Letters from England, 1846-1849Bancroft, Elizabeth Davis
History
Letters from England, 1846-1849
Bancroft, Elizabeth Davis
England -- Description and travel
I took a drive through Richmond Park (where Henry the Eighth watched to
see a signal on the Tower when Anne Boleyn’s head fell, and galloped off
to marry Jane Seymour) to Richmond Terrace, which is ravishingly
beautiful even at this season. . . . The next day the gentleman all went
to town, and Madam Van de Weyer and I passed the day _tête-à-tête_, very
pleasantly, as her experience in diplomatic life is very useful to me. . . .
Her manners are very pleasing and entirely unaffected. She has
great tact and quickness of perception, great intelligence and amiability
and is altogether extremely well-fitted for the _rôle_ she plays in life.
Her husband is charming. . . . They have three children, very lovely.
The eldest, Victor, a fine boy of seven years old, Victoria, a girl of
four, for whom the Queen was sponsor, and Albert, to whom Prince Albert
performed the same office. This was, of course, voluntary in the royal
parties, as it was not a favor to be asked. . . . Madam Van de Weyer is
not spoiled, certainly, by the prominent part she was called to play in
this great centre of the world at so early an age, and makes an excellent
courtier. I could not help pitying her, however, for looking forward to
going through, year after year, the same round of ceremonies, forms, and
society. For us, it is a new study, and invaluable for a short time; but
I could not bear it for life, as these European diplomatists. Besides,
we Americans really enjoy a kind of society, and a much nearer
intercourse than other foreigners, in the literary, scientific, and even
social circles.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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