| Description | [Diary Transcription]
[10]
1827
July Friday 13
12
12
§
§
Up at five and three quarters but went to Mrs. Barlow her cousin luckily obliged us to be quiet gave her a succi
nct history of my whole acquaintance with π [Mariana] representing her marriage as if her father thought
she had better marry that she had a great regard for L [Charles Lawton] it was not expected he could live many years
she would then have a good jointure instead of nothing it would be better for me to have a woman who had
been married than an old maid to live with me besides we could not be together just then under all these cir
cumstances she would marry if I chose but not otherwise I said yes it being considered for our mutu
al advantage and we were to wait the result being as much engaged as ever how then could I have been off
when she had told me it would break her heart said she had asked at Buxton if matters had gone very
far and on my saying well then said she you cannot do to Mrs. Barlow the same injustice you would to me
now said I this does not necessarily imply intercourse with her before her marriage but that I cou
ld not break faith with you as I should do with her however Mrs. Barlow understands that we had intercourse bu
t never since her marriage I was really a good deal affected while I told all this plainly and truly as far as conce
rned me but a little too favourable for π [Mariana] but it matters not she is the only one I love Mrs. Barlow behaved ve
ry well she said she knew not I was sso much attached to her and seemed nervous but declared she was [illegible]
be better satisfied [illegible] we then played a little with her bosom and in such sort quietly ~
Breakfast at 12 1/2 — Settled to go to [illegible] Riva, take boat there for ourselves and the carriage and horses to meet
the steam boat at Domaso, thence per steam to Como — From 2 1/2 to 5 25/60 wrote very nearly 3 ppages to my
aunt all but the 1st 6 lines a copy of what I had written to M- [Mariana] respecting the journey — all set off to Pleurs (Piuro) or, rather, to the
spot where it was overwhelmed about 2 centuries ago, etc. etc. got back at 9 — Dinner at 9 1/4 — paid the bill
etc. etc. and went to my room at 11 5/60 — very fine day — at 11 50/60 heavy rain, vivid lightning, and several peals of
very loud thunder — Fahrenheit 83° at 6 a.m. 85° at 1 p.m. and the same at 11 5/60 p.m. in the shade on my writing table o. ~
Saturday 14
4 1/4
11 20/60
Breakfast at 5 1/2 — off from Chiavenna at 5 50/60 to Riva — were to be there at 7 — got there at 6 50/60, yet they said we were too
late the carriages could not possibly come up with us — must sleep at Domaso that night — An Italian (gentlemanly enough) the only one besides ourselves — very civil — persuades us to go and see the pass
of Monte Branglio — will get our passports altered — will manage the whole thing — land at Domaso at 10 —
our Italian scarcely leaves us — sends off the note I wrote for the coachman to go to meet us at Colico, orders dinner
get us a bedroom etc. etc. and sits with us about a couple of hours — Came to announce dinner handed Mrs. and Miss Barlow out
of bed (they had been lying down) with the [illegible] utmost politeness Dinner at 3 1/2 — from 6 1/4 to 6 3/4 cross
the lake to Colico — our Italian went in the carriage with us — Get to Morbegno (to sleep) at 9 — very fine day — very fine evening Fahrenheit 83 1/2° at 1 1/2
p.m. — o. ~ Our Italian came in the evening to shew us a map of the Tyrol, etc. said we had fixed not return from Monte Branglio to Como, but
to go forwards to Verona and Venice —
[margin text:] just before dinner wrote on a loose
scrap of paper to M- [Mariana] description
of the via Mala etc.
Sunday 15
3 1/4
11 40/60
+
§
Two beds last night in the same room ~ but no time to dawdle. Breakfast at 4 1/2 — off from Morbegno at 5 — Take up our
friend en passant — Got to Sondrio at 7 1/2 — our friend gets our passports made out for Verona — Sends all
over for a carte routière of our intended journey — none to be had — gets us a sight of a very good map
of Lombardy ‘Carta Stradale Delle Provincie del Regno Lombardo Veneto, Milano.
1827’ from which I trace out ‘Mals’ (I think this town was not marked but our friend said we ought to stop there
on descending Monte Branglio) ‘Bolsano [Bolzano] Trento, Roveredo, Ala, Verona’, and this is all I know
of the route — then sit talking — find our friend is (he gave his card — a little pattern-gilt concern with the
name ‘Ferdinando Tornaghi T. R. Ispettore di Finanza’ in gilt letters) Seignor
Tornaghi head finance inspector of the Valteline, having 3 sub inspectors under him — lives at Morbegno —
his father a physician somewhere near Milan — seems a person of some consideration in these parts — was
with Napoleon in Russia — quite a liberal — says their Emperor (the Emperor of Austria) is very good, and is a man of
talent — gives audience every day — rather slow in deciding, but decides justly — 1 party says his oldest son is a
man of talent — another says he is a fool, perhaps because always at variance with his father — Monsieur Tornaghi
had copied our names from the passports — asked Mrs. Barlow’s address — where she lived in England — instead of answering for herself
she said where I lived — so obliged to give my address at Shibden — had written it in his pocket then scratched
it out (good excuse that he could not easily read it) and dictated while he wrote it himself — Mrs. Barlow said she was a
widow and had no fixed residence in England — He had told Jane, in crossing from Domaso, she ought to stay and marry in Italy —
I all along guessed it was Jane who was the attraction — he said he had seen us at Splugen — He had followed
us, and, as I observed to Mrs. Barlow, seemed to me to have arranged with the boatman to keep us all day at
Domaso — However; Jane had so decidedly though innocently said she would marry none but an Englishman, I
think he gave up all hope — took our leave of him at Sondrio and off from there at 10 25/60 (he said if we wanted any
thing in Italy, we had only to write to him) — dine at Tirano — get to Bormio to sleep, at 10 5/60 — very fine day —
the sun very hot on our leaving Sondrio — Fahrenheit 73° at 2 p.m. Fahrenheit 69° at 10 1/4 p.m. —
[11]
1827
July Monday 16
6 40/60
11 3/4
Two beds ssame room ~ never inquired whether her cousin was well or not but went to sleep directly and got up
this morning the moment I awoke ~ Off from Bormio at 9 3/4 — ascend Spondalonga — at 1 1/4 stopt at the
2nd stationhouse — at 4 5/60 stopt to dine at the 4th station house — at 6 stopt at the 5th station house — passports
examined — Thunderstorm — stop at this station to sleep — very fine day for us, not much sun — thunder and lightning and rain at
4 1/4 for about (nearly) 1/2 hour, and again at 6 25/60 for about 1/2 hour —
Tuesday 17
3 55/60
11 1/4
Only two rooms and two beds last night Mrs. Barlow and I slept together right middle finger up twice and satisfi
ed her twice ~ Breakfast at 5 — off at 5 1/2 — 55 minutes getting to the top — then 2 25/60 hours getting down to Pradt — they
say Mals is not in our road — copy the post-book as far as Ala — wrote page 80 travelling journal — all get cake and wine —
off again (from Pradt) at 11 1/2 — Rain and distant peals of thunder and close in the carriage at 4 5/60 — stop at 4 20/60
to bait the horses a little — off again at 4 50/60 and get to la poste, at Mĕran, to sleep at 7 1/2 — wrote travelling journal
Dinner from 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 — wrote a little more, page 81 and 7 1/2 line page 82 travelling journal, and, too sleepy to finish, go to my
room at 10 1/2 — fine cool day — fine air in the valleys — very cold at the top of the mountain, and till 7 a.m. fine
day till 4 — Bowels pretty well of late — And little or no discharge for the last three or four days ~
Wednesday 18
6 20/60
11 1/4
The same room but two beds Mrs. Barlow came to me this morning at five for a little while but I was ssleepy and said
she was hot so she went away she had taken salts and feverish and so left me in good humour ~ from about 8 to 10 1/4
wrote the whole of the last page was found the 1st 4 1/2 lines of this — at 10 1/4 till 11 breakfast — milk, and bread, and strawberries,
apricot, and pears, then afterwards a couple of eggs, and a little wine and water — wrote out yesterday and so far of today of this page
and had just done at 11 1/4 — off from Meran at 12 25/60 — much pleased with Bolsano — got to Neumarkt
to sleep at 10 20/60 very fine day —
Thursday 19
5 1/4
12
Breakfast Mrs. Barlow and I in the same room last night but two bed went to her for near quarter hour gave her a
good grubbling right middle finger and left her as ssoon as I thought she had had enough ~ Breakfast
at 6 40/60 — off from Neumarkt at 7 10/60 — dined at Trient [Trento] — got to Roveredo to sleep at 8 1/4 —
very fine day — from 8 3/4 to 11 35/60 writing out travelling journal and settling accounts —
Friday 20
4 1/4
11
Breakfast at 5 42/60 — off from Roveredo at 6 1/2 — wrote out travelling journal at Borghetto, and again by
the way — At 7 alight at Verona — immediately sat down to write — had done my travelling journal at
7 50/60 — dinner at 8 — then settled the accounts — very fine day — very hot, but the heat not oppressive —
Saturday 21
6 5/60
11 5/60
Always now in the same room with Mrs. Barlow but two beds went to her last night for quarter hour
right middle finger up all the time she very well satisfied said she came to me entirely
this is all that is required I myself care only to please her for it is nothing to me ~ Prepared and
sent my dirty clothes to the wash — from 8 to 9 25/60 wrote the latter 1/2 page 3 of my letter to M- [Mariana] and wrote almost the
whole of the 1st end very small and close briefly bringing down to my letter to our arrival here — from 9 25/60 to
10 10/60 breakfast — all went out at 11 — Dinner from 3 1/2 to 4 35/60 — afterwards wrote out travelling journal —
went out at 6 1/2 got back at 8 3/4 — finished writing out my Travelling journal, and wrote Thursday Friday and today
of the above and had just done at 9 1/2 — very fine day — very thirsty — had wine and water Mrs. Barlow came and had
some with me at last right middle finger up as she sat and gave her a good one ~ very fine day — very
warm — but the air light and dry, the heat not oppressive —
Sunday 22
3 20/60
10 35/60
Breakfast at 4 1/2 — off to the lago di garda [Lake Garda] at 5 5/60 — Mrs. Barlow ill — go by myself to the ruins of Catullus’s
villa — Peschiera — Church of Saint Zenone and Pepin’s tomb — Porte des Borsari [Porta Borsari] Mrs. Barlow very unwell —
must have taken something that seems to have poisoned her — suffers much in her bowels — very fine day — very hot —
Monday 23
6
9 50/60
§§
Mrs. Barlow took salts last night and slept with Jane in her large bed that I had my room to myself awoke me
twice about warm water and to get her some pills she took more salts at nine this morning ~
Mrs. Barlow better but still very unwell — From 7 to 8 55/60 looking over and writing the last 40 lines of my travelling journal
of yesterday — breakfast from 9 10/60 to 9 40/60 — gentle rain this morning from about 8 to 10, then tolerably fair but dark — and
thunder and lightning and heavy rain at 1 25/60 for an hour — From 10 to 1 1/2 wrote the last 4 1/2 lines 1st end, the 2nd end, and much under the seal, and finished my
letter very small and close to M- [Mariana] (dated Monday 2 July, Friday 6th, Tuesday 10th, Saturday 21st, and this morning Monday 23rd July) then
copied to my aunt all I wrote to M- [Mariana] this morning respecting the journey — my aunt’s letter dated exactly the same as that to M- [Mariana] the ends
and under the seal, and 2 or 3 lines at the top of page 1 being very small and close — backwards and forwards with Mrs. Barlow partly packed —
Dinner from 3 1/2 to 4 35/60 — at 4 40/60 went with my letters to the post-office — too late — on returning settled the accounts, and paid everything —
always a troublesome business when one has been stationary a day or 2 — back and forwards with Mrs. Barlow she is better — fair this evening — o
Next to no discharge these last few days ~
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