Manuscript, in a single hand with many corrections , excisions, and pasted-in additions, of a diary recording a journey to Belgium coinciding with the Battle of Waterloo. The author, traveling with her brother John and sister Jane, as well as Sir Neil Campbell, Knight of Elba; Major Wiley, aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington; and Mr. Littleship, an English merchant, records her journey by steam packet from Ramsgate to Ostend on June 10, 1815. She describes their difficulty convincing the sentry to allow them to enter the garrison of Ostend; praises their hotel once they arrive; visits Ghent; and finds Brussels "new and amusing." She breakfasts with Major Llewellyn in Brussels two hours before the Battle of Waterloo, and the remainder of the diary consists of a description of her experience during the battle, including her and her companions' efforts to dine and sightsee without mentioning public events; their attempts to obtain information about the battle's progress; the exodus from Brussels by "masters and servants, ladies and stableboys, valets and soldiers"; and reports of the battle's outcome and After the battle, she is evacuated to the Netherlands, where she comments unfavorably on the character and habits of the Dutch inhabitants. Several weeks later, she returns to Brussels and visits Waterloo
Description:
Charlotte Ann (Waldie) Eaton (1788-1859) was a writer. In June 1815 she visited Brussels, the headquarters of Wellington's army, with her brother John and sister Jane. Her account of the battle was first published as Circumstantial Detail By a Near Observer in The Battle of Waterloo (1815). In 1817, her family published a more extended account based on her own experiences titled Narrative of a Residence in Belgium, During the Campaign of 1815, and of a Visit to the Field of Waterloo. By an Englishwoman. In 1820, after a visit to Italy, she anonymously published the popular and acclaimed Rome in the Nineteenth Century. Her other published works include The Days of Battle, later published as Waterloo Days; Continental Adventures; and At Home and Abroad., In English., Written on page removed from volume: Journal of Four Months' Absence from England, in the Summer of 1815: including a Tour in Flanders, Holland, and France., Written on title page: Narrative of a few days' residence in Belgium, in June 1815. and of a visit to the Field of Waterloo. by an Englishwoman., Pasted on flyleaf: Lubbok Bookbinder St. N. C. Yd. Newcastle., Bookplate of Charles Edward Thynne Eaton and signature of Wilfred Eaton, 1897 on the title-page., Marbled endpapers., and Binding: half morocco over marbled boards; gilt decoration.
Subject (Geographic):
Belgium and Netherlands
Subject (Name):
Eaton, Charlotte A. 1788-1859. (Charlotte Anne),, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821., Waldie, John, 1781-1862., and Watts, Jane (Waldie), 1793-1826.
Subject (Topic):
Travelers' writings, English, Waterloo, Battle of, Waterloo, Belgium, 1815, Description and travel, and Women authors
