DUCHESSE DE BERRI—DUCHESSE D'ANGOULÊME
July 15th.—Hearing a great deal of noise amongst the boys in the priests' school, we enquired what was the matter, and were told that it was the Duchesse d'Angoulême and the Duchesse de Berri come to visit the priests' school. We went out to see them, and after waiting a very long time for them, they at last came out, got into an open carriage, and drove away very quickly. There were a lady and a gentleman in the carriage with them, and several soldiers on horseback. There were a great many priests and boys looking out of the windows. Neither the Duchesse d'Angoulême nor the Duchesse de Berri are pretty: the Duchesse de Berri has very red eyes. Before this we had heard of the death of Buonaparte. A man used to go about the streets with a bundle of papers, crying, 'Voici les dernières paroles, et la confession importante que faisoit Napoléon Buonaparte avant de mourir.' We were told that this was a famous spy. It was hot weather for two or three days, and every person watered before their doors.
ENGLISH ROBBERS
July 17th.—This evening we had just returned from walking in the gardens when we were told by the servants that three English robbers had been just then taken up. There were two men and a woman, who had robbed some English at an hotel in Paris of a great deal of money, and gone off with it; they were, however, all stopped and taken up at Versailles. We heard of another Englishman that had swindled. An English lady told us that at Boulogne there were quantities of English who came over in debt, and that a prison there was so full of English that it was called the British Hotel.
HAYFIELD—MUSIC—CHILD
July 18th.—This (and several other) evenings we walked to the hayfield near the Trianons. There were a great many grasshoppers and brown butterflies (meadow arguses) flying out of the haycocks. We sat down on the hay, and Miss Wragge got a wisp of hay round her leg, which she took for a snake; this amused the people very much. Near here we used to see some little pensions of poor children going out to walk. At the gate of the Trianons we saw a little child of about three years old standing. It came up to us with a straw in its hand, which it held like a soldier; it then put it to our faces and tickled them. We asked it where it lived; it said 'là-bas.' Miss Wragge gave it a sou. The French children have a very forward manner; they come up to strangers and talk quite at their ease. We returned by the gardens. There was now a band of music (every Wednesday and Friday) in the King's garden, or the Tapis-vert. There were a great many flowers out in the King's garden: many different sorts of columbine, honeysuckle, syringas, and roses on sticks. The trees in the garden (Hartwell) are not cut like those in the rest of the garden, but are suffered to grow naturally. The music was not pretty; the players seemed very much afraid of tiring themselves, as they rested more than half the time. While the music played to-day, the Tapis-vert was crowded with people. We observed one little boy, who did not look more than three or four years old, with light curly hair and rosy cheeks; he had a kind of little bag before him, in which were different sweetmeats—dogs, lambs, etc. He ran to every person and begged them to buy; his little sweetmeats were a sou apiece. At first we thought it looked very pretty to see the little fellow selling the things, but we soon discovered that he was accompanied by a very disagreeable woman, and as the child followed and plagued every one it was quite unpleasant. As we returned through the gardens we saw some watering-pots—great, awkward, copper things—which we drew on our nails. This was a fine day.
PROCESSION AT THE PREMIÈRE COMMUNION ([p. 116]).