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Hague. Walk to Ryswyk, and failure to find Needle of Ryswyk (house chosen for 1697 treaty negotiations because it had several doors, so the ambassadors could enter at the same time without any loss of precedence). Monument to Baron Wassenaar (d. 1665) in Grote of Sint-Jacobskerk very badly executed. States General are sitting - PE has not been, but several members taker the table d'hote at his hotel. (Tuesday, 16th July - Rotterdam) Has paid bill - hotel not clean, but not as expensive as feared (misled by wax rather than tallow candles). Dutch royal family very quiet and modest, without any pomp. Has brought French franks to Holland, but the exchange rate varies. Little book buying in Holland (apart from guides) - 1638 bible by Barker and Bill, and 1597 Euripides apud Commelinum.

Rotterdam. Changed boats at Delft en route from The Hague (leaning tower, and beggars). Description of the two-cabined horse-drawn schuit (canal boat). Erasmus statue, with Dutch verses (not Latin, which Johnson would have preferred). The Meuse, and elms on the Boompjes quay - canals in Dutch towns heavily bordered by trees. Rotterdam canals not stagnant, and deep enough for large trade vessels. A young friend of Gaisford's will take all 32 pages to the post in London (beginning Antwerp, 27th June) - PE looks forward to reading them again. To service in Cathedral Church of St Laurence - monument to the English youth Chute.

Undated and unsigned, but apparently a first draft of the following letter (identical opening sentence, referring to the previous letter). More on the dishonest clerk. Carnival began on PE's birthday, Saturday, 8th February, and continued to Shrove Tuesday, 18th February - subtract 2 Sundays and 1 Saturday, this makes 8 days of carnival proper. Disguises (but not ecclesiastical, under penalty of whipping and excommunication) - devils, harlequins, cuckolds with long horns and most commonly white dresses like a domino. Walk on the Corso and pelt each other with confetti (formerly sugar-plums, but now limes); horse race (but no riders); masquerade at one of the theatres; all very innocent and stupid. Rome even safer to stay in than London. Detained 14 weeks in Rome by a Eur. ms in the Vatican Library. Foolish, having come so far, not to continue to Naples - only 150 miles on a good road, which would take 20 hours in England, but took PE 36 hours in Italy - brief description of route, passing from papal territory into the Kingdom of Naples.

Brussels. Arrived on 20th. Tour of Holland - 4 nights in Antwerp, 1 in Breda, 2 in Utrecht, 6 in Amsterdam, 3 in Leyden, 4 in The Hague, 3 in Rotterdam, 1 in Antwerp. All PE's letters have arrived in England, 'though mostly entrusted to complete strangers (inc. a Valentine Dillon of County Mayo, who had just been prosecuted - unsuccessfully - for breach of promise, accompanied by a duel with the lady's brother). Discussion of difficulty of conveying a trunk to Italy - impossible by land, no sea-trade from Holland, therefore leave it in Brussels till his return. Expecting a letter of credit, but it may have been sent straight to Geneva - will not wait for it, since he has spent quite enough time in Holland. Staying at Hotel de Flandre - table d'hote expensive enough to exclude army officers, an expense PE cheerfully bears, since they are noisy and empty and unaccustomed to good society. Considers various means of travelling to Cologne. Much rainy weather - the Dutch do refer to St Swithin (a Saxon bishop), but to St Medard or St Margaret.

London. PE has made funds available - has paid for tenant's repairs, some debts, and has started to crop the ground. Has walked around Marylebone - 50 years ago it was as rural as now Hampstead and Highgate are, but now very built up. Rambling discussion of reasons for this. Criticism of House of Lords. Wry consideration of high society. Sympathy expressed for Caroline of Brunswick, antipathy towards George IV. Wry consideration of high society.

London. Copy of Mr Romilly's opinion on Boylston's will (v. 294?). Reconciliation of Pitt and Addington. Items of gossip. PE has remitted to John the last portion of the family estate. The family has, however, a sixth interest in a new edition of Chambaud's dictionary (perhaps from his bookseller uncle Peter, d. 1802?)

Paris, Hotel de Nimes, Rue de Grenelle. Cf. 297. Weather warm, and hotel tolerably quiet, clean and reasonable. If he were to stay long he would need to get introductions to respectable families - but not many of these, since one of the ingredients of respectability is wealth. Remarks on absence of French probity in selling, and on his new cotton stockings. Remarkable that relations can live so happily in the same house. Saw the Comte d'Artois (Charles X) with a carriage drawn by 8 horses, and surrounded by guards - last seen in Edinburgh in 1803, in very different circumstances. Sites in Paris are open every day and all day, and are free. Post-revolution churches are stripped of their ornaments (kept in an old convent), but the painted glass has survived. No pumps or wells in the city, but Seine water is good to drink.

Apologises that PE has not heard from the family since January. His mother tripped over an ottoman a month ago and bruised her hip - much better, though still not able to walk. Family and other local gossip. Sister Nancy has some ducks. Recently blooded for a headache, and now better. (Sister-in-law.) Family health issues (hers and Mary's). PE's books have arrived. Preparations for coronation and her indifference to it. The house in Sloane Street has been let out, and other legal matters. Her brother is in Ealing on half pay, having failed to get a Mediterranean appointment.

Naples, 35, Largo del Castello. More on the dishonest clerk. Left Rome on Shrove Tuesday, 18th February. Last hours spent with Bonars, who gave pancakes to PE and his travelling companion Pigou. Agnes (Aggy) Bonar (who would have refused PE some years ago, had he made her an offer) has settled her

Naples. Please pay