. . . Staying In The House Are Our Friends, Mr. And
Mrs. Milman, Lord Northampton And His Son, Lord Alwyne Compton, And
The Bishop's Family, Consisting Of Mrs. Stanley, And Of Two Miss
Stanleys, Agreeable And Highly Cultivated Girls, And Mr. Arthur
Stanley, The Writer Of Dr. Arnold's Biography.
After dinner company soon arrived.
Among them were Mrs. Opie, who
resides here. She is a pleasing, lively old lady, in full Quaker
dress. The most curious feature of the evening was a visit which
the company paid to the cellar and kitchen, which were lighted up
for the occasion. They were build by the old Norman bishops of the
twelfth century, and had vaulted stone roofs as beautifully carved
and ribbed as a church.
The next day, Saturday, the antiquarians made a long excursion to
hunt up some ruins, while the Milmans, Mr. Stanley, and ourselves,
went to visit the place of Lady Suffield, about twelve miles
distant, and which is the most perfect specimen of the Elizabethan
style. Lady Suffield herself is as Elizabethan as her
establishment; she is of one [of] the oldest high Tory families and
so opposed to innovations of all sorts that though her letters,
which used to arrive at two, before the opening of the railway two
years ago, now arrive at seven in the morning, they are never
allowed to be brought till the old hour. . . . This morning Mr.
Bancroft and the rest are gone on an excursion to Yarmouth to see
some ruins, while I remain here to witness the chairing of two new
members of Parliament, who have just been elected, of whom Lord
Douro, son of the Duke of Wellington, is one.
LETTER: To I.P.D.
AUDLEY END, October 14, 1847
Dear Uncle: We are staying for a few days at Lord Braybrooke's
place, one of the most magnificent in England; but before I say a
word about it I must tell you of A.'s safe arrival and how happy I
have been made by having him with me again. . . . On Saturday the
9th we had the honor of dining with the LORD MAYOR to meet the Duke
of Cambridge, a FETE so unlike anything else and accompanied by so
many old and peculiar customs that I must describe it to you at full
length. The Mansion House is in the heart of the CITY, and is very
magnificent and spacious, the Egyptian Hall, as the dining-room is
called, being one of the noblest apartments I have seen. The guests
were about 250 in number and were received by the Lady Mayoress
SITTING. When dinner was announced, the Lord Mayor went out first,
preceded by the sword-bearer and mace-bearer and all the insignia of
office. Then came the Duke of Cambridge and the Lady Mayoress, then
Mr. Bancroft and I together, which is the custom at these great
civic feasts. We marched through the long gallery by the music of
the band to the Egyptian Hall, where two raised seats like thrones
were provided for the Lord Mayor and Mayoress at the head of the
hall.
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