Spiers: Memoranda of an autumn tour in 1836

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CONT. AUG. 19. FRIDAY.

& I seemed to feel disappointed when it was not visible in any of the 101 pictures which this romantic place afforded us. We returned to the high town round the top of the rocks & following the tide of blue blouses going by the same path into the town soon found ourselves in the midst of a stirring & busy little population. Three thousand Prussian soldiers are garrisoned in this town which belongs to the King of Holland as a prince of the German confederation, though Les braves Belges would like to steal it from him as they have other things & places. The Prussian soldiers were seen to still greater advantage in comparison with the slouching unsoldierly looking Belgians with their longwaisted grey greatcoats & drab garters. A more inelegant dress or carriage I never saw. On the contrary the Prussians seemed to be men of better breed & better education, of good neat style of dress & person & most soldierly looking men. -

The upper town is not modern but it contains nothing remarkable.

22 miles

AUG. 20 SAT: The diligence for Trèves took us with it on the box at 7 o'clock. We consumed nearly half an hour in our traverse through the terraces & streets of the lower fortified town, but I cared not how much of our journey was occupied in this place. We took from it an officer with an excellent face & figure characteristics of good humour, wit & knowledge of the world with a pair of moustaches, a full green blouse open in front & an order at his buttonhole. - Four or five others besides formed our company and we jogged on over a pavé & between a young avenue as usual until breakfast time. Here the meal consisted of wine with bread, butter & meat, (of coffee they had none they could prepare in time), & its cost for both was 1/-. We had added to our cargo a young german student in a beautiful new blouse with broad plaits regularly disposed & a true

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