Pont de Beauvoisin<1>
½ past 12 Thursday 16th March 1826
My Dear Mother,
I have a moment to write to you, while they are looking at passports &c. - I wrote from Dover, Calais, Rheims, & Troyes <2> - I have had no time since - At Calais I had my passport vû par exception pour <3> Pont de Beauvoisin, in order to avoid Paris which could have detained me a day - They gave me a Pass Provisoire, <4> & I locked up my other. Giovanni <5> is just come to me with a long face "pourquoi on n'est par arrivé le passport" <6> but I comforted him by producing it. - It is just a week since I left you, which is not a long time to cross the Channel & the Kingdom of France. Not a drop of rain have we had yet. I told you our voyage across the Channel was a perfect party of Pleasure -
I am drinking chocolate at the Café du Arts.
Your affte Son
H.T.
Chambery
6 o'clock
As soon as we left France, we were assailed with showers of rain. -
The maître de porte (who is the Innkeeper of the Hôtel de la Porte) is indignant that I should think of going on to Maltaverne tonight. He advises me to sleep here tonight and at Lans le Boury tomorrow but by the help of my journal I am an overmatch for him the distances being near 100 miles up hill - I left you at 2 o'clock on Thursday at the same hour the next Thursday I was near the Eschelles de Savoie.
[address panel:]
Lady E. Feilding
31 Sackville Street
Londres
Notes:
1. West of Chambery in what was then Savoy (now Southeastern France).
2. See Doc. No: 01395, Doc. No: 01399, Doc. No: 01400, and Doc. No: 01402.3. Checked except for.
4. Temporary pass.
5. Giovanni Percij.
6. He means because the passport hasn't arrived.