Notes made during a journey thro' part of France, Switzerland [Notes and ephemera, folder 1 of 3]

Holograph diary of Vincent's travels in France, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium with "Mr. Payne and his son William." Apparently from Leeds, Vincent records his impressions of scenery, the countryside and "romantic views;" roads and bridges; the conditions of towns and cities; and tourist attractions. These included major cathedrals, museums, monuments such as the tribute to the Swiss Guards who died at the Tuilleries in 1792; the battlefield at Marengo, and sites dedicated to Voltaire, Erasmus, and Gibbon.

The party returned to England via Strasbourg and Belgium, where Vincent admired Brussels and toured the battlefield of Waterloo. After a rough Channel crossing, Vincent concluded his diary with "Thank God, we once more set foot on British ground."

Vincent paid particular attention to Lyons, where he remarks on the city's bloody Revolutionary history and saw "Madame Sarqui the famous rope dancer." In the Swiss Alps, he viewed "Mont Blanc by moonlight," described the progress of the constructions of the new Simplon road, and stayed at the Hospice of St. Bernard, noting an evening of musical entertainment by English ladies and admiring the "good-tempered and tractable dogs." Vincent,however, preferred "Protestant" Zurich, where "the people are cleaner and looked more happy and comfortable." Perhaps due to his lack of German, he makes no note of conversations during three days of sharing a diligence with "a Prussian gentleman, Dr. Schoppenhauer" between Domodossola and Locarno.

With: manuscript and printed ephemera including Vincent's French passport; notes on sights to see in Paris and Germany; hotel bills; cards; printed advertisement of books for "Travellers on the Continent" printed by S. Leigh; and two white metal souvenir medals of Strasbourg.