| Description | This paper relates to Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury's 1895 trip to Saxe-Meiningen in Germany in 1895 when she returned to the town where she attended school with her elder sister Margaret Taylor from 1872 until 1874. Taylor Cadbury describes visiting places she had known twenty years ago, recalling many memories of her school days. She remarks on meeting the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and his second wife Ellen Franz who were always accompanied by large dogs, referring to the popular controversy which had surrounded their marriage which had occurred whilst Taylor Cadbury was at school in the town. Commenting that Ellen Franz had never been accepted by the Duke's family, Taylor Cadbury describes her as 'very good and kind in caring for the poor and suffering in the town.'
Remarking on the popularity of the theatre in Saxe-Meiningen, Taylor Cadbury remembers rebelling against her parents whose adherence to Quaker principles had prevents Taylor Cadbury and her sister from participating in aspects of the cultural life enjoyed by their school friends. Taylor Cadbury writes 'oh! how I rebelled against the fate that had made me a Quakeress, when the other girls trooped gaily off to the performance, leaving my sister and me sitting alone, with one lamp, in the corner of the big schoolroom.'
Taylor Cadbury's address describes her stay in Saxe-Meiningen with a German family, including accounts of conversations about peace, conscription and temperance. She writes about travelling around the town and finding out about her old teachers and acquaintances from her school days including the school's two lady principals Miss Trinks and Miss Meyer and her music teacher Herr Hochstein. On hearing sad stories of her old friends Taylor Cadbury writes 'there is sadness as well as interest in gathering up threads that have been broken for twenty years.'
Following these reminiscences, Taylor Cadbury describes visiting the town's Theatre, the old Town Church and the Castle Church, writing also about climbing the hills to visit a house, possibly 'Villa Britannia', which had once belonged to her old school. She also comments of her joy at seeing 'the glorious pine forests' again.
A pencil annotation on this typescript reads 'See Diary Sept 19 - Oct 10 1895.' Taylor Cadbury's personal diary for these dates provides a daily itinerary of her visit to Saxe-Meiningen including details about the weather and the places and people which she visited. Her diary entry for Thursday 19th September 1895 reveals that she travelled to Saxe-Meiningen with her husband George Cadbury and stepson George Cadbury Junior. |