Descriptive List - University College Cork Library

3. John Ryan (d. 1778)
371 13 March 1775 –7 Sept 1776
Travel Journal kept by ‘J.R.’ [John Ryan], recording a tour of France and the
Low Countries. He declares his journal at the outset to be “A book intended to
Enter any little observations I shall make whilst I shall be from home” and
later states “I am travelling with a view of improvement mix’d with some
enjoyment “ (p.26). He faithfully records the routes he takes, the distances and
modes of transport, and describes in detail the agriculture and manufacturing
industry of each region and town he passes through. He meticulously
describes the economic and political status of each town and city, prominent
buildings as well as sources and types of commerce. His travels began at
Holyhead from where he traveled to London on the 29 th March 1775 and from
there to Harwick, where he embarked for Helvoet, and traveled on by waggon
to Delft. He did some touring in Holland before leaving by Diligence for
Antwerp on the 1 st May and then on to Brussels. On the14th May he arrived at
Paris, and in describing the sights and entertainments he observed there states
it took him over a week to find his feet in that city. He enjoyed especially “all
the Spectacles; the Public gardens, (which are in the morning, and, in the
evening after the Spectacle is over) the rendevous of all the Beaumonde”. He
describes with evident enthusiasm the Opera and Playhouses of Paris, and
consistently uses them as a point of reference when comparing those offered
in other cities. On the 17 th July he departed for Orleans in a cabriolet he
purchased in Paris and on the 7th August he set out for Avignon, travelling on
via Marseilles, Toulan, Aix, and Nimes, where he parted with his travelling
companion since Marseilles, a General Melville, “I experience great
satisfaction in his acquaintance, and he shew’d on all occasions, a desire to
inform me, in every matter in which his superior knowledge claimed the
tribute of submission on my side … now I am alone again, unknown to any
one, but my Servant”. (p.41) Throughout the journal he makes reference to
the system of introductions by which travellers made acquaintances and
received assistance in their journeyings e.g. “I was recommended at
Montpellier to a Mr Francis Perie by Mr Coppinger of Bourdeaux, and I
received much civility from this Gentleman” (p.43). The travails of his
journey are also recorded, e.g. “All the post-horses of this side of the Country
being ordered to Lyons, to join in the Suite of Madame Clothilde, the King’s
sister, who is going to Savoy, to be married to the Prince de Piemont … This
event will lay me under the necessity of hiring horses, in all the capital towns,
from one to another and subject me to and expense, and inconvenience which
cannot fail to become disagreeable to me.”(p.42). From Montpellier he
travelled to Toulouse and on the 6t h of September he left for Bordeaux “ in the
Diligence d’eau, for Bordeaux where (after spending four disagreeable days
on the water) I thank God I arrived safe”. In February he travelled through the
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