Some of you will have seen most of this before. One of the reasons for this particular chapter is to give a reason why Charles Walker's Diary was found in our family bookshelf.

Armed with this new letter giving the date for their grand adventure, May and Muriel once again went to Lowesmore to visit Charlotte, and hoped to have a chance to talk with her father about what he did and saw when he was in London.

Charles loved talking about the past, and especially the year of 1851 which he enjoyed greatly, with his two trips to see the Great Exhibition and many other sights of London.

He got out his diary, which he had carefully annotated so he knew just where to turn to find out the information they wanted. He read it out to them.

26 SATURDAY

“Hard at work all day preparing the work to leave. At 1/4 to 8 left Worcester by Govt. train, Mrs. Jones accompanying me to Birmingham on a visit to her friends there & Uncle Wilson who goes in to London.

27 SUNDAY

Uncle went to one place & Mrs. Jones having to go to her friends Wilkins, who keep a Temperance Hotel I & her took cab there; after some tea, she, I & Wilkins went through the market & at 8 this morning Uncle & I started to London reaching there at 1/2 past 2; Father & Ned Walker meeting us in the Station, & afterwards Mr. Robt Eagle, (who later became my brother-in-law you know) Alfred Harris & a Mr. Tait; to the Gen. Wolfe in Little Grays Inn Lane; dinner there; didn't like the place; took 1d packet to Westminster Bridge & secured lodgings with Mrs. Schofield, 21 Mount Gardens, Westminster Rd. for Father & Ned and I, back to Grays Inn Lane for luggage, calling in at Westminster Abbey. evening prayers, dim, solemn, & rich effect; Up & out by 9 o'clock & away across the Green Park & Buckingham Palace to the Exhibition with many thousands of others; a 1/ paid we enter this palace of wonders; from 10 til 6 examining one portion of the building- the Brown & Sheffield ware; noting especially Gillotts stand on Pens & Holders, the Fine Arts Court, the Medieval Court, until tired with wandering we came out, had tea in the Knightsbridge Road at a French cafe & went to Drury Lane Theatre, which opened this night with a company of American & French equestrians; Caroline there, being the main attraction, a very dull American clown had to be hissed deservedly off.

28 MONDAY

This morning we crossed by the Horse Guards & went to the Vernon Gallery at Marlboro House; Hogarths paintings wonderfully minute & careful, full of deep meaning; modern paintings by Etty, Turner, Ward, Landseer, Roberts, Maclise, Stanfield & Others; then to the dreary collection at the National Gallery, then to the Coliseum, the music and quiet beauty of which was quite enchanting; a real waterfall too in the Swiss scene; in Regent St. we put Ned in a bus with a wrong address, & had to make to our lodgings after him; crossing the Horse Guards saw the Hero of a Hundred Fights- the great Duke of Wellington, a tottering feeble old man now, mount his horse; found Ned at home, then Father & I went to the Lyceum Theatre, highly delighted; the scenery is King Charming, very wonderful, Chas Mathews in  Only a Clod, excellent, the general acting, costume reflect of Court Beauties marvellous. 
 

29 TUESDAY

This morning we went to the Regent Park Tropical Gardens, & saw the Hippodrome, the Elephant Calf, the Utan Utan & the rest; then across Regents and Hyde Parks to the Exhibition & there until 5 o'clock, in another department, find Jerrolds Guide an invaluable companion; we all three went to the Princesses Theatre after, & saw Love in a Maze, in which the Keeleys are very humorous and the Alhambra in which they are as good, the scenery & dress tho good are under the Lyceum, but the piece is better written & the hits more pointed.
 

30 WEDNESDAY

Today Father went to seek  Mr. Tringham out, & Ned & I to the Exhibition; had a good day in it; dear refreshments; noticed & used the Shoe Brigade; detachment of Ragged School boys equipped with brushes & blacking & set adrift; put Ned in omnibus home; down Holywell Street, the vile print & publication street; at lodging met Father & then Mrs. Tringham & Emma Brooks, her daughter, all went to Astleys nothing notable save Widdicombe the immortal.

 31 THURSDAY 

This morning to Lincoln's Inn & to Grays Inn Lane for intelligence of friends; Uncle Wilson went home this morning; through the City, saw the Punch office; to St. Paul's & looked round the Monuments; the 2d entrance fee removed to the Tower, after waiting some time & not getting in we three (Father, Ned & I) took rowing boat to the Tunnel and went through it; wonderful work, though not attractive; took Steamer to Woolwich; round the Dock yard etc. & back home; wrote to Mrs. Griffin for Cash; to Uncle Wilson; to bed early.”

He stopped his narrative temporarily to explain that between his first and second visits to London, he had gone to his home in York to visit with his parents.  Then on his second trip, he was accompanied by a different set of friends and relatives, including the girl he had hoped to marry.

"6 WEDNESDAY

Wednesday morning at 1/4 to 10 to the Station & Great Northern to London; party: Mother, Uncle Charles & Lilla, Mrs & Miss Miles! Miss Bacon, Miss Newcombe, Ned Thackray & self; spun merrily to London with much laughter & comfort; great to do at lodgings; Uncle Chas & I got to Mrs. Scofields, Mother & Miss Bacon in a crib next door but one, Ned to Mr. Whitwells at Camberwell & Mrs & Miss Miles to their relatives in the Edgware Road & Miss Newcombe to hers in Red Lion Square & we did not hear of her after. 

 7 THURSDAY  

All met this  morning at Prince Albert's Model lodging- houses, in excellent, healthy, cleanly & no doubt, cheap cottages; then to the Exhibition; a pleasant wander down the main avenue & then we lost one half our party in the Machinery Court; Mrs. Miles, Miss Miles & their friends becoming detached from us; trying to find them, useless labour though by after accounts we must have been within a yard or two of each several times; in the gallery devoted to Musical Instruments, arms & clocks, bid good by to the Exhibition; pleasure damped by losing Mrs. & Miss Miles; trying with Mother, Miss B & Ned to find their lodging, in vain; Mother & Miss B. went to lodgings & Ned & I to the Olympic Theatre; saw the Farens, & Compton; by the side of the Lyceum, a poor and vapid concern. Thursday morning Miss B, Mother and I to the Horse Guards having written to Mrs M to meet us. No one came  (they had not rec'd letter in time) then to the British Museum; spent two hours where we should have spent two days; magnificent collection of autograph letters in the library & portraits in the other rooms; from there to the Duke of York steps to see the Queen pass in magnificent & gorgeous procession [to] prologue Parliament, after she had passed we walked nearer Buckingham Palace to see her return & were within a yard of the carriage & an unobstructed view of the first lady in Europe, a stout motherly woman now, looking very good tempered & warm; (you might remember that I spoke about this at the Queen’s Memorial Service) we then  took  a cab to the Regent's Park Zoological Gardens, met Ned, Uncle Chas & Lil there; I left all to find Miss Miles out to go to the Opera; took Hansom to Edgware Road after much searching found their lodgings then past 5; left word for Miss M to be ready, & took cab to lodgings, calling at Leade & Cocks in New Bond St. to buy 2 pit tickets for her Majesty's; dressed, & returned to cab to Miss M's and waited for her dressing and then to Her Majesty's Theatre in the Haymarket; the most noble theatre & largest theatre in Europe excepting La Scala at Milan; pit crowded so moved to the Stalls; the Opera was Don Giovanni; Coletti playing the Don, Mad Fiorentini Donna Anna.  Lablache- Leporello. F. Lablanche-Masetto. Tierlina- Alboni, whose rich melodious-rounded tones I can never forget; Lablache as Leporello and Mde. Fiorentini as Donna Anna were to be admired, though the whole was very stately, very grand, the long tiers of boxes, curtained & concealed had a chilly look & the place lacked the comfort of the Lyceum; there was a ballet afterwards. Rosati dancing; cab to Edgware Road & Charring X; I hope she was delighted; it was enough to be in her company; we did not talk much & I had no courage to say what I wanted & I could not talk mere small talk.

9 SATURDAY

Saturday morning all of us continued, after much waiting to meet together at Hungerford Bridge & took Steamer from there to Greenwich; where we enjoyed ourselves much in wandering about the Hospital, & the Grounds & talking to the old veterans. We went on to Woolwich & were very tired; Mrs & Miss Miles, Miss B & and I left Mother, Uncle Lil & Ned there, & returned to London had tea at Mrs. M's brother's and then we all went to the Lyceum & saw King Charming & the Practical Man; but Mrs. & Miss M in a bus without scarcely saying goodbye & didn't see them after; when Miss B and I reached lodgings we found Aunt Charles, Mrs. & Tommy Eagle (future mother and brother-in-law you know) had joined out crowded party; found I must leave by first train in the morning; had to seek lodgings at 1/2 past 12; got to a dreadful place a "lively bed" as Tommy who went halves with me in it, termed it. Good bye.

10 SUNDAY

Up by 5 o'clock, having with vexation & vermin had no sleep; breakfasted at Lambs Hotel; dirty landlady; witty Jew; left by 7 o'clock train; no one to say farewell to do; miserable day of it; did not reach Worcester until 7 o'clock very out of spirits by my miserable conclusion to the merry time I had had.”

The girls thanked Mr. Walker for telling them about his experiences, and commented on how interesting it was that he was spending time with his future in-laws in London, but at the time had no idea that they would be his in-laws. Mr. Walker said that perhaps Mr. King would like to see his diary, and told Muriel that she was welcome to borrow it, and to note how he had indexed the important happenings of the year on a front page.

“Thank you, sir, I am sure he will enjoy reading it very much,” said Muriel, putting the small black leather diary into her bag.

Charlotte having received notification of Eveline’s concurrence with the plan, suggested that they stay at the Mina House Hotel which was very close to Paddington Station, and convenient to all the sights they might want to take in in London. So Muriel said she would write to the hotel on Craven Road, and seek to reserve 2 rooms from the 7th to the 10th of November.  

Charlotte told the girls when her father had left the room, that she hoped to spend some time while they were there visiting with her sister, Marian. Her father was very upset when she left home to live in London and work as a nurse, so they had not seen her now for several years, and Mr. Walker did not like them to even talk to her or write to her. Of course, Charlotte said, she and her mother and sisters did write to her, but they had to keep their correspondence secret, and had the letters from Marion come to Eveline’s house.