 the intense heat last year having left them little or 
 no grass ; but they are sweet little beasts, and go 
 at a prodigious pace, supporting the carriage very
 
 54 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 well about half way down the tremendous hills; 
 then they begin to trot, then gallop at full speed 
 over the inevitable bridge, which is sure to be found 
 at the bottom; then they rush straight up the next 
 hill at the same rate. They have no tricks, and 
 go as securely as possible. The stages are very 
 short, an arrangement which enables them to go 
 so fast. 
 
 At Gottenburg we found a Mr. Dickson, a rich 
 Scotch merchant, to whom we had been recom- 
 mended, and who is married to a very agreeable 
 Swedish woman, who talks both French and En- 
 glish. They had been at Eaton in 1822, and 
 knew all about the place. They helped us to an 
 English physician, who prescribed rest for my leg, 
 and said I might put on leeches, which I did the 
 next day to the number of seven, and such voracious, 
 insatiable creatures I never saw ; they did prodigious 
 execution. I remained quiet for two days, and by 
 Monday was perfectly well. Belgrave dined on 
 Saturday at Mr. Dickson's, and on Sunday at a 
 country place of a Mr. Wyk's, where he was taken 
 by Count Rosen, the Governor of Gottenburg. On 
 Monday, I was well enough to dine at three, at 
 Count Rosen's; we had about twenty -four people, a 
 mixture of merchants, aides-de-camp, and a curious
 
 Gotteriburg. 55 
 
 old Count Platen, the only nobleman who gives 
 himself the least trouble to be useful in Sweden. 
 He is much occupied with Mr. Telford* upon an 
 enormous work, a canal to unite one of the lakes 
 with the Northern Sea. He is about seventy, and 
 talks English well. The dinner, like all Swedish 
 ones, is composed of very good dishes carried round 
 one after the other. The dinner itself is rather 
 long, and the gentlemen drink a good deal of wine, 
 of which they, during dinner, have every kind ; 
 the dessert is very short, and both gentleman and 
 ladies get up together ; then one has coffee, tea, &c. 
 Some of the gentlemen sing beautifully ; they 
 sung after dinner, with and without music, and 
 we staid till late, as they made the soiree for 
 us. 
 
 The way of living here is not splendid, but 
 very easy and hospitable; and nothing could be 
 kinder than Mr. and Mrs. Dickson, and the 
 Rosens, or more civil than everybody. We set out 
 on Tuesday, and were three nights, making long days, 
 on coming here. We saw, by the way, the Falls of 
 Trolhalta, and the beautiful town and fortress of 
 Friedericsthal, where Charles XII. was killed. 
 We were not at all starved at the inns, as we 
 
 * The eminent English engineer.
 
 56 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 were told would be the case; but have found 
 excellent dinners of salmon, black-cock, potatoes, 
 and our own bread and tea ; and all the country 
 inns have excellent cream and eggs, so we live like 
 princes. 
 
 I cannot describe to you the beauty and charms 
 of this country, it is a succession of lakes, woods, 
 and rich fields, with rocks overhanging them, and 
 immense districts covered with forests. The road, 
 the whole of the way, is like going through a mag- 
 nificent Place ; the forests are covered with 
 bilberries, and full of lilies of the valley, wood 
 anemones, gentians, and a thousand beautiful sorts 
 of flowers, and the fields and rocks are purple 
 with heartsease, which grows wild. The magnifi- 
 cence and the charm of the views are not to be told ; 
 so I need not try to do so ; but I do wish you could 
 be here to see them. 
 
 From the moment we stepped into Sweden, we 
 heard of nothing but the praises of Count and 
 Countess Wedel Jarlsberg, who live eight English 
 miles from here; he is the greatest "Seigneur " of 
 Norway, and so universally popular among the 
 gentry as well as the peasants that at the time of the 
 troubles he had some votes for being chosen King. 
 He is married to the daughter and heiress of the
 
 Gottenburg. 57 
 
 Minister Anker, a family who were, in these parts, 
 what the Medici were in Florence ; and an immense 
 heiress she is ! I never saw such taking people as 
 they both are ; he is the most open-hearted, good- 
 natured, gay, and yet sensible man imaginable ; and 
 she is charming, very gentle and amiable, and 
 excessively kind ; both of them enjoy their delicious 
 Place, with its forests, and their stud of horses, 
 (seven beautiful cream colour with eel backs like 
 one we once had at Trentham,)* and keeping 
 table ouverte of twenty-six covers every day. 
 We dined with him yesterday, the table was more 
 than full ; and nobody invited by a regular 
 summons ; but a very pleasant society. True, the 
 dinner was at that horrid hour of three, which cuts 
 up all one's day ; but here it was very pleasant, as we 
 spent all the evening in walking about the gardens, 
 which are delightfully placed upon a little lake, 
 with hills behind covered with wood like Switzer- 
 land and Dunkeld. I shall write to you more 
 about these people afterwards, as I am going to stay 
 there some days while Belgrave goes to Dronthiem, 
 which journey we find, upon examination, would be 
 too fatiguing for me, as one must go on in little 
 open carriages without springs, making very long 
 
 * The Duke of Sutherland's seat in Staffordshire.
 
 58 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 daily journeys, (six days to Dronthiem only), and 
 very bad sleeping places ; so I am to set out early 
 with him to-morrow, when we are to meet Countess 
 Wedel on the road ; and see something to be seen 
 with her ; then Belgrave goes on, and I come back 
 with her and her ponies to her place at Bokestadt, 
 where we dined yesterday. I stay with her till next 
 Sunday, or Monday, when she is obliged to go to 
 some warm baths for her health. I shall then 
 return here, and remain in a lodging in a private 
 house till Belgrave returns ; probably about a week. 
 Then we set out immediately, and go by Danemora 
 and to Fahlun, to see the mines, which will bring 
 us to Stockholm about the first week in July. 
 You would delight in Countess Wedel ; she is so 
 natural and prevfttavtt, and gentlewoman-like. To 
 day we dine with Count Sandels, the Viceroy of 
 Norway, a stupidish old man, with a frightful little 
 wife, somewhat affected. The parliament is now 
 sitting, at which Count Wedel is occupied generally 
 from nine in the morning till late every evening. 
 The Parliaments are held only once in three years, 
 but they bring very hard work when they do come. 
 Lord Bloomfield's coachman caught us up at 
 Gottenburg, and a most valuable servant he is, as, 
 besides being an excellent driver, he is a most useful,
 
 Gotteribvrg. 59 
 
 trusty, and intelligent servant, and talks English as 
 well as the native languages. Our Helsingborg 
 coachman is converted into an avant courier ', so we 
 are admirably provided. These two go on with 
 Belgrave to Dronthiem, and Gartner, who is a very 
 good cook as well as a good servant, remains with 
 me. Perhaps Belgrave will see a Lapland tribe, as 
 there is one between Dronthiem and Bergen, from 
 whence those came who were to be seen with the 
 reindeer at Balloch, two or three years ago. 
 Perhaps he will see an elk too, for there are still 
 some in the country ; and there are plenty of wolves 
 and bears, but they do not come about till 
 winter. 
 
 There is nothing to be seen or done in this town; 
 but that is lucky, as these three o'clock dinners a 
 few miles from town leave one time for nothing. 
 They seem to doat upon the King in this country ; 
 the Crown Princess is expecting to be confined this 
 month, which I am very sorry for, as we shall not 
 see her, and everybody praises her highly. The 
 women here dress horridly, like the English lower 
 classes, with coloured prints, and they have a 
 mam'aise tournure. The women, among the 
 peasants, are hideous and dirty beyond descrip- 
 tion.
 
 60 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Tuesday, June iith. At Carstens Hotel, Chris- 
 tiana. We got up at half-past seven, and were busy 
 in arranging all Belgrave's things for his journey, 
 and also making other preparations to leave the 
 hotel, the master of which is a disagreeable cheat. 
 We left our carriage still at the blacksmith's, as it 
 was not quite mended, so Belgrave and I set out at 
 half-past seven in the little wicker open carriage and 
 pair, with his baggage, Zetterberg, the coachman, 
 following in a little one horse carriage. Belgrave 
 and I went (with one horse very lame) by a beautiful 
 road, full of superb views, to Barum, a house of 
 Count Wedel's, two posts from Christiana. It is 
 situated in a deep valley, with a rapid river and 
 some small iron works close to it ; here we met 
 Countess Wedel, who took us first to see the cast- 
 ing of the iron in different moulds, and the making 
 of cauldrons, &c. We then went with her into 
 the house, which is spacious and one of the most 
 comfortable possible; the large room into which you 
 enter is in plan like an irregular L, full of nice 
 corners, and hung all over with prints and drawings. 
 She gave us an excellent breakfast of chocolate, cold 
 meat, wood pigeons, all kinds of bread, wine, &c., 
 and after this we set forth to go a stage with Bel- 
 grave on his journey. Belgrave took Zetterberg,
 
 Xing rede. 61 
 
 and I went with Countess Wedel in a little open 
 chaise, her coachman driving a pair of her little 
 cream-coloured horses, with long tails ; it is wonder- 
 ful how the animals go up and down the hills, 
 absolutely climbing up the steep ones, and almost 
 sitting down on their hind-quarters when they 
 descend. We changed horses about two or three 
 miles from Barum, Belgrave for two other post 
 horses, and Countess Wedel for a pair of her 
 Barum horses. We went through a magnificent 
 and enormous forest, with not a house to be seen 
 for miles, but surrounded with hills ; none, however, 
 were of great size, except one, till we came near to 
 Kingrede, which was much the most tremendous 
 we have seen ; all but perpendicular, and very long. 
 We had broken one of the shafts of Countess 
 Wedel's carriage ; this we left at the top to be re- 
 paired, and walked down the hill, which forms a 
 magnificent narrow defile, very precipitous and well 
 wooded, through which, as you descend, a splendid 
 view is gradually developed, of a very fine and 
 fertile valley, well wooded, and with several lakes ; 
 and at a distance are seen the glaciers covered with 
 snow. It is impossible to describe the scene, it 
 could only be rivalled by one that we had seen in 
 the morning from a great height ; as we looked
 
 62 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 down on Christiana, its bay full of islands, and 
 surrounded by mountains. The hill was so steep 
 that it was necessary to tie together two wheels of 
 Belgrave's carriage, and it then required the united 
 strength of Zetterberg and himself to prevent its 
 running over the horses, who had great difficulty 
 in scrambling down, and one of them tried by two 
 immense jumps straight up in the air to get rid of' 
 the whole concern. We, at length, arrived at the 
 bottom, but had before that been passed by Countess 
 Wedel's carriage, which arrived cantering down 
 the latter part of the hill, with the broken shaft 
 perfectly repaired by the help of the stem of a 
 young fir tree. We finally arrived at the inn where 
 Belgrave changed horses ; and after eating some 
 oranges, he continued on his way to Dronthiem, 
 accompanied by Zetterberg. 
 
 Countess Wedel and I remained some time in 
 the inn while our horses were baiting, and while 
 we were sitting and talking in the best room were 
 gratified by the view of an immense rat! We had 
 the additional society of a very friendly puppy, 
 who partook of some milk with us; and when our 
 horses were ready, we set out again on our return, 
 in the same carriage which had brought us. Our 
 horses took us very steadily to the top of the hill,
 
 Barum. 63 
 
 and then we exchanged them for a pair of little 
 thin weasels, who could only gallop down the hills 
 with us, but could hardly drag us up. At last, we 
 arrived at Barum, and while the horses were 
 changing we went to another manufactory to see 
 an enormous iron hammer used for flattening iron. 
 Our carriage and long-tailed dun horses then took 
 us up, and conveyed us the latter part of the way 
 by a cross, but still very beautiful, road to Boke- 
 stadt, where we arrived after a delightful expedition 
 of about forty miles, very tired and hungry, and 
 well shaken, before nine. We found that Count 
 Wedel had not returned from Christiana, and we 
 made an excellent supper, at which were the tutor 
 and the children. Soon after Count Wedel arrived 
 as gay and rayonnant ' as usual ; we talked for 
 a little time in the drawing-room, and were 
 very ready to go to our bed-rooms soon after 
 ten. 
 
 Wednesday, June i^th.- We breakfasted about 
 ten o'clock, Countess Wedel and Mr. Wolf, the 
 children's tutor, her daughter of twelve, and her 
 son Hermon, about nine years old, and Marie, a 
 little girl also of nine, whom the Countess has 
 adopted, her parents having been unfortunate. 
 These children do their lessons in a small summer-
 
 64 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 house close to the house, where Mr. Wolf teaches 
 them. After breakfast the Countess and I went 
 in a little boat on the lake to try and catch some 
 perch in a net, which was arranged by some men 
 in another boat ; but our fishery only extended to 
 seven, as the fish would not be caught. We then 
 rowed across the lake to see the process of burning 
 wood for charcoal ; then, as it was very hot, we 
 came home, and sat in the drawing-room till three 
 o'clock, when Madame Voght and her sister, 
 Mademoiselle Frolich, came to dinner ; after dinner 
 we went in the evening, in two little open carriages, 
 to drink tea in a cottage belonging to the school-- 
 master of the district, about three or four miles 
 from Bokestadt. We took our own provisions 
 with us, but there was excellent cream at the 
 cottage, which, though we were not expected, we 
 found cleaner than most English ones. We drank 
 tea in a large wooden room ; the cottage is in the 
 most beautiful situation, on a sort of terrace which 
 looks perpendicularly down into a valley with 
 mountains covered with wood ; we came back about 
 ten, and the ladies went home. Count Wedel did 
 not come home to-day, on account of the Parliament 
 at Christiana; during its sitting, which lasts six 
 months every third year, he is obliged to be in his
 
 A Concert at Christiana 65 
 
 place from eight .every morning till eight or nine in 
 the evening. 
 
 Thursday \^th. We stayed at home all the 
 morning working in the drawing-room ; after our 
 three o'clock dinner we went to dress for Mr. 
 Berg's concert at Christiana. We arrived there 
 at about seven, and finding that the concert did not 
 * begin till eight, we remained at a small apartment 
 which Count Wedel rents in the street of Skipper 
 Garten, till it was time to go. We found the 
 concert arranged in a small theatre, the orchestra 
 consisted of about five and twenty, all amateurs, 
 who performed very tolerably ; the singing was all 
 by Mr. Berg, except one duet in which he was 
 assisted by some gentleman who was inaudible. 
 There was also a duet of violins. Mr. Berg sang 
 some of Rossini's music, and ended with some 
 Swedish national airs accompanied by himself on 
 the pianoforte ; we returned to Bokestadt about 
 half-past eleven. Count Wedel with us. 
 
 Friday \$th. Count Wedel disappeared early for 
 the Parliament ; the Countess and I sat in the 
 drawing-room till dinner, when arrived a Monsieur 
 Everlich, a secretary of the Viceroy, who brought 
 Madame sa Mere and a stupid brother to dine at 
 Bokestadt ; while walking in the garden the mamma 
 
 F
 
 66 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 said to Madame Wedel, " Ah ! Madame, si vous 
 saviez comme j 'adore mon fils c'est-a-dire mon fils 
 le secretaire," to the evident detriment of the other 
 pauvre honteux, of whom no notice was taken, except 
 to give him the last taste of a stalk of rhubarb after 
 it had made the round of the company. After these 
 people went, Madame Wedel and I went in her close 
 carriage-and-four to drink tea with Mr. Myggind, 
 the British Vice-Consul, who has a house beautifully 
 situated on the edge of the sea ; after tea, which we 
 had in the garden, we walked about and rowed in a 
 boat to the opposite land, to ascend a little height 
 covered with strawberries and wild flowers, and 
 from whence we had a magnificent view of all the 
 surrounding country the party consisted only of 
 Monsieur and Madame Wedel, a brother of the 
 Countess, and Mademoiselle Rosencrantz. We 
 came home soon after ten o'clock. 
 
 Saturday, 1 6th. We sat, as usual, in the drawing- 
 room till dinner, and afterwards had five of the dun 
 carriage-horses turned loose into the court to amuse 
 themselves and us. They galloped, kicked and 
 rolled in the dust like furies, and when called, all 
 rushed to the hall steps, to lick up salt and receive 
 bread ; after a good romp, one was led into the 
 stables, whither the rest, after a little more galloping
 
 Drebalc. 67 
 
 and kicking, all ran of their own accord. We had 
 a delightful quiet evening. The Count returned 
 late ; we had sent to him to make our excuse for 
 not going to drink tea at Mr. Everlich's, which he 
 had accordingly done. An amateur painter dined 
 at Bokestadt to-day, and an incipient young painter, 
 who was making a walking tour over the country, 
 came in the evening to remain some days. The 
 Countess was obliged to dispatch a forebud this 
 evening to order horses for our next day's expedi- 
 tion fraught with the fate of the Viceroy and his 
 fete. 
 
 Sunday 17 'th. The Countess and I were obliged 
 to get up at six, in order to breakfast and set out 
 at half-past seven, leaving the Count in bed with 
 the gout in his foot; we went in the Countess' 
 barouche, with three of her horses, driven by Mathis, 
 her coachman, to the post beyond Christiana, where 
 we changed horses ; at the next post we overtook 
 their Excellencies, who were regaling themselves 
 with bread and cheese, while they were changing ; 
 we went on about ten miles farther, when we arrived 
 at the scene of festivity, Drebak, a very pretty little 
 village on the sea-coast ; here we found the Viceroy 
 and Vice-reine, and about twenty of the company 
 assembled; the Baronne de Wedel, Monsieur and 
 
 F 2
 
 68 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Madame Mausback, &c., in a private house which 
 the owners had lent for the occasion ; everybody 
 looked very hot, and we did not particularly know 
 what to do with ourselves, dinner being at two, 
 while we had arrived before one. But we 
 were not first, for some of the company had been 
 there already for two hours. Les Constillers dEtat 
 and several others were all to come in a boat, which 
 could not possibly get there in time, the wind 
 being equally contrary. We waited about till two. 
 Point de bateau. Till three : Encore mains ! 
 To wait longer was by no means convenable, as the 
 steam-packet on which we were all to be conveyed 
 back to Christiana was expected about four; so down 
 we sat to dinner in a large wooden room ; the 
 dinner had caught cold by waiting, all but the 
 butter, which, by the excessive warmth of weather, 
 had become rancid ; the dishes were like " angels' 
 visits," not " few," but very " far between," in order 
 to give time for the scattered members of the flock 
 to join us. But all to no purpose: it was not till 
 we had got up from our laborious repast that they 
 arrived, having walked two miles under a burning 
 sun, because the adverse winds would not let them 
 get nearer ; some were very fat, some very thin, 
 some with crosses, some with stars, but all were
 
 A Water Party. 69 
 
 very dirty and very hot ; all ate with their knives^ 
 and in no small quantity; the ladies followed suite. 
 The steamboat or, in the language of the country, 
 the dampfschiffii, happily did not arrive till past six, 
 which was much later than usual ; we then made 
 a noble procession through the assembled multi- 
 tudes down to the pier, the poor Viceroy tottering 
 with Countess Wedel and me, and a very large fat 
 gentleman with old boots, all of a row ; then 
 followed the flower of the Norwegian nobility, who 
 have much intrinsic merit, but are certainly not 
 made for show ; the whole was closed with the band 
 of music in a sort of green baize uniform. The 
 more inactive of the party found some difficulty in 
 choosing the right moment to skip in and out of 
 the little boats, the wind being high and a dancing 
 sea ; but we soon found ourselves safely disposed of 
 on board the dampfschiffe, where our arrival must 
 have been more splendidly dazzling than welcome, 
 as we found that we added about thirty or forty to 
 the three hundred and twenty souls already as- 
 sembled there. There were many respectable persons 
 but none so much so (or half so clean) as a very 
 fine jet black English pointer, belonging to a Mr. 
 Pelly, who was on board also. The band played 
 a good deal; and by a desperate effort, Made-
 
 70 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 moiselle Wedel and I broke through a sort of 
 " hunt the slipper" circle, in which the ladies of our 
 party had been placed on our embarking, and in 
 which we saw neither land or sea, nor anything but 
 ourselves ; but having already had more than 
 enough of that sight, we went to amuse ourselves 
 by looking out of the ship. 
 
 The sail up to Christiana is very fine, and the 
 views are beautiful. We, at length, arrived about ten 
 o'clock, and it would be ungrateful not to mention 
 that the Viceroy had routed himself and all the 
 State, and instituted this fete entirely for my amuse- 
 ment. Madame de Wedel was returning to Boke- 
 stadt, but I did not accompany her again, as she 
 was to leave it in a day or two pour les bains. I 
 therefore came to inhabit my new lodging, which I 
 found a most delightfully comfortable one, consist- 
 ing of an extremely clean staircase painted in 
 marble, a very large drawing-room, a smaller one, 
 where I dine and sit, an ante-room, where the ser- 
 vants dine, my bedroom, my maid's room, a lumber 
 room, a kitchen, and lastly Gartner's room. I find 
 a pianoforte in my room, and nothing can be more 
 clean and comfortable than the whole place. 
 
 Monday, June i8/A. Got up between eight and 
 nine, received letters which Mr. Bloomfield sent us
 
 BoJcestadt. 7 1 
 
 from Stockholm ; breakfasted; then wrote letters 
 for the evening's post; dined at three on a very good 
 dinner, the soup, apparently, made of rice and 
 cream. After dinner I read and worked, and played 
 on the pianoforte. Madame Voght called about 
 seven, and I took a walk with her about the town ; 
 bought a blue and white striped batiste gown and 
 some Norwegian music ; then came home to tea. 
 
 Tuesday, iqth. Wrote letters. After breakfast, 
 received a visit from Countess Sandels. At half- 
 past twelve the Baronne Wedel called for me in her 
 barouche and pair, to go to dine at Bokestadt. We 
 stopped at a house belonging also to Countess 
 Wedel, called Wechtereux, where she and the Baron 
 live in the summer, to deposit cakes and comfits, as 
 we were to have tea there in the evening. We then 
 went on to Bokestadt, where we found Countess 
 Wedel just sitting down to dinner, which she had 
 begun alone, except with her children and the tutor, 
 and a Mademoiselle Vich ; but the party soon in- 
 creased to six people more, besides ourselves. To 
 show the simplicity of these family dinners, I will 
 mention that the meals consisted only of soup, boiled 
 beef, a large dish of fish of various kinds, and a 
 large almond pudding. We saw the Count, whose 
 gout was better; and after coffee was over, the
 
 72 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Baronne and I proceeded to Wechtereux, where 
 preparations were made for a sumptuous the. We 
 waited for a time, which seemed ages, when at last 
 arrived Count and Countess Sandels and Captain 
 Sandels, Monsieur le Secretaire Everlich, and Madame 
 sa Mere and voila tout. Mr. Myggind arrived at 
 the conclusion of the feast. The evening was dread- 
 fully tiresome, and I was delighted to come home, 
 where I was deposited by the Baronne a little before 
 ten. 
 
 Wednesday^ loth. I amused myself with writing 
 letters and drawing in the morning, and walked at 
 two with Mr. Myggind, who came to fetch me to go 
 to Madame Voght, where I dined en famille ; nobody 
 being there but herself, her husband (who is one of 
 the Conseillers d'Etaf]^ her sister, and Mr. Voght's 
 children. I came home after coffee, early in the 
 afternoon, and passed the remainder of the day " in 
 peace and quiet." 
 
 Thursday, i\st. I was to have got up at five, in 
 order to go pleasuring with Madame Voght ; but it 
 had rained very much in the night, and luckily still 
 rained so hard, that there was nothing to be gained 
 by getting up till seven. She called for me at eight, 
 in a little carriage and pair, driven by a man sitting 
 behind us. The roads were very wet, and the car-
 
 Draminen. 73 
 
 riage splashed the mud in one's face in the most 
 lively fashion. This manner of driving has the 
 agrement of rubbing the reins against your shoulder 
 the whole way, not to mention the whip, which after 
 admonishing the horses, generally recoils vehemently 
 in your face. We breakfasted on coffee and the 
 finest cream, with our own bread, at Ramsborg, 
 where we also changed horses, and went on through 
 the most beautiful country, abounding in the finest 
 views (though the day was very cloudy, but soft 
 and pleasant) to Drammen, a curious Norwegian 
 town, formerly of great opulence, but now much 
 sunk in wealth and importance ; it is at the head of 
 a bay, quite encircled by the town, which consists of 
 merely one street, to the length of about a mile. 
 We turned back, and in walking up a long hill, 
 while the horses were eating some cut grass, we were 
 overtaken by the rain. I got wet through, but my 
 clothes dried naturally in process of time. The 
 carriage overtook us, and the rain continuing, Ma- 
 dame Voght took the reins, while the servant held 
 the umbrella over us. We stopped at a little inn, 
 to let the rain pass off, and there we dined, and then 
 got on to Ramsborg, where we again resumed Ma- 
 dame Voght's little brown horses, which came home 
 at a very quick pace. Sometimes it rained, some-
 
 74 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 times not; but the air was delightfully soft and 
 pleasant. When I got home, I found it was eleven 
 o'clock, and being sleepy, I went to bed immediately, 
 having taken no harm from my wetting. 
 
 Friday, iind. Was not quite certain whether 
 Countess Wedel might not come to breakfast here, 
 on her way to les bains, so I sent early to inquire 
 at her apartment in town, and found that her depar- 
 ture was again put off. 
 
 While I was at breakfast, Mr. Myggind called, 
 and joined me. I had after that a visit from the 
 Count's brother, General Wedel, who was just re- 
 turned from Dronthiem, and had met Belgrave on 
 his way. I wrote letters, and dined at home at 
 three ; after that Madame Voght called for me in her 
 little carriage, where, as usual, the whip did me more 
 harm than the horses. We went to see the Botanical 
 Gardens, which are very pretty, and well arranged, 
 and very flourishing ; the gooseberries seemed 
 pretty forward, and the currants also growing fat ; 
 the hedge roses just blowing, the others in young 
 buds. It began to rain, so we drove to Madame 
 Voght's, where I was to drink tea. I amused my- 
 self for some time in looking out of window, and 
 watching one of the dragoons engaged in breaking 
 horses, in a drenching rain, in an enclosure made for
 
 The Countess Wedel. 75 
 
 that purpose. He did not seem to me to do his 
 work well, but pulled their mouths too sharply. 
 After we had tea, the rain ceased a little, and I in- 
 tended to walk -home; but Madame Voght would 
 not hear of it, but insisted on conveying me home 
 in her carriage. 
 
 Christiana, 
 Wednesday, June zoth, 1827. 
 
 My dearest M , 
 
 I am very comfortably settled here in a most ex- 
 cellent, large, and clean apartment, where I arrived 
 after that fete on Sunday, which I have described 
 
 in C 's letter. All last week I was at Bokestadt, 
 
 with Count and Countess Wedel. She is a most 
 efficient person, with very strong good sense, the 
 most perfect droiture, the kindest heart, and the 
 most taking manners I ever saw. She has, along 
 with these, a sort of droll way of viewing things, 
 which, added to great gentleness, makes her quite 
 delightful ; and all this perfectly natural and uncul- 
 tivated, as I do not believe she has any talents acquis, 
 and never seemed to me to think of looking into a 
 book ; but that is not the way of people here. The 
 manner of living is so primitive, that, like the prin- 
 cesses of old, all the ladies are constantly occupied
 
 76 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 with their menage ; and Countess Wedel, who is the 
 first lady in Norway, takes it as a thing of course to 
 step into the kitchen to see how the dinner is pro- 
 ceeding, and if the fish is come. Nor is this all ; 
 she equally looks to the washing, orders what beasts 
 are to be killed and salted for the winter's provisions, 
 and so on ; makes all her own and her children's 
 clothes with her own hands, even to the gloves, 
 which she cuts out, and makes of reindeer skins. 
 And beautiful skins they are, but they have, as I 
 think, a nasty smell, though they all count it charm- 
 ing. She is also very fond of her horses ; they have 
 seven beauties, of the dun kind, with eel-backs and 
 and long black tails. It was our amusement of an 
 evening to turn all these creatures loose in a large 
 court before the house, where they scampered about, 
 rolled, galloped, and kicked like mad ; but the 
 moment they were called, they all rushed to the hall- 
 door, to eat salt and bread, and are as gentle as dogs. 
 In harness they go merely in a snaffle, and are quite 
 tractable and quiet. They have an excellent coach- 
 man, who can drive six in hand as easily as a pair, 
 which in these roads is no small merit, for though 
 the level roads are good enough, some of the hills 
 pass all imagination. 
 
 We went last week with Belgrave part of his
 
 Clever Horses. 77 
 
 way on the road to Dronthiem, meeting Countess 
 Wedel at another country-house of her own, 
 where she has also iron foundries which supply the 
 whole country. Our point was about five-and- 
 twenty miles from here, and under the sun there 
 cannot exist a more magnificent district than that 
 which we went through, or more superb views 
 over land and sea, rivers, lakes, and forests without 
 end. The latter are quite like a dream of beauty, 
 all carpeted with bilberries, strawberries, cranberries, 
 (not ripe yet, of course,) lilies of the valley, and 
 other beautiful little flowers. The sight that we 
 went specially to see was a defile, and a view, which 
 surpassed all we had seen before, with glaciers at 
 a distance. The hill, down to the inn where Bel- 
 grave took leave of us, was the most tremendous 
 we had seen yet, and that is beaucoup dire ; but the 
 horses are very clever, and when they can no longer 
 stand on their legs, they slide down almost in a 
 sitting posture. We accomplished it all very well, 
 and got home, i.e., to Bokestadt, by about ten 
 o'clock. 
 
 Every day at Bokestadt that we did not rigidly 
 keep to ourselves in order to rest, there was some 
 diversion in the way of drinking tea, or some 
 expedition in the evening. A few people generally
 
 78 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 dropped in to dinner at three o'clock, and it is the 
 fashion to go about again in the evening drinking 
 tea, or eating at each other's houses; I wonder 
 they are not ill ! I have more invitations of that 
 kind than I know how to get through, and I go 
 to as many as I can cram into the twenty-four 
 hours, not only out of civility, but because, as one 
 is here, it is best to see all that one can. Madame 
 Wedel has not yet been able to go to les bains, be- 
 cause the Count has the gout, so I went yesterday 
 with her sister-in-law, Baronne de Wedel, to dine 
 at Bokestadt. We found they had just begun 
 dinner, i.e., the Countess, her children, and their 
 tutor, and six other people, who had all come in 
 anyhow, after she had sat down to her dinner, 
 which consisted of a very good soup, a large piece 
 of boiled beef, excellent fish of two or three kinds, 
 and a large almond pudding ; and this is their usual 
 easy way of living. They are always delighted to 
 see you, and have not the folly of being deconte- 
 nancee, or of making excuses for not having more 
 dishes ; if you go in a friendly way without being 
 asked, you, of course, take your chance of what you 
 find, and they are very much pleased and flattered 
 at your coming. After that, we drove away in a 
 little barouche, to another house belonging to
 
 Cheap Dining. 79 
 
 Countess Wedel, where the Baron and Baronne live 
 in the summer, to a the, which, to say the truth, 
 was a very tiresome affair, as there was only the 
 Viceroy and his wife, a stupid little secretary and 
 his mother, and my most useful friend, the Eng- 
 glish Vice-Consul, Mr. Myggind, a German by 
 birth. He is of the greatest service to me, arranges 
 all my lodgings, and, in fact, does everything for 
 .me. He is a little old man who has been here 
 eight years, sensible, straightforward, good-natured 
 and serviable ; knows all the people and their ways, 
 and is therefore very amusing ; they call him " Le 
 bon Myggind." 
 
 When I dine at home, which is not often, I 
 have a dinner supplied from a place near, consisting 
 of soup, fish, meat, potatoes, and spinach, or 
 asparagus, and sometimes more, and certainly much 
 more of each than I can eat, and all for the prix 
 fixe of one shilling ; moreover, all the things are 
 extremely good. I believe the cheapness of living 
 here in the summer is wonderful. 
 
 I forgot to mention that Count Wedel is collect- 
 ing, for the King, a set of horses, larger than his 
 own, of a pale cream colour, with very long black 
 tails and manes ; they are beautiful animals, he has 
 got four, but has to find five more. Unfortunately
 
 SO Diary of a Tour. 
 
 they are very rare, otherwise I should like some; 
 but the trouble of sending them over is great, the 
 expense none. One may have four (if one can 
 find them) for less than four hundred ecues, (each 
 ecu, or thaler, being three shillings and fourpence). 
 To-day I am going to dine at two o'clock, with a 
 Madame Voght, whose husband is a Conseiller 
 d'Etat, but in point of pomp that means nothing. 
 These people live in a house which looks like a 
 better sort of cottage, within the citadel, and have 
 perhaps one servant, and two maids, and dine as 
 they can, children and all together, upon two or 
 three dishes. The evening I have kept to myself, 
 as I am to be up at three to-morrow morning to 
 go on some party of pleasure, to which such early 
 rising is a pretty beginning ! Heaven knows where 
 we are to go ! but it will probably last till nine or 
 ten in the evening. This life, if one were staying 
 here for long, would be insupportable, for they are 
 always pleasuring, drinking tea and dining in the 
 summer, to make up, I suppose, for the long 
 winter; but for a little while it is amusing to see 
 how they live, and, indeed, it is wonderful they do 
 live at all, considering the tremendous manner in 
 which they eat all day. Three meals of meat, with 
 lighter interludes of ale, porter, chocolate, salmon,
 
 Dames d'Honneur to La Reine. 81 
 
 &c., and they regard me with pity for not joining 
 in these refections on a warm day, "et surtout, 
 Milady ne soupe jamais !" which, to any sober 
 Christian is really impossible, after a very good tea 
 at seven or eight o'clock, with plenty of bread and 
 butter, cakes, &c., to which they sweet souls 
 invariably add cheese as well as at breakfast. They 
 all eat with their knives, and nothing can be uglier 
 and coarser than the women, Madame Wedel 
 excepted. They have mostly horrid complexions, 
 and such hands, such feet, such ancles ! all dressed 
 in coloured cotton prints, or old figured stuffs, the 
 worst tenue and the plus mauvaise tournure imagin- 
 able. Four of these lovely creatures are dames 
 d'honneur to La Reine when she comes here, of 
 which they are amazingly proud and hautaines to 
 the others. Then Madame La Baronne Wedel's 
 husband is Grand Chambellan de la Cour on like 
 occasions, and there is more jealousy and tracasserie 
 than could be imagined possible in such a distant 
 and remote place, and all for such nonsense. The 
 Baronne is a triumphant woman, with pink cheeks, 
 talking eternally, and is reckoned tres-jolie. After 
 all this, it is but just to say that I never met such 
 good-natured, hospitable people; they se f mettent en 
 qualre to amuse one, and would willingly never let 
 
 G
 
 82 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 one be at home for half-an-hour. On Friday we 
 are to have a the at the Viceroy's, Saturday there 
 are gardens to be seen, on Sunday there is a great 
 ball at the Viceroy's, about four miles from town, 
 in honour of the King's birth-day; and after that I 
 hope Belgrave will be coming, as, at all events, I 
 shall then have an excuse not to be taken out every 
 day. 
 
 I tasted the other day at Bokestadt a piece of 
 ham, made of a great brown bear, who was killed 
 in the woods there in the winter. I hate all ham, 
 but this was peculiarly bad. Apropos of it, you 
 never saw anything like the enormous thick pieces 
 of ham which the people gravely eat here at 
 breakfast, dinner, and whenever they can find a 
 chance. 
 
 It is very close to-day, and feels like thunder ; 
 some rain would do great good now, though the 
 crops of grass have been fine hitherto, they expect 
 three crops of hay this year, they have generally 
 two, all in four months; the rapidity of the vege- 
 tation is something wonderful. 
 
 Friday, iind. Fortunately it rained so bitterly 
 yesterday morning that instead of at three or four, 
 we could only set out at eight in the morning. 
 We went through some twenty miles of exquisite
 
 Drontkiem. 83 
 
 country to a curious Norwegian town, called 
 Drammen, and got back at eleven o'clock at night, 
 after being wet through, and dry again. 
 
 There is nothing interesting from age or art in 
 this country ; all the houses are of wood, and to 
 live as they best can in the winter, and to eat as 
 much as they can in the summer seems the first 
 object of the natives. 
 
 Monday, i$th. Belgrave returned last night after 
 twelve o'clock, very much pleased with his Dron- 
 thiem expedition, in which he found every sort 
 of hospitality and kindness. He stayed there 
 three nights, and has been excessively amused and 
 entertained by his journey ; but he was glad I 
 did not go with him, as it is a journey of great 
 fatigue, the road is in some places indescribable, 
 and one seemed to climb over perpendicular masses 
 of rock. On Saturday evening he encountered the 
 most tremendous thunder-storm he ever saw or 
 heard, with torrents of hail ; but no mischief was 
 done. On account of the Crown-Princess* having 
 a second son, the Viceroy was obliged (luckily) to 
 change his ball into a great dinner for the gentle- 
 men only. We start again on Thursday. 
 
 * Nee Princesse Josephine de Leuchtcnberg ; this /second son was 
 Prince Francis, who died young. 
 
 G 2
 
 84 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Saturday, lyd. I had slept so badly, that I did 
 not get up till nine. After breakfast, I went to call 
 on La Baronne Wedel, whom I found at home. 
 Came home and began to draw, when Madame 
 Voght arrived to propose to me to walk to the Fort. 
 I joined her, and we had a beautiful view from the 
 top ; then we went by some very pretty public 
 walks by the sea-side; then to a small garden, be- 
 longing to the King, across the water; then I came 
 home and dined. The soup was simply beer, sugar, 
 spice, and lemon, with pieces of bread in it, exactly 
 like the spiced ale in Cheshire, only this was quite 
 cold. I dressed before six, to go to a the at Lagger- 
 sun (the Viceroy's). La Baronne Wedel called for 
 me in a roofed caleche, in which were also her 
 husband, her son, and her little girl. It rained very 
 hard the whole way. The party at Laggersun was 
 invited under the idea of seeing the servants, &c , 
 dance round a May-pole, according to the Swedish 
 custom, it being the Veille du St. "Jean ; however, 
 the rain quite prevented everything of the kind. 
 The party consisted only of ourselves, Monsieur and 
 Madame Voght, Mr. Myggind, the Secretary and his 
 mother, and a few more gentlemen. We went to tea, 
 at which were also two large dishes of excellent wood- 
 strawberries. Came home at about half-past nine.
 
 Bokestadt. 85 
 
 Sunday, i^th. Got up between eight and nine. 
 After breakfast, read my prayers. At twelve the 
 Baronne de Wedel called for me to go to church. 
 We were in the Viceroy's pew, with himself and 
 Countess Sandel and some of the Dames de la Cour, 
 all parees, as the birth of the Crown Prince's second 
 son was to be announced formally. There was first 
 singing the Psalms, accompanied by the organ ; then 
 a sermon ; then the priest read a letter announcing 
 the Princess's confinement; then followed more 
 singing, and the whole was concluded in about an 
 hour. The Baronne brought me back. home. Be- 
 fore I went to church, Horburg arrived with a little 
 note from Belgrave, announcing his arrival that 
 evening ; he expected to be at Christiana about ten 
 or eleven. I dined at home, and la Baronne Wedel 
 called for me about five in her barouche and pair, to go 
 to Bokestadt. On our way there we met Countess 
 Wedel's servant, Chretien, going as forebud in a 
 little cart with her luggage for the next day's 
 journey. He gave me a note from the Countess, 
 saying that she would breakfast with me next morn- 
 ing on her way. We found her and the Count at 
 Bokestadt, with the other Baronne Wedel, Madame 
 Lino, and Mademoiselle Vich. We had tea, stayed 
 about an hour, and came home by nine. I prepared
 
 86 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 all things for Belgrave, who arrived at twelve, much 
 pleased with his Dronthiem expedition. 
 
 Monday^ i^th. Got up at nine. Before I was 
 half dressed, Countess Wedel and her party arrived, 
 consisting of herself, her daughter Caroline, Madame 
 Lino, and Mr. Wolfe. I dressed and finished break- 
 fast as fast as I could, and with the help of Mr. 
 Myggind's china, we did very well in a little time. 
 They stayed about an hour, and then took leave. 
 Belgrave, who was not dressed before, then break- 
 fasted, and we passed the day at home. He had 
 brought from Dronthiem a small jar of excellent 
 fresh butter, given him by Mrs. Johnston, Mr. 
 Knordrou's sister-in-law, and which, by pouring on 
 it salt and water every night, and pouring it out 
 every morning, was kept perfectly fresh and good. 
 He also brought ten ermine skins, and eighteen 
 dressed reindeers' skins for gloves. 
 
 Tuesday, i^th. Got up about nine. After break- 
 fast, we were busy arranging different matters all 
 the morning. Mr. Myggind came at three to dine 
 with us. After dinner we went in a hired open 
 chariot and pair to the Botanical Gardens, where lives 
 a most delightful good-natured monkey. From 
 there we drove back to the town and to the Pier, 
 and embarked on board a little boat to row to Lag-
 
 Laggersun. 87 
 
 gersun. The evening was delightful, though there 
 had been a good deal of thunder and lightning in 
 the afternoon. The town had escaped the storm, 
 which must have been violent somewhere ; but it 
 had all cleared off, and the weather was delicious. 
 We landed on a-little point of rock, and walked up 
 through some pretty fields to Mr. Kattenborn's, to en- 
 quire after Madame Kattenborn and leave our cards. 
 We then walked on to Laggersun, where we found 
 that Count and Countess Sandels were not arrived 
 from town, where they had been for the day. Walked 
 back to the boat, rowed across to Mr. Myggind's 
 house, to see the Kaegbar plant (prunus $atus] and 
 his wolf-skin winter pelisse. Then had a delightful 
 row home, and landed on the other side from where 
 we had embarked. Walked through an inferior 
 part of the town, and got home by about nine. Mr. 
 Myggind drank tea with us, and then went away. 
 
 Wednesday, ijth. I walked to Madame Voght's 
 to bid her good-bye ; it was very hot. At two 
 o'clock Mr. Myggind came, and took charge of 
 various parcels which we wished to send back to 
 England ; he then assisted Belgrave in making out 
 the papers for the forebud against our next day's 
 journey. He dined with us at four. We had the 
 beer-soup among other things. Mr. Kayser called
 
 88 Diary of a To,ur. 
 
 before the end of dinner ; after dinner he went away, 
 and Mr. Myggind walked with us to call on Count 
 Wedel, whom we found still in his apartment, not 
 being sufficiently recovered from his gout to go out. 
 He was in the middle of a committee, but came out 
 to see us. We then went to call on Le Baron and 
 La Baronne de Wedel, who were out. We came 
 home, and Mr. Myggind took leave, after being of 
 the greatest use to us. 
 
 Thursday, l%th. We left Christiana at three by 
 an indifferent road, and a very hilly one. Crossed 
 three ferries, one of which was the stream that con- 
 veys the waters of the Mionne Lake into the River 
 Glommen, by the banks of which we drove for 
 several miles. It turned out a wet evening, and we 
 should have reached Ous, where we were to sleep,* 
 in very good time, had we not been detained at the 
 last station upwards of two hours waiting for our 
 horses. We arrived at Ous, in a pouring rain, at 
 eleven, and found a very bad lodging near the inn, 
 which was too small to contain us. 
 
 Friday, iqth. Went on at half-past eight. The 
 road still hilly, but pretty as usual, with forests and 
 lakes. Passed through Kouswinger, two posts from 
 the boundary, with a small fort upon a hill ; here 
 we were ferried over the wide and rapid Glommen.
 
 Strand. 89 
 
 At the post before Strand we entered Sweden, where 
 the difference of the dress of the peasants is imme- 
 diately apparent, being far more clean and neat than 
 the Norwegians, who look very dirty. The men 
 here almost all wear long dark-coloured coats, with- 
 out buttons, and gathered in straight plaits behind ; 
 their hair divided on the forehead, and combed 
 straight down on each side, and all cut round at the 
 same length, much like the pictures of the Puritans. 
 The women wear straw bonnets, but look usually 
 very coarse. We got to Strand in good time, and 
 found a good inn in a pretty situation on the edge 
 of a lake. 
 
 Saturday, yofh. We left Strand early, and be- 
 tween the second and third stations, Leer and Kom- 
 nap, we crossed a lake in a very small boat, in which 
 the carriage was obliged to be put lengthways in 
 order to be ferried over. At almost all the stations 
 children bring baskets-full of strawberries to sell, 
 the woods and sides of the road being covered with 
 them, and they are now quite ripe and very good ; 
 it is also very easy to get milk and sugar to eat with 
 them. Before reaching Jylberg we passed a pretty 
 place, something like an English village, with a large 
 wood of birch trees ; after that the country is flat and 
 ugly, till we come to Carlsttadt, where we found a
 
 90 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 very tolerable inn at the post ; took a little walk to 
 the church and came home to dinner. 
 
 Sunday , July ist. A very hot day. About two 
 or three posts before Philipstadt we turned out of 
 the regular road to Stockholm, and went by a narrow 
 cross-road, which, according to annual custom, was 
 undergoing the process of mending; but as the said 
 process was only just begun, the road was rendered 
 rather uneven by having all along one side in a regu- 
 lar row heaps of gravel, which was not yet spread, 
 and the road itself was too narrow to allow of the 
 carriage avoiding them. We arrived at Philipstadt 
 in good time, and found a passable inn. 
 
 Monday^ July ind. A very wet morning ; the 
 road, just as usual, very pretty, rocky and wild, with 
 plenty of strawberries. We got to Laxbro about six 
 o'clock, and found the inn tolerable, but not so good 
 as we had been led to expect. Belgrave and I 
 lodged in a room in a sort of pavilion on one side of 
 the house, the servants were in the centre, and there 
 was a large clean kitchen. Opposite the inn was 
 rather a handsome church, the whole covered with a 
 sort of thatch of pieces of wood ; the steeple had a 
 cupola, and a very prettily-shaped spire; there was 
 also near it a singular edifice of the same wooden 
 thatch, containing three large bells. Almost all the
 
 Dalecarlians. 91 
 
 houses here, and all over this part of the 
 country, are of wood, painted an ugly reddish-brown, 
 with white edges to the windows. Belgrave and I 
 took a walk after dinner to a very pretty little wood 
 behind the church, and went to bed between nine and 
 ten. We passed through some beautiful old forests 
 to-day and yesterday. Belgrave saw a hen caper- 
 cailzie. 
 
 Tuesduy, July %rd. Having a long day before us, 
 twelve Swedish miles, we got up at four and set out 
 at half-past six, and found the road very hilly, some- 
 times very beautiful ; saw a hen capercailzie, also a 
 blackcock walking in the wood, but he flew away at 
 sight of us. At Bomarsbo we saw the Dalecarlians 
 for the first time in the dress of the country. The 
 men are in general very tall and fine-looking people ; 
 they wear their hair very long and bushy at the sides, 
 and very broad-brimmed hats with round crowns, 
 long-waisted, blue waistcoats, with stiff leather apron, 
 and knives hanging from their belts, white shirt- 
 sleeves, and remarkably thick-soled shoes. The 
 women seemed all hideous, with their hair untidy ; 
 sometimes they had little close, dark-coloured caps 
 at the back of their heads, short waistcoats with 
 buttons, and very full, short petticoats of striped 
 coarse stuff; the whole contour very clumsy and ugly.
 
 92 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 For the last stage or two the country became 
 dreary and less pretty ; we passed several smelting 
 works, and on approaching Fahlun, the country be- 
 comes a sort of desert covered with stones above the 
 mines. The approach to the town is most gloomy, 
 the place itself being most wretched, and covered 
 with smoke smelling strongly of sulphur. We 
 arrived about ten at a bad, small lodging, and could 
 get nothing to eat but some fried fish like chub, full 
 of bones, and some pancakes ; our floors, though, 
 were clean, and we soon went to bed. I had my 
 own, and Belgrave another, which we constructed 
 on a sofa, and we slept very comfortably. 
 
 Wednesday > 'July ^th. Got up and breakfasted, 
 and we did not go out till about one to call on the 
 Governor, to whom we had a letter. He had not 
 come to town, as he lives in the country, but arrived 
 immediately after, when Beigrave saw him, and he 
 came to our lodging with his brother-in-law, whom 
 he deputed to show us about the mines. He also 
 left us his little open carriage with a pretty pair of 
 chesnut horses to convey us to them. They are 
 about a quarter of an English mile from the town. 
 When we arrived we went into a sort of warehouse, 
 where we put on mining dresses, i.e., loose, coarse 
 cloth coats, and hats with wide brims ; we had as
 
 Fahlun. 93 
 
 guides a tall, good-natured miner, with a loud voice, 
 and a superintendent, besides a man who carried a 
 provision of laths of wood for torches, a bundle of 
 which ready lighted was also carried by each of the 
 other guides. We then went into a building oppo- 
 site the warehouse, and descended for a long way 
 a wooden staircase, out of which we came into open 
 air towards the middle of the great chasm ; we then 
 descended some external staircases, all of which, both 
 external and internal, are made with thick stems of 
 trees for the steps, which serves very well, and is not 
 slippery ; we then entered an opening and descended 
 endless staircases through subterranean passages, 
 which traverse the mines in all directions, and which 
 are distinguishable by different names, such as "Nuna 
 Louisa," " Gustaf Adolph," &c. The passages are 
 carried sometimes like balconies over tremendous 
 chasms, and on a stone being thrown down up comes 
 a sound like thunder. These chasms have rails, so 
 that you may look over them. We came to one 
 without rails, which we could not pass, and which is 
 the most tremendous looking object imaginable ; the 
 gallery leads to the edge of the abyss, where it ter- 
 minates, and there is a corresponding one on the 
 opposite side. One of the most striking effects is 
 produced by looking down the staircase to the lowest
 
 94 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 mine, which is large and rather wide, and seems, as 
 it is seen by the light of the torches only, to go down 
 for ever and ever, like the staircase to the Hall of 
 Eblis at the conclusion of " Vathek." Some of the 
 galleries are very wet from continual drippings ; there 
 are two or three salles, or large spaces, in one of 
 which the King and his sister dined when they came 
 to Fahlun. The staircases are very easy throughout, 
 and the whole place may be seen with very little 
 trouble. The men were not working while we were 
 there, but we saw a gallery lately begun, but which 
 they had just left ; they only hew out the stone, 
 which is full of copper, and wheel it away in barrows. 
 It is afterwards drawn in buckets up a perpendicular 
 chasm, which is used for that purpose alone. The 
 air in all the passages was perfectly fresh ; in many 
 places the vitroil had formed itself into green icicles. 
 We came up again by an internal staircase the 
 whole way, and after taking off our dresses, went 
 with the Governor's brother-in-law, who had waited 
 for us above, to see a small collection of minerals in 
 the warehouse, and visited also some rooms where 
 business is transacted. The appearance of the ex- 
 ternal mine is that of an immense gravel pit, about 
 an English mile in circumference, with some lines of 
 wooden staircase climbing over its cliffs. There is,
 
 Vitrio l-making. 
 
 unfortunately, no direct way of disposing wholesale 
 of the copper ; most of it is sold to the farmers 
 who smelt it themselves, and a good deal is smelted 
 in Fahlun itself. 
 
 We went afterwards to see the vitriol made ; this 
 is done by letting the water run from the copper 
 into a large tank, which afterwards flows into a 
 quantity of receptacles like small wells, with machines 
 like gigantic combs with the teeth downwards stand- 
 ing in them. The vitriol collects itself round these 
 teeth in beautiful green crystals, which have the most 
 extraordinary effect. 
 
 We took leave of our friend and came home to our 
 lodging just in time to avoid a violent shower of 
 hail, and Belgrave then wrote the forebuefs papers. 
 We had ordered dinner at seven, but none appeared 
 till eight ; it was a better one than yesterday, as it 
 came from a restaurateur's, where we were provoked 
 to find, when too late, we might have had a very 
 good apartment, and have been much better 
 established than in our detestable lodging. 
 
 'Thursday $th. We got up at five and left Fahlun 
 without regret at seven, as a more forlorn, wretched, 
 ugly place cannot be seen. As we proceeded we 
 passed through a prettier country, and went over two 
 floating bridges, supported upon rafts and resting on
 
 96 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 the water, which flowed over the bridge as the car- 
 riage drove along. We met quantities of little carts 
 coming from Gifte, where there appeared to have 
 been a fair or market. We arrived at Gifte at eight, 
 and found it a remarkably pretty and neat town, on 
 the mouth of -a river, and close to the Baltic. In 
 the middle of the town, the town is spanned by a 
 beautiful small bridge of granite, with a very good 
 and substantial pavement over it. On each side of 
 the water there are handsome piers with neat steps 
 for the people to fetch water. We walked out for 
 some time and went down to a sort of boulevard 
 formed by a long avenue of trees stretching out to the 
 sea, and into a dockyard where ships were building 
 behind the warehouses. Hardly a creature was to 
 be seen about, and the evening was rather cold. 
 We came home to our inn and had an excellent 
 supper. 
 
 Friday , 6th. At Elfkarleby, the first post from 
 Gifte, we had a great row with the peasants, who 
 were all half drunk and very insolent ; under the 
 pretence that a rope was broken in the harness, thev 
 wanted to prevent our setting out, and ran after the 
 carnage, and a furious clamour ensued. They 
 took two of the horses from the carriage, and finally 
 they all fell to fighting one another men and
 
 The Mine of Danemora. 
 
 women in which lively state we left them; we 
 stopped two miles further on, and quitted the car- 
 riage in order to see a beautiful waterfall, composed 
 of three separate ones, two of which are magnificent. 
 The waters all unite just above a large bridge which 
 crosses the road, under which they rush with tre- 
 mendous force ; it is a beautiful waterfall, and nearly 
 equal to SchafFhausen. The country to-day was 
 almost all forest, with excellent roads, and we arrived 
 at a very pretty village (Osterby) where is a foun- 
 dry and a large house belonging to Monsieur de 
 Ham. We found the nicest little inn possible, very 
 clean ; and we took a walk before supper in a pretty 
 wood close by, and went to bed soon afterwards. 
 The gnats were great troubles. 
 
 Saturday, yM. We rose at eight, and went soon 
 after in the little carriage which Belgrave drove, 
 Setterberg with us; it was drawn by two little 
 horses exactly alike, (a mare and her son), both 
 bays, with black tails and manes, white faces, white 
 legs, and white eyes, with which they looked back 
 as they went along in the wildest manner. They 
 trotted like lightning up hill and down. The road 
 was very pretty and very good, and we soon arrived 
 at the house of Monsieur Barouins, close to the 
 mine of Danemora, to whom we had a letter of 
 
 H
 
 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 recommendation. He received us very civilly, 
 showed us a plan and model, and maps of the mine, 
 and then walked there with us. The mine itself is 
 much more striking than at Fahlun, being com- 
 pletely open to the bottom, whereas that at Fahlun 
 is worked underground. The chasm down which 
 you look is tremendous, and of immense depth ; we 
 saw the people at work below and a quantity of 
 snow lying in .the bottom. The whole is so per- 
 fectly seen from the top that we thought it useless 
 to take the trouble of going down in a bucket. 
 The rock, which is detached by blasting, is composed 
 of iron, lime, and manganese. On each side of this 
 iron stratum, which runs from north-east to south- 
 west, is a stratum of the white feldspar granite; a 
 considerable quantity of asbestos is found with the 
 iron, and small portions of silver and copper. We 
 were shown some petrified wood, and we took away 
 several specimens of little pieces of iron stone, 
 crystals of garnet, and asbestos. The iron stone is 
 drawn up in buckets and taken away to be melted. 
 The mine is very interesting and beautiful, and we 
 heard several explosions like thunder from the 
 blasting. 
 
 We departed after two o'clock, and came four 
 posts and a half to Upsala, where is one of the
 
 TJpsala. 
 
 99 
 
 oldest churches in existence ; the walls are of large 
 rough pieces of granite, and are said to have been 
 certainly used in former times for Pagan worship. 
 Close to it is a row of very large tumuli, supposed to 
 be the burying-place of old Swedish kings; a subter- 
 ranean passage is said to lead from one of them to 
 the modern Upsala, about three English miles 
 distant, just like the tradition in regard to many, if 
 not most, monastic buildings in England. Nothing 
 can be uglier than the country about here, it is a 
 dead flat, without a tree, though it is not far distant 
 from forests ; but with fine crops of wheat and rye. 
 We arrived at Upsala, at Jetman's, a good hotel, 
 at seven ; had tea, and took a walk up to the palace 
 a frightful building, consisting of a long flat front, 
 with a round tower at each end, all covered with red 
 plaster, and perched upon the top of a hill 
 overlooking the town. The old palace, begun 
 by Gustaf Vasa was burnt down ; only an old 
 gateway, and a few lumps of bricks are now 
 remaining. 
 
 Sunday, 8M. We got up about eight and break- 
 fasted; after which we read prayers. Belgrave 
 went to the Cathedral for a short time while service 
 was being performed, and at half-past three we went 
 there again, Setterberg serving as interpreter to the 
 
 H 2
 
 100 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 clerk who showed us over it. It is a large brick 
 building with two towers, surmounted by cupolas 
 covered with copper ; there is nothing very remark- 
 able outside ; within it is lined with white plaster, 
 and the nave and choirs are all in one. The 
 communion-table is surmounted with plaster figures 
 as large as life, and within a gilded grating on one 
 side of it, is the silver coffin of Eric VII.,* there is 
 a circular row of burying-places like chapels all 
 round the east end of the church ; in the one 
 immediately behind the altar is a handsome monu- 
 ment to Gustaf Vasa and his two wives, all carved 
 in full length in marble ; at each corner of the tomb 
 is an obelisk ; the body of it, which supports the 
 figures is decorated with the coloured coats of arms 
 of the different Swedish provinces. On the other 
 sides are vaults containing some handsome tombs of 
 the Oxenstierns, de Goers, Brahes, and other families. 
 At the other end of the church is a plain handsome 
 monument of porphyry erected to the memory of 
 Linnaeus by his friends and scholars ; his body is 
 buried at a short distance off. There is a monument 
 of the family of Stures who .were massacred by 
 Eric XIV.,f and one of that of the Baron de 
 
 * He was King of Sweden in the thirteenth century, 
 f King of Sweden in 1560-68.
 
 Garden. 101 
 
 Banner executed by Christian II. some quarter of a 
 century earlier. In a room enclosed by an iron 
 door are some curious relics, an old wooden effigy 
 supposed to be that of Thor, a bit of a standard of 
 Margaret of the North, some fine cups given by 
 different kings or queens to the Cathedral, and one 
 taken in the time of Christina, (1632 54) from 
 Prague, encrusted with pearls and precious stones ; 
 among them one of the finest turquoises I ever 
 saw ; two little enamelled crosses found in Steno 
 Sture's tomb, and several other curious articles. 
 Upstairs we went into a room containing a great 
 many magnificent dresses of the priests, and a glass 
 case holding the shirt, trousers, and doublet worn 
 by Sture at the time of his murder, and still stained 
 with blood ; a piece of Christina's riding habit, &c. 
 From the Cathedral we went to Linnaeus' Garden ; 
 but unfortunately it has nothing remarkable in it. 
 There is on one side a line of building, which looks 
 like a decayed green-house, and contains two or 
 three rooms, in one of which the great botanist used 
 to give his lectures ; his desk, the table and chairs 
 still remain. 
 
 We came home and dined at six ; rested for some 
 time after dinner, when, animated by Setterberg's 
 description, we set out to see the garden, ' which
 
 102 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 contains the Museum of Natural History. It is in 
 front of the palace below the hill, the descent of 
 which was formerly cut in terraces, and must have 
 been very handsome. The middle alley of the 
 garden is bordered with cut spruce firs, which are 
 very tall and excessively thick, and have a very 
 good effect on each side of a broad green walk. 
 We met with a very intelligent gardener, who was 
 waiting for us, though he let us knock repeatedly at 
 the outer door without speaking to us, till we called 
 him ; he then took us over the garden, and into the 
 orangery, which is superb as to space and height, 
 though being summer, it contained very few plants, 
 except a magnificent tree of laurus nobilis in a large 
 tub in the centre. In a division at one end were 
 some very fine Indian plants, bananas and palms ; 
 and the whole seemed extremely well taken care of, 
 though the smaller plants were allowed to run up 
 too much, and become stringy. This orangery 
 forms one wing of the building ; the centre of it 
 consists of the museum, which was locked up before 
 we got there, though the whole is open to the public 
 at certain hours ; but; we saw through the windows 
 stuffed elks, wild dogs, ourang-outangs, &c. The 
 hill under the castle is covered with beautiful 
 purple wild larkspur, of which we afterwards saw a
 
 Skocloster. 103 
 
 great deal on the road to Stockholm. Yesterday 
 was very windy, as was to day, but the evening 
 grew very close and sultry. It being the time of 
 the vacation we saw none of the scholars, nor did 
 we see the inside of the University, there being, as 
 we were told, little or nothing remarkable there. 
 Upsala is on the whole a clean but melancholy 
 looking town. 
 
 Monday , yth. We got up before six, and set out 
 at half-past eight. From the first post we walked 
 about half a mile down to the edge of a lake, over 
 which we were to go in a boat, to see Skocloster, a 
 seat ot Count de Brahes. There never was a more 
 decrepit boat than the one in which we embarked 
 our two selves, Setterberg, and my maid, with two 
 boatmen, whose knowledge of .navigation was not, 
 or did not seem to be, a remarkable feature of their 
 character. They chattered incessantly (as do all the 
 Swedes), entangled their oars, and did all but upset 
 us. Belgrave scolded in vain ; they only answered 
 by " Ya, ya," and a sound between a groan and a 
 sigh. We made three miles, after one hour's rowing 
 against wind and tide, across the lake to the foot of 
 Skocloster a square white house, with nine windows 
 in front, and four large towers, one at each corner, 
 with a cupola at the top of each. It was formerly a
 
 104 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 monastery, and stands round a square court, the 
 cloisters still remaining, with white marble columns. 
 In that part through which you enter there is a 
 large gallery round each story looking into the 
 court. It is full of curious old family pictures and 
 others of all kinds, and the walls are besides painted 
 over with mottoes in Latin, French, and Italian; the 
 staircases, which are very wide, are also full of 
 pictures. 
 
 The rooms are endless as to number. In the 
 first which we entered there is a cabinet full of 
 objects of curiosity and beauty, in the way of cups, 
 boxes of stones, jasper, &c., finely set, nautilus shells, 
 beautifully mounted, amber caskets, and cabinets of 
 ebony and ivory, and many other things of that sort. 
 In the room adjoining there is a strange ceiling in 
 plaster, representing all sorts of creatures, men, 
 animals, birds, particularly large fat swans, very 
 coarse and coarsely coloured, but so much en relief 
 as to seem as if they must tumble down on the floor. 
 Every room is full of pictures of the Brahes and all 
 their connections;* Field-Marshal Wrangel, who 
 built the house, and whose bed is there ; remarkable 
 people of all times and nations, French, Swedish, and 
 German, some very bad, others curious ; particularly 
 
 * The Brahes are the oldest family in Sweden.
 
 Sko cloister. 105 
 
 two very pretty little ones of La Duchesse de Bouil- 
 lon and La Duchesse de la Ferte on horseback ; and 
 quantities of Kings of Denmark and Sweden, &c., 
 but infinite as to number. There are several rooms 
 full of old armour, firelocks, swords, sabres, ex- 
 tremely old and curious, some of them having be- 
 longed personally to kings and remarkable people. 
 One rifle had been used by Gustaf Adolphus in 
 Germany, and there were many other trophies of the 
 Thirty Years' War. Altogether the finest collection 
 that exists in the north of Europe ; a great number 
 of ancient saddles, bridles, bits, and Queen Christina's 
 slippers, and those of Eric XIV. These are arranged 
 in rooms on the third floor, at the top of the house ; 
 several other apartments were occupied by a great 
 quantity of books of all languages, which if arranged 
 would make a fine library ; other rooms also on the 
 same floor, and never used, had their bare walls 
 covered with some of the most magnificent tapestry 
 we ever saw, and in great profusion. The subjects 
 were mostly figures of the most vivid colours, with 
 magnificent rich borders, such as would fetch any 
 price in England. The house is altogether very 
 curious, and well worth seeing ; but to do so 
 thoroughly would take much more time than we had 
 to spare. We had not time to go into the church,
 
 106 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 where there is a tomb of the founder of the family ; 
 but in passing we looked through five grated win- 
 dows down into a most extraordinary vault, which 
 is now closed up, and has no other opening. All 
 the coffins of the family are there arranged in rows, 
 some like large trunks, and highly decorated. We 
 then returned into our frail bark, and came back far 
 quicker than we went, the wind being in our favour. 
 We had a very hot walk through a meadow, full of 
 long grass and all sorts of flowers and dragon flies, 
 and some corn fields ; we then got into the carriage, 
 and found a great deal of dust the remaining three 
 posts, all the way to Stockholm, passing by Rosen- 
 berg and Haga both of them palaces of the kings. 
 The approach to Stockholm on this side does not 
 at all appear ]ike that to a large town; in fact, 
 nothing is seen of it, or of the water either ; and we 
 found ourselves in the Drotting Gasse before we 
 thought we were in the town, except for the barrier 
 where we gave up our passport. We came to Lord 
 Bloomfield's* house in the Drotting Gasse, where he 
 had very kindly invited us to lodge, though he and 
 Lady Bloomfield were in England ; we accordingly 
 found a very nice suite of apartments, and servants, 
 and supper, and everything ready for us. Mr. 
 
 * See page 107.
 
 Stockholm. 107 
 
 Bloomfield* did not expect us so soon, our Fahlun 
 letter not having arrived in time, so was absent on a 
 fishing expedition ; but the servant found the letters 
 from England which were waiting for us here. 
 
 Tuesday, loM. Got up and breakfasted at ten 
 o'clock. Had soon afterwards a visit from Mr. 
 MacMahon, who was then acting as Secretary of 
 Legation ; and we passed the rest of the day in 
 arranging our concerns. We dined at five ; Mr. 
 MacMahon came to dinner. After coffee we went 
 out for a walk. We went down the Drotting Gasse, 
 which is the principal street of Stockholm, but very 
 narrow, and composed of great hotels and miserable- 
 looking shops ; we walked down to the water's edge. 
 The combination of fine buildings with the water 
 and rocks is very singular. The wind was tremen- 
 dous, and carried away Mr. MacMahon's hat into 
 the kennel ; the dust was also detestable. We then 
 walked over the bridge to the Palace, the exterior of 
 which is very handsome; it is a long building, per- 
 fectly flat and simple, wiih a balustrade at the top, 
 and two wings, all in very good taste. The wind 
 and rain made it too disagreeable to walk any fur- 
 ther, so we came home. Mr. MacMahon went 
 
 * The second Lord Bloomfield, G.C.B., afterwards British Minister 
 at Berlin, then Secretary of Legation at Stockholm. He died in 
 August, 1879.
 
 108 'Diary of a Tour. 
 
 away after dinner, and we had tea, and passed the 
 rest of the evening in reading. 
 
 Wednesday ^ nth. A very stormy, rainy, windy 
 day. We stayed in our room all the morning, writing 
 letters and reading. Dined at half-past four. Mr. 
 MacMahon dined ; Belgrave took a long walk with 
 him after dinner, but it was so stormy, that 'I did 
 not go out. 
 
 Stockholm, 
 Wednesday, July nth, 1827. 
 
 My dearest M , 
 
 We have had a very pleasant journey for the last 
 ten days from Christiana, through a beautiful 
 country, full of forests and lakes, and with excellent 
 roads ; but I will spare you the description of it. 
 We saw the copper mine at Fahlun by torch-light 
 all subterraneous passages and staircases, but very 
 easy to go over, and interesting and imposing, with 
 tremendous abysses. Then we went to Danemora, 
 a beautiful mine, of tremendous depth ; but happily 
 it was not necessary to embark in a bucket, as by 
 looking over from the top you see the whole mine 
 at once, and all the people at work, with a quantity 
 of snow lying in the bottom, where, from the per- 
 petual shade I believe, it never melts. They find in
 
 A Hint for Gardeners. 109 
 
 the mine quantities of asbestos, of which I picked 
 up a bit. We stayed the whole of Sunday in Upsala 
 to see the Cathedral, which is. full of curious things 
 the tombs of Gustavus Vasa and other Swedish 
 Kings, and of sundry great families, Linnaeus, &c. 
 There are also cups given by Kings and Queens to 
 the Cathedral ; one very fine one, covered with jewels, 
 taken from Prague in Christina's time, and a ward- 
 robe of curious old clothes, the shirt and dress worn 
 by Steno Sture when he was murdered by Eric II., 
 and stained with blood ; a piece of Christina's riding- 
 habit, an old wooden effigy of Thor, a bit of a 
 standard of Margaret of the North, &c., &c., St. 
 Eric* in a silver coffin. I like the old clothes; they 
 are like bits of the real people to whom they be- 
 longed. Then we saw Linnaeus' house and garden, 
 and a very well-kept botanical garden and museum ; 
 this last was the garden of the Palace at the time 
 when the great Archbishops lived there and made 
 war with the Kings of Denmark. There is in the 
 middle a broad alley, bordered with cut spruce firs 
 of great height and thickness, which grow faster 
 than yews, and look quite as well. This I throw out 
 as a useful hint for anybody making an old-fashioned 
 garden ; they look like well-dressed company. 
 
 * He was one of the earliest Kings of Sweden ; he died in 1 1 61.
 
 110 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 We came here on Monday, seeing on our way 
 Skocloster,* an old house belonging to the Count de 
 Brahe. It is a handsome, square, white house, full of 
 windows, with a large round tower and cupola at each 
 corner ; it was formerly a convent, and there still re- 
 main old cloisters round a square court within. There 
 are three stories, with a large staircase, and in each a 
 
 ' D ' 
 
 broad gallery all round looking down into the 
 court. The galleries, besides their ornaments of 
 pictures, have panels painted with pithy mottoes in 
 every division, and under every picture there is a 
 motto in French, Latin, or Italian ; there are num- 
 bets of rooms, and the quantity of pictures, prin- 
 cipally portraits, exceeds anything I ever saw. 
 Many of them are bad enough, but some very 
 curious. Portraits of all the Brahes and other con- 
 nections, Marshal Wrangel who built the house, 
 kings and queens of Sweden, and of other countries, 
 two very pretty little pictures of the Duchesse de 
 Bouillon, and the Duchesse de la Ferte on horseback, 
 strange pictures of people dead and laid out for 
 burial ; and there are besides fine and curious objects, 
 in cabinets of ebony, ivory, &c., of crystal, jasper, 
 amber, and all those sort of things, all which shows 
 that the people had sense and discernment. There 
 
 * See ante, p. 103.
 
 Skocloster. Ill 
 
 are also several rooms full of suits of armour, and 
 the finest collection of guns, pistols, sabres, 
 and every kind of arms from the very oldest, 
 many of them having once belonged to famous 
 people. Of shields, saddles, &c., there is a magnifi- 
 cent collection, and to crown all, several large empty 
 rooms at the top of the house are hung with large 
 pieces of the most splendid Gobelin tapestry, finer 
 than any I ever saw in England, and such as would 
 fetch any price if brought to London. It is a great 
 pity that this is not done, for here it remains in these 
 uninhabited rooms, in a house little lived in, though 
 well taken care of. The house itself is perched on 
 .the edge of a lake and surrounded by woods. In the 
 church there is a curious vault now shut up, but 
 you can see in through five grated windows, where 
 all the Brahes are buried, in strongly -shaped and 
 much decorated coffins. It is altogether a very in- 
 teresting place, and would be delightful to live in if 
 better furnished, as the rooms are large and endless 
 in number, and not inconvenient. 
 
 We came here yesterday evening, first read our 
 letters, then had an excellent dinner ; we are in a 
 comfortable apartment, and in one room there is a 
 book-case, containing, fortunately among other 
 things, the " Cabinet des Fees."
 
 112 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 There are but few people in Stockholm now, as 
 they all live " in the country " in the summer, but 
 that means in little campagnes close to the town. 
 To-morrow we dine with the Ministre d'Etat, Count 
 Wetterstedt, and I have just been with Mr. Bloom- 
 field to the only milliners, to try and get a decent 
 evening cap, but the thing is impossible. I am 
 obliged to buy separate articles and have them made 
 up by my maid, and the articles themselves are but 
 bad at the best. Never was such a destitute town 
 in every respect, literally the people cannot get a 
 book if they want it, which is not often. There is 
 nothing to be had but reindeer skin gloves, which 
 have nice insides. We shall go in about a week, 
 hiring a vessel, to Abo. The passage is in general 
 good, and there are few or no difficulties in Finland. 
 We mean to be at St. Petersburg about the 28th. 
 Our weather is not very fine just now. 
 
 Thursday , iith. It poured with rain all day. 
 Belgrave went out after breakfast with Mr. Bloom- 
 field to. make some visits, calling on Count Wetter- 
 stedt and others. Count Vogna called here. I 
 wrote, read, and drew till dinner at half-past four. 
 Monsieur Bodisko, the Russian Charge d'AfTairs, an 
 amusing little man, dined with us, as did also Mr. 
 MacMahon. We went a little before eight to our own
 
 Haga. 113 
 
 room to read till tea-time, but were summoned 
 forth again to see Monsieur Krabbe, the Danish 
 Minister, who had come to pay us a visit He is 
 very gentleman-like and agreeable. We had tea and 
 sat some time conversing, and went to bed about 
 twelve. 
 
 Friday, i^th. Breakfasted as usual about ten with 
 Mr. Bloomfield. As it was still raining we did not 
 go out in the morning, but finished our letters for 
 the post, which was to go that evening. We dined 
 at half-past four. Mr. Crabbe dined, and also Mr. Foy 
 the English Consul. At seven we set out in the 
 britshka, Mr. Bloomfield, Belgrave, and I, and drove 
 to Haga, through a very pretty park to the palace, 
 where the Crown Prince and Princess were living, 
 to call on Mademoiselle Sophie Anker, one of the 
 Princess's dames d'honneur to whom I had a letter 
 from Countess Wedel ; she was not visible, being 
 with the Princess, so we drove on to call on Coun- 
 tess Suchterlens and General Suchterlens, the Russian 
 Minister. He and his son were both absent, being 
 gone to St. Petersburg, but we found the Countess 
 walking with Monsieur Brockhausen, the Russian 
 Charge d'Affaires, and Monsieur Bodisco. We sat 
 on a balcony and had tea, then walked in the garden, 
 where are a quantity of animals, reindeer, fallow 
 
 j
 
 114 Diarg of a Tour. 
 
 deer, owls, doves, storks, &c. We walked through 
 an adjoining garden belonging to les Invalides, 
 who inhabit a large white chateau close by, and also 
 close to the water. The house was built by Christina 
 for her favourite, the Comte de la Gardie. After a 
 very pleasant walk we sat a little while in the house, 
 where there are some beautiful drawings of horses, 
 droshkies, &c., by Orloffski, a Russian artist, and 
 then came home; the evening was very pleasant, 
 but as cool as September. 
 
 Saturday, i^th. After breakfast we walked all 
 over the house with Mr. Bloomfield. We had hardly 
 finished when Countess Suchterlens came to bring 
 me her Court gowns for patterns. Those for town 
 are black, and for the country grey silk. She also 
 wanted to take me to Madame Fibbis, and to a 
 shop for some more things that I wanted, after 
 which she deposited me at the Ridderholm Church, 
 where Mr. Bloomfield and Monsieur Brockhausen 
 soon arrived. We waited a little while for Belgrave, 
 who was gone with Mr. Foy to look at the vessel 
 which was to convey us to Abo. The church is now 
 employed merely as a burial-place ; there are to be 
 seen here the tombs of several of the Kings of 
 Sweden, particularly that of Charles XII., who re- 
 poses in a very handsome black marble sarcophagus,
 
 Belle vue. 1 1 5 
 
 which is spoiled by some poor gilded decorations ; 
 his sword is hung up at one end, and a -standard 
 which he himself took in Poland is placed by the 
 tomb, which is overhung with a quantity of other 
 standards taken by him ; the. swords of others of the 
 Kings are also suspended by their tombs. 
 
 We descended into two vaults which were open, 
 and full of the coffins of the kings and queens, 
 mostly of strange shapes, and with extraordinary 
 decorations. All the Knights of the Seraphim* who 
 can afford it are buried here ; and the church walls 
 in several places are covered with their escutcheons ; 
 that of each knight being placed at his death. 
 Napoleon's escutcheon was among them. 
 
 From here we proceeded in Mr. Bloomfield's 
 britshka to call on Madame Tascher, Lady to the 
 Queen, at her apartments at Bellevue, where the 
 Queen was then pleased to reside. It is a mere 
 mass of small wooden houses, in one of which we 
 found Madame Tascher at home. The American 
 and Spanish Ministers arrived at the same time with 
 ourselves. Madame Tascher was a large, fat 
 woman, with a handsome face, something like Lady 
 
 W , and talking incessantly. 
 
 We then came home to dress for dinner at Count 
 
 * Another Swedish Order of Knighthood ; founded in A.D. 1280. 
 
 i 2
 
 316 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Wetterstedt's ; we went at four. It is about an 
 English mile from town in "the Park ;" we found 
 a party consisting of Count and Countess Wetter- 
 stedt, Countess Tascher, and two other ladies, one, 
 the belle fille of the Count ; Mr. Krabbe, Count 
 Voyna, and an infinite number more ; we dined in a 
 salle which was only just large enough to hold us ; 
 and had a very handsome dinner. Madame Wet- 
 terstedt is very handsome, and she seemed very good- 
 natured. Count Wetterstedt looks pale and ill ; but 
 is particularly amiable and gentle in his manner. 
 Count C. de Lowenholm arrived before we left the 
 dining-room, when we went upstairs we had ice 
 first, and then coffee ; the whole of the evening was 
 very pleasant, and we stayed some time before we 
 came home in a pouring rain. We there found the 
 English mail just arrived, and regaled ourselves with 
 tea, bread and butter, and the newspaper till eleven 
 o'clock. 
 
 Sunday, \$th. Very wet morning so we did not 
 go out ; breakfasted with Mr. Bloomfield at eleven ; 
 after breakfast we read prayers and wrote letters in 
 our room till it was time to dress in order to go to 
 dine at Countess Suchterlens. At four we went in 
 the britshka, and found the Countess and Madame de 
 Suchterlens, Monsieur Bodisco, Monsieur Krabbe,
 
 Carlberg. 117 
 
 Monsieur Brockhausen, Mr. MacMahon, Baron 
 Hozznier, and one or two more friends ; after dinner 
 it was too wet to go out, so we stayed in the house, 
 and looked at albums, prints, &c. Monsieur 
 Hozznier and the other gentlemen sang, and after 
 we had stayed some time, there arrived a Monsieur 
 and Madame Acunha, and Madame Montgomeri's 
 mother ; then Mr. Bloomfield, Belgrave and I 
 went away, and drove through Haga, and thence, as 
 the evening had grown very fine, to Carlberg, a 
 military college, with a beautiful garden, where we 
 walked for some time; then came home, and had 
 tea as usual. 
 
 Stockholm, 
 
 July 1 5th, 18x7. 
 
 My dearest M 
 
 We amuse ourselves very much, and go about 
 with Mr. Bloomfield, who shows us everything and 
 everybody. We sat down to a magnificent dinner 
 at the house of Count Wetterstedt, the Minister ; 
 there were twenty-four people, in a very small 
 campagne close to the town ; he is an amiable, gentle 
 person, with great kindness. Countess Wetterstedt 
 put off her departure pour ses terres for some days 
 in order to receive us. She is a strange woman, but
 
 118 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 extremely civil and prevenante ; I believe she has 
 been very handsome ; the whole thing was pleasant 
 and entertaining. The evening was excessively wet, 
 so we came home to our tea, and bread and butter, 
 in which Mr. Bloomfield, Belgrave and I indulged 
 largely. It rained all this morning, so we did not 
 go out, but the mornings are dreadfully short, as all 
 these dinners are at four o'clock ; and to-day we 
 have been dining with Countess Suchterlens, a 
 Russian, she is a nice, pleasing little person, and 
 helps me about my Court dress, as for the country 
 they must be all grey or lilac, with sleeves of a 
 particular kind ; for town they are black. But, 
 thanks to her, I am all prepared, so we are to be 
 presented to-morrow. 
 
 Madame Tascher de la Pagerie is the Queen's 
 great Lady, who presents most foreigners. 1 called 
 on her yesterday, and found her a great, good- 
 natured, fat woman, with a handsome face. She is 
 now living at a place close to the town where the 
 Queen and her suite are all encamped in a set of 
 wooden huts, surrounded with " flowery rocks," 
 called Bellevue. There are a few gentlemen-like 
 men here also Count Voyno, and a Prussian Baron 
 Brockhausen ; both agreeable people ; breakfast here 
 to-morrow, after which we go on a round of sights,
 
 A singular Town. 119 
 
 the Palace, &c. ; which will take all the day till it is 
 time to wait on His Majesty. 
 
 On Tuesday Count C. de Lowenholm (brother of 
 the Count who was in England), gives us a break- 
 fast at the Palace at Drottingholm, where I am 
 to call on the Countess ; the latter is the most 
 agreeable and excellent person here, but unluckily 
 has been ill ; then we dine in town at Count 
 Voyiia's, and I believe we shall sail on Wednesday 
 for Abo. This town is very singular, some part of 
 it handsome, and the Palace beautiful ; but the 
 whole style of society is limited and borne. All the 
 foreign diplomatists hate it ; the native people are 
 so uncultivated ; it is a la longue so dull. The 
 difficulty of getting one's common wants supplied is 
 great ; so that one can well understand that for those 
 who know better it must be a triste sejour for ten 
 years; but to see it en passant as we do is very 
 pleasant. 1 like the great dinners ; and in this 
 weather the environs and the drives through them 
 are beautiful. We were to have had a great riding 
 party, as there are horses here enough and to spare ; 
 but perpetual rain has prevented it. We have 
 Lord Bloomfield's carriages, coachman, and horses at 
 our command, and Mr. Bloomfield's britshka ; 
 plenty of servants and an excellent cook, and above
 
 1 20 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 all a nice house with some pretty pictures bought by 
 Lord Bloomfield himself. You see we abound in 
 luxury and dissipation, and now I will go to bed. 
 
 Wednesday morning^ i8M. I have got up early, 
 being awakened by a fly who comes regularly to 
 torment me ; so I will take the opportunity of 
 finishing this letter, which I have never yet had time 
 to do. We made our expedition on Monday to the 
 Palace, which is full of fine apartments. The Garde 
 Meuble contains a great many interesting things, 
 and the clothes of the different Kings. At five 
 o'clock we went to Rosendahl, a little place of the 
 King's, to dine, after being presented. It was all 
 very pleasant, and we were charmed with the King 
 himself,* who has better manners than anybody I 
 ever saw, a great deal of tact and intelligence, with 
 a particular douceur and a most agreeable voice, per- 
 fectly easy and well bred, with a pleasant fafon de 
 raconter, and extremely civil and prevenant. There 
 is something remarkably distingue about him, from 
 his fine head, good figure, and perfectly black hair. 
 He said all sorts of good-natured and kind things, 
 and was struck with a resemblance between Belgrave 
 
 * This King was Charles XIV., (Bernardotte,) the ablest of 
 Napoleon's marshals. He was elected Crown Prince in 1810, and 
 succeeded to the kingdom in 1818, on his predecessor's death.
 
 A Royal Family at Home. 121 
 
 and the Prince Eugene Beauharnais, and also Count 
 Flahault.* 
 
 The Qucenf is the most good-natured creature 
 possible, and was very kind to us, admiring my 
 dress and my hair, which certainly showed good 
 taste. She and the King walked into dinner to- 
 gether ; then Prince Oscar,J by whom I sat, with Le 
 Grand Charnbellan, and so on a party of about 
 twenty-; no ladies but the Queen's own. Prince 
 Oscar is a little like Lord Graham, but better look- 
 ing, very civil, talks very low, and a good deal, but 
 is rather too stiff and guinde, not nearly as fascinating 
 as the King. We sat a long time after dinner, talk- 
 ing with the King and Queen, who showed us a 
 little apartment which is being prepared for her 
 upstairs. About nine o'clock they took leave to go 
 home, after the Queen had engaged us to remain to- 
 day for a breakfast which Madame Tascher is to 
 give us, in order that the Queen herself may show 
 us Bellevue ; so accordingly we remain. 
 
 * Auguste Charles Joseph, Comte Flahault, sometime Minister 
 from the Court of the Tuileries to that of St. James's. He married 
 the Baroness Keith and Nairn. He died in 1870. 
 
 f Bernadine Desiree de Clary, died December xyth, 1860. 
 
 J Afterwards Oscar I. ; he began to reign in 1844. 
 
 Then M.P. for Cambridge, afterwards fourth Duke of Montrose ; 
 he died in December, 1874.
 
 122 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Yesterday we had a delightful expedition to Drot- 
 tingholm (about eight English miles from here), 
 much the handsomest palace they have. We arrived 
 there about a quarter past twelve, and found Count 
 and Countess C. de Lowenholm (she is a charming 
 person) and about sixteen other persons; among 
 them an agreeable Count and Countess Bjelsjoina 
 I believe that is the way to spell the name. He 
 knew all about the pictures at Cleveland* House, 
 which he had seen six or seven years ago. We 
 began by going over the Palace itself; then we took 
 a beautiful walk to a Chinese pavilion, where we 
 found a pretty breakfast laid out, with every sort of 
 delicacy. After being there for some little time, we 
 all went, in open carriages, a little way off, through 
 fine woods, to Count Bjelsjoina's. There, among 
 other things, we saw a real Caucasian horse, who, 
 when he is too hot, bleeds himself by opening a vein 
 in his neck with his teeth, and is consequently all 
 over scars. After walking about, we set out on our 
 way home, we three making an ecart by the way in 
 order to see a beautiful view. To effect this we 
 climbed up some rocks almost perpendicular. We 
 met at the breakfast a Mademoiselle Oxenstierna, a 
 
 * Cleveland House stood on the site of Bridgewater House ; the 
 town residence of the Earl of Ellesmere.
 
 Mousslachen Bill. 123 
 
 good-natured person, a dame-tfhonneur, daughter . to 
 one whom you know. We ended the day by a very 
 agreeable dinner at Count Voyno's, and in the even- 
 ing there was a heavy storm of thunder and light- 
 ning. This morning, however, it is quite fine again ; 
 but I have no time to write more, as it is our last 
 day, and we shall be out the whole of it, and if one 
 is at home, people are constantly dropping in, begin- 
 ning even, I believe, by breakfast at ten o'clock this 
 morning. To-morrow morning we embark. I be- 
 lieve Mr. Bloomfield intends sailing a little way 
 with us, and then we go on to Abo. Our sejour 
 here has been very pleasant and entertaining; we 
 have " done " and seen all that we possibly could do 
 or see. 
 
 Monday , i6th. We breakfasted at ten, and went 
 afterwards Mr. Bloomfield, Belgrave, and I in the 
 britshka by the quay to the Moussbachen Hill, 
 where we got out, and went up it. The view from 
 it over Stockholm is the most beautiful panorama 
 imaginable. Thence we went to the Palace, and 
 sent the carriage away. Baron de Klingspore, the 
 Governor, showed us over the Queen's apartments, 
 which are very handsome ; as also over the Museum 
 of Antiques and the Royal Library, where are some 
 very curious treasures ; among others, an enormous
 
 24 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Bible, said to have been executed in one night, with 
 the assistance of the Devil ! 
 
 After that Mr. Schulzenheitn went with us to the 
 Garde Meuble, which is full of interesting objects, 
 such as the cradle of Charles XII., &c., and a room 
 full of clothes of former Sovereigns; among them is 
 the dress in which Gustavus was shot at Lutzen, 
 those which Charles XII. wore when he was shot, 
 and those in which Gustavus was stabbed by Anker- 
 strown. The latter were all over blood. From 
 this, which is all well kept, we went to see the Salle 
 des Nobles, all hung with their escutcheons. We 
 then came home, rested a little, and dressed to go to 
 dine with the King and Queen at Rosendahl. Bel- 
 grave was in uniform, and I had the usual court- 
 dress for the country, of grey silk. 
 
 Rosendahl is about two English miles from here, 
 and a pretty little place it is. We arrived in* good 
 time, and found Count Wetterstedt and one or two 
 others ; more soon arrived, and then came in the 
 King and Queen and Prince Oscar. They came to 
 speak to us without any ceremonial of presentation. 
 The Queen had with her Madame Tascher, who 
 came in before, and three other ladies ; the party 
 altogether numbered about twenty. Dinner was 
 soon announced, and confirmed by the King, " Mes-
 
 Drottingholm. ] 25 
 
 sieurs et Mesdames, vous etes servis." He then went 
 in first with the Queen, and Prince Oscar followed ; 
 I followed with Le Grand Chambellan; then came 
 the others. The Queen sat and talked a long time 
 after dinner in the drawing-room, which is furnished 
 with chairs and sofas worked by her hands and those 
 of her ladies. The King went about the room, and 
 talked to everybody. At nine the King took leave, 
 saying everything that was kind and civil. Prince 
 Oscar followed him. The Queen stayed a little 
 while to settle about a breakfast at Madame 
 Tascher's, at Bellevue, on Wednesday, for which she 
 wished her to keep us ; so of course we agreed to 
 stay. She then took leave very kindly, and went 
 away with her ladies in an open carriage. We all, 
 of course, followed. There is a magnificent, enor- 
 mous porphyry vase in the garden before the win- 
 dows. We then came home and had our tea with 
 Mr. Bloomfield, who, by some form of etiquette, 
 was not invited 'to this dinner. 
 
 Tuesday, July ijth. We had breakfast as usual, 
 and at half-past eleven Belgrave, Mr. Bloomfield, 
 and I set out in the britshka for Drottingholm, eight 
 English miles from Stockholm. We went by a very 
 prerty road, and across two floating bridges. We 
 made our way to the Palace, where we were received
 
 126 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 by Count and Countess Charles de Lowenholm (he 
 is the Govenor of the Castle), and found there 
 Count and Countess de Bjelsjoina, Mademoiselle 
 Oxenstierna, Monsieur Brockhausen, Monsieur 
 Krabbe, Count Voyno, Count Adolf Rosen, Baron 
 Hozznier, and Baron de Geer. We first went over 
 the Palace, which is handsome, and stands in a beautiful 
 situation on a lake. In the hall, among others, was 
 a good picture of a Laplander driving a reindeer in 
 a sledge. There are many handsome apartments, 
 some of them a good deal out of repair. In one 
 were pictures of Charles XII. and all his generals ; 
 in another, all the Ladies of the time of Louis XIV., 
 a picture of Charles XI., and his hat, in a glass case. 
 There is also a pretty library, and a small gallery of 
 antique busts. After seeing the Palace, we walked 
 in the gardens, where it was very hot. The gardens 
 are beautiful, with magnificent alleys of fine trees 
 and wild walks through woods. We came to a 
 place called La Chine, being composed of a large 
 Chinese pavilion in the centre, and several smaller 
 ones. There is in the drawing-room a book-case, 
 containing, among other books, " Le Cabinet des 
 Fees." There are several apartments fitted up with 
 Chinese furniture, and in the largest of these we had 
 a beautiful breakfast ; we then walked about the
 
 Marienburg. 127 
 
 other rooms. In the floor above is one with silken 
 
 walls, where a whisper on one side is heard on the 
 
 other. We then all drove in several open carriages 
 
 to Count Bjelsjoina's, about a mile distant through 
 
 the wood. Here we found a very pretty place, and, 
 
 among other things, saw a white horse from the 
 
 Caucasus, very ugly, but the characteristic of whose 
 
 breed is to bleed himself when too hot by opening a 
 
 vein in his neck with his teeth, and this creature was 
 
 covered with scars accordingly. From here we all 
 
 returned to the Palace, Madame de Lowenholm and 
 
 Mademoiselle Bjelsjoina going in the britshka with 
 
 me. We then took leave of our frieuds, from whom 
 
 we had met with every possible kindness, and returned 
 
 as we came. We made an ecart to turn out of the 
 
 road to see Marienburg, a military college, where 
 
 we climbed up some " perpendicular rocks " to see a 
 
 magnificent view of Stockholm across the lake. We 
 
 descended by an easier path, and then returned home 
 
 by six, after a delightful expedition. Belgrave and 
 
 I then walked to some shops in the town, and at 
 
 seven we walked to dinner at Count Voyno's, close 
 
 by. There we met Mrs. and Miss Baker, and 
 
 Mademoiselle Krabbe, Monsieur Bodisco, and Count 
 
 Rosen. After dinner Count Voyno told us some 
 
 tremendous ghost stories, during which we had a
 
 128 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 most furious and most appropriate storm of thunder, 
 lightning, and rain. 
 
 Wednesday 1 8M. Being as usual awakened by 
 the flies, I got up long before I was called, and 
 accomplished several letters. We breakfasted about 
 half-past ten, to which came Count Voyno and 
 Count Rosen, and soon after twelve we set out to 
 go to Bellevue, Belgrave in his morning dress, and 
 Mr. Bloomfield in uniform. We went first to 
 Madame Tascher's; we found her sitting in her 
 room, so we sat a little while with her, looking at 
 her albums, and were just going to the Queen's 
 apartment, when Her Majesty arrived. She came 
 and sat very good-naturedly with us ; we then 
 dawdled about in a very hot sun, waiting for the 
 Prince Royal, who did not arrive till after the 
 Queen had taken a bouillon ; in despair we then went 
 to breakfast in a square pavilion, our party con- 
 sisting only of ourselves, the Queen, the Prince 
 Royal, Madame Tascher, Countess de Lowenholm, 
 Monsieur Hamilton and a few more gentlemen of 
 the Court, the Queen's Chambellan, &c. The 
 party was to have consisted of fourteen, but one 
 being prevented coming, the poor Chambellan was 
 obliged" to retire, the Queen having a prejudice 
 against sitting down thirteen at table. After break-
 
 Bellevue. ] 29 
 
 fast we went to see the Queen's habitation, which 
 consists of half-a-dozen of the smallest rooms 
 imaginable, very nicely furnished. Madame Tas- 
 cher has a small hut of three or four rooms to 
 herself; but the other ladies are miserably lodged. 
 We passed a long time in sauntering about, and 
 dans des indecisions as to whether the Queen would 
 have courage to go on the water or not, after a 
 great deal of lingering, we at length all embarked 
 in the Queen's boat, a very pretty one, like a 
 gilded monster, with red morocco seats enclosed in 
 the middle. We remained on the water but for a 
 very short time, and then landed, and walked on 
 by a very pretty wall close to the water, till we 
 met the carriages. The Prince Royal then took 
 leave, and, as the Queen wished to show us more 
 of Bellevue, she took me in her barouche and four 
 white horses, with her two ladies; Belgrave went 
 in a barouche and four black ones along with Mr. 
 Bloomfield and the Chambellan ; we went by a 
 beautiful drive to a pretty place belonging to a silk 
 merchant, called, I believe, Sweden. Here we got 
 out, and walked through a beautiful shrubbery up 
 to a hill, where we feasted our eyes with a wonder- 
 ful view, and then walked back to the carriage and 
 drove back to Bellevue. There we took leave
 
 30 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 of the Queen, after passing six hours in her com- 
 pany, during which nothing could exceed her good- 
 nature and kindness, and anxiety to show us 
 everything worth seeing. She gave me two little 
 porphyry candlesticks ; we came home rather tired, 
 and dined at seven. While we were at dinner, 
 Count Wetterstedt very kindly came to bid us 
 goodbye, and sat with us during the whole time 
 that we were at dinner, and brought us two iron 
 medals of the King, de la fart de la Comtesse. 
 Count Voyno also came ; and after they were gone, 
 the door opened and in walked Countess C. de 
 Lowenholm, who was just come from the Princess. 
 She stayed a little while, and was, as usual, very 
 agreeable. We had afterwards coffee, and then 
 
 O ' 
 
 tea, and then went to bed, as soon as we could 
 finish packing our things for our next day's de- 
 parture. 
 
 Thursday July igth. Count Voyno and Mr. 
 MacMahon came to breakfast at eight. We col- 
 lected all our goods and chattels together and went 
 down soon after nine with Mr. Bloomfield in his 
 britschka to the quay, in order to embark in the 
 packet which was to convey us to Abo. Count 
 Voyno came into the packet, and then took leave 
 of us. Mr. Bloomfield and Mr. MacMahon sailed
 
 The Gulf of Finland. 131 
 
 a little way with us, and then returned in a boat. 
 We found the packet very comfortable ; we had 
 engaged a cabin with four beds for Belgrave and 
 me, another with two, where Davidson slept, and 
 two other sleeping-places for Gartner and Zetter- 
 berg, whom we took on with us to drive us through 
 Finland, as the travelling there is performed in 
 exactly the same manner as in Sweden. Our 
 fellow passengers were only a few gentlemen, a 
 Monsieur Hamfeldt and Monsieur Leuche, both 
 traders, who were going up to near Torneo, and 
 thence to St. Petersburg, and two or three officers, 
 all very civil, quiet, gentleman-like people. The 
 weather was very pleasant and perfectly calm, and 
 the little wind that blew was in our favour. The 
 sail from Stockholm to Abo is perfectly beautiful, 
 the appearance of the town from the sea, and the 
 Palace, which is always most conspicuous, is like 
 enchantment, as, indeed, is the whole voyage, 
 amidst a labyrinth of little wooded islands, for the 
 most part uninhabited, but exhibiting the prettiest 
 mixture of rock and wood that can be imagined. 
 We had a slight thunderstorm about four o'clock, 
 while we were in our cabin at dinner, a repast 
 which we made on some beef that Gartner boiled, 
 and new potatoes, which formed a small part of a 
 
 K 2
 
 132 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 collection of provisions given us by Mr. Bloom- 
 field. These provisions consisted of a roast turkey, 
 and an enormous blackcock pie, bread, cherries, 
 wine and brandy. We came up on deck again, and 
 stayed there till dark, when we had tea in our cabin, 
 and went to bed ; we slept very satisfactorily for 
 nine hours, during which we unconsciously passed 
 through the only space of open sea (about twelve 
 Swedish miles) which occurs in the whole voyage, 
 unornamented with islands. 
 
 Friday, July loth. We rose between eight and 
 nine, and found ourselves at anchor close to the 
 Island of Aland. The morning was delightful, 
 and Belgrave was tempted by the beauty of the 
 sea to take a dip, which he achieved from some 
 neighbouring rocks. When he returned we im- 
 mediately put out to sea, with a very favourable 
 wind, which, without causing the least roughness 
 on the water, carried us through a continuation of 
 the beautiful scenery of the day before, at the rate 
 of twelve English miles an hour. Nothing could 
 be more delightful or more lovely than the whole 
 of the passage. Towards evening we had our first 
 sight of Abo, which looked extremely pretty at the 
 head of an intricate bay ; a sort of road is marked 
 out in the water with piles of wood, and called
 
 Abo. 133 
 
 " the Channel." It leads straight up to the town, 
 and you sail for a considerable way up a line of river 
 or canal with houses on each side, very like a Dutch 
 town. 
 
 We arrived at seven, and disembarked soon after 
 with perfect ease, close to the inn where we intended 
 to lodge ; both the carriages were got out before 
 nine, and we found tolerable rooms at " La Societe." 
 After we had settled ourselves in them, we went 
 out to walk, and by means of wooden steps 
 mounted a high hill overhanging the town, and 
 crowned by the Observatory. Though it was 
 nearly dark, the view over the town was very fine, 
 and we found Abo much more considerable and 
 much handsomer than we had expected. 
 
 Saturday list. After breakfast Belgrave received 
 visits from the Vice-Consul, and a merchant, who 
 assisted him in changing some Swedish money into 
 Russian, and we set out at eleven along a very bad 
 sandy road. We stopped at ten o'clock in the 
 evening at Ofwerby, to eat some supper, which 
 Gartner prepared for us ; we then continued our 
 journey till two o'clock the next morning. 
 
 Sunday 2ind. We arrived about two in the 
 morning at Bjorsby, where we stopped for about 
 four hours. The servants slept in the house,
 
 334 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Belgrave and I got such rest as we could in the 
 carriage, and at six we went into the inn to dress 
 and eat some breakfast. We were again on our 
 way at seven, and proceeded by rather a better road, 
 but still very heavy ; the country is very like that 
 of Sweden, with rocks and low forests, but not so 
 pretty. We reached Helsingfors at eight, and went 
 to a Mademoiselle Washlund's hotel, where we 
 found tolerable rooms. We went out to walk in 
 the town, which is beautiful, very clean-looking, 
 with very handsome houses and a fine Place. 
 
 Monday -, lyrd. We got up early. Belgrave had 
 a letter to a Mr. Alftan, whom we found living in 
 the inn ; and he went with us at nine to see us on 
 board a little vessel which carried us about half a 
 mile across the sea to the fortress of Sweaborg. 
 This vessel is employed by the Crown, and worked 
 by soldiers ; it goes backwards and forwards three 
 times a day, another crossing alternately with it. 
 It was quite full of people, and we went quickly 
 across, passing by the fortress. Sweaborg is a place 
 of extraordinary strength, and considered quite 
 impregnable, there being only a very narrow channel 
 completely commanded by the fortress, by which it 
 can be approached ; all the surrounding part of the 
 sea being so filled with rocks as to render it unsafe
 
 Helsingfors. 135 
 
 for ships. There are walls without end, and cannon 
 in proportion. When we saw it we were told it 
 contained two thousand soldiers ; their pay is two 
 copecs a day,* and their food, black bread, onions 
 and salt ! We saw several curious subterranean 
 passages in the walls, for the soldiers to hide in, 
 during the time of siege. There are also docks 
 where ships were building; we walked about till 
 eleven, at which precise time the vessel again sailed, 
 quite full of passengers. The wind being in our 
 favour, we were again at Helsingfors in ten minutes ; 
 and after Mr. Alftan had changed some money for 
 Belgrave, we set out again at one. Nothing par- 
 ticular happened on the road, and we arrived at 
 Borgo at seven in the evening. Here we found a 
 very comfortable inn, with an enormous large ball- 
 room for a sitting-room. 
 
 Tuesday, i<\ih. Started at half-past six, and went 
 by an excellent road at a very quick pace, Belgrave 
 driving part of the way. We went through Lovisa 
 and Gudinshanen to Hevenick, which we reached 
 about eight, and where we found a very small inn. 
 The floors were all over sand and fleas, &c., into the 
 bargain. There was very little to be got to eat; but, as 
 we had our own provisions, that did not signify much. 
 
 * One hundred and twenty copecs make an English shilling.
 
 136 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Wednesday, i$th. We got up at four, and set 
 out at half-past six, and were edified by seeing a 
 Russian merchant, who had arrived two or three 
 hours before, fast asleep on a Persian carpet, and 
 wrapped up in a fur cloak on the wooden bench in 
 the porch ; a little Russian boy, his servant, sleeping 
 on the steps. We set out as soon as we had done 
 breakfast ; the road continued to be very good to 
 Wiborg where we arrived at four. Here we were 
 detained for two hours, i.e., till six, by the particu- 
 larities about our passport. We found at Wiborg 
 the first decided symptoms of Russian life, the men 
 with long beards and loose Eastern dresses. We 
 went on till ten, and then stopped at Hotake, where 
 we supped upon the blackcock pie. Started again at 
 eleven, Belgrave driving, and my maid inside. 
 He drove half the night, and remained outside till 
 morning. 
 
 About three stages after Wiborg, that is to say 
 about one in the morning, I was awoke by finding 
 ourselves entangled with some carts, which Belgrave 
 thought he could pass without rousing their drivers, 
 who were all asleep on the top of their loads. 
 Gartner rushed up from behind the carriage, and 
 begun beating the man in the foremost cart, 
 forgetting that the ropes of our harness, and
 
 Approach to St. Petersburg. 137 
 
 their long projecting axles were fast entangled. 
 
 Thursday, i6th. The stage to Belog Ostrow, is a 
 horrid road, and our horses refused to pull us up 
 hill, and broke the hind pole by kicking. This is 
 two stages from St. Petersburg ; here we left off 
 the Swedish way of travelling, and changed our 
 harness, and entrusted ourselves to a Russian coach- 
 man with a long beard, and six reins for four horses. 
 The road was still very sandy ; we were again detained 
 here by some little difficulties about our passport, 
 and left it about eight, and proceeded by a very 
 sandy road, through some long and pretty Russian 
 villages in a very flat country, till we approached 
 St. Petersburg. The road was long and perfectly 
 straight. 
 
 It is impossible to describe the magnificence and 
 striking effect of this most beautiful city, where all 
 the streets, which are very wide, seem rows of 
 palaces, with fine gardens, and magnificent bridges 
 over the Neva, a very wide and superb river. 
 Indeed the whole place, with all the people in 
 Eastern costume, is more like a scene in the Arabian 
 Nights than anything else, and much surpassed any- 
 thing I had before imagined. We found a letter 
 from Mr. Disbrowe,* the English Charge d'Affaires, 
 
 * Afterwards Sir Edward Cromwell Disbrowe ; he died in 1851.
 
 138 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 at the barriere, telling us that he had taken 
 apartments for us at Demuth's, whither we went 
 accordingly. We arrived at noon, and found a 
 most excellent set of eight rooms, one of which was 
 a very large dining-room with a parquetrie floor. 
 Some of the others consisted of bed-rooms, drawing- 
 rooms, and a nice little boudoir surrounded by 
 sofas had also floors of parquetrie. Our first 
 proceeding was that of washing and dressing, and 
 we were tolerably hungry and ready for a good 
 dinner even at three o'clock. In the evening we 
 rested and had a visit from Mr. Disbrowe. 
 
 Friday, zjth. We were to have called on Mr. 
 Disbrowe about noon ; but, as there was then a 
 thunderstorm, we did not go till two. We walked 
 to his house on the Quay in a beautiful situation, 
 but at a considerable distance from our lodgings. 
 We found him and Mrs. Disbrowe, and Mr. 
 Kennedy, Mrs. Disbrowe's brother. They gave us 
 much useful information on various topics, and 
 asked us to dine with them the next day. After 
 staying there some time, we took leave and walked 
 across the bridge, down the Quay as far as the 
 Commercial Hall, which like all the other buildings 
 in St, Petersburg is very handsome. We then came 
 back over the same bridge, and walked round by the
 
 Walk about St. Petersburg. 139 
 
 Palace, and home again by the Perspective, a very 
 long and beautiful street full of shops. This walk 
 was extremely entertaining, from the beauty of the 
 city, the extraordinary appearance of the in- 
 habitants, and the variety of carriages, some of 
 which are drawn by very fine thorough-bred horses. 
 We dined at six, and did not feel disposed to go 
 out again. 
 
 Saturday , 28M. It had rained a great deal in the 
 night, and continued to pour in torrents all the 
 morning till about noon. We passed the morning 
 in writing letters, and at half-past twelve Mrs. 
 Disbrowe called to take 4 me out; we went to the 
 English " magazine," which is a collection of many 
 shops in one, something in the way of Howell and 
 James', but smaller. We went also to some 
 other shops, and made some more purchases at 
 Corbviere's, some more at Anthoni's, and some 
 other places for working materials and patterns. 
 Mrs. Disbrowe brought me home at four. Belgrave, 
 who had been out walking, came home at half- 
 past four, and at five we went to dine (in a carriage 
 which we have hired for our stay here) at Mr. 
 Disbrowe's. 
 
 Like all other carriages used here, it has four 
 horses, which are driven as an Irish set, with an
 
 140 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 immense distance between the wheeler and leaders ; 
 and the little boy who acts as postillion drives on 
 the wrong side. At Mr. Disbrowe's we had a very 
 pleasant dinner, of only themselves and Mr. 
 Kennedy, and after dinner we looked at Russian 
 prints. The Spanish Minister, and Mr. Fontenay, 
 the French Charge d'Affaires, called in after coffee ; 
 and at about eight we set out with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Disbrowe in their carriage (a landau) to call first on 
 Count and Countess Nesselrode*, who lives out in the 
 country, but who was not at home, and then to 
 go to the French play. The theatre is about two 
 English miles distant, being dans les isles, where 
 all the great people have their villas surrounded 
 with gardens. 
 
 We found a very pretty little theatre which 
 had been constructed in the space of two months ; 
 saw two vaudevilles, and then set out again for 
 a soiree at Princess Galitzin's. This lady is belle 
 fille to the Governor of Moscow. We found her 
 and two other ladies, and several gentlemen. There 
 was one whist party, and a table prepared for 
 mouche, the fashionable game here ; however nobody 
 played at it. We arrived at half-past ten, and 
 
 * Count Nesselrode was for many years the Minister for Foreign 
 Affairs at the Court of St. Petersburgh.
 
 Princess Galitzin. 141 
 
 found two pretty rooms, one circular with a dome, 
 but no windows ; the other with a large bow- 
 window full of flowers, in which we sat. We 
 were visited by Countess Potemkin, whose brother 
 is gone for life to Siberia, having been a ring- 
 leader in the late conspiracy ; at half-past eleven 
 we sat down to tea. There was a little dwarf 
 among the servants. After tea, Princess Galitzin 
 sung some very pretty airs, with a beautiful voice, 
 her husband accompanying her on the pianoforte. 
 After all this we set out about one to return 
 home. In the middle of one of the streets, 
 however, we were admonished by a gentle descent 
 forwards of the coach, that it was time to give 
 up our places, which we did with composure 
 and dignity ; on examination it was found that the 
 pin of one of the wheels had broken; it was 
 necessary to take off the horses, but before they 
 were free, one of them was frightened by one of 
 the servants flapping a cloak in his eyes; he 
 jumped forwards, and in so doing separated the 
 still adhering wheels from the coach, which conse- 
 quently descended abruptly on the ground, and the 
 horse set off straight home, the other three remaining 
 quiet spectators. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Disbrowe, Belgrave, and I then
 
 142 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 walked back along the streets ; it luckily was very 
 fine; and we fortunately escaped being taken by 
 the patrole who walk about with hatchets on long 
 stalks. We found an empty caleche going by, in 
 which Mr. and Mrs. Disbrowe put themselves, close 
 to our hotel, where we arrived in perfect safety at 
 two in the morning. 
 
 Demuth's Hotel, 
 
 St. Petersburg. 
 Saturday, July a8th, 1827. 
 
 My dearest M , 
 
 Here we are, in the most beautiful city ever be- 
 held, well worth coming twice the journey to see ; 
 and we are all as well as possible. I will take up 
 our history where I left it. Our last day in Sweden 
 we passed at Bellevue, where we went soon after 
 noon. We walked about in a burning sun with the 
 good-natured Queen, and at two sat down to break- 
 fast with her, the Prince Royal, and about ten other 
 people. Then we walked in and out of the house, 
 which is extremely small, through the pleasure- 
 grounds, and then went in a boat, much to Her 
 Majesty's affright ; after which the Prince Royal 
 took leave, and the Queen proposed a drive. Ac- 
 cordingly she took me in her barouche, with her
 
 A Royal Pedestrian. 143 
 
 ladies ; Belgrave followed in another with Mr. 
 Bloomfield. We had a lovely drive, and more walk- 
 ing, for the Queen, although very fat, is always 
 walking, to the despair of her ladies. We did not 
 get back to Bellevue till half-past six. The Queen 
 was very sorry to take leave of us, and nearly cried, 
 saying all sorts of kind things, how she wished we 
 could have stayed longer, and that she almost wished 
 not to have seen us, so great was her regret at part- 
 ing with us. I believe she sees but few civilized 
 people, and evidently rather regrets Paris, and said, 
 among other things, that, though nobody would 
 believe it, " Cetait une triste chose que de changer de 
 destinee" She gave me 4 a pair of little porphyry 
 candlesticks, that I might not forget her ; nothing 
 could be more kind and cordial, and if we had not 
 said we were going in the evening to see a bal de la 
 bourgeoisie, she would have kept us pour le diner ei 
 ensuite pour toute la soiree, which is no joke, as she 
 sits up working and talking till two or three o'clock 
 in the morning. The Prince Royal does not look 
 so well out of uniform, and does not seem 
 " thorough-bred," though they all think him per- 
 fectly beautiful. He is very accomplished, sings 
 very well, and draws with a great deal of 
 taste.
 
 144 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Well, to return, we came home to our dinner, 
 during which we had parting visits from our friends, 
 and Count Wetterstedt sat with us all the time. 
 We were so tired with our morning, and so comfort- 
 able at home, that after all we did not go to the 
 ball. Next morning Count Voyno came to break- 
 fast with us at eight o'clock ; went on board our 
 ship with us, and then wished us good-bye. Mr. 
 Bloomfield and Mr. MacMahon sailed a little way 
 with us, and then returned in a boat. Nothing 
 could be kinder or more anxious to make everything 
 pleasant than Mr. Bloomfield ; he gave us a collec- 
 tion of provisions, enough, as our servant expressed 
 it, "pour approvisionner fifty thousand russes." Our 
 sail from Stockholm was quite beautiful ; we had a 
 good wind, delicious weather, a blue sea without a 
 
 O ' ' 
 
 wave, and our whole way lay through a labyrinth of 
 little wooded islands, like a scene in a fairy tale. 
 We embarked at ten in the morning ; slept very 
 comfortably all night in our cabin, and when we got 
 up found ourselves at anchor off the Island of 
 Aland. Belgrave took a dip in the sea, and we 
 immediately sailed again, making way at the rate of 
 twelve miles an hour, the sea smooth as a lake, till 
 we reached Abo at seven in the evening of Friday, 
 having had a very good passage of thirty-three
 
 Lodgings at St. Petersburg. 145 
 
 hours. We set out again next morning, and got 
 here on Thursday, at noon, having stopped half a 
 day at Helsingfors, to see the wonderfully strong 
 fortress of Sweaborg. Some of the Russian con- 
 spirators were found confined in a part of it, but 
 they were suddenly taken away one morning about 
 two months ago, and nobody knows where they are 
 sent to. The Polish conspirators are not yet tried, 
 but no more are to be executed. 
 
 We travelled for two nights without stopping, 
 and arrived here, as I have said, on Thursday, in 
 perfect health and prosperity. 
 
 We are superbly lodged in a large set of apart- 
 ments at this hotel, where there is also a very good 
 French cook. Mr. and Mrs. Disbrowe are here, 
 and we dine with them to-day ; if it will but be fine 
 (it is now pouring in torrents), I am going out first 
 with her to some shops. We are in hopes of the 
 Woronzows* coming to-morrow in the steam- 
 packet. The old Madame de Lievenf has been 
 very ill, but I daresay we shall see her. 
 
 * Simon, Count Woronzow, was a great Russian noble, who owned 
 a large property in the Crimea. His only sister married, in 1 808, George 
 Augustus, eleventh Earl of Pembroke. 
 
 f Russian Ambassadress in England for many years. The old 
 Princess, then in St. Petersburg, had been governess to the Emperor 
 Nicholas and the Imperial family. 
 
 L
 
 146 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 The Emperor is now at the camp, about eighteen 
 miles from here. I believe we shall go to see it on 
 Wednesday, when the Empress is going; there are 
 forty thousand men under arms ; we shall be pre- 
 sented, in due time, to them all. The Dowager- 
 Empress* is already aware of our arrival, and is 
 charmed that anyone should come so far to see 
 St. Petersburg. One sight of the fair city, however, 
 is well worth all the trouble. Beautiful and extra- 
 ordinary it is ! The streets are all palaces ; the river 
 magnificent ; the people in Oriental dresses ; and I 
 never saw anything to equal the beauty of the 
 horses, who all seem thorough-bred, and are certainly 
 most magnificent creatures. We shall stay here till 
 about Wednesday week ; then we go to Moscow, 
 and thence to the fair at Nisnei ; after that, are 
 uncertain whether to return by this place and the 
 Riga road, or to go from Moscow to Warsaw. . . . 
 The only idea that I can give you of this city, is that 
 it is like the finest scenes of cities and palaces at 
 Covent Garden Theatre. I am going to have a 
 carriage and four horses, as that is the way in which 
 people comme il faut go about here. 
 
 Sunday r , lyth. We went at eleven to the English 
 chapel, which is a handsome building. It rained in 
 
 * Born Princess Mary of Wurtemberg, mother of the Emperor.
 
 The Kasan Church, St. Petersburg. 147 
 
 torrents when we came out, so we came straight 
 home, and wrote till four, when we walked out and 
 went to the Kasan Church, which is externally very 
 magnificent, with a semicircular row of double 
 pillars; the inside is equally beautiful, with a pro- 
 fusion of enormous granite columns, the capitals and 
 bases of which are gilt, producing a remarkably fine 
 effect. In the church is the tomb of Kutusoff, one 
 of the most celebrated of the Russian generals at 
 the time of Napoleon's invasion ; a simple stone, 
 surrounded by iron railing, with trophies at each 
 corner. Inserted in the wall there is a flat bust, 
 somewhat black, of the Virgin Mary, decorated with 
 diamonds and jewels, with panels of wood under- 
 neath it, which are devoutly kissed by the people. 
 The altar is finely decorated ; standing before it are 
 enormous candelabra of silver, and the surrounding 
 balustrade is of solid silver also. In front, there was 
 still remaining the platform on which the body of 
 the Emperor Alexander, and subsequently that of 
 Miloradowitch,* had lain in state. We then came 
 home, dined at six, and in the evening took a drive 
 in our carriage and four to Les Isles, and walked in 
 the garden of the Emperor's Palace of Irlagen, 
 which is full of beautiful flowers. 
 
 * Another Russian general of the same time. 
 
 L 2
 
 148 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Monday, ^oth. We went with Mrs. Disbrowe 
 to the malachite manufactory, in the Rue des Pois, 
 where we saw some very pretty things, and among 
 others a magnificent vase and pedesta], entirely of 
 malachite, for which they asked fifteen thousand 
 roubles. After that, we went to see the Winter 
 Palace, containing 1'Hermitage, in which are all the 
 pictures and treasures of every kind collected by 
 Catharine II. The pictures are innumerable, and of 
 every school ; some very fine ones among them. 
 The collection of jewels is beyond estimation, and 
 all are extremely well arranged. There are a Paul 
 Potter and a Murillo, both exquisite; a very pretty 
 little picture of monkies, by Teniers, and hundreds 
 of others, of every master ; rooms full of Wouver- 
 mans, with the inevitable white horses ; one of 
 Rembrandt, and a large collection of beautiful little 
 Dutch pictures ; there is also a complete room of 
 the French school, and one also of the Russian. 
 Upstairs is a very fine collection of medals and coins, 
 and a very pretty garden opening from rooms on 
 the second floor. 
 
 We also saw the Winter Palace, which is all in 
 the same building, and perfectly magnificent; no- 
 thing can be finer, or more splendid in every respect ; 
 and the arrangement of the rooms seems, at the
 
 The Palace of I dag en. 149 
 
 same time, to be perfectly convenient and comfort- 
 able. 
 
 After this, Belgrade and I went to Anthoni's, a 
 jeweller's, and then came home to dress, in order 
 to dine at five at Mr. Disbrowe's, where we met 
 Prince and Princess Soltikoff, Madame and Made- 
 moiselle Vassili witch, Count Nesselrode, Count 
 Zichy, and. the Countess de Bombelles. After 
 dinner, Madame Vassiliwitch wrote to her brother- 
 in-law, General Leverschoff, respecting our going to 
 see the camp next day. After the dinner company 
 were gone, Mrs. Disbrowe, Mr. Kennedy, and I 
 went in the carriage and f^ur to drive to Irlagen, 
 and saw the inside of the Palace. The Dowager- 
 Empress's rooms are below ; those of the Emperor 
 and Empress above. It is a small house, but con- 
 taining a good many rooms, very prettily furnished. 
 We then met Belgrave and Mr. Disbrowe at 
 Princess Dolgorouki's. She is an old, sensible- 
 looking, civil woman, who had been a favourite of 
 Potemkin's ; she is mother to Princess Soltikoff, 
 whom we found there; no other ladies, except a 
 Princess Zuboff, and Princess Dolgorouki, one of 
 the great ladies of the Court, who was playing at 
 whist. There was also a mouche-table, at which 
 Mrs. Disbrowe and five others played ; a few gentle-
 
 150 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 men sat about and chatted, among them Prince 
 Dolgorouki, the son of the house. I was never so 
 bored in my life, and considerably relieved by the 
 appearance of supper about twelve o'clock, at which 
 we did not sit down regularly, but each person had 
 a plate, &c., given him, or her, wherever they were 
 sitting, the dishes being carried round by the 
 servants. We got home about one o'clock, nearly 
 tired to death. 
 
 Tuesday ju/. We wrote letters in the morn- 
 ing for the courier, who was to set out at three ; 
 we then dressed and went to Mr. Disbrowe's to go 
 with them to the camp. I went with Mrs. Dis- 
 browe in one chariot and four, and Belgrave went 
 with Mr. Disbrowe in another. We waited a little 
 while for Mr. Disbrowe to finish his despatches, and 
 then departed after four, we arrived at our quarters 
 about half-past five, the distance about twenty-one 
 versts ; we drove to General LewerschofFs habita- 
 tion, which was in the middle of a wooden village, 
 and consisted of two or three of the peasants' 
 houses, (all made of wood,) united together and 
 made tolerably comfortable by papering the walls, 
 and putting in a little furniture. We were very 
 kindly received by General Lewerschoff, who intro- 
 duced his two aides-de-camp, Count Suvalow and
 
 The Russian Camp. 151 
 
 another ; we soon went to dinner, at which were 
 two other aides-de-camp. The dinner was the most 
 recherche and excellent that was possible, served on 
 very handsome plate ; there were a great many 
 different wines, and among other dishes one of the 
 red mushrooms, which were excellent. We had 
 coffee simultaneously with dessert, and set out very 
 soon after to see the camp. Mrs. Disbrowe and I 
 went in a drosky drawn by two magnificent horses, 
 the one in the shafts black, and the one for show 
 grey. General Lewerschoff himself rode a beautiful 
 English horse, and mounted Belgrave on a very nice 
 chestnut, and Mr. Disbrowe on an equally good 
 bay. All these horses were very highly trained, 
 and went very superbly. The view of the tents 
 over the plain was very fine, there being between 
 thirty and forty thousand men encamped. We passed 
 first along the centre, in the middle of which is the 
 Emperor's tent ; the men were at their evening 
 exercise ; we then made a long round by a lake, and 
 returned by the tents of the avant-garde^ where we 
 stopped some time, got out of the carriage and 
 walked among the tents; went into one of the 
 kitchens, which are like pyramids made of turf: 
 the perfect order and neatness of the whole arrange- 
 ment is wonderful, and the walks between the tents
 
 1 52 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 and the divisions and sub-divisions are as perfectly 
 clean and neat as a flower garden. We beared the 
 retraite played, which begins by a march, and is 
 ended by a beautiful hymn, which they played 
 admirably ; after which, at a given signal, every 
 soldier takes off his hat and says a prayer in a sort 
 of chant ; the effect of this, when performed by so 
 large a body of men, at the same moment, is most 
 striking and impressive, and the whole sight, on an 
 immense plain, in a beautiful evening, was at once 
 touching and splendid. After passing some time 
 here, we returned to General Lewerschoff's house, 
 had tea, and returned home after a most delightful 
 evening arriving about half-past ten. 
 
 Wednesday, August ist. Belgrave and I set out 
 at noon, and went to the English " magazine," to the 
 banker's and to the Museum, where is a large col- 
 lection of Natural History, a very fine skeleton of a 
 mammoth, a stuffed servant of Peter the Great, of 
 great height, &c. In the rooms above is a figure 
 of Peter, dressed in his best costume, the instruments 
 he worked with, an ivory lustre he made ; his horse 
 and dogs these all wretchedly ill-stuffed an amber 
 looking-glass, belonging once to Charles XII., &c. 
 Then to the Commercial Hall. Belgrave went in 
 to look at it ; then to two booksellers, a shop for
 
 The Tauride. 153 
 
 the shawls which the Russian coachmen wear 'as 
 sashes, and of which we bought two beautiful speci- 
 mens; then we went in to look at a church close 
 by, it was the Day of Elias, and there were many 
 people crossing themselves and bowing to their 
 favourite Saints, whose shrines were covered with 
 gold and silver and precious stones, while lamps 
 were burning before them, &c. We then came 
 home, dined at home, and drove after dinner several 
 versts, though not out of town, to see the Tauride, 
 a palace built by Potemkin for Catharine, and now 
 only used to shelter some old maids of honour, 
 
 % 
 
 and for the Imperial fetes. The dwelling-rooms are 
 very pleasant, but the grande salle is beyond all 
 description. It is of enormous size, supported on 
 each side by a double row of white columns. Each 
 column, surrounded by mock silver wreaths, out of 
 which proceed hundreds of candles which, when 
 lighted, produce an effect like magic. On one side 
 of this large room is an enormous semi-circular 
 green-house with gravel walks, though all roofed in, 
 and with very large windows ; it is divided into 
 beds for flowers, and the trees are made of frame- 
 work, supporting quantities of coloured lamps ; the 
 pendant to this on the other side, is a very large and 
 beautiful circular room, joined on by an arch to the
 
 1 54 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 large central salle, containing some very pretty 
 antiques, the busts placed on consoles on the walls, 
 and lighted in the same way with the hall in the 
 centre. Among the statues there is a particularly 
 fine Egyptian one in grey marble. After going all 
 through the house, we walked in the gardens, which 
 are very pretty, and the evening was delightful. 
 When we came near home, Belgrave got out and 
 walked, whilst I went to call on Mrs. Disbrowe, 
 who not having been quite well, would not, I found, 
 be able to go to see the parade next morning at the 
 camp. I then came home. 
 
 Thursday, August ind. We got up at five, 
 breakfasted, and set ofF at half-past seven in Mr. 
 Disbrowe's travelling chaise (which he lent us) and 
 four horses, with his chasseur^ to go to see the grande 
 parade before the Emperor at the camp. We drove 
 first to General LewerschofF's, and were told that if 
 we went on we should find his carriage ; this we 
 did, and accordingly got into it and proceeded to 
 the scene of action. We placed ourselves, with a 
 few other carriages, in a very good place, near where 
 the Empress was stationed, accompanied by the 
 Grand Duke Michael,* and surrounded by their 
 staff. We had the choice also of General Lewer- 
 
 * Younger brother of the late Emperor Nicholas.
 
 A Grand Review. 155 
 
 schoft's drosky; but as it was broiling hot, I re- 
 mained in the close carriage, while Belgrave got out 
 and walked about with Mr. Kennedy. 
 
 The number of men who passed twice before the 
 Emperor was forty-two thousand ; the infantry came 
 first ; the first the Corps de Cadets, which was composed 
 entirely of noblemen's sons, among whom the young 
 Grand Duke Alexander,* was marching in the ranks, 
 he appeared something like his uncle, the late 
 Emperor, fair, with a round face, he was dressed in 
 the uniform of the Paulofsky Regiment, with a high 
 cap, of red, white and gold, without the least shade 
 to the face. The Foot Guards followed, and then 
 came the cavalry. The Cuirassiers (the Emperor's) 
 in white uniforms with black helmets and cuirasses, 
 mounted on very fine chestnut horses; heavy dragoons 
 on bay and black horses ; red hussars, on grey horses ; 
 lancers, &c., the rear being brought up by a troop of 
 Cossacks. The first time they passedataslow trot, the 
 second time the cavalry went by at a slow canter ; but 
 the Cossacks trotted, not possessing any other pace but 
 a trot or a gallop. The artillery, which was very 
 finely appointed, with cannon, and portable bridges, 
 had magnificent horses ; but, in fact, they were all 
 
 * The present Emperor of Russia; born in April 1818, then in his 
 tenth year.
 
 156 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 fine, particularly the chestnuts. Each regiment 
 had a full band, which played as they went past. 
 The Emperor said to each regiment in Russian, 
 " I am contented," to which they answered in 
 a sort of scream, " we are glad to do our en- 
 deavour." The whole sight was beautiful. After 
 all was over, the Emperor thanked the men, and they 
 retreated in long files to their respective destinations. 
 We returned to General LewerschofFs habitation, 
 where we remained while our post-horses were put- 
 ting to our carriage, as they had baited there while 
 we were at the Camp. General LewerschofFs two 
 aides-de-camp joined us, and we went to see the 
 General's horses in his stable. We declined an 
 invitation to go to a dejeuner at Princess A. Galitzin's, 
 as we were in a hurry to reach home. We called at 
 Mr. Disbrowe's ; found them all out. Belgrave then 
 went to the banker's, meaning to walk home. Soon 
 after I came home, Mr. and Mrs. Disbrowe called, 
 and we settled our plans for the next day. We dined 
 at half-past five ; at half-past seven Mrs. Disbrowe 
 called for me, and we visited at Mrs. Middleton's, 
 the Portuguese Minister's, and Princess Kourakin's, 
 and found nobody at home. Returned home ; Mrs. 
 Disbrowe stayed a little while, and went away. We 
 had tea, and received a letter from Madame de
 
 The Eglise Isaac. ] 57 
 
 Lieven, appointing us to pass next Sunday at Paul- 
 offsky, with the Dowager-Empress. 
 
 Friday, August %ra. We went soon after break- 
 fast to see the model for the scaffolding of the out- 
 side colonnade of the Eglise Isaac, and a beautiful 
 model it is. The architect, Monsieur de Montfer- 
 rand, then went with us to the place itself. The 
 church was originally begun by Catharine II., in 
 marble; finished by Paul, in brick. It is now pulled 
 down, all but a very small part, which, in a church, 
 must always be left, to begin an entirely new one. 
 The columns for the colonnade, by which it is to be 
 entirely surrounded, are magnificent ; each of a single 
 block of granite fifty-five feet in length, and sixteen 
 feet in diameter. The machinery and method of 
 raising and placing each pillar on its base is very 
 curious. The capitals and bases are of bronze, and 
 it is to take, at least, ten years in building. After 
 this, Belgrave went with Mr. Disbrowe to look at 
 some pictures, and I went with Mrs. Disbrowe to a 
 quantity of shops, including milliner's, to arrange 
 about my Court-dress for Sunday ; we also went to 
 the English "magazine" (Mr. Jackson's) for hand- 
 kerchiefs, embroidered with costumes, &c. ; and we 
 ended by a visit to a confectioner's. I set Mrs. 
 Disbrowe down at home, and met Belgrave close by
 
 158 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 her house ; he came home in the carriage with me, 
 and we then dressed for dinner immediately. Dined 
 at Mr. Disbrowe's ; met Monsieur aud Madame 
 Segnaven ; after dinner they went home to go 
 to the Promenade aux Isles for the fete of the 
 Empress-mother, where Belgrave and I went 
 with Mr. and Mrs. Disbrowe in their landau. 
 We found crowds of people on foot in all sorts 
 of dresses; the number of carriages too was im- 
 mense ; we were obliged to go in a regular line 
 round and round the islands, the order of 
 march being rigidly enforced by gens-d'armes, 
 who were stationed at different places. We got 
 out to walk, in order to hear the band of 
 horn music, which was stationed exactly in front 
 of the Palace at Irlagen, and in which each per- 
 former plays one note. They played the overture 
 to " Lodoiska" the effect is very pretty, with rather 
 too much sameness, and sounds very like an 
 immense musical box ; the horns are in a gradation 
 of sizes, from very small to quite large. We 
 came away about ten, as the fireworks were not 
 to begin till eleven. The night was beautiful, 
 and the yachts on the river, with lamps lit 
 along the rigging, looked very pretty. 
 Saturday August ^th. Belgrave went out after
 
 The Palace of Tsarskoe-Selo. 159 
 
 breakfast to see about the passports, Mr. Kennedy 
 came here, and I walked with him to several 
 shops ; bought patterns at a French one ; went 
 to some Persian shops, and then to some 
 Russian ones in the bazaar; bought two chains 
 of sea-horse bone from Archangel. A very hot 
 day. I went to Madame Turin's to accelerate 
 the arrival of my gown for the next day, as 
 we were to be presented to the Emperor and 
 Empress at Tsarskoe-Selo, before going to the 
 Dowager-Empress's at PaulofFsky. Belgrave too 
 went to some shops. We dined with Mr. Mid- 
 dleton, the American Minfster; besides Mrs. and 
 Miss Middleton, there were Mr. and Mrs. Dis- 
 browe, Monsieur and Madame Segnaven, Monsieur 
 and Madame Guerreino, of Portugal ; Count de 
 St. Germain, and several others ; after that we went 
 aux Isles to call on Madame VassilikofF, who was 
 out ; so we came straight home. 
 
 Sunday, August $th. We got up at half-past six, 
 and were off at half-past eight, in our travelling 
 carriage and four for Tsarskoe-Selo, about eighteen 
 miles from St. Petersburg ; we arrived there soon 
 after ten, and were shown to a very pretty 
 apartment in the Great Palace, where we dressed. 
 Belgrave, of course, in his uniform ; we were ready
 
 160 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 by half-past eleven, the time appointed, when the 
 Count de Modena came to tell us that we should be 
 received at a quarter past twelve, when he would call 
 for us. We had therefore time to eat some luncheon, 
 which was prepared for us ; a little after the time 
 fixed, he returned and took us in a royal coach to a 
 smaller palace, Le Palais Alexandre, a few hundred 
 yards from the other. We walked across a terrace 
 into the house, into a large salle, with servants in 
 Turkish dresses, here we waited a little while; when 
 old Princess Volkonsky, whom I remembered per- 
 fectly in England with the Grand Duchess Catharine,* 
 came in ; and after a little while the Chamberlain 
 came to say that the Empress was ready to receive 
 me, and that Belgrave was to go to the Emperor. 
 I was then shown with my old Princess into the 
 Empress's private sitting-room, a beautiful and large 
 apartment, full of books, music, and flowers, and 
 opening to a delightful garden ; the Empress was 
 there with two little Princesses, her children, the 
 Grand Duchess Marie and Olga.f She received me 
 very kindly, kissing me on both cheeks, but 
 
 * Sister of the Emperor Alexander ; her first husband was the Prince 
 of Holstein-Oldenberg ; she married secondly, in 1816, the late King 
 of Wurtemberg. 
 
 f The present Queen of Wurtemberg.
 
 A Royal Palace. 161 
 
 did not let me kiss her hand. She looked 
 very handsome and was prettily dressed in light 
 blue, with a light blue hat and feathers, and a 
 necklace of three rows of enormous pearls. She 
 made me sit down with her, and talked very 
 agreeably, and a great deal about Gower,* whom 
 she remembered perfectly at Memel. In the 
 middle of this chat the Emperor came in without 
 being announced, and sat down with us, and talked 
 for a long time very cordially and good-naturedly. 
 After he went, the Empress sent for Belgrave, 
 who came and kissed her hand ; she remained 
 for some time talking to jhim standing, and then 
 said, she would keep us no longer, as we were 
 going to Pauloffsky, but hoped to see us on 
 our return ; she then kissed me again, and took 
 leave of us; and we returned to the other Palace, 
 over the whole of which we were shown by 
 Count Modena; it is immense and magnificent, 
 comprising long suites of rooms, with beautiful 
 floors and covered with gilding. We saw the 
 private apartments of Catharine II. and those of 
 the late Emperorf and Empress, which are de- 
 lightful and comfortable. In the Emperor Alex- 
 
 * My eldest brother, afterwards the second Duke of Sutherland, 
 j" The Emperor Alexander I., who died in 1801. 
 
 M
 
 1 62 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 ander's room all the things were as he had left 
 them, his slippers by his bed, his clothes, brushes, 
 boots, &c., all scattered about, and his books, 
 pencils, &c., were still on the tables. I forgot to 
 mention that a room, forming one of a long 
 suite, is famous as being lined entirely with amber, 
 which, however, has only the effect of a heavy 
 yellow marble. Countess Modena and her 
 daughters came for a moment to see us in our 
 rooms, and we then set out ready dressed for 
 Pauloffsky, about three miles off. 
 
 On our arrival we were shown to a very 
 handsome apartment ; and immediately the maitre 
 cles ceremonies came to conduct me to visit the 
 Dowager Princess de Lieven, who was governess 
 to all the Imperial family, except Alexander she 
 is now eighty-five years of age. We reached her 
 rooms by a long suite of passages and stair- 
 cases. I was very kindly received by her : she 
 had the most charming manners, and was dressed 
 in perfect good taste for her age. She asked 
 many questions about Count and Countess Lieven, 
 in London ; but we were soon unwillingly obliged 
 to take leave of her, as it was time to go to 
 the Empress-mother. We were then taken to 
 La Salle Grecque, a very handsome room, where
 
 The Empress- Mother. 163 
 
 we waited a short time, with some of the 
 Court people, till the Empress* appeared ; she is 
 very tall, and bien conserve for her age (sixty- 
 eight), with remarkably good manners, and very 
 handsomely dressed in white, and with a mag- 
 nificent set of turquoises and diamonds ; her face 
 is large and rather flat, but with a very pleas- 
 ing expression ; she walks slowly and with some 
 difficulty, but with great dignity. She kissed me 
 on both cheeks, like the other Empress, and 
 received us both with the greatest kindness; afrer 
 talking a little while, she retired, saying she 
 hoped to see us at dinner, and we were then 
 conducted to a semi-circular gallery ; soon after 
 which the Empress arrived, and at three o'clock 
 we went to dinner. The dinner was magnifi- 
 cent and superbly monte ; at dessert, the Empress 
 cut up an apple of the celebrated transparent 
 kind, and gave me some seeds to take home 
 to plant in England, f When dinner was over, 
 we went back to the Salle Grecque, when the Em- 
 press took me out on the balcony and talked 
 for some time. I asked her leave to see her 
 Institut des Dames Nobles, this she gave readily, 
 
 * The Empress -mother was the widow of the Emperor Paul, 
 f This I did carefully, but they never succeeded. 
 
 M 2
 
 164 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 and said she would give immediate orders for 
 us to see both that and the Convent de St. 
 Catharine. She then invited everybody to drink 
 tea at Le Pavilion des Roses, and forthwith re- 
 tired ; we were immediately taken in a coach 
 to another small palace, a few hundred yards 
 distant to the Grand Duchess Helen, a daughter 
 of Prince Paul of Wurtemberg,* who is fair and 
 pretty, talked very fast, and asked a great number 
 of questions. I was presented to her first, and 
 then Belgrave, and we then returned to the 
 Dowager Empress's Palace, where Belgrave took off 
 his uniform and put on an ordinary evening dress. 
 We were to have driven out en ligne.^ a sort of 
 open carriage like two benches, joined back to back, 
 which had just come to the door with six horses, 
 when it began to rain, which of course put an end 
 to our expedition, so I went and found Princess 
 Kourakin in the passage, and we went together and 
 paid a visit to one of the dames d'honneur, whose 
 rooms were just opposite to ours, across the passage; 
 a message then came that the Empress wished us 
 to see her private rooms, which open into an 
 exquisite flower garden, to which nobody has access 
 but the Empress herself. We were rather hurried 
 
 * Brother of the then King of Wurtemberg.
 
 Church of Alexander Neffslcy . 165 
 
 here, as she was already gone to the salon y whither 
 we followed, and found that she had kept a place 
 at her table for me to play at mouche with her, 
 and a party of Princess Dolgorouki and Prince 
 Volkonski, and several more. All this time, during 
 supper, the windows which were open down to 
 the ground, were full of the populace who were 
 looking in. After supper, about half past ten, the 
 Empress went round her circle and took leave of 
 us, saying that she should see us again on our 
 return from Moscow. She then retired, and every- 
 body of course separated ; we went to our rooms, 
 and dressed for our journey home, about twenty 
 miles, where we arrived very tired soon after one 
 m the morning. It rained in torrents during the 
 latter part of the way. 
 
 Monday, August 6th. Belgrave and I went out 
 soon after breakfast on a shopping tour, to buy 
 books, maps, &c., and to see the Convent and 
 Church of Alexander NefFsky, who lies buried in a 
 great silver frittered-away shrine in the church ; 
 this shrine was erected in his honour by Catharine II. 
 There was service going on, performed by the 
 monks, who are dressed in black with high caps, 
 and black veils hanging down behind them ; the 
 dress is handsome. Their singing in the church
 
 166 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 without music, had a very fine effect. After that 
 we saw a strange ceremony of the priest blessing a 
 book for a woman. We dined at home at seven, 
 and did not go out in the evening. 
 
 Tuesday, August jfh. Belgrave went to call on 
 Mr. Boulgakoff, the -Directeur des Postes, and soon 
 after eleven we went to see the Convent of St. 
 Catharine, and the Institut for the education of 
 three hundred dames nobles, founded by the 
 Dowager Empress. The different classes have 
 different coloured stuff dresses, white aprons with 
 bodies, extremely well made, and long gloves ; they 
 are all exceedingly well behaved ; the Directeur 
 and the Superieure and several subordinate 
 officers went over the place with us, they asked 
 the children many questions, and particularly 
 in subtle metaphysics, which they answered very 
 glibly. 
 
 We stayed here some time, and then went to 
 see the church in the Citadel, on each side of the 
 altar are the coffins of some of the last Emperors ; on 
 the right are those of the late Emperor Alexander and 
 his Empress, that of Anne Paulowna, his sister, and 
 that of Paul, all covered with palls of dark green 
 cloth edged with gold, and the cypher of each on 
 the top, also in gold ; on the other side are the
 
 Palace of the Great Duke Michael. 167 
 
 coffins of Peter L, his wife, and daughter ; and 
 that of Catharine II., all similarly covered and 
 decorated. 
 
 The church is lined with standards taken from 
 the Turks and Persians ; on one is the mark of a 
 hand in two places, clearly defined in blood. 
 From here we went to the Palace of the Grand 
 Duke Michael, where we found, by his orders, an 
 aide-de-camp ready to receive us, a servant in 
 almost every room, and sentinels in every corner. 
 The house both outside and inside is magnificent ; 
 it contains quantities of delightful rooms, beautifully 
 furnished, some with Lyons silk, all of different 
 colours, and some with faux marbre beautifully 
 painted; the house besides is one of the best 
 arranged and most convenient that I ever saw. 
 We also saw the Grand Duke's private apart- 
 ments, in which are several good pictures and 
 drawings of soldiers, horses, &c. ; also his armoury, 
 which is very fine and varied, and contains besides 
 the ancient armour, specimens of all the modern 
 uniforms of different countries. There are three 
 glass cases, entirely filled with clothes which had 
 been worn by the late Emperor. There is a 
 delightful garden belonging to this Palace, which 
 was given to the Grand Duke (i.e. the Palace) by
 
 163 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Alexander ; and the whole thing is perfectly superb. 
 We then came home to dress for dinner. Belgrave 
 dined at a large banquet under orange trees at 
 Count Bloom's, the Danish Minister ; and I dined 
 with Mrs. Disbrowe ; we were only ourselves 
 and Mr. Kennedy, -as Mr. Disbrowe dined also 
 at Count Bloom's. In the evening I was going 
 to set down Mrs. Disbrowe at Mrs. Middleton's ; 
 but as we met Mr. Disbrowe and Belgrave 
 coming back from dinner, she went with Mr. 
 Disbrowe, and I came home with Belgrave, and 
 wrote letters till near twelve, when I went to bed 
 dreadfully tired. 
 
 St. Petersburg. 
 Tuesday Morning, August '7th, 1827. 
 
 Dearest M 
 
 I want so much to write, and have so little 
 time that it is quite terrible ! There is so much 
 to be done here both morning and evening, 
 that one never has a moment to one's self, 
 and I begin this whilst waiting for the carriage, 
 to go to see the Dowager Empress's Institu-t de 
 St. Catharine, and the other Institut of Les Dames 
 Nobles, which we do by her particular permission. 
 Last Tuesday we had a charming treat, which
 
 The Russian Camp. 169 
 
 . . ___ _^ 
 
 was, -going to the camp, about eighteen miles 
 from the capital. We went with the Disbrowes, 
 and dined with General Lewerschoff, at his 
 quarters ; these occupy two or three wooden 
 cottages in a Russian village, where all the officers 
 live; we were only ourselves, himself, and his four 
 aides-de-camp ; he has made his rooms very nice, 
 and gave us a dinner as good and as recherche as 
 one could have in Paris, served on very handsome 
 plate. Among other things was a dish of scarlet 
 mushrooms, which we were inclined to vote 
 poisonous, but we found them, on trial, excellent. 
 After dinner he put, Mrs. Disbrowe and me in a 
 drosky, with two magnificent horses ; he and 
 Belgrave, and Mr. Disbrowe were mounted on 
 the finest horses I ever saw. We went all over 
 the camp, which being placed on an immense 
 plain, with tents for forty thousand men, was a 
 beautiful sight; the Emperor's tent was in the 
 middle. The whole thing is kept in the most 
 perfect order ; at nine o'clock we heard them play 
 the retraite which is followed by a magnificent 
 hymn ; then at a signal all the soldiers take their 
 hats off and recite a prayer, which closes the scene ; 
 but the effect of this, when performed by forty 
 thousand people in their different regiments all at
 
 170 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 the same moment, is the most striking thing 
 possible. On Wednesday morning we "did" a 
 number of shops and visits, and in the evening 
 went to see La Tauride, built by Potemkin for 
 Catharine, in which there is a salle, and a covered 
 garden, and a chef-d'oeuvre of magnificence ! On 
 Thursday we got up at five and started again to 
 the camp to see la grande parade, i.e., all the 
 troops passing in review twice before the Emperor 
 Nicholas, which finished this year's campaign. It 
 was quite a beautiful scene ; the regiments are 
 splendid, and so are the artillery ; the cavalry too, 
 are admirably mounted. We saw many celebrated 
 people. The young Grand Duke,* just nine 
 years old, is a very nice boy ; does his duty in the 
 ranks like a common soldier, and is extremely well 
 brought up, being inured to all sorts of fatigue, 
 exercise and discipline. 
 
 We saw all the proceedings from General 
 LewerschofFs carriage, the driver of which knew 
 just what to do and where to go. (General Lewer- 
 schoff commands the heavy cavalry.) We came 
 home to dinner, and made visits in the evening. 
 Next day we went to see the foundations of a 
 new church which is in the course of building, 
 
 * The present Emperor, Alexander II.
 
 The Fete of the Empress- Mother. 171 
 
 and which is to be surrounded by granite columns 
 like Persepolis, fifty-five feet high, and sixteen in 
 diameter, and exquisitely polished. We dined with 
 the Disbrowes, and in the evening drove to a 
 Promenade aux Isles, where there were bands of 
 music, illuminations, and thousands of people, it 
 being the fete of the Empress -mother. In the 
 evening I found a very kind note from the old 
 Princess de Lieven, appointing us to pass Sunday 
 with the Dowager Empress at Pauloffsky. Saturday 
 morning I walked with Mr. Kennedy (Mrs. 
 Disbrowe's brother), to a quantity of Persian and 
 Russian shops, which was in itself very entertaining ; 
 and I received a notice that the Emperor and 
 Empress would receive us on Sunday, at half-past 
 eleven at Tsarskoe-Selo twenty miles from here 
 before going to the Dowager Empress. I had 
 much to do in order to get my dress in time; 
 however, it all came punctually to a moment. 
 It was very pretty, of a canary-bird colour, 
 trimmed with blonde, and a large hat with white 
 feathers. 
 
 We dined that day, Saturday, at Mr. Middle- 
 ton's, the American Minister, and met among others 
 Signer Guerreino, Portuguese Minister, who was in 
 England some time ago. On Saturday we had to
 
 172 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 get up at half-past six for our presentations in the 
 country. We got to Tsarskoe-Selo in very good 
 time, and found a pretty apartment ready for us 
 to dress in, and the Count de Modena came to tell 
 us that the Emperor and Empress would receive 
 us soon after twelve. We had, therefore, time to 
 eat some luncheon which they gave us ; and in 
 due time the Count de Modena came to fetch us 
 in a royal coach, as the palace where they live 
 is a few hundred yards from the great one. We 
 were shown into a beautiful salle y opening into 
 an exquisite garden, by which all these palaces 
 are surrounded, with a profusion of orange trees, 
 &c. In a short time came old Princess Volkonsky, 
 uglier than ever, and covered with orders and 
 diamonds ; she remembered all about us in Eng- 
 land, and told me, certainly without much senti- 
 ment, that Princess Aladensky, the other old 
 fright, was dead. In a little while the Count de 
 Modena, and the Ministre des Ceremonies, came to 
 tell us that the Empress* was ready for me, 
 and the Emperor for Belgrave. Accordingly I 
 went with Princess Volkonsky to the Empress, 
 and found her in a nice large room, full of 
 furniture, books, music, flowers. &c., in short, 
 
 * Born Princess Charlotte Alexandra of Prussia.
 
 A Visit to Tsarskoe-Selo Palace. 1 73 
 
 her private sitting-room, with two of her daughters. 
 She received me very kindly ; she is a very in- 
 teresting person, very handsome, but pale and 
 souffrante ; she has very good manners and great 
 amiability ; she seemed rather nervous, and is, I 
 should think, a person of much feeling. She 
 made me sit down with her, and talked for 
 some time, and a great deal about Gower,* whom 
 she desired we would ask to come to Russia, 
 avant que nous sommes tous trop vieux ; she 
 sent one of her children to look for a pair of 
 scissors that he gave her at Memel, and which 
 she always uses for her work, but the children 
 could not find them, though she says they are always 
 kept with her metier. 
 
 In the middle of this the Emperor came in 
 without being announced, and talked for a long 
 time much about his regiments and horses, and 
 went to look for his youngest child to show me, 
 but it was asleep. He then sent for the young 
 Grand Duke, but he, too, was out bathing. The 
 Emperor is very cordial and good-natured in his 
 manner, and said that he hoped to see us again 
 when we came back, as he was then obliged to go 
 and visit his mother, and went away. The Empress 
 
 * My brother, the late Duke of Sutherland, then Lord Gower.
 
 1 74 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 talked for a little while longer, and then said, 
 " Nous excuserons 1'etiquette, et je m'en vais en- 
 voyer chercher votre mari." Belgrave came and 
 kissed her hand, she remained a little while talking 
 to him, standing all the while, and then said that 
 she must not keep us, as we were going to Paul- 
 offsky, and so took leave, adding she must see us 
 again on our return. We then went back to 
 Tsarskoe-Selo, where the Count de Modena showed 
 us all over the Palace, which is enormous and 
 magnificent ; we saw the private apartment of the 
 old Catharine, and also of the late Emperor and 
 Empress delicious rooms all the Emperor Alex- 
 ander's things were left about as he had left them, 
 some of his clothes, slippers, &c., pencils, knives, 
 books nothing had been touched. From the 
 windows of a long gallery we saw Princess Mary 
 of Wurtemburg,* a niece of the Duchess of Kent, 
 sitting out working with her ladies ; and from 
 another we saw three Princesses of Georgia, 
 then residing at St. Petersburg as hostages, 
 or prisoners on parole, and just returning from a 
 drive. 
 
 After seeing all this, and much more, we drove 
 
 * Daughter of Prince Paul ; married, as Helena Paulowna, to the 
 Grand Duke Michael of Russia.
 
 TJie Princesse de Lieven. 175 
 
 off to Pauloffsky, about three miles; we had a 
 beautiful apartment given us for the day, and im- 
 mediately after a chamberlain came to take me to 
 see the old Princesse de Lieven, who has been dan- 
 gerously ill. She is eighty-five, and the nicest, 
 cleanest, best dressed person (suitably to her age) I 
 ever saw ; her manners are a charming mixture of 
 douceur and noblesse, full of kindness and thoroughly 
 bien elevee. After I had been with her a minute, the 
 Emperor was announced ; of course, my conductor 
 and I retired to an ante-room, where we thought 
 we were safe ; but contrary to our expectation the 
 Emperor came through that room, expressed him- 
 self excessively shocked that we should have run 
 away from him, and gave me his arm to accom- 
 pany him to Madame de Lieven, and made me stay 
 through the whole of his visit. He shows, as they 
 all do, the greatest respect and affection for Madame 
 de Lieven, and kissed her most tenderly both on com- 
 ing and on going. After he went away, Belgrave 
 was admitted ; she was very good-natured to us 
 both, and we liked and admired her extremely. We 
 left her soon, as it was near time for our visit to the 
 Dowager Empress. Madame de Lieven had with her 
 her two sons, one whom she introduced as her eldest 
 son, and the other looked older than the Monsieur
 
 176 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 de Lieven* who was in England. We were taken 
 through a suite of rooms and galleries to a large 
 salle, with a few chamberlains about, where the 
 Empress appeared soon after. Neither she nor the 
 young Empress would let me kiss their hand, but 
 kissed me on both cheeks. She received us with 
 great good-nature, and after a little conversation, 
 she said that she hoped to see us again at dinner, 
 and so retired. We were then taken to a semi- 
 circular gallery were we found about twenty-six 
 ladies magnificently dressed, and still more gentle- 
 men ; my friend, the old Princess Dolgorouki, 
 whom I had thought quite decrepit at her own 
 house, came out gay and youthful, in an apricot 
 coloured gown, trimmed with bunches of violets 
 like a fashion book and with the help of rouge, 
 still looking very handsome. The Nesselrodes all 
 civility, but as they are still in the country we are 
 to dine with them on our return. 
 
 Well, to go back to the Court. After we had been 
 there a short time the Empress appeared, and as 
 soon as she had done the honours of her circle, we 
 all went to dinner. She of course went first and 
 alone, as the Grand Duke Michael, who was to have 
 come, had not arrived ; after her went all the ladies 
 
 * Afterwards Ambassador in England for many years, both before and 
 after 1827.
 
 An Imperial Dinner Party. 177 
 
 separately, and then all the gentlemen. The places 
 of the guests were all settled beforehand. The 
 Empress in the middle of the great table ; next to 
 her the Grand Duke Michael, who came in soon 
 after ; then her first lady ; then I, then the grande 
 maitresse of the Grand Duchesse Helen, and so on. 
 All the great ladies were arranged on the same side 
 with the Empress, and opposite were all the gentle- 
 men, among others Belgrave, who sat by Count 
 Nesselrode. The other gentlemen and dames 
 (fhonneur were at the two other tables. The dinner 
 was handsome and magnificently monte. After 
 dinner we returned to the Salle Grecque, where the 
 Empress took me on the balcony and talked for 
 some time, and gave us permission to see her two 
 Institutes, des Dames Nobles and St. Catharine, 
 then fnvited all the company to drink tea " dans le 
 Pavilion des Roses, mais a condition qu'elles 
 mettront fles robes fermees et de grands manteaux." 
 The men were to take off their uniforms at all 
 events for the evening ; and by great good luck I 
 had taken with me a white gros de Naples gown 
 with long sleeves, which was just right. One of 
 the ladies was desired to take us for a promenade in 
 an open carriage before tea, to show us the gardens ; 
 but just when the carriage appeared with six
 
 178 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 horses, it began to rain, so we could not go, and 
 the Pavilion des Roses was out of the question. 
 But I quite forgot to mention, that before we 
 undressed we were taken in a carriage to the 
 Grand Duke Michael's habitation, about one mile 
 and a half off, to be presented to the Grand Duchess 
 Helen, who not being well, did not come to dinner ; 
 she is pretty, with very fair light hair, talks very fast, 
 and asks innumerable questions ; we were presented 
 to her one after the other. That done, we returned to 
 the other Palace, and were soon called by one of the 
 ladies to see the Empress's cabinet, at her desire. 
 
 This cabinet consists of a suite of small rooms, 
 furnished in the most perfect way, entirely in 
 beautiful broderies de tapissaries, like ours, and 
 with everything imaginable of refinement, recherche, 
 beauty, ease, and comfort, opening into a delicious 
 flower-garden, into which nobody ever has access, 
 except herself; she is very fond of flowers, and the 
 rooms were filled with the finest and rarest flowers, 
 she had plenty of canary birds also, and a very 
 handsome poodle. From this apartment we were 
 called in a hurry, and on going up-stairs again to 
 the great room, I found, to my dismay, the Empress 
 was waiting for me to begin her game at 
 mouche, of which I did not know one bit. But,
 
 An Imperial Card Party. 179 
 
 however, a young Prince Hohenloe,* the Wurtem- 
 burg Minister, undertook to teach and help me ; 
 and succeeded so well as to make me win. The 
 Empress also helped me herself occasionally, talk- 
 ing very agreeably the whole time. She played 
 the whole evening, except for about twenty minutes, 
 when the Grand Duchess Helen came and took her 
 place ; but she stayed a very short time, and the Em- 
 press took her cards again, and played till she had 
 done supper. This meal is served round, like tea, 
 each person has a knife, plate, fork, &c., if he or 
 she likes ; this people put on their knees, or where 
 they can. In the meantime, the Empress sent 
 Belgrave to see her pictures, her library, &c., with 
 which he was delighted, and he then joined the 
 young gentlemen and ladies who were dancing in 
 the outer room, and danced for some time. The 
 Empress then sent the Grand Duke Michael to 
 fetch him, and talked to him about pictures, &c., 
 She made me a great eloge of Lord Gran- 
 villef and Lord St. Helens,J and finally took 
 
 * The same Prince whose reputed miracles afterwards caused so 
 much sensation both in England and on the Continent. 
 
 f Half-brother of the first Duke of Sutherland ; afterwards Earl 
 Granville. 
 
 J A celebrated diplomatist, many years British Minister and Am- 
 bassador at various foreign courts ; he died in 1841. 
 
 N 2
 
 1 80 Diary 'of a Tour. 
 
 leave of me, saying, she depended on seeing us 
 on our return. Nothing could be kinder than she 
 was to us, as well as to everybody else : she said be- 
 sides, she would write immediately to some friend of 
 hers I do not know who to take care of us at 
 Moscow, and gave me orders for us to see her 
 Institutes. We have been at one of these Institutes 
 to-day, and saw three hundred young ladies like 
 Madame de Lieven, and all just as well behaved. 
 To-morrow we are to see seven hundred more. 
 After going there this morning, we went to see 
 the church of the Citadel, where the late Em- 
 peror and Empress are buried ; thence to the 
 Grand Duke Michael's Palace, which both in- 
 side and out is the most completly magnificent 
 and comfortable house I ever saw. It is only 
 just finished, and was given him by Alexander; 
 the furniture too, is quite beautiful, and in the 
 best taste. He had very good-naturedly ordered 
 an aide-de-camp to show us everything, so we 
 saw all his private apartments, and a superb 
 armoury, with several cases of clothes of the late 
 Emperor, and a complete collection of armour 
 and uniforms of all nations. Belgrave has just 
 been dining at a great dinner of Count Zichy's 
 (the Austrian Minister), and I with Mrs Dis-
 
 The Institut des Dames Nobles. 181 
 
 browe and her brother. I am writing in great 
 haste, for I have more letters to write, one to 
 Lord Granville, full of royal messages, from the 
 King of Sweden, which I have never yet had 
 time to despatch. 
 
 To-morrow we have a thousand things to do, 
 and to pack up (for we start next day for 
 Moscow), and to dine with the Disbrowe's at a 
 great dinner. We expect to get to Moscow on 
 Monday or Tuesday, then to rest a day, then 
 go on to Nisnei, where rooms are taken for us; 
 to stay there three or four days, come back to 
 Moscow for five or six days more, and then 
 here again for about a week ; till then I do 
 not expect to have time to write again. 
 
 Wednesday, 8 th. Got up soon after seven. 
 Belgrave went after breakfast again to Monsieur 
 Bulgakow's about his courier, and at ten we 
 went to the other Institut des Dames Nobles, 
 for which purpose a man in uniform was told 
 off to conduct us, by order of the Empress; 
 we were received by the Inspecteur des Etudes, 
 and by Madame d'Aglebert, the Superieure, who 
 was the governess to the present Emperor 
 Nicholas, and is a Dame de Portrait, and of 
 the Order of St. Catharine. She was very kind
 
 182 Diary- of a Tour. 
 
 to us, and we saw the whole in detail ; there 
 are here seven hnndred and twelve pupils, two 
 hundred of whom are bourgeoises, the rest 
 nobles. The education is perfect as to accom- 
 plishments, and comprises besides all the usual 
 branches, geometry, metaphysics, drawing, music, 
 &c. We went to see them all at dinner, previouslv 
 to which they said a prayer, and then sung a 
 hymn, the effect of which was extremely pretty, 
 they then sat down to table ; to-day being a 
 jour wiaigre, the dinner consisted of a soup of 
 gruel with raisins, a dish of fish, and one of 
 rice ; on other days there are also three dishes, 
 one of soup, one of meat, and one of vegetables, 
 or something sweet. While they were at their 
 dinner, the Superieure gave us luncheon, and 
 we then took leave of her. The maid-servants 
 of the institution are all educated here. The 
 sleeping rooms are very large, and contain a 
 great number of small beds arranged in two 
 dormitories ; the school-rooms are also large, and 
 look horribly dull, being destitute of any furniture 
 save benches and desks. The children come as early 
 as six years old, and stay six years more, during 
 which time they never leave the establishment, and 
 never go out, except twice a day, for an hour each
 
 A Malachite Manufactory. 183 
 
 time, in a dull garden. The house is very spacious, 
 the passages immensely wide and long, the rooms 
 all very large and high, the children all hold them- 
 selves upright and stiff, like Madame de Lieven ; 
 there were not many pretty ones. The Empress- 
 mother comes very often to see them, and sometimes 
 for the whole day. She has a handsome apartment 
 reserved entirely to herself. 
 
 We went away soon after one o'clock, and went 
 to the malachite manufactory Maderni's where 
 Belgrave bought a magnificent malachite vase (for 
 fourteen thousand roubles) and two small ones, and 
 a large cassette, and a square presse-papier of lapis 
 lazuli for two thousand more. We then went to 
 the bankers, and I went to the English " magazine" 
 and some more shops, and then came home ; we 
 packed up some of our St. Petersburg purchases for 
 Mr. Kennedy to send by the courier by Saturday's 
 steamboat, and made many arrangements for our 
 next day's journey, when we were to set out for 
 Moscow ; then dressed and arrived tolerably late for 
 dinner at Mr. Disbrowe's, where was a party of five- 
 and-twenty : Mr., Mrs. and Miss Middleton, General 
 de Suchterlens, a nice old man, who had taken Swea- 
 borg from the Swedes, his son, Count Suchterlens,* 
 
 * Who they say, afterwards, actually sold his wife.
 
 184 Dia r ry of a Tour. 
 
 Monsieur Bodisco, General Dausebach, the Hano- 
 verian Minister, Count Palma Stiernend, the 
 Swedish Minister, and several others. Monsieur 
 and Madame Segnavine, Monsieur de Bom- 
 belles, and Count Zichy, came in the evening. 
 We sat out on the balcony after dinner till our 
 return home, when we arranged our affairs, wrote 
 letters, paid bills, " did" this journal, and I hope I 
 may soon say, " had tea and went to bed." 
 
 Thursday, yth. We got up at six, and were busy 
 in attending to our packages ; Mr. Kennedy came 
 just after breakfast to receive our last words and 
 execute our commissions, and to bring us letters for 
 Moscow. I walked with him to leave some orders 
 at the English "magazine;" just before we set out, I 
 received a letter from Princess Lieven, enclosing 
 another from the Empress-mother to the Governor 
 of Moscow, as she had promised us. We set out 
 at eleven, ourselves in our own carriage, and the 
 little carriage going before with a courier and our two 
 beds, for Belgrave had also made the acquisition of 
 an iron one at St. Petersburg. We had a good 
 road, and found ourselves at Pomerania at seven, 
 but could not get there so many rooms as we should 
 have liked, as they were all preparing for the 
 Emperor, who was expected there somewhere in
 
 Novogorod. 185 
 
 the morning; however, those we had were very 
 clean, the inn was excellent, and so was our dinner. 
 Friday ', loM. We set out at six; the country 
 all along was flat and desolate looking. We got to 
 Novogorod about three, and stopped at a traiteur 
 allemand's to dine ; we had a good dinner, but the 
 inn was very dirty. Novogorod is a large strag- 
 gling town surrounded with old walls, and looks 
 altogether like a wreck of former greatness. As 
 soon as we had dined we went on again ; at Bron- 
 nita, the stage beyond Novogorod, the good road 
 ends, and it continues very bad, occasionally made 
 of trees laid across, sometimes of deep sand, and for 
 long distances it consists only of a hundred different 
 tracks over a vast extent of sand. We arrived at 
 Crelsi at one on the morning of Saturday, nth, and 
 found a room for my maid in the inn, where she 
 had a bed made up on one of our mattresses. Bel- 
 grave and I slept in the carriage, and were called at 
 half-past four, when we went into the inn, a wretched 
 place, to wash and dress and breakfast (we had our 
 own bread and tea), and were off again at half-past 
 six. We arrived at Zimagore about three, and 
 dined extremely well at a German traiteur* s, went 
 on again immediately and overtook our courier at 
 eleven at Khotilovo, where, as we found the inn
 
 186 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 very clean, having been just built, we decided on 
 remaining for the night. We had tea and went 
 to sleep in our own beds. This night, like the 
 last, was extremely dark ; our road was occasionally 
 through deep sand, and sometimes at full gallop 
 over the grass without any road; our drivers, the 
 wildest-looking creatures imaginable, with long 
 beards, and most often in sheep-skin pelisses, the 
 wool inside, which in the middle of the day must be 
 rather warm ; they encourage their horses, who go 
 at a wonderful pace, by the strangest screams and 
 cries, and keep singing a great part of the way. 
 The stages are very long, generally above thirty 
 versts, some even thirty-eight, a verst being three- 
 quarters of an English mile. From the stage be- 
 fore Zimagore to-day we had six horses. 
 
 Sunday, iifh. We left Khotilovo a little before 
 nine ; had a tolerable road. We came to the last 
 stage with seven horses and sometimes more, and 
 performed it, though it consists of thirty-eight 
 versts, in three hours. Got to Torjok at seven ; 
 found a good inn. After we had arranged our 
 beds, we went into the shop (which is within the 
 inn) for the gold and silver embroderies on leather 
 for which Torjok is celebrated We bought fourteen 
 large sashes and thirteen small ones, a pocket-book,
 
 Torjok. 187 
 
 and a good many shoes, and ordered four large 
 reticules, two of red and two of green leather, em- 
 broidered with gold, and two yellow portefeuilles 
 with silver, and Belgrave ordered six pairs of boots, 
 two red, two maroon with gold, and two yellow with 
 silver all of different patterns ; this took us till nine 
 o'clock, when we dined and then went to bed. 
 
 Monday, ijM. We left Torjok at eight, and got 
 about two to Tver, where we stopped at a large, 
 rambling, dirty inn, also kept by a German, to dine ; 
 it began to rain while we were here, and continued 
 in torrents the whole of the day and evening. We 
 set out as soon as we had done dinner, Belgrave went 
 outside, so as to enable my maid to go within on 
 account of the rain. It grew very dark, and the 
 rain continued to inundate the roads, over which we 
 went at a furious pace, till we reached Savidoro, a 
 miserable place, at half-past eleven. Here Belgrave 
 arranged himself in the inn upon one of our mat- 
 tresses, and my maid and I slept in the carriage till 
 five, when Belgrave was called, and on awaking we 
 found that the rain had ceased and the morning was 
 fine. 
 
 Tuesday, \^th. We continued our course at six, 
 and stopped at the next place, Klin, to dress and 
 breakfast ; then we set off again ; the road im-
 
 188 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 proving, we soon arrived on the regular new chaussee, 
 parts of which are practicable at present only be- 
 tween St. Petersburg and Moscow. The last stage 
 the road was excellent a hard, good Macadam and 
 we got to Moscow at seven. Rooms had been taken 
 for us in Koppe's Hotel, only moderately clean. 
 The country round Moscow is, as usual in Russia, a 
 dead flat, and the approach to the town on this side 
 has nothing striking. We arranged ourselves in 
 
 DO O 
 
 our apartments, dined and went to bed. 
 
 Wednesday y i$th. Got up at eight; had very 
 good bread and butter for breakfast. Belgrave 
 went out to look for Mr. Gillibrand and to call on 
 the Governor, and then sent back the courier we had 
 brought from St. Petersburg the Directeur des 
 Postes here having promised him a better one. It 
 rained all the morning, and I did not go out, but 
 wrote letters. Mr. Gillibrand called at five and went 
 out with Belgrave to look for a carriage to hire to 
 convey us to Nisnei ; he was out for two hours and 
 more, employed in going to all the coachmakers' 
 shops before he could find one which would suit us, 
 but at last he succeeded and found a blue barouche. 
 
 Thursday, August \6th. We were busy the 
 whole of the morning in arranging our things and 
 packing up for our journey. We took lodgings at
 
 Moscow. - 180 
 
 an Englishwoman's (Mrs. Debaire) for my maid, 
 whom I intended to leave at Moscow while we 
 went to Nisnei. At one o'clock, Belgrave went to 
 call on the Governor, who gave him a letter for 
 Nisnei. We had luncheon before we set off, and 
 at five in the evening we embarked in a lapis 
 lazuli coloured caleche, which carried all our things 
 (of which we took very few) in bags under the 
 seats, and thereby left us room to put up our feet 
 at length on the opposite seat, which was very 
 convenient for night. Belgrave's servant went on 
 the seat with the driver ; and in this guise 
 we departed with four horses abreast ; we 
 travelled through the whole of the night, and 
 slept very comfortably, though the road was very 
 rough. 
 
 Friday, 17 th. We arrived about seven in the 
 morning at Pokroo, where we got out to breakfast, 
 and then wished we had stayed in the carriage, 
 the inn being most hopelessly dirty and horrible ; 
 so we went on as soon as we had swallowed our 
 tea. Nothing particular happened through the day ; 
 the road generally very rough and sandy, and the 
 country quite flat, we reached Vladimir at seven ; 
 it is a curious old town, full of churches with 
 minarets, and bells continually ringing. The inn
 
 190 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 here is tolerable. We took a short walk before 
 dinner, and looked into a church, where a service 
 was going on ; then came home, dined, and slept 
 in our own beds. It is vain to expect any such 
 article in a Russian inn, a sofa being, the only 
 thing approaching to it. Vladimir was formerly 
 the residence of the " Grand Prince," of whose 
 old chateau there are a few remaining walls, 
 like those around the Kremlin, and an old cathedral 
 adjoining. 
 
 Saturday, i%th. Got up soon after four, and 
 were off at seven ; the road sandy the whole way ; 
 dined in the carriage on our own provisions. We 
 saw at night, between Deatches and Mourom, a 
 village burning at some distance. We were fast 
 asleep, when we were suddenly awakened by the 
 splash of water, and found ourselves embarked in 
 a ferry-boat, crossing a large river, having just 
 changed horses at Mourom, about two o'clock in 
 the morning. 
 
 Sunday, igth. Having crossed the river, we were 
 taken by a twisting cross road ; and began by 
 sticking fast in a sand-hill, out of which the horses 
 could not pull us. We should probably have 
 remained there for days, or perhaps for years, had it 
 not been for the Siberian post, which was passing
 
 Rough Travelling. 191 
 
 by in five light carts, with numerous horses ; the 
 people gave our carriage a push, which helped us 
 up the hill, and also gave us an additional horse to 
 the five we had before ; and with this wide attelage 
 we went through meandering tracks, and through 
 copse woods, where the road was sometimes hardly 
 wide enough for a pair. We came to a brook, 
 which it was necesary to cross, and which was 
 simply a deep bog, aided by a few rotten planks 
 placed across with wide intervals. In the midst of 
 this, the middle horse contrived very naturally to 
 fall down ; so we were compelled to stop, with 
 black mud up to our axles, till he could be pulled 
 up again ; we were then pulled out with a desperate 
 jerk on to the opposite bank. Our carriage was 
 fortunately as strong as a piece of artillery, or it 
 never could have stood a mile of this extraordinary 
 road. As we went along we met constantly long 
 lines of carts, returning with merchandise from 
 Nisnei, and also large flocks of fine-looking oxen ; 
 and passed several times parties of prisoners going 
 off to Siberia, strongly guarded. 
 
 The morning broke with a thick fog, and the 
 road became pretty enough, through a country 
 covered with corn, and occasionally green turf, 
 over which we galloped at a^prodigious rate; some
 
 192 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 versts further on we came to the top of a deep 
 dell, with a regular quagmire full of holes at the 
 bottom, through which lay our way. There was 
 no road apparently ; but we had an indication of 
 the track, that we had better not take, by seeing 
 some carts struggling through the bottom of this 
 ravine, though nearly absorbed in the mud. We 
 descended a very steep place, straight into this bed 
 of mud, through which our driver very dexterously 
 guided us, just avoiding some tremendous holes; 
 we then went on prosperously, and found a better 
 road. We stopped about eleven o'clock to break- 
 fast at Osiabjovo, where we found a fairly clean 
 room, though full of flies ; and also our little 
 carriage which contained the courier and beds; it 
 was undergoing repairs, having been overturned in 
 the night, and the front wheels broken ; this done, 
 we set forth again ; the stage began by a very 
 steep hill, upon which the horses ran back, instead 
 of forwards, and were got up with great difficulty ; 
 there were three other hills which we climbed, 
 without any particular danger. The next inn was 
 a much better one, but we did not stop at it, the 
 road being very good from Y"arimovo to Alexovo, 
 where there is another good house. After this the 
 road was again verjj sandy ; the dust rose and
 
 Nisnei. 193 
 
 remained hanging over the road like a fog all the 
 way from here to Nisnei, the road was covered 
 with long lines of carts returning from the fair 
 and market; there must have been some hundreds. 
 We did not arrive at Nisnei till after dark, and 
 descended a very steep hill through the town 
 to lodgings, which had been taken for us in a 
 house near the bridge ; we found a very good 
 apartment of six rooms, and tolerably clean, but 
 not abounding in comfort, there being nothing in 
 it but tables, chairs, and sofas ; we, however, soon 
 put up our - beds, got dinner and a supper of our 
 own provisions, and portable soup, &c., and went 
 to bed at twelve, having arrived about ten. 
 
 Monday, 2oM. Had visits in the morning from 
 Mr. Schohl and Mr. Foottil. Belgrave went out 
 with them, and walked afterwards with me about 
 the fair till we came home to dinner at seven. The 
 fair is the most amusing scene that can be conceived. 
 It is about half a verst from the town on a penin- 
 sula, between the Rivers Oka and Volga, which 
 meet immediately below it. There is a regular 
 town built on purpose for the fair ; it consists of 
 long rows of warehouses and shops, with piazzas 
 before them, the whole forming a very large square 
 with innumerable subdivisions; the part where the 
 
 o
 
 194 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 tea magazines are placed is built in the Chinese 
 manner, and there is a Tartan mosque near. 
 Each sort of article has its separate quarter; there 
 is one quarter for furs, which are very cheap, one 
 for shoes, one for leather, one for all sorts of 
 things used in dying, such as indigo, logwood, 
 cochineal, &c., of which the Bokharians take a 
 great deal in exchange for their merchandize. The 
 shops from Moscow are the most showy, and 
 every sort of thing is to be found, from the 
 commonest, of a copek in price, to the most 
 valuable. The people themselves are as entertaining 
 as any part of the scene, as besides thousands of 
 Russians, there are abundance of Tartars and 
 Bokharians, and all kinds of tribes in different 
 dresses ; and some of them fine-looking people. 
 
 We were just thinking of going to bed, when 
 Belgrave's servant told us there was a great fire 
 near ; we looked up and saw a great stream of 
 light illuminating the entire street, so we put on 
 our things and went out; the fire was at two or 
 three versts distance, and on the opposite side of 
 the river ; but nevertheless it lighted up the whole 
 of the quay, where we were walking, the river, 
 and shipping, and the heights above the town. 
 The blaze was terrific, and as there was just wind
 
 A Steel Manufactory. 195 
 
 enough to fan it, the fire increased every instant. 
 After we had walked about a mile, and stood some 
 time on the quay watching it, we returned home, 
 leaving it apparently still augmenting ; some time 
 after we heard the engines and machines for cutting 
 away the wood-work pass by our windows, at full 
 gallop, to assist in putting out the fire. 
 
 Tuesday , iisf. We drove in one drosky, and 
 Mr. Foottil in another, to the place where the fire 
 had been the evening before ; it was a great steel 
 manufactory which had been burned down. There 
 were large heaps of ashes still red hot, which the 
 engines were endeavouring to put out, under the 
 superintendance of an officer. After that we drove 
 back again through long suburbs, and through the 
 fair, where we stopped at a part we had not seen 
 before, the quarter for the horses. We saw two 
 or three Russian studs for sale ; some pretty 
 looking horses, but none very remarkable. We 
 went on from here to the place on the Volga 
 where the tea is disembarked, of which there was 
 great quantities. The accommodations at the fair 
 are calculated to provide for fifty thousand people, 
 the whole is kept extremely clean, and in very 
 good order. After walking up to the fortress we 
 came home to dinner. 
 
 O 2
 
 196 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Wednesday , iind^ We wrote letters in the morn- 
 ing, and then went at one o'clock, in the same 
 drosky we had the day before, to drive round the 
 town. The old walls, which formerly protected the 
 city from the Tartars, are very handsome, and 
 descend the steep hill on which the fortress is built 
 in a gradation of terraces, with wide flights of steps 
 on the top. The view over the town, with the 
 Volga winding slowly along, full of sandbanks, 
 through an immense flat plain, is fine and striking. 
 We drove entirely round the town, and then went 
 to Mr. Foottil's to walk over the fair. Belgrave 
 called on Monsieur Tschumaya, a Greek merchant, 
 to whom he had a letter from Mr. Bulgakow at 
 Petersburg, and who immediately came down to 
 walk with us, and to go shopping. We went to 
 look for shawls, and begun by a Bokharian, who, 
 after some solicitation, took us mysteriously upstairs, 
 to their living rooms, over the warehouses, and 
 produced a beautiful white Cashmere shawl, with all 
 possible borders and corners ; for this they asked 
 five thousand roubles. M. Tschumaya lifted up 
 his hands and eyes, and begun to argue, and in five 
 minutes the price was four thousand ; that was still, 
 however, much too dear, and M. Tschumaya con- 
 tinued bargaining, screaming and gesticulating for
 
 " Shopping" in Russia. 197 
 
 near an hour, when the price became near two 
 thousand. We, however, went away, and before 
 we had gone twenty yards, one of the Bokharians 
 followed, asking if we would give two thousand one 
 hundred ; but when we went back, the other had 
 changed his mind, and would not take it. So away 
 we went, and saw some others, which M. 
 Tschumaya talked and reasoned over in the same 
 manner ; but as we intended to see more the next 
 day, we concluded nothing. We begun, however, 
 by going to a fur shop, where, with Monsieur 
 Tschumaya's assistance, we bought eight parcels of 
 ermine skins, made up ; each parcel of forty skins 
 costing twelve roubles each. We also bought two 
 parcels of squirrel skins for linings for pelisses. 
 After passing a long time in looking after these 
 purchases, we returned home to dinner. Mr. 
 Foottil dined with us at seven. After the first day, 
 Gartner cooked our dinner in the kitchen of the 
 house. I should have mentioned that we saw again 
 to-day, on the finger of a Bokharian, a beautiful 
 turquoise ring. We had asked the owner what 
 he would take for it the day before ; he said two 
 hundred roubles ; but Monsieur Tschumaya argued 
 to day till the price came down to fifty roubles, 
 when Belgrave carried it off in triumph. We also
 
 198 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 bought, under Monsieur Tschumaya's auspices, 
 some engraved cornelians, and some Turkish pastilles 
 of different kinds. 
 
 Wednesday, August 2 and, 1827. 
 
 Nisnei Novogorod, on the Volga, three hundred and sixty miles from 
 Moscow, and near the confines of Siberia, Tartary, Persia, &c. 
 
 This is certainly a fine and imposing date to begin 
 with, and though I did not expect to write again 
 before returning to St. Petersburg, I cannot let a 
 few moments pass by this morning without giving 
 myself the amusement of telling you some more of 
 our history, which has been perfectly prosperous. 
 We got to Moscow in six days, travelling through 
 two nights, and sleeping the other three. The road 
 is, in many places, marvellous, being the choice of 
 one track amongst five hundred through deserts of 
 sand, and going over this in a dark night often at 
 full gallop, with the drivers shrieking and screaming 
 to their horses, is the wildest scene that can be 
 imagined. We stayed only one day in Moscow, 
 and as that day was rainy, I did not go out, and 
 therefore saw nothing; but we were in haste to get 
 on to the fair here, and mean to stay at Moscow 
 a week as we go back. The journey here from
 
 Roads in Russia. 199 
 
 Moscow is a most wild one of three hundred and 
 sixty miles, which we accomplished in a nice lapis- 
 lazuli coloured caliche^ hired there to save our own. 
 I left my maid in lodgings at an Englishwoman's 
 house ; this saves a great deal of trouble on the 
 road, and I do very well for myself here. We slept 
 only once, at Vladimir, a curious old place, formerly 
 the residence of the Sovereigns, or " Grand Princes," 
 before they were Czars, and while they were in 
 some degree tributary to the " great horde " of the 
 Tartars. 
 
 We travelled through two nights, which was 
 rather pleasant, as the weather has been delightful ; 
 we sleep perfectly in the carriage, and without any 
 great fatigue. The road is occasionally a mixture 
 of deep sand and rotten planks, to avoid w hich 
 they sometimes go by a by-road, where one's 
 horses, six abreast, are compelled to go along a 
 road that would be narrow for a pair. We had 
 some tremendous bogs to get through, in one of 
 which we were nearly remaining, for one of the 
 middle horses fell, and we were some time getting 
 him up. At another place we stuck in a sand hill 
 till relieved by the Siberian post, which was going 
 by in light carts with numerous horses, one of 
 which it lent to help us ; however, we got through
 
 200 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 it all very well, and without any accident. Our 
 little carriage, containing our courier and our beds, 
 was overturned ; but they are all quite well, never- 
 theless. We arrived here on Saturday night, and 
 are very well off, as we have the best apartments 
 in the town. There is a fast going on now, it 
 will last for a fortnight; during this time the natives 
 eat no meat, but we do not observe it, and live 
 richly, our servant being an excellent cook. The 
 Russian bread is excellent everywhere, and all pro- 
 visions are to be got here, beautiful fruit, and the 
 best of tea. This town is very curious, * built on a 
 steep bank over the junction of the Oka and the 
 Volga, with such fine old walls and gateways, 
 erected by the Russians against the Tartars, sur- 
 rounding a large space where the fortress is. The 
 walls go down the hills in a sloping sort of way, 
 with stairs on the top, and the arches are only 
 recesses, like places for beds. There are several 
 curious old mosques, &c., but the fair itself is 
 delightful ; it is held in a town built on purpose, 
 about half-a-mile from the real town, but connected 
 with it by bridges, and on a peninsula between the 
 two rivers ; there are warehouses and shops in 
 regular rows, with piazzas before them, and each 
 sort of thing has its separate quarter ; one contains
 
 Nisnei Novugorod. 201 
 
 a handsome row of saints to hang up in houses ; 
 but the most curious part consists in the merchants 
 themselves. There are quantities of Tartars, not so 
 many Persians, on account of the war, Arabs, 
 Circassians, Georgians, Bokharians, who bring tur- 
 quoises and shawls, but such magnificent shawls, 
 with such borders ! The price, of course, is enor- 
 mous in proportion. Then merchants from Moscow 
 with beautiful shops, fine pearls and precious 
 stones ; in short, every sort of article de luxe that 
 can be conceived. The people are in all kinds of 
 dresses, some of them fine-looking people with 
 handsome countenances ; nothing can be more 
 entertaining than the entire scene, and it is well 
 worth the trouble of coming to see it. There were 
 no Arabian horses this year, but some Russian 
 studs of not very fine ones. In one of them we 
 met an English groom belonging to one of the 
 Galitzins, who had formerly lived with Lord Yar- 
 borough. We had letters here to a little English 
 merchant, who goes about with us, and is of the 
 greatest use In short, no one could get on better 
 than we do, with the exception of being plagued to 
 death by the common house-flies, whose impertinent 
 familiarity exceeds anything I ever saw ; they 
 never leave one, but flock all over one's hands and
 
 202 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 face, buzzing, biting, stinging, and tickling in- 
 cessantly. One would never sleep, but for a hand- 
 some drapery of sky-blue patent net, which entirely 
 covers our beds. The country all the way from 
 St. Petersburg here is as ugly as possible, a dead 
 flat of deep sand, but covered with corn, all open, 
 without hedges or divisions, but all wild and 
 extensive, and the view from here towards Siberia 
 is still the same. ' It is very fine to look down 
 from the old .Tartar fortress on the heights above 
 on to the town, and then over an immense plain, 
 with the Volga creeping slowly through it. 
 
 Moscow, Tuesday z8th. 
 
 Here we are again after a most prosperous 
 journey which we performed in three days and two 
 nights without stopping to sleep ; considering the 
 nature of Russian inns, this is generally the best 
 way of travelling, and we arrived here yesterday 
 evening soon after past seven, without any detriment 
 to mind or body ; and delighted to have made our 
 expedition, which has proved in every respect a 
 most curious one. The miserable sketch of the 
 wall on my first page will give you no real idea of 
 the thing ; but I made two little drawings under a 
 broiling sun, which I will show you when I come
 
 Moscow. 203 
 
 back. We made a very useful acquaintance at 
 Nisnei, in a Greek merchant, to whom we had 
 been recommended, and who spared no pains in 
 going with us everywhere. Clamouring, screaming 
 (like an Italian), and frightening the people out of 
 more than half the price asked for anything we 
 wanted to buy ; but it is the regular system with 
 all the sellers to ask twice, or more than twice, as 
 much as they mean to take for everything. Some- 
 times a negotiation is a week pending the 
 Bokharians are very subtle people, and very fond 
 of bargaining. In the middle of the second night 
 of our journey, in rain and darkness, bump went one 
 of the springs of our carriage, and we were two 
 miles from any help ! They found that a great nail 
 had come out, so it was tied up, and lasted so 
 till we got to the next village, where a blacksmith 
 completed the work ; so we ^ame on with perfect 
 success, and found our rooms quite ready, and my 
 maid expecting us : she had found friends from 
 Scotland who had taken great care of her, and 
 shown her all the sights in our absence. There 
 are here quantities of Scotch governesses, who are 
 much prized as being able to teach the children 
 English, which they must talk very prettily ; these 
 women come out originally as lady's maids and
 
 204 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 talk broad Edinburgh or Aberdeen. . . . They have 
 beautiful apples here, quite delicious, not the least 
 like crude apples, and another kind with fruit-like 
 jelly within. 
 
 Thursday, lyd. After breakfast we received a 
 visit from Count Crapavinski, the Governor, who 
 was very civil and wished us very much to dine with 
 him next day ; but we declined his offer, saying as 
 an excuse that we were obliged to go on, as we had 
 no dress, &c., for dining out. He offered us every 
 sort of facility for our journey, and after he was 
 gone, we set out walking to make some drawings 
 under a broiling sun. I made two drawings of 
 the walls, and a view over the town, and one of the 
 old fortress church ; and at three we returned by 
 appointment to the fair, where in company with 
 Mr. Tschumaya we laboured for between four 
 or five hours arguing in all the Bokharian ware- 
 houses about shawls. We saw some magnificent 
 ones ; but the merchants are rather reluctant to show 
 them, and unfold them with great gravity and 
 indolence. They always begin by asking twice as 
 much as they really mean to take. The owners of 
 the first shawl we had seen came after us to-day, 
 to say that they would take two thousand one 
 hundred roubles for the one for which they had
 
 Shopping in Moscow. 205 
 
 asked five thousand ; but on looking at it again, 
 we abandoned the bargain thinking the border too 
 heavy for the fineness of the middle. While these 
 negociations were pending, and very long they were, 
 the Bokharians gave us excellent sweetmeats of 
 pistachio nuts, done over with sugar ; but a 
 negoce for a shawl sometimes lasts here for a week 
 or ten days. We, however, ended ours* to-day by 
 buying a fine long white one, and a beautiful square 
 one for Mamma; we also bought at a Persian 
 shop two bottles of otto of roses, two little saints in 
 brass, in frames, and returned home, completely tired 
 with our day's work. 
 
 Friday, i^th. We went after breakfast to 
 Monsieur Tschumaya, who had got for our choice 
 a very handsome brown fur pelisse which we 
 bought ; I wanted his opinion also as to some 
 turquoises, with the assistance of Mr. Foottil and a 
 little Bokharian broker, who had been our com- 
 panion in all our purchases. We went to some 
 other Bokharians, who showed us some turquoises, 
 which we carried along with the owner to Monsieur 
 Tschumaya. The turquoises were very fine ones ; 
 but as the man asked too much for Mr. 
 Tscuhmaya to approve, I was obliged to leave the 
 negociation in his hands, to be terminated after our
 
 206 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 departure, and bought then twelve others from 
 another man (an Armenian) for one hundred and 
 fifty roubles. The owner of the others produced, 
 from the interior of his sack, a few turquoises of the 
 most magnificent colour dark blue which he 
 would hardly let us look at, but immediately put up 
 again, saying he expected more than five hundred 
 roubles apiece for them. We then took leave of 
 Monsieur Tschumaya, to whom we had great 
 reason to be obliged, for the very great assistance 
 he had given us in making our purchases ; returned 
 home, had dinner, and passed the evening in 
 packing up our things and preparing for our 
 departure next morning. Mr. Schohl called in the 
 evening, and we had previously taken leave of Mr. 
 Foottil and his warehouse. 
 
 Saturday, iyh. We got up at four, breakfasted, 
 and set out at seven, going down hill in the first 
 stage ; the horses not being used to hold back, de- 
 clined doing so altogether, and one of them fell, but 
 he soon got up again, and in the middle of the 
 second stage, we found our little carriage arrested in 
 its progress by the two fore-wheels having come to 
 pieces; we stayed there between three and four 
 hours while they were mending it, and when it was 
 nearly repaired, we set out again.
 
 Mourom. 207 
 
 Before we left Nisnei, there was a police officer 
 waiting, by order of the Governor, to escort us out 
 of the town, but we declined his services. However, 
 at our second stage, we were met by another (a cap- 
 tain) in a kibitka and three, equally ordered to place 
 himself at our disposal, and to conduct us as far as 
 the government of Nisnei extended ; the Governor 
 also had had all our horses ordered at each post. We 
 went on all night. 
 
 Sunday, i6th. Got to Mourom by the straight 
 road, avoiding the by-road in which we had been 
 nearly immersed in bogs in going to Nisnei ; we 
 breakfasted in the carriage at the next place, and 
 arrived at seven o'clock at Vladimir, where we got 
 out to dine, but did not stay longer, having pre- 
 viously determined on going on without sleeping ; 
 therefore, at eight o'clock we set out again ; it soon 
 grew dark, and we were speedily v asleep, but we were 
 awakened by a violent rain. 
 
 Monday, ijth. At two a.m., we were still more 
 unpleasantly disturbed by the spring of our carriage 
 giving way ; it was discovered to be occasioned by 
 the absence of a great nail, which had abruptly taken 
 its departure when it thought it could not be dis- 
 covered in the middle of darkness and rain. We 
 were more than two versts from any help ; so they
 
 203 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 tied up the injured spring as best they could, and 
 we made our way slowly to the nearest village, where 
 it was repaired by a blacksmith. The rain soon 
 cleared off, and we slept cheerfully through the whole 
 of the night, got at half-past seven to Lipnia, where 
 we breakfasted in the carriage, and set off again in an 
 hour. Stopped half an hour to eat cold meat in the 
 carriage at four o'clock at Novaga, and arrived at 
 Moscow at half-past seven in the evening. The 
 streets were full of people in gala dresses, on account 
 of being the eve of some great feast at one of the 
 churches. This also was the last day of a fortnight's 
 fast, which seemed duly celebrated by many people 
 being extremely intoxicated. We came to Koppe's 
 Hotel, where we found a very good apartment, and 
 Davidson already there. 
 
 Tuesday, i%th. We were delighted to have a 
 thorough washing and dressing after our journey, 
 and were busy all day in writing our letters. We 
 dined at seven. We heard in the evening from the 
 Hamburg newspaper of Mr. Canning's death having 
 taken place at Chiswick on the 8th. 
 
 Wednesday , lyth. After breakfast, we received a 
 visit from Mr. Gillibrand, who, to our great satis- 
 faction brought us letters from home. Belgrave 
 wrote, and I finished my drawings till between three
 
 The Kremlin of Moscow. *209 
 
 and four, when we went out in a little rain, 
 which soon cleared off, in a caliche and four, to 
 call on the Governor and to pay some other visits ; 
 we found that Countess Potemkin and Countess 
 Pouschkin were gone to the country, and in going 
 to search for Princess Z. Volkonsky, we passed by 
 the convent of Devitchi Pol, the exterior of which 
 is beautiful, surrounded by fine old walls and towers ; 
 the centre church has an immense gold cupola, with 
 four other minarets round it, these are of lapis 
 lazuli colour, which produces a most beautiful and 
 rich effect. We then drove round the Kremlin, to 
 inquire at La Maison des Enfants Trouves at what 
 time Prince Serge Galitzin would be there next day ; 
 then went into the Kremlin through the holy gate, 
 where everybody is obliged to take off their hat, on 
 coming on the terrace. The view "over Moscow 
 with all its gilded domes and cupolas over vast ex- 
 tent of ground, is perfectly beautiful ; and the em- 
 placement of the Kremlin with all its rich and 
 grotesque architecture is very fine. From here we 
 drove home, and dined at seven ; we ate to-day 
 some of the extraordinary apples, with a peculiar 
 kind of semi-transparent inside, which grow no- 
 where but at Moscow ; the fruit is generally excel- 
 lent, and the greengages are divine. 
 
 p
 
 210 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Thursday, August joM. Mr. Gillibrand called at 
 eleven to go out with us ; we went in a carriage and 
 four, which we hired by the day, and he in his 
 droskey, to Negri's, and to several curiosity shops, 
 but found nothing to tempt us, except three bits 
 of lapis lazuli, which I bought for seals. At be- 
 tween one and two we went to La Maison des 
 Enfants Trouves, for Belgrave to see Prince Serge 
 Galitzin, who was to be there at that time, and 
 to whom we had a letter from the Dowager Em- 
 press. We saw him, and he invited us to dine with 
 him on Sunday in the country. We then continued 
 our course with Mr. Gillibrand, and went to the 
 regular shops, which are all like our Burlington 
 Arcade, enormously multiplied and increased, under 
 cover, and very close and disagreeable. We bought 
 some embroidered handkerchiefs and three tula boxes, 
 and then went to the fruit market, which is very 
 pretty; the quantities of fruit, especially of apples, 
 is wonderful, and particularly good. From thence, 
 when Mr. Gillibrand departed, we went to the English 
 "magazine," a wretched place, wherewe found nothing 
 worth buying ; and then came home to dinner. In 
 the evening we had a long and very pleasant visit 
 from Prince Galitzin, the Governor. 
 
 Friday, August 31 st. We had before breakfast
 
 La Maison des Enfauts Trouves. 211 
 
 a visit from the secretary of the French Consul, 
 who had assisted Robert* in his purchases here last 
 year. At eleven o'clock we went to La Maison des 
 Enfants Trouves by appointment, as Prince Serge 
 Galitzin had ordered that the place should be shown 
 to us. The poor children are taken in here as soon 
 as they are born, or at any age, provided with 
 nurses, &c., and educated in a useful manner for 
 trades of different kinds. There are both boys and 
 girls, and the establishment is very large. We saw 
 them all at dinner, which was all arranged in the 
 same way as those we had seen at Petersburg ; it 
 being a malgre day, the soup was chitche a sort 
 of sour soup very much used in Russia, and very 
 disagreeable. While we were there, Dr. Hammel 
 arrived, having vainly sought us at our hotel. He 
 had been sent by the Governor to take care of us, 
 and shqw us anything we wished to see. He had 
 been in England with the present Emperorf and 
 the Grand Duke Michael, and spoke English per- 
 fectly. Finding when we went home that Prince 
 Yusupoff had given orders that we should see the 
 Kremlin, at two o'clock we accordingly went there, 
 and Dr. Hammel with us. We went first to the 
 
 * Lord Robert Grobvenor, now Lord Ebury. 
 
 f The late Emperor Nicholas, who died in 1855. 
 
 P 2
 
 212 Diary .of a Tour. 
 
 treasury, which is much too full of riches for me 
 to attempt any description of it. We were received 
 by a general officer, who was appointed to show it 
 us. There were the coronation dresses of Paul and 
 the Empress Mary ; of Alexander and his Empress, 
 and of the present Emperor and Empress ; also of 
 Peter I. ; several thrones, thickly inlaid with gold, 
 turquoises, and rubies ; jewels beyond number, 
 belonging to the old Czars ; the crowns of the 
 different subsidiary kingdoms, Siberia, Astracan, 
 Georgia, Casan, &c., &c., set with stones, which 
 must be quite inestimable in value ; dresses of the 
 Czars, inlaid with jewels; gold and silver dishes, 
 cups, vases, &c., of the most enormous size, and of 
 very fine workmanship; cups and dishes of agate, 
 pearls, crystal, &c. These are all arranged round 
 a large room ; the crowns upon pedestals ; the other 
 articles under glass cases, each of which has a 
 separate attendant to watch over it, like a race- 
 horse in his stable. This room is joined by a large 
 gallery, with yellow marble pillars, and some bad 
 pictures of all the Sovereigns of Russia, from their 
 beginning, to the armoury, which contains a splendid 
 collection of arms of all kinds, and sceptres incrusted 
 with jewels. Along the walls are hung chains of 
 silver and also of gold, which, in time of any great
 
 Imperial Treasures of Russia. 213 
 
 tumult, were hung before the places where the Czar 
 stood, to keep off the crowds. Quantities of saddles 
 and horse-furniture are here ; one set in particular, 
 which was sent as a present by the- Sultan to 
 Catharine II., and is covered with most magnificent 
 jewels, diamonds, pearls, rubies, emeralds, sap- 
 phires, in short, of every kind ; sledge furniture, 
 embroidered in pearls ; one covered with lapis-lazuli 
 and coral and riches of all kinds, much too numerous 
 to describe. In the midst of all this splendour is 
 a common wooden arm-chair, of the most simple 
 construction, with an old cushion and four short 
 poles on hinges, which served as a brancard to 
 carry Charles XII. after he was wounded at Pultova. 
 The chair was found on the field of battle after he 
 fled to Bender, and there are marks of fractures by 
 a ball on the hind bars of the chair. From these 
 apartments we went to see a large model of the 
 Kremlin, and of what the Empress Elizabeth in- 
 tended to make it, but which was luckily never put 
 in execution, as the first step would have been .to 
 throw down the old Kremlin walls, which form a 
 principal part of the beauty of the whole. From 
 this we went to the adjoining Palace, to see the 
 rooms of the Emperor and Empress, and those of 
 the Dowager Empress ; all very pretty, but nothing
 
 214 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 very remarkable. Then to the Church of Ivan 
 Vasiliki, where the coronation took place. It is 
 small, but superbly and richly decorated; full of 
 gold, and silver, and jewels, and pictures. Two 
 monks showed us the coffins of all the patriarchs 
 of Russia, which are arranged under crimson velvet 
 or black cloth all round the church. They then 
 took us to their treasury, which contains the most 
 wonderful riches dresses of the old patriarchs 
 among them those of Nicom ; jewels of great value, 
 particularly two enormous carved onyxs, a great 
 many cups, &c., of silver, an immense silver boiler, 
 and several large silver vases for containing the oil 
 for extreme unction (one was half full), all the 
 sacred oil that is used all over Russia being boiled 
 previously here; and in a large room near is the 
 stove used for it, just like those for boiling the 
 dogs' food in a kennel. There were some very 
 curious MSS. also here one said to be written by 
 Sophia, sister of Peter I , and another by a daughter 
 of Peter II. Passing on, we saw the room where 
 the Emperors dined after their coronation. It is 
 a very old room, with low ground arches, supported 
 by an enormous thick square pillar in the centre 
 of the room, carved over in all sorts of grotesque 
 old figures of animals, chimeras, &c. The relieved
 
 The Church of Ivan Vasiliki, Moscow. 215 
 
 parts are gilt, which has a very good effect ; and 
 the room is done up in very good taste the ceiling 
 gilded in the ribs of the arches, the walls hung 
 with crimson velvet with gold cyphers, eagles, &c., 
 so that the whole has a magnificent effect. We 
 then went into another church close by ; also 
 small, but equally rich in decoration with the other. 
 Round the walls here are arranged all the coffins 
 of the old Czars, covered with palls of crimson 
 velvet. The lamps here, as in the other, are very 
 large, and of solid silver. The pictures of the saints 
 are embellished with diamonds and jewels, and the 
 treasury is far richer, and must be worth millions 
 in precious stones alone. There is one cup all over 
 jewels, with two onyxs sculptured, each as large as 
 one's hand; one was cracked across in removing it 
 to secure it from the French ; several others covered 
 with rubies, diamonds, &c. ; some large gold plate, 
 given by Potemkin ; a beautiful cup, with an ivory 
 stand, turned by the Empress-mother, and also 
 enriched with rubies and diamonds, given on the 
 occasion of the Emperor Paul's return from Sweden. 
 But the most extraordinary of all is an immense 
 Bible, bound in a thick mass of solid gold, and set 
 with stones, and in particular emeralds, whose size 
 exceeds all belief; the book is too heavy for one
 
 216 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 man to lift. There is also a small agate cup, with 
 the oil used at the Emperor's coronation, some of 
 which still remains in it. It is impossible to describe 
 a quarter of the riches of this place, where there are 
 besides quantities of old coronation dresses. 
 
 I forgot to mention that in a corner of this 
 church there is a tomb containing the body of some 
 saint, enveloped in gold and silver drapery, with 
 one hand, perfectly black, exposed to view. The 
 Russians declare that this remained untouched 
 oy the French, though the railings, &c. of the 
 tomb are of silver. There are many relics both 
 here and in the other church ; a bit of the true 
 cross, &c., &c. 
 
 After seeing these churches, which are all most 
 interesting, and have the richest appearance with a 
 sort of melancholy from their darkness, and lamps 
 constantly burning in different corners, we took 
 leave of Dr. Hammel and came home to dinner 
 soon after five, and at half-past six went to the 
 play, where we had a very good box ; as the play 
 and farce were Russian, we were not too much 
 agitated by our interest in the performance ; but the 
 house is beautiful, we thought Jarger than Drury 
 Lane or Covent Garden, and the boxes so con- 
 structed as to be suspended one row over the
 
 The Princess Vollconsky. ' 217 
 
 other without a single pillar or any other 
 impediments to seeing. The pit is divided into 
 two parts by a slight barrier through the centre ; 
 the seats are all separate, and very handsome 
 arm-chairs ; but there were very few people in the 
 house. 
 
 Saturday, September ist. Soon after breakfast we 
 had a visit from Mr. Patraine, secretary to the 
 French Consul, who br.ought us some turquoises to 
 look at : I bought several ; and Belgrave gave me a 
 beautiful ring set with diamonds. It poured with 
 rain all morning, but as we had no time to lose, we 
 set out at noon, and went in quest of Princess Z. 
 Volkonsky, who was living for her health in a 
 petit pavi/lon, near the Devitchi Pol Convent ; 
 after much' search and inquiry we at length found 
 our way to her abode amidst mud and devious 
 tracks. She was living in a miserable-looking 
 wooden house, but not being well, was still in bed 
 and could not see us. We then drove to the 
 convent, the outside of which is beautiful, sur- 
 rounded by fine old walls like a fortress. We 
 saw one of the churches which it contains ; this is 
 small, beautiful, sombre, and gorgeous ; like those 
 of the Kremlin, also with saints, books, and jewels, 
 and a handsome cloister round it outside; an
 
 218 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 uninteresting, dirty-looking man showed it to us ; 
 but we could not see the nuns' rooms ; however, 
 as they were all living in little white-washed 
 outbuildings, and from the specimen of some of 
 them little old women dressed in black one 
 had not much temptation to. be curious. The 
 rain began to clear off, and we drove from 
 here to the Convent of St. Catharine the 
 Dames Nobles pay seven hundred roubles annually, 
 and the bourgeoises five hundred where we met 
 by appointment Prince Serge Galitzin , he showed 
 us first -the Institut of the Demoiselles Bourgeoises, 
 which I need not describe here, as it is exactly on 
 on the same plan as that at St. Petersburg; from 
 there he took us to a great Hospital pour les 
 Malades Pauvres, where we were received on the 
 steps by a circle of physicians and surgeons covered 
 with orders, and Les Dames de la Charite, who 
 attend on the poor sick people ; we saw a great 
 mapy of the latter in very airy, comfortable rooms, 
 all kept as perfectly clean and in as good order 
 as possible. It is a very fine institution and 
 receives all sick people gratis, besides giving 
 medicine and advice to those who do not wish to 
 go into the house. 
 
 Thence we went to 1'Institut des Dames Nobles,
 
 r lhe Kremlin Gardens. 219 
 
 where the Superieure showed us over ^t all ; it is 
 also just like that at St. Petersburg. There is a 
 new house building for it, which will be ready in 
 three years. We came home, dined soon after 
 four; and after dinner Dr. Hammel called to see if 
 we would take a drive ; accordingly he preceded us 
 in his drosky past Countess OrlofFs villa, to a 
 garden lately bought by the Emperor, now rather 
 out of repair, from whence we had a beautiful view 
 of Moscow ; but as the sun was setting, the ground 
 wet, and ^he evening very cold, we were not 
 tempted to go on farther to La Montague des 
 Moineaux. In returning we got out to look 
 into the Manege, which is much the largest room I 
 ever saw, and is the largest in the world, with a 
 roof unsupported by pillars. We walked some way 
 through the Kremlin Gardens at the foot of the 
 walls, which are extremely pretty and in beautiful 
 order, and occupy the place of what was formerly 
 a piece of dirty water, the present Governor Prince 
 Dimitri Galitzin having covered it over and 
 constructed these gardens. Illuminations were 
 preparing for Monday, the anniversary of the 
 coronation ; we then came home. 
 
 Sunday^ ind. Belgrave's leg, which had plagued 
 him ever since we came to Moscow, being still
 
 220 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 inflamed, we remained at home this morning in 
 order to let it rest, and read prayers after breakfast. 
 We had a visit from Monsieur Roussowsky, the 
 Directeur des Postes; and at three we set out to 
 dine with Prince Serge Galitzin, at his country 
 house, seven versts beyond the gate. We went 
 through a perfect flat, the road pleasingly diversified 
 between bog and sand. We found him and two 
 old sisters, his niece, Princess Trubetskoi, and her 
 husband, Prince Dimitri Galitzin, the Governor, a 
 Monsieur Narishkin, an old Prince Masolskv, 
 Grand-Maitre de la Cour, and a good many more 
 people, and several old ladies ; and a large English 
 setter dog. The house is very simple but with 
 handsome rooms. We soon went to dinner, and 
 walked afterwards in spite of the cold evening in 
 the gardens, which are large and pretty, exactly like 
 an English shrubbery, with gravel walks, a small 
 river spreading into a lake, and many ponds. The 
 orangery seems a good one, and there are some 
 fine orange trees. This is reckoned the finest place 
 in the neighbourhood, but would not be thought 
 much of in England ; it is however remarkably well 
 kept, and in the highest order. We came home to 
 the house, had tea, and set out at about eight 
 o'clock to come home ; the latter part of the way
 
 The Anniversary of the Russian Coronation 221 
 
 we had a beautiful moon, by which the^own and 
 particularly the old walls of the Kremlin looked 
 magnificent. Belgrave, on account of his leg did 
 not walk much at Prince Galitzin's, but went in a 
 boat with Prince Trubetskoi, and met us at a 
 temple in the garden built to contain a bronze 
 statue of the Dowager Empress, which has been 
 lately placed there. 
 
 Monday^ %rd. After breakfast at eleven o'clock, 
 an aide-de-camp of the Governor came to fetch us 
 by appointment to go to the cathedral service in 
 the Kremlin for the anniversary of the coronation ; 
 he preceded us in his drosky, and when we arrived 
 we found the troops drawn up within the walls of 
 the Kremlin, before the doors of the church, waiting 
 for the Governor, who was not yet arrived, and a 
 large concourse of people. The church was ex- 
 tremely crowded and perfectly full, and we made our 
 way, with the help of the aide-de-camp, to the places 
 reserved for us, which were immediately before the 
 altar, which was surrounded by people in uniforms, 
 among them Prince Serge Galitzin, Monsieur 
 Narishkin, &c. The Archbishop of Moscow, who 
 officiated, was assisted by the Archbishops of Georgia 
 and several others prelates and abbots. The sight 
 was magnificent, all the lamps of the church being
 
 222 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 lighted, and the dresses of the archbishops and priests 
 are splendid. The Archbishop's was green and 
 gold, and differently coloured embroidery, and he 
 wore a blue velvet mitre covered with pearls. The 
 dresses of the others were equally magnificent ; 
 some of the priests had velvet dresses of lapis lazuli 
 colour embroidered with gold ; the archbishops and 
 bishops were, besides, blazing with jewels. Soon 
 after we were there the Governor arrived ; the ser- 
 vice was high mass followed by prayers, the litany, 
 Te Deum, &c. ; part of it was chanted, and the singing 
 was very fine, during some parts of it the enormous 
 bell of Ivan Vasiliki was sounded, and seemed 
 exactly like the bass notes of an organ thrilling 
 through the building. The Archbishop preached a 
 sermon from a blue velvet desk, which was placed 
 in front of the altar ; he seemed to perform with 
 much eloquence and in a mild, agreeable manner. 
 Throughout the prayer for the Emperor, during 
 which the archbishops and all the priests were in the 
 middle of the church, the whole of the congregation 
 knelt down ; some of the Bible was then read, and 
 the whole concluded with a Te Deum. The service 
 was altogether very fine and well worth seeing. 
 Before leaving, the Governor invited us to his box 
 at the play for the evening, which we accepted.
 
 The Siminopky Monastery. 223 
 
 After coming home for a short time, we^ set out 
 again and drove first to visit Mr. and Mrs. Gilli- 
 brand, whom we found at home, and then to the 
 Siminopky Monastery, about three versts from the 
 town, where we got out and walked on high ground 
 close to the convent, to see a fine general view of 
 Moscow. We then returned home, driving round 
 the Kremlin walls on our way. We dined at six, and 
 at eight an aide-de-camp of the Governor's came to 
 conduct us to the play, where we found the Governor, 
 not in his crimson velvet box in the centre of the 
 house, but in a very pleasant stage-box at one end 
 of the orchestra. The play was ended, and we saw 
 an indifferent ballet which ended about half-past 
 eight; and we then drove about the streets to see 
 the illuminations, our friend the aide-de-camp pre- 
 ceded us part of the way till he reached his own 
 house, opposite the Kremlin, and we then continued 
 in the file of carriages, which was a very long one, 
 generally of carriages-and-fours, round the Kremlin 
 walls, and then within the"m till we had seen every- 
 thing that was to be seen, and then came home. 
 The illuminations were not fine in themselves, but 
 the effect was beautiful from the magnificence ot 
 the buildings, the Kremlin and churches which they 
 brought out ; a very long line of windows over the
 
 224 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 shops, which were only lighted by some lamps round 
 each window, made a blaze of light, and the gardens 
 were illuminated, and the walls and towers in part 
 also. The Governor had had a dinner of about 
 seventy to-day, to which Belgrave was not able to 
 go, from the sting in his leg preventing his putting 
 on his uniforrrt which said uniform was left behind 
 at St. Petersburg ! 
 
 Tuesday, ^th. We passed the morning in packing 
 up and set out at two from Moscow as heretofore, 
 in our own carriage, which, as well as the little car- 
 riage, had undergone a thorough repair while we 
 were at Nisnei ; at the end of the first stage, how- 
 ever, our near front wheel became indisposed and 
 went into a fever, which detained us for some time ; 
 at length the attack subsided, and we travelled on 
 through the night, Belgrave going outside, in order 
 that my maid might come in ; the night was very 
 cold. 
 
 Wednesday^ ^th. We breakfasted in the carriage, 
 Gartner making tea in the inn, or post-house, 
 and bringing it to us ; we found this plan much the 
 best, and we did the same thing every day, and dined 
 also in the carriage on our own cold beef and bread 
 and wine. Belgrave always went outside in the 
 night, and came into the carriage in the morning.
 
 A Route for St. Petersburg. 225 
 
 This was the only night that we stopped to sleep 
 between Moscow and St. Petersburg, and we arrived 
 at Torjok between seven and eight. We first went 
 to the shop to get the embroidered articles 
 which we had ordered before, and found them all 
 ready. We then dined and went to bed 
 
 Thursday, 6th. We got up before five, break- 
 fasted and set forth ; our wheel, which had been 
 ailing before, again stopped us at the first stage, as 
 the box within it had smashed ; by great good luck 
 the blacksmith " at Vidropous had one ready, which 
 just fitted, and on we went again with great success; 
 the day cold and rather rainy- We continued our 
 journey all day and' all night, and dined in the car- 
 riage while we were stopping at Holilovo. 
 
 Friday, jth. We breakfasted in the carriage at 
 Zagelligi, and had a pleasant journey all day as here- 
 tofore. 
 
 Saturday^ 8M. At one in the morning, we passed 
 through Novogorod; breakfasted while we changed 
 horses at Tchoudova ; ate apples at Pomerania, 
 and arrived, to our great satisfaction, at St. Peters- 
 burg at ten o'clock in the evening ; found our old 
 apartment at Demuth's ready for us, and very com- 
 fortable. We soon sat down to tea and an omelette, 
 of which we stood much in need ; found the sting
 
 226 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 in Belgrave's leg, which had pained him much this 
 last day terribly irritated, swelled and inflamed ; and 
 never were we more happy than to go to bed after 
 three days and two nights of incessant travel- 
 ling. 
 
 Sunday, gth. We got up late, breakfasted, and 
 sat in the little room lined with sofas, as Belgrave 
 was obliged to keep his leg at rest. We read 
 prayers, had a visit from Mr. Disbrowe, who an- 
 nounced, to our great joy, that he had a packet of 
 letters for us, and told us that Lord Goderich* was 
 made first Lord of the Treasury after Mr. Can- 
 ning's death. After he went away, he sent us our 
 letters and some newspapers ; we remained reading 
 these and talking till dinner at seven, after which we 
 returned to our little room, and passed the evening 
 most comfortably. 
 
 Monday loth. As Belgrave's leg still confined him 
 to the sofa, after breakfast I walked out by myself 
 to Corbiaux's, the English " magazine," and several 
 other shops in the Perspective ; came home and wrote 
 some letters. Mrs. Disbrowe called, and I went out 
 with her, got some music, went to the English 
 " magazine" and Anthoni's, and laid in a store of de- 
 
 * The Right Honourable Frederick Robinson, afterwards Lord 
 Goderich, and eventually first Earl of Ripon ; he died in 1859.
 
 Church of St. Alexander Neffsky. 227 
 
 licacies at the confectioners. I dined at five*at Mr. 
 and Mrs. Disbrowe's ; met there Monsieur and 
 Madame Guerrieno and their son, Miss Middleton, 
 Monsieur de Bombelles, and Monsieur Fraser, Mon- 
 sieur Custrin, and the Prussian Charge d' Affaires. 
 Some people came in the evening. As Belgrave's leg 
 had not looked so well when I came out to dinner, 
 I sent for Mr. Walker, the physician, to Mr. Dis- 
 browe's, and took him home in the carriage to see the 
 leg, which was very sore, and with a good deal of 
 heat. Mr. Walker prescribed a linseed poultice, and 
 stayed some time, after he went we had tea, and then 
 went to bed. 
 
 Tuesday, nth. Before seven in the morning, and 
 before I was well awake, I got a note from Mrs. 
 Disbrowe, saying that if I liked she would call for 
 me at nine, to go to the church of St. Alexander 
 Neffsky to see high mass, and a great procession, 
 &c., it being the saint's fete. I accordingly got up 
 unwillingly, dressed myself, choked myself with my 
 breakfast, and was ready by the time appointed. 
 Belgrave could not go because of his leg. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Disbrowe called for me soon after nine, and 
 we found the streets full of people to see the proces- 
 sion of priests, who walk from the Kasan Church to 
 St Alexander Neffsky, about three versts, and with- 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 out any breakfast, as they never eat till after they 
 have received the sacrament. We were obliged to 
 dismount at the outer gate, the carriages not being 
 allowed to come within the precinct, and walked to 
 the church, which was lined on one side with Cossacks 
 and soldiers, and a few of the diplomatic corps, who 
 had already arrived ; their station being on one side 
 of the altar, we arranged ourselves there. The 
 middle part was rilled with officers and generals in 
 uniform, and the opposite side was reserved for the 
 Imperial family. We waited an hour and a half to 
 our despair ; at length the Emperor arrived with the 
 young Grand Duke Alexander* and the Grand 
 Duke Michael ; the service then proceeded, the usual 
 high mass, interspersed with various little attentions 
 to the shrine of Alexander Neffsky, in whose honour 
 the fete was held. A priest who offered incense be- 
 fore it, incensed the Emperor also, to whom he 
 always bowed three times, and once to the little Grand 
 Duke and to the Grand Duke Michael, they return- 
 ing the salutation. At the conclusion of the mass. 
 
 D ' 
 
 the Emperor went to kiss the shrine, and lifted up 
 the young Alexander for the same purpose. Prince 
 Michael and many others also kissed it, and the 
 whole service was ended. The singing, which was 
 
 * The present Emperor.
 
 Shopping at St. Petersburg. 229 
 
 performed by the choir of the Emperor's crrtfpel, 
 one hundred and twenty in number, beginning with 
 very little boys, and ending with some fine bass 
 voices, was most beautiful, and without any instru- 
 mental music of any sort, which made the effect quite 
 perfect. We did not reach home till one, having 
 gone to the church at half-past nine, and remained 
 standing the whole time. I then came home, dressed 
 for the morning, and went first with Belgrave to 
 Corbiaux's, where we made some purchases in mala- 
 chite. I then brought him home and went on aux 
 isles to call on Madame Nesselrode and Madame 
 Dolgoroulci, neither of whom were at home. I 
 then came back to Belgrave. 
 
 Wednesday ', iith. Dr. Walker came just as we 
 were sitting down to breakfast, and pronounced 
 Belgrave's leg much better. After breakfast we 
 went out in the carriage to the banker's, to Mrs. 
 Disbrowe's, and to Monsieur BoulgalofFs and drove 
 round by the great theatre. I then brought Belgrave 
 home, and went to call for Mrs. Disbrowe, with 
 whom I visited Madame Elmdt, Grande Maitresse to 
 the Grand Duchess Helen, at Kamien Ostroff. We 
 found her at home, and saw a very pretty Persian 
 carpet, which she had been working ; we then called 
 on Mrs. Middleton, who was at home ; Countess
 
 230 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Modena whom we found at home, with Count 
 Modena and their daughters, one of whom is going 
 to be married to a Prince Zuboff; we then called on 
 old Princess Volkonsky, but did not find her within. 
 I then set down Mrs. Disbrowe at her own house, 
 and went to a French shop in the Perspective, then 
 to the English " magazine" and then to Mr. Jackson, 
 the lingere, and so home. 
 
 Thursday, i^th. Belgrave and I went out in the 
 carriage soon after breakfast to the Hermitage where 
 we walked about for some time looking at the 
 pictures, especially admiring some by Rubens, and 
 a landscape by Murillo, a landscape and a large dog 
 by Paul Potter ; a Titian, and a little picture of 
 monkeys by Teniers; these last four all being in the 
 same room. We came home at three, and I then 
 went with Mrs. Disbrowe a long round among the 
 Russian shops, where I bought some Archangel 
 chains, a pin and ear-rings of Siberian stones, and a 
 Siberian topaz seal ; came home at half-past five, and 
 Belgrave and I dined alone together ; drove after- 
 wards out to Kamien Ostroff and back. We came 
 home to tea and found a note from the Count de 
 Nesselrode, begging us to put off our dinner with 
 him, which was to have been the next day (Friday), 
 till the Saturday.
 
 A Visit to the Empress -mother. 231 
 
 Friday, i^th. We received an early notification 
 from Count Nesselrode that we were to dine to-day 
 at three with the Empress-mother. We went out 
 after breakfast, and Belgrave called on Monsieur 
 Boulgaloff, and then we went to the Disbrowe's. 
 Belgrave's leg was luckily to-day almost recovered, 
 and we were ready dressed in time ; but our carriage 
 which we had ordered to come at two, did not 
 appear till near three, and we therefore set out in 
 the certainty of being too late for Her Majesty, 
 whose habitation was a very small one close to 
 Kamien Ostroff, which she had given up to the 
 Grand Duchess Helen, for a time ; however, on 
 arriving, we found to our great relief that the 
 Empress had not yet appeared. The party consisted 
 of about twenty, Princess Dolgorouki, and her 
 daughter-in-law, Prince and Princess Soltikoff 
 Prince Radzivil, Countess Elmdt, and some of the 
 ladies of honour, General Suchterlins, &c., and 
 Mr. Fisher, the head of the Botanical Garden. The 
 dinner was very agreeable, and the Empress, as 
 usual, extremely civil and good-natured; she was 
 accompanied by a large white poodle, for whom 
 she made many apologies. After dinner she talked 
 for a short time to everybody, and then took leave 
 of the whole party, embracing me, Belgrave
 
 232 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 kissing her hand on our final taking leave ; we saw 
 the Empress' youngest child, the little Grand 
 Duchess Olga,* walking in the garden ; and we 
 then went by the Dowager Empress's recommenda- 
 tion, preceded by Mr. Fisher, to see the Botanical 
 Garden, which is a splendid establishment ; it has 
 existed for only two years, but the luxuriance and 
 growth of plants from all quarters of the globe is 
 quite astonishing. There is one verst and thirty- 
 two fathom of hot-houses and conservatories, con- 
 taining everything that is most rare and extraor- 
 dinary, and all in the most perfect order. After 
 travelling over this in our full dress, we came home 
 and had tea. After breakfast we had despatched 
 three trunks to go by sea to England, one of clothes 
 which we no longer wanted, one of malachite orna- 
 ments, &c, and one of furs. 
 
 Saturday, i^th. Belgrave and I went at noon 
 with Mr. Disbrowe to one of the educational insti- 
 tutes to hear the Emperor's singers practice ; there 
 were some very fine voices among them, particularly 
 a bass and a tenor. The effect of the whole is 
 wonderful and magnificent. After that, Belgrave 
 and I went to see Princess Lieven, whom we found 
 
 * Born in 1822, and married in 1846 to Prince Karl, then heir- 
 apparent to the King of Wurtemberg, and now King.
 
 The Palais d'Hiver. 233 
 
 
 in her apartments, the Palais d'Hiver, having just 
 
 finished her dinner ; the passage to her rooms being 
 perfectly dark is lighted with lamps; we paid her 
 a long visit and then went to leave Belgrave's card 
 at Prince Volkonsky's and Prince Dolgorouki's, then 
 to the English " magazine" and to pay my bill at Mr. 
 Jackson's ; then home to finish our letters and dress 
 for dinner at the Nesselrode's at five. We found 
 them in a small campagne near Kamien Ostroff ; there 
 were there the Disbrowes, Prince and Princess Solti- 
 koff, Count and Countess Laval, Count Bloom, 
 Prince Dolgorouki, Prince Hohenloe, Monsieur 
 Fontenay, Monsieur de la Rochefoucault, and the 
 Dutch Minister, whose name I forget. The dinner 
 was of the most recherche description, and very 
 pleasant ; but in the middle of dinner, a thunder- 
 clap burst upon -the society by Belgrave asking 
 generally if anything had been heard of the result 
 of the trial of the conspirators. A dead silence and 
 universal consternation ensued, and it was afterwards 
 explained that such a subject was unheard of and 
 never allowed to be mentioned ; it was too sacred, 
 too mysterious and too awful to be permitted in 
 conversation ! 
 
 After dinner, Countess Nesselrode asked us if we 
 would like to go to the French play ; we accepted
 
 234 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 her offer, and accordingly we and the Disbrowes 
 went with her to the small theatre in town, where 
 we saw a sort of translation of " The School for 
 Scandal," called " Les Deux Cousins," very well 
 acted, and an amusing farce, " Monsieur et Madame 
 Denis." After that we came home. The play was 
 all over by ten. The theatre is a nice little one ; 
 Madame Bras, who acted a kind of concierge in the 
 first piece, is a very good actress. 
 
 Sunday, 1 6th. We received a note early from the 
 Count de Nesselrode, saying that the Emperor and 
 Empress would receive us in the Palais d'Hiver at 
 noon. So we dressed ourselves accordingly, and 
 were there at the right time ; after we had remained 
 a short time in one of the rooms which look upon 
 the Quay, with one of the chamberlains, the Count 
 de Modena came to say that the Empress was ready 
 to see me ; we went through two or three rooms, 
 and found her in her private apartment, a beautiful 
 large sitting-room ; being a corner room, it com- 
 manded two separate views of the Neva ; it was 
 most comfortably and exquisitely furnished in green 
 satin, and full of pretty things of all sorts ; in one 
 corner a statue of a nymph by Canova, and in 
 another part of the room, a sitting figure by a Prus- 
 sian artist, Chandes, I believe. The Empress, though
 
 The Palais d' tliver. 235 
 
 
 
 expecting her confinement immediately, was looking 
 remarkably well and in great spirits, and very merry, 
 talking a great deal ; she showed me her rooms, the 
 bed-room where she is to be confined, and her dress- 
 ing-room. After some time, the -Emperor came in 
 and stayed a little while, and then went out again, 
 saying that he must go and see Belgrave. The 
 Empress continued to talk, and said a great many 
 kind things about my eldest brother, Gower, and 
 gave me messages for her family at Berlin, the 
 Duchess of Cumberland,* &c. After some time 
 the Emperor returned and talked a little while, and 
 then took leave, saying that he was going to the 
 Grand Duke Michael, and that he hoped that some 
 time or other we should return to Russia. The 
 Empress then remarked that she was not " en etat 
 de recevoir Lord Belgrave," but still said she would 
 receive him ; he came accordingly, she talked to him 
 for some time, and then we took our leave, she 
 begging us not to forget her. She was dressed in a 
 cap and lilac merino gown, with a long lace scarf, 
 and wore an enormous pearl necklace ; nothing could 
 
 * The Princess Frederica Caroline Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz ; 
 she married, as her third husband, Ernest, Duke of Cumberland, and 
 eventually King of Hanover, who died in 1851. Her first husband 
 was Prince Louis of Prussia ; her second the Prince of Solms.
 
 236 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 be more amiable or agreeable than the Empress. 
 The old Princess Volkonsky was there, but nobody 
 else. After this we drove to Mr. Disbrowe's, to 
 settle about dining with them to-day ; we then came 
 home, made up our letters and parcels for the bag 
 that was going by the steamboat, and went at five 
 to dine at Mr. Disbrowe's. Nobody was there but 
 themselves, ourselves, and a young Monsieur 
 Malorti, aide-de-camp to General Dunnbach. At 
 seven, Belgrave and I, and Mr. Disbrowe went to 
 evening service at the English church, but Mrs. 
 Disbrowe could not go, having a toothache ; we 
 went back to drink tea with her, where also Mr. 
 Beckford came. 
 
 Demuth's, 
 
 St. Petersburg. 
 Monday, September loth, 
 
 Here we are again much contented with all we 
 have seen and done, in spite of the rain, cold 
 winds, and hail-storms of Moscow. I certainly 
 cannot say that it is very warm here ; it looks 
 gloomy, and suspicions are afloat of an early 
 winter, but we shall not be caught, though we are 
 not sorry to have got so far back again. Our last 
 day at Moscow was the anniversary of the Corona-
 
 A Letter from St. Petersburg. 237 
 
 * 
 
 tion ; and the Governor, Prince Dimitri Galitzin, 
 who was most kind to us, gave us places for High 
 Mass in the Kremlin Cathedral, where the service 
 and singing was magnificent. Archbishops were 
 there, covered with pearls and jewels, among others 
 the Archbishop of Georgia. In the evening we 
 went with the Governor to the play, where we sat 
 in his box, and then drove about to see the illu- 
 minations which were very pretty; a beautiful moon 
 rose over the Kremlin, which is unique in itself; 
 and the treasures it contains and the riches of its 
 churches are quite inestimable. We made a rapid 
 journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg, sleeping 
 one night only on the road, and travelling through 
 three others. This morning we received a sudden 
 intimation that we were to dine at three with the 
 Dowager Empress, at a very small campagne just 
 out of town, where she goes now to stay, as she 
 has given up her regular house at Kamien Ostroff 
 for the present to the Grand Duchess Helen who 
 has just got a third daughter, and wanted a boy. 
 So accordingly we went, and found a party of about 
 twenty, among them the old Princess Dolgorouki, 
 of whom I spoke before, and who always comes 
 out dressed like a primrose, and looking handsomer 
 than you can imagine, and Princess SoltikofF, her
 
 238 Diarg of a Tour. 
 
 daughter, and many others. The Empress was 
 the perfection of kindness and good-nature ; and 
 gave me " sweets and sugar-comfits ;" we had 
 a very pleasant dinner, after which she took leave 
 of us, promising me a letter for the Grand Duchess 
 of Weimar ;* then we all went our different ways ; 
 we, by her desire, to see a splendid Botanical 
 Garden, with more than three quarters of a mile 
 of hot-houses and conservatories, very high, and 
 full of fine, rare, luxuriant plants. They do every- 
 thing here on such a gigantic scale. Some of their 
 windows, though enormously large, are made of 
 single panes of glass ; sometimes they are double, 
 and opening like French windows. I have been 
 highly amused here with shops and visits; and we 
 have been again to the Hermitage to look at 
 the pictures, some of which are exquisite. We 
 originally intended to start to-morrow, but we have 
 put our journey off, and are to see the Emperor 
 and Empress again on Sunday I believe. To-morrow 
 we go again to Princess Lieven, and then to hear 
 a practice of the singers of the Emperor's Chapel 
 which is the finest music in the world ; there are 
 one hundred and twenty, beginning from very little 
 boys, and gradually rising to the finest bass voices, 
 
 * Born Grand Duchess Mary of Russia.
 
 Letter from St. Petersburg. 239 
 
 
 
 without any instrument, all in perfect tune and taste, 
 and the effect is almost unearthly. I heard it in 
 perfection on Tuesday at a great ceremony of High 
 Mass for the Fete of St. Alexander Neffsky, in the 
 Neffsky Chapel. I went with the Disbrowes en 
 grande parure ; the church was full of Cossacks and 
 soldiers ranged in order ; all the officers and generals 
 &c., in the centre, all the diplomats on one side 
 of the altar, and on the other the Emperor with 
 the young Grand Dukes Alexander and Michael, 
 but not the Empress. The service was magnificent. 
 Saint Alexander Neffsky is the great saint of the 
 country, so they all kissed his shrine afterwards. 
 To-morrow we dine with the Nesselrodes, and shall 
 start on Wednesday for Berlin, a sweet little journey 
 of eighteen days. I hope to find the Duchess of 
 Cumberland there. If it were not that the season 
 is getting on, and must not be trifled with, we 
 should like to stay a little longer; but though 
 the last few days have been fine and pleasant, 
 to our great satisfaction, it will not be safe to 
 delay. 
 
 Sunday, 1 6th. I put in a postscript to say that we 
 went this morning to take leave of the Emperor and 
 Empress at the Palais d'Hiver, in the prettiest and 
 most beautifully furnished rooms I ever saw. The
 
 240 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Empress received me in her private sitting-room, 
 and was very amiable and agreeable, and showed me 
 her other rooms. The Emperor came in to see and 
 take leave of me, and then the Empress sent for 
 Belgrave (who had seen the Emperor), and after 
 more conversation, took leave of us both in the 
 kindest manner, begging us not to forget her. The 
 dinner at the Nesselrodes was very agreeable and 
 very recherche a plum-pudding made of ice amongst 
 other things ; we went to the French play with 
 Countess Nesselrode after dinner, and saw some very 
 good acting. 
 
 Monday, ijth. We set out soon after breakfast, 
 and went to the bankers and to the Disbrowes. but 
 found them not up. Belgrave called on Count 
 Zichy ; then we went to the Ecole des Mines, which 
 is a very large establishment for boys, sons of officers 
 and soldiers ; some pay for their own education : 
 those who do not are bound to serve the Emperor 
 in the mines for ten years, after leaving the school. 
 We saw first several rooms full of models of the 
 mines themselves and all mining operations, the way 
 of washing the gold, &c. ; we saw also a very fine 
 collection of specimens of every sort of stone and 
 mineral, among others, a piece of pure gold so heavy, 
 that one person can hardly lift it ; one of the rooms
 
 At St. Petersburg. 
 
 contains, among other things, some swords, &c., 
 made in Siberia. We went all over the house, saw 
 all the boys go to dinner in one large room, went 
 into the kitchen, where the dinner was being pre- 
 pared by steam. When ready, it is wound up by a 
 lift to the dining-room. We went quite to the top 
 of an observatory, from where we had a beautiful 
 view over the whole of St. Petersburg and the 
 Neva, and out to sea as far as Cronstadt. When we 
 came down again we went underground through an 
 artificial mine very well contrived, the walls being 
 done over so as to imitate the strata in which the 
 copper, gold, &c., are found ; thence we emerged 
 into the garden, which is a pretty one, and in which 
 is a handsome pavilion with several apartments fitted 
 up in the perfection of neatness and cleanliness as 
 the hospital for the school, with baths, hot and cold ; 
 from this place we went into several laboratories, 
 where the boys study chemistry, and where the 
 Government send specimens to be analyzed, in order 
 to ascertain whether they are worth the trouble of 
 working them. The department of apothecaries was 
 equally neat and well arranged ; on opening one of 
 the drawers hoping to find some gum or perfume, 
 I fell upon a collection of dried centipedes, which 
 they use for the croup. We were shown all over 
 
 R
 
 242 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 the place by two officers belonging to the establish- 
 ment ; we then went away and stopped at the 
 Academic des Sciences, which was open for the Ex- 
 position des Tableaux. There was an immense 
 crowd ; one room was filled with Mr. Dawe's 
 pictures of the Imperial family, and of all the 
 generals who were employed in the late campaigns ; 
 the other rooms, of which there were a great many, 
 were full of the performances of Russian artists 
 wretched, hard, and bad specimens for the most part. 
 We then again called at theDisbrowes, and found them 
 gone to the Modenas, where we were also going to 
 make a visit, in the Summer Palace. Accordingly 
 there we went, and found everybody at home ; it 
 was the day of the fete of the Countess de Modena ; 
 Madame Paschcoff, Madame Nesselrode, &c., were 
 there; we went with them into the garden, where 
 we found more people ; there was a beautiful little 
 tame antelope tethered to a post in the garden. The 
 garden is very pretty, and the Emperor and Empress 
 are very fond of it, and whenever they have time, 
 come to pass a few days at the Palace, it being here 
 that they lived as Grand Duke and Duchess. We 
 stayed there some time, then came home, and went 
 at five to dine with Mr. and Mrs. Disbrowe. Mon- 
 sieur and Madame Segnavine and Mr. Kennedy and
 
 Shopping in St. Petersburg. 
 
 Mr. Kaly were there after dinner ; we went to 
 Madame Segnavine's house next door to see it, as it 
 is just fitted up, and all very pretty. Returned to 
 coffee at Mrs. Disbrowe's; Monsieur Rochefou- 
 cault and Monsieur Guerrieno and Monsieur Fon- 
 tenay came in the evening ; we looked at some 
 books of caricatures of Madame Segnavine's, drank 
 tea, and came home. 
 
 Tuesday, i8M. Belgrave got up at half-past six, 
 and sailed at nine in the steamboat for Cronstadt. I 
 got up at ten, packed all my things, drew, &c., till be- 
 tween one and two, when Mrs. Disbrowe called to take 
 me out ; we went to get some warm travelling boots, 
 and succeeded in the Russian shops ; called at 
 Madame Guerrieno's, but she was not at home ; called 
 at Mrs. Middleton's, at home ; called to leave a note 
 at the Palais d'Hiver for Mademoiselle Kotchedorf, 
 we then went to the confectioner's, bought dried 
 cherries, barley sugar, chocolate, and lemon syrup 
 for the journey ; a sandal wood toothpick case, and 
 a purple leather souvenir pocket-book ; we bought 
 some white gloves at Madame Turin's and came home. 
 Belgrave returned about seven, and we dined in the 
 expectation of setting out next day ; but some diffi- 
 culties about the passport arose to prevent us. 
 
 Wednesday, lyth. As soon as we had breakfasted, 
 
 R 2
 
 244 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 we set out on foot and went to find Le Directeur 
 des Postes, Monsieur Bulgalow, but he was not at 
 home. Then we went on to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Disbrowe's, and found them just preparing to come 
 to us ; we stayed there some time, and then went 
 with them in the open carriage to a picture dealer's 
 in the Perspective. We made our way up dirty 
 staircases in a horrid masure of a strange-looking 
 house, and found the man at home, he had one 
 picture, a Herodias by Titian, which he imagined 
 to be a counterpart of that in Mr. Baring's* 
 gallery ; but it was quite different ; the picture was 
 perfectly beautiful, especially the head with both 
 the arms raised supporting the head of John the 
 Baptist in a dish on her head ; a delightful picture, 
 both as to colouring and expression ; he had other 
 pictures, but all ugly. After this Mr. Disbrowe 
 went away. Belgrave went after his passport, and 
 Mrs. Disbrowe and I to the Russian shoe-shop ; 
 from thence we called on Madame Nesselrode in 
 la campagne, near Kamien Ostroff, we found her 
 at home and Madame Hetroffwith her ; we made 
 a long visit, and then went to Madame Elmdt, 
 whom we also found at home, (I must remember 
 to send her some English canvas for working) 
 
 * The late Sir Thomas Baring, Bart., M.P.
 
 Narva 245 
 
 
 
 
 and then to Anthoni's, then home. I found 
 
 Belgrave returned, having arranged everything 
 about the passport for departing next day. Mrs. 
 Disbrowe came in and Mr. Disbrowe directly after ; 
 they bad us good-bye with regret on both sides ; 
 they had been most kind to us during the whole 
 time of our stay in Russia. I then walked to the 
 English " magazine " to pay my bill, and came 
 home. Belgrave went at half-past five to take ~a 
 Russian bath. When he came home we dined, and 
 finished our packings. 
 
 Thursday ', loth. We got up at half-past four ; 
 breakfasted, and were off from St. Petersburg by 
 seven ; we had a fine clear day, and a very good 
 road all the way to Narva, where we arrived about 
 nine ; we had already dined in the carriage, so 
 we had tea, and went to bed. The inn very 
 tolerable. 
 
 Friday, list. Got up at half-past four, and after 
 we had breakfasted walked down to the bridge, to 
 look at the old fortifications, as it was dark when 
 we arrived the night before; they were very 
 pretty and picturesque, and the town is charmingly 
 situated on a height above the river. The whole 
 appearance of the country on this side of St. Peters- 
 burg is quite different from, and much better
 
 246 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 than that on the Moscow side, both as to the 
 towns, and the country itself ; the villages are not 
 such dull, long, wooden things, and the country 
 much diversified, and with a good deal of wood. 
 The first three stages were good to-day, and we 
 had deep sand afterwards to Neunal, where we 
 stopped about half-past eight and had tea as 
 usual. We met to-day Baron and Baroness 
 Strogonoff and their suite travelling in a very 
 heavy chariot, and an enormous coach, each with 
 eight horses. The post-masters on this road keep 
 eighty horses. Before we came to Neunal, we 
 arrived suddenly, after dragging through sandy 
 woods, on the borders of the Lake Peipons which 
 from its large size on a dark evening had the 
 appearance of a melancholy sea ; we went along its 
 shores for a long time. The inn very tolerable, as 
 all seem to be on this road. 
 
 Saturday, iind. We were awake soon after four, 
 and were off at half-past six, our carriage drawn 
 by six white horses ; we had constant sand for the 
 first two stages, and then a good road as far as 
 Ondern, where we arrived about eight. The 
 morning had been rainy, and a thick fog succeeded ; 
 but this cleared off in the middle of the day, and 
 the evening was beautiful.
 
 Leugenhof. 247 
 
 ^ 
 
 Sunday, zyrd. We were up soon after two, and 
 off at half-past four ; Belgrave was awakened in the 
 middle of the night by a prodigious noise made 
 by a French courier. The road was good in 
 parts, and in others very sandy ; we reached 
 Leugenhof about ten. Belgrave's bed consisting of 
 a mattress ; our two leather pillows, and a pair of 
 sheets having slipped out of the little carriage three 
 stages from Leugenhof, between Valx and Goulben ; 
 Gartner went back to search for them, but quite 
 in vain, as we never heard of them more, which was 
 very provoking. Gartner arrived at Leugenhof, 
 about two in the morning. At Leugenhof there 
 was a tame green parrot. 
 
 Monday > i^th. Count Orloff passed in the 
 morning on his way to Warsaw, with the news of 
 the Empress having a second son.* The road the 
 whole of the way to-day was deep in sand leading 
 us through a great deal of wood ; we passed long 
 lines of little carts each with one horse, toiling 
 through it, and arrived about half- past nine at 
 Riga. On finding the Hotel de Londres full, we 
 went to the Hotel de St. Petersbourg, the landlord of 
 which gave us a tolerably clean apartment. 
 
 Tuesday , l^th. We did not get up early, being 
 
 * The present Grand Duke Constantine.
 
 248 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 glad to have a good sleep after our journey. 
 While we were at breakfast, Mr. Cumming, the 
 . English Consul, came to call, and very kindly gave 
 us his assistance in the matter of Gartner's passport, 
 about which there was a good deal of difficulty. 
 As it was probable that it would not be settled in 
 time for us to go next day, we accepted Mr. 
 Cumming's invitation to dine with him next day 
 in the country. Belgrave and I then went out to 
 walk over the town ; we went first to the floating 
 bridge, which is a very singular one and very 
 broad, with the ships sitting on each side of it. 
 We saw many English flags ; one was from 
 Arbroath, one from Dundee, &c. The traffic on 
 the bridge is immense, many carriages, hundreds of 
 carts, Poles, Russians, Jews, &c., cross daily ; there 
 is a fruit-market on the Quay, with piles of water- 
 melons, and legions of apples. We then walked 
 through the streets which are narrow and dirty ; the 
 town however is much more German in appearance 
 than Russian. We then walked through one of 
 the six gates, over the moats, along a sort of 
 Boulevard, then to the Citadel, then home, and had 
 rather a bad dinner at seven. 
 
 Wednesday, i6th We got up at half-past seven ; 
 breakfasted, read, wrote and worked till Mr.
 
 Riga. 249 
 
 , * 
 
 Cumming and his son came. Mr. Gumming had 
 been labouring for about three hours to get Gartner's 
 passport, which at last was effected. We then took 
 a walk with him round the ramparts : the fortifica- 
 tions are very large and very strong, with wide 
 moats and numerous drawbridges. There are 
 
 D 
 
 always six thousand men in the garrison. We went 
 to Mr. Cumming's town house, which is a very 
 nice one; met there Mrs. Cumming, who came to 
 town to fetch us to dinner. I went home to get 
 ready, and Belgrave went to the banker's ; Mrs. 
 Cumming then called at the hotel in a barouche and 
 pair for me, and Belgrave went in another carriage 
 with Mr. Cumming. Their country house is about 
 four English miles from the town ; it is prettily 
 placed over a river, with a garden and fine oak- 
 trees. The Cummings seem fond of dogs, for they 
 have two Spaniels, five Newfoundland dogs, and 
 plenty of Truffle-hunters. There was nobody there 
 but themselves and their three sons ; we had a very 
 pleasant dinner, and after coffee, walked over the 
 garden, which is very pretty, and like an English 
 one ; we then had tea, and came home in their 
 carriage. 
 
 Thursday , September 27 th. We left Riga at seven 
 in the morning ; went two stages entirely of deep
 
 250 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 sand to Mittau, a neat and rather pretty town ; 
 from there the road becomes better and prettier, 
 but we did not reach Frauenbourg till half-past 
 twelve. We found there a neat and clean, nicely 
 furnished little room ; the people being tenants of 
 Monsieur de Lieven, were very civil. As we had 
 dined in the carnage, we wanted only hot milk, 
 and water, and bread and butter, which they soon 
 gave us. 
 
 Friday, zftth. We set out at half-past seven ; 
 the first part of the way was sandy, but it grew 
 better afterwards ; a good road to Oberbartau, a 
 passable inn, and an amiable dog who would sleep 
 while we were at tea, wrapped up in a counterpane 
 on one of the beds. We got to Oberbartau about 
 eight o'clock. 
 
 Saturday, iqth. Set out at seven, reached 
 Polaneen, the Russian frontier, about the middle 
 
 O ' * 
 
 of the day ; had no trouble with the custom-house 
 people : from thence to Immersalt, the Prussian 
 frontier ; for four miles it is a continued series of 
 fine white, powdered sand. Polangen is a remarkable 
 place, inhabited by dirty, wretched-looking Jews. 
 We got to Memel soon after seven, and found a 
 most excellent inn, " Die Sonne." As soon as 
 we had arrived, Belgrave went to the bankers
 
 Memel. J51 
 
 to get Prussian money, and then off to the post- 
 masters. 
 
 Sunday, 3oM. Left Memel at half-past seven. 
 It is a nice, pretty little town, and the change in the 
 appearance of comfort and cleanliness on leaving 
 Russia and entering Prussia, strikes one immediately. 
 We crossed a very well-managed ferry on leaving 
 the town, and proceeded with eight horses across 
 the passage of the Strand, which is merely a strip 
 composed entirely of sand between two seas, to 
 which, on the right hand, ones goes so near, as 
 to have the wheels of the carriage occasionally in 
 the water ; the road is most desolate, nothing but a 
 plain of sand, here and there blown and drifted up 
 into large hills ; no living thing, or trace of vegeta- 
 tion, is to be seen, except now and then a starved 
 calf trying to eat dried up rushes ; in the middle 
 of this waste we met a Russian with whom we 
 changed horses. General Patgul, with five carriages, 
 returning to St. Petersburg from Wurtzburg, with a 
 suite of twenty people. 
 
 The weather during the whole of this fortnight 
 has been most charming, though sometimes with a 
 little frost in the nights ; yet the days were almost 
 too hot, and the moonlight evenings were quite 
 beautiful. We had sent on an estafette to order
 
 252 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 horses for us at Swartzort, the first stage, but quite 
 in vain, as the innkeepeers were all out ; we therefore 
 had to wait about two hours while our own horses 
 were baiting, and employed ourselves in walking 
 on the seashore. We then went on, and found 
 
 4 
 
 horses at Nidden, and proceeded in a beautiful 
 moonlight to Rositten, where we arrived at half- 
 past eleven, and were very tolerably lodged. 
 
 Monday, October ist. We left Rositten at eight, 
 and crossed by some fields to the other side of the 
 strip of sand already mentioned, and then went 
 dragging along a dreary shore with the sea on our 
 left ; we saw in several places hooded crows tied by 
 the leg to entice their companions, who, when 
 assembled, are caught by having a net suddenly 
 flung over them, by means of a rope, one end ef 
 which is held by a man, who is lying concealed in 
 an artificial bosquet, erected for the purpose close 
 to the sea. These birds are then used as food by 
 the inhabitants of this wretched place. 
 
 At the first stage, Sarkau, we were glad to ex- 
 change the seashore, which had become very 
 marshy and disagreeable, for a large wood, and 
 finally left the shore, and had a better road to 
 Konigsberg, where we arrived at six. We stopped 
 to dine at the " Deutsche Haus," a very good inn, and
 
 Bransberg. 253 
 
 walked before dinner to Mr. Douglas's to buy 
 amber. We found here a magnificent dog, a large 
 dun-coloured hound, by name Hector ; they said 
 he was English. Mr. Douglas showed us all his 
 amber, of which he had an immense quantity in 
 baskets; we bought some rough bits and some 
 worked pieces also, and then walked back through 
 the old castle of the Margraves, a curious large, 
 very old building. As soon as we had dinner we 
 set out for Quilitten, passing through Brandenbourg, 
 and arrived at Quilitten about twelve, and found a 
 small inn, very clean and quite new. 
 
 Tuesday, October ind. We set out at seven, 
 passed through Bransberg, a pretty town, and 
 Elbing, which is also very pretty ; got to Marien- 
 burg at six. We put up at the " Hochmeister," a 
 tolerable inn, and exactly opposite the old chateau, 
 built by the Teutonic knights in the fourteenth cen- 
 tury, and dismantled by the Poles in the next ; it 
 has lately been in part restored by the Crown Prince 
 of Prussia,* i.e., the side which was the private 
 abode of the Grand Master, consisting of a number 
 of pretty but tiny apartments, with very thick 
 walls ; they are now paved with coloured tiles, and 
 
 * Afterwards King William IV. of Prussia, elder brother of the 
 present Emperor of Germany.
 
 254 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 the arms of the knights are inserted in coloured 
 glass in the windows. There is here a small chapel, 
 and a very large and handsome hall, which served 
 as a dining-room for all the knights, about four 
 hundred in number. 
 
 We then walked through the court, over a small 
 bridge, and through a very old gateway into the 
 town, and returned by the road on the outside of 
 the moat which surrounds the castle. The 
 opposite sides of the court, in which were 
 the rooms of all the knights,, are now arranged as 
 magazines. 
 
 Wednesday, October %rd. We left Marienburg at 
 seven, crossed two ferries, one at the end of the 
 first stage, Drischan, where they are building a 
 bridge over the Vistula. The villages are miserable, 
 like some of the old French towns. The first part 
 of our road to-day was tolerable ; but the last 
 stage of four and a half German miles lay through 
 deep sand, so that we did not arrive at Konig till 
 half- past twelve. We stopped at the " Poste," where 
 we found a very civil landlord in his nightcap, 
 and a very clean inn with good beds, to which we 
 betook ourselves as soon as we could. 
 
 Thursday ', ^.th. The road the whole of the day 
 was one of deep sand, in which it was im-
 
 Hochzeit. 255 
 
 possible to go out of a walk ; the chaussee was not 
 yet allowed to be used for travelling, as they have 
 had no rain. This day's journey was the most 
 tedious we had had, there being a hot east wind 
 behind, which carried the dust along with us, 
 choking us the whole way. We arrived at " Deutsche 
 Krone" at half-past eleven, a good little inn. Next 
 year the chaussee will be completed from Berlin to 
 Konigsberg, and there will then be an excellent 
 road. 
 
 Friday ', $th. After one stage of sand we got on 
 the chaussee, and went through Hochzeit, which 
 appeared to have an excellent inn, and large garden. 
 Bought some fruit, arrived at Landsberg at nine, 
 and found a civil old military landlord, who had 
 a gentleman visiting him, whom we heard singing 
 extremely well in the next room. We had some 
 bitter grausvogel, alias fieldfares, for supper, and 
 after that went to sleep in very good beds. 
 
 Saturday, 6th. Left Landsberg"at seven ; at the 
 first stage met a Mr. Bent, or Bunt, who was 
 travelling into Russia. We gave him some in- 
 telligence respecting the inns, pitied him sincerely, 
 and went on each our respective ways. Passed 
 through Custrin, a very strongly fortified place in 
 the middle of a dead flat, and reached Berlin about
 
 256 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 ten. We found at Jagers that Mr. Temple* had 
 not got Belgrave's letter, begging him to secure 
 rooms for us, but as there was a small apartment 
 vacant on the third floor, we established ourselves 
 there, and found it, though small, very clean and 
 comfortable. 
 
 Sunday, October yth. We received a good many 
 letters from England, before we were up. Mr. 
 Temple called while we were at breakfast, after 
 which we read and wrote our letters, walked out 
 by the Brandebourg Gate in the gardens before 
 dinner, and had a visit from Count Alopeus and his 
 daughter. 
 
 Monday, %th. After breakfast Belgrave went out 
 with Mr. Temple, and I went in Lord Clanwilliam'sf 
 carriage, of which he had written to give us the 
 use, to Countess Pauline Neale, whom I found at 
 home and quite ready to go out with me to shops, 
 &c. We met the Duke of Cumberland,^: who was 
 
 * The Honourable Sir William Temple, K.C.B., afterwards 
 Minister Plenipotentiary at Naples. He was a brother of the late Lord 
 Palmerston, and died in 1856. In 1827 he was Secretary of Legation 
 at Berlin. 
 
 f The present Earl of Clanwilliam ; he was then Minister at Benin j 
 but in his absence Mr. Temple supplied his place temporarily. 
 
 J Ernest, Duke of Cumberland, afterwards King of Hanover j he 
 died in 1851.
 
 Berlin. 257 
 
 charmed to find we were come. We went to many 
 shops to get divers articles, such as gloves, patterns 
 for embroidery, and coloured canvas ; then I set 
 Countess Pauline down at her mother's, and came 
 home ; we dined with Mr. Temple, nobody there 
 but himself and another member of the Embassy, 
 Mr. Somerville, and were to have gone to the Opera 
 afterwards, but as Mademoiselle Sontag was ill and 
 could not sing, we went to the play instead, and 
 saw three German farces. The King and Princess 
 Lignitz* were in the King's private box, and 
 Prince Augustusf in the large royal one. After the 
 play we went to drink tea at Countess Pauline 
 Neale's, where we met her father and mother, and 
 about twenty other people ; the Duke of Cumber- 
 land came to meet us, and brought me a very kind 
 note from the Duchess, in answer to one that I 
 had sent her, inviting us to dine with them 
 next day. After staying some time we came 
 home. 
 
 * Second and morganatic wife of the King, to whom she was 
 married in 1814. 
 
 f A second cousin of the King.
 
 258 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Berlin, 
 Sunday, October 7th, 1827. 
 
 We are very glad to find that we had arrived at 
 the end of our long journey, in as fine a state of 
 preservation too as that in what a most curious 
 case of mummies lately arrived here, but I suppose 
 we are not so much worth seeing ; at least I daresay 
 Monsieur Humboldt will say so. Our journey has 
 been most prosperous, and quite free from serious 
 difficulty, or mis-adventure. We stayed two days 
 at Riga, where we were very kindly treated by the 
 English Consul, Mr. Gumming, and by his wife, 
 a very agreeable Russian woman. They gave us 
 a dinner at their country house, where they have 
 five Newfoundland dogs, and two English spaniels. 
 From Riga we came through Memel, a nice pretty 
 little town with an excellent inn ; and then across 
 the Strand, a most extraordinary, wild, desolate 
 tract, made of every variety of sand, loose-sands, 
 sand-hills, and quick-sands ; it lies between two seas, 
 to one of which you drive so close as often to have 
 the wheels in the water, and you fag on at a foot's 
 pace for a day and a half .with eight horses. 
 Thence there is an excellent new road making to
 
 Berlin. 259 
 
 this place; it will be finished entirely next year, 
 but where it is still unfinished the sand is tre- 
 mendous and incredibly tedious. We did not find 
 the inns so very bad even in Russia ; but certainly 
 the moment you leave Russia and get into Prussia, 
 the change for the better is immediately visible. 
 Our weather has been charming, almost too hot in 
 the day, with delicious moonlight nights ; we 
 travelled from very early till very late, but stopped 
 for a few hours every night to sleep, and have been 
 on the road fifteen days altogether, exclusive of the 
 two which was spent at Riga. I found there a 
 letter from Lord Clanwilliam, giving us the use 
 of his carriage and horses, and we have had a visit 
 from Mr. Temple, with whom we dine and go to 
 the Opera to-morrow. We see clearly that we 
 cannot get away under a week from this place. 
 There are many royal people to see, among whom 
 you may be sure I shall not omit the Duchess of 
 Cumberland. I have brought her an embroidered 
 reticule from Russia, and am going to write to her 
 to know when she will see us. Then I have a 
 letter from the Empress-mother to Princess Charles, 
 she was Princess Marie of Saxe- Weimar, and is 
 only just married; then there are the King,* and 
 
 * The then King was Frederick William III., father of the late 
 
 S 2
 
 260 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 the Prince and Princess Royal, &c. I have a letter 
 to Madame Alopeus, the Russian Minister's wife, 
 who is very much liked ; and I am to see Countess 
 Neale, the friend of the Duchess of Leeds. Except 
 people, however, there is not much to be seen at 
 Beflin. I have seen some beautiful horses in Russia, 
 and have always meant to tell you that both there 
 and in Sweden I have frequently seen beautiful hedge- 
 hog pigs, exactly like those in the Orkneys. You 
 wished to know about the winter life in Norway. 
 The Wedels shut themselves up with a great deal 
 of salt meat, dried bread, &c., in a remarkably 
 comfortable house some twenty miles in the interior, 
 with a boiling, rushing river, and a broiling iron 
 foundry close to it ; then they go about in traineaux, 
 when they do go out at all ; and sit and work very 
 comfortably at home in the long winter nights. 
 Then it is that they make bear-hams, while they 
 hear the wolves howl outside, and see the Aurora 
 Borealis ! We were very glad to hear of the 
 Empress having a son, for which she had been 
 wishing so much, and all belonging to her hoped 
 for it also. 
 
 Monday. I must end my letter now, as the post 
 
 King of Prussia and of the present Emperor of Germany. He reigned 
 from 1797 down to 1840.
 
 Berlin. 261 
 
 goes early. I have been out all the morning with 
 Countess Pauline Neale, who has taken me to all 
 the shops ; we drink tea with her this evening after 
 the Opera. She goes into the country the day after 
 to-morrow to be with the Radzivils, who are in 
 the deepest grief at losing their favourite son, only 
 twenty-eight years old. We met the Duke of 
 Cumberland in the streets ; he stopped the carriage 
 thinking I was Lord Clanwilliam, but knew me 
 directly, and was overjoyed, and said the Duchess 
 would be perfectly delighted at my arrival. I had 
 just sent her my letter, and Belgrave had been to 
 call on him. They are staying in the country about 
 four English miles off. 
 
 Monday night. We are just come from Countess 
 Neale's (after the Opera), where the Duke of Cum- 
 berland came to meet us ; nothing can be more 
 cordial and good-natured than he is. He is looking 
 very well, and his eyes are perfectly recovered, 
 which puts him in high spirits, and makes him very 
 happy. He brought me a very kind note from 
 the Duchess, and we dine with them to-morrow. 
 We leave here at the end of the week, and mean to 
 pass a few days at Dresden and Weimar. 
 
 Tuesday, October yth. Countess Pauline came at 
 eleven to take me out, and we went to several
 
 262 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 shops, while Belgrave went out with Mr. Somer- 
 ville. We dressed and went soon after three ,jto 
 dine with the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland 
 at Schonhausen, about four English miles from the 
 town. We. found the Duke and Duchess looking 
 very well, and rejoiced to see us ; there were the 
 Countess SchleppenBach, her Lady, Count and 
 Countess Neale, and Countess Pauline, one of the 
 Prince de Solms, the Duke's aides-de-camp, and the 
 tutor of Prince George.* Before we had quite 
 done dinner, they announced the Princess Royal,f 
 and the Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin,j as 
 being arrived ; the Duke and Duchess went out to 
 see them, and brought them into the dining-room, 
 where we were introduced to them. Afterwards we 
 went into the drawing-room, and they very soon 
 went away. Prince George, who is a handsome 
 and vivacious boy, came in to dessert. The Neales 
 went early to join the Princess Royal. We re- 
 mained some time sitting with the Duke and 
 Duchess, and then took our leave, and went to 
 drink tea with Countess Alopeus. I had not seen her 
 
 * The late blind King of Hanover. 
 
 f Elizabeth of Bavaria, wife of Frederick William IV., the late 
 King of Prussia. 
 
 J A daughter of King Frederick William.
 
 Berlin. 263 
 
 before, and thought her, though unwell, the most 
 beautiful person I had ever seen, and with charming 
 manners. There were very few people there, the 
 Count and Countess StrogonofF, Countess Santi and 
 her sister, and a few besides ; we walked home, it 
 being next door but one, about eleven o'clock. 
 
 Wednesday^ October loM. During breakfast, as 
 usual, the shop people brought their bills. At 
 eleven, Belgrave and I left a little parcel of a Torjok 
 reticule that I had bought for the Duchess at the 
 Duke of Cumberland's, and then went to Mr. Temple, 
 who gave us some more letters just arrived from 
 England ; after that we went to a sculptor's close by, 
 to see a statue of the Empress of Russia ; then he 
 went to the coachmaker's, and I to the stables with 
 Mr. Temple to see Lord Clanwilliam's horses. There 
 are some very handsome ones, and a delightful white 
 English terrier puppy. After that we all three went 
 into the carriage to call on Count and Countess 
 Woronzow,* at the Hotel de Prusse, who arrived 
 
 * Afterwards Prince and Princess Woronzow ; she was the wife of 
 Prince Michel Woronzow, to whom belonged Aloupka, a beautiful 
 residence near Odessa. He had been brought up in England, and had 
 imbibed English tastes and principles, taking pleasure in improving 
 his immense properly near Odessa, and devoting himself to the good of 
 his people and his country. His wife the Princess, still living, after a 
 long widowhood, in 1879, was the daughter of Princess Branitska, one
 
 264 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 last night, but they were gone out to see us. We then 
 went to the chateau, to leave my cards with Countess 
 Reede, the Lady of the Princess Royal, and Madame 
 Kalmeique, Grande Maitresse to the Princess Charles ; 
 then to a statuary's to see a large granite vase in 
 making for the King, then to Professor Rauch's,* 
 where were different busts of the Royal family, 
 Blucher, &c. ; and lastly to sundry shops. We then 
 came home to dress for dinner at the apartments of 
 the Crown Prince and Princess, where we went at 
 four o'clock. They live on one side of the Palace 
 in some handsome rooms ; besides themselves, there 
 were Prince William,t and Prince Charles^, Count 
 and Countess Strogonoff, Countess Reede, Made- 
 moiselle Brockhausen, Prince LabanofF, Count 
 Gooben (General Daunbach's son-in-law), Baron 
 Humboldt, the traveller and naturalist, Mr. Bonar, 
 a Monsieur Darril, and some aides-de-camp. The 
 dinner was very pleasant, we stayed a little while in 
 
 of the seven nieces of Prince Potemkin, some of whose wealth she in- 
 herited from her mother. 
 
 * Professor of the Fine Arts in the Berlin University, and himself 
 an eminent sculptor. 
 
 f The present Emperor of Germany. 
 
 J Next brother of the present Emperor. He married the Princess 
 Marie of Saxe- Weimar, mother of Prince Frederick Charles, and sister 
 of the Empress of Germany. She died in 1878, he still survives.
 
 The Opera, Berlin. 265 
 
 the drawing-room afterwards ; the Prince Royal said 
 that we must come back another day, as he would show 
 us the very room of" The White Lady,"* and then 
 everybody went off to the Opera. We came home first 
 for Belgrave to take off his uniform ; I dressed over 
 again, and we went to the Opera, where we found Mr. 
 Temple. The opera was one of Winter's, " Le Sacrifice 
 Interrompu," in German. Mademoiselle Sontag sang, 
 and her beauty and voice were quite equal to what 
 we had expected ; Count Neale and Count Woronzow 
 came into our box. The Duke of Cumberland 
 brought a note for me, to tell me officially what 
 Prince Charles had told me before, that Princess 
 Charles would see me next day at twelve, and that 
 we were to dine there on Friday. After the opera 
 there was no ballet, but we came home im- 
 mediately to receive the Duke of Cumberland, who 
 came to drink tea with us, and sat talking till a late 
 hour. 
 
 Thursday , October-nth. We wrote after break- 
 fast till a little before noon, when Madame Schlep- 
 penbach called to go with me to Princess Charles. 
 Accordingly we went, and she received me in a per- 
 
 * An apparition said to manifest itself before any misfortune to the 
 Royal family of Prussia ; the room is a large hall in the " Alte Schloss," 
 at Berlin.
 
 266 Dia ry of a Tour. 
 
 fectly plain morning gown. She is very pleasing and 
 pretty with charming manners ; I gave her the letter 
 from the Empress-mother, and after some time we 
 came away. 
 
 Belgrave went to dine at two with the King at 
 Charlottenberg, and he carried Count Woronzow 
 there in Lord Clanwilliam's carriage. He met all 
 the Royal family there, Princes and Princesses, the 
 Duke and Duchess of Cumberland, &c., and was 
 introduced to the Princess de Lignitz.* Mr. Temple 
 called for me at four to go to dine at Count Alopeus', 
 there I met, to my great joy, Countess Woronzow, as 
 we had been two or three times before prevented 
 from meeting ; Dr. Granville, Mr. Somerville, Count 
 de Ruffo, and a few more people Belgrave and 
 Count Woronzow arrived soon after dessert was 
 begun ; they had called on the Duke and Duchess 
 of Cumberland on their way home. We came 
 home before nine, and Mr. Temple sat down with 
 us to tea. 
 
 Soon after Mr. Temple was gone, we received a 
 note from Baron Humboldt, inviting us to a dinner 
 at twelve o'clock next day at his brother's at Tegel, 
 to meet the King and Royal family, and announcing 
 that he would call himself at ten in the evening 
 upon us ; and accordingly he came.
 
 Tegel. 267 
 
 Friday, October iith. On getting up, Belgrave 
 received a message from Prince Augustus* to ask 
 why he had not dined with him the day before. 
 On inquiry, we were shocked to find that he had 
 sent a message to ask him to. dine yesterday, which 
 through a mistake had not been received. Belgrave 
 went as soon as he had done breakfast to the 
 aide-de-camp of Prince Augustus to explain, and at 
 a little before eleven we set out in a carriage and four, 
 which we had hired for the day, for Tegel, about ten 
 miles off, the first five chaussee, the rest sand. The 
 King passed us en chemin, in a barouche and four. 
 When we arrived, we found Monsieur and Madame 
 Humboldt, Baron A. Humboldt, Monsieur Bulow,f 
 and Madame Bulow, the King, and Princess de 
 Lignitz, and her lady, the Duke and Duchess of 
 Cumberland, their lady and gentleman, Prince 
 William, Prince Albert, the Duke of Mecklenburg^ 
 Prince Radzivil ; and Prince and Princess Charles 
 arrived soon after. We walked over the garden, 
 and then came in to dinner ; we sat at a large round 
 table, at which were the King and all the Royal 
 family ; the suite sat at another table in another 
 
 * Cousin to the King. 
 
 f Afterwards Prussian Minister in England. 
 
 J The brother of the Duchess of Cumberland.
 
 263 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 room. The repast finished, we went again into the 
 drawing-room, looked at the statues and pictures, 
 and finally made our escape about three o'clock. 
 Prince Charles with whom we were to dine being 
 already departed, we got home at four, and dressed 
 as fast as we could. Belgrave hurried on his 
 uniform, and we went to Prince Charles's, where we 
 found them already gone to dinner. There were 
 there, Prince William, Prince Radzivil, Count and 
 Countess Woronzow, Prince LabanofF, and a good 
 many more. I sat by Princess Charles, who was 
 most gracious and kind ; after dinner the circle was 
 short, as everybody was going to the Opera, to hear 
 Mademoiselle Sontag in the " Barbiere." We went 
 to the Duke of Cumberland's box, where we found 
 him and the Duchess, her lady, Madame Schleppen- 
 bach, the Duke of Mecklenburg, and one of the 
 Princes of Solms. The box was exactly opposite 
 the King's, who was there with Princess Lignitz. 
 Mademoiselle Sontag sung delightfully, but the 
 rest was very ill-acted. Prince Charles, and Prince 
 William, and Prince Albert came to our box be- 
 tween the acts. After the opera we came home 
 for Belgrave to take off his uniform, and then 
 went to a ball at Count Neale's, where were the 
 young Princes, and Princess de Lignitz, who
 
 Berlin. 269 
 
 danced the mazurka with Prince Charles, and we 
 came home between eleven and twelve. 
 
 Saturday, October ijM. As soon as we had done 
 breakfast, Belgrave and I set out to walk to the 
 Hotel de Prusse to see Count and Countess 
 Woronzow before they went, and we met Count 
 Alopeus, who was going there too ; we found them 
 at home, and Belgrave took leave of them. I stayed 
 with Countess Woronzow till the Duchess of 
 Cumberland's carriage came to fetch me to her 
 house in town, where I found her and the Duke, 
 Prince George, and the Duchess's three sons, the 
 Princes of Solms ; we stayed there a long time, the 
 Duke had some chocolate, the Duchess and I some 
 grapes. She showed me all her rooms, which are 
 very comfortably and prettily furnished. The 
 Duke and the young Princes then set out on foot, 
 and the Duchess and I followed them in the car- 
 riage with Madame Schleppenbach, and another 
 lady of the Duchess's, to the Exhibition of the 
 Manufacturers of Berlin, which takes place every 
 two years. It consists of every kind of article of 
 manufacture, steel, porcelain, iron, papier-mache, 
 pictures, cutlery, silver, leather, &c., silks, velvets, 
 &c., there were some beautiful gros Jetes, of which 
 the Duchess ordered a pink gown for me, and blue
 
 270 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 for Mamma.* Belgrave and Mr. Temple joined us 
 there very soon after we arrived. We stayed a 
 long time, and when we had finished our purchases 
 it was time to go to dress. We had hardly time to look 
 at the pictures of the Giustiani collection, which are 
 also here. The building is a handsome one, 
 divided into several large rooms, and well adapted 
 for the purpose, but the King is building a new and 
 better one. After we came away, Belgrave and I 
 took a walk down the Linden as far as Bliicher's 
 monument, then back, and dressed. At half-past 
 three Mr. Temple called for us, and we went to 
 Schonhausen to dine with the Duke and Duchess 
 of Cumberland, there were Prince and Princess 
 Charles, Countess Kalmin, her Grande-Maitresse, 
 Baron A. Humboldt, Baron Bulow, Madame 
 Schleppenbach, Countess Voss, Mr. Darril, Baron 
 Linsing, and Mr. Jelf,f Prince George's tutor, 
 and the usual suite of the Duke and Duchess. We 
 had a very pleasant dinner, and stayed a long time 
 after Prince and Princess Charles went, saw a sort 
 of lighthouse called a " fanal" exhibited in the 
 garden, lighted, which we had seen at the exhibi- 
 tion in the morning, and after tea came home. 
 
 * My mother, the Duchess-Countess of Sutherland, 
 f Mr. Jelf afterwards married Madame Schleppenbach. He died a 
 Canon of Christ Church, Oxford.
 
 Berlin. 271 
 
 Sunday, October \^th. After breakfast, we read 
 prayers. At ten o'clock Belgrave walked to the 
 monument of the late war on the Kriegsberg, and 
 I went thither in the carriage. The monument is 
 Gothic, of bronze and very handsome ; after that 
 he walked back to the hotel. I came back in the 
 carriage, and we then walked to see the wild beasts 
 in their "garten :" there is a very good collection j 
 including two fine lions and a lioness, with a very 
 lively young cub, plenty of monkies, a beautiful 
 lama, a fine family of young crocodiles of all ages, 
 a boa-constrictor, and a most beautiful collection 
 of parrots, parroquets, and macaws. After this it 
 was fully time to dress for dinner, and we went soon 
 after four to dine at Mr. Temple's ; the Duke of 
 Cumberland, Count Alopeus, Count Neale, Count 
 Perponcher, Colonel Poten, Prince of Solms. 
 and a few more were there. We had a very pleasant 
 dinner, and they all set off for the Opera ; we came 
 home between six and seven, and passed our evening 
 very comfortably in writing our letters for England. 
 I also wrote to Lord Clanwillian and the Landgra- 
 vine of Hesse-Homburg.* 
 
 Monday , October \$th. We set out at half- 
 past ten in a very smart barouche, and with a pair 
 
 * The Princess Elizabeth, daughter ot George lit.
 
 272 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 of pretty grey horses belonging to the inn, to go 
 to Charlottenburg, about four English miles from 
 town, to see the monument by Rauch to the late 
 Queen ; we waited some time for the man to show it, 
 and found Prince Labanoff in the same situation. 
 He went with us to see it ; we walked through a 
 large, flat garden divided into long alleys, and arrived 
 at the cemetery, which is a small and pretty build- 
 ing at the end of a long straight wall bordered with 
 fir trees ; immediately before it is a circle of gravel 
 surrounded with weeping willows; the monument 
 is on an eminence which is approached by steps on 
 each side; in the centre is a flight of steps which 
 descend into the vault. The monument is beautiful, 
 but if there is any fault it is that the figure is rather 
 too large. We walked back to the palace ; Prince 
 Labanoff departed, and we returned straight to the 
 hotel, where we found Lord Clanwilliam's carriage 
 waiting, so we set off for Moubijou, where is a 
 most curious collection of mummies. Mr. Temple 
 met us there ; the mummies were shewn by 
 Monsieur Passalagna who found them himself in 
 Egypt. There are several in wonderful preserva- 
 tion, with their ornaments upon them, and with 
 baskets full of fruit, birds, cats, reptiles and 
 household utensils ; several complete mummies
 
 The Arsenal, Berlin. 273 
 
 were unpacked others lay still in their mummy en- 
 velopes. We saw a curious tomb of a priest, with 
 two carved boats by its side, and the horns and 
 bones of the ox which had been sacrificed at his 
 funeral ; with many other things equally curious ; 
 the whole collection is by much the most interest- 
 ing of the kind that we ever saw. 
 
 From here we went to see Mr. Solly's collection 
 of pictures, lately bought by the King. They 
 range from the first enfance de I'art, and include 
 some curious, and a few fine ones. We then went 
 to the Magasin de Porcelaine and the iron shop, 
 then to Quittels', where 1 stayed while Belgrave 
 went to the bankers, and we sent the carriage away. 
 We then walked home, dressed, dined, and Mr. 
 Temple called for to us to go to the Cenerentola, 
 at the Konigsteater : Mademoiselle Eva Bamberger 
 acted the principal part, and well, considering that 
 she is very young ; the music was beautiful. 
 Mademoiselle Sontag was in the next box to us. 
 After this we went to drink tea at Madame Alopeus's, 
 where there was nobody but themselves and ourselves. 
 
 Tuesday, October i6th. We passed some time 
 after breakfast in packing up, and went at eleven 
 with Mr. Temple to see the arsenal ; there are arms 
 ready for sixty thousand men ; some curious old 
 
 T
 
 274 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 arms of different kinds, and a fine statue of Bliicher. 
 We then went to the booksellers and bought some 
 books, got through some more packing; at half- 
 past two went to dress, Belgrave dined with Prince 
 Augustus, where were Prince LabanofF, and a few 
 others, at a pleasant dinner. I went on to Schon- 
 hausen to dine with the Duke and Duchess of 
 Cumberland, where Belgrave also was to have joined 
 us, but he was prevented by Prince Augustus's 
 dinner. There were only themselves, the three 
 Princes of Solms, Baron Linsing, Mr. Temple and 
 Mr. Jelf. I stayed a little while after the dinner 
 was over, and then took leave of the Duchess, who 
 had loaded us with kindness, came home, found 
 Belgrave, finishing our packing, after which we had 
 grapes and went to bed. 
 
 Wednesday , October i*jth. We got up at six and 
 left Berlin at nine ; reached Potsdam soon after 
 eleven, and as we had failed in getting the rooms 
 that we wished at Einsedel, we went to the Hotel 
 de Prusse, where the rooms were full of lady-birds, 
 and dirty enough, but we were obliged to be 
 content ; here we dressed for the fete at Potsdam, 
 and drove to the Palais Neuf, where we arrived at 
 half-past one; the party consisted of about seventy. 
 The Prince and Princess Royal, Prince and Princess
 
 Potsdam. 275 
 
 of Saxony (who had arrived the night before), 
 
 Prince and Princess Charles, Prince William, Prince 
 
 Albert, Prince of Hesse, Duke of Mecklenburg, two 
 
 Princes of Solms, the Duke of Cumberland, Prince 
 
 Labanoff, the Duke of Brunswick (the second 
 
 holder of that title), Prince Augustus of Prussia, 
 
 and their respective aides-de-camp, Baron Hum- 
 
 boldt, Princess de Lignitz, Marquise de Bruges, 
 
 and Madame de Roche-Lambert, and a good 
 
 many more. The King came into the room a little 
 
 while after we arrived, there was cercle for some 
 
 time, while he walked about and talked ; and at 
 
 two o'clock we all went to dinner in an immense 
 
 and handsome room, lined with shells and all sorts 
 
 of marine ornaments, called u La Grotte." I sat at 
 
 dinner between Prince William and the Prince of 
 
 Hesse, Belgrave and Prince Labanoff opposite the 
 
 King ; the dinner was very pleasant. After spending 
 
 a due time on our meal, we rose up, and there 
 
 was again cercle in the drawing-room ; after which 
 
 the King and Royal family all went to their 
 
 respective apartments, and the Duke of Cumberland 
 
 took us over the Palace, which is very handsome, 
 
 though not much furnished ; we went over the 
 
 rooms of Frederick the Great, who built this 
 
 Palace at the end of the Seven Years' War, to 
 
 T 2
 
 276 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 show that he had still money left in his exchequer ; 
 the rooms are very handsome, in long enfilades 
 like those at Castle Howard or Worksop, and 
 are said to be four hundred in number, After 
 we had seen all this, Belgrave and I drove to 
 Sans Souci, where we saw the gallery, with some 
 good pictures; among them a Rembrandt, of a 
 Prince of Asturias threatening his father; several 
 good ones by Rubens, &c. The gallery is separate 
 from the Palace, where we went next, and saw 
 Frederick the Great's rooms which except having 
 belonged to him are in no way remarkable and 
 those of Voltaire. The view from the terrace 
 is very pretty, and the environs of Potsdam in 
 general are extremely so ; with a great deal of 
 wood and water, and very different from the 
 country round Berlin ; the quantities of hot-houses 
 belonging to these palaces are incredible ; they 
 are built on the sides of hills and mounted in 
 rows of terraces, one above the other. After 
 seeing Sans Souci we returned to the Palais Neuf, 
 and fell in with some of the young Princes, with 
 whom Belgrave went to walk, whilst I went to sit 
 with Countess Reede, the Princess Royal's grande 
 maitresse, and the rest of the ladies. I remained 
 till a little before six; when we went up-stairs to
 
 Potsdam. 277 
 
 the rooms on the first floor, where all the company 
 were again assembled. The King soon came, and 
 at six we all went to the theatre, which was quite 
 full, all the surrounding inhabitants being allowed 
 to come. The King and his company sat on cir- 
 cular benches, in the front of the pit, exactly 
 opposite the stage, where one saw and heard very 
 well ; the play was " Jocondi " in German ; Mademoi- 
 selle Sontag sung ; between the acts, the King and 
 Royal family stood up by the orchestra, and we 
 were all treated with tea and ices the play lasted 
 till about nine. We all returned to " La Grotre," 
 where supper was prepared on a number of small 
 tables. The King and Princesses supped at the 
 centre table ; the Prince Royal took me to another, 
 where were Prince William and Prince Augustus, 
 Madame de Bruges, Madame de Roche-Lambert, 
 Prince Charles, and the Duke of Brunswick. After 
 supper the Royal family all took leave of us, saying 
 a great many kind and civil things. Prince and 
 Princess Charles settled that we should come to 
 see them next morning at their house at Glienike, 
 about a quarter of an hour's drive from Potsdam. 
 Here the party ended and everybody went away. 
 We arrived at our inn at half-past ten. 
 
 Thursday t October i8M. We got up early, had
 
 278 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 some coffee, and went to Glienike by half-past 
 nine, where we found Prince and Princess 
 Charles, and a very pretty house, nicely fitted up, 
 and full of pictures, drawings, and objects of beauty 
 and interest ; the house and place, with the garden 
 full of flowers, rather reminded us of Bromley 
 Hill ;* after they had shown us the house, Prince 
 Charles walked with us over the garden, where 
 are pavilions full of antiques, and beautiful views 
 over the water. We then returned to the house to 
 take leave of the Princess, who gave to our care a 
 Spaniel puppy to carry to her sister at Weimar ; 
 Prince Charles then walked with us to the kennel, 
 and showed us his dogs, among which were some 
 Newfoundlands and Mount St. Bernards. We then 
 took leave of him with a grateful remembrance of 
 the kindness which we had experienced from him- 
 self and the Princess, and indeed from all the Royal 
 fam ily ; and got into the carriage to go to " L'Isle 
 des Paons," about a mile from the gate of Glienike; 
 we were ferried over the river to this prettiest of 
 islands, which is a charming mixture of forest and 
 flower garden, and like a scene in a fairy tale. The 
 flowers in the greatest profusion, and the finest 
 
 * In Kent, now the seat of Colonel Long, son-in-law of Edward, 
 thirteenth Earl of Derby.
 
 L'Isle des Paons. 279 
 
 possible, magnificent dahlias, twelve and thirteen 
 feet high ; blue hydrangeas, and enormously large 
 bushes of salvia splendens in the open air, and 
 lovely walks, through oak woods, and a fine collec- 
 tion of birds and beasts, in different parts of the 
 wood. A round building with a pond, and space 
 of grass is enclosed for all sorts of water-birds 
 and tortoises ; in another place there is a pit with 
 two magnificent bears, both in excellent condition. 
 They were very gentle in appearance, and at the 
 command of their keeper climbed up a tree in the 
 centre of their habitation, and sat on the top of 
 it to receive as a reward branches of leaves and 
 fruit fastened to the top of a long stick ; they eat 
 no meat. Farther on was an aviary with all kinds 
 of birds, not so good, as they had no grass, but only 
 sand. There is a very good collection of monkeys, 
 parrots, eagles, &c., and walking on one of the 
 lawns we met a large flock of sheep and goats, of 
 all sorts and all countries, all so tame as to follow 
 us to have their noses rubbed. There is a small 
 palace behind, with more enclosures for other 
 animals. The fallow deer came to eat acorns and 
 chestnuts out of one's hands, (I picked up some 
 enormous acorns to plant at home) ; kangaroos, 
 a she-wolf, who when the keeper went into her
 
 280 Diary of a Tour 
 
 den, gave all the signs of pleasure that a dog 
 expresses, licking his face and jumping about him ; 
 this she-wolf had with her two large young half- 
 bred cubs. A fox, who also played like a puppy, 
 letting the keeper take him up in his arms. There 
 were also wild boars, and different sorts of deer ; 
 after we had seen all this delicious place, we were 
 ferried back again, then got into the carriage, and 
 stopped at Glienike to pick up the puppy that we 
 were to carry from Princess Charles to Princess 
 Augusta at Weimar ; he was very well secured in a 
 basket. We then returned to the inn at Potsdam, had 
 our things put up, and set out at three. The environs 
 of Potsdam are extremely pretty ; we reached Treun- 
 britzen at seven o'clock, and found a passable inn. 
 
 Friday , October \yth. We left Treunbritzer at 
 half- past seven, had an even day's journey without 
 any event, and got to Leipsic at half-past nine ; 
 here we found an excellent inn, " 1'Hotel de Saxe," 
 as good and clean as any English one. 
 
 Saturday, October loth. After breakfast walked 
 round the town, which is a remarkably clean and 
 pretty one, full of curious old German houses, 
 pleasantly mixed with gardens and trees. We 
 walked round the market, then round by the 
 Promenade to a private garden, in order to see the
 
 Leipsic. 281 
 
 small River Elster, where the body of Count 
 Poniatouski was found two days after the Battle of 
 Leipsic, Bonaparte having blown up the bridge 
 after he had made his own escape from the town. 
 Poniatouski endeavoured to rejoin the French by 
 going through the stream on horseback, but being 
 wounded, it is supposed, his strength was not 
 sufficient for the struggle up a steep bank, and so 
 he was drowned ; the horse escaped, and is now 
 in the possession of the King of Bavaria, who 
 bought him from the Russians. After this we 
 walked back through the town to the bankers, where 
 
 O ' 
 
 I left Belgrave and walked home ; he came soon 
 after, having bought some white gloves by the 
 way. We set out soon after eleven, got out of the 
 carriage to see the stone near Lutzen which marks 
 the spot where Gustavus Adolphus fell ; and then 
 travelled on without any event, the postillions 
 driving so miserably slow, that we did not get to 
 Weimar till past one, went to the " Hotel of the Erb 
 Prinz," which looked dirty and disagreeable ; we 
 looked at the " Hotel de 1'Elephant," which not 
 being better, we remained at the " Hotel de 1'Erb 
 Prinz," and got to bed as soon as we could, which 
 was not till three o'clock. 
 
 Sunday, October list. Got up between nine and
 
 282 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 ten, received messages from the Court, and wrote 
 to the two grande-maitresses about being presented; 
 we received a notification that we should be pre- 
 sented to the Hereditary Grand Duchess of 
 Weimar* at three, and dine afterwards with the 
 reigning Grand Duke and Duchess.f Accordingly 
 at three we went, and were taken first to the 
 Imperial Grand Duchess, who received us very 
 graciously, and to whom I presented my letter from 
 her mother, the Empress-mother of Russia. Her 
 daughter, Princess Augusta,J was with her, and 
 the Grand Duke came in soon after ; the Grand 
 Duchess is very deaf, but has the most delightful 
 manners. Princess Augusta is also charming, hand- 
 some, full of gaiety and good breeding, with a 
 great deal of conversation. After remaining here 
 a little while, the Grand Duchess said she would 
 present us to the Grand Duke and Duchess ; we 
 accordingly went all together, and found a large 
 circle, and the old Grand Duke and Duchess, who 
 received us with great kindness. After talking for 
 
 * Grand Duchess Mary of Russia, daughter of the Dowager Em- 
 press and the Emperor Paul ; born in 1786. 
 
 f The Grand Duchess was Princess Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, who 
 personally opposed the great Napoleon. 
 
 J The present Empress of Germany.
 
 Weimar. 283 
 
 some time we all went to dinner, the number about 
 forty- two. A Count and Countess Remhardt, who 
 were going to Frankfort, where he had just been 
 appointed French Minister, all the suite of the 
 Court, and a good many other people. We dined 
 in a very narrow long gallery ; after dinner we 
 returned to the drawing-room for a little while, 
 and then were all dismissed till six o'clock. Bel- 
 grave and I returned to the inn in the same carriage, 
 which was sent for us. At six o'clock the carriage 
 came for us again, and we returned to the palace, 
 where we were ushered into a different set of rooms. 
 There was a large circle formed, in addition to the 
 former party, of some of the inhabitants of Weimar. 
 Belgrave played at whist with the reigning Grand 
 Duchess ; the young Grand Duchess played at 
 another table also at whist; and the Hereditary 
 Grand Duke played at casino in a circular room 
 at the end. There is a custom here that when the 
 Royal people sit down to cards, all the company 
 go successively up to the table to make a bow or 
 curtsey to them. As I was obliged to own my 
 ignorance of all games, I sat with Princess Augusta 
 and some other ladies in the circular room, and 
 had a very agreeable evening, though it was desper- 
 ately cold ; the reigning Grand Duke went away
 
 284" Diary of a Tour. 
 
 early. At length the games at cards were finished, 
 and after some more conversation, the Grand 
 Duchess took leave of everybody. We followed the 
 young Grand Duke and Duchess into their apart- 
 ments through a long suite of rooms ; and after 
 some time went to supper, and at half-past eleven 
 we returned to our hotel. 
 
 Monday, October iind. The Hereditary Grand 
 Duchess having very kindly arranged that we 
 should pay Gothe a visit, the poet wrote that he 
 would receive us at eleven. Accordingly Belgrave 
 and I walked there after breakfast, and found him 
 in a comfortable home ; he was very amiable and 
 agreeable ; talked in French rather with difficulty, 
 but pleasantly, and on literary subjects ; he seemed 
 quite alive to everything, and sent messages to 
 my brother Francis,* who had paid him a visit 
 last year. He has a fine head, with great expression, 
 and does not give one the idea of being seventy- 
 eight years old. 
 
 We walked a little about the town, and when we 
 returned to the inn, found the Grand Duchess 
 and one of her ladies already waiting to take me to 
 the Palace, When we arrived there, I went up 
 first to Princess Augusta, who showed me her 
 
 * Lord Francis Leveson Gower, afterwards Earl of Ellesmere.
 
 Weimar. 285 
 
 rooms, which had also been those of her sister, 
 Princess Charles ; then we saw the puppy that we 
 had brought from Princess Charles, and which, as 
 Princess Augusta had desired me to christen him, 
 was named Carlo. After I took leave of her, I 
 went to the rooms of the young Grand Duchess, 
 where I found the Grand Duke, receiving a visit 
 from a French lady. Here I was also intro- 
 duced to Monsieur KanikofF, the Russian Minister, 
 whom Belgrave had known at Dresden ten years 
 ago. 
 
 After this the Grand Duchess prepared to go out ; 
 when she was ready I went with her and her lady 
 in a coach and six to the Belvedere, a small country 
 Palace about two miles from the town, which they 
 often visit in the summer. Here we met Belgrave 
 and one of the Duke's gentlemen, who had been 
 sent to fetch him in a barouche and four. The 
 Grand Duchess took us all through the quantities 
 of hot-houses, which are full of the finest plants, 
 and of the most curious kinds I ever saw. The 
 orange trees, four hundred in number, are pro- 
 digiously fine, very tall, immensely large, and in 
 the most flourishing and healthy condition ; they 
 are of all sorts, and covered with fruit ; one of them 
 is said to be five hundred years old ; it is enormous
 
 286 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 in the trunk, and the rest of it equally fine, though 
 after the Battle of Jena the French cut off nearly all 
 its branches close to the stem. On a cactus in 
 another house we were shown the cochineal insect, 
 which looked like a white mould, but on being 
 removed and scraped, turned into a scarlet juice. 
 The Grand Duke joined us in the garden, and we 
 .walked through some pretty woods close by, where 
 we saw three roe deer. After this we went back 
 as we came ; and got back to the inn just in time 
 to dress for the three o'clock dinner at the Palace, 
 to which we were again invited. The day was 
 cold, miserable and raw ; and this considerably 
 helped to increase a bad cold which had begun at 
 Potsdam. We sat down to dinner at three, the 
 party of about twenty consisting principally of the 
 Court, and General Kanikoff. The Grand Duchess 
 (Hereditary,) being deaf, I had great difficulty with 
 my hoarseness to make myself intelligible, and she 
 had a great deal to ask about the Empress, her mother, 
 whom she had not seen since the Emperor's death, 
 and also about Princess Charles, her daughter, 
 whom she had also not seen since her marriage. 
 We dined in another room to-day ; the Grand Duke 
 was very cheerful, talked much about London, 
 remembered dining at Cleveland House and seeing
 
 Erfurth. 287 
 
 the Claudes there; after dinner and conversation 
 we were again dismissed at five, the Grand Duchess 
 inviting us to come to the play in their box at 
 six ; we therefore returned to the inn, and put in 
 an appearance at the play at the due time ; after we 
 had waited a few minutes in the outer room, all the 
 Royal family arrived, with the addition of Princess 
 Augusta, who had not dined with us, as being very 
 young she does not dine at table except on Sundays. 
 The box is very large, exactly in front of the stage. 
 The theatre is pretty and small : the play was 
 " Katan of Heilbron " in German, and most enter- 
 taining. After it was over we took leave of our 
 friends, and received many invitations to return. 
 We then went home. 
 
 Tuesday, October i^rd. We were very glad to 
 set out again, and left Weimar at nine, with most 
 pleasing remembrances of the gracious kindness we 
 had received from the Royal family. It was a 
 much finer day than the preceding. I was perfectly 
 mute from my cold, and my head so oppressed that 
 I could hardly see out of my eyes. Our first post 
 was Erfurth, a fortified town, and not an ugly one 
 by any means ; here we bought some very good 
 pears. Gotha was our next halting-place, still in an 
 ugly country, as indeed is most of what we have
 
 288 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 hitherto seen ; but the town is certainly pretty, 
 being full of nice gardens and walks. While we 
 were changing horses, Belgrave walked into the 
 town and up to the Palace, which stands very well 
 on the top of a bank overlooking the town. 1 
 could not go with him on account of my cold. 
 We bought two Almanacs de Gotha. After this 
 stage, the country begins to be pretty with wooded 
 hills and valleys. We got to Eisenach at six, and 
 found a good inn, the " Half Moon." 
 
 Wednesday, October i^th. My cold better. We 
 got up early, and after breakfast walked up the 
 Wartburg to see the castle where Luther lived, 
 belonging to the Dukes of Saxony. The morning 
 was very mild, damp, and pleasant ; it had rained a 
 good deal in the night. The walk was very pretty 
 up a very steep path for above a mile, through 
 beautiful little woods. Eisenach lies in a valley in 
 the middle of wooded hills, and is the first pretty 
 country we have seen since we left Sweden. The 
 castle is perched on a very steep cliff, looking 
 down over all the surrounding country ; there are 
 within it curious old rooms full of armour, belonging 
 to the Margraves of Thuringen, and to Henry II. 
 of France. The Knights' Hall is full of very old, 
 and curious portraits, of no great merit ; we were
 
 Frankfort. 289 
 
 shown the room once inhabited by Luther, and the 
 injury done to the wall by his having, in a fit of 
 generous indignation, thrown his inkstand at the 
 Devil ! We walked down again, and departed about 
 half-past ten. Travelled through a fairly pretty 
 country, the last stage in perfect darkness ; conse- 
 quently we got our wheel entangled in that of a 
 cart ; we were however soon extricated and arrived 
 at Fulda at nine. 
 
 Thursday, October i$th. Left Fulda at half- past 
 seven ; travelled through a pretty country with 
 many vineyards, and reached Frankfort at eight. 
 We found very comfortable rooms at the Hotel of 
 the Romische Kaiser. 
 
 Friday, October i6th. Got up after a very com- 
 fortable night's rest; received two letters from 
 Princess Elizabeth* at Homburg; dressed a little 
 before twelve, and set out soon after, (Bel grave not 
 in uniform by her desire), to go to Homburg in 
 order to dine with her and the Landgrave. We 
 got there before two, and found Princess Elizabeth 
 looking very well, and were most kindly received 
 by her, my family being very old friends; the 
 Landgrave came in soon afterwards ; the castle is 
 small, built round a square with long cold passages. 
 
 * Daughter of George III. 
 
 U
 
 290 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 Princess Elizabeth's own rooms, drawing-room, &c., 
 are very tastefully furnished, and filled with all her 
 pretty things ; she showed me her bed-room, 
 dressing-room, &c. ; on returning, we found two 
 ladies belonging to her in the drawing-room, and 
 an aide-de-camp of the Landgrave's. We then 
 went to dinner up-stairs, through long passages, 
 into a large, long room. All the dinner was put on 
 the table at once, and carried round one dish after 
 the other, selon la Russie. Princess Elizabeth talked 
 a great deal of England, and of our travels, and was 
 as agreeable as ever ; in the dining-room we found 
 more guests belonging to the Court ; and after 
 dinner we went for some time to another drawing- 
 room, where the ladies sat and the gentlemen stood. 
 After coffee, and talking for some time, we again 
 went down to Princess Elizabeth's room, but only 
 with herself and the Landgrave. What became of 
 the company afterwards I know not. Princess 
 Elizabeth again took me to her dressing-room, and 
 gave me some pretty onyxes which are found in this 
 country. They are sent from a place called Oberstein 
 to Italy, where they are carved, and thence again 
 trans-shipped to England as antiques. In a little 
 while we took our leave, and were charged by Princess 
 Elizabeth with a thousand messages to her friends in
 
 Frankfort. 291 
 
 England, particularly to Lady Grosvenor, Mamma, 
 and Lady Derby. The country between Frankfort 
 and Homburg is flat and full of fruit trees ; there 
 are also large quantities of mangel wurzel ; behind 
 Homburg the country all consists of wooded hills, 
 and looks very pretty. We got back about 
 six. 
 
 Saturday, October ijth. After breakfast we went 
 out in a cold raw day to some shops in order to 
 look for stones ; we were recommended to a 
 Monsieur Buoz in an obscure alley ; but, as he was 
 not at home, we were forced to return later. We 
 went to the banker's, then home, then between one 
 and two, to Monsieur Buoz again ; we found him 
 living up two pair of stairs in an out of the way 
 old house, and himself a very odd-looking, little old 
 man, like the picture of a miser ; he showed us 
 quantities of shells, old pictures, and collections of 
 all sorts of old rubbish, but nothing very tempting, 
 except some fine cornelians, of which we bought 
 some, and a small onyx which was the sort of stone 
 we wanted ; but unfortunately he had only one. 
 We went home, Belgrave wrote letters, we dined at 
 half-past four, and a little before six, Mr. Coke, 
 of the bank, called for us to take us to his box at 
 the Opera, where we saw " La Preciosa," the music 
 
 u 2
 
 292 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 by Weber, and pretty ; the actresses large and 
 clumsy. The play was over by nine, when we came 
 home and packed up our goods. 
 
 Sunday, October 2%th. Left Frankfort early ; the 
 first part of the way ugly, thought it began to be 
 pretty at Wiesbaden ; it rained almost all day. Just 
 as it grew dark we passed through the old town of 
 Nassau, which seemed very pretty and picturesque, 
 with the ruins of the old castle perched on a high, 
 wooded rock over the town. In the middle of the 
 town we suddenly turned through an archway, 
 down a very steep hill to the banks of a river, over 
 which we were ferried, and passed through the 
 modern town of Nassau ; the country about it is 
 hilly, wooded, and beautiful ; and reached Coblentz 
 about ten ; a good inn the " Poste." We passed the 
 fortress of Ehrenbreitstein before crossing the bridge 
 at Coblentz. 
 
 Monday , October lyth. Left Coblentz at eight, 
 a cold morning, nothing particular, except that the 
 first part of the way lies along the banks of the 
 Rhine, and is very pretty ; arrived at Cologne about 
 six, ordered the stove to be lighted, and had some 
 dinner. 
 
 Tuesday, October jo/A. After breakfast we went 
 to the Cathedral, which is of exquisite architecture,
 
 Aix-la-Chapelle. 293 
 
 and in the course of being repaired. We saw the 
 tomb and shrine of the "Three Kings of Cologne" 
 behind the altar, then walked a long way to Saint 
 Peter's Church, in order to see an altar-piece by 
 Rubens, representing the Crucifixion of Saint Peter. 
 The picture usually left visible is a copy, but on 
 spinning it round the original appeared ; it is a 
 disagreeable picture, and scarcely worth the trouble 
 of a long, dirty walk through narrow streets. We 
 found our way back to the hotel, the " Kaiserliche 
 Hoff," and then set out, intending to sleep at 
 Liege, but half way in the stage to Aix-la-Chapelle ' 
 a nail in one of our springs gave way, and we 
 were forced to stop for some time to get it repaired, 
 so we arrived at Aix-la-Chapelle after six on a 
 rainy night; and as it was too late to go on to 
 Liege, we remained in the "Grand Hotel," which 
 we found an excellent inn and very comfort- 
 able. 
 
 Wednesday, October 31 st. Left Aix-la-Chapelle 
 early, passed the Netherlands custom-house with- 
 out difficulty, and through a hilly country, went 
 down a very steep hill into Liege, a large, nasty, 
 dirty town ; a good pave all the way from thence 
 to Brussels. As we did not reach Louvain till half- 
 past ten, we stopped there, it having been a wet
 
 294 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 stormy evening. We found a clean inn, and our 
 beds ready made. 
 
 Thursday, November isf. Left Lou vain before 
 nine, a stormy morning; got to Brussels at half- 
 past twelve, found a comfortable apartment at the 
 " Hotel de Bellevue," and had a real fire, not a 
 stove. Went out to some shops, got our English 
 letters, and went out again. It was the Fete of the 
 Toussaints, the shops not ostensibly open, but 
 business was going on all the same. We looked 
 into a church hard by, walked round the pare; it 
 was very wet. We left our names at Sir C. Bagot's,* 
 but he and all the Court were at the Hague for the 
 year. 
 
 Friday, November ind. A very stormy morning, 
 Belgrave went to the banker's, and also to get some 
 money changed. We set out at twelve ; after some 
 severe hail-storms, the day cleared and became 
 quite fine. We reached Ghent at six, but as it 
 was a very fine moonlight evening, we thought it 
 better to go on to Bruges ; arrived there (at " La 
 Fleur de Ble") by eleven. 
 
 Saturday, November %rd. At ten o'clock set off, 
 with three horses and a postillion ; at Furnes we 
 took four horses, and came by a very wild road 
 
 * Sir Charles Bagot, then British Minister at Brussels.
 
 Dunkirk. 295 
 
 along the seashore, and some part of the way in 
 the water, among the sea-gulls ; on the beach met 
 the douaniers, one of whom mounted on the car- 
 riage to accompany us to Dunkirk ; heard the 
 firing of guns from a ship in distress out at sea ; 
 there had been a great storm the three preceding 
 days, and a small vessel had perished off the coast 
 only the day before. It was quite dark before we 
 got to Dunkirk ; we stopped at the " Hotel de 
 Ville" for Belgrave to declare who he was, whence 
 coming, where going, &c., and then proceeded to 
 the c< Hotel de Flandre," which we found as well 
 furnished and as comfortable as an English one, 
 with carpets, fire-places, and a large sitting-room. 
 The douaniers came there and looked at some of 
 our boxes, but gave us very little trouble ; we had 
 some supper of soup, whitings, and mutton chops, 
 and found our beds very comfortable. It being 
 the eve of the King's birthday, a salute was being 
 fired. 
 
 Sunday ', November ^th. After breakfast we went 
 to some shops to get some long gold earrings, such 
 as the peasants here wear on fete days ; we suc- 
 ceeded in getting some pretty ones. Set out soon 
 after ten, passed through Gravel ines, which looks 
 the very abode of melancholy, and reached Dessins,
 
 296 Diary of a Tour. 
 
 at Calais, at two, made ourselves very comfortable 
 with a fire, then took a very pleasant stroll through 
 the town, and upon a very long pier, stretching 
 out across the sands into the sea ; saw a greyhound 
 and two companions rushing about on the sands ; 
 walked back and wrote letters. 
 
 Monday, November $th. Got up and had the 
 carriage packed and sent down to be put on board 
 the steam-packet between eight and nine. Em- 
 barked ourselves exactly at half-past ten, and 
 departed in a French steam-vessel, the * Due de 
 Bordeaux,' with not many passengers besides our- 
 selves, and only one carriage ; the wind and tide 
 being against us the vessel heaved a good deal, 
 and I was horridly sick; however, in five hours 
 we were safely landed on the Dover Pier, and 
 went to the " Ship" Inn. Our boxes were delayed 
 for a long time in order to be examined at the 
 custom-house; this was owing to the Boulogne 
 steamboat having come in just before us. After 
 waiting two hours we settled to dine, and had 
 just finished when the Commissioner came to say 
 that the men were ready to begin with us, accord- 
 ingly Belgrave went down ; the people were very 
 civil, and matters were very easily and speedily 
 arranged. We then set off for Canterbury, and
 
 Canterbury. 297 
 
 arrived at the " Fountain Inn" a little before ten 
 o'clock. 
 
 Tuesday, November 6th. Walked out early to 
 see the Cathedral, which is under repair, and is 
 being restored in very good taste. We ordered 
 our post-horses, and set off afterwards and reached 
 London by six o'clock, after a most pleasant and 
 interesting journey, having been absent from Eng- 
 land about five months and three weeks. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 London: Printed b-y A. Schulze, 13, Poland Street.
 
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