Viewing page 89 of 101

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

picturesque that we have seen. We also saw several other fine old ruins. On arriving at Hastings we had to wait two hours or so, till a train would leave for Ashford, so it being near twelve o-clock we went to a coffee house, near the sea, where we got a good dinner and for a reasonable price. We saw the rock and castle of Hastings and had a walk on the beach, after which we got on a second class car and proceeded to Ashford. The country between Ashford and Hastings is very flat, and uninteresting, but we passed numbers of old castles and abbies. It had been growing colder and colder ever since we had left Brighton, and at Ashford we found the ground covered with snow. At Ashford we were again delayed, waiting for a train, which when it came, brought us, after about an hour's ride to Folkstone. We put up at the Pavilion Hotel, a splendid large house facing the sea. 
Feb. 21st. After breakfast we took a walk to see a fine old cathedral on the top of a very high promontory jutting out towards the sea. It is very old and extremely picturesque There were some tomb stones dated as far back 1600. They were very much weathered, probably by the sea storms. After seeing this we took a walk on the beach. 

[[end page]]
[[start page]]
About eleven o-clock we went on board the steamer which was to take us across the channel to France. The day being a remarkably calm pleasant one, we had an unusually favorable time. In about two hours we arrived at Boulogne. On the way we passed several brigs and a large ship bound out of the channel. When we arrived at the quay, we were, with the rest of the passengers, escorted by soldiers, between guards a short distance to the custom house, or one part of it, where our valise and basket were looking through. We then were escorted to another part where our trunk was searched. We got off uncommonly well, with only the unbuttoning of my greatcoat, so see whether I had anything stowed away in the breast of it. The lady and gentleman that preceded us underwent a thorough [[sending?]][[?]]to the searching of their pockets. The trunk was let off equally well, for they only lifted up a few of the top things, and after a vigorous snuffing, not detecting any tobacco, it was given into the hands of an attache of the Hotel De Bruxelle, who soon had us a cab, in which we went to the hotel, which we found a nice clean comfortable place After some tea and a rest, we set out to see the town, the man that brought us to the hotel acting as a guide. One of the first peculiarities we noticed was the entrance to the hotel.