August 9th.—We set off at a quarter to six. There were a few vineyards, but the country was not pretty as far as Châlons. The banks of the Seine are quite lovely, and the river looks well here, as there are several islands in it. We saw a boat full of cattle going across the river. There are a good many houses and vineyards on the banks. Further on there were rows of walnut and plum trees by the roadside, which looked very pretty. The corn looked fine, but very much laid. There were not any animals, except here and there a skinny cow tethered by the roadside. We breakfasted at Vernon. The room we were in was very shabby. In one corner of a room we passed through there was a queer jug—a boy sitting across a barrel. They brought us in an odd-looking teapot; the water was smoked, as the tea-kettle had no lid, and the tea tasted like herbs and water; the milk too was thymy, the butter bad, and the bread sour. We had been told that in this part of the country chickens were fourpence a pair; the woman here told us that they were three francs and a half. It was at Vernon we saw a man sitting at the door eating a raw artichoke and oil. After leaving Vernon there came on a heavy shower of rain. We saw several men mowing the corn. When it was fair, we got out at a cottage to gather some plums; the man shook the tree, and we picked up those that fell; we gave him half a franc, with which he seemed satisfied. We walked up a hill where we saw several butterflies; some with black and yellow striped upper wings, and under wings the colour of a dead leaf. There were rows of apple and pear trees; we picked up a few apples and pears which were not ripe; the apples were like alum and the pears like stone. The country was here much prettier: it was more like England; we even saw a few flocks of sheep, but they did not seem to get much: in one place they were eating the earth. As we were walking up the hill an old woman came to beg; the driver offered her a card of an inn, which he told her was a Bank of England note: she did not, however, take it, but turned away. There were several crucifixes in the villages and at the side of the road. The women about here had generally short petticoats, and very high caps. The babies were wrapped up in swaddling-clothes, like mummies. We stopt at Louviers. The inn was very poor and shabby. The mistress had on a curious cap with long muslin lappets. While dinner was preparing we walked through the town. We went into a curious old cathedral, where were several figures with candles burning before them, and some Virgins dressed with little veils, artificial flowers, etc. There were a great many people kneeling down and repeating prayers. We went into a shop to look for some caps, but they asked a great deal for the commonest, so we did not buy them. The women here all wore the high caps. There was one little boy with long flaxen hair, and the lady who was with him took off his velvet cap to shew us his hair. On our way home we saw the same man and boys dancing upon stilts that I had seen at Paris: there was a great crowd round them, and a woman went about collecting money, saying, 'Encouragez la petite famille.' When we reached the inn dinner had been ready some time. As soon as we had dined we continued our journey. We passed Pont Large in going out of the town. The country was beautiful, and we had another view of the Seine; they were making hay on one of the islands. Our eyes were quite refreshed by seeing two or three green fields hedged in, with a few cows feeding in them. Certainly if any person wished to have a pleasant impression of France they ought to come this way: it is beyond comparison prettier than the Calais road; the banks of the Seine are so beautiful. Near Rouen there is a chalk rock and several caverns with people living in them; and we had another beautiful view of the river. It was dark when we reached Rouen. It is an old, ugly town, but there appeared to be some good shops. We stopped at the Custom-house (there were a number of ships near it): they did not examine our trunks, but sent a person on to the inn with us. We went to the Hôtel de Normandie, which was all in confusion; the father of the people there was just dead: their mother had been dead two years. When papa and mamma asked what we could have for dinner, they said anything; after it was ordered, however, they brought in only very few of the things and said the table d'hôte had eaten it all: and then they brought in two raw pigeons and asked if we would like to have them dressed. One of the hotel servants had been at Brighton, and she said she was very sorry to leave England, and was going to try to get there again. She spoke English tolerably.
LOUVIERS WOMAN
August 10th.—Before breakfast we went to see the Church of St. Ouen, where there is a beautiful wheel-window over the organ. One of the churches here is like a coach-house. We set off again at nine. The streets we passed through were extremely narrow and dirty, and the town looked very busy, particularly about the shipping and river.[41] We had a fine view of a hill just out of the town. There were a few hedges here. We saw a coffin covered with black and white velvet on some chairs before a door, with several candles burning round it, and a procession of priests and boys with crucifixes at a distance. As we were walking up a hill we saw an old beggar woman sitting by the roadside in a bower of dead leaves: her petticoat was covered with patches of all colours; she begged of us as we went past. We also saw two very curious figures with gilt caps and red cloaks. We did not see near so many beggars this way as we did on the Calais road. We stopped at Tôtes, where we dined. Before dinner we walked out past a long building; we asked some women what it was: they told us it was a corn-market, which belonged to Madame D'Ossonval seigneur du village. We got sugared peas, etc., for dinner. After Tôtes, the country was pretty: there were hedges like England. A good many of the people here (especially the old women) wore ugly cotton caps and ribbons and crosses. We walked up a hill near Dieppe. I almost strained my eyes to see the sea; it was what I had wished to see for a long time; at last, when we had reached the top of a hill, we had a view of the sea and of Dieppe. We went to Taylor's English hotel. Out of the window of the sitting-room you look upon the ships: it is close to the harbour. This day we saw none of the curious caps we had heard about.
