my
_un_-young ladylike drama.

Soon after this my father and aunt and myself left London for our summer
tour in the provinces, which we began at Bristol.

_Monday, July 4th, Bristol._--The play was "Romeo and Juliet," and
the nurse was a perfect farce in herself; she really was worth any
money, and her soliloquy when she found me "up and dressed and down
again," very nearly made me scream with laughter in the middle of
my trance. Indeed, the whole play was probably considered an
"improved version" of Shakespeare's Veronese story, both in the
force and delicacy of the text. Sundry wicked words and coarse
appellations were decorously dispensed with; many fine passages
received judicious additions; not a few were equally judiciously
omitted altogether. What a shocking hash!

_Tuesday, July 5th._--After breakfast we sallied forth to the
market, to my infinite delight and amusement. It is most
beautifully clean; the fruit and vegetables look so pretty, and
smell so sweet, and give such an idea of plentiful abundance, that
it is delightful to walk about among them. Even the meat, which I
am generally exceedingly averse to go near, was so beautifully and
nicely arranged that it had none of its usual repulsiveness; and
the sight of the whole place, and the quaint-looking rustic people,
was so pleasantly envious. We stopped to gossip with a bewitching
old country dame, whose market stock might have sat, with her in
the middle of it, for its picture; the veal and poultry so white
and delicate-looking, the bacon like striped pink and white
ribbons, the butter so golden, fresh, and sweet, in a great basket
trimmed round with bunches of white jasmine, the green leaves and
starry blossoms and exquisite perfume making one believe that
butter ought always to be served, not in a "lordly dish," but in a
bower of jasmine. The good lady told us she had just come up from
"the farm," and that the next time she came she would bring us some
home-made bread, and that she was going back to brew and to bake.
She looked so tidy and _rural_, and her various avocations sounded
so pleasant as she spoke of them, that I felt greatly tempted to
beg her to let me go with her to "the farm," which I am sure must
be an enchanting place, neat and pretty, and flowery and
comfortable, and f