Tuesday, 15 October 1861
Fine overhead, but fog below.
(Letter from Mrs. G. Clive.)
After breakfast ― to Gt. Western. Roëd & Heléna R. ― Post boy & ticket=taker. Off to Windsor ― thick fog! nothing, not even the Castle visible!! ―
“Going over the Castle” ― the anti, Vandyke & other rooms; & the odious hustle. From the Terrace ― nothing of any kind visible. ―― The Chapel: ― & a partial walk in the “longwalk” but absolutely the Castle was invisible altogether even at 5 minutes’ distance from it! ―― So we came back ― I fear me, ― ˇ[Roed & Miss R.] considering I had exaggerated the beauties of Widsor. But, after a lunch at the Confectioner’s, we went down to the bridge, & just saw the Castle then! ― Rail at 2.30 ― but H.R. was tired: & by 4.15 we were at John’s woods.
The dinner was pleasant, albeit under various difficulties of lingo. But Fearon was there, & “came out” as a reflecting & broad-minded man ― which I had never known him to be.
At 10.30 He & I walked to Stratford Place. ―
[Transcribed by Marco Graziosi from Houghton Library, Harvard University, MS Eng. 797.3.]
The “odious hustle” of tourism even then. But this is a useful record, no punches pulled, of what it was like to visit Windsor in 1861.