OLD WOMAN WITH A COTTON CAP
August 11th.—After breakfast we went into the market, where we saw quite as curious figures as we had expected. Some of the caps had lappets like butterflies' wings, and large bunches of hair turned up behind. We saw some of the hair hanging at a shop-door: it was coarse like horse-hair. A number of the people were dressed in black. We saw three women, like a mother and her daughters, coming in to market with baskets on their arms. They had on black gowns, aprons, and handkerchiefs; caps, the lappets of which blew out with the wind and showed a great bunch of hair; and gold ornaments about their necks. There was one woman selling fruit who had on a very curious cap: the frame was made of pasteboard, and the front of it covered with gold, silver, spangles, tinsel, etc.; round the top there was a long piece of muslin which hung almost to the ground. The women we saw in the market had their lappets pinned up. Some of the old women had on cotton caps. We passed several shops (in our way to the market) full of little ivory ships and figures beautifully cut. We walked up to the castle, from which we saw the whole of the town. We afterwards went on the cliffs on the outside of the castle, from which we had a view of the sea with several boats on it. A woman came and spoke to us about a house which she had to let; she spoke very bad French: she called cinquante 'shinquante.' I could hardly understand the Dieppe people; they spoke so much through their noses.[42] We wanted to buy a cap and a pair of sabots. We went into two or three shops before we could get a cap to our mind; we at last got a leno cap and an under cap to wear with it, such as the women in black wore, which was the most common kind. They told us that a gilt cap when new cost 20 francs. Our sabots cost sixpence: the old woman thought we intended to wear them, and said we ought to have a nicer kind. We asked several people the way to the Church of St. Remi: the people of Dieppe seemed to have a disagreeable manner. The Church of St. Remi is not beautiful. In one of the little chapels there was a small figure of the Virgin Mary with a child in her arms; her petticoats were painted scarlet, and she had on a lace veil, a crown, and a bunch of flowers in her hand. We went to see the Church of St. Jacques. There is a very pretty purple wheel-window over the organ; and in a kind of recess in the wall there were a great many figures holding a sheet covered with real flowers: before which there were twenty-nine candles burning; several people came and stuck in a candle. We looked into several of the little chapels: in one there was a virgin, in another a ship, in another some filigree work in frames. We dined at the table d'hôte. There were five English gentlemen. We could not sail this evening, as the wind blew into the harbour; so we went to buy pears to take in the ship next day. While we were buying the pears we observed a number of children standing about and looking at the fruit. Papa bought some currants and held them out to the children, upon which they all ran away; papa and the woman told them that the currants were for them, but they cried and seemed quite stupid. At last one boy rather bigger than the rest took courage and said to the others, 'Comme vous êtes bêtes'; and they all began to eat, except one little child who screamed and tried to get away, and a little girl who ran home. We were all anxious to go next day.
FRUIT-WOMAN WITH GILT CAP
August 12th.—We walked on the pier. There were a number of men working at the ships; and a great many people were walking about. The women had on full petticoats, coloured jackets, red aprons, queer caps, gold chains, long earrings, and large buckles. The children had high caps, and very full petticoats, so that when their backs were turned I took them for dwarfs. Even some of the babies had old women's caps and earrings.[43] Some of the people had very curious caps trimmed with lace; one had a cap with the crown filled full of frills. The most extraordinary-looking creatures were the fish-women: I could hardly tell whether they were men or women. They had on coarse canvas petticoats, so short that one could see their red garters; blue jackets, and canvas belts round their waists. They brought in a great deal of fish this evening on their backs, which they threw down in the streets. Soon after the Peace an English gentleman brought over twelve of these Dieppe fish-women to Brighton to see England; they galloped up and down the streets like wild things, stopping to drink at every public-house: he kept them for a day or two, and then sent them back. The sea looked so smooth and pretty we wished to be on it. We saw the Irish come in. We walked out again in the afternoon beside the chalk cliffs. There are a number of caves in them; one large one with doors at the entrance was full of barrels, etc., and in another was a very deep well. At each side of the pier there is a very large crucifix. Some men were employed driving in posts, and others in filling holes up with mud. There were more people to-day at the table d'hôte; amongst whom was a Frenchman who had a very rough voice; he had just returned from England from seeing the Coronation. He scraped out the inside of his roll, and eat a great many French beans and oil. In the evening we saw a child's funeral passing the window: the coffin was covered with a white cloth with flowers painted on it. We all got ready to go down to the ship. Papa had taken the ship for ourselves, as it was so disagreeable when we came to Calais with so many people. A lady begged that Miss Reed (her niece), who was sixteen, might go over with us, as her father was dead, and her mother wanted her home. She therefore went in the same ship with us.