| Description | [Diary Transcription]
130
1827
March
10 francs for a no. [number] of the quarterly review instead of 9 francs — from rue Richelieu along the rue neuve des petits Champs, galerie Colbert
past the bourse to the passage des panoramas — The same 1/2 bottle vinegar I bought at Chevet’s could have here at 1/50 —
Bought dates at 2/. a lb the larger sort 3/ a lb, and gave 2 francs for such a bottle of cornichons as I buy at
Bertrand’s
at 1/25 — Agreed to have all sorts sweetments, chinois etc. etc. at 3/ they asked me 4/, and offered 3/50
but I would give no more than 3/ — Then home — came in at 5 1/2 — Settled with George — Went down into the cellar to see put
into my cellar the 6 bottles Chablis the man brought this morning — Dinner at 6 1/4 — Did not leave the dining room
till 8 40/60 — then came to my room — wrote the last 12 lines and settled my accounts, made my bedroom ready for night —
all which took me till 9 3/4 — then went into the drawing room to my aunt, and came back to my room at 10 1/4 — o..- ~
Friday 9
6 25/60
11 20/60
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At my desk at 7 1/2 — from 7 35/60 to 11 1/2 wrote small and close (all but the few lines written last Monday week) 3 ppages and the ends, and a few
lines of crossing on page 2, and 2 or 3 on page 3 — Said how busy I had been at my accounts — pothered — Could not get them
to balance right — Could not find out the error — Should be a month before I had entirely done with them — Said she had taken
no notice of my taking an excursion with Mrs. Barlow as I had told her I would either do it, (or give up the thought of it
just as she wished); but I felt I wanted a rummage, for she knew not the anxiety I had had about her — I ought
to go somewhere — I could not go comfortably by myself, and had nobody to go with but ‘Mrs. Barlow and Jane whose necessary
inseparability, as far as I see, takes away all objection’ — said I had given all my vacant thoughts to her last
letter but one — on the subject of their coming here, said we could not be better situated than where we are, but though this
house is full, there others where we might 2 floors under the same roof, for it would as well suit me as her
for us to be at opposite ends of the town — but when it came to the point the squire might not like to leave
Lawton though I thought coming here might add many years to his life, and would renovate Mr. Charles Lawton — whose life did
not now seem worth much — but bade M- [Mariana] not think of all this at present § — Persuaded in my own mind
as much as she in hers that a year or 2 would bring forth much important business — My aunt [illegible]
not quite so well as a little while ago — but could still get about and saw this spring weather does not agree with her quite so well as autumn and winter — Said I often thought of what
Dr. Kenny had said — ‘that the effect of change of climate would be great, but it must wear off in time, and then the
complaint must return’— did not think her likely to be better than now — ‘then she cannot bear to travel’ — do not
fancy she will ever leave here, though constantly say I will return with her to Shibden whenever she likes — Perhaps if
there was any difficulty made about returning not of her own making she might feel less comfortably settled than
she does — Said I intended IN- [Isabella Norcliffe] to make the least possible difference — Would have no additional servants — breakfast and dinner
as at present — might have tea or coffee in an evening but no suppers — if any more wanted between breakfast and dinner
than what could be had when the servants dined at 1, she must go for it to a pastry cook — had now given up
having puddings, but had hot meat and generally cold, and 9 plats at dessert, (mentioned what we hoped to have yesterday
(chestnuts, candied lemon in sirup, almonds in the shell, dates, raisinet de Bourgogue, stewed
pruneauxs, raisins and biscuits) and the best wax candied in Paris at 4/ a lb ¬— would rather be comfortable
at the top of 82 steps, than comfortless at the top of 42 — I neither meant to visit nor be visited.
what therefore mattered it to me to mount upstairs so long as I had all I wanted at the end of my
ascent? Did not ruin myself in riotous living — Should have the most money by and by to take a lower down apartment, or
travel if desirable — will not visit till my circumstances are thoroughly changed — Meaning till π [Mariana]
is with me ~ Fancy Steph’s letter must have been put into the post office and not paid for; for I have not heard from him —
‘I cannot [illegible] help smiling about the picture — Mrs. William Belcombe seems so unaccustomed to be found in the wrong, she can
‘scarcely believe the thing possible — From such persons it is always useless and foolish to dissent — You must either
‘be disliked for being in the right, or despised for being in the wrong — For the purpose of charity to allow
‘her a comfortable hole to creep out at I told her we must mistake each other, — we must mean
[margin text:] § Said afterwards they might live here handsomely, very handsomely, and fo and to a watering
place for the summers for £3,000 a year —
Fahrenheit 46º at 7 1/2 a.m.
53º — 1 10/60 p.m.
48º — 6 25/60 —
45o — 10 1/4 —
soft, mild morning — it had lately rained
a mild shower between
5 and 6 p.m. — fine day
131
1827
March
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‘different pictures, and were both of us, doubtless, right — That I really did mistake her was next to impossible, she
‘too clearly explained at first the situation and composition of one of the most celebrated pictures in the gallery,
‘and to be had, of different sizes, in all the print shops, under the name of ‘La belle Jardinière’, so notorious,
‘that, I believe, it is not thought necessary to affix the name of Raphael to the print — That Mrs. William Belcombe should advise
‘this picture was natural, because every bondy body does admire it; but it was not savant [sensible] to give to
‘Murillo one of the chefs d’oeuvre [masterpeices] of Raphael! I urged in vain, that the gallery is arranged in schools,
‘and that no picture of Murillo’s could be where she described — But let it pass — Those who are foolishly
‘ashamed of being found in the wrong, are from the way of learning to be in the right — The wise would gladly
‘be wiser’ — Then mentioned my having gone to Breguet to make inquiries for her about his watches — vide
last Saturday page 125. Told her all he told me about the Duke of York’s 2 watches and told her the little watches of 4, 5, or 6 hundred francs were all made in Switzerland
and ‘only named, and regulated, and warranted by the vendors here’ — The lowest price for which Breguet would
make one was 1200/in this case he probably valued his name at 200/. as Perrelet (mentioned all I knew
about him) would make such an one, if I would give him a year to do it in, for 1000/ — More than 1/2 inclined
to have given him the order 6 weeks ago — bade M- [Mariana] think of all this, and tell me what she wished — but she
must not have a Swiss watch — bade her not put Miss Hinchcliffe out of love with the 20 guineas
watch she is to have from Breguet — ‘where ignorance is bliss’ ….. The English and the French who are not savants [knowledgeable]
still cry up Breguet (who has not inherited all the talent of his father) but Perrelet is considered the cleverest
horloger in Paris by those who are the best judges — Mentioned Government having lately employed him in a case
where they were anxious to have the cleverest man — recommended to Mrs. Barlow and me by Madame Galvani —
Began my letter by saying that, as she excused me sending the grand plan this week (I could send it, but should then have more time
for writing, and had much to say), she should have it by next Friday’s post with a few additions which might please
her (I meant marks shewing the position of my furniture), and a plan of the court shewing the back staircase —
promised to inquire about fashions of Madame Huchet, but said all the dresses one saw in the gardens ‘had 3
plaits on each side of the bosom, from the shoulder to the bottom of the middle of the waist, before both in front and behind’ —
This sentence, on the last end, shew the haste in which I wrote ‘on each side of the bosom’ ….. in front and
behind’! — promised the thermometal journal from last Friday fortnight in my next letter — Had done writing
my letter at 11 1/2 — read it over, and had got it sent off just at 11 5/60 — just in time for the little post — directed as the last to M- [Mariana] (Lawton) — Breakfast
at 12 and read the whole of the paper, and wrote the whole of this so far of today all which and writing the 5 lines [illegible] below took me till day by 2 1/2 —
Told M- [Mariana] no better example of darkness visible than a green drawing room if not well gilded and lighted — Should
have a large chandelier suspended from the top besides as many candelabra and girandoles as
modern taste requires — remember the room M- [Mariana] mentioned at the Elysée Bourbon green and lilac furniture
‘a sort of Boudoir’ — lilac too little relief for candle light? — Spring and summer rooms here
furnished with green — crimson (amaranthe) the favourite colour for the drawing room — Could not resist
reading over the 3 last papers of Tuesday Wednesday and yesterday. Mr. Canning’s famous motion on the corn laws, the debates
on it on it (Thursday 1 March), and the debates on the Catholic question this day week (Friday 2 March) — all this took
me from 2 1/2 to 4 10/60 — Mr. Canning’s motion admirable — the Catholic question will not be carried — and all this
talking will do little good — wrote the last 3 1/2 lines, and began to finish dressing at 4 1/4 — Went out at 4 55/60 — Down the
rue Richepanse and St. Florentin and the gardens — a slight shower for 1/4 hour — during which time walked under the arcades — then walked
in the gardens — returned by the place de Carrousel rue St. Florentin and Richepanse and got home at 6 20/60 — dinner at 6 1/2 — left the dining
room at 8 1/2 — and came to my own room — made my bedroom ready for bed, counted over my money — Went into the drawing room at at 9 25/60 —
Gave her 93 francs to pay MacDonald her 3rd quarter’s wages due tomorrow — Came back to my room at 10 1/4 — o.. —
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