_To W. D. B. and A. B._
LONDON, November 3, 1846.
. . . This day, at five, your father had his first interview with Lord
Palmerston, who will acquaint the Queen with his arrival, and after she
has received him we shall leave our cards upon all the ministers and
_corps diplomatique_.
November 4th.
Your father had a most agreeable dinner at Lord Holland’s. He met there
Lord and Lady Palmerston, Lord Morpeth, Lord de Mauley, Mr. Harcourt, a
son of the Archbishop of York, etc. He took out Lady Holland and Lord
Morpeth, Lady Palmerston, the only ladies present. Holland House is
surrounded by 200 acres in the midst of the western part of London, or
rather Kensington. Lord Holland has no children, and the family dies
with him. They dined in the room in which Addison died.
[Picture: Henry Edward, fourth Lord Holland. From the portrait by C. R.
Leslie, R. A., at Holland House, by permission of the Earl of Ilchester]
To-day, to my surprise, came Lady Palmerston, which was a great courtesy,
as it was my place to make the first visit. She is the sister of Lord
Melbourne. Lord de Mauley has also been here. . . . To-day I have been
driving through some of the best streets in London, and my ideas of its
extent and magnificence are rising fast. The houses are more picturesque
than ours, and some of them most noble. The vastness of a great capital
like this cannot burst upon one at once. Its effect increases daily.
The extent of the Park, surrounded by mansions which look, some of them,
like a whole history in themselves, has to-day quite dazzled my
imagination.
November 5th.
This morning, Thursday, came an invitation to dine with Lord and Lady
Palmerston on Saturday. Sir George Grey, another of the ministers, came
to see us to-day and Lord Mahon. Your father and I have been all the
morning looking at houses, and have nearly concluded upon one in Eaton
Square. We find a hotel very expensive, and not very comfortable for us,
as your father is very restive without his books about him. Mr. Harcourt
also came to see us to-day. I mention as many of the names of our
visitors as I can recollect, as it will give you some idea of the
composition of English society . . . This moment a large card in an
envelope has been brought me, which runs thus: “The Lord Steward has
received Her Majesty’s commands to invite Mr. Bancroft to dinner at
Windsor Castle on Thursday, 12th November, to remain until Friday, 13th.”
I am glad he will dine there before me, that he may tell me the order of
performances.
Friday, November 6th.
. . . We had to-day a delightful visit from Rogers, the Poet, who is now
quite old, but with a most interesting countenance. He was full of
cordiality, and, at parting, as he took my hand, said: “Our acquaintance
must become friendship.” Mr. Harcourt came again and sat an hour with
us, and has introduced your father at the Traveller’s Club and the
Athenæum Club. To-night came my new lady’s maid, Russell. She dresses
hair beautifully, but is rather too great a person to suit my fancy.
Sunday Evening, November 8th.
On Friday evening we met at Mrs. Wormeley’s a cosy little knot of
Americans. The Dexters were staying there and there were Mr. and Mrs.
Atkinson and Miss Pratt, Mr. and Mrs. Aspinwall, Mr. and Miss Jay, Mr.
and Mrs. Putnam, Mr. Colman, Mr. Pickering, etc.
Wednesday Evening.
On Monday we came to our _home_, preferring it to the hotel, though it is
not yet in order for our reception, and we have not yet all our servants.
Last evening we dined with Lord Morpeth at his father’s house. His
family are all out of town, but he remains because of his ministerial
duties. Lord Morpeth took me out and I sat between him and Sir George
Grey. Your father took out Lady Theresa Lewis, who is a sister of Lord
Clarendon. She was full of intelligence and I like her extremely. Baron
and Lady Parke (a distinguished judge), Lady Morgan, Mr. Mackintosh, Dr.
and Mrs. Holland (Sidney Smith’s daughter), and Mr. and Mrs. Franklin
Dexter, with several others were the party.
During dinner one gentleman was so very agreeable that I wondered who he
could be, but as Lord Palmerston had told me that Mr. Macaulay was in
Edinburgh, I did not think of him. After the ladies left the gentlemen,
my first question to Mrs. Holland was the name of her next neighbor.
“Why, Mr. Macaulay,” was her answer, and I was pleased not to have been
disappointed in a person of whom I had heard so much. When the gentlemen
came in I was introduced to him and talked to him and heard him talk not
a little.
These persons all came the next day to see us, which gave rise to fresh
invitations.
This morning we have been driving round to leave cards on the _corps
diplomatique_, and Mr. Harcourt has taken me all over the Athenæum
Club-house, a superb establishment. They have given your father an
invitation to the Club, a privilege which is sometimes sought for years,
Mr. Harcourt says. . . . Have I not needed all my energies? We have
been here just a fortnight, and I came so ill that I could hardly walk.
We are now at housekeeping, and I am in the full career in London
society. They told me I should see no one until spring, but you see we
dine out or go out in the evening almost every day. . . . For the
gratification of S. D. or Aunt I., who may wonder how I get along in
dress matters, going out as I did in my plain black dress, I will tell
you that Mrs. Murray, the Queen’s dressmaker, made me, as soon as I found
these calls and invitations pouring in, two dresses. One of black
velvet, very low, with short sleeves, and another of very rich black
watered silk, with drapery of black tulle on the corsage and sleeves. . . .
I have fitted myself with several pretty little head-dresses, some in
silver, some with plumes, but all white, and I find my velvet and silk
suit all occasions. I do not like dining with bare arms and neck, but I
must.
[Picture: Augusta, Lady Holland. From the portrait by G. F. Watts, R.
A., at Holland House, by permission of the Earl of Ilchester]
Tuesday, November 17th.
Last evening we passed at the Earl of Auckland’s, the head of the
Admiralty. The party was at the Admiralty, where there is a beautiful
residence for the first lord. . . . I had a long talk with Lord Morpeth
last evening about Mr. Sumner, and told him of his nomination. He has a
strong regard for him. . . . Not a moment have I had to a London “lion.”
I have driven past Westminster, but have not been in it. I have seen
nothing of London but what came in my way in returning visits.
_To I. P. D._
LONDON, November 17, 1846.
MY DEAR UNCLE: I cannot help refreshing the remembrance of me with you
and dear Aunty by addressing a separate letter to you. . . . Yesterday
we hailed with delight our letters from home. . . . One feels in a
foreign land the absence of common sympathies and interests, which always
surround us in any part of our own country. And yet nothing can exceed
the kindness with which we have been received here.
Last evening I went to my first great English dinner and it was a most
agreeable one. . . . It seems a little odd to a republican woman to find
herself in right of her country taking precedence of marchionesses, but
one soon gets used to all things. We sat down to dinner at eight and got
through about ten. When the ladies rose, I found I was expected to go
first. After dinner other guests were invited and to the first person
who came in, about half-past ten, Lady Palmerston said: “Oh, thank you
for coming so early.” This was Lady Tankerville of the old French family
of de Grammont and niece to Prince Polignac. The next was Lady Emily de
Burgh, the daughter of the Marchioness of Clanricarde, a beautiful girl
of seventeen. She is very lovely, wears a Grecian braid round her head
like a coronet, and always sits by her mother, which would not suit our
young girls. Then came Lord and Lady Ashley, Lord Ebrington, and so many
titled personages that I cannot remember half.
The dinner is much the same as ours in all its modes of serving, but they
have soles and turbot, instead of our fishes, and their pheasants are not
our pheasants, or their partridges our partridges. Neither have we so
many footmen with liveries of all colours, or so much gold and silver
plate. . . . The next morning Mr. Bancroft breakfasted with Dr. Holland
to meet the Marquis of Lansdowne alone. [Thursday] he went down to
Windsor to dine with the Queen. He took out to dinner the Queen’s
mother, the Duchess of Kent, the Queen going with the Prince of
Saxe-Weimar, who was paying a visit at the Castle. He talked German to
the Duchess during dinner, which I suspect she liked, for the Queen spoke
of it to him afterwards, and Lord Palmerston told me the Duchess said he
spoke very pure German. While he was dining at Windsor I went to a party
all alone at the Countess Grey’s, which I thought required some courage.
Of all the persons I see here the Marquis of Lansdowne excites the most
lively regard. His countenance and manners are full of benevolence and I
think he understands America better than anyone else of the high
aristocracy. I told him I was born at Plymouth and was as proud of my
pure Anglo-Saxon Pilgrim descent as if it were traced from a line of
Norman Conquerors. Nearly all the ministers and their wives came to see
us immediately, without waiting for us to make the first visit, which is
the rule, and almost every person whom we have met in society, which
certainly indicates an amiable feeling toward our country. We could not
well have received more courtesy than we have done, and it has been
extended freely and immediately, without waiting for the forms of
etiquette. Pray say to Mr. Everett how often we hear persons speak of
him, and with highest regard. I feel as if we were reaping some of the
fruits of his sowing.
Mr. Bancroft sends you a pack of cards, one of the identical two packs
with which the Queen played Patience the evening he was at Windsor. They
were the perquisite of a page who brought them to him. He was much
pleased with the Queen and thought her much prettier than any
representation of her which we have seen, and with a very sweet
expression. Lady Holland had been staying two or three days at Windsor,
and was to leave the next morning. When the Queen took leave of her at
night, she kissed her quite in my Virginia fashion.
* * * * *
DEAR UNCLE: How much more your niece would have written if to-day were
not packet day, I cannot say. I shall send you some newspapers and a
pack of cards which I saw in the Queen’s hands. The American Minister
and Mrs. Bancroft have since played a game of piquet with them. The
Queen’s hands were as clean as her smile was gracious. Best regards to
the Judge and Aunt Isaac.
Yours most truly,
GEORGE BANCROFT.
_To W. D. B. and A. B._
LONDON, November 29, 1846.
After a long interval I find again a quiet Sunday evening to resume my
journal to you. On Monday we dined at Lord John Russell’s, and met many
of the persons we have met before and the Duchess of Inverness, the widow
of the Duke of Sussex. On Tuesday we dined at Dr. Holland’s. His wife
and daughter are charming, and then we met, besides, Lady Charlotte
Lindsay, the only surviving child of Lord North, Mr. and Mrs. Milman (the
author of the “Fall of Jerusalem”), and Mr. Macaulay. Yesterday I went
to return the visit of the Milmans and found that the entrance to their
house, he being a prebend of Westminster Abbey, was actually in the
cloisters of the Abbey. They were not at home, but I took my footman and
wandered at leisure through the cloisters, treading at every step on the
tomb of some old abbot with dates of 1160 and thereabouts.
[Picture: Holland House]
Nothing could be more delightful than London is now, if I had only a
little more physical vigor to enjoy it. We see everybody more
frequently, and know them better than in the full season, and we have
some of the best specimens of English society, too, here just now, as the
Whig ministry brings a good deal of the ability of the aristocracy to its
aid. The subjects of conversation among women are more general than with
us, and [they] are much more cultivated than our women as a body, not our
blues. They never sew, or attend, as we do, to domestic affairs, and so
live for social life and understand it better.
LONDON, December 2, 1846.
MY DEAR MRS. POLK: {28} you told me when I parted from you at Washington
that you would like to get from me occasionally some accounts of my
experiences in English society. I thought at that time that we should
see very little of it until the spring, but contrary to my expectation we
have been out almost every day since our arrival. We made our _début_ in
London on the first day of November (the suicidal month you know) in the
midst of an orange-colored fog, in which you could not see your hand
before you. The prospect for the winter seemed, I must say, rather
“triste,” but the next day the fog cleared off, people came constantly to
see us, and we had agreeable invitations for every day, and London put on
a new aspect. Out first dinner was at Lord Palmerston’s, where we met
what the newspapers call a distinguished circle. The Marquis of
Lansdowne, Lord and Lady John Russell, Marquis and Marchioness of
Clanricarde (Canning’s daughter), Earl and Countess Grey, Sir George and
Lady Grey, etc., etc. I was taken out by Lord Palmerston, with Lord Grey
on the other side, and found the whole thing very like one of our
Washington dinners, and I was quite as much at my ease, and they seemed
made of the same materials as our cabinet at home. I have since dined at
Lord Morpeth’s, Lord John Russell’s, Lord Mahon’s, Dr. Holland’s, Baron
Parke’s, The Prussian Minister’s, and to-day we dine with the Duchess of
Inverness, the widow of the Duke of Sussex; to-morrow with Mr. Milman, a
prebend of Westminster and a distinguished man of letters. We have been
at a great many _soirées_, at Lady Palmerston’s, Lady Grey’s, Lord
Auckland’s, Lady Lewis’s, etc., etc.
And now, having given you some idea _whom_ we are seeing here, you will
wish to know how I like them, and how they differ from our own people.
At the smaller dinners and _soirées_ at this season I cannot, of course,
receive a full impression of English society, but certainly those persons
now in town are charming people. Their manners are perfectly simple and
I entirely forget, except when their historic names fall upon my ear,
that I am with the proud aristocracy of England. All the persons whose
names I have mentioned to you give one a decided impression not only of
ability and agreeable manners, but of excellence and the domestic
virtues. The furniture and houses, too, are less splendid and
ostentatious, than those of our large cities, though [they] have more
plate, and liveried servants. The forms of society and the standard of
dress, too, are very like ours, except that a duchess or a countess has
more hereditary point lace and diamonds. The general style of dress,
perhaps, is not so tasteful, so simply elegant as ours. Upon the whole I
think more highly of our own country (I mean from a social point of view
alone) than before I came abroad. There is less superiority over us in
manners and all the social arts than I could have believed possible in a
country where a large and wealthy class have been set apart from time
immemorial to create, as it were, a social standard of high refinement.
The chief difference that I perceive is this: In our country the position
of everybody is undefined and rests altogether upon public opinion. This
leads sometimes to a little assumption and pretension of manner, which
the highest class here, whose claims are always allowed by all about
them, are never tempted to put on. From this results an extreme
simplicity of manner, like that of a family circle among us.
What I have said, however, applies less to the South than to the large
cities of the North, with which I am most familiar at home. I hope our
memory will not be completely effaced in Washington, for we cling to our
friends there with strong interest. Present my respectful regards to the
President, and my love to Mrs. Walker and Miss Rucker. To the Masons
also, and our old colleagues all, and pray lay your royal commands upon
somebody to write me. I long to know what is going on in Washington.
The Pleasantons promised to do so, and Annie Payne, to whom and to Mrs.
Madison give also my best love. Believe me yours with the highest
regard.