Georgian surprises

Hi, here's Jo reporting that the Georgian English were a clean, orderly people of notably robust good health, who never walked any distance if of the decent sort.

That's the account of Karl Philipp Moritz, a 26-year-old German pastor and teacher, as given in the short book, Travels in England in 1782. It's available on line from Gutenberg, and also free on the Kindleand probably other e-readers, and I recommend it. Unlike many similar journals he doesn't go on at length about the wonders of God's works, though he certainly mentions them; his lively mind is focussed on England and the English, whom he's generally inclined to admire. Iwas sorry to find that he died young at 37.

The book presented many surprises to me. Inn signs, for example. In my mind they hung outside the inn, but according to Moritz, they hung in the middle, from beams.

"The amazing large signs which at the entrance of villages hang in the middle of the street, being fastened to large beams, which are extended across the street from one house to another opposite to it, particularly struck me;" No wonder they were considered dangerous.

Everyone of the time agrees that London was constantly in a smog, though Moritz doesn't have that word to use. "We first descried it enveloped in a thick smoke or fog."

One thing surprised him as much as it surprises me. "One thing, in particular, struck and surprised me not a little.  This was the number of people we met riding and walking with spectacles on, among whom were many who appeared stout, healthy, and young." 

Later he puts this down to the brightness of coal fires, which tempt one to look into them, but then must damage the eyes. I certainly don't people my Georgian world with spectacle wearers!

He notes how busy the main London streets are, and then records, "There are everywhere leading from the Strand to the Thames, some well-built, lesser, or subordinate streets... There reigns in those smaller streets towards the Thames so pleasing a calm, compared to the tumult and bustle of people, and carriages,and horses, that are constantly going up and down the Strand, that in going into one of them you can hardly help fancying yourself removed at a distance from the noise of the city, even whilst the noisiest part of it is still so near at hand."

I experienced the same when I recently traced the route Georgia and Dracy take in A Scandalous Countess. She arrives by river at the York Stairs, seen in the painting here, and then travels by sedan chair to her father's house.

The York Stairs are notable for a noble arch, the York Gate, as seen in the picture, but it's now some distance from the river because the banks were built up -- now called the Embankment. They go up Buckingham Street, shown on the left, one of those quiet streets.

Here's a snippet from the book. Lord Dracy's previous encounter with Georgia Maybury had been when she'd been in mourning, and when her father had offered her as payment of a debt.

"Dracy stood beneath the stone arch of the York Gate, watching Lady Maybury approach, aware of a heart that beat too fast for the situation. A few weeks in the sanity of the countryside hadn't restored his mind at all. She'd haunted his dreams, and even in the day he'd fallen into trying to imagine her as his wife, in his home. Ridiculous, but he'd repaired the roof with her in mind, and even had the window repaired in the drawing room. That could have waited, but a drawing room was the lady's domain.

And here she came, a different woman to the one in his memories, and even less fitting for his dreams.

Her broad straw hat was trimmed with pink ribbons and flowers and her hoop-spread gown was made of a pink-striped material. A bold choice with her loose copper hair. Moreover, she and her mother were not arriving in a common Thames wherry, but in a gilded barge rowed by six liveried men, two powdered footmen in attendance, and the Earl of Hernescroft's escutcheon on the side.

She inhabited a different world to his, and he'd best remember it.

He descended the stairs to meet the boat, but slowly, so that Lady Hernescroft had already takes a footman's hand to step out of the barge and he could offer his hand to Circe.

That open, sparkling smile hadn't been imagined. "Neatly done, Dracy. I see hope for you yet."

"Hope, Lady Maybury?"

"Of your social agility." She paused so her maid could fluff her skirts back into place. "I was surprised to find you were in Town."

"Suffering in the cause. Let's haste away from the stinking river to the slightly less stinking streets." He bowed to her mother. "Your chairs await, Lady Hernescroft."

Lady Hernescroft did not demand his escort, but swept ahead on the arm of the footman. Delightful to have a lady's mother as ally, but now it was even more puzzling.

The waiting sedan chairs were plain, but they too were not common ones, available for hire. They were Hernescroft ones, and the armed chairmen were in the earl's employ. Perhaps the family also had gilded, escutcheoned ones, but in the present climate with the people restless in hard times, the aristocracy did not draw attention to themselves on the London streets."

Moritz's visit took place 20 years later than the events in my book, but not much would have changed.

Here's another small surprise. I'm still puzzling over the exact meaning of his description of coffee. "I would always advise those who wish to drink coffee in England, to mention beforehand how many cups are to be made with half an ounce; or else the people will probably bring them a prodigious quantity of brown water."

Was the half ounce in a little packet, or weighed out at the time? From the above, I assume most English people liked their coffee weak. I have to admit that many English people still don't like strong coffee. In fact, many still prefer instant, which I find very odd.

And what about toast? I thought I knew what toast was then, but perhaps not. "But there is another kind of bread and butter usually eaten with tea, which is toasted by the fire, and is incomparably good.  You take one slice after the other and hold it to the fire on a fork till the butter is melted, so that it penetrates a number of slices at once:  this is called toast."

So I'm assuming they buttered thin slices of bread, piled them all onto a toasting fork, and then heated the lot until it was all butter soaked?

And here's a bit I'm definitely not including in any of my books.  "In the morning it is usual to walk out in a sort of negligee or morning dress, your hair not dressed, but merely rolled up in rollers, and in a frock and boots. "

The "frock" is a frock coat, but even so, I don't see this for the hero of a Georgian romance. 

Eventually, Moritz sets out to explore England -- on foot. He's heading for the Peak District in Derbyshire, in the midlands.  He soon encounters a problem. Walkers are treated with deep suspicion. He's stared at, pointed at, and often refused lodging at inns. Even the kindest people only recommend that he travel by coach.

This attitude to walkers is worst near to London, but continues throughout his journey. He occasionally takes a coach, but dislikes being confined in a box, unable to appreciate the passing countryside as it goes by too fast. On one journey he rides outside -- ie on the top -- and finds it terrifying. He's previously described it from an objective point of view. "Persons to whom it is not convenient to pay a full price, instead of the inside, sit on the top of the coach, without any seats or even a rail.  By what means passengers thus fasten themselves securely on the roof of these vehicles, I know not; but you constantly see numbers seated there, apparently at their ease, and in perfect safety." He finds that he has a handle to hold onto, and that it isn't enough to make him feel safe.

As I said, a little book well worth reading. His description of his guided tour of the Derbyshire caves is both fascinating and hair-raising.

Does any of the above surprise you?

Do you have any other travel accounts from the 18th century to recommend?

Any other comments arising?

Because traveling is the theme, I'll give a copy of A Lady's Secret to a random selection from any substantial comments here.

A Scandalous Countess is getting great reviews, and will be out on February 7th. I'll be back to tell you more about it around then.

Cheers,

Jo

Comments

[HJ]

How about the books published by John Cary, including New English Atlas, The Travellers’ Companion, the Universal Atlas of 1808, and Cary’s New Itinerary? He was commissioned by the Postmaster-General to survey all the principal roads in England. The books he wrote give very useful information on what it was like to travel in England in the late 18th century/early 19th century. I found out about them in this post:

http://shannondonnelly.com/2011/12/26/traveling-in-the-past-carys-new-itinerary/

Also, although this is from the 19th century, it's not long after the Regency so you may find it interesting. It's a conduct book, and I suspect that they were slow to change! It includes a description of how a lady should walk in the street, especially in mud or dirt after bad weather:

Elisabeth Celnart, The gentleman and lady's book of politeness and propriety of deportment: dedicated to the youth of both sexes, 1833

I came across it in this post:

http://twonerdyhistorygirls.blogspot.com/2012/01/fine-art-of-walking-in-streets-in-19th.html

And I'd love a chance to win copy of your book, please!

[Patricia Rice]

Great post, Jo. I particularly like the image of all these gentlemen wandering about ala Ben Franklin with spectacles perched on their noses. Although, as in all things, if he wasn't accustomed to seeing spectacles, even noticing two or three might be a "lot." I'm wondering about the "hair down" comment since I thought our gentlemen of the time had hair shorn to fit under wigs. So he may have been speaking of merchants.

Now must go acquire some more books...

[Juanita Glass]

It is nice to know that in another time, spectacles were worn more that we thought. As a person who has needed glasses since 5th grade and probably long before that, it makes one feel less "different", however it seemed that most of these were male, whereas I am female.

It always has given me a small feeling of victory (of sorts) when the Romance stories included a female who either openly or surreptitiously wore spectacles.

I opted for contacts for a while, but as I have aged, glasses became necessary and it does please me to see so many people now who wear them also. I wonder what the people of a future time will think of us?

And what a fun description of toast. When I was little, my grandfather used to turn on the gas range and make our toast over the fire the same way!!! I was the most surprised little girl ever, the first time I saw a toaster!! Mama always buttered the bread and put it in a skillet, but Papaw used the fire. Sometimes it was a little burned but good none the less because he took the time to make it for me. A sweet memory in my 75th year.

I love my books that take me to another place and another time. A place and time I find more satisfying than the one in which I now live.

Juanita Glass

[Susan/DC]

Perhaps innkeepers and others did not trust walkers back then because, with little or no luggage and no horse, the walker could easily slip out in the night without paying the bill.

Attitudes have certainly changed. My husband and I did a walking tour of the Peak District in Derbyshire in September 2010 and then did a walking tour in Shropshire a year later. It's fun to think I may have seen some of the same sights as Moritz, but the people were significantly friendlier in the early 21st C than they were in the late 18th.

[Jo Beverley]

Jo, here. Thanks for the book recs, HJ. I tihnk the 1833 is a bit late for the Georgian, because things changed a lot in that span, not least because of the French Revolution, and perhaps a little for the Regency. I tend to divide the period at about 1815, as afterward manners and mores slide toward the Victorian, which was much more prescriptive.

[Jo Beverley]

Pat, the hair thing is interesting. There are plenty of references to men with their own hair in the mid 18th century, which leads of course to the hair rollers! They sometimes combined a wig/hairpiece with their own hair.

My guys cleverly combine hair long enough to tie back, with wigs on top for formal occasions, so no rollers!

Jo

[Jo Beverley]

Susan, good point about the traveler without any kind of luggage. I'm not entirely sure what he had. The writer of the foreword assumed it was all in his pockets, but he had a couple of books and a change of linen, so they must have bulged!

[Sophia Rose]

This man's journals share many things that I would not have thought about: location of signposts, predominance or spectacles, and the suspicion of walkers. He gives insight into the life of the average people and not just the rich. That morning get-up of dressing gowns and curlers relieves me to no end making my sweats and t-shirts seem well dressed for the morning.

Thanks for the fascinating post. Please do not enter me in the contest. I already have the book.

[theo]

"The amazing large signs which at the entrance of villages hang in the middle of the street, being fastened to large beams, which are extended across the street from one house to another opposite to it, particularly struck me;" No wonder they were considered dangerous.

Too funny! This post was great but that line was the best part. Then again, I'm really tired tonight so maybe that's why I laughed so hard. ;o)

[Louis]

Interesting post.

San Diego has a couple (or more) of the large signs across the street. One, The "Hillcrest" sign on University Ave. and further east, The "Northpark" sign across the same street.

As a youngun, I made toast by frying bread in bacon grease and sprinkling sugar on it.
Tasty.

[LouisaCornell]

Fascinating post and thanks for the great book recommendation. I can load it onto my new kindle!

I LOVE the description of toast as I've always been fascinated by the use of a toasting fork.

I have this image of Moritz being regarded with the same sort of trepidation as a modern day hitchhiker. Poor guy!

And I had to laugh at this description of coffee. It seems the quest for good coffee is ageless!!

[Jo Beverley]

Theo, thanks for pointing out the pun! Made me laugh, too.

Louisa, we used to use a toasting fork at boarding school to make toast in the sixth form common room. Doesn't that sound too, too like a boarding school novel! But putting many slices on at once is new to me. Anything soaked in melted butter would be good, though, wouldn't it? Like melted cheese and fried dough.

Jo

[Ann Stephens]

I can't recommend much in the way of 18th century travel books. But Charles George Harper wrote books about coach travel and inns during the 19th century, if anyone is interested. His books on the Bath, Brighton and Dover roads are available at Project Gutenberg.

The hostility toward walkers made me shake my head. Perhaps it would never occur to anyone to walk for pleasure? (At least on public roads.)

[bn100]

I enjoyed reading your post. I was very surprised to learn about the inn signs, too. His descriptions of places and events is so well written that it feels as if the reader is actually there experiencing the same things he is. I find it fascinating about the details authors have to think about when deciding what to include in their books and whether they would be appropriate for the time period.

[Alison]

Ooh, the toast does sound yummy, if a bit calorific. Can't quite see how they managed to melt all the butter without burning the bread, and surely much of the butter would drip into the fire... still, it does sound nice to munch on, especially in the company of a good book...

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