| Description | [Diary Transcription]
44
1826
December Saturday 2
7 20/60
11 1/2
Vc
§
§
N
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In my salon at 7 55/60 — arranged my fire — finished dressing — at my desk at 8 27/60 — made out the summary
of February 1826 the expenses of workmen and housekeeping — just going to breakfast at 10 20/60 when Mrs. Barlow came to bring me some
of Dr. Tupper’s pills Good against the piles I said the other day I suffered a little as if in this way — Breakfast at 10 1/2 — Mrs. Barlow
sat with me till 11 55/60 then she went to my aunt and I got ready to go out — went out at 12 25/60 — took George with us — went
to Gilbert’s, the butcher’s etc. and then à la Halle (through the rue Montesquieu Passage Vero-Dodat) and corn hall — bought bay laurel
parsley Potatoes, navets de Fraeneuse and carrots and then sent George home — Mrs. Barlow and I went to nos. [numbers] 1 to 3 rue des Lombards and bought
tea — thence along the rue d’Areis (where I bought a nice hare at 4/. off a man en passant — folded it up in paper at a
baker’s shop and carried it to Quai Voltaire) over the Pont Neuf and got to Mrs. Barlow’s at 2 1/2 — she a little tired — lay down on the
bed and I sat by her — both of us much splashed — the streets very dirty — above 1/4 hour brushing and making ourselves decent, then at 3 55/60
took Jane to the Tuileries gardens — sauntered about there above 1/2 hour — parted with Mrs. Barlow on the Pont Royal, and got home at
4 3/4 — She let me put my hand to her over her clothes but said if she let me do as I liked she should be in a fine state
for she could not bear everything she said I must excuse her saying so but she thought if a [I] had a little
one meaning a penis what I emitted was not good enough to beget children it was too thin not glutinous
enough to which I agreed she said my being occasionally unwell might make a difference to which I said yes I always deny having been connected with π [Mariana] or being seen naked by any but Mrs. Barlow she said I had put my fi
ngers into my mouth after touching her and had sucked her talked of the impossibility of doing so to any
one else she says she is very weak towards me she cannot help loving me she never seems to have enoug
h of me but no one but herself would believe I loved her or why did I leave her she shed one or two tears
but we improve in this respect and do not go on weeping as at first — on getting home sent George for the hare —
and settled my accounts which took me till 6 — Dinner at 6 1/4 — came to the salon at 7 3/4 — the porter’s wife could not
come tonight so wrote the above of today, except the 1st line, which took me till 8 1/2 — Fine morning but windy, and fine
till just after I got home — I had no idea of its raining, till I heard it loudly against the windows at 5 10/60 — rainy evening —
good deal of rain fell during last night — the streets very dirty — wrote out the index from the 27th ultimo up to tonight
which took me till 9 10/60 — then read over this morning’s Galignani’s messenger — just before 10 George brought up a note from
Dr. Scudamore dated Wimpole street November 27 — a very civil — very friendly note — written in haste — enclosed in
a packet to his brother in law Mr. Newte who encloses his own and his wife in the note (Rue Grange Batelière
no. [number] 4 – Dr. Scudamore has never for a moment lost sight of my wish to know Baron Cuvier, and hopes he is putting me
in the way very pleasingly by introducing me to [illegible] Mr. and Mrs. Newte who know Madame Batoldi
Cuvier’s niece ‘a beautiful and most agreeable woman’ to whom Dr. Scudamore has requested that I may be presented —
hopes my aunt is better — begs leave to recommend his friend Dr. Latham no. [number] 8 rue de la Chaussée d’Antin
and begs him to make his report to him Dr. Scudamore — ‘in a letter of consultation — for the peculiarities of your aunt’s
‘constitution cannot meet the eye at 1st sight, and indeed, in my opinion require no small share of study. I
‘wish that I was with you, at Paris — when I might accompany you to the Savans and pay my best attentions
‘to your aunt — but this is a vain wish — Excuse my extreme haste — dear madame yours sincerely C. Scudamore’
This last part is enough for me to understand that he received my letter and cannot come here
but the manner of his note betokens his feeling obliged by the manner in which I answered his
last epistle — came to my room at 10 5/60 — wrote the last 14 lines which took me till 10 1/2 o. —
[margin text:] out of doors Fahrenheit 44° at 8 a.m.
47 3/4° — noon.
44 1/2° — 6 p.m.
43 1/2° — 10 5/60 —
Sunday 3
6 55/60
11 35/60
at my desk at 7 55/60 — made out and wrote out the estate and housekeeping summaries of last March April and May — from 10 40/60 to 11 5/60 breakfast
then finished dressing — which took me till 11 35/60 — made out the summary of June — From 12 1/4 to 1 1/4 read the morning service
and sermon 4 Bishop Sandford — returned to my room at 1 20/60 — Cut my nails — at my desk again at 1 35/60 — from then to 6, wrote out the
summary of June, and made out and wrote all the summaries from the time of leaving Shibden (Friday 16 June) up to the end of our payments
in English money i.e. to Saturday the 18th ultimo when I last went to Laffitte’s — Dinner at 6 10/60 — came into the salon at 7 1/2 — Read
45
1826
December
L
Galignani’s messenger of Friday — then (having got another book for the washer woman) wrote out, and set the prices against
all the things to go tomorrow so that there will be less to do in the morning and the woman can be off as soon as the
linen she brings is looked over — Letter from Miss MacLean (Quinish, Tobermory) just after having read the service —
durst not leave my accounts to read it, knowing it would completely set my mind afloat — just before going to
bed opened the letter — the 1st thing, that met my eye was a profile of herself — a very striking likeness — she has sent
me this instead of the little lock of hair I asked for, thinking it would do better — 1/2 foolscap sheet — very kind
letter yet, of course, being only 1/2 sheet, somewhat shorter than usual — I will answer it soon — the likeness strikes
me — How thin she is! Shall I see her again? this makes me thoughtful — But ’tis 10 20/60 — I must go to my room —
Fine day till about 3 then dark — at 3 1/2 began to rain at 4 raining very heavily — rained all the afternoon and evening
more or less — o. —
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 41 1/2° at 7 55/60 a.m.
48° — 11 3/4 —
48 1/2° — 1 1/2 p.m.
43 1/2° — 6 —
40 1/2° — 10 1/2 —
Monday 4
6 40/60
11 1/2
Vc
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§
§
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N
In my salon at 7 1/2 — made my fire — had done with the washer woman and put my things by at 8 5/60 — at my desk
at 8 10/60 — from then to 10 1/2 (breakfast at 10 1/2) and 3/4 hour afterwards, ruling and arranging one 1/2 sheet for part of the model of my book of summaries of the housekeeping etc.
accounts — finished dressing — skimmed over the advertisements in Galignani — Put on the gown Madame Huchez has cleaned
and done up and altered a little and sent home on Thursday or Friday my better merinos it does very well — went out
at 1 in a fiacre direct to rue Grange Batelière no. [number] __ if our clocks be still 5 minutes too soon, it was 1 5/60
when I got there — the porter said they were not gone out — on [illegible] ringing (au premier, above, au entresol, a nice
looking lofty antechamber), and asking for Monsieur and Madame Newte a French femme de chambre answered ‘ce n’est
qu’à deux heures’ [it’s only two hours away] — Oh! oh! thought I to myself as I left my 2 cards, not sorry not to have been admitted,
I shall learn in time — one ought not to make calls before 2 — thence to rue de la Chaussée d’Antin No. [number] 13,
to Mallet the banker’s, and got cash for Mrs. Lynn’s bill for 72/25 — thence to rue Thevenot no. [number] 24.
(Galignani’s paper gives No. [number] 21 — wrong) chez Durand — found that chandelle diaphane or de Chapelle was of the best London
spermaceti which being dearer here than wax, makes these candles 3/70 i.e. 2 sous a lb. more than the best wax —
but they are liked here for their beauty being so beautifully white — they are called de Chapelle from the man
whom Durand succeeded in the business — He shewed me some bougie-merigot, or bougie-économique
(he sells nothing but bougies) par breveté, wax outside, mutton suet inside, which destroys the
transparency of the candle, at 2/20 — bought a lb. of each on trial — he assured the candles were longer than I should
get them at the shops where instead of weighing like his, a full lb. of 16 oz. they only weighed 15 3/4 oz.
the paper weighing the other 1/4 oz. — thence to Galignani’s where I paid for his paper from the 1st instant to 31 May next 46/. thence to Madame Huchez’s to tell her to send the bill for doing up the merinos
she made me 18 months ago — thence home, and came in at 2 1/2 — an hour settling my accounts looking over my
money and one thing or other — then wrote all but the 4 first lines of today which took me till 4 1/4 — Told Galignani’s Caissier I could
not find L’Écho de la Halle at no. [number] 51, rue Saint Honoré — He said many inquiries had been made about it —
He knew nothing about it — perhaps it was not published now — the paragraph was taken from a French paper —
did not know what paper — Nobody will give any information about this Echo de la Halle — it seems as
if nobody wished the English to know anything about it — I will not rest till I find out all about it — George took my little
note to Madame Galvani (written and dated last night) before breakfast, and brought back a basket of 30 large pears for preserving, which she sometime since promised
to get for me — my note was merely ‘ma chère comtesse J’ai recu des nouvelles d’Angleterre qui m’obligent de
‘sortie demain matin — J’en suis fachée parce qu’il faut encore perdu le plaisir de vous voir — Mercredi
à l’heure ordinaire s’il vous plait — agreez l’amitié de Anne Lister’ [my dear countess I have received news from England which obliges me to go out tomorrow morning — I'm sorry because we again must lose the pleasure of seeing you — Wednesday at the usual time please — accept the friendship of Anne Lister’] From 4 25/60 to 5 40/60 ruling more paper
for models of summaries and making minutes of my ideas how to finish this matter another day — wrote the last 5 lines — Dinner at
6 10/60 — came into the salon at 7 1/2 — read the whole of this morning’s paper the porter’s wife at 8 1/2 and staid till 9 55/60 — In great establishments people have their casseroles
new tinned (étarné) every month at 0/50 each casserole — fine day till about 1 1/2 — then began
to rain gently — wet afternoon and evening afterwards — went to my room at 10 — o. —
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 38 1/2° — at 8 a.m.
42° — 12 1/2 p.m.
44 1/2° — 2 1/2 —
38° — 6 —
39° — 10 1/2 —
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