| Description | [Diary Transcription]
56
1826
December Sunday 17
7 25/60
11 50/60
§
+
§
Could have no motion at all this morning In my salon at 8 25/60 — finished dressing — out at 9 5/60 — in 1/2 hour walked
to the Barrière de l'Étoile turned to the north — sauntered into the very pretty gardens of Monsieur Etienne — thence down the passage
a longish lane which opened into the rue du Faubourg du Roule, went to the barrière — returned the same way — En passant about midway
the avenue de Neuilly, saw a house to let — furnished — the whole maison with a little bit of back garden 5 best
bedrooms coach and house and stables 1000/. a month 10,000/. a year! — turned into the gardens at the great gate — made the circuit of
them coming out at the little gate opposite our street in 21 minutes and got home at 11 — the man had brought the pots
that ought to have come last night — some time having them looked over and paying him — breakfast at 11 20/60 — the beurre de
Bretagne (1 lb. in a little square basket) really better than I expected — very good — not at all strong — but not
the better for being a little salted — read the debates in yesterday’s paper Mr. Canning’s speech excellent on the King’s
message desiring the support of parliament in assisting Portugal against the aggressions of Spain — from 12 55/60 to 1 20/60
read the morning prayers — Mrs. and Miss Barlow came just before I had done — had them into the room and concluded the service —
they staid about an hour — I then brought them into my salon (had sat with them and my aunt in the salon) to look at the
weigh-scales I bought yesterday, and they staid I think not quite 10 minutes, and went away at 2 20/60 — then wrote the above of today —
then made out the last week’s summary and then till 6 making out a list of all the items, classed under the
general head Furniture, we bought since we came here — Dinner at 6 1/4 — came into the salon at 8 — made
out (after turning to my journal) 2 or 3 things omitted to be set down in my account book — considering how
particular I am ’tis strange I should have omitted anything — then made out the washing bills for
tomorrow — all which took me till 9 55/60 Very fine day — Coldish and rather frostyish this morning but very fine —
went to my room at 10 10/60 o.. ~ Taking two spoonfuls of magnesia in the juice of half an old cut lemon
and that of nearly half another fresh cut kept me up so late ~
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 42° at 8 25/60 a.m.
43° — 11 —
45° — 2 1/4 p.m.
38 1/2° — 10 1/4 —
very fine
morning
Monday 18
6 35/60
11 1/2
In my room at 7 35/60 — at my desk at 7 40/60 — read over what I wrote to IN. [Isabella Norcliffe] Friday and Saturday and was just beginning to write
when the washwoman came — settling with her and 1 thing or other took me till after 9 — unaccountably paid her
0/50 too much — some alteration made in George’s bill, so took the people’s adding up which on examination
I found was 6 sols too much, and hastily seeing that I had charged (and the charge was not altered) only 12 sols instead of 16 in my bill for 4 chemises,
gave the woman 4 sols in addition, and thus paid her 10 sols too much — I have seldom paid the washing right of
late — ’tis odd enough — I will try to manage better in future — At first on coming here, I could seldom
make out my money right to a few sols — I have now got the better of this, and perhaps I shall pay the washerwoman
right by and by — From 9 1/4 to 10 1/4 wrote the latter 3rd part of page 3 of my letter to IN. [Isabella Norcliffe] [illegible] very small and close — then read
for 1/4 hour the supplement that came yesterday to Galignani of Saturday — breakfast at 10 1/2 — read the French news and advertisements
of this morning — concluded what I wrote to IN [Isabella Norcliffe] on Saturday with ‘the inconvenience occasioned us by our carriage
‘was serious on the journey; but we have got the bushes of the wheels repaired, and shall be thoroughly prepared before we
‘start again — we are effective for a drive to the Bois de Boulogne, and want no more at present — Monday
‘morning 18 December what will become of us by and by, is not quite certain — I do not think travelling suits my aunt, —
‘I mean agrees with her complaints, — though she likes it, and would evidently like the thought of our going some
‘-where else — I shall see how she is in the spring — At this moment, I know not what to say of her — If she
‘is not better than now, I must give up dwelling up the hope of seeing you — Her nerves are too weak — she
‘could not bear us in the room; nor could she bear the very little additional to do in the apartment that we must
‘make — we often talk of you — She bids me give her kindest love, and say, she hopes to be better, and then she
‘shall be delighted to see you — yet she sometimes speaks of never seeing my father and Marian, or Shibden again,
‘and says, she will be buried here — She always much admired Père Lachaise, adding, ‘How little I used to think
‘I should come to be buried here!’ Perfect quiet seems to agree with her best — my entering at all into society, is
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 37 1/2 at 7 40/60 a.m.
36 — 4 p.m.
35 — 10 1/4 —
very fine
frosty morning
the street dry
57
1826
December
§
‘perfectly out of the question — I have refused even one evening to Mademoiselle de Sans that was, and only see her, and Mrs.
‘Barlow, and the de Noés very occasionally in a morning [illegible] — some time ago, I fancied I might
‘manage having a little society — I now see it does not answer, and I have entirely abandoned all hope or thought of it —
‘I never in my life associated so little — Dr. Thackray told me, my aunt had probably a great deal to suffer — I often
‘think of this — She cannot move herself in bed — her nerves are very weak — yet, withal, she has been a little better
‘lately (we have had such mild beautiful weather — not a single flake of snow has fallen), and talked yesterday
‘of going to Shibden for a summer 2 or 3 years hence! Of course, I say nothing against all this, knowing that she is too
‘nervous to bear the despair of those around her — But her bowels have been better of late; and this is a great thing — we shall
‘certainly change our apartment as soon as we can after the expiration of our term here (on the 7th of March) —
‘the kitchen being 2 stories above us, and the servants unable to hear the bell, we find insufferable — Not having brought plates
‘with us, we are supplied by the porter — Our quota of tablespoons was six, all which were stolen on Thursday
‘morning’ — at about 11 [illegible] at my desk again wrote the last 25 lines in 1/2 hour — then sat down to finish my letter — MacDonald soon
afterwards came in — wanted brown sugar — asked her to get the scales and weigh it — saw her put weight after weight into the scale — found
she held the balance in such sort that it could not play — thought she did not seem to quite know what she was about — Told her she
always she appeared in such a hurry and so confused it was impossible to depend upon her for doing a thing — she said she had by mistake
sent all her mistress’s things to the wash she meant to have washed at home — it was very unlucky — and she looked as if
not herself — on this I told her she ought not to call it unlucky — it was not bad luck but bad management — she
had no good method, and for want of this committed all her blunders — repeated several times I was not angry, not scolding
her — nor did I blame but pity her for what I supposed she could not help — it was absolutely calamitous that she
was so little able to take care of things — I could not wonder at Miss Reed’s letter saying she had found things so out of order —
MacDonald said the castle was very damp — she had left all well done — could not tell what Miss Reed meant — it must
be that the linen was not well aired — she had spoken to Miss Reed’s father — was desired to give the linen to a head man
of some sort in the service and he was the worst that could be — I then mentioned the petticoat the other that she declared was not
among my aunt’s things, and it was found there — no! it was found among her own things and she never thought of looking there — I then to instance
the foolish things she sometimes did, mentioned the rice pudding of Saturday that she told my aunt she had spoilt by fearing it would
not turn out, and so, after creaming the rice, she had dried it again — she wondered how her mistress could say this — it was not so —
it was …. I said I cared not about the puddings — had no time to listen about them — her mistress might be mistaken, but that
I told MacDonald all this for her good who always seemed to me to have no presence of mind — to be as if she knew not what
she was about — at Shibden where she took a pint of our strong beer every day between dinner and tea (about 5 p.m.)
it might have been better accounted for; so much would have put me under the table — She declared she did not —
I said I had met Mrs. Cordingley one afternoon with the mug, and inquired, and she told me she MacDonald had had it full every afternoon since she (Mac
Donald) came that Cordingley had told her such was against the rules of the house — such a thing never done before — MacDonald declared
she could never do such a thing — then said she had not had it every day after prevaricating some time upon whether the vessel was a mug or a glass or how large
or how small I said long as I had known Mrs. Cordingley I had never known her guilty of falsehood, and I should certainly believe what she said — MacDonald
declared she had never asked for beer, but Mrs. Cordingley had given it her, why and she thought it was very odd and very foolish
in her to do so — and pray said I were you not foolish then to take it? she thought it was very odd that Mrs. Cordingley should make
mischief — had thought it very odd that so respectable a person as Mrs. Cordingley should one day when she asked her how I liked to have
my things packed — very odd that she should (I wondered in myself what was coming) say …. I liked them folded tight! why, said I, and so
I do — Mrs. Cordingley was right — MacDonald had intended to prove that Cordingley told a falsity in making me understand that Cordingley had said
I liked things bundled up as MacDonald had bundled up hers — In fact, the woman was at a loss for some accusation against Cordingley — I told
her it was in vain to accuse Cordingley of falsehood or anything else and I should not forget all this — Cordingley had no interest in saying she,
MacDonald, had had the beer every day, if it was not so — that what MacDonald said of it herself only made a bad worse, and the less she said the better and I bade
her leave the room — I am now persuaded MacDonald does not stick to truth, and I really begin to suspect she will drink too when she can —
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