| Description | [Diary Transcription]
136
1827
March
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general summary book all except the totals — Went out at 4 50/60 — Walked 1/2 hour in the gardens and about as
long under the arcades and got to Mrs. Barlow’s at 5 50/60 — Sat 3/4 hour there got home at 6 40/60 — Dinner at 6 3/4 — Came
to my room at 8 50/60 — wrote out the washing bills — made ready my bedroom — Mrs. Barlow and Jane had called on Madame
Droz this morning — mentioned our going to Switzerland — they say we cannot go to Chamouni in September therefore had best
go to Geneva 1st — Madame Droz inquired much after me — had been ill — confined to the house and did not know my
present address or would have called — Went into the drawing room at 9 25/60 — lay dozing on the sofa — Came to my room at
10 10/60 —
Monday 19
7 1/4
11 35/60
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L
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Incurred the cross thinking of Mrs Barlow as I always do as a mistress — My bowels tolerable — The washer woman came at
7 40/60 — Dressed and went to her in 5 minutes — Settled with her and at my desk at 8 10/60 — At my general summary book from
8 25/60 to 10 40/60 — (1/2 hour writing out the heads of the columns for this present 1/2 year — 3/4 hour adding up and writing
out the totals of the 2 first ppages of last 1/2 year) — breakfast at 10 40/60 — From 11 10/60 to 11 55/60 read the paper — From
12 to 3 and 1/2 hour of the time before breakfast, writing out adding up and completing the 2 last ppages of the summary of last 1/2 year, and the 11
weeks of this 1/2 year up to last Saturday — I am heartily glad to have got this done — I shall get through with the
arrangement of my accounts by and by — George brought in a letter from Miss Fletcher (Betley-court, Newcastle
Staffordshire) at 9 1/2 — I am just going to read it now at 3 1/4 — 3 ppages and 1 end — mentions her letter lying in
the post office here — it will prove her not ungrateful for my kind letter of October last — begs to hear
occasionally of the progress my aunt makes in recovery — Will not give up the hope of seeing her again - ……..
There is no being off writing to her now and then — Well ! Be it so — As M- [Mariana] observes, her perseverence - No! ‘her
constancy somewhat subdues me’ — I will write — everything is for the best — I know not what good
may not be in this — finished dressing — Went out at 4 40/60 — direct to my shoemaker rue des Capucines —
ordered another pair larger than the last broader at the bottom of the foot (these give me the cramp) and paid for the 2 last pair — The next pair
to come on Monday morning — Thence to Amyot’s (rue de la Paix) — bought Mrs. Starke’s directions to travellers 2 volumes 12 mo [duodecimo] printed
at Leghorn — When I was there before price 12/ and to have the work for 11/ — This time offered 10/ and got it for that price — Looked at
Reichard’s Guide through France — to call again, and look at another work they will get for me to see — Then along the
boulevard to the passage des panoramas — to the great comestible shop — Had agreed to have all sorts of sweetmeats at 3/
a lb — They wanted 4/, 3/50 and 3/25 at least for apricots — Said it was an agreement, and so came away and left the apricots
weighed out for me — called chez Felix — ate 2 little things one of them of almond paste, and brought home 4 meringues, and came in
at 6 1/4 — Dinner at 6 35/60 — left the dining room at 8 3/4 — wrote the last 6 1/2 lines — settled with George and settled my accounts, and
went into the drawing room at 9 20/60 — read from page 34. to 62 (end of the history of Venice), volume 10 Anquetil’s abridgement of universal history — Came to my room
at 10 1/4 — looking over Mrs Starke till 10 1/2 —
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 36º at 8 10/60
39º at noon
37º at 10 1/4 p.m.
Fine morning frost the streets apparently
frozen clear — fine day — coldish —
Tuesday 20
6 55/60
12 1/2
My bowels very indifferent — 1/2 hour looking over Mrs. Starke — then washed — At my desk at 8 1/4 — From 8 20/60 to 10 50/60
at my general summary book — ruling the 4 ppages ready for next 1/2 year took me 1 3/4 hour, and writing out the heads of the columns, and the
columns of nos [numbers] of weeks took me 40/60 hour, so that I cannot prepare the 4 ppages for each 1/2 yearly summary under 2 25/60 hours —
Breakfast at 10 55/60 — That and reading the paper took me till 12 1/4 — from then till 1 stood reading from page 45 to 61 volume 1 Mrs. Starke —
then finished dressing and went out at 1 50/60 — direct to Mrs. Barlow’s — waited there 20 minutes and then Mrs. Barlow and Jane and I
set off to get tickets to see Talma’s — Stopt at a shop in the rue de la paix — then to rue du Faubourg Montmartre
No.[Number] 10, for tickets — No more to be given — The house to be sold today according to Galignani — but we might see it from
12 to 4 without tickets — Went in search of it rue de la tour des Dames no.[number] 9 — a long while in finding it —
When we got there could not be admitted though it was only 4 35/60 — it began to rain a little — took a fiacre — got home
to Mrs. Barlow’s at 4 — My new shoes hurt me — could not walk any more — lay down on Mrs. Barlow’s sofa — Note came from
Mr. De Lisle to Mrs. Barlow enclosing a ticket of admission to Talma’s house, advising to go between 11 and 1 tomorrow, as the crowd
would not then be so great as afterwards — The house to be sold on Thursday — If fine tomorrow Mrs. Barlow will call on me to go —
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 38º at 7 1/2 a.m.
52º at noon
39 1/2º at 11 1/2 p.m.
fine frosty morning —
afterwards warmish and thickish
a few drops of rain about 4 p.m. and
afterwards — fair when I returned home —
137
1827
March
At five Mrs Barlow and I went to bed I confess it was my own doing and lay till six right middle finger up almost all the
time she was much gratified three or four excitations and dawdling and playing with her except about ten minutes
I pretended to be asleep — Got home at 6 25/60 — Dinner at 6 1/2 — came to my room at 8 35/60 — wrote the last 10 1/2 lines —
Settled with George and my accounts — prepared my bedroom cut open the ppages of volume 1. Mrs. Starke and went into the drawing room at 9 1/2 — my aunt called this afternoonoon on Madame Senè —
read from page 63. to 83. Anquetil volume 10 histoire de Toscane, and came to my room at 10 10/60 —
Wednesday 21
7 3/4
11 25/60
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Just before getting into bed last night took 2 teaspoons of magnesia in the juice of 1/2 a lemon with a little water as before time —
One good motion this morning on getting out of bed lay so long meaning to lie till I felt my bowels mov
ed ~ Dressed and finished dressing; and sat at my desk at 9 1/4 — Then wrote the copy of a note to Bishop Luscombe ~
Breakfast at 10 1/4 — read a part of the paper — Mrs. and Miss Barlow came at 11 20/60 to go with me to see Talma’s house (rue de
la Tour des Dames No.[Number] 9.) — off at 11 35/60 — got there about 12 — 1 3/4 hour there — A great many people there —
Glad to have gone — the costumes belonging to all the different characters he had played, exhibited in one of the
rooms on an inclined plain from the top to midway and bottom of the room — A curious old head of Shakespeare
on an old oak panel curiously charged with inscriptions in black letters carved on the wood — and panel
being fixed in a gilt picture frame — Whole length print of Napoleon walking in the grounds at
Malmaison, and of ‘the celebrated marshal Ney’ taken 6 hours after his death from the body then lying in the
hôspital de maternité — the house not large but convenient — cellars, a communication through them to
the garden — Raised rez de chaussée, premier and kitchen — having an outside staircase to the court, and
rooms above for servants — The house handsomely furnished — every place hung with pictures or prints — The
drawing room walls covered with dark blue cloth (full of nails which whence pictures had been removed — there could
not have been much wall left bare) with a deep gold border, and the furniture white silk with a deep gold embroidered
border like that on the walls — 1 3/4 hour there — A little light rain as we returned — Got to Mrs. Barlow’s at 1 3/4 — Mrs.
Foster and the Miss Eliots had left their card — Mrs. Barlow and I sat in her room — Madame Galvani came to Jane at 2 — Mrs Barlow and
I sat till we began playing then took her on my knee right middle finger up and grubbled her well
two or three excitement had previously talked of π [Mariana] gently owned my attachment to her said if she
could have guessed how matters were going on at Place Vendome and the sort of person meaning
respectable Mrs Barlow was she would have written to warn her against attaching herself to me
said she had always behaved well I had wished to fancy I did not like her but it was not true my
attachment had in fact never ceased said the person whose conduct had annoyed me most was
her mother we had had a rowe and mutually hoped never to see each other again Mrs Barlow said a baronet whose
wife was ill and dying had desired her father to tell her he the baronet begged her not to marr
y but wait for he had always wished to marry her her father told her aunt who told Mrs Barlow who said
she would not marry a man who asked her when his wife was dying she said she was my wife in
her own idea she shed a few tears to think that I loved two but yet she behaved well it began
by my asking if our going to Switzerland would do good if it would not attach her more
no that was impossible no further harm could be done but I might be off if I liked or she would
go to England with me next summer instead I said if anything happened to my aunt I should
go to Edinburgh perhaps but would go to London to have her and Jane with me for three or four mon
ths for the latter to be introduced by Lady Ouseley I could do it very well for a thousand pounds and cou
ld well enough manage this ~ At 5 1/4 Mrs. Barlow and I went out again — to rue de l’Echelle to order about my gayter
straps being made larger — thence to the palais royal — told Nalin to come and cut my hair tomorrow — Went to Barthellemot’s
they ask 5/ a lb. for their sweetmeats, and would only come down to 4/50 a lb — bought a box of pressed apricots — Thence to
Bertrand’s bought marmelade d’abricots and spanish nuts, parted with Mrs. Barlow at her own gate, and got home at 6 40/60 —
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 49° at 7 3/4 a.m.
50º at 8 35/60 p.m.
49º 1/2 at 10 10/60 —
finish morning soft and not
unlikely for rain by and by towards
noon — a little light rain between
2 and 3 p.m. afterwards fair —
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