Day sultry. Wrote a letter to Charles, and then walked about to examine the town. First to the Royal Wells, where I drank a glass of the water. It appears to be simply saline. Thence to the Pittville gardens, which are prettily laid out. Nobody in them but a few girls amusing themselves in playing Croquet. Certainly there is little of life or movement. Yet the number of houses seem to increase, and there is no sign of decay or dilapidation. I am told that it has become a favorite residence in winter for invalids and persons of moderate fortune, pretty much after the fashion of Bath. It has a very attractive look, and is rated as very healthy. There is a large and popular public school, and I believe an ecclesiastical foundation. I thought the air rather relaxing—and certainly Mary did not appear to improve so much as I had wished, or expected. The country seems to be composed of chalk, and under the drought the dust it makes is unpleasant. In the evening, some of us went to the Montpelier gardens and heard the band. Perhaps three hundred present.85