She and her sister continue hiking but discover it’s too late to go any farther and must turn back toward the hotel.

"Getting into the little street again we saw some delicious looking oranges just above us, so we asked two men who happened to be standing there if they would sell us some as we were so hot and thirsty and they jabbered together till one of them climbed up and picked two small branches with the lovely oranges on. So we gave them money and walked on admiring them, we then thought we would eat them. But Boo! We no sooner had our teeth in them than the bitter oranges drew our mouths all up and made us shiver. So that is what we get for making the men steal them for us."

Much of Mathilde’s writing exudes Victorian ideals of romanticism:

Saturday, May 18, 1896, Venice - "Last night we arrived at midnight. It was just like a fairyland. The fairy lights of the gondolas and the ripple of the paddle on the still night were enchanting. Gliding by palaces and black objects, under bridges quaint and white in the sparkling light, down narrow canals where at each turn you hear a "Yup!" the sound of a coming boat, of music and singing, and the lovely touch of the salt breeze, lulls you to dreamland."

2004 by Glenda J. Jackson, all rights reserved.
(Thumbnail. Click for larger view).

Rich in first-hand experiences, letters and diaries are invaluable to historical romance writers, researchers, film makers and anyone who seeks accurate detail to create the correct atmosphere for a piece. We’re transported back to a different era, by way of a paper time machine, if you will. In fact, in the film Portrait of a Lady there’s a scene at night near the canals of Venice where the background is aglow with fairylights – a description almost straight from Mathilde’s diary.

We absolutely must cherish and preserve these memories. It’s history after all. Without these scribes of the past, we wouldn’t know what it was like to climb the steps to the top of St. Peter’s Dome in Rome in 1896:

Wednesday, April 2 - "The beautiful dome of St. Peters is ascended by about a thousand steps; that is, to the gold ball which is on top of the dome. It is a very tiresome climb especially on a warm day but then it is great sport. It is impossible for a fat person to go up some of the winding steps, as they are terribly narrow and also steep and low. The first landing place is out of the roof of St. Peter’s, which is very high although you are only half way to the top. The view of Rome is beautiful; the people below look like flies. Going up many more steps we reached the dome. Around the outside is a Balustrade on which we walked and looking down into the church made us realized the tremendous size. The mosaics, which from below look small, are now twice our size.

Still more steps and we reach the top of the dome. Here the view is superb. Here we see Rome, the vast expanse of country and mountains beyond and sometimes the ocean. But we are not yet at the top, as have not reached the gold ball. So mounting a tiny staircase going round and round we get into a small round room in which is a stepladder. I climbed it and I was there but a second. It was a dark, close, round tiny room with a hole in the center big enough for the top of the ladder to rest on, big enough for a person to squeeze through. There might have been holes around the wall for breathing and view but I had no time to notice. I saw about seven forms leaning against the wall who seemed to be enjoying themselves but I doubt it. So I stepped down again and breathed more freely. On going down the narrow steps I encountered people three times so I had to go back all the way to the top of the stairs to let them pass."

Mathilde recorded her trips to Milan, Lake Lugano, Geneva, and her train ride into Paris, France. An interesting and historic event occurred while in Paris:

October 23 - "During our stay in Paris, the Czar (of Russia) came to pay a visit and great was the celebration. I saw him twice in the Bois de Bologne as he was driving followed by his consort. It is the first time that France and Russia have met each other for a great many years so there was quite a scare lest someone should assassinate the Czar. Paris was lighted up most beautifully and fireworks were set off from the Eiffel Tower."

Finally they reach their destination – London:

Saturday, October 30, Hampton Court - "We went out to the Castle in a dense fog so saw little of the exterior and the grounds, which are so beautiful in the summertime. The palace is enormous and we went through many halls (and) apartments once occupied by the Kings of England and now hung with a great many paintings and also tapestries. We afterward found our way to the maze and of course got lost in it – which was great fun.

November 5 - This is the end of our trip abroad. Today we take the steamer for home. With a little regret but happy at heart. We left London at 10 o’clock and got on our steamer.

November 17 - We reached New York early this morning, in late on account of stopping for a steamer and also having had strong winds but the passage was very good. Our boat was the Mobile Atlantic Transport and it was most wonderfully steady. Mother and I on going to Philadelphia stopped off at Princeton and Harry (Mathilde’s brother) showed us all around the college – which was great sport."

After the initial purchase where I only bought the diaries and two letters, I suddenly became obsessed with finding that vendor and buying "the rest of the story." So for the next six months and four flea markets, I was on the Mathilde Mission. Believe it or not, I found the vendors (who by then called me the Mathilde Lady) and bought everything I could that had Mathilde’s handwriting on it or was addressed to her.

The last piece I hesitated buying was her genealogy book that traced the Potter family back to one Henry Adams (1632) of Ipswich, Connecticut, purportedly an ancestor of President John Quincy Adams. I hesitated because of the price - $25. By the time I decided to buy it many many months down the road, the vendor had more of Mathilde’s letters. We negotiated a price and I bought everything. Oh how fortunate that I did! For tucked in the middle of the letters was a short autobiography written by Mathilde, including a reference to a Minuteman ancestor who participated in the "shot heard round the world" during the Revolutionary War.

A Life Well Traveled -3 (Continued)