John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

14. VII:30. The Note from Lord St Helen’s to Mrs Adams was received by this Morning’s Post, enclosing a sealed order from General Taylor, the Queen’s Secretary, addressed to Miss Pohl, her house keeper at Frogmore; and directing her to admit Mr and Mrs King, (by mistake instead of Mr. and Mrs Adams) to see the house and Garden— Lord St Helen’s observed in the Note, that General Taylor mentioned the usual hours for seeing the house to be from ten to twelve, and from three to five. We left home at eleven O’Clock, and arrived at the Castle Inn at Windsor, before two. We found Mr Joy and his company there just returned from Slough where they had seen Sir William Herschell— Mrs: Adams remained at the Inn while we went over the old uninhabited part of the Castle, and the Round Tower— There are a number of spacious Halls, but they have a deserted appearance; almost entirely stripped of furniture, and having scarcely any thing in them worth seeing, excepting some pictures, most of which are Portraits.— There are most of the kings and Queens from Henry the Eighth down to the present time—the Portraits by Holbein, Vandyke, Sir Peter Lely, and Sir Godfrey Kneller, are the most interesting— The heads of Erasmus and of Luther by Holbein, particularly. The flag by which the Duke of Marlborough holds Blenheim was displayed in one of the Halls, and the man who shewed it told us that the Duke of Wellington, had sent his tricoloured flag on the 18th. of June— Some of the Halls are hung round with old armour, muskets and swords; and among the exhibitions are the armour, real or pretended of John King of France, and of Malcolm king of Scotland the prisoners of the Black Prince— From the top of the round-Tower there is an extensive view of the Country around—they say fourteen Counties. We went back to the Inn, between three and four O’Clock, and immediately proceeded to the Queen’s house at Frogmore.— Miss Pohl the housekeeper admitted us, on receiving General Taylor’s Letter, and shewed us the various apartments of the house from the billiard room to the dairy. The Queen never sleeps at this House, but comes here once or twice a day when she lodges at the Castle. There is nothing very remarkable in or about the house— A great quantity of porcelaine, principally from China— Portraits of all the 30Queen’s children, and of many of her Relations— Mr Hastings’s present of the ivory bed-stead, and three ivory Chairs, a present from the Marquis of Wellesley. Apartments japanned by the Princess Elizabeth—drawings by the Queen of Wurtemberg, and the other Princesses— A dead dwarf Oak Tree, and two round Card tables made of British Oak— Several collections of Books in various apartments, among which I particularly remarked a Junius—much handsome furniture, the most striking article of which was a bronze Clock, with a figure of the Emperor Titus, and the inscription “Diem Perdidi.” Among the Portraits we noticed those of Lady Holdernesse; of Lady who went to bring over the Queen from Germany and of Mr Perceval— Before we got through the house it was five O’Clock— We returned again to the Castle Inn; and thence immediately home. We took our Sons George and John into our Carriage and stopped at Eaton, with the view to see, Mrs Keate, wife of the head Master of the School— She is the youngest daughter of Dr Charles Brown, with whom we were intimately acquainted at Berlin during our residence there. But as she was at dinner, we left Cards, and did not alight. We reached home at 8 O’Clock in the Evening; at which hour we had ordered dinner. Mr Joy and Mr Prescott dined with us and then returned to London. It rained almost incessantly the whole day; which deprived us of a walk in Windsor Park, or in the Garden at Frogmore— Captain Gamble, Captain Magee, and Mr N. Amory had been out from London to visit us, and left Cards. There was a Note from Mrs Elmsley’s, addressed to Mr Smith, but which it had been desired should be opened by me— It contained enquiries, after an American named Gedney, of whom I have no knowledge— I answered the Letter from Coll Aspinwall about the Press-Warrants, and gave it to Antoine to send by to-morrow Morning’s Post.