| Description | [Diary Transcription]
164
1827
April Monday 23
6 1/2
11 35/60
§
N
+
The magnesia did well at my desk at 7 40/60 — the washer woman came at 8 — 10 minutes settling this matter —
from 7 40/60 to 11 10/60 (except the 10 minutes interrupted by the washer woman, and 20 minutes more settling the account and looking to see what
quantity and what to pay for dried onions) writing out the index to my ledger (the rough draft partially made out before) and
musing over my cash account, how to explain there my references to this book and that (to explain my present plan), and how to
enter what I have paid to Hammersley for postage etc. and passport — I have made up my mind how to do this, and
shall do it after breakfast — wrote the last 4 lines — breakfast at 11 1/4 — breakfast and reading the paper (did not read quite all of it)
till 12 20/60 — from 12 25/60 to 2 1/4 made up my cashbook according to determination before breakfast, and covered with strong
double whity brown paper my foreign cashbook, Travelling Daybook, Ledger, and a thin 8vo [octavo] black book originally meant for
Swiss Journal covering these books took a good deal of time — from 2 20/60 to 3 20/60 finished — dressing — a long while over
my hair, brushing it a little — Mrs. Barlow came at 3 20/60 and sat with me till 5 1/2 then went to my aunt for a few minutes
and we went out at 5 40/60 Soon had her on my sofa and right middle finger up quizzed her about
her countenance falling on Wednesday when I told her about going to Madame Galvani she owned she deserved it
took all in good part said she had made herself ill about it but it was very foolish she is now rational enough I te
ll her she is improved and we have been getting on very well together — Note, about 2, from bishop Luscombe as chairman
of the committee ‘in behalf of the British Charitable Fund’ acknowledging the receipt of the 20/. — dated
‘Committee Room, rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré No. [number] 12’ — wrote the last 6 1/2 lines — Mrs. Barlow and I walked direct to the barrière de l’
Etoile, and took a turn or 2 up and down the Champs Elysées — parted with Mrs. Barlow at my own door, and came in at 7 20/60 —
Dinner at 7 1/2 — came to my room at 8 3/4 — prepared my bedroom — settled with George and my accounts and went into the drawing room at
9 20/60 — read (partially aloud to my aunt) the 1st xviii ppages Introduction to Galignani’s Traveller’s Guide through France — came to my room at
10 1/4 o.. ate 3 oranges —
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 38° at 7 1/2 a.m.
41° at 2 1/4 p.m.
42° at 7 20/60 —
40 1/2° at 10 1/4 —
rainy morning
fair and tolerably fine in the afternoon
from about 12 — wet, raining a little
now at 10 1/4 p.m.
Tuesday 24
6 25/60
12 20/60
§
§§
Vc
my bowels all wrong — Quarter hour on the pot in vain at my desk at 7 35/60 from then to 11 25/60 (breakfast and read the
paper from 11 25/60 to 12 1/2) and from 12 1/2 to 1 3/4 at my accounts — musing over my private summary — among all the commissions
done in 1825, could not tell at once what I had really spent on my own account — nor can I can easily tell
in future my cashbook involving Mariana Percy Lawton’s account, J Lister’s account etc. — planning a little synopsis to be
entered in my private summary that will shew at a glance what I have received and paid on my own account, and the real
state of my affairs (every farthing I owe or have owing) at the end of each year — did the years 1823, 4 and 5 — Doing the year 1825 took me
a very long while — a little foolish mistake of a penny hindered me 1/2 hour at least — wrote the above of today and had
just done it at 2 — from 2 1/4 to 2 50/60 finished dressing — went out at 2 55/60 — direct to Mrs. Barlow’s — Miss Gauntlet —
went out with them to choose costumes (very good, 5 sols a piece) on the boulevards — thence to Hotel du Bouloy for Miss
Gauntlet’s shawl French cashmire, at 230/. — Madame de Rosny (whom I had ignorantly passed on Mrs. Barlow’s stairs)
thought it not cashmire — took to Terneau (close to the place des Victoires) — yes! cashmere — good — Lagorce professed
not to sell by retail — Terneau astonished at his doing so — Mrs. Barlow shewed the bill — ought not — thence to Miss Gauntlet’s
again Hotel du Bouloy — staid with her till about 5 1/2 — She starts from No. [number] 24 rue du Bouloy at 8 a.m. tomorrow — is
to reach Calais at 8 p.m. on Thursday — sleep there — cross to Dover on Friday about 11 a.m., and get to London at 6 a.m. on Saturday —
pays 84 francs from here to London — she will with pleasure (asked her) do anything for me in London — send me
books etc. — Mrs. Barlow and I walked slowly along the rue Saint Honore to (close to the corner of rue de l’Echelle) No. [number] 279 (Morin)
where I bought good figs at 1/. a lb. and raisins at 0/80 a lb. as good as George paid Bertrand 1/10 a lb. for this morning —
large bottle vinaigre à la ravigotte à 1/50. Bocal d’anchois (much larger than I got at Bertrand’s the other day) the same price
(at 2/.) — along the passage de Louvre and the Arcades home — parted with Mrs. Barlow opposite to our own house, and came in at 6 1/4 — dawdling over 1 thing or other — dinner
at 7 — came to my room at 8 35/60 — wrote the last 11 1/2 lines — settled with George and my accounts — prepared my bed room — went into
the drawing room at 9 20/60 — read a few ppages Galignani’s guide through France — Madame Sené came at 9 50/60, and staid till 11 — I wonder
she did not guess we had rather she had staid away — soon got upon the subject of religion — too little inclined for her company to talk of any
thing less piquant — baited a little — foolish enough — I will let her alone in future — leave her quietly to her bigotry — staid talking to my
aunt 1/4 hour — came to my room at 11 1/4 — o. made and took a glass of lemonade (warm — 1/2 a lemon) just before getting into bed —
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 45° at 7 1/2 a.m.
51° at noon
49° at 7 p.m.
43° at 11 20/60 —
fine morning — cold — beginning
to rain a little at 3 p.m. afterwards
showery — took shelter in returning from
Miss Gauntlet’s — damp evening —
fine at 11 20/60 p.m. —
165
1827
April Wednesday 25
9
11 50/60
x
§§
§§
+
+
Gently incurred the cross thinking of π [Mariana] very good motion but darkish my bowels right enough — at my desk at 9 55/60 — from 10
to 11 1/4 read the paper — Lord Granville expected here tomorrow or Friday to take leave, and present his letters of recall, being about to be our
minister for foreign affairs — the Camilla steamer sails from Havre de Grace for Southampton and Ireland every Friday till June,
then twice a week — fare to Southampton 2.2.0 — a boat meets her off Portsmouth on her passage to Southampton
arrives off Portsmouth in eleven hours from Havre — Breakfast at 11 25/60 — at my desk again at 12 5/60 — from then to 1 40/60
made out the synopsis account of 1826 — In doing this found a mistake in my cash book — had entered paid on the general account 8/11 [shillings/pence]
too little — this correction reduced the article ‘Lost or unaccounted for’ from 1.7.6 to 18/7 — nor do I believe
I have even lost this for I am nearly certain, I received (vide 3 April 1825.) nothing instead of 17/. for French money
on leaving Mrs. Barlow or if I received anything it was not near so much as 17/. — I paid her more on coming away — but
unluckily I have no account of this of my own — I have made out what I paid her for housekeeping and books from her
account which is not very exact — she said it might be that I had paid so much but I could not have more than so much etc.
I believe I had scarce a franc left on leaving Boulogne — But it matters not — I am well enough satisfied
with my accounts as they stand at present — Considering all that had passed through my hands since leaving France in 1825,
I think I have balanced very fairly — wrote the last 8 1/2 lines, and had just done at 1 55/60 — at 2 finished dressing
Mrs. Barlow came (she and Jane with my aunt) about 2 1/2 and staid with me 1/2 hour — then musing over my little synopsis accounts of the
last 4 years till Madame Galvani came at 3 1/4, and staid till 5 5/60 — she brought me volume 1. (18mo. [octodecimo]) ‘Romans et contes de Voltaire
tome premier a Londres 1781’ [‘Novels and Tales of Voltaire first volume in London 1781’] — I may keep it as long as I like — Monsieur Peyronnet (Garde des Sceaux [Keeper of the Seals]) a very
reprobate — after leading a most dissipated life with all the filles publiques, married — after living with his wife till he was tired
of her took her sister with whom he is now notoriously living — hence the 4 following lines written by Madame Galvani bade me not tell
a soul she had never named it before Monsieur de la Martignac ~ Grenadier! que l’inceste enflamme! [that incest inflames]
On dirait voyant ta fureur Que l’imprimerie est ta femme [one would say seeing your fury that the printing press is your wife], La Censeur ta belle sœur! [the censor your sister-in-law!] l’imprimerie [the printing press],
the press, which he abandons — la censeur [the censor] to which he seems wedded — He was a grenadier in the national guard at
Bordeaux? and gave his hand with such grace to the Dauphine, her favour made him what he is! — went out at 5 25/60 —
direct to no. [number] 52, Passage Vivienne, to Monsieur Passalacqua’s gallery of Egyptian antiquities (just sold to the King of Prussia)
for a ticket to see the mummy opened at the Sorbonne tomorrow — nobody at the gallery — sauntered about rue Vivienne
looking in at shop windows 1/2 — went back to the gallery — got admitted by accident — bought a ticket for the amphitheatre for tomorrow, at 10 francs —
some at 15/. some at 10/. some at 5/. — doors to be opened at 1 — the operation to begin precisely at 2 — went to Mrs. Barlow to tell her —
she not inclined to go at such a price — ate a little cold roast veal and some asparagus at her dinner got there at 6 50/60 —
got home at 7 20/60 — dinner at 7 1/2 — my aunt had very painful spasms in her chest (never had them there before) after dinner came to
my room at 9 20/60 — wrote the last 12 1/2 lines — settled with George and my accounts — went into the drawing room at 9 55/60 — came
to my room at 10 20/60 — from 11 55/60 to 12 25/60 reading the first 20 ppages volume 1 Contes de Voltaire [Tales of Voltaire] — ate one orange o.
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 47° at 9 a.m.
53° at noon
52° at 7 1/2 p.m.
49° at 10 20/60 —
fine morning
tolerably fine day — no rain but
little or no sun —
Thursday 26
6 35/60
12 1/2
my bowels pretty well — at my desk at 7 3/4 — from then to 10 3/4 at my accounts again — looking over my private summary
and memorandum to make a little summary of ‘General account private ditto paid to and for my aunt Expense management of income — Repairs
and improvements Interest of money Law Expense purchase of land, Debt redeemed’ — set about this — in doing it found out
an error in my little synopsis of 1826 — I had inadvertently included in my receipts the bill (24.15.0)
returned by John Lister I have now drawn out a summary as above described and corrected my synopsis and made
all square — Surely now I am all right — wrote the above of today — breakfast at 11 1/4 (having in 20 minutes
skimmed over the advertisements and French news and column 3 page 2 of the paper) — Sir Charles Stewart to return here as ambassador —
from 11 50/60 to 12 35/60 finished dressing, and looked at Galignani’s description of the Sorbonne vide Académie Française —
went out at 12 50/60 — a few minutes with my aunt — along the rr. [rues] Mazarin and de l’Ecole de Médecine (do not remember having ever before been in
the latter) — to the Sorbonne — got there in 40 minutes at 1 3/4 — a handsome hall or salon — about 150? people there — the front benches
all occupied — waited 3/4 an hour — began at 2 1/2 instead of 2 as announced — Doctor __ somebody pronounced (read) a
discourse 1/2 hour long — in which he laid it down that embalming was originally a matter of utility, and afterwards of religion — the
[margin text:] Fahrenheit 47° at 7 3/4 a.m.
53 1/2° at noon
fine morning cold —
fine day —
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