A debutante's diary: A flirtatious train journey
Alices travels to London with Mr Moland Hutton


Thursday October 1st, 1868
My retriever alluded to our last scene in the cedar room, which I for my part had almost forgotten. ‘Do you remember that thick gold bracelet of yours falling off, and my picking it up and clasping it for you? Looking back I wonder how my self-possession ever carried me through.' He then went on to tell me the sort of reputation Kelham bears in the county, as being a house no woman under forty should venture into. Poor Kelham! Its morals were certainly d'occasion but still it didn't strike me as being as bad as all that. Of course, Morland interspersed his conversation with several of those pretty little nothings which coming from a man of his stamp mean so much, to all of which I listened with downcast eyes, smiling mouth, and the general air of soft contentment you may remark on the countenance of a cat when she is being petted. The train meanwhile rushed along with the most unnecessary speed, and was in London before we thought we were halfway. He stayed till the very last, only leaving us at the Paddington Hotel, and I declare I could have cried with vexation when we said goodbye. Alas! Alas! With my last glimpse of his handsome face, fades away my last English flirtation, and I may make up my mind now to Paris and those insupportable Frenchmen for the next six months, to say nothing of an indefinite period beyond!
* Read more of A Debutante's Diary
* Follow Country Life magazine on Twitter
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
-
The century-old enamelling technique used to create Van Cleef's lucky ladybird brooch — which has something in common with Country Life
The technique used in the jeweller's Geneva workshop has been put to good use in its latest creation.
By Hetty Lintell Published
-
‘The best sleep in the sky’: What it’s like to fly in United’s Polaris cabin, approved by American icon Martha Stewart
United’s Business Class cabin goes by the name Polaris and Martha Stewart is a fan. So, how does it fare?
By Rosie Paterson Published