BEGGAR WOMAN IN A BOWER OF DEAD LEAVES ([p. 170]).
DANCING UPON STILTS ([p. 167]).
PRIESTS CARRYING THE HOST TO SICK PEOPLE ([p. 155]).
The man told us that china was much cheaper than formerly. There was a transparency in the window; and some round pieces of glass on which were feathers, flowers, sea-weeds, etc., made in the shape of birds. From Sèvres we drove to St. Cloud. We could not go in front of the palace because the King was there. I did not think it pretty; there were a number of stalls and shops near it which did not look well. There were a great many guards. We returned home by Ville Daure, a very pretty drive. As soon as we got home the whole house was in a bustle, as we were to set off next morning. We had shoes to buy, calls to make, bills to pay, clothes to get from the washerwoman's, masters to pay, gowns to get from Mademoiselle Bouillet, and things to pack up. In the midst of all this bustle, Nannette, who had gone up to Paris, had not returned when she promised, so we left Versailles without her knowing it. We tasted some green almonds at dessert, which were tasteless and insipid. The servants packed till two o'clock in the morning; they got the clothes from the wash at twelve at night. All was confusion, but every person was merry. It was the happiest day we spent in France. I went to bed with delight, happy to think it was the last night I should sleep at Versailles.
WEDNESDAY
August 8th, 1821.—We had a cool but pleasant day to begin our journey. Miss Wragge did not get her gown from Mademoiselle Bouillet till we were all in the carriage, and she declared she would not go without it, and told the man to drive off. At last after great bustling we set off at eleven o'clock; papa, mamma, Catherine and Caroline went before in the carriage, the rest of us went in the voiture. I never felt so little regret at leaving a place. I looked with joy at the houses and people, glad to think I should see them no more. We sang most part of the way. At a distance we saw the convent of St. Cyr. We passed the very long, fine aqueduct of Marli, and a small one further on. About here it was pretty country; there were a good many vineyards and orchards in corn. We had a view of Mount Calvary; near which we saw a set of gypsies by the side of the road. We then saw the Seine running through a pretty valley; and numerous vineyards continued to St. Germains, about which the country is pretty and well wooded. We stopped for some time at Poissy while the man rested his horses. The house was like a public-house, but the mistress was a civil little woman. There was a cloth on the table on which was some Gruyère cheese, a loaf of bread and some pears; we took the pears, which were very good: she charged a franc. She told us that an English lady had been staying there a month. There was a pretty view out of the window. We walked along beside the river, and got a nice view from the bridge; there were a number of washer-women beating their clothes, and the water was white with soap-suds. After we had left Poissy we saw several horses carrying corn; their backs being hung with sheaves in a very curious manner. The corn about here did not look good. There was a good deal of asparagus; in some places there were alternate rows of corn and asparagus. The man who drove us sang most of the time, and altered his voice: he had been in England, and he said that when he came back to France he could not persuade the people that in England it took only one man to shoe a horse. He had an English dog with him, which he said understood English, French, and Spanish. The name of the man was Jean de Grange. Here the country was not so pretty, as there are no hedges; the patches of corn and grass looked just like ribbons, particularly on the side of a hill. We reached Mantes in the evening. After crossing two bridges we saw a curious old church. The river looked full of soap; I think the water must be very unwholesome considering the quantity of soap which goes into it. We went to Hôtel du Grand Cerf. The floor of the parlour was boarded, and there were two vases full of artificial flowers; the people of the inn were civil. Two of our beds were in the parlour, from which they were divided by doors that shut like a closet.