| Description | [Diary Transcription]
116
1827
February
+§
‘les maisons’ — True, if, as they say, all French servants are thieves — But the climate is delightful — we have
‘everything in the world we want — we have made ourselves at home, and are really very comfortable — I wish you could come,
‘and see…..Believe me, my regard for old friends cannot die away; and absence will be the last enemy that pervails against it —
‘my heart is in its old place, and will not budge for time and distance — Trust me, I am no forgetter of my friends
‘and am, and always shall be very truly and affectionally yours AL- [Anne Lister]’ From 5 1/2 to dinner danced about a little — washed my hands —
Sat musing — Dinner at 6 5/60 — in the drawing room at 8 — slept — came to my room at 9 40/60 — 1/2 hour over the washing bills —
then wrote the last 22 1/2 lines of the last page and so far of this which took till 10 50/60 — very fine day — hard frost —
Sat ten minutes on the pot and had a little motion ~ I think the raisinet de Bourgogne does my bowels good —
Monday 19
7 50/60
11 35/60
§
L L
my bowels pretty well — the washerwoman came at 8 20/60 — settled with her — Told her, mon amie [my friend] (Mrs. Barlow) had said I should pay 4sols for
the dining room table cloth and 3sols for the kitchen one, instead of 6sols and 4sols and that I had so charged this week — the woman
said nothing against it — yet, after all, our washing is the cheapest thing we have — finished dressing — At my desk at 9 1/2 —
dawdled over my accounts till 10 1/2 — then breakfast folded and sent off my letters at 11 35/60 (vide yesterday) to William Duffin Esquire,
Micklegate, York, Angleterre [England], port payé ‘and to’ Mrs. James Dalton Croft Rectory Darlington, Durham,
Angleterre [England], port payé’ — and read the paper all which took me till 12 20/60 — then turned to my general account
book of last year — Sent to Madame Sené about about my buchet window partially boarded up before putting in the wood this morning —
Madame Sené came about 2 — went to her in the drawing room and staid talking to her considerably above an hour — she read aloud a
few lines of this morning’s paper to me for me to comment on her English pronunciation — came back to my
room at 3 50/60 — at my general account book of last year again — all the while adding up the different monthly summaries of the whole
(these done on a loose sheet of paper some time ago); and a little error somewhere kept me all this time — the contents
in expenses of the whole book amount to £3049.11.0 1/2 — I must really get these accounts done with — wrote the last 6
lines, and had just done them at 4 1/2 — sent George this morning with M-’s [Mariana] night cap and blonde, to Mrs. Barlow to be
packed up with the things going to lady Ouseley — went out at 4 55/60 — to the shoemaker’s rue des Capucines
to hurry them in soling my boots — to No. [Number] 11, rue de la Paix about my Summary book — to have it on Thursday morning —
to our Crêmier cul de Sac Monthabor No. [Number] 8, to say we had even now too much milk at 5 sols a day,
that we wanted so little we would get it off the person who furnished the house — thence to our butcher (Rolland)
bought beef and mutton and as it had rained a little when I went out and was now raining rather more, hastened home, and
came in at 5 40/60 — settled my accounts — wrote the last 6 lines — Dinner at 6 20/60 — in the drawing room at
8 20/60 — slept on the sofa all the evening till 10 1/4 and then came to my room immediately — more snow on the ground than
we have ever had yet — snowy morning till near noon — then fine for 2 or 3 hours, and rain at 5 and afterwards —
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 24° at 8 a.m. Snowy.
31° at 12 1/4 p.m. fair.
33° at 6 1/4 p.m. raining at 5 p.m.
33° — 10 1/4 — fair —
Tuesday 20
7 40/60
11 1/4
Finished dressing — at my desk at 9 — breakfast at 10 20/60 — before and after all the while till 12 35/60 at my private
account of last — making 2 entries from my general book — altering accordingly the adding up of my private book, and readded- up the whole
of it both for last year and this — from 12 35/60 to 1 25/60 read the paper — the debates on the emigration question very interesting —
went out at 1 40/60 — talked to my aunt a minute or 2, and then direct to Mrs. Barlow got there at 1 50/60 she would not walk, so set off
by myself at 2 5/60 — went to the Tuileries gardens — Took 4 turns up and down the terrasse d’eau and got back again to Mrs. Barlow at 2 10/60
sat with her and Jane in the drawing room Till near five Mrs. Barlow and I then went to her bed for an hour right middle finger up a long
while and three finger kisses she had said something about my having horns ssaid I could not have any why because
I was not married she took this up and was grave and cried a little but my taking her off to bed consoled ~ just
before coming away mentioned to Mrs. Barlow and Jane going to Geneva for 3 or 4 weeks next summer — This excursion to be thought of —
got home at 6 20/60 — dinner immediately In the drawing room at 8 1/2 — wrote the last 7 lines — foggy day — decided thaw — the
streets and everywhere very dirty, even the gardens — Went to my room at wrote out from 21 to 30 January of the index, and went
to my room at 10 —
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 37 1/2° at 8 a.m. foggy
41° at noon
44° at 1 40/60 p.m.
39° — 8 1/4 —
37° — 10 —
117
1827
February Wednesday 21
6 3/4
12
§
My bowels pretty well — Went out at 8 1/2 — along the boulevards to beyond the rue du Helder till finding it
too dirty to walk in comfort turned back, down the rue de la paix to the Tuileries gardens — en passant stopt rue Castiglione No. [Number]
and bought ‘Astrononomie enseignée en 22 Leçons [Astronomy Taught in 22 Lessons], ou les merveilles des cieux expliquées sans
le secours des mathématiques; [or the wonders of the heavens explained without the aid of mathematics] ouvrage traduit de l’anglais sur la
13me [treozième] edition [work translated from English on the thirteenth edition]; Par M.C. ancien élève de Delambre 5me [cinquième] edition [ By M.C. former pupil of Delambre fifth edition, revue
corrigée et augmentée d’observations extraites des meilleurs traités d’
astronomie qui out pare jusqu’ à ce jour [corrected and augmented review of observations extracted from the best astronomical treatises which have been published to date]. Les cieux racontent la
gloire de Dieu. Pascal. [The heavens declare the glory of God. Pascal.] Paris, Audin, Quai des Augustins, No. [Numéro] 25.
Urbain Canel, rue St. Germain-des-Pres, No. [Number] 9 Ponthieu, Palais Royal Lecointe
et Dusey, Quai des Augustins, No. [Number]49 Béchet, Même Quai, No. [Number] 57. 1827.’
‘Paris. Imprimerie de Decourchaut, Rue d’Erfurth, No. [Number] 1 près l’Abbaye’
1 Tome 8vo. [octavo] ppages 508.
Walked up and down the Grande avenue of the gardens reading an hour, and got home at 10 5/60 — breakfast at 10 40/60 —
before and after till 11 1/2 read the paper — then wrote the above of today which took me till 11 50/60 — from then to 2 1/2
read over again the 1st from 39 to 66. and then from 66 to 78 of the above work — Madame Galvani came at 2 1/2 and staid till
3 40/60 — from then to 5 3/4, read from page78. to 115. of the same — I have always known too little about astronomy — perhaps I shall
pick up all I want for the present from this book — At last I have just got from Wallerand no. [number]11 rue de la paix
the book for my weekly summaries that I ordered before xmas [Christmas] — the book is larger than necessary 131 ruled leaves and 1 blank leaf —
i.e. 260 ruled ppages which, wanting 8 ppages per year, will last 260/8 years or 32 1/2 years — I may not live 1/2 the time!
those who come after me may fill up the blank, I question that they will find out a better method than mine —
wrote the last 5 lines — settled my accounts — dinner at 6 10/60 — just before we left the dining room Madame Sené came to
ask my aunt if she would go and hear a little music — my aunt returned with Madame Sené at 8 — I excused myself and came to my room
Got my rule and pencil, and began measuring for a a ground plan of our apartment for M- [Mariana] partially laid it down, and busy at it
till 10 35/60 — then began to prepare for bed — In the midst of my measuring about 8 1/2 the Tailor himself Mrs.
Barlow’s landlord came and brought his bill as I had desired for George’s 2 suits of livery — paid him 298 francs about the same it would have been at H-x [Halifax] — [illegible] fine soft day — the streets and everywhere very dirty — wrote the last 5 lines — which took me till 10 3/4 — o.. ~
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 36° at 7 1/2 a.m. fine and mild.
36° — 8 —
41 1/2° — noon.
37° — 6 p.m.
34° — 10 3/4 —
Thursday 22
7 50/60
11 50/60
x
Incurred the cross thinking of Mrs. Barlow not that I love the less or think the less of π [Mariana] but the thought [of] Mrs. Barlow is exciting in in the grosser
way ~ my bowels pretty well — At my desk about 9 1/2 — had had the chaudronnier from rue Duphot up about tinning the brass chaudron —
it never having been tinned the Senés preferred giving us another instead of it, that had — the tinning to be 1/. the tinning
of all lesser things casseroles etc. always 0/50 la pièce — from about 9 1/2 to 10 3/4 at the ground plan (begun last night) for
M- [Mariana] breakfast at 10 3/4 — at my desk again at 11 1/4 — wrote the above of today — read the paper all which took me till 12 5/60
from then to 3 10/60 wrote 2 1/2 ppages small and close to M- [Mariana] — went out at 4 — down the rue des Capucines to pay for my boots — thence
through the Place Vendôme (the Gardens shut) Place du Carrousel, Palais of the Louvre past St. Germain l’auxerrois to the rue de
l’arbre sec No. [Number] 54 to buy wax candles — on getting there it began to snow — returned nearly the same way I came but went direct to Mrs. Barlow
and got there at 5 1/4 — sat with Mrs. Barlow and Jane till after 6, and got home at 6 10/60 — Talked of going to Geneva as if it was a
fixed thing Jane all agog and delighted Talk of going Monday 4 June next — Dinner at 6 20/60 — left the dining room at
8 1/4 — wrote the last 4 1/2 lines in my own room then went to the drawing room — Slept almost all the time till 9 55/60 and then came to
my room – fine day though dark clouds hovering about fine day till after 4 then a shower of frozen snow or a sort of hail —
fine again at 6 when I came home — o.. Sat up looking over the map of Switzerland 25 minutes and settled my accounts —
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 34° at 8 a.m. fine, rather frosty.
38° at noon
32° at 10 p.m.
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