Spiers: Memoranda of an autumn tour in 1836

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CONT. AUG. 18. THUR.

learned that the diligence passes in the night & that it does not change horses there & they do not lodge travellers, we must walk on to Ramont 3 miles further. We reached it after dark but had 1/2 a mile farther to walk to an auberge where a bed could be procured. A rough lodging it was & bread that we could not eat was put before us for the first time. Bread is wonderfully good in this country generally. - In our bedroom were 3 other beds, one occupied by a carrier who promised to call us at 1/2 past one. Our room had no door & in the next were 3 or four more peasants sleeping. But our bed & our linen we always found clean & wholesome. 8d we paid for our supper & bed for both.

20 miles.

AUG. 19. FRIDAY - On leaving our lodging at the time intended, we found a steady rain pouring down. Walking down to the stables 1/2 mile back we found the diligence not yet arrived & lying down on a little straw with our knapsacks for pillows slept soundly until it drove up. Still the rain came heavily down but to our horrible chagrin not a single place was there to be had in the diligence, even among the baggage. We had depended entirely upon this conveyance for getting to Treves in time for the Moselle packet boat & the ruin of our arrangements stared us in the face. But despair was useless, we had no inclination to return to our inn & I at once proposed to walk on to Bastogne 16 miles forward without delay. It continued to be dark & to rain for some distance, but a hill of 3 miles constant ascent was a matter of greater annoyance to us than either, because we had no place to rest on upon the road. As soon as we surmounted one hill a descent took us to another but in Ardennes how should it be otherwise. Fortunately the wind was at our backs and dried us quickly when the rain ceased. We looked forward to the comfort of a bed when we arrived at Bastogne while our clothes should be drying, but this was unfortunately denied us for when after some steady perseverance in walking at as quick a pace as the country would allow & after being twice wetted through excepting our

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