In consequence of the fatigue which I had experienced on my journey, I was glad to retire early to bed. On entering my chamber, I could not but be impressed by its cold, comfortless feel; the floor was of stone, the tables marble, the wash-hand basin long, oval and shallow, like an old-fashioned salad dish, and all the furniture of correspondent antiquity. But I had determined not to give way to gloomy reflections; therefore, I wished my host a good night, and being left to myself, soon regained that contented frame of mind which is indispensable to those who mean to pass smoothly, and happily, through this scene of mortality.
extract from The Narrative of a Journey through France, &c. (London, 1822) by James Holman FRS, p.9, edited and read by Joe Rizzo Naudi.