Sept. 30. {1857} Yesterday, being out for a drive, the coachman told us that Rosslyn Chapel was only an hour off so we told him to dive to that place. By his driving it was two hours off and we reached it so late that we had little time for seeing it. The ruins of the chapel are beautiful. so {sic.} are all the ruined chapels we have seen . . . .
This is an entry from Maria Mitchell during her time in Scotland. I find it humorous that in 1857, she too was dealing with a very optimistic driver as far as timing was concerned. He likely was not charging by the hour but she had more than likely hired him for the day – or for several days. Further, her last sentence is a bit interesting as I think it relates more to her thoughts regarding religion than it necessarily does to the actual ruins. Maria struggled with religion to some extent – born and raised a Quaker she would leave in her early twenties. While she would attend Unitarian services at times, she tended to shun attending church and instead focused where she felt she saw God – in nature.
JNLF
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