| Description | [Diary Transcription]
132
1827
March Saturday 10
6 5/60
11 1/2
+
§
§§
§§
At my desk at 7 1/4 Quarter hour on the pot to little purpose ~ From 7 1/4 to 10 3/4 at my accounts — Breakfast at
10 3/4 this and reading the papers (the Catholic question brought forward by Sir Francis Burdett’s motion — He makes a long
and temperate speech in behalf of emancipation) took me till 12 1/2 — Then at my accounts again till 1 3/4 — At last
I have found out the source of my error in the balance of last year which so puzzled me [illegible] on
Thursday after fancying I had done so well on Tuesday — and vide Wednesday page 128 — Could not account for having between 9 and 10 pounds too much — It fidgeted me terribly on Thursday — Yesterday I wrote to
M- [Mariana] and rested on the subject of accounts — this morning on looking over my books of receipts of French money in 1824 and
1825 found I ought to have had a balance of French money left of 536 francs 25 cents — It occurred to me I set down
nothing for the produce of the sale of this money — but I could not have so large a surplus this would have produced much
more than the about 9.10.0 now and on Thursday the sum I wanted on Wednesday — (vide line 8 of Wednesday last) I soon found was nearly set right by
entering (whence I had omitted to do) the £5 given me by my uncle for Cordingley August 1824 — Still there remained
£4 odd — On examination found I had put down nothing in April 1825 for what I paid to Mrs. Barlow for
my share of living expenses from 15 January to 31 March 1825 — This as it were set me right — This probably
(I will inquire today of Mrs. Barlow) took all my 536 francs 25 cents but what might sell for £4.10.0
and if so my present xmas [Christmas] balance of cash in Rawson’s bank (I have such bad ink I can scarcely write)
246.18.1 and cash in hand (including one sovereign left in my drawer at home) 28.12.8 1/2 is quite
right — Surely I may now hope less deceitfully than on Wednesday (vide line 11) that I do really stand
on my legs again — It is a great relief to me — I cannot bear to have a thing wrong — I never cease pothering
till I get it right, be the time and trouble it takes what they may — I hunted over my journal of April
1825 in vain for some observation on the sum of the French money I had remaining, and what were my average expenses with Mrs Barlow — My head was then full of other things, and my journal never more meagre in some respects than now —
Wrote the above of today which took me from 1 1/2 to 2 1/4 — now I will put away my things finish dressing, and go out —
Mrs. Barlow will expect me — I told her on Tuesday and Wednesday I would call on her today — She promised to be ready to
walk — Oh! that I had written to Miss MacLean and sent off the grand plan to M- [Mariana]! Went out at 3 20/60 —
It had just begun to rain a little — Went to the arcades — walked up and down there above an hour then to the Tuileries clock,
thence to Mrs. Barlow’s and got there at 5 — Staid a few minutes — then Mrs. Barlow went with me to the gardens — took a turn on the
terrasse d’eau, and got to Mrs. Barlow’s at 6 10/60 — Went upstairs for a minute or 2 — Mrs. Barlow walked back with
me to our own gate and then returned — Came in at 6 1/2 — Dinner at 6 35/60 — Left the dining room at 8 1/2 — When at
Mrs. Barlow’s just took a peep at our joint housekeeping account while I was with her in 1825 from Saturday 15 January to
31 March — I think the sum was 921/95 of which I paid 1/2, and besides left with her about 20 francs to pay for the Confiseur
moderne, a small edition of the Nouvelle Heloise, and Olivet’s traité sur la prosodie Française that I wished
her to get and send along with my other books — wrote the last 7 1/2 lines — settled with George — and went into the drawing room at 9 5/60 —
looking over Ebel’s Swiss Guide — Came to my room at 10 1/4 o..- ~ Ten minutes on the pot and did a little ~
[margin text:] vide line 16
of the next page
Fahrenheit 44º at 7 1/4 a.m.
47º at noon
42º at 10 1/4 p.m.
fine mild morning
a gentle shower from 3 to
4 1/2 p.m. then fair —
dark and no sun
all the day —
Sunday 11
6 35/60
11 35/60
Vc
At my desk at 7 40/60 — from 7 50/60 to 11, wrote 3 ppages and 2 lines on one end to Miss MacLean, widish — wrote the latter part (the last page)
very quickly — The 1st and 2nd ppages I stopt to muse over — sufficiently strongly letter kindly written —
I shall keep a copy of it ~ Breakfast at 11 — Sent the things away at 11 1/2, then the above of today, and finished
dressing — Went into prayers at 12 20/60 — reading them and sermon 15 Bishop Sandford took me till 1 1/4 — then sat
talking 1/2 hour to my aunt and came to my room at 1 3/4 — Copied my letter to Miss MacLean which took me fifty minutes
till two and thirty five minutes ~ At 3 went with my aunt to call on the Senés Madame Sené being unwell
and confined to the house — Sat there about 3/4 an hour with Monsieur and Madame Sené and the 2 girls — all very civil — asked if they knew
of a good history of Switzerland — they would inquire and lent me a volume of Anquetil’s universal history containing what
he says of Switzerland — From the Senés, left my aunt just within our own door, and went direct to Mrs. Barlow Got there at 3 50/60 — She and I
went out at 4 to the gardens — walked up and down the terrasse d’eau — a drop or 2 of rain rather hurried us home — Got to
Mrs. Barlow’s at 5 50/60 — Staid there till 6 20/60 — Got home in 5 minutes — Dinner at 6 1/2 — Left the dining room at 8 1/2 — Wrote the last
5 1/2 lines — Wrote out the washing bills and went into the drawing room at 8 20/60 — Read from page 231. to 255. Anquetil Précis de l’
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 47º at 7 40/60 a.m.
57º 1/2 at noon
55º — 6 1/2 p.m.
54º — at 10 1/2 —
fine, mild, spring morning, as yesterday
slight shower between 2 and 3. Another
drop or 2 near 6 then fair the rest of the evening —
fine spring day — fine moonlight night
133
1827
March
histoire universelle’ volume 10, 12 mo [duodecimo] — and came to my room at 10 20/60 —
Monday 12
6 1/2
11 40/60
§§
L
At my desk at 7 1/2 — from then to 10 25/60 (at which hour breakfast) at my cash account of French money for last year
from 10 25/60 breakfasted and read the whole of the paper and the 1/2 sheet of supplement very interesting debates on the Catholic
question — Sir Francis Burdett’s motion for bringing in a bill for emancipation lost by a majority of only four —
the master of the rolls the chief speaker (a very long speech) against the motion — Mr. Plunkett replied at great length
and excellently, in favour of the motion — Mr. Plunkett’s speech deserves a 2nd reading — wrote the above of today
all but the first line — At my accounts again at 12 55/60 — from then to 4 10/60 at this cash account of last
year — worse than ever — I believe I shall make myself ill about it about it before I have done it — it fidgets me
terribly — On further investigation of my French account of last year, I see from a memorandum made at Boulogne
9 October, I bought £8.15.0 of M- [Mariana] which, with money given me by my aunt and George at Brighton
that I paid them afterwards in French money, to be added to my receipts of last year so swells the sum, that,
instead of having as before too much, I have now, or had on the 8 January last, (according to the balance
left in the bank, as per account 31 December 1826 and 8 January 1827) £33.0.5 too little! There
is some error somewhere — I am positive I have not lost this sum, nor made any material
omission, if any at all, in noting down my expenses — I cannot understand — vide line 17 of Saturday —
how vain the hope! The case seems hopeless — I must despair of making up my books without the
item ‘Lost or unaccounted for’ — I will give it up — and try to manage better in future — I never
knew how to keep my accounts before — commissions, and exchanges from 1 month to another confused
me — I knew not how to keep Ledger cash book and day book — Let everyone study, or
sufficiently understand merchants’ accounts in early life — There is no other way of stating our
affairs clearly and concisely — writing fourteen lines and putting by my things took me from 4 10/60 to 4 35/60
then finished dressing — Went out at 5 20/60 — down the rue des Capucines to my shoemaker there to desire him
to send home my shoes that were to have come on Friday — Then to no. [number] 11 rue de la paix, ordered a cash book and an 8vo [octavo] blank book for my journals
book in Switzerland should Mrs. Barlow and I and Jane go there this summer — Then got a box of ‘salts of lemon’ to take out ink spots
then went to Schey rue l’Echelle to inquire why my gayters did not come yesterday morning — Just went into the gardens — then returned along the rue neuve du Luxembourg — Went to Rolland the butcher to say I was not satisfied with the last beef the shop
sent up — then got home along the rue Duphot at 6 25/60 — dinner at 6 1/2 — Came to my room at 8 40/60 — wrote the last
6 lines and settled the accounts of the day — made ready my bedroom as usual; and went into the drawing room at 9 25/60
Sent my letter at 11 40/60 this morning to ‘Miss Maclean of Coll Tobermory N.B. [North Britain], Ecosse, Post payé’ — In the
drawing room and partly afterwards read from page 255 to 287 Antiquils abridgement of the history of Switzerland — Came to my room at
10 20/60 — reading 1/4 hour — then prepared for bed — o… — It was my cousin that was come not my old complain
t as I fancied sat ten minutes on the pot did a little button or two ~
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 54° at 7 1/2 a.m.
55º — 8 —
57º at noon
54º at 6 1/2 p.m.
51º at 10 1/2 —
fine mild spring morning windy towards
noon — fine day — very fine evening —
very fine moonlight night —
Tuesday 13
6 40/60
11 3/4
My bowels put well this morning — At my desk at 7 55/60 — from then to 10 1/4 at my accounts or rather hunting over
my journal of last year to see if I could make out the history of the £200 I put into the bank of my father’s, in my own
name November 12, 1825. — I now make out that I have £43.0.3 3/4 (an error of £10 in adding up yesterday — too little —
vide November 12 and 15, and December 16, 1825, and 9 and 12 January 1826 — I must think more about it — What a pity that my
journal, so minuteley particular in general, should not throw much light on this matter! — wrote the above of today —
breakfast at 10 20/60 — At all rates, I am less fidgetted, and more composed about this difficulty in my accounts than I have been
before — I am quite positive I have neither lost nor omitted to set down when paid any such sum as £43.0.3 3/4.
from 10 20/60 to 12 40/60 breakfast and read the whole of the paper the debates on the Catholic question very interesting Mr.
Peel’s the best speech made against emancipation Mr Canning’s (for it) the best speech made on either side —
at 12 40/60 took the paper to my aunt — read her several passages aloud then mentioned how that I thought the error in my accounts
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 53° at 8 a.m.
56o at noon.
53o at 10 20/60 p.m.
fine growing spring morning — a little damp
and small rain — fine spring day - no
sun — A little gentle rain between 5 and 6 p.m.
fine moonlight night — windy -
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