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17 July 1872 — Milton Court, nr. Dorking, Surrey | |
Wednesday. 17th [July 1872]. Kinglake returned to town directly after breakfast. Mr Rate also went up for the day. At 12 o’cl Henry, Alice Rate & I started for a drive taking our luncheon with us that we might picnic. We drove first to Shere where Henry & I called on Mrs Grote. We found her wonderfully hale & hearty being I think 84. She said she had this morning sent up the MS of her first Vol of the life of her husband. She was wonderfully lively talkative smart & as usual used rather impressive language. She wished Henry would return to England. She invited us to stay lunch—but we had previously arranged with Alice that we should plead a “previous engagement” & she was to do ditto with the friends she went to call on—so we left the old lady & picking up Alice at the Spottiswoodes we drove on. When we got to a nice place we got out opened our basket & had an excellent luncheon. Alice had borrowed a map & by the aid of it we tried to steer ourselves. We got into the delicious & magnificent woods of beeches near East Horsley & in fact lost our way. In one place the road was so bad that Henry & the footman had to lift the wheels & the carriage bodily & at last we found ourselves on Ranmore Common & luckily got on the right road– Luckily also we had some grapes & peaches left with wh to sustain ourselves as we did not get home till nearly 8 & Mr Rate had returned from town & brought Mr Fergusson down with him. We were afraid he would be furious abt the horses having been out all day, but he soon forgave us. | |
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