August 24th.—We set off five minutes before seven. It was very foggy. There is a pretty hill and a good deal of wood going out of Arundel. After the fog cleared away it was excessively hot; every person looked half roasted. There were a number of pretty cottages; most of which, and even some of the sheds, were covered with vines, roses, and jessamines; there were also many remarkably fine hollyoaks before the doors. Every person looked clean and neat; there seemed to be no poverty: we did not meet with a single beggar. It was delightful to see the green fields full of sheep and cows, all looking so happy. There were several boats full of ladies on the Thames. We saw London some time before we were in it; it only appeared like a great deal of smoke. We scarcely saw any soldiers in London—very different to Paris! We arrived at the New Hummums, Russell Street, at half-past four. In the evening we went to Drury Lane and saw the Coronation. The first play was very ugly. The first scene of the coronation was a distant view of Westminster Abbey. There were a number of soldiers and people painted at a distance. The procession was very long and beautiful. The herb-women walked first, strewing the way with flowers; they were dressed in white, and pink roses on their heads, and the first had on a scarlet mantle. The king had on a crimson velvet robe with an immense long train covered with gold stars, and borne by seven pages. The second scene was the inside of Westminster Abbey: the ceiling was covered with scarlet drapery; there were a great many chandeliers, and one could not imagine anything more magnificent. There were painted people in the galleries, and real people at one end. There was a great deal of music and a large harmonica. The king went up to the altar, and they put on him a purple crown. In the third scene there came in a sailor who sang a curious song about the coronation. The fourth scene was the banquet. There were gold plates and such a number of lights that they made my eyes quite sore. The champion came in on horseback and threw down the glove: two other men on horseback followed him: the horses reared and plunged: a man in armour made of rings stood on each side of him. It was altogether beautiful. It was very hot.
August 25th.—Before we set off we went to Covent Garden market, and saw some beautiful fruit in the shop windows; we had not time to go through it, but what we saw was not to be compared to the flower-markets in Paris. We did not see anything here very pretty. It was excessively hot when we set off. We passed several pretty houses, and we stopped at Hampstead Heath to see Mr. and Mrs. Spedding.[46] We dined at Welwin, not a very good inn. There were several nice little girls dancing along with bundles of corn on their heads. We slept at Antonbury Hill. It was a nice inn, and the people were civil.
August 26th.—The weather to-day was quite changed: it was cold and rainy. We dined at Grantham. In one of the towns we passed through there were some soldiers and a band of music. We slept at Tuxford. It was a middling inn, and the people were civil.
August 27th.—The weather continued cold and disagreeable. We breakfasted at Bawtry. We passed Robin Hood's well. About Ferry Bridge we saw a number of people gathering teasels. We dined at Leeds: it is a dirty, disagreeable town. Numbers of children ran after the carriage; sometimes six or seven got up at a time; we had nothing to do but to watch for them. The country was very pretty. Before Otley there is an excessively steep hill; we walked down it: a number of children got up behind the carriage. We slept at Otley.
August 28th.—It was very rainy when we set off. We went along by a river; where was a pretty wooded bay. There was a great deal of honeysuckle in the hedges, which smelt very sweet. We breakfasted at Skipton, where there was a cattle-market; and saw some hills near Settle; and passed a pretty rocky river before Kirby Lonsdale. We stayed all night at Kendal, in the same room that we were in before, in 1819.
August 29th.—We set off at seven, happy to think we were near the end of our journey. No person in the inn was ready. It was a dull morning. We passed Windermere and breakfasted at Ambleside. After this we passed some beautiful mountains very much wooded, and Rydal Water, a pretty little lake, and also Grasmere. As soon as we passed the boundary wall and entered Cumberland the sun came out and shone brightly for a little while. We saw the blue mountains peeping up behind, and the clear mountain streams. We passed Thirlmere, which is more like a river, and Helvellyn, an ugly mountain. We saw Keswick Lake; arrived at Keswick by one o'clock, and stayed there till three. After we had left this, a flock of sheep ran on before the carriage for above a mile with a man and his dog after them. The sun shone as we went up Whinlatter; and we saw the end of Bassenthwaite; the sixth lake we saw to-day. The time seemed very short till we reached Cockermouth, where we saw the new bridge they were building. At last we arrived in safety at Tallantire.
M. B.
Friday, December 21st, 1821.
Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty at the Edinburgh University Press