| Description | [Diary Transcription]
241
1827
December
read her the letter from M- [Mariana] staid talking about 1/4 hour — from 3 to 4 1/2 wrote 3 ppages and the ends (small sheet) to M- [Mariana]
‘Duncan must be sent off to India — Charles must be kept at Eton — Let sorrow seek to absorb itself in the charge of
these 2 matters’ .. ascertain the expense — what time ought Duncan to be off? ‘Say not a word to their family at present, of what
‘you yourself can do beyond some £20 or £30, which they will calculate upon their being able to spare’ — [illegible] ....
‘Steph must add his mite — surely he can spare as much as the £20, or £30 ... Mrs. Milne ‘ought to write’ to her husbands
‘family, ‘and apprize them candidly and fairly of her situation ...... she should memorialize the duke of Wellington as commander in
‘chief ..... ask for the sale of the commission which M- [Mariana] bought .... little doubt of Mrs. Milnes either being allowed to sell, or, not
‘least, having the value of the commission considered in her pension ..... As for Duncan, perhaps Mrs. Norcliffe may now do some
‘little more for him — I am sure Mr. Charles Lawton would give £50, if required; but something or other annually for the maintenance of
‘his godson Charles at Eton, would be best — In a case like the present you may well tell him, you mean to save
‘£20 a year out of your income for this purpose — Now is the moment for all these things to be done, while sorrow disposes
‘the heart to kindness ..... no fear for Duncan — but breathe not of this, at present — .... Resources must be
‘husbanded for Charles — you have all along intended the £200 for William — William is sure to be taken care of — you can
‘but do all the good you can; and it strikes me, that you will best promote William’s interests by promoting those of his
‘brothers who, if assisted, may be able to return the assistance ten fold by and by — ....... as to what you can do, I have
‘always said, exhaust every other means 1st, always keeping your own in reserve — you will thus, perhaps, most effectively
‘serve all parties give me 10 days notice, and the £200 shall be ready for you at Hammersley’s’ — ......... Read my letter to my aunt — wrote the above of this page all which took me till 5 5/60 — then at my
cash-book — the error that so puzzled me last night (i.e. the difference of my expenditure as calculated from the cashbook and the Daybooks)
odd enough — I had forgotten to deduct the balance — and this was all — when once puzzled how sometimes unaccountably one continues
so! — Dinner at 6 1/4 — came to my room at 7 50/60 — from then to 9 10/60 and afterwards from 10 20/60 to 10 50/60 reading Galignani’s London
and Paris Observer of yesterday — good account the ‘hells’ or gambling houses in London, on which account sent for the paper —
from 9 1/4 to 10 1/4 sat with my aunt — fine day — sat up 40 minutes counting over my French cash in hand on the ending up of the year —
242
1828
January Tuesday 1
6 1/2
11 3/4
L
+
No motion on getting up but a small tolerable one at eight and a half ~ I have begun the year tolerably
by getting up sooner — I hope I shall keep to this — I must prohibit myself account books and all other books and papers at
bedtime — sitting up late is always foolish, yet sometimes I cannot resist it — the morning promises to be fine — went
out at 8 1/4 — to the bois de Boulogne as usual — 1 6/60 in the wood — along the avenue Dauphine and then to the lift, along the allée de Lonchamps
(as on going to the end of it for the 1st time, I found by the direction board) and back the same way — got home at 11 5/60 — it had rained
a little from about 9 50/60 to 10 3/4 — at 11 1/2 sent off my letter written yesterday to M- [Mariana] (Lawton hall) — at 11 1/2 breakfast — read
the whole of the paper larger by a column than before — wrote the above of today — all which took me till 1 5/60 — then wrote the
following to to Madame Galvani ‘ma chère Madame Galvani — Je vive encore — je ne vous oublie point — Que le bon dieu
‘vous bénisse! Que le plum pudding soit parfait! Que Nannette le fasse cuire encore une heure
‘dans l’eau bouillante! Avez vous demandé de mes nouvelles à Madame Barlow? Je vous aime
‘assez’ — je suis toujours, ma chère Madame Galvani, tout à vous La Personne’ [my dear Madame Galvani — I still live ¬— I do not forget you — May the good Lord bless you! May the plum pudding be perfect! May Nanette cook it for one more hour in boiling water! Have you asked Mrs. Barlow for news of me? I love you so much — I remain, my dear Madame Galvani, all yours The Person] — From 1 20/60 to 5 50/60
made out and wrote out the summary of last week which took me a long time and then added up all the different heads of last 1/2
years summaries and wrote out the totals — an agreeable surprise to find that I had done all right at once without making 1
error, although I did it very quickly — In fact, I can now add up probably as fast as most people — it is by some
strange inadvertance that I generally puzzle myself when I do get wrong — [illegible] Dressed my hair — Dinner at 6 50/60 — came
to my room at 8 — Looked over the general summary to set that I had set all down right — then made out private summary
of last month — then went into the drawing room to my aunt at 9 20/60, and returned to my room at 10 1/4 — damp, rainy day — now
and then a little smartish rain —
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 46° at 8 a.m.
46° also at 10 1/2 p.m.
Wednesday 2
7 10/60
11 3/4
L
§§
Bowels right — fine morning — went out at 8 25/60 — to the bois de Boulogne as usual — turned right allée Dauphine along the allée
de Longchamps to the end of it (near the Neuilly road entrance gates to the wood), and returned along the allée royale back into the
allée Dauphine — 33 minutes in the wood — got home at 10 3/4 — breakfast at 11 1/4 — read the paper — talked a few minutes to my aunt —
From 12 55/60 to 4 5/60 ruling 4 ppages for next 1/2 year’s general summary, and doing for the whole of this year with red ink — (interrupted 1/4 hour by Nalin who brought false hair) Mrs. Barlow and Jane came the former for an hour?
the latter for some time but went on though retardedly — they left me at 4 1/4 — then at 1 thing or other — adding up
the totals of last year’s private summary etc. — at 5 20/60 George brought in a letter (per post) from Madame Galvani Somehow
I opened it with eagerness I have latterly felt as if there was ssome little flirtation between us
there is nothing particular in her answer yet it is more liant than any I ever received from her
*** ‘No, ma foi, je n’ai pas demandé de vos nouvelles; mais je dois me rendre la
‘justice de dire que c’est par pure discretion: je n’entendais pas parler de vous et je
‘me taisais. Comme ce commencement d’année ressemble à un commencement de déluge,
‘je m’en vais faire mettre mon petit griffonage à la poste pour qu’il vous arrive avant la
‘fin du monde et qu’il vous apprenne, qu’il y a dans submersion générale un être qui
‘vous est et vous sera toujours dévoué. Cet être là se nomme’...... [No, indeed, I did not ask for news of you; but I have to do myself justice and say that it was purely out of discretion: I did not intend to speak of you and I kept silence. As this beginning of the year resembles a beginning of the Deluge, I am going to put my little scribble in the post so that it can reach you before the end of the world and let you know that in the general submersion there is a being which is, and always will be, devoted to you. This being’s name is] Begins with ‘Quand on m’
remis votre billet, chère personne’ [When I was handed your note, dear person]..... had company, could not write — What a strange being I am as if una
ble to live without some flirting excitement Mrs Barlow complains of my indifference in good humour
said today how little she now saw of me yet I never told her I regreted it but appeared quite
indifferent never made anything like love to her though knowing her entire devotion I laughed it
off as usual joked about being too busy but was kind saying now that the love was made it had only to be kept
in repair ~ but she is right I am quite indifferent to her though she does not seriously guess it she told me if
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 46° at 8 1/4 a.m.
Fahrenheit 45° at 10 1/2 p.m.
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