These journals, transcribed in 2018 by Madeleine Symes from the texts in the British Library, can be read below . Also by clicking on this link the entire text including the images which are not shown in the text below should be available.
Martha Shaw Journals 1829-1850
Index of 8 Journals
Travel Journals 3 & 4 are typed in 3 parts
Madeleine Symes 2018
1. First Journal 1 April 1829-22 March 1831
a. Springfield, Upper Clapton. Martha’s family & people information details. Martha’s sketch of Halliford House, Sunbury. Charles Francis Barkley court case. The Perkins lived at Vanbrugh Fields, Blackheath, before moving to Southend, Lewisham. Hugh Barkly’s death.
2. Second Journal 9 March 1839-5 September 1842–in British Library F 197/2
a. Springfield, Upper Clapton. Martha’s sketch of Springfield house. Frances Barkley very ill with asthmatic attack in Torquay. Robert Barkley Shaw’s birth & christening. Charles & Anne Barkley leave England in 1839 for 2 years to travel. Emily, Fanny, Clara & Laura have scarlet fever, Annie scarletina. Robert Grant Shaw’s death.
3. Travel Journal 1 9 December 1845-25 August 1846-in British Library F 197/3
a. Start of travels: Cuckfield, Paris, Nancy, Strasbourg, Baden, Freyburg, Schaufhaussen, Zurich, Horgen, Arth, Weggis, Seeburg, Lucerne, Meggenhorn, Tell’s Chapel (Charles & Anne Barkley visited Sept 1836), Oberland visit Alpnach to Interlachen with glaciers & waterfalls, Meggenhorn.
b. Martha’s sketch of Cuckfield house. Martha’s recollections on 10.5.1845 about her trip to Dresden to be with Anne Barkley after Charles Francis Barkley’s death on 3.5.1845 in Dresden.
4. Travel Journal 2 30 August 1846-4 November 1846
a. Meggenhorn, St Gothard Pass, Bellinzona, Porlezza, Belaggio, Como, Monza, Milan, Verona, Vicenza, Venice, Padua, Ferrara, Bologna, Florence, Sienna, Bolsena, Ronciglione, Rome, Naples, Vesuvius, Pompei, Herculaneum, Lombardo steamer, Florence.
5. Travel Journal 3 part 1 4 November 1846–17 May 1847
a. Florence, Pisa.
6. Travel Journal 3 part 2 17 May 1847–31 December 1847
a. Pisa, Leghorn, Naples, Castellamare, Sorrento Villa Santaseverina 23.5.1847-2.11.1847, Vesuvius mounting expedition & later eruption, Capri, Amalfi, Salerno, Pestum/Paestum, Pompei, Naples, Lago Averno, Ischia, Sorrento Villa Rispoli 2.11.1847-2.1.1848.
6a. Separate Journal extract a. Extract written on 20 July 1847 in Sorrento as Martha
watched her children on the beach. Her recollections of her childhood at Bath, Princes Buildings & Sunbury, Halliford House (her Uncle John Barkley’s houses) &Tottenham (her Aunt Martha Budgen).
b. Madeleine Symes has added information on Barkley brothers Captain Charles, William & Post Captain Andrew Barkley, and the Barkley family East Indiamen sailings.
7. Travel Journal 3 part 3 1 January 1848-28 March 1848
a. Sorrento, Naples, Capua, Terracina, Pontine Marshes, Puzzuoli, Villetri, Albano, Rome.
b. Presentation to the Pope in Rome. Revolution in France. Martha worried about their onward journey.
8. Travel Journal 4 part 1 29 March 1848-31 May 1848
a. Rome, uprisings & disturbances in Italy, Ronciglione, Veterbo, St Lorenzo l’Ecu d’Or, Radicofani, La Scala, Buonconvento, Sienna, Poggibonzi, Castelfiorentino, Fucecchio, Lucca, Pietra Santa, Carrara, Spezia, Borghetto, Sesti, Genoa, Ronca, Novi, Voghera, Pavia, Milan, Sesto Calende Lake Maggiore, Isolo Bella, Bavena, Domo Dosola, Simplon Pass, Brig, Turtmann Switzerland.
9. Travel Journal 4 Part 2 1 June 1848-31 December 1848
a. Turtmann, Sion, Martigny, Bex, Lake Geneva, Vevay, Lausanne, Geneva, St Martin, Chamonix glacier walking, Geneva, Neuchatel, Lake of Bienne, Basel, Schliengen, Heidelberg.
b. Disturbances/troop movements in Germany. Clara & Laura go to Heidelberg schools & Robert in another one. Mr Perkins’ new house at 1 Upper Harley Street.
10. Travel Journal 4 Part 3 1 January 1849-30 July 1849
a. Heidelberg, Manheim, Worms, Mayence, St Goar, Bonn, Cologne, Brussels, Cologne, Minden, Magdeburg, Hanover, Leipsig, Dresden.
b. 14.4.1849 Anne Barkley, her daughter Annie & servant Field join Martha in Heidelberg. Uprisings & disturbances in Germany.
11. Last Travel Journal 5 31 July 1849-5 April 1850
a. Dresden, Prague, Schandau, Dresden, Berlin, Potsdam, Cöln, Brussels, Paris, Martha & Fanny to Boulogne, Folkestone, Cuckfield, London, Paris.
b. Robert at school in Dresden. Charles Francis Barkley’s tomb at Dresden. Anne Barkley, Annie & Field in Dresden. Visit Bohemia & Prague. Arthur Perkins’ grave in Berlin. The Perkins lived at 6 Gloucester Gardens, Bayswater in 1850. Househunting in England. Summaries of other diaries. Martha’s children. Aurélie. Photo of Martha.
MARTHA SHAW née BARKLEY (25.9.1802-1.8.1867)
First Journal
1 April 1829 – 22 March 1831
Springfield, Upper Clapton
Transcribed and typed by Madeleine Symes 2017 with her notes in italics & in square brackets, mostly capitals removed. Martha’s spelling.
Journal begun 1st April 1829
M Shaw
1829
April
1 God grant that I may not have many of the evil things of this life to record & may he in his infinite mercy grant me grace to improve all his dispensations to the advancement of my own immortal soul.
2 A heavy fall of snow & sharp frost. I am copying the painting of Sunbury in pencil. Went to town with Aunt, Emily walked with us the length of Oxford Street & Regent Street. Harriet has a severe cold & remained at home.
* Sunbury - Martha’s Uncle John Barkley’s house. Martha’s drawing of Halliford House from her 1856 Souvenir Journal. John Barkley’s uncle William Barkley built it c.1777, demolished 1957.
Martha’ wording with the drawing:
“Sunbury
Seventeen Summers I past in this dear place, and tho’ I was generally the only young one there, yet the recollections of that Spring time of life & the comparative innocence of those days, will never pass from my memory & each time I look at the picture of my early home, I feel again the fresh air which enlivened my early morning walks with old Dash to protect me, I see the long shadows across the soft lawn at sunset & think of how I enjoyed walking up the road with my dear kind Father & stood by him as he leant over a gate & watched the sun set, saying to me as a child, Going, going, gone.”
* Martha’s father was Captain Charles William Barkley 3.9.1759 baptised 30.9.1759 aged 27 days St George in the East-17.5.1832 Hertford & her mother Frances Barkley née Trevor baptised April 1769 Bridgewater-22.5.1845 Cuckfield. In 1829 they lived at North Crescent, Hertford. Uncle John Barkley was Charles William’s older brother.
* Aunt - Aunt Martha Budgen 18.7.1757 Can. St (now Cannon St Rd E1) baptised 7.8.1757 aged 20 days St George in the East-6.4.1836, Uncle John & Charles William Barkley’s sister. She lived in Tottenham.
m1) 1.7.1773 at St Andrew, Holborn, as a minor with the consent on 29.6.1773 of her father Captain Charles Barkley of Enfield Parish, William Hornby 17.1.1741 Julian Calendar, new style 1742-1.11.1800 Tottenham, buried 8.11.1800 aged 59 All Hallows, Tottenham. William had property in Tottenham Lower Ward from 1781, his will written 1782 of Huskards, Ingastone, Essex proved 20.11.1800 PROB 11/1350/148. His great uncle Charles Hornby of Fryerning, Essex bequeathed his large estate to his nephews & nieces, will proved 22.9.1739, a nephew was Joseph father of William. William left bequests to “Mrs Martha Barkley my wife’s mother; Miss Priscilla Bradshaw; Mr John Barkley my wife’s brother; My cousin James Forbes residing in India;” [Priscilla 1759-21.3.1808 ‘aged 49’ Calcutta m. 6.8.1785 James Forbes in Calcutta. James Forbes 1755 Cromarty-26.10.1810 ‘aged 55’ Cromarty was Martha Budgen’s cousin, son of her father’s sister Ann Forbes née Barkley].
m2) 14.10.1806 James Budgen of Tottenham Lower Ward, widower of Mary Budgen née Newman, 17.2.1740 Julian Cal, new style 1741-9.3.1819 Bunhill Fields, will proved 13.3.1819 PROB 11/1614/206.
* Emily Shaw “Emmy” - 25.8.1826-15.10.1892, Martha’s oldest daughter, born Bruce Cottage Tottenham
* Harriet Catherine Shaw 5.8.1801 [bapt 13.9.1801 St Marylebone to William & Mary Shaw, birth date but no birth place shown on baptism record]-14.1.1871, census states born Edmonton, unknown relationship to Robert Grant Shaw. A Mary Shaw lived in Tottenham in 1829. Harriet lived in Church Street, Edmonton in 1841 & 1851 as did the Hammonds. Harriet’s will was proved by her ‘nephew’ Edmund Shaw [b.1829].
4 The usual April showers & south west wind have succeeded the cutting blasts from the past which have occasioned so much illness this spring. Dear Emily has the appearance of a cold.
5 Mr Cazenove sent in at breakfast time to know the result of the debates in the House of Lords on the Catholic question which has passed with a majority of 117, so now we may consider the thing settled & I sincerely pray that the Catholics will never make a bad use of their power. I walked a little in the garden but Robert wd not hear of my going to church. There is scarcely a shoot to be seen, amongst the shrubs & trees, so cold has been the weather. Emily has a very bad cold in her head. She is very feverish & I am rather anxious about her, as both hooping cough & measles are very prevalent just now round here, indeed the season altogether is unhealthy & I hear of many ladies dying in child-bed, Mrs Paul Meyers, a lady on Stamford hill, Mrs Samuel Arbonin is very bad, the child dead & she expected to go out of her mind. Poor Mrs Hugh Machaughey is very bad & has never recovered the effects of her first & only confinement, I fear she will fall a sacrifice. Mrs Robinson is likely to recover.
* Note by Rosemary Symes: The Catholic Emancipation Bill. Driven through Parliament by the Duke of Wellington. Gave Catholics right of suffrage & the right to sit in Parliament in return for an oath denying the Pope any power to interfere in the domestic affairs of the realm, recognising the Protestant succession & repudiating every intention to upset the established church.
* Robert Grant Shaw 24.10.1794-23.8.1842 m.13.5.1824 Martha Barkley at St Mary’s Sunbury. He was baptised at Baker Street Meeting (Presbyterian) Enfield & died of cholera at Upper Clapton. He was a merchant at Farquhar, Morice & Co, London & in 1827 at Morice, Shaw & Co, 12 St Helen’s Place, Bishopsgate, dissolved in 1833 when J. Morice retired. Then at Shaw & Caffary, 12 St Helen’s Place.
How distressing it is to think of poor Charles’s conduct. He is completely lost to his family & I fear must be ruining himself at Melton Mowbray. At present I really think that all attempts at reconciliation & reformation are vain. Papa & Mamma are coming up on Tuesday & after he has rec’d the dividends they will go down to John’s. The poor silk weavers are suffering most terribly. I wish now this Catholic Bill is done with, ministers wd take their case into consideration. Tomorrow we enter upon the worldly concerns of another week. May God Almighty grant us grace to fulfil the several duties of our station & may I check every impatience, unkind, unjust or discontented thought, so that at the end of this week I may be able to look back & say that I have not felt or uttered one slanderous, backbiting or ill-natured sentence.
* Charles Francis Barkley 1808 Walcot, Bath-3.5.1845 Dresden, barrister - Martha’s younger brother, inherited Halliford House, Sunbury at 21. Warbleton School, Sussex, Trinity College Cambridge admitted pensioner June 1823, matric. Michs 1824; admitted to Middle Temple April 1823, called to the Bar May 1833, 1839 at 3 Plowden Bldgs Temple. In 1839 he & his wife Anne left England for 2 years to travel on the Continent. Part of obituary in York Herald 17.5.1845 – “He was a staunch friend of the Liberal cause. Upon attaining his majority, succeeded to a handsome property & immediately upon leaving Trinity College, Cambridge, entered himself a member of the Hon Society of the Middle Temple & was in due time called to the Bar. Rather than pursue the study of the law, he devoted more time to the study of politics & in Middlesex he became one of the prominent leaders of the Liberal interests. 3 times he was selected to put Mr Hume in nomination for Middlesex. In 1835 he was unsuccessful at becoming Liberal MP for the City of York. In 1836 married Miss Murray, the only child of Robert Murray, a large West Indian proprietor. The varied talents & accomplishments of this lady led him to make his residence on the Continent, where they unitedly cultivated the study of the fine arts & modern literature, for which they both had a remarkable appetite. One child was the only offspring of their marriage. There was one remarkable feature in his character which we can not pass over & this was his high & unflinching morality, a morality that can be dignified by no higher term than religion & by no means lower than virtue.” Martha referred to Charles bringing a case in the Court of Chancery regarding interest from the legacy of their great uncle William Barkley.
* John Charles Barkley 1799-1883 m. Mary Yarker 1798-1894 – Martha’s older brother, lived at Leigh, Sherborne, Dorset
6 Emily has a very troublesome cough.
7 Aunt came up & as Emily is not worse I went with her into Hackney to take my bonnet to be done up. Dear Emily’s cough is still bad & I almost fear the hooping cough.
8 Papa & Mamma came up to Tottenham to stop a few days previous to going to Leigh, the former looks sadly thin & ill & really he makes me feel very unhappy as I think him in a poor way.
9 Today Papa is to go to Dr Fane & then as soon as he can get the warm salt water baths the better. I think it his only hope. They came up to tea last night.
10 Papa, Mamma & Aunt came up, they were here almost all day. Dr Fane thought Papa much better. Received my dividends £87-6-. Thomas Mullens came to tea. He will sail in about a week. I hope he will have success in this his first voyage as Captain. He is just 22.
* Captain Thomas Hampden Mullens, Merchant Navy, b.11.3.1807 Denmark, Martha’s nephew, son of Frances’ daughter Jane Rebecca Mullens née Trevor
11 Papa & Mamma called on their way to Blackheath, they were anxious to know how Emmy was as she was so sick yesterday. Dear girl she is better. A fine day. Fanny went out. The Miss Pinkertons called. Mrs Hugh Machaughey is still very delicate. Mrs Samuel Arbonin is as bad as she was & not expected to recover the birth of a dead child. Mrs Robinson is much better. Harriet who is still staying here is wonderfully better & quite cheerful. Mamma has agreed to write her history for me. Would to God that I could now at the end of this week answer the expectation of the commencement. I have on several occasions given way to impatient feelings & tho’ perhaps with justice, yet not of necessity made remarks on the conduct of others.
* Blackheath – Jane & Charles Perkins’ house at Vanbrugh Fields, they lived there 1825/6-1831, then moved to a house in Southend, Lewisham. Jane Hornby Perkins née Barkley 1796-1884, Martha’s older sister
Sun 12 Walked in the garden. Dear Emily still remains very poorly. I gave her another powder.
13 Papa, Mamma & Aunt passed a few hours with us. They have taken their places in Thursday nights Salisbury Mail. They will stay at that place a few hours & go post to Leigh. Charles has been so wicked as to question through his lawyer John’s possession of the farm in Essex which Uncle John made over to him by a proper deed as a qualification to drawing out a shooting licence. If he was to get it, it wd almost ruin John. What a world do we live in. Harriet & I went to church. Aunt is to stand godmother to John’s baby & has brought a fine number of things for him. How liberal she is.
* John - John Charles Barkley
* John’s baby– Edward Barkley 1829-1909
14 Went to church, the forenoons are fine but the afternoons terribly rainy. Got Emmy out in the garden, she was quite delighted, but is just now getting obstinate & disobedient. I pray God to give me wisdom to manage her aright. Mamma & Papa were at Blackheath on Saturday. The baby is still marked with the small pox, the other children are well. She herself & Mr P are going a journey into the north.
* Baby – Henrietta Selina Perkins 1828-1912
* Mr P – Charles Perkins 1785-1851, wine merchant
15 Very wet, could not get to church. Papa & Mamma passed the morning here to take leave before going to Leigh. Papa is sadly nervous & fidgetty. I hope & trust that he may derive great benefit from his trip, if he does not I feel afraid to contemplate the result. However God knows what is best for us & even distresses & misfortunes if they lead us to draw nigh to him. We ought to consider the greatest blessings. I took leave of them with a heavy heart & yet I had pleasure in witnessing the coincement of their affection for me. God preserve them.
16 Sent the picture of Sunbury I have just done to John, a silver knife & fork to baby & Robert has sent a printing press for the boys. The day has been very rainy, but in the evening it cleared up & is a most lovely night. Yesterday was obliged to speak to Matilda about having so many visitors. She has had six sets of visitors in a month & now seems to consider a great hardship my remarking it. I fully expect her to give warning, this being constantly obliged to see my servants discontented is terribly harassing to me & even affects my health. Today I am really so nervous I know not what to do.
* Baby – Edward Barkley 1828-1909
* Matilda – a nurse
17 Good Friday. Received a note from Mamma requesting me to give their late man servant a character, it was written from the Inn they started from. Robert & I stopped the sacrament, there were a great many communicants. I could not but remark the peculiar circumstances of some as they knelt at the altar. First Miss Winter in poor Mrs Powles’s place, next Mr Powles, then one of his daughters, he looking young & smart & active, tho’ his other daughter has no doubt taken the complaint from her mother in law, she never comes but hardly, next came poor old Mrs Brucher, Miss de Berchems governess. She was for many years an inmate of Mrs de Berchem & also several families of rank, but her salary all went to support an infirm father & now having nearly lost her eyesight & grown old, she is left with seven pounds a year, of course is dependant on the de Berchems, for other friend has she none. Miss de Berchem is trying to get her into the National Benevolent Institution & has taken a vast amount of trouble. Next at the table came Mrs de Berchem a really good hearted woman, but whose good qualities are almost choked by a quarrelsome frame of mind towards her husband & own family & by a too worldy disposition. The next I noticed was young Powles just going to be married, all hope & happiness, alas! how soon perhaps to be deluded. I then noticed a young girl who even at the sacred altar seemed only to think of her own showy attire. Last of all came Mr & Mrs James Cazenove, I really believe a most amiable couple & on all these & many more I felt inclined to pray for every blessing & especially that greatest of all salvation. I neglected to notice poor Mr Patteson who as well as Mr Powles has lost an excellent wife since we came to Clapton. They are both proprietors of our Chapel & when we first came here Mrs Powles & Mrs Patteson were the very life of the place, with their dinners & parties. Now! where are they? On our return from church we found Aunt, Mrs Shaw & Louisa here, the former both look very ill. It was proposed for John Johnston & Robert Hammond to come here tomorrow & Harriet go home & the former being ill it is put off.
* Chapel – became St Thomas’ Church, Clapton Common. The first church, Stamford Hill Independent Chapel, built c1773-1777 to provide a local chapel instead of going to Hackney. Privately owned, in 1827 four trustees, Joshua Watson, John Clarke Powell, Henry Patteson & John Diston Powles bought it, was consecrated as a chapel of ease.
* National Benevolent Institution – founded 1812, still exists in Tetbury
* Clapton – Martha lived 16 years in Springfield, Upper Clapton from 1826-1842, 14 years in one house, 2 years in another nearby, her drawing of the 2nd house in Second Journal 1839-1842. After her marriage, from 1824-26 lived at Bruce Cottage, Tottenham where Emily was born in 1826. Martha’s other children were born in Upper Clapton.
* Mrs Elizabeth Shaw, widow of Rev William Shaw - Robert’s mother 1766-1836 lived in Tottenham, buried at St Mary Church Cheshunt
* Louisa Shaw c1807-1831 – Robert Grant Shaw’s youngest sister
* John Johnston – John Lewis Johnston 1817-1885, Sept 1824 boarder in Watkinson’s House, Charterhouse, son of William Robinson Johnston c1790-1825, owner of Cedar Hill estate Trinidad, who died at Caroline Street, Bedford Square, London & marble memorial in St Giles in the Fields church. John Lewis Johnston m 1852 Louisa Hammond 26.5.1828-4.8.1904 Robert Hammond’s sister, their 1st 3 children born on John’s inherited estate in Trinidad. William Robinson Johnston’s brother, Lewis Farley Clogstoun Johnston c1788-4.1.1852 Acting Chief Justice & Judge of Trinidad, 1st son of John Johnston of Trinidad, witnessed Rev William Shaw’s will PROB 11/1635/275 in 1820. A portrait said to be Lewis aged c.5 by Sir Henry Raeburn in the Frick Collection, New York. 1802-3 at Charterhouse, 1809 entered Lincoln’s Inn, owner of Diamond, Fullerton & Golconda estates in Trinidad. He died on RMS Amazon, a wooden-hulled paddle steamer launched in 1851 by Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. On 4.1.1852 during its maiden voyage carrying 50 passengers from Southampton to West Indies, the ship sank after a devastating fire in early morning 110 miles off the Scilly Isles, 102 dead & 59 survivors.
* Robert Hammond 13.10.1816-5.2.1890 became a vicar, oldest son of Anna & Henry Samuel Hammond, Anna was Robert Grant Shaw’s sister
18 Last night we had a terrible fright from Matilda, who fainted, luckily the children were gone to bed. A letter from Mamma at Salisbury. They performed their night journey very well & got to Salisbury at six o’clock in the morning, attended divine service at the cathedral (it being Good Friday) & were then to proceed post to Leigh. Matilda’s illnesses all arise from her own imprudences in going to London after a parcel she had sent home, getting herself wet & over exercising herself, at intervals she has been ill ever since. I am not quite in good health. Called on Mrs Cazenove & Mrs de Berchem, her grand children the little Bottons are ill with the measles. I almost wish my dear little ones had it.
19 Easter Day. Went twice to church. Harriet went in the afternoon & being the first sermon she has heard preached for more than 5 years she was very much affected. Walked to Newington, had the children in the garden twice. Weather very variable. Dear Fanny can say Pa – Mary – Jane – Pitty (pretty) & many other little words. She goes alone all about the rooms & passages & is a fine healthy child. She has very little hair, what she has is quite white & she is very fair, but terribly passionate. Emmy can hem rather decently if she would apply to it, she could spell all the first little words & her memory is so good that she can repeat hymns, stories, verses etc by dozens. She is also just now pretty good. The little Pattesons were all completely out of mourning today, in colors, it seems strange to change so suddenly from black crape, but they have been in black a year & a quarter. Mrs Wise the school mistress has been dangerously ill & has lost her situation here, I hope the new one will please more. Mr Heathcote preached two excellent sermons today & now God grant us grace to go thro’ the duties of the next week, into his hands I resign myself & all who are dear to me.
* Fanny - Frances Martha Shaw 15.3.1828-17.1.1893, Martha’s second daughter, born Springfield, Upper Clapton
20 Easter Monday. Took the children a walk which is a rarity with no snow. I am obliged to be so careful of the east winds.
21 Went to town with Aunt. The weather is very unusually cold & backward. Aunt bought Emily some stockings which she is just beginning to wear. I do not think I shall put her into pantaloons.
22 Expected the Shaws up to take Harriet home but they did not owing to the bad weather.
23 Aunt came up & took Harriet a drive down the Lea bridge road, the day was pleasant.
24 I am a good way from well. I have a good deal of weakness about me.
25 Mrs Shaw, Louisa, Maria & John Johnston came up. Harriet went to town with them, as they came back they left John, who is a nice quiet lad. Emily is perfectly in raptures with him. Harriet is gone home. John’s accounts of dear Papa’s health are very favourable. Jane has been very pressing for us to go & see Fanny in the Easter week. Poor dear Mamma has been ill ever since she went from home.
* Maria Shaw – Robert’s oldest sister 1790-1876 m.2.5.1839 in Edmonton as 3rd wife to widower Dr Colin Rogers 1781-1856, ex Madras
* Fanny – Frances Jane Perkins 1817-1906
26 I was taken ill in church & obliged to come out in the middle of the communion service. I never did this but once before in my life, but I was not altogether well. It was a pretty fine day. The children were out a great deal & Emily delighted to walk with John. James dined here. There is a confirmation at Hackney the first week in June & Mr Heathcote examines persons every Thursday & Friday evening. Mary Nicholls is to go.
27 John went back to Tottenham. The weather is really dreadful & cold as winter, scarcely a green leaf is to be seen even yet & as to the blossoms, I scarcely know whether they been out or not.
28 John has been trying to persuade Papa to receive the sacrament & last Sunday he took it. May God of his great mercy grant him the benefits thereof. He has been to dine at the Cooper’s & drives out in an open chaise every day for three hours. John devotes his whole time to him. The christening is to be on Thursday & Aunt & I went to town to try & get a turkey, but cd not.
29 Today Robert got one & sent down to them.
30 Aunt came up & drove into Hackney. We afterwards walked down to Newington. Jane is again in trouble with her servants. We are going to see her some day soon. Edmund came down last evening. He is elected a livery man of the iron-mongers company. Mrs E expects every day to be confined.
* Edmund Shaw 1797-1861, Robert’s brother, stationer/bookseller/artists supplier at Driver & Shaw, Strand 1824-26 & later at 124 Fenchurch Street. He was elected into the Livery of the Ironmongers’ Company in the Court minutes on 29.4.1829. In 1837 he was granted a Scotch patent for the invention of an improvement in the manufacture of paper, being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad.
May 1 Children much delighted with the sweeps. Mr Peno, a Portuguese friend of Roberts came to town. He has been at Plymouth with other refugees & has left a wife & 4 children in Portugal, poor man, owing to Don Miguels usurpation. He is in terrible distress of mind seperated from his family, his fortune & his country, his house stripped & furniture & property burnt before his eyes, his gardens destroyed & all torn up by the roots, he is much to be pitied. He is now come up to town with 4 of his brother officers without a plan, other than to wait with what patience they can the issue of events. He is much exasperated at our government for their apparent encouragement of Don Miguel, but I trust England will exonerate herself.
* Dom Miguel - 1802–1866, King of Portugal between 1828-1834
2 He came down with Robert & is a very fine, handsome man but does not speak one word of English so that I can not exchange a syllable with him.
3 Mr Peno & Robert went to the Catholic Chapel in Moorfields & determined on driving in town & seeing all that they cd. They went to the Park, walked through the squares etc & returned at 9 to coffee. The turkey got safe to John’s. The baby is christened by the name of Edward. Mr Cooper was one godfather, Robert the other & Aunt godmother. Mr C presented him with a silver cup.
* Edward Barkley – 1829-1909
4 The first spring day, the children out the whole day, fires out, chairs in the garden, what a change. Mr Peno left.
5 Went to town with Aunt & took Emmy to the Bazaar but on the return she was so naughty as to oblige me to punish her by not allowing her to speak to any one & remaining the whole evening in my room. I sat with her & did not allow another person to speak to her & she took her tea & went into bed quite good. She had a lamp & I left her door wide open but no sooner did I attempt to leave the room than she screamed violently, wanted to be taken out of bed & nor did she go to sleep till past nine o’clock. I was afraid she wd cry herself into a fever & never knew her so very bad before. At last her Papa quieted her & I trust that by constant firmness I shall at last conquer her.
6 Emmy pretty good.
7 Aunt & Miss Witherby called. We are to go to Blackheath tomorrow.
* Miss Marianne Witherby 1784-1873 died Woodford, Essex, Aunt’s companion. Her father Thomas Witherby lived at Chase Side & Cocker Lane, Enfield in 1801-3 & Forty Hill.
8 Went to Jane’s & passed a very pleasant day. Mr Perkins came before we went & was very agreeable. They want us to join them in a box to the opera & at parting invited themselves to dinner. Mr Perkins actually proposed it, so that I cd not avoid it at all. We saw the two boys, who wd be better for not having such complete licence. Charles wd be a quiet well inclined boy if kept in some sort of order & had a few lessons in humility. We walked in the park & he took my arm & listened very particularly to all I had to say. I told him a great deal about boys keeping their gardens in good order etc, it was curious to see him meditating on what I said & then pretending to disregard it wholly. However I could see he wd prefer me to Mary who would flatter more. It is sad to see children who are evidently capable of the best impressions, having all their worst propensities fostered & brought up without an idea of religion. I pray that God may grant me grace to bring up my children in a way to insure them eternal salvation & that he will give me grace to set them a good example. At present I am miserably deficient in command over my own temper.
* Charles Frederick Perkins 1820-1882, oldest son of Jane & Charles Perkins
* Edward Moseley Perkins 1821-1871, 2nd son
9 The weather is now delightful & quite summer, we have had no spring. Mrs de Berchem & Mrs Cazenove both called.
10 A very warm day indeed. Mr Heathcote gave a most excellent sermon to the young persons who are going to be confirmed. Poor Mr Peno is ordered off to Ostend, had not even time to come & see me. I like him amazingly considering that I could not speak a word to him. Mr Heathcote expressed himself to me very much pleased with Mary for her answers & understanding the meaning, use etc of confirmation. May weather still very warm & fine. Mr William Morrice dined here yesterday. We walked to hear the nightingales but the wind was cold & they sang badly. Aunt came.
* William Morrice 1778-1842 m. his cousin Elspet Morice 1786-1854 daughter of David Morice. Originally a Captain in the Royal Marines, he became a London West Indies merchant, was a trustee of his mother Helen Morrice 1744-1817 née Paterson family sugar estates in Jamaica. 2 of her brothers John & James Paterson were doctors in Jamaica & 3 of William’s brothers Robert, James & David Morrice went to Jamaica, Robert & David settled as planters. William was a cousin of Robert Grant Shaw through Robert’s mother Elizabeth Shaw née Morrice. William’s father was Rev William Morrice 1730-1809 of Kincardine O’Neil, Aberdeenshire whose brother was Elizabeth’s father John Morrice 1734-1788 conducted an academy & boarding school for young gentlemen at Cheshunt. Their younger brother was David Morice 1737-1806 Provost & Advocate at Aberdeen. N.B. David Morice used Morice as his surname.
12 I hear constantly from Sidmouth. Mamma is very poorly, Papa seems better, the place is warm & dull.
13 Went to town with Aunt, took Emmy, she was very good. The day was lovely & we walked up Regent St.
14 Out in the garden all day almost.
15 Went to Tottenham to call on Mrs Robinson. She looks quite as well as before her illness, dined at Aunt’s.
16 Mr & Mrs Wm. Morrice dined here. Went to look Mr Fletcher’s late house, the last in Springfield, it is in almost a ruinous state.
17 Dined at Aunt’s with the Perkins’s. They called here first. Mr P was quite surprised to see so a small house. Surely nothing can be more arrogant than the manner in which they conduct themselves, I cannot help saying that it is quite disgusting, they really make themselves out of a superior order of beings & openly ridicule anyone who (whether with or without fortune) does not do as much as themselves.
18 Both the dear children are very poorly with colds & coughs especially Emily who is really ill. I have many times thought that they were feeding some disorder. A nightingale sings most beautifully in the bottom of our garden day & night.
19 Dined at Mr & Mrs Morrice’s & went in their carriage to the Regents Park & Zoological Gardens, it all far exceeds my expectations & is a most delightful place. The Park has all the beauties of wood & water. The different terraces round the outer circle of the Park are many of them magnificent, but they say even the finest looking are miserably off for sleeping rooms, they being both small & low, every sacrifice is made to outside shew, which is at present the prevailing mode in all things. The gardens are very interesting, the seeing all these animals comparatively free, instead of being cooped up in iron cages, is very pleasing. The bears are in a well many feet below the surface. You look down on them, but there is a pole with a ball at the top which comes up higher than one’s head, to the top of which the bears climb & sit down on the ball. Persons are continually feeding them with buns which may be had in abundance. The pelican, ostrich, zebra, lama are all very curious. A beaver too who has a nice piece of water is singular, each creature has a house & most of them gardens with water etc, altogether I passed a very pleasant day. Saw Mr John Morrice & Mr J Farquhar, the former looks very ill. Children were in bed when I got home with Robert & asleep. Emmy just the same no better.
* Regent’s Park & Zoological Gardens – zoo opened in April 1828
* John Morrice 1772-1848 timber merchant in London with his brother George Morrice as contractors with the Navy Board for the supply of oak timber for the Government dockyards. Brothers John, William & George Morrice (sons of Rev William Morrice of Kincardine O’Neil) were cousins of Robert Grant Shaw. John married his cousin Mary Morice 1784-1860, daughter of David Morice
* J(James) Farquhar 1764-1833 business partner of Robert Grant Shaw & a half brother of John Morice (son of David Morice)
20 Dear little Emily very unwell all day. Mr Holt came up & will send her some saline medicine.
21 I was attacked with violent pain etc early in the morning & was really very ill. However Aunt came up & thinking it a fine day had planned to go to the Collosseum. Marianne refused to go & as Aunt seemed hurt at no one choosing to accompany her, I put the best face on the matter, took Emmy & went, we were three hours at the Collosseum & I was pleased to find I could endure so much pain & inconvenience without making known my suffering. I went to bed as soon as I came home. Aunt little thinks what I felt. She sent up in the evening to know whether we had got her bag, we know nothing of it. The panorama of London & the extent of country surrounding it, is in my idea the most wonderful thing in that way that exists, nothing can exceed the beauty of some parts of the painting or the correctness of the whole. Having Emmy with us we were prevented making a long visit to it, I merely took a glance of it. When we went down again we saw a very handsome saloon for the reception of works of art. The conservatories, fountain & Swiss Cottage are really like fairyland & there is a great deal yet unfinished. By the time I got home I was completely worn out & laid down for some hours. Aunt sent up in the evening to know if we got her bag, she must have left it at the Collosseum.
* The London Colosseum was to the east of Regent's Park, built in 1827 to exhibit Thomas Hornor's "Panoramic view of London". The design of the Colosseum was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. It was demolished in 1874.
May 22 By a letter from Mamma I find that Charles is ill in bed at Sunbury of a rheumatic fever & gout. She begs me to write to him, which I have done & also to Mrs Lilly to know how he is, for I dare say he will not answer my third letter, however I shall not take offence, but continue to do what I think right. Mary Nicholls’s friend was at Halliford last week & says that Charles was somewhere in the country. These different accounts seem strange, I cannot reconcile them. Aunt took Louisa & went to the Collosseum, the man at the Bar had got her bag quite safe, her beautiful cameo bracelet was in it, she intended taking it to the Jewellers to be mended. How very fortunate to get it safe again. Sir James Smyth, Mark’s eldest brother is appointed Governor of the Bahama’s. We left off fires on the 4th, it has been warm ever since. Ther frequently at 68 in my room & in the hall. I wrote & begged James Mullens to go & see Charles, but he has not answered my letter. We hear nothing of this Chancery suit, the lawyers I suppose are eating up both interest & principal, it is a pity to see property so thrown away.
* Sir James Carmichael Smyth Bt 1779-1838, Governor of the Bahamas 1829-1833
* James Duncan Mullens, Baltic Merchant in London, b.1804-06 Denmark-3.6.1866 Kensington, buried 8.6.1866 All Souls cemetery Kensal Green, son of Martha’s aunt Jane Rebecca Mullens. He married 15.6.1841 widow Louisa Maria Turner, widow of Wm Turner of Calcutta at St George Hanover Sq. Joint Executor of Harriot James Cook’s Will PROB 11/1988/8 (eldest sister of Jane Rebecca Mullens & Frances Barkley).
* Ther – thermometer reading
* Chancery suit – brought by Charles Francis Barkley in connection with his legacy
24 Went to morning church, but was kept at home in the afternoon by a violent rain, which lasted three or four house & will do an immensity of good. The blights are terrific, masses of caterpillars as large as a man’s fish on almost every tree & they form & come to light in a single night, the strawberry blossom is fine. The dear children are much better, Fanny quite well.
25 Finished my drawing of Sunbury for Jane. Heard from Mrs Lilly that Charles is better, she begs I will conceal from him her having written to me, I suppose she is afraid of losing favour. What an unfortunate boy he is. James Mullens came down, he did not get my letter till today or he would have gone to see Charles.
26 Aunt not being very well sent for us to dine with her. She has a bilious attack & giddiness in the head. Had a letter from Papa, he says he is better, has heard from Charles. I sent him Mrs Lilly’s letter.
27 Mr Holt called, Aunt is better. Mrs George Thomson has a fine boy. Poor Mrs Samuel Arbonin is still deranged.
28 A letter from Jane to say that the box was taken for the opera & paid for. When my note arrived, I did not know what to do but fortunately Aunt came up & is so much better that she went up to Mark Lane & agreed with Mr Perkins to go on Saturday to the opera which is to be Giovanni. Matilda informed me today that she had made up her mind to go & take care of her sister Cormal & her children in Ireland, it is the one whose husband was drowned at Christmas. The family have been persuading her to leave some time, at last she had determined to put me to the inconvenience of getting a new nurse, in truth I do not think she’s much attached to even Fanny who she pretends to be fond of. She certainly has many errors & faults. She is dull, very inactive & neglects all the little niceties & particularities which are usual in the families of genteel people, but this I have reconciled under the persuasion that great attention only makes children presumptuous. Emily is very good just now & has cut another tooth. Called on Mrs Wm. Chaplin, she has quite a young nurse but takes all charge of the baby herself. This I sd not like as it wd prevent my being with Robert when he comes down which is not fair.
* Mark Lane – Charles Perkins office
29 Aunt came to tea & Marianne.
30 Mrs Shaw came up to stay here. We went to the opera & were much surprised to see Fanny with her Papa & Mamma. She was much delighted indeed the opera was well performed. Mademoiselle Sontag is a fine singer, they say she is the Prince Leopold’s mistress & has a child by him. Malibran also sings well but it is ridiculous to compare them with Pasta, Catalani etc. The ballet was very pretty, the Sleep Walker, but the dancing is highly indecent & altogether I wd not have taken so young a girl as Fanny to see the performance, we got home at two. Mr Perkins was very civil & offered to obtain Robert some business with Mr Barkley’s house which will be very advantageous. They are much pleased with my drawing of Sunbury.
* Fanny - Jane & Charles Perkins oldest child b.1817
* Mademoiselle Sontag (1806-1854, 1828 married Count Carlo Rossi) German – She was one of the leading operatic & concert sopranos of her time.
* Maria Malibran (1808–1836) Spanish mezzo soprano
* Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanza Pasta (née Negri; 1797–1865) Italian soprano
* Angelica Catalani (1780 – 12 June 1849) Italian soprano
* The Sleep Walker - La sonnambula
31 Went twice to church. It was very cold & unpleasant, an excellent sermon from Mr Heathcote, on confirmation & the propriety of taking the sacrament.
June 1 Very warm. Mrs Shaw & I walked to Hackney Church to see the confirmation. I was disappointed in the Bishop of London, but his want of energy was probably owing to his not being very well & his having confirmed that morning at Islington 750. There must have been 500 here. I saw Mary go up. The church was much crowded & being a very handsome one, presented a very striking spectacle, it is a beautiful sight. The Bishop addressed the young people for about 20 minutes from the pulpit & then proceeded to confirm them at the altar. It appears to me an excellent institution & well calculated to impress on the mind of thoughtless youth, the necessity of caring for their souls & teaches them their own responsibility. May I live to present both my dear girls at the table of the Lord & God grant that may also partake of his salvation. Mrs Shaw & I after the ceremony walked on to the Hackney Terrace & found Mrs Edmund & her baby doing well. Little William is getting the better of the hooping cough, but I did not go near him. We took tea & walked home. We met Robert.
* Bishop of London - Charles James Blomfield 1786–1857, elected 1828, for 28 years.
* Baby – Edmund Shaw b.14.5.1829, Mrs Edmund Shaw’s younger son
* William Morrice Shaw b.21.9.1825, Mrs Edmund Shaw’s older son
2 Very warm weather. Ther 70 indoors.
3 Aunt drove up, she has been obliged to change her horses. Mrs Shaw went to pay visits. Edmund drank tea here & Mr Crook, his little boy & a Portuguese gentleman who is with to learn the language.
4 The ther stood yesterday in my room, door & window open north aspect, 75.
5 Dined at Tottenham. Aunt has a new pair of horses which she likes very much. Drank tea at Mrs Shaw’s. Called on Mrs Stonard, not at home. I believe I am now in the family way, but whether 3 weeks or 3 months I cannot tell, by my size you would think the latter. I resign myself to God & trust that he will grant me strength to go through the trial that awaits me, I must patiently wait. The weather has got quite cold again, north-east wind.
6 Mrs Burch the wife of the person Edmund was apprenticed to was brought here in a mistake by the stage. She was going to Mrs Edmund’s but as she could not walk she desired the coach to call again for her & waited here for it. I found her a good tempered woman, she told me so much of her sufferings that mine appear quite ridiculous. Mr & Mrs Hammond called. A letter from John, Papa & Mamma go today to Bridgewater, John & Mary left Sidmouth yesterday, Papa better, Mamma very poorly.
* Edmund had been admitted to the Freedom of the City of London on 1.6.1813 as apprentice for 7 years to Joseph Burch Citizen & Ironmonger of London, for the sum of £105, paid by his father The Reverend William Shaw. He was “sworn free” to become a Freeman on 24.6.1820.
7 Sunday. Went to church but am suffering so much & incessantly from sickness that I cannot enjoy anything. Dined with Aunt. Mary Nicholls stopped the sacrament, I hope her conduct will be the better for it. Walked over to poor old Bruce Cottage & met all the Dadds & a laundry maid of Mrs Ede’s who was in the cottage ironing the day we arrived from Rotterdam. What a day was that, wet through, not a friend to welcome us, the house shut up, were not expected, pouring with rain, very cold, only a month married, Aunt at Sunbury. I never felt in worse spirits, but we got the servants that evening & the next day I remember poor cousin Sally walking over to see us. Her kind tho’ coarse manners were most welcome to me & I shall never forget her bringing me all her little stock of plate, 6 spoons, a tea strainer & a pair of sugar tongs which have all been in constant use ever since, poor soul I miss her to this day & shall never think less or seldomer of her, for she was a warm friend & a sensible woman. We looked over our old cottage. Mr Ede has built two opposite. Miss Coare’s lease is out, she is going to Scotland with Mrs Wakelin.
* Bruce Cottage, Tottenham – Martha & Robert rented for 2 years when they were first married
* Cousin Sally – Miss Sarah Williamson, bapt 7.5.1755 St George in the East E1 to Robert, hatter & Mary Williamson of Wap. St [now Wapping High Street], buried 18.5.1827 “aged 73 From Tottenham” at St George in the East. She was a witness at Aunt & James Budgen’s marriage & inherited £19-19s as a gift in James Budgen’s will. Aunt’s father, Captain Charles Barkley bapt 9.10.1718 Cromarty-14.8.1774 at sea m. 9.3.1742 Julian Cal, new style 1743 at St George in the East Martha Williamson bapt 21.1.1721 Julian Cal, new style 1722. Martha Williamson was Robert’s oldest sister. Robert became a Freeman of the Feltmakers’ Company in 1751 as was his father Robert Williamson.
8 The weather is cold & windy from the north-east. Old Howe the milkman died this afternoon, his crippled daughter has been out of her mind for some weeks.
9 Went to town with Aunt & took Emmy who behaved very well indeed, she is just now very good. Fanny & her get fond of each other, but children are very variable & require great patience. I hope I shall get a good nurse. Mrs Morrice wants me to with her to Kensington Gardens & I think I shall go one day this week. I was much amused by a young lady today, she was trying on shoes in a shop in the arcade. When I had the presumption to go in for some children’s shoes, she ordered the door to be shut in the most imperative tone, found fault with numbers of pairs of satin shoes which fitted her pretty little foot admirably, scolded the woman & having put her into a complete bustle, declared that none of them wd do. The woman was going to tie her shoe again but she snatched her foot away, declaring she wd do it herself. Then cocking one leg over the other she drew off her gloves & displayed two beautiful white hands covered with rings & tied her shoe. Then bounced from the shop saying she wd go to one over the way. Now this was a very pretty, elegant, delicate young girl. An elderly gentleman was with her who seemed as if he regarded her with parental fondness, perhaps his partiality & indulgence may have contributed largely thus to deform a person, otherwise so fitted to captivate. I never saw so much arrogance, pride & ill nature apparent in anyone as in this beautiful girl. When she went out the poor woman quite sighed & cd not help saying she never served such an ill-bred young lady before. Jane & Mr Perkins started for Scotland yesterday or rather Monday.
10 The weather getting milder. Wrote to Mary.
11 Went to the Bazaar with Aunt, who brought home some pretty frocks for Fanny. Emily was with us & very good indeed, she slept all the way there & back. Wrote to Papa, from whom I received a very well written letter & saw Robert in town. A very warm day.
12 Went with Mr & Mrs Wm Morrice to Kensington Gardens & saw really a fashionable mob. The band was playing delightfully, but with the crowd in the town it was almost impossible to get near it. I should think that thousands were there, at least 500 carriages & a greater part of them coroneted, but I must say that the present fashion in dress is so hideous that the women all look deformed, however it was a gay scene. I was greatly amused by the airs of some, conceit of others & presumption of the most part who just cast their eyes on our humble party & withdrew them with a look of supreme contempt when satisfied that we were nobodies. I saw Eliza Macaugh there, who without exaggeration has lost every vestige of beauty & looks quite “passé”. What delighted me most was getting a very good sight of the young Princess Victoria, she was in an open barouche with the Duchess of Kent & two other ladies, a pair of horses, one footman sitting behind holding the little girl’s lapdog. They passed us on the bridge quite close. She is a very pretty round faced smiling child & I hope & think that she will be well brought up. She is constantly with her mother, who appears a sensible woman, please God she lives, there is little chance of her not being Queen. We dined at St Mary Axe & did not get home till 11 o’clock, children safe in bed & asleep. I do not like leaving them, particularly Emily with servants, it appears to me a very difficult thing to know usually how to act in this particular, to get them at so great a distance as to make the child proud towards their inferiors in rank is very bad, at the same time I almost believe it is the least of two evils, for unfortunately owing to bad example in early youth the laxity of morals amongst the poorer classes, the freedom between the sexes & the mental ignorance, persons of an inferior station are from their want of principle, delicacy & knowledge, very prejudicial in their conversation to children, before whom they are under no restraint & no mother in my opinion does her duty, who exposes her young ones to such bad examples, for we all feel the force of early impressions. Perhaps it may be thought that Emily, a child not three years old, is too young to be impressed, but I think otherwise, ignorant persons have a very bad way with children, contradicting them in order to laugh at their opposition, allowing them in play to domineer, to beat them, deceiving them by false promises & above all I fear too often giving them indulgences under a promise of strict secrecy. These & a hundred other things render the society of servants highly improper even to very young children.
* Queen Victoria – age 10, 1819-1901
13 Weather very hot. A poor woman of the name of Gardener came to me to beg some old black things as she had lost two children. I desired her not to wait & Robert went with me in the evening to her cottage. I know them to be worthless people, but six poor children in want of every necessary make one desirous of assisting them if possible. I knocked at the door & no one answering, pushed it open, when to my horror the only occupant of the house was one of the poor children in its coffin!! We were much shocked & disgusted, for I have little doubt of the parents’ being at the public house revelling. A young woman who called herself their cousin came from 5 or 6 doors off & asked quite carelessly if I wanted to see the dead body. I said I wanted the mother & desired she might come up, but as she has not made her appearance, I fear she was not sober. How revolting to all the best feelings of one’s nature. I do really think that the lowest class in popular neighbourhoods are worse than savages, they wd lament over the corpse of a child.
14 Trinity Sunday. I never join in the Athanasian creed. To profess my own belief in God, the Son & the Holy Spirit is my duty & God grant that I may be enabled to do so with perfect confidence to the hour of my death, but what part of a Christian’s service to God is it to denounce condemnation on others who do not believe rightly the Christian unity, rightly, it is a thing far beyond the comprehension of the most gifted human mind & shall I lay down a set form of belief & pronounce all who differ from me condemned to everlasting misery? I pray earnestly that I have a firm belief that there is a God, a Saviour & a Holy Spirit which inspires me with every good thought, but by what mysterious laws these are united must for ever remain a mystery to my limited comprehension, nor will I presume to proclaim to others the wrath & vengeance of God, but am convinced that no such office belongs to me.
15 Mr & Mrs Hammond dined here & George Morrice. Strawberries are suddenly become quite plentiful, they carry them about in large baskets 11d a pottle. Ours are not ripe but very large & fine. We sadly want rain. The hay is almost universally spoilt & they think the other crops much injured.
* George Morrice 1782-1850, timber merchant to the Navy Board in London. Aberdeen Park, Highbury, may have been named after George Morrice, as he owned 6 Highbury Grove, a property with extensive grounds which covered much of the current Aberdeen Park.
* Pottle – punnet
16 Drove into Bishopsgate Street with Aunt, she has put Mr Stonards house up to let at Coopers. A shower of rain, but not enough to do any good. I was so very ill that I was obliged to go to bed at six o’clock, such a very violent retching brought on a slight appearance of blood again.
* Stonard – Nathaniel Stonard of Tottenham, an executor to James Budgen’s will of 1819 & a tenant of a house of Martha Budgen in 1827
17 A letter from Mary Barkley, she gives a favourable account of Papa, but far otherwise of my dearest mother’s health. How earnestly do I pray for her restoration but really I almost fear we shall not have her here many years & after she is gone, I feel that I never can be quite happy again. God grant that I may never forget the blessing of having many kind friends left, yet never never could I supply the place of such a mother, she seems my stay & support on all occasions under providence. I am now very poorly indeed & can safely say that I have not a moment’s enjoyment the whole day, so incessant is my sickness, head ache & want of spirits.
18 Very unwell all day, tho’ the weather is warm I am obliged to wrap myself in a thick shawl & even then tremble with cold.
19 We were today all ready to accompany Aunt to see Fanny & walk in Kensington Gardens. The children & nurse dined early & were anticipating the pleasure when Aunt arrived & said she should not go, that it looked showery, she was not well, in fact she seemed out of sorts & wd not go. Of course I said nothing, in fact I felt no disappointment, having been there so recently, but she wd insist on going somewhere. So she ordered the carriage to Regent Street, where we were set down & the carriage put up for two hours. We walked about the hot streets, then went to the still hotter Bazaar, till really we were all knocked up, having had a great deal more fatigue, heat & bustle than if we had gone for an hour & a half in the cool shady gardens. I fancy Miss Witherby having returned was the cause principally of her altered plan. She may be a pleasant companion to Aunt but I am far from thinking her beneficial to the union of the family. She & I are on very cool terms, for she has too much sense not to be convinced that I notice her gross adulation & flattery, which is really sometimes carried too far a great deal.
20 Robert Hammond came to stay till Monday. He is shy I fancy, which renders him far from prepossessing, but they say he is a nice boy. We asked the Wm Morrices to come down tomorrow. They said that they intended to have come down without asking but had just engaged themselves to the Haddons at Leyton, where the John Morices are. James is coming. Had a very nice row in the river.
* Haddens – a cousin of James Farquhar through his mother Rachel Farquhar née Young, who married David Morice as her 2nd husband in 1773. There were intermarriages & business connections between the Youngs & Haddens
* John Morice 1782-1835 m. Mary Valentina née O’Neill, he a cousin & business partner of Robert Grant Shaw
* River Lea
21 Sunday. Little Robert Hammond is so still, that he has scarcely spoken a word since he came into the house, he appears stupid, but they say he is clever. James Mullens dined here, he is expecting his brother Thomas.
22 Robert Hammond went away much to my relief. We had some nice showers.
23 Drove with Aunt round Wansted. The rain has done great service to the country. Saw a letter from Jane who is at Edinburgh & delighted.
24 A letter from Aunt to say she had appointed to meet two nurses at Mrs Clark’s tomorrow.
25 Went to Mrs C’s but no servants made their appearance, but on my return I found one of them waiting for me. Robert had written to her as well as Aunt & appointed Edmund’s, where she went intending to keep her appointment at Mrs Clark’s afterwards, but Edmund liking her appearance, not knowing that it was me she was to meet in Fleet Street & fearing she might get another situation, persuaded her to come to me at once & she is so very nice a young woman that I think it most probable she may suit. I am going on Monday for her character.
26 The other woman came today, but the first look decided me against her. Aunt has written to another, but she has not appeared. I hope & trust that I may get one to suit. Mr Galway dined here yesterday, he is looking much as usual, but talks a great deal more.
27 Very wet. I am busy making little articles to send to Bridgewater for a ladies booth at Mamma’s request.
28 Received the sacrament with great satisfaction, only that I fear to be presumptuous or I should think that my faith was strengthening, but my practise is sadly deficient.
29 Went to Hampstead for the character of a nurse, received a most excellent one & have hired Sarah Crook, who I hope & trust will turn out trustworthy. She has lived nearly three years with Mrs Barker of North end near Fulham. I took Emmy with, who was very good indeed. It poured with rain. We have a great many strawberries, but I fear the rain will spoil them.
30 Rain again – drove to town with Aunt who bought two hams & gave me one.
July 1 Dined at Tottenham with Papa & Mamma who really look very well. We were delighted to meet, after three months absence. Emmy was very sociable. Robert came down in the evening. A Master in Chancery has awarded Charles his uncle’s legacy with simple interest from the time of Mr Wm. Barkley’s death, now what are we to do? I wish not to put in my claim, but they all think we ought, as Charles has taken so large a portion from the residue & of course from our children. They said we ought to take the same & put it in trust for them. God knows which is best. I should be sorry to be wanting in my duty to the children & at the same dislike taking advantage of an unjust degree [decree] of the Court, which it certainly is, for had Uncle John intended to give it to us he wd have given it Jane whom he settled with personally. However I almost think that if one takes it, all ought, how endless is this Chancery suit. I shall write to John about it, who is hesitating about whether he shall demand it, on account of injuring our children, on this score I will assure him.
* William Barkley, attorney died 5.2.1807, buried 12.2.1807 St Giles in the Fields church, had a house at 28 Gower Street, Bedford Square, Bloomsbury. William had no children, left his estate to his nephew Captain John Barkley “Uncle John” & monies to be invested for maintenance & education in trust for Charles William Barkley’s children until age 21, will proved 14.2.1807 PROB 11/1455/242. Captain John Barkley will proved 3.1.1823 PROB 11/1665/54, left Princes Buildings to his brother Charles William Barkley, various annuities & the rest of his estate in trust for his nephew Charles Francis Barkley at 21.
2 It rained the whole of yesterday, which has almost ruined our strawberries. It is fine today & we have gathered 5 pottles. Emily is an inch & three quarters short than John’s boy George who is six months younger, what a difference.
* George Andrew Barkley 1826-1913 (John Charles Barkley’s third child)
3 Rain all day again. Reading Anne of Geierstein, Walter Scott’s last novel, it is very pretty.
* Anne of Geierstein, or The Maiden of the Mist, published 1829
4 The party from Tottenham came up here & stopped a few hours. I am to write to John to know his determination with respect to applying for his interest.
5 Went to church. Dined at Tottenham. Matilda very low at parting with her old friends there. I am afraid she will repent leaving such comfortable & easy quarters. Emmy very poorly, her dear little gums are torn to pieces with a tooth coming through.
6 The new nurse Sarah Crook arrived & the children have taken to her amazingly.
7 Received a letter from John who is quite determined to apply for his interest as Charles has got his, after all I am not quite convinced that we are right. If Charles takes advantage of the letter of the law, why sd we, when we know that Uncle John never intended to give us the interest. On the other side, if Charles takes it, he does an injustice to our children, which we are perhaps bound to refrain. God knows I should be sorry to do an unfair thing & am afraid Jane will be in a sad way for if we all get it, she who wd have the least to receive must be a great loser, besides Uncle John having paid her in his lifetime it is matter of doubt whether she wd get any thing, so that it wd be a total loss to her. Indeed, I do not feel assured of getting mine, who have the best right to it of any.
Poor Matilda left. It was distressing to part with her but she is to come & see us when she returns to London to embark for Ireland. She is now going to Emsworth to see her family. Emmy was not at all moved at parting with her. Fanny cried a great deal & wd not let Sarah put her to bed at night but cried as if her heart was breaking. These scenes are very unpleasant indeed. Robert brought Matilda a very pretty writing case with a patent pen & box of quils, making a very handsome present altogether. I like Sarah as yet very much & notwithstanding my regret in parting with poor Matilda, I must say this one seems to do every thing much better & is lively & playful with the children.
8 Poor Emmy is sadly troubled with her gums but baby is well & romps away very famously with Sarah, who washed & dressed her this morning without trouble. She slept with me, but was restless & uneasy all night. Today the weather is fine, yesterday it poured.
9 Emily’s mouth is very bad, which is I hope the reason of her being most terribly cross & disagreeable. Never surely was child more so, she says nothing but Ma all day long & will not speak to Sarah who is evidently much hurt at it. Aunt, Mamma & Papa came here, I think the former contributes not a little to make Emily so horridly unpleasant, there is nothing but crying & scolding the whole day.
10 I think both children are bewitched for such quarrelling & fretting I never heard before, it drives me half out of my wits, I am afraid Matilda has managed them very badly. They are selfish, unkind & naughty in every way. Fanny slept with Sarah last night. The Tottenham party went to Blackheath & arrived here by 7 to tea, no water ready, Papa famished & no patience to wait & Aunt making such a rout about Emily that it is enough to drive one crazy. As I write down all I think I must at present put down, that if single persons could only divest themselves of the desire to get married, how infinitely happier, freer from care & quiet is a single than a married life. A woman when married becomes one, whom others expect assistance, direction, comfort, advice instead of having all these administered to her. She herself must forget her own ailments, disappointments, troubles & sorrows for her whole time & thoughts are occupied in managing & humouring others & I have constantly observed that when things go right she gets no credit, but when they go wrong she obtains the whole blame.
11 Emily’s mouth has evidently been cankered & I am in hopes that the pain & soreness have occasioned her ill humour, she will never be a favorite in the nursery poor child, she so much prefers the parlour. I sent for Mr Holt who will I hope very soon come here, he thinks she must have sucked something.
12 Went to church. Aunt, Papa, Mamma, James & Thomas dined here, the latter only arrived a few hours before he came down & expects to be off again in a week. I am glad he had an opportunity of enjoying a day with his friends. The fruit in the garden was a great treat to him. I was much pleased with the readiness with which he expressed his wish of going to church, when I asked who was for afternoon service, he immediately said he sd certainly go as he had not been since he was in England before. Poor James is very different & tho’ I believe him to be a good steady young man, yet he has very ridiculous notions on religious subjects, wd not on any account go twice to church, why sd he not be able to pray for himself as well as the clergyman & as to a sermon, does not every one know what is right & has not every one heard the same arguments over & over again. Alas! how common are these opinions amongst young men who fear of being thought to be under spiritual direction, methodistical or effeminate, neglect that first of all duties, our duty to God.
13 Emily is much better, but Fanny has caught the sore mouth, as well as myself. I have written to Jane & expect to hear her opinion about this business of Charles.
14 Fanny’s mouth very sore, Emily better.
15 Saw the party from Tottenham, Mamma stopped with me whilst Papa & Aunt went into town. Weather rather better today but fears are entertained that if we have much more rain the wheat will suffer greatly.
16 Fanny suffers today sadly with her mouth, Mr Holt has been three times.
17 A letter from Jane, she does not seem angry with me for my intention of applying for interest, but will not do so herself which is an indirect hint I think. She says she considers Charles getting it as complete plunder. Her letter is kind & I feel inclined to write to her again on the subject. I think the way we may consider the subject is this. The residue is ours. Charles enjoys the interest during his lifetime & by a point of law obtains a sum of money out of it, thereby taking from us, our right. Now we may also lay claim legally to the same sum, by getting which we should rob no one, but only reimburse ourselves for the sum taken from us & this I think fair, because we take only what is our own & by obtaining it now, we simply get the interest instead of Charles who has deprived us of our due. With respect to John’s claim, Jane declines speaking. I also will be silent excepting here or to my husband, but I cannot help thinking that as John got his commission in the Army from his Uncle, who gave him to understand that he was to consider that as his legacy in advance, as he has ever since received his pay, which is immense interest on the sum & as after Uncle John’s death, the Executors paid him regularly his legacy again, on the score of not finding any document to prove that his Uncle had paid it, tho’ it was always considered that he had done so by the commission, as also John received from his Uncle very large sums of money every year, in the way of education & afterwards by paying debts for him, certainly his claim now for the interest on that legacy, which was left to support him, is very unfair. At the same time I wish he may get it because he has now less than any of us. He was brought up with the idea of being his Uncle’s heir, this he forfeited by ill conduct to him, yet at the present time, Charles who supplanted him is conducting himself like one who is devoid of all feeling & honour. John, on the contrary makes a good husband & father & is going on very quietly with a large family & small means. Therefore one must rejoice at seeing him get some advantage, particularly when we know that he lent Charles 150 pounds which he will never get back most probably. Since writing the above I have passed a very agitating evening. At six o’clock, Papa, Mamma & Aunt came to tea & after we had had it, Mamma, Aunt & Emily were standing at the window, when up drove a very handsome open carriage with post horses, a respectable middle aged man in livery in the seat behind & one gentleman in front seat. Mamma cried out “Well done Patty, here is a fine smart beau in a dashing carriage come to visit you, he has sent in his card” & now the carriage drove a little way on, turned & stood nearly opposite Mr Cazenove’s. Aunt & Mamma continuing at the window & I also had taken a peep, but had no recollection of having ever seen the gentleman before. Jane brought in a bit of paper on which was something written in pencil, which Papa asked me to read, when behold! it was Charles’s writing & Charles himself who sat in his carriage as grand as a lord, without deigning to turn his head round to look at father, mother, sister, aunt or niece. I sent Jane with my love & I hoped Mr Barkley would walk in. He sent word back his love &he was in too great a hurry. I said I was very sorry for it as I should have been glad to see him. His letter contained these words “Newmarket. Sir. Can you meet me at your solicitors tomorrow at twelve o’clock on urgent business. I remain Sir etc C.F. Barkley. I have been directed here from your house at Hertford. I am going to Bath tomorrow” so ended this accomplished epistle. Aunt wrote on it “Yes, at twelve” & sent it back to him. It was the only answer we would devise at the moment. So Papa & Mamma are to go up tomorrow & their present intention is to leave a letter at Mr Tatham’s for Charles as Papa is scarcely fit to encounter him personally & has empowered Mr Tatham to answer for him. I dread the results & really have been in a tremor ever since. Just after all this Emily went to bed & I heard her crying very much so I went up. She was being washed & I thought Sarah was not treating her in so kind a manner as I cd wish, indeed I have several times noticed her being snappish with her & said quite in a mild way “You must have patience with her Sarah & tell her some little stories, you cannot expect her to be like a woman, she is but a very young child”. This I suppose was taking too great a liberty with the lady for she told me, when I came up to bed, that she did not think she cd give me satisfaction in the management of the children, indeed Miss Emily was so very unpleasant & seemed to have so little affection that she cd not stay. I told her the sooner she went the better for if her temper was so impatient as not to be able to bear with a child’s little humours, for ten days, wherein she has changed her nurse & had so bad a mouth & throat that she cd hardly swallow, she must be totally unfit to be a nurse, at least in my opinion. She then said quite easily that she wished to go before her month was up, that she might have the character I received with her & so here I am, in a fine quandary again, trip to Hertford put a stop to, another nurse to seek, children to settle again. Upon my word I am almost out of my senses, not that I regret this girl, for if she is such a vile temper, it is better to find it out at once, but it is the trouble, the vexation, so many things on my mind to trouble me.
* Uncle - Captain John Barkley bought an army commission for his nephew, Martha’s brother, John Charles Barkley. 12.10.1816 appointed half pay Ensign in the 53rd Regiment of the Foot; 29.6.1820 left the 53rd to half pay Ensign with the 32rd Regiment of the Foot; 9.1.1835 left the 32nd to Ensign in the Cape Mounted Rifflemen; 23.1.1835 sold his commission & retired, ordained deacon in Feb. 1835
18 I do not speak to Sarah more than I can avoid.
19 Dined at Aunt’s who did not much relish having Sarah to dine in the kitchen. I feel so very uncomfortable that I have resolved to get a girl to come until I can get another nurse & tho’ Mrs Shaw has hired one of Spooner’s girls, she is only 13.
20 Told Sarah she might get ready to go on Wednesday. She cd not go before on account of her things being at wash. She seems very surly.
21 Aunt was up & promised to come & see my lady nurse off tomorrow.
22 I ordered the nursery dinner at one & told Sarah she might go whenever it was convenient after that, accordingly I took an opportunity of calling her in when Aunt was upstairs & was going to pay her a fortnight’s wages, which she refused to take & spoke in a most insolent way to me, demanded her expenses from Hammersmith, half of which I agreed to give her, telling her that I did not think she wd have asked for it after having treated me in such a way. She said she had treated me very handsomely more so than I treated her. I told her that no one had a right to put a lady to the expense of going after a character, the trouble of taking a new servant & at the end of ten days to tell her that a little girl who had been suffering from an ulcerated mouth & throat was so disagreeable she cd not stop in the house. Oh she said, that was not her only reason. What is your reason then? “In the first place I don’t like you & it is very unpleasant to live in the house with a person you don’t like”. This she said looking me full in the face & in the most impudent manner. I referred her to Robert for a settlement, she was very saucy but I kept my temper, tho’ I was obliged at last to say I cd not lower myself by speaking any more to her. Afterwards Aunt advised me to pay her & offered to do so for me, which she did & at the same time gave her a good lecture. When she asked her what I had ever said or done to displease her she said nothing but that my looks were very unpleasant. This I think the summit of a servant’s insolence.
22 I immediately wrote to Mrs Barker & gave her a long account of the whole matter. Robert also wrote to her Uncle Gormen of Hammersmith. She has upset me very much.
23 Mamma has heard of a nurse & seen a lady with whom she lived 3 years, since which she has lived two years with Mrs Ord & only two months in another place.
24 I find the children a most trying fatigue in my situation & sd not wonder at having a very bad labour, however God’s will must be done. Yesterday just as I was going to dinner with the children, Mrs Edmund & two Miss Steeles came in, so I just told them I was head nurse & they came in to dinner with me. Aunt & Mrs Shaw came soon after & so I had a completely uncomfortable meal. Rec’d a letter from Mamma, she is much alarmed at the idea that what Robert said about settling this law suit sd make Mr Perkins think Papa wished to give up his trust.
25 Robert saw Mr Nelson who says that passing the accounts is quite different from putting the funds into Court which is an after business, whether Mr P will do that or not remains to be proved. I rather think that both he & Charles are determined on it. I wrote to Mrs Ord for the character of Sophia but shall not feel satisfied unless I have her character from her last pace. She may have behaved there as Sarah did here. Rec’d a letter from Jane who has only now heard of Papa having made an affidavit, which renders hers in fact a perjury, which Charles declared it in Court. It is about his expenses & a very unpleasant affair. I thought they did not yet know of it. What will come of it, I know not.
26 Robert went twice to church, I of course remained with the children. The weather is unaccountably bad.
27 Jane came & to my surprise staid the whole morning. She spoke a great deal about this Chancery suit but I avoided implicating myself. She think’s John’s claim quite unfair, to this interest & in my opinion is perfectly determined to put the remainder in the Court. It will be finely diminished before we get any thing. She is evidently much annoyed, but Aunt has put off going to Hertford on Saturday & invited Jane to dine with her on that day. We are to meet her & Papa & Mamma who are coming up on business. Aunt has engaged to keep to meet them also.
28 They will not come here, but are going to stop at Aunt’s.
29 Papa went to Tatham’s to pass his accounts for expenses. Saw them as they came home. I have got a good character of the nurse Mamma got at Hertford & have written to the lady she lived with last 2 months.
30 Mamma passed the morning here. Aunt & Papa went to town.
31 Dreadful weather, children very good.
August 1 Dined at Aunt’s. All was smooth, with the whole party. I sent the children to Mrs Haws.
2 Took the children a row on the river, during afternoon service. Robert went to church in the morning but stayed in the afternoon at home.
3 Fanny is stopping at Aunt’s who took her today to the Collosseum but the weather turning out most miserable, they must have been sadly disappointed. Got the other character of the nurse in consequence of which have written to hire her.
4 They all called on their way from town. Charles has persuaded Mr Darnel to sell out to the amount of £400 & Papa will be obliged to go again to town tomorrow to transfer the money. They intend dining here & Aunt will take tea here on her way from Blackheath, she is to take Fanny back, who is growing a most presumptuous, conceited little girl, quite spoilt in my opinion, but no wonder, such lessons she gets in pride & fashion & folly, nothing is good enough for her.
5 Papa & Mamma dined here & Aunt came to tea, found all well at Blackheath. Charles has by this time got his £400 & no doubt paid it at Tattersal’s. Weather very stormy. I suppose we never had a worse season. Charles I understand intends making violent opposition to our claim for interest. John has written to Robert to ask him to get Mr Nelson to make his claim, Jane almost sorry I pressed John to make it. I did so because I heard that he refrained out of delicacy to me, but I fear it will bring him sad odium & vengeance from Charles if possible. Jane too is very angry.
6 A quiet day, walked to Newington whilst the children slept.
7 Tomorrow I hope my fatigue with the dear children ends. I trust the young woman will be at Papa’s ready to receive them. I rather like the job now than otherwise & feel interest in preparing their cloathes etc. Mr & Mrs Cafary called yesterday. She is Mrs Morice’s sister, but so plain, yet very agreeable. He is handsome & polite.
* Mrs Patrick John Caffary – Mary Salome O’Neill 1799-1845 m.1816 Lisbon
* Mrs John Morice – Mary Valentina O’Neill 1790-1865 m.1809 Lisbon
8 Went to Hertford & found all well. Nurse came & seems very good tempered.
9 Drove thro’ Lord Couper’s park & a fine one it is. The country all seemed lovely.
* Lord Cowper’s Panshanger Park
10 Drove to Digswell & saw the Willis’s house, where old Bush was brought up.
* Digswell - Hertfordshire. http://www.capabilitybrown.org/garden/digswell. Digswell Manor was inherited (through a female heir) by Richard Willis who died in 1781, PROB 11/1075/32. His 2 daughters were his co-heirs, the younger, Miss Elizabeth Willis sold the estate in 1786 to Henry Cowper, guardian to the young Earl Cowper of Panshanger, who bought it for his ward. The house was demolished, rebuilt & remodelled in 1807. In 1774 Elizabeth travelled to Wales, her journal “Travelling from London into Wales, & return this 2nd day of September 1774” mentions Sonning, her house in Dover Street & Digswell. Elizabeth’s older sister, Anne 16.4.1745-8.9.1808 m. 15.7.1774 Sir Thomas Rich 5th Bt of Sonning c1733-6.4.1803 who was Captain Royal Navy in 1774 & became Vice Admiral & MP of Marlow.
Elizabeth Willis 1.5.1748-17.12.1800 will proved 19.2.1801 PROB 11/1353/250 with note “Spinster of the residue of personal estate of Richard Willis” and “Elizabeth Willis of Digswell”.
m. 1) 1.7.1786 Post Captain Andrew Barkley, Royal Navy 1740/1-30.1.1790, PROB 11/1462/237, younger brother of Captain Charles Barkley & William Barkley.
Hampshire Chronicle 10.7.1786. “Married. Saturday, at St James’s Church, Andrew Barkley, Esq. a Captain in his Majesty’s royal navy, to Miss Willis, of Dover Street, Piccadilly”
m.2) 10.3.1794 Captain John Barkley EIC Maritime Service 31.10.1749 [baptism record St George in the East 5.11.1749 aged 5 days, son of Charles, mariner & Martha of Can. St (Cannon St Rd E1)]-16.12.1822. Marble memorial in Bath Abbey for Andrew, Elizabeth & John.
11 Called on Mrs Edward Green, who has a very pretty place about 5 miles from Hertford called Sprangewell.
* Sprangewell – near Ware, Herts
12 Drove round the College, many visitors at home.
13 Drove on the Stevenage road to Wood Hall, Mr Smith’s seat, a most superb one, indeed this part of the country is crowded with parks & is very delightful. Mrs Norwood, Mrs Carter, Mrs Mugridge & the Heyshams are pleasant people, Robert came.
* Wood Hall – since 1934 let to Mount Heath School. The Abel-Smith family still live (2017) on the estate.
14 Very wet. Robert had a sad wet ride up.
15 Papa drove me in the chaise. Just as we were dressing for dinner, we heard a loud fall. We all from seperate rooms ran down stairs, at the foot lay poor dear Papa apparently dead. The men were raising him, I could not look, but hearing the name of Davis, I ran half undressed, my hair down into the next door but one & fortunately found Mr D. the surgeon at home & brought him instantly to Papa’s assistance. He was covered with blood, but we ascertained to a certainty that it was a mere accident & no fit. William was in the pantry & thinks Papa was going up to Mamma, but turned suddenly & fell on his face. His head was much cut with the spectacles, his forehead bruised, his nose dreadfully lacerated & his poor lame hand more so, elbows, shins, knees all bruised & cut & bleeding. It was a dreadful sight & for some minutes whilst I went to the doctors I firmly thought he was dead. Never did I suffer such grief & terror. Mr Davis wished to bleed me, but as I felt well, I declined. I hope it has done me no harm. We got him to bed & for a whole week he remained there in a sad state. Some leeches were applied to his temples & produced on Monday a severe & rapid erysipelas, which gave me great alarm for some hours, but Mr D soon stopped its progress, he is very clever. Mr Norwood being out when the accident happened, did not arrive until an hour. Nothing can exceed Papa’s irritability, two persons by his bedside night & day can hardly manage him. Poor soul he wd not allow us to leave him so we have remained until today 1st September. As soon as he was well enough Aunt took him for a drive every day & our only employment has been to amuse him. Robert has been down twice a week & I have generally contrived to get walk before breakfast either with him or only Emmy. The walks & drives about here are lovely & have afforded me great delight. I am always happy in my parents’ house & yet I felt very comfortable when I got home, all looks very nice. But how lamentable to see all the fine crops being ruined by the dreadful rains, I cannot think there ever was so bad a harvest as to weather. On Friday 14th we all went to small party at Mr Norwood’s, a handsome supper.
Sept 2 Called on Mrs Foster,Burmester, Kennedy, John Kennedy & Chaplain. Emily went with me.
3 Aunt & Miss Witherby called. A letter from Mamma much the same. I find myself quite comfortable at home, all in good order.
4 Matilda passed the day here. She is going to Belfast on Monday, but looks very pale & ill, quite different to what she did when here. Our regular quiet life suited her best. Thank God the weather these last 3 days has been very fine, till then the most violent & incessant rains almost made the farmers despair. I hope this fine weather will come in time to save the crops.
5 Aunt called. Letters from Hertford, Papa the same. Weather better.
6 Mr Crook & James Wallace did duty & the former dined here. Took Emily to afternoon service, she behaved pretty well.
7 A letter yesterday from Jane, her baby worse, wants us to go & see her. Aunt will go tomorrow.
8 Went to Blackheath, baby rather better but in a poor way, very thin, cross & curious looking in the face, I hope she will live. Dear Fanny has a lump behind her ear, similar to the one Emmy had at her age cutting her teeth. I think of sending to Mr F Tolmen as I am fearful of its encreasing.
9 Sent to Mr F T. The lump not worse but still not better. Jane send for to town, her sister dying.
* Jane – a servant
10 Mr Laird, Mr Finley & Mr J Powles dined here. The weather is better, but some nights tremendous rains & high winds.
11 Went to the school, it is something improved.
12 Went again & took Emily. Mamma is uneasy at an appearance in Papa’s right eye, as if he squinted. My fears are very great lest he sd have a paralytic fit.
13 Sunday Went to church & afterwards dined at Aunt’s. Jane gone to town to see her sister who is very bad, she went also on Wednesday. Weather continues bad, it was never known to be equalled.
14 Went to the school. Emmy a cold & Robert.
15 Poor Mr Hugh Barkly is dead. He was driving into town on Thursday morning & in Finsbury Square (feeling ill) he stopped at Dr Gordon’s door & asked a woman to knock for him. When the servant got to the door, he had fallen back in the chaise & the horse feeling a jerk on the rein, moved quietly into the middle of the road. The man got assistance & Dr G being out, drew the chaise on to Dr Babingtons, where he was taken out & bled, but to no effect, a spasm had killed him instantly. It appears he told his servants that he had been ill in the night & had run his bell, but no one heard it & as the pain went off he thought no more of it, but was up as usual & got out his wine, as he expected dinner company, poor fellow! he was very amiable, clever, moral & fortunate. He had just taken a house to himself in one of the terraces in Regent’s Park but fortunately was unmarried. How aweful is such a sudden death & what a lesson sd it be to all of us, so to live that we may when our Lord comes be found watching. Great God! if it be thy pleasure to remove me without warning, Oh may I be found acceptable through Jesus Christ. Mrs Davidson, Hugh Barkly’s sister was confined the night before the sad event & is kept in ignorance of it as yet. She is so strongly attached to her brother that they suppose it wd cause her death in her present weak state. Poor Mrs Barkly has a great trial of fortitude consoling her husband & concealing the death of her brother from the sister. This is real affliction.
* Hugh Barkly bpt 15.4.1797-10.9.1829 – Martha’s 3rd cousin [Barkly spelling changed earlier from Barkley on Hugh’s side of the family]. He had been admitted to Freedom of the City on 5.4.1815, son of the late Alexander Barkly of Balcony, Scotland, gentleman, as apprentice to Robert Hutchinson, citizen and Vintner of London, for 7 years. Will PROB 11/1762/215 4.11.1829, merchant with Davidsons, Barkly & Co, 6 Lime Street Square.
* Mrs Davidson – “William” Barkly (Hugh’s sister) 4.5.1799-18.9.1878 m.20.6.1820 Robert Davidson of Highbury Park c.1786-20.8.1841 Calcutta. Their daughter Elizabeth Mary 9.9.1829-20.6.1833 was the 4th of 7 children.
* Mrs Barkly – Louisa Susanna Barkly née Ffrith 1774-1831 wife of Aeneas Barkly 1768-1836 lived at Highbury Grove, Hugh’s “my beloved uncle” in his will. Aeneas lived at Grove House, an ‘extensive house with grounds’, from 1804-1836. It was demolished in 1967, replaced by Sarah Tankel House, the Jewish Welfare Board’s home for the aged and infirm & now a Nursing Home at 30 Highbury Grove.
.
16 A dreadful day. Aunt is at Hertford, finds Papa’s eye very bad, I fear he will lose the sight.
17 A basket of game from John. He is in great anxiety for Papa as well as myself. Emmy can now repeat at least half of Dr Watts’s first catechism, it is astounding how fast she learns it. I can see an improvement also in her reading. If she gives attention to it, she can read all the little words of two letters.
18 I have a bad cold. The waters are terribly out, our garden is half under water.
19 Another dreadful day. Jane is gone up again to her sister, who is now given over.
20 A fine day, which really seems a wonder now. Went to church & afterwards enjoyed a walk with the children. James Mullens dined here. Jane went up again to see her sister. I agreed to let her go for a fortnight but this evening she seems much better & Jane does not think she will be wanted.
21 Another fine day. Went to the school which is already assuming a more orderly appearance. I am sure the mistress has not been strict enough & I have the vanity to think that if only the school mistress & I had to manage it, it wd greatly improve, but ladies who know nothing of the matter go & interfere & do more harm than good. Maria & Louisa passed the morning here. I went to the school.
22 A letter from Mamma, they have consulted a Mr Lord who thinks Papa’s eye will soon be better & orders him blue pill twice a day. Went to the school & met Mr & Mrs Heathcote there who seem much pleased at the improvement of the children during their absence. I think the last week has made a great difference.
23 Again to the school. Emmy much pleased at the seeing the children at prayers.
24 Robert is gone to stand godfather to Edmund’s child & present it with a silver cup, christenings are very expensive things. He will afterwards dine there. Maria called on her way there. Mrs Shaw was gone to town to stand godmother. Maria told me that Aunt is returned from Hertford, a bad account of Papa’s eye, she also has a bad cold. Maria passed Jane, Amelia, Arthur & a maid on their way to Hertford. They were to stop at Aunt’s. I suppose I shall see her tomorrow, which is my birth day. Oh Lord God of all mercies vouchsafe to accept my services of the year past. Blot out my injustices, pardon my transgressions & if thou shouldest grant me another year of grace, Oh may I improve it, by rendering my soul fitter for thy service here on earth & thy eternal praise in the world to come, but alas all my weak resolutions pass away without due effects. Give me the assistance of thy holy spirit Oh God, that so I may perform what is good & finally be received into the habitations of everlasting felicity when I die, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
* Edmund’s child – Edmund Shaw b.14.5 1829
* Amelia –Amelia Sophia Perkins 1825-1906
* Arthur – Arthur Perkins 1827-1842
25 Robert gave me Polloc’s Course of Time, beautifully bound. Emily & I went to town with Aunt who bought me two lovely drawings in Mezzo Tints by Galpin. Weather this week very fair.
* Martha’s birthday, age 27
* Robert Pollock The Course of Time, a ten-book poem in blank verse published 1827
26 Mrs Roberts & Eliza called yesterday. James Mullens was down to tea. I called on Mrs Cazenove, Mrs de Berchem & Miss Sharp. The Spurs a family from Stamford Hill were calling at de Berchems. They have just failed, which may account for their unusual finery.
27 Received the sacrament. James came to dinner.
28 Went to town with Aunt & Miss Witherby & saw Tam o Shanter & Souter Johnie, two most natural looking figures in stone to represent Burns characters of that name. They are really admirable & make one laugh with them.
* Life-sized stone statues were created around 1828 by a self-taught Scottish stonemason, James Thom. Their exhibition in London in 1829 was well received & critics applauded the natural genius of the journeyman mason who had hitherto earned his keep chiseling tombstones.
29 Met Jane at Aunt’s on her way from Hertford. She is violently against John’s coming up. Papa she thinks as we all do, in a very precarious state, poor soul, he is much to be pitied. Dined at Tottenham.
30 Weather fine but cold. Ther 53. Letter from Hertford. Went to the school.
Oct 1 Took both children to the school, delighted. I am much engaged with a drawing at present & today sat at it 5 or 6 hours. Miss Pinkertons called & Marianne.
2 The Committee at the school. Miss de Berchem did not attend. She very foolishly took upon her to send a girl home the other day for a dirty head, one of Cartwright the baker’s children. He & the mother in law took offence & have taken their child away, which is a pity, as there are three children who came to the Sunday school & who will no doubt likewise leave. The ladies of the Committee being merely requested to visit the school & inspect, ought not to interfere excepting through the governess & no doubt Miss de Berchem is finely vexed with herself. We admitted 7 fresh girls & 3 readmitted, I think it is all going on progressively well & the governess is a clever woman.
3 Went to church. Afterwards took a very long walk for two hours, with both children.
4 I walk every day, get up at seven, teach Emmy, breakfast at half past 8 & can with safety say that until eleven at night I am occupied every minute.
5 Papa & Mamma came from Hertford & afterwards drove up here. I see very little the matter with Papa’s eye & upon the whole think him better. Mamma looks very well.
6 A heavy fall of snow, obliged to have fires lighted for the first time in the parlour & nursery, for in the space of half an hour the ground was white with snow & very cold. If this sd continue it will make the winter appear very long & what will become of the harvest some of which still remains in the fields I am told in the north, imagine harvest fields under snow. Last year we began fires down stairs on the 16th & nursery 2nd but without any cold to equal this. I have now a very painful subject to dwell upon, the encreasing difficulties of Robert’s firm. Two large sums, which are owing & not likely to be paid will occasion most probably our ruin. By Robert’s manner I think things look very bad, added to which that abominable man Mr Morice is daily spending more & more & altho’ he knows what a state we are in enters into every expense which he can with any decency. He has now got a house full of company, has people constantly to dinner, keeps a livery servant, nurse, altho’ his children are now beyond her care. His oldest son is in Dantzig, keeps & has bought a house, his daughter is finishing her education in Paris & it is not a month ago since that superabundantly silly woman his wife, was pressing us to go down to Brighton, at the most expensive season too. Such folly, if it only compromised themselves would be sufficiently bad, but when we, who are quite innocent, have never committed any extravagance or imprudence are dragged to ruin & disgrace with & by them it makes one vexed indeed. Robert has 600 a year from the concern, out of which he has saved 150 or 200 a year, which he has vested in different securities & which of course will go if the house goes to pay for Mr M.’s extravagant folly, say to flatter his & her vanity by keeping a livery servant, to look grand. The rest of our expenses has been made up by my money, so that in truth Mr M. is not more out of pocket by Robert (who seems to work hard for it) than 350 pounds a year & after fagging every day for 17 years, at last is to be involved in the general ruin & begin the world at 35 a ruined man. This is no pleasing prospect & as far as Mr & Mrs Morice are concerned I confess I feel much irritated, because their conduct is evidently imprudent, selfish & unjust, but with respect to the will of God I submit cheerfully & am even willing to admit that the disgrace & humiliation necessary attending a bankruptcy may prove highly beneficial to both Robert & I. It may humble our pride, wean us from the world, teach us to be contented with little & to look for peace & happiness, only in a good conscience. I can look without fear to leaving this house, living in a very small one, keeping a servant of all work & I sd hope that my fortune will not only keep us from want but enables us to bring up our children with propriety & as ladies, not to do so wd indeed be misery, finery I despise, but delicacy, morality & a good solid education are indeed blessings. My distress wd be in communicating our situation to my family & particularly to my father, mother & Aunt, here wd be the trial. Robert has suffered terribly from that vile Mr Morice, the contempt & contumely with which he at times treats him is truly trying & I only wonder how he has suffered it so long. I hope nothing will enduce him to join Mr M. in any way again. My situation, the expense, inconvenience & trouble attending a confinement & under such circumstances does not add to the happiness of my feelings, but I can safely say that I never turn my thoughts towards God without love, gratitude & submission & my spirits are far from low. When Robert came from town this evening, he informed me that he must start for Ireland on business Saturday next & on Friday has to attend the funeral of young Rogers, who died suddenly of apoplexy on Friday morning last. He was at the play with another young man on Thursday night & as they were late, his friend slept in the same room with him. At six the next morning he woke his friend saying he felt ill &immediately expired. He was the darling of his mother, her only child & she a widow. I lament her misfortune, but am very sorry Robert is going to the funeral as he is in wretched spirits.
* Mr Morice – John Morice. Oldest son, John Charles Morice. Daughter, Marianna Morice
8 Robert came down with a more cheerful face. Upon second thoughts he is not going his journey, for which I am very thankful.
9 Dined at Aunt’s & relieved their minds by telling them of the change of plan. The children walked down & I as far as the Seven Sisters, then drove round Enfield with Papa, who enjoyed seeing the old house etc. There is a very peculiar feeling in seeing the place of one’s birth & happy childhood, how altered are my feelings now, then I had no thought but joy & now I seem swallowed up with care & anxiety, which betrayed me into ill humour today, for which I entreat pardon.
* Martha & her brothers, William Barkley born 20.1.1805 baptised 19.2.1805, buried 2.9.1806 & John Charles, were born in Enfield & baptised at St Andrew’s Church. Charles William Barkley paid Land Tax at Enfield, 1799 at Chace side, 1800-1801 at Chase Side, 1802-1806 at Cocker Lane. Enfield Local Studies “Chase side area could also refer to Gentleman’s Row as that part of Enfield at times was known from time to time also as Chase side.” Cocker Lane was re-named as part of Browning Road c1892-1908.
10 Friday feel very low & my temper irritable but will conquer it. Robert yesterday attended young Roger’s funeral.
11 Was obliged to leave church just before the sermon & tho’ I dined at Aunt’s went to bed early & feel very poorly.
12 They came up & spent the morning here & spoke seriously of my getting a nurse. I feel very unwell & hope I shall not have a mishap, wish I cd get a nurse beginning today to look up my baby linen, my temper sadly irritable, but still I will try & master it. Ther 58. Bar let fair wea fine.
13 Busy with my baby linen, find very little wanting. Bar fair, ther 55.
14 Aunt, Papa & Mamma dined here. Robert went with them to the bank in the morning & has corrected a mistake there, which had existed since Uncle’s death. Papa can do nothing but thank Robert who is just now a prime favorite. I am rather better & think I shall go on for two or three months longer. Ther 60 Bar Var, wea bad.
15 Bar fair, ther 52. Wea fine, what rapid changes. Aunt & Papa called. Mamma busy writing to Ramsgate for lodgings. I hope & trust the sea air will have its usual good effects on Papa. In evening 49 ther.
16 Ther 5, Bar change, wea wet & foggy. Miss de Berchem called for Aunt’s proxy, 210 votes in all for her friend Mrs Burcher. I cannot say she made as much of it as I expected & yet I fancy she will not find many from whom she will get as much.
17 A complete summer’s day, windows open, no fire, sun very hot. Mamma passed a few hours with me whilst Aunt & Papa went to town, they go to Ramsgate on Wednesday. Mrs Cazenove called. Ther 59 Bar fair.
18 The weather so warm as to be quite unable to bear a fire. Bar fair ther 61. Dined at Aunt’s.
19 Ther 60 Bar fair. Weather very warm & damp, sitting with the window open & no fire. It is sad to be in such an uncertain state as mine. I know not when I shall be confined between November & February. Affairs in town continue to wear a very gloomy aspect. Mr Farquhar they say is determined to inspect the expenses & limit them. Certainly Mr & Mrs Morice are both guilty of the greatest injustice & imprudence.
20 Very much out of spirits. Aunt & Papa came up. Mamma is gone to Hertford to arrange matters previous to setting out for Ramsgate tomorrow. She is gone only for a few hours & I hope Papa will be easy till her return. Miss de Berchem called & recommended a nurse, but she is expensive & I have declined. Money, money is all the cry now, I dare hardly spend a sixpence unless for absolute necessaries. It is sad to be hooked in to a certain expenditure, to reduce just now wd not do, in this house we can not spend less, a rough calculation of position outgoings amounts to 620 pounds a year, besides many extras which are unavoidable in our present situation. We are sadly puzzled, for every one has such expectations, it is distressing to be thought mean when in fact one is poor. I have just extracted every article from my book which we cd possibly have done without including fruit for desert, little presents on the children’s birth days etc & the amount in one year is only £3-19s. Surely I cannot be accused of extravagance, if we lived in a less expensive & genteel house, we might make the cook clean knives & shoes, but now it seems impossible, we cannot have the gardener less than once a week & never buy any vegetables, we have been supplied even with potatoes for several months. We use nearly 10 chaldrons of coals a year & with three constant fires I cannot make less do. I have no fire now & scarcely keep a spark all day. When I do have one, of course servants will not be as careful, nor can washing & ironing be done & two dinners a day cooked without a good fire & constantly having friends in & out one must keep up a little appearance, if I was to appear one jot less profuse that I am, questions wd begin. My dress is positively shabby, I buy nothing but the commonest for the children. I have been patching up things for my confinement & not spent a sixpence. We eat nothing but the very plainest food, go to no amusement, see no company & in fact try to save in all ways, but the house & place are expensive. I see only these things we might possibly save a little in, the boy, Robert cloaths, mine (tho’ we never take much, I seldom any). Ther 60 Bar change. Wea fair, no fire all day.
* Chaldron - a measure of dry volume, mostly used for coal, used until the end of 1835 when the Weights & Measures Act 1835 specified that coal could only be sold by weight.
21 Heard nothing of Papa & Mamma, but suppose they are gone. Thomas brought a piece of cloth for shirts.
22 Ther 55 Bar fair. Wea rather rainy, fire in the evening. Mrs J Kennedy called, a very pleasant woman, spoke of a nurse. A letter from Mamma at Sittingbourne, all pretty well, going on to Ramsgate today. Recevied a bill from India £55-00-7 yesterday. Thomas’s ship had nearly sunk & they were obliged to get out the cargo as fast as possible, when they discovered a hole in the bottom. He remembers sinking at Woolwich on Saturday & they suppose that the hole has been filled up with mud till lying in the clean water has washed it out & admitted the water.
23 Ther 52 Bar fair. Wea pretty fine. Went to the bank with Aunt but scarcely thought it safe, did not like to let her go alone.
24 Robert’s birth day, gave him Goldsmith’s History of Greece & Rome & sincerely wished him many happy returns of the day. Ther 50 Bar fair. Wea very fine.
* Robert Grant Shaw age 35
25 Ther 50. Wea fine Bar fair. I have quite given up going to church. Sent nurse with Mary, children very good. Robert has taken them out & as it is now so near the time when I shall either become mother to another dear babe, or lose it, or my own life, I cannot do better than recommend to my dear & highly valued husband, the beloved children we are now the parents of, dearest Robert, as you value your eternal salvation, make theirs the constant object of your care, whether I am alive or dead. Let nothing prevent you from instilling into them good & sound principles & above all set them a good example. Let them see that you reverence & esteem religion far beyond every other concern, that you are regular both in public & private devotion & that every thing connected with religion has your sincere respect. Keep up the outward forms of religion not for form’s sake, but as the only sure means of maintaining an habitual devotion. I wd wish my dear girls to be graceful, well behaved, polite, well educated, accomplished, but let all these be as nothing in your eyes, in comparison with morality, insure their everlasting happiness & then care not for their fortunes here on earth. Competence is desirable (as well I know) for happiness & is also favourable I think to the growth of virtue, narrow means. Sour the temper & render it irritable at times it has sometimes made me so, but I know you forgive me & will pray that God may find it consistent with his justice to forgive me also. I pray that he may continue me on earth & strengthen my good resolutions to do my duty, but if in his mercy & wisdom, he sd think fit to remove me, Oh Robert what a charge is yours! Dear blessed Emily & Fanny, teach them to remember a mother who adores them, make them read this & charge them to follow my advice. I scarcely know what I write, my feelings are too much for me & I can not indulge them, but Oh my children, love your father, your friends, the memory of your mother, each other, but above all your God, without piety you can never be happy, make it the first & last of your thoughts. Establish your faith by reading, by prayer, by conversation, by meditation, be dutiful, affectionate, generous, mild, good tempered, affable, but modest, firm & immovable in the faith of righteousness. If the dearest & most esteemed friend ridicules or undervalues your religious opinions, look upon that person as your worst enemy, entitled to pity, but undeserving of confidence & esteem, for your friend, for your husband, think chiefly of religious good conduct & however devoid of luxury & splendour your lot may be, you cannot be without happiness. Competence, equality of rank & education are likewise essential but beauty, rank, riches are so many temptations to vanity, pride & ostentation. Once more be modest, be feminine, be delicate but not prudish, fine or weak. Let your dress be plain, finery I detest, never try in any thing to vie with others, be contented with your situation & proud enough of your virtue, never be ashamed of your want of grandeur. Finally put your trust in God, pray to him, praise him (dear Emily I am just now teaching you this in the first catechism & your little lips can scarcely pronounce the words). Believe in your redeemer & render yourself an inheritor of his kingdom & may the great God of all truth & mercy unite us all in that kingdom. Heaven bless you my children, my husband, grant you grace & strength & faith & enable you so to pass through this world of trial as to insure you a happy eternity. This is the incessant fervent prayer of your devoted wife & mother & may God in his goodness grant my petitions.
If I leave you Robert, let my dear children have my little trinkets etc divided amongst them. Keep them always with you, provide a good very very good woman to take care of them whether as mother or governess, but I charge you I entreat you, to examine every thing yourself, believe no report, see & know all their concerns. Be their friend, their guide, their protector. Let no delicacy to any one prevent this, be vigilant, be regular, never lose sight of them, never look over a fault, watch over their delicacy. Check every forward action with a man, accustom them to the society of good men, whether young or old & try to get them good husbands. Dearest, dearest Robert, if you marry again, do not forget me, do not forget my blessed children, Oh, how I love you all.
______________________________________________________________________
My dearest Parents, Aunt, Brothers, Sister. I dare not say much to you. My own health forbids me to dwell on such tender themes, but how dear you all are to me God only knows & how I pray for your eternal welfare. Oh let us all meet again in heaven, poor dear Charles may he be reclaimed, God bless you all. Dearest dearest Parents adieu. [followed by a blank page]
26 Wea foggy. Bar fair ther 50.
27 Bar let fair nearly ther 54. Weather rather foggy. I am a good deal better.
28 Ther 50 Bar let fair. Wea very fine.
29 Aunt went to town, left Mrs Shaw, with whom I went to call on the Miss Steeles who have taken No. 5 Hill Street for the winter, one of the sisters is daily governess to Mrs Loyd on the terrace. They are nice young women & have met with great losses in money. Mrs Chaplin called & sat some time with me, recommends nurse Jelly & as I am not positively engaged to Mrs Moss I intend speaking to her.
30 Aunt dined here. Marianne at Mrs MacLacklins. My bed furniture put up. Ther 50 Bar fair. Wea rainy.
31 Wea very fine. Ther 55. I think I cannot keep up beyond the latter end of November, it was with great difficulty & pain I walked as far as the chapel yesterday with Aunt. Emily is today very good indeed, but for two days past has been most disagreeable, it is curious to notice the varieties in their temper & habits. Thomas & James Mullens came down to tea.
1 Ther 45 a difference of ten degrees in 24 hrs. Very fine. The Mullens’s dined here.
2 Ther 43. Rather rainy but a frost all night. Maria & Louisa called.
3 Very foggy. Drove to Hackney with Aunt. Emmy not well.
4 Very thick fog. Things going very badly in town. Mr Morrice does not seem to give much hopes of assistance again this year & if money is not advanced, go we must.
5 Very fine ther 50. Drove with Aunt to Woodford, took Emmy, dear little Fanny to my great surprise knows 5 or 6 letters of the alphabet, a year & seven months old & has never been told them a dozen times.
6 Drove with Mrs Kennedy in pony chaise. Aunt dined here. I am much tired & my spirits get very bad, scarcely fancy I shall go thro’ all the agony that awaits, dread it more than ever. Robert has shown Mr Morice a statement of his expenses for the last 5 or 6 years, the average of which amounts to 2500 a year, he owns that he deserves to go to prison!! All now depends on Mr James Farquhar & the Haddons, but I fear we shall be ruined, this & the prospect of my own private trial, is enough to depress, but my confinement troubles me most.
7 Such a lovely day that I am sitting with the window open, have been reading in the garden, not a cloud all round the horison & in fact the very picture of an exceedingly fine May day. It does one’s spirits more good than a thick fog, but weather alone cannot make the heart easy. My thoughts if not employed in the expectation of our approaching ruin, are anxiously employed in fancying the pain & peril I shall shortly be in, God grant it soon over, give me a child & fortitude to bear patiently our other troubles & I shall still be very happy. Ther 55 Bar fair.
8 Aunt drove up after church & seems much out of spirits about Papa. I think he is worse than they say & am most uneasy also. Ther 52 Bar fair. Wea very fine.
9 A letter from John at Ramsgate, so that I was right in thinking they had deceived me, since Papa has been bad enough for Mamma to send for John, such an immense journey. I am very unhappy & have written to John to beg he will be candid. I am certain that Papa is in a very precarious situation, John allows that he is much shocked at the alteration in his countenance, his speech & his eye. God grant that he may not be destined to feel any very great pain or protracted suffering. Aunt drove me into Hackney.
10 Miss Steele drank tea with me & Thomas Mullens. I am very anxious about Papa & hope for a letter today. Wea rainy.
11 Wea very fine. We have not had more than three or four bad days this month. Emily very naughty.
12 Drove round the forest with Aunt. A curious fog when Robert went to town, in the course of 10 minutes it became so thick that nothing that passed was visible & they were obliged to have a person to lead the horses, it went off again as suddenly. Ther 59
* Forest – Epping Forest
13 Aunt dined here. Fanny cut an eye tooth & can say her letters, several she knows & can talk every thing. Began Robert’s night shirts on Thursday 12th.
14 Foggy. Papa & Mamma & John are coming to stop here on Friday, which wd give me the greatest pleasure, were it not for the great expense attending 2 extra fires & numberless dinners. Ther 55. On Monday night 9th I had an attack of cholic & shivering.
15 Ther 50 Bar fair. Edmund called, talking of prices of meat etc. In Hackney meat cheaper, but owing to Robert speaking, Hanks is to serve us at 7d all round excepting veal cutlets & rump stake. Mr Farquhar has agreed to what Mr Morrice asked to maintain the credit of the firm in St Helen’s Place, but Robert sees that he is disgusted at Mr Morice’s imprudent expenditure & wd not comply a third time. It wd scarcely be thought possible that a man in his right senses wd spend on his own private account more than the whole profits of the house, yet this has Mr Morice done, up to the present day, having spent nearly £2500. Robert has determined on writing a letter to him & leaving it with him tomorrow night, stating the fact & declaring his intention to insist on his limiting himself to £1200 a year, what will be the result I know not. But at any rate I know that we ought to save, but every thing is against us at present, expensive servants, visitors, friends & relations, all contribute to frustrate my utmost endeavours. However please God I get over my confinement some alteration must be made.
16 On Friday Papa, Mamma & John arrived from Blackheath, where they slept on their way from Ramsgate. Papa is thinner & older but I see little the matter with his speech, his eye just as it was. I think him in hourly danger so does Mr Holt who called today & was violently angry when he heard they were coming here, fearful that any sudden attack might do me mischief, he gives me little hopes till Feb. A tremendous fog, so bad in London that they cd scarcely get on & even in Hackney they mistook their road, carriages with lights & torches at mid-day, worse than was ever known. Aunt dined here & even then the coachman was obliged to go at the head of the horses with two torches, she got home safe. Jane Johnston went with her & returned here next day. Saturday night dear John went away, severe frost. On Monday Mr Holt sent me a nurse, very eligible in appearance, but I am engaged for this month. Letter from John, safe at Sherborne. Aunt took Papa a drive.
24 Dreadfully cold & windy. Papa, Mamma & Emmy gone in a fly to Tottenham. Miss de Berchem called.
25 In the night a heavy fall of snow with severe frost, which continues to the present hour. The windows half choked up with snow. Emily suffers terribly from it & has very bad childblains, made her a flannel waistcoat. Baby plays with & eats the snow. At night whilst at cards Papa seized with a giddiness & narrowly escaped a fit, sent for Mr F Tolmen but there does not appear any further danger, than what may in one moment be produced, by over eating, which he does every day.
26 Papa seems much the same but of course keeps us in constant alarm. A rapid thaw & most miserable day. Aunt came & took us a drive.
27 Last night I had another violent attack of cholic, the shivering was almost too much for me & I have been ill all day. Papa also dreadfully fidgetty, eat too much dinner & was uneasy after it.
28 Aunt has come up to take a drive. The day is rather better but very wretched. I am better but the instant Aunt saw me she exclaimed how large I looked. I noticed this myself yesterday after the attack in the night, but still I do not expect my delivery so soon as they all do. God grant me safety. I shall be very grateful if I am again made a mother. I do not hear anything of Mr Morice & the London business & am sorry to observe that no reduction as yet taken place.
29 Old Mr Tolmen called, his opinion exactly coincides with all the other medical men who have ever seen Papa, abstinence is the grand doctrine.
30 Very unwell in bed all the morning. It is now bed time & I hardly feel as if I cd get through the night. God’s will be done, may he support me.
Dec 1st 5 chaldrons coals Mr Perkins
& enough in the cellar to last 3 weeks in the winter. Continue unwell. Papa most terribly fidgetty, almost drives me mad.
2 Both the Mr Tolmen in constant attendance, but I believe I want a doctor most. Nothing but Papa is thought & every one’s convenience & comfort is forgotten, expense too enormous.
3 Better & fully persuaded that I shall not be confined before February.
12 For the last nine days, I have been too unwell & too much engaged to write any thing in my journal. I have so much pain that I can only go once up & down stairs in the day & hardly get across the room. Of course this vexes me as I have so much to do & see after, but still I know that at times I have allowed myself to be too much fretted at it, when shall I conquer my temper? On Thursday Jane came here on her way to Tottenham & brought Amelia & the maid to dine in the nursery. Her own lunch, Papa’s early dinner of course, coffee at six, our own dinner, tea, kitchen dinner & dinner to be prepared for nursery tomorrow, loads to things to be given out, my time & legs are in constant motion. On Friday we had the whole party to dinner, six in nursery, 5 in parlour, 2 in kitchen, this wd be nothing if there was plenty of time & money & servants & myself able to direct, but all this being wanting, the fatigue is far too great for me. When you come to put out linen, china, glass, plate etc, the trouble is more than I ought to have, in my present state. Every thing went on very well. Mary’s cooking was thought excellent. Jane did nothing but praise. Some game arrived from John & she dressed a woodcock beautifully. Jane paid away at it & enjoyed it much, she declares she has not seen such cooking for a long time, this is a capital joke to Robert & I, with our grand establishment today. Papa & Mamma went to Tottenham in a fly. What waste of money does it appear to me, for Papa to pay 8 shillings for a fly to take him down to sit half an hour with Aunt, who is here constantly for hours & days, yet such is his idea of self indulgence, that he wd keep the thing waiting at the door, whilst he looked for some old trash & be very angry if told that he wd have three shillings for an extra hour, he thinks no sum of consequence, compared with his own moment’s ease. Tomorrow they are to dine at Aunt’s by my invitation for she has never asked them inside her doors since here they have been. She too tho’ very kind, thinks but little of my trouble, fatigue etc. Mary & Jane quarrel terribly & if I keep them over my confinement I fancy it is as much as I can expect.
13 Taken with a symptom which I concluded wd directly bring on my labour, sent for Mr Holt & nurse who waited till evening but no pain coming on Mr Holt went home & I was able to go down & lie on the sofa. Aunt & Jane came to tea, of course I cd not enjoy myself much.
14 I came down again but find the bustle too much for me. Jane came to take leave on her way home. Sent the nurse away again.
It is now 28th Dec & I am still on a sofa up stairs nor likely to move from it till my confinement, which is not expected now till February. All the symptoms have left me & Mr Holt thinks that the appearance was at the seven months. I lie all day in Mamma’s room & am only able to walk to & from my own bed, owing to great pressure & pain. Both Mr Holt & Mr Tolmen say that I have no alternative & as my bodily health seems pretty good I have much to be thankful for yet, tho’ even writing this is an effort, some days I cannot even sit up to my meals. God grant me a safe deliverance. Papa & Mamma have determined to stay till it is over & Mamma is house keeper I being completely laid up. The night before last I was obliged to call Mamma up & was very ill for some hours, indeed I often fail much exhausted & very low. We have a most severe winter with a great quantity of snow frozen on the ground, all the ponds etc frozen, more snow falling & the roads so very slippery as to render it dangerous to go out. It is but very seldom that Aunt can get up. The children are very well. Emily dined down stairs on Christmas Day. I gave them some toys, GMamma shoes & Aunt dolls & a cake, they were much delighted. James Mullens was to spend a day or two at Sunbury with Charles, so I suppose we shall hear something of him.
March 14 1830
Thank God I have got at last safely over my confinement & am once more nursing a dear little girl. I was taken ill on Saturday night 30th January, sent for Dr & nurse. Waters broke ½ past 11, was ill all night but not in very violent pain & at a little after 11 the next day the child’s hand came into the world & was born exactly in the same way as Fanny, only that she is a larger infant & of course I suffered much more. God only knows what I did suffer & he supported me wonderfully though the operation which just lasted an hour (Babe was born at ½ past 12 Sunday afternoon 31st January). I was very ill afterwards & indeed for many days I was unable even to speak to & hardly see for a minute either Robert or the children, neither Papa or Aunt, or indeed any person but those absolutely in attendance & my dear kind mother, who sat up with & attended me with all the kindness which I was so much in need of. Mr Hammond called by chance a few hours after I was delivered & stopped the evening & it was well he did, for towards night I was in violent pain & was saved much suffering by his ordering me Camomile fomentation. The third night he kindly came up again, through an intense first & I really believe saved me a very severe if not fatal illness, by ordering me take Mr Holt’s black dose at once, instead of waiting till morning. That night I was certainly in a fair way to a high fever & never suffered such a feeling of illness before in my life, my side, my chest, my throat, pained me dreadfully & my head made me feel little short of distracted. Mrs Clarke the nurse however was sadly affronted at Mr Hammond’s interference & I believe wd sooner have seen me die, than Mamma sd have given me that dose. All night she never came near me, but left Jane Johnston to attend me, who, not understanding it, put me to great inconvenience. The fomentations too she wd not give me, till at last I said I must have them & then she did them so ill, they were not of half the use. However in the morning I was better & shall always consider myself under great obligation to Mr Hammond. Mr Holt quite approved & again the nurse was civil, but thro’ my whole confinement she always rang for Jane to attend on me, she sitting nursing the baby by the fire. She certainly ordered every thing to be done very well, but as to doing any thing, it was a farce, she did not so much as dust the mantle piece ornaments, not a thing did she air & to Jane’s care & attention, I am indebted for all my good nursing & yet the nurse used to make it appear to Mr Holt that she did every thing. When I came to settle with her, she insisted on being paid from the time she came to me when I was taken ill seven weeks before I was confined, at 12s a week, tho’ she went home again & I never saw her during the time & had made such an agreement beforehand. However it was useless to resist so I pd her £4-4 & I think she will lose more than she gained by it. Mr Holt, Mr Hammond & every one think it a great imposition & so it is. I got down stairs at the month & into the nursery the day before & I can do no more now at six weeks, but am well excepting an internal weakness. I take a great deal of quinine, bathe in cold salt & water & I hope in time shall overcome it. I have suffered dreadfully from low spirits & even now feel far from cheerful, indeed my mind has been sadly unsettled both in a religious & temporal way. I pray God to renew me with his spirit. We have had a most severe winter, frost & snow, for three months, it did not break till thru’ Feb. Mr & Mrs Hammond are stand with Mamma for the child, whose name is to be Anna, after Mrs H. She was confined last Sunday, exactly 5 weeks after me & Jane on Tuesday, the first a girl, the last an immense boy. Aunt went to see Jane yesterday the 5th day & found her up, writing to Mamma. Mrs H is also quite well, poor me!!! obliged still to lie all day & every day. Mamma left me before the month after a visit of three months, God bless them, how I missed them. I am sorry they wd make us some very expensive presents, furniture for spare bed, work table, silver cup, crib, tea pot & toast rack, besides presents for the children, I shall not be easy till I repay all this in some way. Babe is quite well & the other children. Mr Hammond was up to tea.
* Dear little girl – Anna Shaw (Annie) 31.1.1830-8.1.1905, born Springfield, Upper Clapton
* Henry Samuel Hammond 1791-1883 was a MRCS in general practice, later a surgeon. Anna Hammond née Shaw 1792-1850, his 1st wife, was Martha’s sister-in-law, Robert’s sister. Their baby girl – Catharine Harriet Hammond 7.3.1830-1861
* Jane’s baby boy – Henry George Perkins 1830-1857
March 21 Went out in the garden for two or three minutes but I am very weak. I am unable to leave the sofa & should fear I shall never be as I have been. Charles has I am sorry to say made an application for the interest on the funded property to be pd into Chancery, in order to determine whether Papa sd receive his annuity quarterly or not, so that next month instead of receiving his £200 he must pay it in. Surely this is a most wicked act of Charles. John & all his family dine here on Thursday, how rejoiced I shall be to see them & yet I must regret the expense Papa will incur from their visit, in the present uncertain state of his finances he may not receive his dividend for many months. How then can he meet the every day expenses of so large a party, God knows, but I am sadly afraid they will be put to serious inconvenience. We have heard such things as persons not receiving anything for years from that vile Court. Our claim for interest on Mr. W. Barkley’s legacy has been heard & a receipt of mine for the legacy produced. When the Master saw that he said he cd give no opinion till he saw an affidavit from Papa as Executor, saying that he had no wish to debar me from any right to the interest & one from me saying that I was ignorant of that right at the time I gave a receipt for the legacy, this I can do with great safety & certainly if Charles receives his interest I ought to have mine. Mr Holt still in attendance, we shall be ruined by Doctors bills, I dread our expenses this year. Robert in bad spirits too about business, after all this suspense I really think at last we shall be knocked up, but the idea of that does not give me so much uneasiness as my own feelings & health. I fear there is something wrong locally. The weather is now seasonable. I find the Miss Steeles very agreeable, they sit with me, do my errands, work for me & have occasionally had the children for a few hours. They are reduced to comparative want, by the extravagance of a brother. Two of them go out as daily governesses, poor things, of course they feel a good deal humiliated, but are praise-worthy in doing very cheerfully what prudence dictates. My spirits are getting better, notwithstanding their progress being arrested by reflections over our own pecuniary affairs, my weakness, children’s delicate constitution, both parents in a very precarious state of health, their anticipated embarrassments, a sea side trip necessary for my recovery & scarcely the means for it etc etc etc. However I must try & imitate the conduct I have been advising with respect to money matters, the worst is being obliged to keep up appearances & spend as if we had plenty. We have however never spent our income yet & whatever we have saved will go if the house goes, so if we save nothing this year, there will only be the less for Mr M.’s extravagance.
April 22nd Another month & I am still lying on the sofa, but thank God I am better both in health & spirits. At one time it was thought advisable to be examined by Dr Ramsbottom, but Mr H having himself done & found every thing quite right, we have given up consulting Dr R. Today Mr H has been to speak to Robert about me & does assure him on his honour that I have nothing the matter with me but a local debility. I go out in a wheel chair in the garden & shall get to the sea side as soon as ever I am able & please God I can get strength, I may do well yet, but I have now been nearly six months quite disabled. Our claim for interest on my legacy is at a stand now, as I must go & make an affidavit, to say that I have granted a receipt in ignorance of my right. Papa is also to swear that he did not wish to debar me from it. The funds are to be paid into Court on the 30th & poor Papa is ordered to pay in his dividend. He has however put in a petition for receiving it quarterly & that will I hope be speedily answered. I was most happy the day John & his family spent here. His boys are indeed fine fellows. Charles the handsomest, he is fair with blue eyes, brown hair & a soft voice, pretty manners, good figure & a most winning smile. John (Grandmamma’s pet) is a noble boy, but not so pretty. George a merry little fellow, 3 yrs & ½ old & looks 7 at least, quite a boy, does not strike one at all as a child, indeed they all look two years older than they are without exaggeration. Edward at 14 months a great bluff fellow, very fat & large but not pretty. Mary looked very well but was attacked by a fever when she got to Hertford, which has confined her to her bed & even now she cannot walk or go out, but is most dreadfully reduced, this is a sad drawback & has spoilt their visit. John was in town on Friday to consult Robert about the selling out, but returned the same night, he is very well. Jane too has been very ill since her confinement, but Scott has cured her. Robert has been unwell but the fine spring weather will I hope set all to rights. The blossoms look very fine. Dr Taylor is dead, Mrs Shaw’s sister’s husband, his family are very badly off. I find the Miss Steeles very pleasant, but they are sadly reduced I fancy & are glad to do little jobs of work, the youngest makes pretty screens, 8s a pair, I have had 4 pairs to give away. The children are quite well. Emily begins to read very prettily & is gone to church with Papa this afternoon. Fanny grows very pretty, she comes every day to me to say lessons & sits down to work with Emmy whilst I read to them, but she is very passionate. Emmy too has been naughty of late, but is better. Dear Babe is my pet, she is always good & if she had more colour wd be pretty, she has dark eyes & is like me I think. It is a great privation to me not being able to nurse & jump her, but I suckle her very comfortably.
* John & Mary Barkley, 4 boys by 1830 - Charles William Barkley 1824-1885; John Trevor Barkley 1825-1882; George Andrew Barkley 1826-1913; Edward Barkley 1829-1909
* Dr James Taylor – wife Kitty (née Morrice). Dr Taylor was proprietor of a Hammersmith Academy, with a degree from Aberdeen University in 1808
May 3rd Weather continues very fine, it is a lovely spring.
May 25 Went down with Aunt to Hertford, bore the journey well. Found Mary very nervous, boys very good.
It is now 29 June, we returned from Hertford only yesterday. John & his family left about 10 days after we went. He took his two eldest boys first to Blackheath & then left them for a day or two at Aunt’s. They then went altogether to Tottenham & Blackheath. Jane was delighted with them, they went home in the Mail.
Hertford May 25 to June 28
Mary bore the journey well but is now still very nervous. Mr Davies attended me at Hertford & has almost cured me. His remedies did more for me in a fortnight than Mr Holt’s in three months. I had my chair down & a day or two after I went, John took me a long ride to the Panshanger Oak in Lord Cowper’s Park & in coming home contrived to upset me, which laid me up for two days. On the Sunday after we went to Mr Davies, vaccinated Babe & her arm went on well until the 10th day, when it was terribly inflamed & for some days after & after that had subsided she became very ill, one night I really thought she was gone, but thank God she revived & is now convalescent, but dreadfully nervous & much pulled down. She does not look like the same child & so nervous & fretful she will not let any one look at her, for many days she wd hardly suck & even now takes but little at a time, her bowels were dreadfully deranged & she was almost constantly sick. The weather has been very bad, but I hope it will get dry now as all the hay is down. I went out twice in Papa’s chaise. The country was lovely & I still heard the nightingale. I had a boy called Henry to draw me & Robert when there used to help. We had some most pleasant walks. Papa is most dreadfully irritable & fidgetty, at times amounting to insanity, it is truly distressing to see him in such a state. The Steeles have been very kind in offering to sleep here in our absence, they have also made me some preserves & will do the whole, we have hardly any strawberries, plenty of raspberries, gooseberries, currants etc. We were prevented going to Worthing last Saturday by Babe, but the house is taken & we mean to go next Saturday & have Babe christened on Thursday.
* Lord Cowper’s Park near Hertford – Panshanger House demolished 1953-54. Park & the oak remain in 2017.
Thursday July 1st Babe christened & named Anna.
2 Went down to Worthing & bore the journey very well. Found a house ready for us, No. 2 Warwick Buildings, which at first appeared clean & neat, but we found it very ill furnished indeed. We stopped in it two months. Sent for Mr Monat, Babe was covered with spots, different dark colours, he says it is the vaccination, she continued very ill for some time, but we enjoyed ourselves on the beach. Emmy & Fanny bathed twice, but unfortunately I trusted Mary to go with Emmy & she forced her in, so now neither of them will bathe. I passed my time very pleasantly, excepting my great anxiety for dear Anna & on the
19 Papa & Mamma came down to No. 6 Marine Parade, which I had provisionally taken. Aunt came the next day, to whom they are on a visit & at night Denham took ill. I gave her wine & water, she had had wine & porter at dinner & the next morning she sent out for something. I the next day gave her some port & sagoe, as she said she was so weak & by this time she was in a high fever. Mr Monat was sent for & the Mr R M. came. She continued very ill all week &
26 on Monday Emily was taken in the same way, dreadfully hot, her poor lips & tongue so parched she cd hardly swallow. She suffered much the whole week, had leeches on her head, took no food, medicine in quantities & a few grapes when we could get them down. Jane Batchelor fortunately came down to nurse Babe & Mamma frequently sent Jane Johnston. Babe slept on the sofa, so that I passed the nights between her & Emmy. It was a dreadful week & one night particularly when Emmy was very delirious, we had a most severe thunder storm, which was very aweful, but it cooled the air, which had been thunderously hot & this was in her favour. On Friday Robert tried to come to us, cd get no coach, came by Brighton & got to us at 4 o’clock on Saturday. We then thought her better, she had played with some toys Mrs John Perkins most kindly sent her & Robert did not think her so bad as I had said, but the next morning she was in great danger & Mr M. gave me to understand that it wd decide whether she wd get worse or better. This made me almost wild & altho’ I believe I did every thing for her & even spoke cheerfully to her yet the agony I suffered was beyond every thing I ever felt. In the evening her symptoms were not worse & I got through that night. Robert & I sat up with her, but early in the morning I was obliged to go to bed, where I remained for ten days, sometimes almost out of my senses, my head distracted me, the worst warm bath I took I shivered in a little altho’ it was at 100 degrees. Robert stopped & nursed Emily whilst I was confined, he watched her night & day & when he left, I continued to creep down & sit by her side, but when she left her bed & sitting on the sofa required constant amusement. I found it very wearing & my health was longer recovering its tone, owing to the confinement, for she was not easy out of my sight. Never was there a more complete shadow than she looked & I not much better. The depression of spirit I laboured under was worse than all, I seemed to have nothing to live for, but misery. Babe fortunately did not suffer from my illness, excepting that she was deprived of sucking all day & took only a little at night, which fretted her much. Jane Batchelor nursed her very carefully & fed her well. I had a nurse to sit up with me, had all my hair off & my head kept wet. We had to hire a cook for Mary was ill a week, such a miserable time I hope never to pass again, but God knows what is reserved for one. Denham began to recover sufficiently to sit by Emmy, but for six weeks she never took Babe, who kept tolerably well, tho’ very very delicate. Jane Johnston came every day to assist, but at last by the blessing of God we all get round again. When Emmy was taken ill Mary Hammond was with us, but Aunt kindly took her & Fanny. Mrs Hammond was dreadfully alarmed, but for many days we cd not get a place in the coach for her to go home, this added to my trouble & vexation at that time. Aunt stopped two months at Worthing & we moved when getting well, to a house 3 Paragon near hers, so we passed the remainder of the time very agreeably. Papa & Mamma used to take us in the open flies every day & Aunt in the carriage, so that we had plenty of air & exercise, a pleasant house & lovely sea view. A fortnight after we left home Robert let our house for two months to a Mr Bolger, so that we lived rent free & I believe our trip of three months, will only cost us £50, Roberts journey included. Jane & Mr Perkins with all their party dined with me in Warwick Buildings. I had a cook to dress the dinner & Mary waited, all did very well, but the day was wretched & Baby they thought looking very ill. When Aunt left, Papa, Mamma & Jane Johnston came to us & Papa was indeed dreadful, he in now a state almost to unfit him for society even of his nearest friends, poor Mamma was very poorly & was taken ill & confined to her bed nearly a week, at Aunts. They left us on the Saturday &
* Mrs John Perkins – widow of Dr John Perkins, a brother of Charles Perkins
* Mary Hammond 17.3.1818-1861, daughter of Anna & Henry Samuel Hammond
Sept we on Monday all pretty well again, the children rode outside the coach part of the way & we had a pleasant journey. Found every thing delightfully clean & comfortable, fires burning & two of the Steeles to make tea & welcome us. The Bolgers took more care than even ourselves & the Steeles put everything away & replaced them before we got home, they are quite invaluable to me & I shall ever feel obliged to them. I gave Jane a holy day when first we went to Worthing, she was absent a month & joined us just as Emmy was taken ill, just in time to nurse Babe & help me at night with Emmy. The first three days at home passed well enough excepting that poor Mamma was so unwell. We passed a day at Tottenham but on Thursday night I accidentally found a swelling on Babe’s throat & was so alarmed that Robert sent for Mr Tolmen & I sent Denham for Mrs de Berchem, she came & assured me it was only a gland swollen. Mr T. said the same & I & Denham sat up all night dosing it with salt & water. The next day we put on a leech, my kind friend Miss Steele assisting, but still it did not give way & now on
8th September it is very bad & likely to break. She has a gathering in the other ear & can lie neither on one side or the other. It is deplorable to see her & she frets so after me, that I am a complete nurse, she takes besides the breast, broth made of chicken’s feed, very nourishing. I have been sadly troubled with visitors, when I wanted to nurse the dear child. Today, however I have only had Miss Steele & Marianne. Mamma & Papa are at Hertford went on Monday.
October James Mullens is unluckily coming to dinner today. I have asked Miss Steele to come & help me through with him. He is in business for himself with Mr F P.’s third son, Augustus & a German friend of his. After Elster failed Mr Knox being dreadfully entangled & fearing to see his family reduced to poverty took the cowardly step of (I believe) making away with himself. James went over to Elsinore, but returned & has lately been lent £500 very kindly by Mr P. to put him into partnership. Mr F. gives his son 5000 & the other young man brings £6000. Mr Perkins is very kind & I hope they will succeed as Baltic merchants. Mr Tolmen has just been here & says there is little hope of the lump subsiding, what the poor child suffers is terrible.
* James Mullens business –Perkins, Shricer & Mullens merchants, Mark Lane, London
* Mr Frederick Perkins (1780-1860) third son - Augustus Samuel Perkins (1809-1866). Frederick was a brother of Charles Perkins, Jane’s husband
* Elsinore, Denmark – Elsinore (Helsingor) was then a Scottish trading post. James’ parents, John & Jane Rebecca Mullens went to Denmark & had 9 children. By Dec 1803 Mullens & Knox had been set up. “Sound intelligence” reports regularly inserted by Mullens & Knox from Elsinore in Caledonian Mercury & Edinburgh Evening Courier from 13 Dec 1803-1828. These listed traded goods, seed, flax, salt, coal etc & wind conditions for shipping, listing ports eg Leith in Scotland, Riga, St Petersburg, London, Elsinore etc. John Mullens’s death in Caledonian Mercury 6.4.1820 re Mullens & Knox. “Elsinore 18.3.1820 with extreme regret death of our Mr Mullens on 13.3.1820 after a short illness leaving a widow and 9 children. The business will continue.” Jane Rebecca’s death announcement in London Daily News 23.2.1847–“19 Feb 1847 at St John’s Wood, Jane Rebecca, relict of the late J Mullens Esq, of Elsinore, aged 81”. She was buried on 25.2.1847 at All Souls cemetery Kensal Green. She lived at her death at 4 Wellington Terrace.
* Mr Knox – George Knox b. 1779 Edinburgh-15.5.1830 Elsinore, merchant at Mullens & Knox in Elsinore, his death in Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine 1830 online He married Elisabeth Frances Mullens 1788-90 Bordeaux-1855, she was at Elsinore in 1840-1855 Danish censuses. One of their children was Sir Edward Knox, emigrated in 1839 to Australia.
7th Anna still very poorly. The lump looks slightly red today & a dreadful night & last evening. I fomented it for 2 hours, with a decoction of poppy heads. I mean the ear with the gathering, the lump still do with the lotion. Talbot called & drank tea here. She has been nursing a child with a worse lump & was cured. Aunt was up today & Marianne. Miss Steele took Emmy & Fanny until dinner time, she is very kind & of great use I am sure to me.
8 The impostume in Babe’s ear broke & she is now easy & comfortable poor lamb, I hope we shall have a good night.
9 Babe slept well & is easy today, but the lump is swelling even more & getting very red. James has been at Sunbury, his account of poor Charles’s violence & indelicacy against his family, is truly distressing. A letter from Mamma & one from dear kind John.
10 Anna’s lump is swollen & inflamed & Mr Tolmen has ordered warm poultices to bring it to a head as fast as possible. She looks very poorly & is getting fretful again.
11 Mr Tolmen found Anna’s lump quite ripe & cut it, when out burst to my great amazement more than a table spoonful of matter, it also bled a good deal, indeed a very great deal & made her cry sadly. I thought she would have been in fits, it seemed exactly like putting his lance into a bladder. We expected Jane today but she did not come. Mrs de Berchem called which she does every day, she is very kind. Aunt was up. Emily is very poorly.
12 Anna much better, the lump much gone down. Mr Tolmen used his probe to it & made her cry very much. He says it is going on well. Emmy rather better, Jane comes tomorrow. I have a bad finger, owing to only the prick of a pin, it gathered & the pain was so great it kept me awake the best part of the night. Today Mr Tolmen cut it & let out the matter which gave me instant relief, but I am obliged to keep a poultice on it.
13 Jane passed the day here, looks ill & has had a very bad cough. They are going to take a new house, on the other side of the heath, £160 a year & to lay out 1000 in offices & nurseries. Anna much better, still poultice the lump. Mr Hammond came up in the evening & says it is quite right. Emily’s health gives me great uneasiness.
* Jane & Charles Perkins moved to a house in Southend, Lewisham
14 The weather is so fine, we have kept off fires.
15 Babe but poorly, poultices to be left off. Emily put under Mr Tolmen. Letter from Mamma, John very poorly, to go under an operation.
16 Babe takes a little broth. Emmy very poorly. Aunt came up. Wrote to John to beg he wd not submit to any operation in the county.
17 Babe’s lump worse, it is larger & more inflamed. Emmy too grows most alarmingly thin & the incessant run on her bowels continues, it comes from her without her knowing it hardly. Obliged to poultice Babe’s neck again, left off yesterday.
18 Babe still worse & Emmy very ill & weak. She takes a chalk mixture & isinglass jelly, but eats little food. Marianne walked up, Aunt not very well, thought my spirits quite fail me.
19 Thank God both dear children are better. Babe’s swelling is greatly lessened & Emily’s complaint stopped. Aunt is unwell. John better, sent us lbs12 honey.
20 The weather all this month has been exactly like summer & today the heat is even oppressive. Children better.
21 Children better still. Marianne called. Aunt is gone to Hertford with Jane.
22 Weather still very oppressive.
23 Rain in the night, but like summer again today. Children better.
24 Oct Dear Robert’s birthday. He is in bad spirits, business presses hard. James & William Mullens dined here. James & Aunt came in the evening & Edmund called. Aunt looks very poorly indeed & seems in wretched spirits. I almost fear a break up, it makes me low to think of it, for what a dreadful blank wd her loss occasion me. Jane persuaded Robert into making me go to Scott, so tomorrow she is to meet me there. Babe’s neck is open again & much swollen.
* William Lennox Mullens, in the Merchant Navy – b.c10.1.1804 Denmark. Son of John & Jane Rebecca Mullens, brother of James, Thomas & George Adolphus Mullens. A Free Mariner Bengal, £500 securities paid by Captain Charles William Barkley. Passed exam to be Captain on 17.1.1848. He married 3.4.1828 Ester Black in Liverpool.
25 Went to town & took Babe. Miss Steele stayed with Emmy & Fanny. It was very rainy. Scott has put me in 4 plaisters & about 12 tiers of bandages round the lower part of my stomach. It feels most wretched at present when I sit, but walking it is pretty comfortable. He gives me great encouragement but it was a horrid job.
* Plaister – plaster
26 Weather again beautiful. We are sending a parcel to John, with books etc for the boys.
27 Weather continues fine. My bandages very distressing & annoying. Children better. Aunt went to town & brought home a quantity of groceries, sago, arrowroot, tapioca, chocolate, bacon, tea, coffee, rice, curry powder & vermicelli.
28 Children still getting better, but both very delicate. Babe has 4 teeth.
29 Went to the Bazaar with Aunt who bought Emmy & Fanny a famous stock of shoes & boots. I have also bought Babe some. We met Mrs Chaplin, Mrs Gale & poor Mrs King who looks miserably old & ill, most woe-begone, a smile seems forced & I can fancy her always thinking of her eldest & lost boy, she alluded to her troubles & appeared very glad to see me. We were married the same week & in comparing my lot with hers I find very much to be thankful for. She has lost her eldest child, her husband has failed, she has had severe illness herself & her children are scarcely ever well, she has also lost her father. I have had severe illness & am & have been threatened with all the troubles she has actually endured, but yet my husband has not failed & neither my child or father are gone, tho’ the latter is a very severe affliction to me & to all who love him.
30 At home all day, busy with domestic arrangements & most thankful am I to be able once more to engage in them. I am pretty active now.
31 Dined at Aunt’s. She is much better, indeed quite well. Children also better. Reading Butlers Analogy.
* Joseph Butler (1692-1752) wrote Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature, in 1736
Nov 1st Called on Mrs de Berchem & Miss Sharpe, the first time I have been out for a year on foot, a great many books from the society, which is very pleasant. I draw, practise, read, work, teach the dear children, nurse etc & am perfectly contented.
2 The weather is as mild as summer, no need at all of a fire, altho’ we have one for the appearance.
3 Yesterday I was astonished to see Papa & Mamma in Aunt’s carriage. They just ran up for the day & returned at night. Papa is quite lost, he has now no remains of common sense, it is sad & melancholly to see him so. Children better.
4 Aunt has an offer of the sight of Lord Mayor’s Shew on Tuesday from Mrs Clack at Temple Bar. She went up today about it & has arranged for me to go. Babe is to have a back room & we are to be there early so that I hope we shall accomplish it. Mamma has a power of attorney to receive Papa’s money, he being incapable of signing cheques almost. Jane has one for her money also & we must think of it too.
5 Weather very foggy but mild. Jane’s baby has the small pox very bad & Edward & Charles at school with the measles & croop. She is in sad trouble. Mr Perkins is in the north.
6 Still foggy. Children mending. Babe’s neck quite healed.
7 Very bad weather but cleared off in the afternoon. Robert called on Mr Steele, who has suddenly returned from India to the great joy of his sisters. As however he is without prospects, I am afraid he will rather do harm than good to them.
8 Weather very fine & every prospect of a fine day for the Shew tomorrow.
9 The King & Queen have sent an excuse to the City, on account of the anticipated riots. The Lord Mayor wrote to the Duke of Wellington, to say that he cd not insure his safety without a guard of soldiers, upon which the Duke thought fit to advise his Majesty to decline attending, which he has done & all the preparations, expense etc are thrown away, it makes a tremendous stir & there have been sad riots for the last two nights. They say that the mob are resolved to be revenged on the Duke & menace his life. Aunt having engaged a coach we went down to Church Street, where we saw some fine children, the two youngest are beauties, the babe about twice as big as ours but has not one tooth, ours has 5. We then went to Udalls’. Aunt bought the children some pretty frocks. We returned after an early dinner.
* Note by Rosemary Symes: King William IV & Queen Adelaide were due to drive to the Guildhall & dine with the new Lord Mayor. This was to be the occasion, warned scores of citizens for a most stupendous riot, culminating in the mass murder of the Cabinet. The Lord Mayor elect had asked for a strong military force. A message was received from St James’s Palace “The King is inclined to think the visit to the City had better be postponed”.
* Udalls – dealers in lace in Church Street, Camberwell
10 Today foggy rather. Sad rioting last night & the burnings in Kent & Essex are terrific.
11 All fears of riots subsiding. Emily is getting & considerably better & Babe also tho’ she looks very miserable.
12 Went to the Oxford Street Bazaar with Aunt, who bought me an ermine muff to match my cloak. Letter from Mamma, Papa gradually getting worse, perfectly imbecile. Mrs de Berchem called & sat a couple of hours with me. I fancy these dreadful convulsions on the Continent have some influence on their income, they have put down their man, go out very little & are evidently retrenching.
13 I have a dreadful cold. Weather still fine, but getting colder.
14 We always spend a happy Sunday & altho’ I do not go to church owing to not being able to walk so far, yet I do not altogether waste my day. The service I always read & every spare minute I occupy in reading religious books, Butler’s analogy between natural and revealed religion is now my study, it requires attention, but is very beautiful. The first subject is the inviolability of the soul which he proves to be agreeable to nature. He shews very clearly that the existence of the soul does not depend on the body, for in many diseases the mind is quite perfect up to the moment of dissolution, then tho’ the body is annihilated & the connection between us & the soul destroyed yet why should we conceive it to be destroyed too? Why should we think the soul dependant on the body, if a man loses a limb, he is still possessed of the same mental power, nay a man may lose all his limbs, the size of his body does not affect his mind. We can reflect & enjoy remembrances without any assistance from our bodily powers. Brutes are not possessed of reason, vegetables have no life, so that we have no right to compare ourselves with them in death. Now as we see even without revelation, that it is very possible we may live after death, we sd consider in every way what is most likely to ensure us happiness in that life. Now throughout nature we see that vice (what we call vice) brings with it suffering, even if it is ever so prosperous this is unavoidable, supposing a man to possess the greatest riches & honours from dishonest & base means, we are assured that that man does not enjoy himself in peace. There is a canker at the root, which destroys the fruit, a drunkard injures his health, a profligate contracts disease, a gamester is miserable & so on, whilst on the contrary we find virtue, never productive of real evil & even in this life is productive of much good, always bringing peace of mind with it, for even supposing that an honest man loses his substance & endures the severest poverty, yet if he knows he has done his duty, there is sufficient self satisfaction to assure him that God is on his side. Let any one do a kind or charitable act, does not his conscience assure him he is right, now these & innumerable instances prove that virtue is what the author of the world approves & vice is what he reprobates. When we come to revealed religion, one analogy strikes me very forcibly, on the meditation of Christ in every stage of our life from the cradle to the grave we require the meditation or assistance of others, we can do nothing wholly without the assistance of our fellow creatures & we have reason to believe this to be the case with our religious concerns. We break a leg, our being sorry for the action, our determining never to run into danger again will not mend it. We commit a sin, our being sorry for it & determining not incur danger again will not procure our pardon tho’ it will procure the meditation of our Saviour who can & will procure us this pardon.
15 Robert came down in bad spirits today owing to having just heard of a loss of £700 pounds by a Dutch house failing, it seems very unfortunate, but I am quite prepared to believe that every thing is ordered by God for the best & I am by no means cast down by the fear of a failure tho’ perhaps when it actually happens I may by no means conduct myself properly. It is my intention & wish tho’ to do so & I trust God will grant me strength, ill health is what more nearly alarms & disheartens me & if that comes upon me again, poverty will indeed be a sore aggravation, but I trust in God & know that he will help me, for ever blessed be his holy name.
16 I have cheered up Robert & will not let him give way to low spirits. The rain is pouring in torrents, I have every prospect before me of ruin, my children are not strong, my own health precarious, my father lost to all comfort in this world, my mother miserable thro’ him, my poor Charles apparently an outcast from God & from his family with many minor troubles & yet thro’ the goodness of God I am in good spirits & enjoying the different employments of the day. Robert has brought me some new music, this I practise & it affords amusement to him & myself. I draw which entertains myself & affords a trifling satisfaction to those who love me. I make my own & my children’s clothes. I teach them. I read Emily the Bible. I instruct her always to be employed & give her numbers of little jobs to do. I read both religious & entertaining books. These with little acts of charity to the poor make my days pass happily over & I feel at peace with all the world. I lay by a certain sum for charity & today a poor woman who has been in rags, with hardly sufficient to cover, in ill health & the mother of nine children, came dressed in warm & respectable clothing. She seemed quite elated & said that thank God she felt another woman, so warm & so comfortable, she thought she cd do anything. How I did rejoice at having been God’s instrument in causing this comfort.
17 Affairs looking brighter again, it is said that the house which has failed will pay in full. Went to Udall’s with Aunt & left Babe at home for the first time. Called on Mrs Garth, a very pleasant young woman. Rose cottage looks very pretty. Mrs Shaw came up.
18 Mrs Foster called. All the little Hammonds ill again. Note from Mamma, Papa has had Mr Loyd, but is still getting worse & worse.
19 Very wet. Received the powers of attorney back from Mamma, she insists that they are not correct in appointing Robert to receive the dividends, thus causing me trouble & awkwardness.
20 Robert is of course annoyed at the objections made to his receiving for me.
21 Mr Tolmen took his leave yesterday & today I have discovered another swelling in Babe’s neck on the opposite side but corresponding gland, of course this makes me again quite miserable, but God’s will be done.
22 I fear Mr Tolmen has not very great hopes of Babe’s neck. He has ordered the same lotion & a piece of oil silk over it to keep it moist. Mamma persists in urging me to take out other powers in my own name & this places me in a most awkward situation, for it is shewing jealousy & distrust of him without cause, for it wd be hard if I cd not trust him to receive the dividend, which I always give him the moment I get it myself.
23 Babe’s neck not worse, but still not any better. Mr T. has sent a different lotion & medicine & by keeping a piece of oiled silk over the wet pladgets it keeps them moist a long time. God send that we may succeed. I think she is in higher spirits today than I ever saw her.
* Pladget – pledget, a small wad of lint or other soft material used to stop up a wound or an opening in the body
24 Babe’s neck better.
25 Papa & Mamma passed the morning here, Papa perfectly gone in point of sense, brought the powers signed. James brought his brother Adolphus down, who is just come from Riga, a nice young man.
* Adolphus – George Adolphus Mullens 15.9.1808 Elsinore Denmark-23.1.1886 Liverpool. Buried Toxteth cemetery. Merchant at Perkins, Smith & Mullens in Liverpool, Russian trader. Became Consul General of Denmark.
26 Papa, Mamma & Aunt dined here, the former is no longer fit for any thing but home. A cold frosty evening, he insisted on having doors & windows open & Mamma to go out in the garden with him, it must sooner or later be the death of her. Aunt is miserably out of spirits about him & she had a visit from Mrs Peake the other day, who proposed putting their money into Chancery, this frets her & altogether she is decidedly much broken lately. I think Marianne is a pleasant companion, but does great mischief by petting her & making her believe she is aggrieved.
27 My trial commenced. The weather is very lovely. Mrs Shaw seems to continue very poorly.
28 I am not quite well & my spirits fail me a little. This is wrong for the dear children are all well. Anna’s neck is decidedly better & the other two promise to be good & clever. I gave poor Mary warning on the 26th for really I can no longer put up with her dirty, untidy & careless conduct.
29 Went to town with Aunt, a regular November day. She has seen Mr Gale who has convinced her that parties can take property out of the hands of Trustees. She, Mr Stonard & Mamma all thought differently & the latter has always had an idea that Papa might have prevented his going into Chancery. They will now know & believe the contrary, which I am glad of as they will no longer fret about it. Aunt is annoyed at the idea of being kept out of her dividends, but as she has capital to go on, she need not fear. She told me today that she had got £3000 of Mr Barkley’s money, the capital of her 100 a year & other money which she has saved & that it wd be hard to prevent her from leaving it to the children, has she then left it to them? I cannot believe or wish it, dearly as I love them, I wd wish John’s to have an equal share. However I do not at all think it is so & whoever lives will I think find that she has left her property all to Papa.
* Aunt’s will – Martha Budgen PROB 11/1860/145 will written 15.9.1832 proved 25.4.1836. executors Charles Perkins & James Duncan Mullens.
Beneficiaries: Mrs Jane Perkins – pearl necklace which was presented to me by the late James Forbes & all pearl ornaments. Mr John Barkley – all my books of my library. Mary Ann Witherby £100. Frances Barkley, widow of my late brother Captain Charles William Barkley – £100p/a in trust. Mrs Martha Shaw – all household goods, jewellery, furniture, china, plate etc, all the rest of monies & estate in trust, to pay dividends, interest, annual produce to Martha Shaw.
30 Aunt did not go to Hertford, came up here for a visit, she goes tomorrow. Received a long letter from John, he has been engaged as a special Constable & now that they are going to call out the yeomanry, he is offered the command of the division at Sherborne but has declined & proposed Mr Goodden who accepted. He has been out three days constantly after the mobs, but has not fallen in with them. 1500 at a time go about & John says that certainly in this neighbourhood it is not the labourers who are up, tho’ they are in dreadful distress & in full work earn only 7s a week, this must be almost starvation & they must have redress. All over the country the poor are in arms & I think a little more & we shall have a revolution. The new Whig ministry do not seem as yet to do much, even in Dorsetshire about John he leaves his house in fear & is obliged to give it in charge to the poor men of the village, to stand by Mary & the boys in case of mischief during his absence. What a state of things is this, almost unequalled I sd think.
* The Swing Riots were a widespread uprising by agricultural workers; it began with the destruction of threshing machines in the Elham Valley area of East Kent in the summer of 1830 & then spread throughout the whole of southern England & East Anglia.
Note by Rosemary Symes: Incendiary fires, rick burning & machine breaking. Desperate agricultural workers, machines taking away their employment.
Dec 1 We seem now to be getting November weather. Sent John’s letter to Hertford by Aunt. Miss de Berchem called & Mrs Kennedy came for Mary’s character. I cd not give her one for cleanliness or saving & consequently she lost the place & both she & Jane who has for three years been her greatest enemy seem to think me very unjust, Jane is quite surly. Babe’s neck has enlarged again & again subsided. The poor Miss Steeles are going to give up housekeeping. Mamma has invited the eldest to stay with her till she gets a situation & Kitty is to come to me. She wants to go out as nursery governess & Miss Steele has begged if I have her that I will let have her meals in the nursery, do needle work, get up fine linen, walk with the children & make herself useful, so that I shall not mind having her.
2 5 chaldrons coals Mr Perkins.
3 Cold weather. We are all better. Country dreadfully disturbed, fires, riots & breaking machinery constantly.
4 Cold & damp. The Steeles here yesterday. I have invited Kitty to come & stay here.
5 Robert gone down to Tottenham to see his mother & to church. The poor Cazenoves are being today tormented with company, it appears to be a fashion to call after a failure, now they only stopped a few days ago & now have to support constant visitors. She I hear has got four or five hundred a year & this will support them in comfort, but it is a sad thing upon him at his age to have to begin the world again. The other brother John, has contributed to this failure by his loss on the Stock Exchange.
6 Dull day, but spirits better. Asked the Garths.
7 The Garths cannot come. Went to the Bazaar, bought children Christmas presents.
8 Preparing baby linen for Mrs Dadd. Children are all quite well now for a wonder.
9 Tomorrow I go to Mr Scott & am nervous about it in the extreme.
10 Went to Scott, who has put plaisters all over my stomach & back which support me wonderfully. He promised to cure Aunt’s wrist & Jane being in the family way had occasion to consult him for her terrible sickness. Aunt is in very low spirits, she talks a good deal about her income, which is exactly 1412 pounds a year, 750 from Mr Budgen. Jane seems poorly. We went to Mark Lane to lunch & she had got a pair of very handsome ottomans for Aunt. Amelia was with her & we went into the old drawing room which makes a delightful counting house for Messrs Perkins, Shricer & Mullens. James was there & I fancy Adolphus is taken as a clerk. Thomas is just come home. We had an unpleasant day, this vile Chancery suit rankles & causes jealousies & suspicions in endless variety, I regret it much but at any rate can look back on that part of my conduct with entire satisfaction for I have always tried to make peace & keep every thing smooth. If I have been to blame at all, it has been from too much warmth in the cause, God grant me pardon & forgiveness of all my sins.
* Jane Perkins pregnant with Octavia 1831-1914
11 Very fine weather today & the children have been out with Miss Steele.
12 Snow & sharp frost.
13 Took Anna to the Court of Chancery & Aunt & myself went with Mr Nelson into the Lord Chancellor’s Court whilst waiting for Robert. Mr Staples of Tottenham met Aunt & offered to get us a sight of his Lordship quite near, which he did & we stood at a little door close at his side. I heard him speak. He seemed quite to puzzle the counsellor who was pleading & who got very confused, but it was an interesting & quite a novel sight. Lord Brougham is a very plain man, with a tremendous nose, with a great bulb at the end, which he curls up when earnest in debate. His voice is good & he is impressive, seems no favorite with the solicitors, which is a good sign. I spoke to Mr Nelson in Aunt’s presence, who assured me that there was no reason why the thing should not be wound up directly. When we had finished we went to the Bazaar & in our way one of the horses fell right down & we were obliged to have it taken out of harness to get it up. Robert was with us & I got out, but no one else wd. The horse was got up & we went to the Bazaar, Robert was pleased with it. On my return I found a letter from Mamma in terrible spirits. Whilst she was writing, Papa fell right down, but has not hurt himself. The plaister which Mr Loyd has applied, has brought out a most dreadful inflammation, I wish it may have no bad effects but am certainly much alarmed at it, after Mr St John Long killing so many with these plaisters I like them not. The Queen had been at the Bazaar a few minutes before we arrived.
* Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux - Lord Chancellor 1830-1834
Note by Rosemary Symes: Henry Brougham, 1778-1868. A famous Lord Chancellor. In all the caricatures of him, he has the huge nose she mentions.
* Mr St John Long – a quack practitioner from Ireland & set up in Harley Street, he had been tried & sentenced at the Old Bailey in October 1830 for the manslaughter of a patient & tried & acquitted of manslaughter of another patient in 1831.
14 Aunt took Emily to town & send down John’s annual present of grocery, a fine stock. She is a little better in spirits than she was. Marianne is gone home to attend the last moments of her father.
15 Emily very busy thinking about Christmas, what a delight it is to young people.
16 Went to town with Aunt, agreed with her that she shall lend them a hundred pounds & me afterwards. Mamma has written to me that she is wanting it. Aunt low spirited, I can see an evident falling off in her appearance & spirits. Marianne is gone home, I am fully persuaded that she is a Quaker & her father is dying. He has for some time been afflicted like Papa poor dear soul, only worse & is now insensible, speechless & cannot swallow. God grant our dearest & best father an easy death & above all & every thing, may we all have a happy eternity. Lord God Almighty grant it to my earnest prayers.
17 Snow.
18 A mistake has arisen about who shall lend this money to Mamma. Aunt dear soul certainly feels justly annoyed at having to part with more after having given Papa £600.30s 4 years ago, on purpose to meet the present emergency, but which has been all spent. This she has lamented to me in very angry terms very many times & I have always told her that we had some ready money which I had offered to Mamma. This she felt hurt at hearing & did not at all like the idea that we cd spare such a sum. I foresaw that this wd be the feeling & now that it has come to the push, I have been endeavouring to avoid all disputes & if possible save Mamma from odiom, but thro’ her mal-addey [malady] I have got it all on my own shoulders & an angry letter into the bargain, the principal part I owe to Jane’s foolish or mischievous interference, but as I have never done wrong in this case I trust all parties will in time see it.
19 Poor Mr Maul dropped down dead in Tottenham Church. Last night we saw dreadful fires over near Southgate, 11 stacks of hay & corn burnt by these vile incendiaries. Weaning Annie.
20 Mr Hammond & Edmund dined with us, the former is going to remain in his old house.
21 Annie sucked this morning at 6 o’clock for the last time. We have had shocking nights with her & have now got a bottle out of which she sucks milk & water.
22 John Johnston called. Aunt took us up to the Bazaar & bought the girls dolls for Christmas Day. I am very very unwell.
23 Continue to feel very ill & Annie takes this weaning pretty well now.
24 Emily is in high delight at the idea of Christmas Day, Aunt brought up a fine turkey.
25 Went to church & stayed the sacrament. Came home & took the two girls in a fly to Tottenham where we dined. Papa wretchedly fidgety, Mamma looking very poorly & Aunt very nervous. We got home before ten, both the children asleep, Annie had been very good. The cold has been exceptional for the last fortnight. Ther 15.
26 The Tottenham party dined here. Papa vexes Aunt beyond any thing.
27 Cold continues. Babe has a slight stoppage in her bowels, sent for Mr Tolmen.
28 A heavy fall of snow. Babe quite well again today. There is an order issued for a prayer to be offered up in every church to almighty God, for a restoration of peace to this distracted country. Hundreds of our poor deluded men are being tried in different counties, for setting fire to stacks, breaking machines, or extorting money & many will be executed, sad to say. Certainly it behoves every one to do what they can.
29 A letter from Mamma, she gives a very poor account of Papa, who is dreadfully nervous at not being able to go out, but the roads are so slippery that it is necessary to keep him in.
30 My milk troubles me sadly, I cannot get rid of it, it makes me unwell. A note from Aunt, our friends have left & in sad spirits.
31 Aunt came up. She sat with me for an hour & cried almost all the time. She is deplorably out of spirits & dreadfully nervous & low, quite distressing to see her so, all about Papa.
January 1st 1831 I was up till the New Year came in & heard all the bells set up a merry peel, it was a lovely night as light as day. Went to Aunt’s & passed the day with her thinking she had no one with her, but found Marianne returned to her post. She has just waited to see her father under ground & then posted back, with all expedition leaving her sister to take care of herself & Aunt, by talking so much about being alone & dull, makes her of such importance that she fancies she is all the world to her, this I am vexed at, as I am pretty certain that she is an artful cunning person & not one whom I like to see about Aunt, particularly as she gets more in need of attention & kindness, which being afforded by a shrewd woman like Marianne is likely not to produce very good effects. She must have motive in her adulation & fullsome attention to Aunt, they are quite sickening.
* Thomas Witherby buried at St Mary the Virgin Cheshunt
2 Kitty Steele determined in obeying Mrs Powel’s sudden humour for Tuesday week.
3 Robert’s mother & sisters, Mr & Mrs Edmund are dined here. It is the first meeting they have had altogether since the death of Mr Shaw & altho’ they did not speak of it, yet they all were dull. We had a very nice dinner & well cooked. The Steeles came in the evening. Aunt very poorly.
* Mr Shaw – Robert Grant Shaw’s father, a Presbyterian, Rev William Shaw 1752-16.9.1820 Edmonton, buried at St Mary Church, Cheshunt. On his marriage in Enfield on 10.1.1786, he was schoolmaster on Fourtree-hill, Enfield. From 1766-1786 Rev Andrew Kinross 1707-1786 ran an academy on Forty Hill for Presbyterians & to cater for boys of Scottish families, the building now the Dower House & in 1780/1 Land Tax assessment records of Four Tree Hill he was occupier & Eliab Breton was proprietor. It was sold in 1787. In 1786 Land Tax records Rev Mr Shaw of Four Tree Hill was occupier with Eliab Breton his heirs the proprietor. In Feb 1785 he paid Poor Rate assessment at Baker St Enfield & from Oct 1785-1795 at Four Tree Hill. In 1788-1797 he paid Land Tax as occupier at Four Tree Hill & Connop Newell was proprietor. In 1794 his Academy of Forty-hill had 36 boys from Newcastle, London City areas, Clapham, Cheshunt. Advert below courtesy of Enfield Local Studies.
In the Observer 1.7.1798 & Times 3.7.1798 “The Rev Mr Shaw informs his Friends, that he has now moved from Enfield to Upper Edmonton, where he continues to educate Young Gentlemen”. In 1798 Land Tax Redemption & 1799-1818 paid Land Tax as proprietor & occupier at Fore Street, Edmonton. Enfield Local Studies records he ran College House Academy, Fore Street.
4 Miss Steele is gone down with Kitty & is to stop a few days with Mamma. Kitty called & took leave, she seeming very nervous. She is to be a sort of companion & house keeper to Mrs Powel & is only to get £10 a year & her washing. However, as their objective going out is to save their own income, the lowness of the salary does not signify. I am afraid they are still hankering after their brother.
5 Emily preparing for her little party tomorrow with great glee, she has been delighted today. The three Mullens dined here, James, Thomas & Adolphus.
6 We had Mrs Edmund & William, Maria Shaw, Mary Hammond, Robert, Henry & William Edmund to dinner at two o’clock. Emily & Fanny came to table & we sat down ten, it looked very pretty. In the evening Helen & Jane Steele came in & Robert & Edmund. We were then 14 & a very merry party we had. Played fox & geese, cards, shew for King & Queen, eat cake, drank tea, danced, played & were very happy at seeing the young ones so. Aunt brought up a twelfth cake in the morning, she looks but poorly.
* Henry Hammond 18.3.1819-31.3.1869 d.South Africa, son of Anna & Henry Samuel Hammond
* William Edmund Hammond 21.8.1820-Mar/April 1848, son of Anna & Henry Samuel Hammond
* Fox & Geese – board game popular from the 14thc. onwards which pits one fox against a gaggle of geese, can be bought in 2017!
7 Walked in the field with the children. Sharp frost. Mrs Garth, Mrs & Miss de Berchem & Miss Steele called. Aunt drove up & brought Harriet. I was just returning with the children from the field, they have got hoops & are learning to trundle them.
9 Dined at Aunt’s. Edmund brought little William up after church & we waited until half past two, when up came a coach instead of the carriage. I said immediately that some accident had happened & sure enough when we got there Aunt told me that in coming to fetch her from church, the coachman had upset the carriage, which we found broken very much, there was another man on the box, both were injured but not severely. It happened just at the turning by Bruce Castle & the men were tossed over against the wall of Bruce Cottage. The horses are not hurt, he says they were unmanageable but they are such gentle creatures that this seems incredible & the most likely thing is that he was tearing along at his usual pace, talking to the other man & carelessly drove against the post. Aunt is going to descharge him tomorrow & says she shall send the horses away. Mrs Shaw & John Johnston came in to tea & we passed a pleasant day, but I have over walked myself & feel much the worse for it. I cannot take the least latitude.
* Bruce Castle, in Bruce Castle Park, Tottenham & is now a museum
10 Heard nothing from Aunt. I am on the sofa again in consequence I suppose of walking.
11 Still unwell. Miss Sharpe called & Helen Steele. I fancy Kitty will leave Mrs Powel who calls her Elizabeth, makes her wear a cap & I imagine treats her as a common servant. The reason Mrs Strange does not take Helen into the house is that Mr Strange is literally dying of the dropsy brought on by drinking & he still gets drunk whenever he can. His eldest girl is so terrified of him that she faints at the sight of him. Mrs Strange too must be a curious woman to talk so unconcernedly about it & to leave him all the Xmas week with the keys to drink as much as he pleased. What extraordinary things one hears of. Mrs Hilliard, the sister of Mrs Van Lummers on the terrace, we have always considered a most respectable person, tho’ reduced in means, yet this very woman has living with her & introduced into the same society a daughter who 4 years ago had a child by Mr F. Echillay after he was married to Miss Hibbert, a beautiful girl who lived not 100 yards off all the time, what complicated vice?! it makes one shudder & Mrs Hilliard to let this girl still go about, to introduce numbers of young men into the house & to appear gay & happy thro’ it all. Why if ever I thought one of my little pure girls would come to such wretched depravity & disgrace, I wd cheerfully consign them to the grave this very hour.
12 Note from Mamma, Papa rather quieter.
13 Little Mary Bosworth spent the day here, Mrs de Berchem’s grandchild, a fine romp of seven.
14 Aunt has turned the coachman away & sent the horses home. Went to town with Aunt.
Jan 15 Better today. Damp, cold weather.
16 Still much better, no pain in my side or any where. Robert is talking seriously of keeping a pony to draw me about & I really think it wd be a grand thing for me, as I cannot get either air or exercise otherwise.
18 Fine in the morning, but foggy afterwards. Mamma has written for money. Miss de Berchem called.
19 Still very foggy. Wrote Mamma & Jane.
20 Dined with Mrs Shaw. Mr Hammond was called to a patient & cd not get up the whole day, how provoking as it was a family party.
21 Went to London with Aunt who called at Tathams, took in Mr Ellis & went with him to swear to Miss Williamson being the person named in Uncle John’s will before Master Cox. Mr Ellis assured me that he expected it to be got through in a month or two & Papa’s annuity in less time, wrote this to Mamma.
22 Sent Aunt some elder wine, Mrs E Shaw was so good as to send me.
23 Very wet.
24 Heavy snow in night & hard frost again.
25 Very severe. Poor dear Papa has ruptured himself, I regret to see his infirmities encrease.
26 Aunt came to take us to London, but as she got opposite Mrs Simms one of the horses was seized with the mad staggers, they cd with difficulty get out & then walked here. Aunt had appointed to meet a coachman here from Mr Muth, so she sent Mary for one of Bryari’s coaches to take us to town. The man came, very respectable but too high. We afterwards had a pleasant drive, went to the Queen’s Bazaar in Oxford Street, got the children some shoes & had a delightful day. Clear hard frost.
* Queen’s Bazaar - formerly Royal Bazaar, 73 Oxford Street, burnt down in 1829, rebuilt as Queen’s Bazaar as a home for dioramas & exhibitions of paintings, burnt down in 1831, rebuilt in 1840 as The Royal Princess's Theatre (demolished 1931) & now the site of HMV at 363 Oxford Street
27 Kate Steele has left Mrs Powel, who thinking Miss Steele had come home, told Kate that she must consider herself as a housemaid, clean stoves, sweep, make beds & on no account visit Mamma, for, said she “I do not allow my servants to visit their own friends, much less mine”. Of course the woman is crazy. She wanted one of the other sisters to come as governess to her daughter, on 20 pounds a year & to light her own fire. Mamma & Papa are coming up with the Steeles on Monday, Kate is now at Mamma’s. Today has been one of the most inclement ones I ever saw, in the morning hard wind frost, at noon heavy snow, then a rapid thaw & torrents of rain & sleet & now I am afraid severe frost again.
28 Very cold, a note from Aunt, Papa & Mamma coming up on Monday.
29 John Johnston came from Charter House. He is to pass every Saturday & Sunday with us unless invited elsewhere.
* Charterhouse, then at Charterhouse Square, Smithfield
30 Robert & Henry Hammond came up to church. They had a nice walk afterwards. Dined at 3 o’clock & then Robert & John walked with the Hammonds as far as the green. John went back to school by the eight o’clock coach. Mr & Mrs Garth called. Edmund’s youngest child very ill. Severe frost with occasional falls of snow.
31 Jan Dear Anna’s birthday. Papa gave her as usual a silver spoon, I a chair & Aunt has brought her a very handsome cup & frock, Emily bought her a toy. Miss Steele came & called. She was just come from Hertford & had left Papa & Mamma at Tottenham, with the intention of going to town to meet Mr Davies for a truss for poor Papa & then were coming here, but I have not seen them & suppose the snow has detained them & Papa will be in a fine fidget. Kitty Steele has left Mrs Powel’s where she ought not to have remained so long, in the first place she gave her to understand she was her housemaid & Miss Steele says that even the man servant called her Elizabeth, she was kept up till one o’clock in the morning & had to take breakfast into Mr & Mrs Powel in bed, where they remained till 2 o’clock sometimes. Mrs P. tho’ a pretty young woman is dirty both in habits & person & when Kitty went the last time to Totteridge, Mr Silwall, the reputed uncle was there. He is in fact her father & most extraordinary scenes took place, such as to render Mrs P’s character disgraceful if not more infamous. I cannot think of her with common patience, she is a disgrace to her sex, ignorant, vicious, dirty, malicious, a liar & most violent in her temper, mean, selfish, in fact I do not find one redeeming quality in her whole character & I regret poor Kate should have been exposed to such outrageous vileness.
February 1st One of the heaviest falls of snow I ever saw, the windows were blocked up half way. Mrs Cazenove very unwell & wishes to try the remedy Jane had from Mr Scotts’ for sore nipples.
2 Sent Jane all the way to Blackheath. When she got there Jane was out & instead of waiting at any rate until dark, she trotted off to town again as wise as she went, called & told Robert & then went to see her sister & did not return until past ten at night, I never was so provoked. The only reason I had for telling her not to wait after dark at Blackheath was that I thought she wd be afraid to be out late on such a night & then to find her stop out later than she wd never have done had she staid on my errand is really too bad, put me to the expense too of going inside the coach too all the way. I had far better have sent the stupid boy, but she begged so hard to be allowed to go, that I gave way, the fact is that her soul is wrapped up in gadding. In the mean time poor Mrs Cazenove is suffering both from pain, uncertainty & disappointment & I am really half wild, for she is depending so much on it, is so anxious, has lost a wet nurse probably, very ill with her milk for she can seldom bear the child to suck, so that I do not know what to do.
* Jane (1st) – servant. Jane (2nd) – Jane Perkins
3 The roads are a sheet of frozen snow & we have got to go & dine at the Hammonds. The fear of this & my great anxiety about poor Mrs Cazenove makes me truly uncomfortable. I am in anxious expectation of the noon post, or perhaps Jane has sent up by Mr Perkins. Robert has promised to go to Mark Lane the first thing & will send word to me. It requires all my resolution to be tolerably patient. Mrs C. feels tolerably comfortable this morning, I am sure it is more than I do. Yesterday Papa, Mamma & Aunt were up, the latter stopped here whilst they went up to town to get a truss for Papa. They came back & stayed an hour. Mamma does not look well. Papa is much the same. How I wish I cd hear something from Blackheath, 10 o’clock, 2 o’clock the parcel just come. Went with it into Mrs Cazenove’s & did her neck both sides throughly, left Mrs de Berchem with her in high spirits & both very confident of a speedy cure, I hope it will be so I am sure. At any rate I have done my best & most delighted I shall be if I have been instrumental to her comfort & relief. She is a nice woman very, but I staid with her so long that when Mrs Edmund arrived to take me to Edmonton, I had not begun to dress, so that I was greatly hurried but I left home with the greatest pleasure & comfort, for Miss Steele kindly came & passed the day with us & stayed with the children. I just ran in to see Aunt & her party. They were at dinner & then we took the Shaw’s down to Church Street, where we had a very pleasant party. Mr & Mrs Wallace & Mr & Mrs Bate were there, we did not get home until past twelve, I was very tired indeed. Jane wants me to meet Scott on Wednesday, which I declined, for if the roads are in such a dreadful state as they are now, I wd not dare go, they are really terrific, so slippery & such deep snow. Jane was very kind in sending most ample directions with plenty of plaister, lotion etc & has been very kind.
4 A note from Aunt to say that Papa & Mamma are gone away, poor dear creatures & I have hardly seen them. Mrs de Berchem sat with me. Mrs Cazenove does not as yet feel any difference, but it is too soon to expect any. A thaw all day, which has made every place swim in water & now a sharp wind frost which has converted the whole into ice, the roads are now so slippery it is hardly possible to go out in safely. I hope they got down to Hertford well without any accidents.
5 Mrs Cazenove very little better. John Johnston came, he looks ill & in bad spirits & no wonder, for the ill usage is very great, bathing him in the snow, tying him down to be drenched with rain etc etc. I do not think that the Charter House or any public school suits delicate boys.
6 John went down to Tottenham. Aunt sent a note by him to propose taking the children whilst I go to Mr Scott. This is out of the question. Mr Cazenove came in to tell me that Mrs C’s worst side was decidedly better. Rec’d some more plaister from Jane, who is very kind. I hope it will succeed.
7 A complete thaw, I hope it will continue, snow last night.
8 Waters much out. Very mild. Thermometer 58. The marshes all under water. Mrs Cazenove much better, she called to see me.
9 Went to town with Aunt
10 Went to Blackheath, took Helen Steele who went & passed the day with a friend there. Jane had her chaise to take me over to Clay Hill Beckenham, where Mr Scott has got a sweet place, it is really lovely, the country superb. I had my bandages renewed & then went to Beckenham to see the boys, Charles & Edward. They look very well & their master Mr Dale has a very fine house & grounds. Robert came down with Mr Perkins to dinner & we passed a very pleasant day indeed. Their album is beautiful. They have had a little picture of Meley done which is not like at all. Got home at twelve. Henrietta like Fanny but not so pretty. When the children went out walking they met Fanny, who cried very much to Jonny, this is the worst of going to school near home. Poor Papa feels this warm weather very much, the transition from severe frost & snow to summer heat. The ther 60 is trying even to healthy persons, what must it be to him last Sunday night when John went away, it was snowing & the roads were very dangerous, on Monday it was quite warm & for the last three days we have been sitting with doors & windows open. Jane was poorly with a pain in her back.
* Meley – Amelia Sophia Perkins 1825-1906
11 Papa better. Miss Steele walked down to Tottenham. Mrs Shaw very angry with her for not having written for so long, she was very rude to her, Miss Steele has come back much vexed. I shall not mention it to Robert. Aunt pretty well, she has hired Mr Mountford’s coachman & is to have her carriage & horses again in a day or two. I am very comfortable with my bandages.
12 Rain. John Johnston kept at school for an examination.
13 Passed one of our happy Sundays with the children, reading & prayers.
14 Called on Miss Sharpe, Mrs de Berchem & Mrs Cazenove, here I left the children to drink tea & highly they were delighted.
15 Aunt came up in her carriage, her new coachman & the same horses back again. I hope it will all go on smoothly now, she brought some letters from Tatham & Mamma. The Vice Chancellor has ordered the last year’s annuity to be paid, but seems unfavourable to the half yearly payments & if so, they will be in a sad situation, for with very little to go on upon, if they have to wait every year till December before they receive anything I know not what they will do & I am sadly afraid that unless poor dear Papa lives past the December he will not be entitled to any part of that year’s annuity, in which case Mamma will be left in a sad state. Robert says that it has been badly managed & that if we & the Perkins had insisted on having it settled whilst Papa was well, we should have saved them & ourselves both money & trouble. However this I do not regret, for I look back on my own motives & actions in this business with entire satisfaction. We drove on the Forrest with Aunt.
* Vice Chancellor – Sir Lancelot Shadwell, from 1827-1841
16 Very fine I was out gardening with the children all the morning. Emily began writing on Monday 14th February 1831.
17 Aunt came up & we drove to Spode’s & back again. Emily not very well. Went to a party at Mrs Edmunds & altho’ it is a very small house yet we had a most pleasant party of about 35 persons, we were really quite surprised to see how well every thing was managed, no bustle & no lack of amusement. They had a blind young woman to play quadrilles, but as she did not come in time, I played first. They danced the whole evening, all the Shaws & Mr & Mrs Hammmond were there & James & Adolphus Mullens, young Johnson a cousin of the Morices was there & a very nice pleasant young man he is, he sang & I accompanied him. We had a very handsome supper, with plenty of good things & did not get home will past three in the morning. I have seldom passed a pleasanter evening.
* Quadrilles – music for a quadrille, a square dance for four couples
18 The weather continues fine, but poor Emily has a terrible cold. I have been nursing her up all day & the feet in warm water, hot mess, new flannel on her chest, socks, warm pillow & plenty of lip salve will I hope go far to break the cold, unless she is going to have any disorder. She does not sneeze but only runs at the eyes, nose. Fanny too is rather complaining.
19 Emily still much oppressed & very poorly with her cold. Fanny has a slight one also. John Johnston is not come.
20 Fanny has also a bad cold.
21 Colds still very bad. Robert & I are added to the list, John Johnston went to Lady Hood.
22 The ther last days have been again very cold & one night a hard frost.
23 Maria & Louisa walked up with Mrs Wood, went to call on Miss Hennel & then walked back. When nearly at home poor Louisa was taken with a spitting of blood which has alarmed them very much.
24 Steeles called, made the children silk bonnets. Had a letter from dear John who seems to have great thoughts of going into the Church. His friend Mr Johnson who has left his neighbourhood has persuaded him to it & is now ascertaining whether the Bishop of Bristol will ordain him without going to the university, if he will I really think he will at last be a clergyman. I wrote to him directly to say how pleased I am & how fit I think him for the office. God send that he may prosper in every way. He is a truly good & dear fellow. Mary expects to be confined in May.
* John Charles Barkley went to Emmanuel College, Cambridge admitted pens. in Dec. 1831, matric. Lent 1832, ordained deacon Feb. 1835, instituted as vicar at Little Melton, Norfolk in 1839, a living in the patronage of Emmanuel College
* Mary Barkley – had Martha 1831-1924, 5th child
25 We are anxious about Louisa, she is a very delicate girl & not a good subject for such a symptom. I went to town with Aunt & walked about for an hour & a half, the children’s cold not well enough for them to go. Dear Mamma is very poorly with hers, she has a bad cough. Mamma is very anxious about the probable issue of the Chancery business, it seems most likely that the Master will not grant the half yearly payments, consequently they must be very much inconvenienced & great losers, for unless Papa shd live past the day of Uncle’s death in any year, they will not be entitled to a farthing. This is very hard particularly as we are pretty sure that Uncle did not intend it to be so & even with all this they will not retrench, but are now going down to John’s, at the risk of meeting with some accident with Papa, fatiguing & frightening Mary who is very heavy & inactive this time, putting both themselves & John to great expense & trouble at a bad season of the year, long evenings etc, it seems to me most extraordinary. Met Mrs Gale & Mrs King. Mrs W Chaplin very ill.
* Master – Master of the Rolls – Sir John Leach from 1827-1834
26 Letter from Jane proposing to dine here on Saturday next, more confusion I fear about the balance due from poor Papa.
27 Very wet in the morning, fine afterwards.
28 A very busy day, the Steeles came round after breakfast to make my orange marmalade. I sent them 2 doz. & kept 6 myself. They first cut the oranges in 4, then peeled out the pulp, then with a knife divided the skin & pips from the pulp & juice. On the former they poured water & when strained mixed it with the sugar & boiled up. They boiled the skins in water for hours, till they were quite soft & then cut them in very thin slices, previously they grated 1 dozen ½ & then mixed all together & boiled till quite clear & tender. It has made a fine marmalade. They were at it from half past nine till ½ past six. I have sent them sugar for their oranges. Aunt came up & took me to town, she wanted me to go to Tatham’s with her. We saw Mr Ellis who gave a more favourable account. He seems to have still hope of the annuity being paid half yearly & says that Papa’s balance is not more than it ever was. My little first cooky came up to see me & spend the day. She brought her baby of 2 months old, a very fine, pretty baby which I nursed with great pleasure. She seems to be getting on very well & has 3 children. Her husband very steady.
March 1st Hot sun & a cold wind. Annie’s cough bad. Papa had a fall & frayed his shin ten days ago & owing to the eternal walking it is now inflamed from the knee to the ankle & Mr Davies does not answer for the went if he does not rest it, there is matter formed. Mamma is in sad trouble. Marianne Witherby walked up.
2 A note from Mrs Garth to say she & her mother wd walk up & dine with us tomorrow. Mr Garth is to join them at dinner.
3 Dreadfully wet in the morning but the two ladies called. Mrs Cazenove called. Mr Garth went home, not expecting they wd venture up in such weather, at eleven at night they found it pouring with rain & had to send for a fly. Mrs Barrow is an active cheerful pleasant old lady. But poor Robert suffered much having rec’d just before he left town a most melancholly account of poor Louisa. She had a return of the blood yesterday & in a much greater quantity & her mother wrote almost distracted. It appears that on Fryesday she had been so well as to come down stairs, make tea, work, talk & laugh & sit up to her usual time. Maria went to a party at Mrs Hammond’s. The next morning she rang her bell early & was seized with a cough, which caused her to bring up a large quantity of blood. They put on twelve leeches & she is now so dreadfully reduced that she cannot sit upright or help herself in any way. She is supported with pillows & kept with her head high. She cannot speak & is only allowed a tea spoonful of lemonade at a time quite cool. I have put the Perkins’s off.
4 Aunt came up & took the children into town. Then Kitty Steele came to take care of them & I went down to Tottenham where I found them all in most dreadful alarm & distress. Robert came in the evening & saw Louisa for a minute, we then came home together.
5 Louisa not worse.
6 Dined at Aunt’s & I saw Louisa. She looks very interesting & very pretty like a little thin girl of 14, lies on her back, well supported, takes no more nourishment & does not speak. I hope & trust she will have no return. Edmund is ill. He got wet through on Thursday morning up from Tottenham.
7 Louisa continues mending, but even if she gets over this attack, she will not in my opinion be safe. Went to town with Aunt & Marianne & had a very pleasant walk in Oxford Street, up by Hyde Park. Went to Mrs Murray’s & saw all the fine court dresses. The profit must be pretty great when a Mantua maker sends to Paris for a court dress, 60 guineas merely as pattern, these courts every fortnight must be very good for trade. We are anxious for a letter from Hertford.
8 No letter till evening, Papa very ill with a stoppage in his bowels.
9 Mamma much alarmed for Papa, whose bowels continue bad. Mr Loyd saw him on Monday & pronounced him worse than he had ever seen him. Drove out with Aunt.
10 A letter from Jane to say she wd come over on Friday/tomorrow & take me down with her to dine at Aunt’s. I sent her note & Aunt replied that she sd be most happy to see us, but at two o’clock Marianne came up with a letter from Mamma to say Papa was very ill. The stoppage in his bowels had left him so sore that they feared inflammation. He was not allowed to eat any meat & takes but little nourishment at all. On Sunday morning he fell over the bed steps. Jane Johnston was close to him & tried to catch him but cd not. He struck his ribs & was cupped on the part. Now he has had ten leeches on his poor stomach & instead of receiving Jane tomorrow Aunt & I are going to Hertford. Miss Steele brought Mary Golding to play with the children. Edmund is very bad with a rheumatic fever & cannot stir hand or foot, nothing but illness.
11 Just starting for Hertford. Found Papa better in health, but the leeches had produced so violent an effect that we determined on stopping all night. Miss Steele was with the children so that I had little anxiety on their account & tho’ the inflammation subsided before night yet we did not regret staying. Poor dear Mamma has a hard task. Some one is now forced to sit up with him every night constantly, for he is now too weak to stand alone & is continually wanting to be about night & day.
12 Took a drive to Watton with Papa, the chaise is delightful now they have a box to it & James drives very well. We dined & returned in the evening. I stopped at Tottenham whilst the coach was getting ready & went to Mrs Shaw’s. Louisa mending slowly but I hope surely. Edmund is still in bed & hardly able to move in it even. Jane seems offended at my having gone down to Hertford, when she had proposed dining at Aunt’s, this is absurd. When I got home, I found only John Johnston in the drawing room. Emily came in soon after & took no more notice of me than if I had not been away. I was very angry with her I must own, for she is certainly old enough to have a little affection for so kind a mother. Fanny was almost asleep & Babe in bed. Robert came down & we had tea. Aunt has a bad cold.
13 Very wet. Robert & John cd only go as far as to call on Mr Burmester. A note from Mrs de Berchem today that the reason she had not been in was that she had got a little boy at her house with the hooping cough.
14 A lovely morning & have been out in the garden a long time.
15 Dear Fanny’s birth day. She has had a great treat. Cousin William has been here, he is staying with Miss Steele & we had a complete set out of soup, fish, meat, vegetables, sauces, pastry etc in the little set of china, very pretty it looked & the children enjoyed themselves much. They made tea in the doll’s tea-things & ended the evening by dancing, music, a bottle of Miss Steele’s orange wine & two cakes Grand Mamma Shaw sent them. I gave dear Fanny my little bunch of six hearts, Papa a book & Aunt Budgen a blue necklace. Edmund still very bad indeed. Mr Hammond called yesterday evening & said he was in considerable danger.
16 Mamma laid up with an attack of gout & I miserable about her.
17 Got Miss Steele to go to Hertford & keep Papa company. Mamma better.
18 Heard that Mr Perkins is offered to be returned as Member for Greenwich. Mamma better.
19 Mr Biddle saw Edmund & thought him so bad that he galloped back to Mr Wallace’s where Mr Hammond was dining & they took a post chaise directly. When Mr H. saw him, he said he must instantly be bled & so said Mr Biddle. But Mr Tebbut, their neighbour (an old man) said he wd not agree to it as he was sure he cd not bear it, so Mr Hammond took the whole responsibility on himself & took 20 ounces, which relieved the heart & gave him a good night. The next morning when Robert got there, he had 12 leeches on his heart & was something better. Robert came back again from town at eleven & met Mr Hammond, who said he was better, but agreed that it wd be as well to have further advice. Accordingly Robert went back to town & brought Mr Duchein their own medical & Dr Davies, who agreed in every point with the others & gave them great satisfaction & hope. Robert is delighted with the goodwill of heart shewn by Miss Thomson, she is like the wife.
* Miss Thomson – Jane, Edmund’s sister-in-law. He married Anne Fowle Thomson in 1822.
20 4 doctors pronounced Edmund better. We have all got colds. John Johnston looking better.
21 Jane coming to lunch tomorrow. Went to town with Aunt & walked a little way with her & the two girls in Oxford Street. Just as we were going to get into the carriage who sd I get sight of but Sophia Burrow. She did not see me but I called out her name & she knew me instantly. Mr Kerrie was behind but hardly remembered me till she named me. I asked how little Julia did & she introduced me to a tall plain girl, as tall as myself, when I last saw her she was a little creature like Fanny. They had only been in town two days & are going away tomorrow morning. I was glad to see so old a friend once more. After my return Mrs & Miss de Berchem called to talk to me about their poor old cook who died at 3 o’clock. She wishes me to write to Hertford about a servant. They took tea & dinner together here for they had had nothing all day in the bustle, they enjoyed their meal amazingly, but Mrs de Berchem was very low. Miss de Berchem is to sleep at her sister’s.
22 Jane & Amelia dined here. William has determined to stay here altogether & has gone to bed in dear Robert’s room. Aunt & Miss W. dined here also, everything went off well. Mamma better. Edmund better & Louisa better.
* Louisa was buried 29.6.1831 at St Mary the Virgin, Cheshunt, Herts.
[END OF JOURNAL – Next Journal 9 March 1839-5 September 1842
Springfield, Upper Clapton]
Notes:
Captain Charles William Barkley died 17.5.1832 North Crescent, Hertford, buried 24.5.1832 St Andrew’s Church, Enfield
Aunt Martha Budgen died 6.4.1836 Tottenham, buried 13.4.1836 St Andrew’s Church, Enfield
Robert Grant Shaw died 23.8.1842 Springfield, Upper Clapton buried 30.8.1842 St Mary the Virgin, Cheshunt, Herts
Frances Barkley died 22.5.1845 Cuckfield, buried 30.5.1845 St Andrew’s Church, Enfield
MARTHA SHAW
Second Journal
9 March 1839-5 September 1842
Springfield, Upper Clapton
Original Journal in the British Library Younghusband papers F 197/2
Journal was donated by Eileen Younghusband with her father’s papers. Eileen’s father Sir Francis Younghusband was Clara’s son.
Martha’s son Robert Barkley Shaw’s birth & her husband Robert Grant Shaw’s death.
Transcribed by Madeleine Symes 2018, mostly capitals removed, her notes in italics & in brackets, things of interest in bold, fuller details of people given in other Journals, Martha’s spelling.
1839
9th March
I have not written any thing in a Journal since 31st December 1838 - since which I have been going on tolerably, my sickness is gone, I have quickened, but not enlarged much. I cannot go to church, excepting when there is not a sermon, on week days & I am almost wholly confined to my chair, but on the whole my spirits are good & I can amuse myself well with reading & working, besides the almost innumerable employments of the family. I kept John till the 4 or 5th Feby but he was naughty at last. Caroline went a few days afterwards, most miserably out of spirits, it even made her ill, but she is reconciled now. Ifigenia is still with us, her spine being slightly curved Dr Gomes & Mr Toulmin advised my keeping her & not allowing her to sit in bad positions, do lessons etc. She is as happy & as good as a child can be & quite forms one of my family, we feel no difference, I trust her health will improve & as she grows, that her back will become straight. The Caffarys worried me in the holidays by going out so much, 3 or 4 times a week out till 1 or 2 in the morning! Robert & servants kept sitting up for them. The Baroness too rather teases about them, always finding fault with something. Miss Brindley left in Feby about the 12th. I put an advertisement into the Times & had 50 answers! I saw many & nearly fixed with a Miss Baugh, but after many letters & much time, found her character wd not suit. Miss Witherby has been here since Ash Wednesday. She hears the two little ones their lessons, before I come down in the morning, otherwise is of little use, she grows old & more & more nervous, cannot even walk a short distance with any one else. Went to church once by herself & came out.
· Martha drew & wrote in her 1856 Souvenir Album about her house below where she lived 1839-1842
· “In this and another house in the same immediate vicinity I past sixteen out of the eighteen of my married life, Robert was the only one of my children born in this house, Fanny, Annie, Clara & Laura were born in the one four houses lower down where we lived fourteen years. The view was exceedingly pretty in front, we had a nice garden & field, the river Lea wound through the plain which is extensive & bounded by the fine woods of Epping Forest. Emily was born at Bruce Cottage Tottenham, which we took furnished for two years when first we married. I & my six children left this house in Springfield Upper Clapton in 1842.”
· Caroline, John Charles & Ifigenia Caffary – children of Patrick John Caffary who had a rope manufactory in Lisbon, Robert Grant Shaw’s business partner. Martha also spelt Ifigenia as Iphigenia & Iffy, Caroline as Carry.
· Baroness Efigenia Maria de Faro - Patrick John Caffary’s mother. She remarried in 1831 after her 1st husband John Michael Caffary’s death in 1828.
· Miss Marianne Witherby – had been Martha’s Aunt Martha Budgen’s companion
The children are very good & happy, preparing for Mr Frost & Miss Hubert, doing music with me & occasionally reading aloud, with work & play fills their time up well. I am going to part with Elizabeth! the cause must remain in my own heart, my given reason is, not wanting a nursery longer, as Clara & Laura are old enough to be out of it. I mean only to have 3 servants as present.
· Miss Hubert – Miss Aurélie Hubert de Fonteny, see later journals
I am glad Miss B is gone. She was a most injudicious person & made me wretched, by mismanagement, obstinacy etc which caused me to be sulky with her. We had several necessary dinner parties at Xmas, but I go out no where.
Dear GM has been all the winter at the Hot Wells & went last Tuesday to Bridgewater. John is going to leave Toft, the Bishop insists on the Rector residing. About a month ago Dr Rogers dined here to meet all the family, it went off well & really to my mind seems desirable, for tho’ he is old, yet he is active, very generous, respectable etc, a governess kept for the 2 girls & a nurse for the little boy. Maria has a dull home at present & Harriet will do equally well in a lodging near the Hammonds. Mrs H is greatly vexed but does not tell Maria so. Charles continues on bad terms with Mrs Murray & is at present gone the Circuit. A month ago I thought Anne must be in a decline, but she weaned the baby & is gaining strength.
· GM – Grandmamma, Frances Barkley, Martha’s mother
· Hot Wells – a district of Bristol, its name was taken from the hot springs of the Avon Gorge underneath Clifton Suspension Bridge. It was developed as a spa & there was a pump room.
· John – Rev John Charles Barkley, Martha’s older brother
· Dr Colin Rogers – married Robert Grant Shaw’s sister, Maria Shaw on 2.5.1839 as his 3rd wife
· Harriet – Harriet Shaw, unknown connection
· Mrs H – Anna Hammond, Robert Grant Shaw’s sister
· Charles Francis Barkley – Martha’s younger brother
· Mrs Murray – Charles’ wife Anne’s mother
· Anne Barkley’s daughter Annie Murray Barkley b.11.10.1838
A fortnight ago Mrs Wm Marshall called & was saying how desirable it wd be to form a Penny Club in this part, instead of subscribing to one in Hackney, but she & I both declared we wd not go begging for it. As soon as she was gone Ifigenia & Emily began by entreating me to let them go about. They never left me quiet for the whole day & at last fairly teased me into allowing them to undertake it, so I told them, to prove their folly they sd make the attempt, only they must manage all for themselves. In 3 days they collected £8!! constituted Emily Secretary, Ifigenia Treasurer, Mrs Foster, Mrs Marshall, myself on their comittee & now Mrs Jones makes the 6th. They have got books, Emily makes out & writes the accounts capitally & as she does so well. Papa directs & takes great interest in it. All this week they have been engaged choosing children from the Infant School which Mrs Heathcote recommends, she takes great interest & some trouble about it, only two persons have declined, Mrs Bischoff & Mrs Mocus. They have been today to Mrs Noul who was very kind & they are now going to Mrs Gregory & Mrs F Toulmin. I had no idea of their having sufficient courage or perseverance. Both are equally warm in the cause & it much pleases me to see dear Ifigenia, who has been so differently taught, entering with all her heart & soul into it. I hope her parents will not discourage her.
· Emily Shaw – Martha’s oldest daughter
· Papa – Robert Grant Shaw, Martha’s husband
We have had some very warm fine weather, but this morning in my room I dressed with the ther at 34!! Snow on the ground & bitter winds. Today however it is bright & warm in the sun, tho’ the north windows are frozen over.
12th Weather continues very cold, with easterly winds. Saw another governess yesterday, but shall not engage her. Snow not entirely thawed.
14th Quite mild, rainy weather. Robert gone to the Birkett’s annual party & I in low spirits, thinking of death & its consequences to myself & others, continuing to make arrangements for Penny Club. Edmund is going to contribute the printing papers.
· Edmund Shaw, printer/stationer - Robert Grant Shaw’s brother
Yesterday Jane, Fanny & Amelia passed the morning here. Little Patty went to Cambridge alone! John cd not come up to fetch her. John is going to leave Toft, the Bishop intends the Rector to reside.
· Jane Perkins née Barkley – Martha’s older sister, Jane’s daughters Fanny & Amelia
· Patty - Martha Barkley 1831-1924, John Charles Barkley’s eldest daughter
20th Two gentlemen from St Michaels dined here, I cd not avoid being struck with an expression of the elder one. He said religion was fast leaving the island & regretted it because, he was sure nothing wd go on well without something of the sort, no matter what. He was liberal in his opinions, but some restraint was necessary, as morality was all that was needful. He is himself a Roman Catholic in name, tho’ nothing in reallity I suppose. He denounced Auricula confession but maintained that by observing the Sabbath, God intended us to have a day of pleasure & enjoyment, so I think, but his idea of pleasure is cards, theatres etc. I rather posed him about the latter which he called an innocent amusement.
· St Michael & All Angels Stoke Newington Common, Northwold Rd, Cazenove, N16
21st The sale of books takes place at our house this morning. I am hardly increased at all in size tho’ nearly at my 6th month. I went yesterday to church & also to enquire of Mrs Rutter about a monthly nurse.
April 2nd Caroline has the measles at school. Fortunately it broke out a week before the Easter holidays, so that we resolved not to have her home & on Good Friday it broke out in her, I went to see her, she has it very slightly.
April 24 Caroline quite well. I have been laid up with a bad attack of piles, in bed a fortnight & now tho’ down stairs, obliged to lie down almost constantly & can hardly walk round the garden. Have engaged a Miss Young as governess, had a 10 years recommendation, but yet am prepared for disappointment.
April 27 I have been up stairs again for 3 or 4 days & am once more down, but have a good deal of bearing down, cannot get my stays on & lie constantly.
May 2nd Maria Shaw married to Dr Rogers at Tottenham church by Mr J Wallace, Robert gave her away. The church yard was lined with people & many in the church, they went to breakfast at Mr Hammond’s where they had about 35 persons, to meet them & they afterwards set off for Bath in a handsome travelling carriage. Maria looked very well & all went off with great satisfaction. Mary Hammond & Miss Hope were bridesmaids. Robert gave Maria a pearl ring.
· Mary Hammond – niece of Maria Shaw, daughter of Mr Henry Samuel & Anna Hammond née Shaw
Anne gave me warning on 30th April.
Harriet appeared at the wedding breakfast. They asked Emily, but as she is very forward, I thought it best to keep her at home. I am much better & can walk about the garden. GM is gone to Torquay. Mary Barkley was confined 20th April, a boy, since which John has had to nurse the other children with typhus fever, nearly lost George. The weather is as warm & fine as August ought to be & every thing coming out beautifully.
· Mary Barkley, wife of John Charles Barkley, birth of Robert Arthur Barkley
8th One of the most violent storms of thunder & lightning I ever witnessed, it lasted from 7 in the evening till 12 at night & affected my head so much that I cd hardly stand. Miss Young came.
9th The storm has changed the weather which is now as cold as Xmas. This evening I was plunged into extreme grief & painful suspense by Robert bringing me word that Mr Perkins had called & told him that he had just received by the courier a note from Jane, telling him that our beloved mother was very ill & John sent for to her. The reason for writing to Mr P was to put off an engagement they had for the evening. From Robert’s Mamma, I know not what to conclude. At first I thought it was only a precaution & that she was actually no more, but Robert assures me this is not the case to his knowledge, still he gives me no encouragement to hope for a favourable result & by his manner I fear that he is well convinced she is very bad. God knows what is best, but bitterly do I repent having urged my dearest mother to proceed to Devonshire, she has harped much on returning to her own house & also being with me in July, but I have thrown cold water on it, it being my own & others opinion that she ought not to be here, but thank God in my last I said that if she was determined to come, I sd be delighted to have her. How cruel in me ever to have appeared cool on the subject & what wd I give now to be able to have her here, or even to know she cd read a line from me.
10th After miserable feelings I am brought to another day, unable to go to her, or even to hasten in any way the knowledge of her state. She may be suffering, dying, dead or recovering but I am in ignorance of all. Nor do I see how I am to hear at all today, for John cannot be yet with her & who is to write to me. Whoever has written to John & Jane must have been instructed by my dear kind considerate mother, else why not also write to me. Robert has promised to send me a line by the first coach, after he has seen Mr Perkins & then I shall know whether I can once more address a mother in this life, what an aweful state of suspense! Were it not for Robert’s Mamma & appearance of snow, I sd not despair, because she has often before been very bad. Even now I sometimes think she is indeed dead, because otherwise surely Jane wd have gone to her immediately, oh it must be so. God Almighty save her precious soul. Only on Monday I received a letter from her, saying how much she had enjoyed her journey & how lovely the country is through which she passed, that she had slept well at Sherborne & Exeter, but had not been able to lie her head on her pillow since she had got to Torquay, for which reason she meant to change her lodgings & I was to address her at the Post Office. I wrote to her by return of post. Oh my dearest mother, did you live to read it? What wd I not give to be able to go to you, had I been able, nothing sd have prevented me. Perhaps you have actually needed common comforts, God only knows who has attended you, what a state of miserable suspense am I in.
· Robert’s Mamma –Mrs Elizabeth Shaw died 18.4.1836
· Sherborne – John & Mary Barkley lived there
At one o’clock I received a note from Robert. Jane’s intelligence was from Mr Toogood the medical man at Torquay to say that GM had a bad attack of asthma which had partly subsided but still great difficulty in breathing & he thought that her son had better go down. All we know in addition to this is that Mr Perkins had a letter this morning from Mr Robinson saying that John had had a similar account & had started for Torquay at 10am on Thursday night. How strange that after such an alarm this medical man had not the humanity to write by the next post.
11th My mind is even more disturbed than yesterday & I am afraid to know what is heard from Torquay. Had dear GM been herself, she wd not have failed to request the medical man to write (if only a line) by the next post. Therefore I think she must be too ill to give directions, or else all is over & yet if this latter was the case, surely Mr Toogood wd have written. God knows, but it is most distressing to be in this state of suspense.
Dear John is (please God) with her by this time & knows the worst, but we cannot hear from him untill Monday & this is Saturday. God grant us submission to his will. It is a sore trial at present.
12th Received a note from Jane to say that Mr Toogood had written to her to go down, tho’ GM was better. This of course alarmed me more & yet made me more satisfied. Past a very wretched day.
13 Thank God letters from dear John both to Robert & myself, announcing an improvement, my dearest mother wrote a few lines even herself, words I should say & not badly. I dined with Robert & past our 15th wedding day in comparative happiness. Miss Young appears gentle & lady like & if she only performs half she says she will, I shall think it a great blessing, but I still hold in my opinion that she is not clever. She is very neat.
14th John’s account not quite so favourable, she has a great deal of fever & is very weak, but her spirits are supported, she is quite resigned & speaks with hope of redemption through Christ. They were all to receive the sacrament on Monday & her chief desire to live she expresses to be on my account. Charles & Jane went down by different mails on Saturday night, met on the rail road & again at Exeter, whence they posted to Torquay. Jane was gone to bed, poor dear Charles had already shown a disposition to quarrel. John says the doctors do not withhold all hope. After all this is but poor hope for us, but we must trust all to God. I have had 2 letters from Fanny, one from Mary, Aunt Cook etc.
· Charles Francis Barkley, Jane & Martha’s younger brother
· Aunt Harriot James Cook née Trevor 5.8.1760 baptised 13.8.1760-16.9.1843 m. 27.10.1796 John Cook, widower. Frances Barkley’s oldest sister. She lived at 10 Wellington Terrace, St John’s Wood.
15 A long letter from Jane. GM certainly better. Charles has got her a wheel chair & she is taken into the drawing room every day at 9 o’clock. He is very kind & attentive to her, John also. Jane says that Mr Toogood the medical man has been most attentive to her, remaining 3 or 4 hours at her side, night & day. Eliza also has been very attentive & good. Charles has given her £1. They have a good nurse & the woman of the house attentive. They are all in raptures with Torquay. Charles talks of taking his family there, but where GM is it is rather too near the bay where they repair ships. The smell of coal tar is bad. Dear GM expresses herself rather disappointed than otherwise at her recovery, having as far as she ever hopes to do, made her peace with God, she is sorry to return her thoughts to this world, but yet says she has many to live for & only feared dying as it wd hurt me.
16, 17, 18 Continued good reports of dearest GM. Charles has returned & was coming down with Anne, but feared chicken pox, which Emily is well over. Miss Young goes on well. She is unassuming & regular. I go up & down stairs, sleep all night through & am not nearly so large & heavy as on former occasions.
19th to 23rd Since writing the above, or rather before, Emily has had & got well through the chicken pox. She was very poorly one day & I saw pimples in her face, the next day one on her nose came to a white head. I sent for Mr Toulmin who gave her cooling medicines for her cough which was bad. She then went regularly through the chicken pox, she was only ill the day before it came out & did not keep her bed at all. The one on her nose has still a large scab on it. In 12 days it broke out on Fanny & Annie, the former has the rash under one eyelid, which inflames her eye sadly & she has been very ill for 3 days, in bed, but I have not had Mr Toulmin. We have a beautiful box of oranges from St Michaels, on which they almost live. Annie has been in bed 2 days & is still there, but as 3 seems the time it lasts, I hope she will be up tomorrow. Yesterday Laura’s became decided & today Clara’s, both are up, but quite unwell & the spots irritate them dreadfully. Fanny is covered particularly head & face. Annie not quite so much, tho’ very sore, Clara not full up.
The accounts from GM are not very favourable, she improves very very slightly if at all & seems to be in a state of great excitement. By letter it is impossible to know the exact state, but when I find two nurses sitting up at night one on each side of the bed, holding her hand & John or Jane in the adjoining room, I know things must be pretty bad. What is to be done I know not, the girl too is confined to her bed.
24 Better accounts, talk of changing the house for a more airy one at Torquay & Jane hopes to be able to bring GM home by the middle of the month.
25th All our children are up today, tho’ Clara’s is at its height & Laura’s hardly turned, but these little ones do no good in bed. I have made Annie get up today, but she is very poorly. The wind too is bitterly cold.
26th Weather warmer & fine sunshine, children all out in the garden. Emily went to church, tho’ she has still one spot on her nose, I almost think it will leave a mark. Warm & hazy.
3rd June John surprised us one night last week, he came up from Torquay to see about the living of Melton Parva which has been presented to him very handsomely by his college & he is to go back for GM, who is a great deal better, tho’ unable to walk across the room yet. John’s new living is worth about £140 a year with some acres of land, a house rather small but in good repair. Weather very fine, today rain which is much wanted for grass etc.
8th Had a letter again from my own dearest mother, pretty well written & very good sense. Her servant has behaved most shamefully, dishonest, lying etc, she must discharge her before she gets to Southend. My cook her sister is gone away with a bad knee & is not likely to be soon well, so that I propose getting her into the hospital & looking out for another. To my great consternation I find that Miss Hatcher leaves as soon as the holidays commence & nothing remains but for me to have the girls on Monday next 18th, a pretty job & I feel hardly likely to keep up my full time. Their parents ought to have arranged to be home in time.
· Southend, Lewisham – where Jane & Charles Perkins live
10th John came up on Friday last to proceed to dear GM, Jane left her on Thursday. Little Patty is here till Aunt Perkins can fetch her. Dear GM talks of coming here too, so that I am in a hobble one way & the other, but thank God can keep about nicely, come down to breakfast & go on as usual. Am very heavy now, but still can go in & out of the garden & poultry yard & do not suffer more I sd think than many other women so near their time.
20th GM & John expected to arrive at Southend today. They left Torquay on Monday & John wrote me from Sherborne that they had got on well. Caroline & Iphigenia are here, they came on Monday, their parents have no idea of Miss Hatcher not keeping them till they return & as some particular business has arisen I do not expect they will be in England for 3 weeks yet. Jane insists on coming to be with me in my labour & thinks GM will not long keep away so I am likely to be full enough. It is very unlucky just at a time when I want to be quiet & have the attendance of the servants myself, also to have two girls, one so old as Carry, at such a time. The Baroness is a very foolish intriguing old woman, she has persuaded Carry that her parents do not care for them, that they only went to Lisbon for pleasure & now do not want to return to be troubled by them. She has also made a great fuss about John, who we really cannot have home & finding it impossible to get Robert to send for him, is going to send herself tomorrow, this I think very well, but why try to get us to authorize it & why make mischief between the children themselves, their parents & us. She has nothing to do, but mischief, sends for Caroline the first thing in the morning & says Iffy may go if she chuses. Today Carry walked off without even telling me, for the whole day. Dear little Iffy went to the cours & is as happy as a queen with us.
June 21st I keep up surprisingly & can still walk about the house, the garden & the yard, sit up to write etc, but I am beginning to get very nervous at night, in mere dread of the pain. God grant me safely thro’ it & a dear child alive & well. The children are all most anxious for the arrival. The weather is heavenly, picked peas first time yesterday. On the 19th strawberries cried about at 1s a small pottle. Peas are 10d a peck, every thing grows wonderfully. We have had 2 beautiful thunder storms but fine again directly. Charles & Anne came down on Sunday. The baby is grown as fat as butter.
26th On Saturday night owing to a great bustle of talking etc I was taken with a nervous attack, which so decided Mr T that he sent for a nurse & staid with me untill ½ past 12, but I knew I was not in labour & am now quite well again. Should be very thankful to have less bustle in the house, Caroline & Iphigenia are likely to be here yet some time I think. Mr C being detained in Lisbon, this is sad work for me, John is at his GMa’s & of course comes here two or three times a day making an incessant bustle. As for Iffy she is as good as gold & happy, but poor Carry is sighing after change, unsettled & uneasy, beginning to have invitations which I cannot allow them to accept, for to have Xmas doings over again wd be ruination, servants enough to do all day, shall not be kept up all night as well. Dear GM wants to come to me & Jane fancies I encourage it, she is now safe at Southend, has a delightful wheel chair & certainly is much better off than she cd be here, but for the world I wd not have her suppose that I did not want her, particularly as I know she wants to come, poor dear soul.
I forget whether I mentioned that dear John has had a small living presented to him by his college, Melton Mowbray near Norwich.
July 2nd Still up, but now feel whilst writing this, that my labour will soon begin. My courage I suppose is not less than on other occasions, but yet it is an aweful time. God grant me safe deliverance & a healthy child. May he also pardon all my sins, amongst the chief of them is the impatience I feel towards servants. Their inconsiderateness, their deceit, their impositions, their ignorance! it is very trying to be obliged not only to have constant dealings with these persons, but either to shut ones eyes & submit to be cheated or else contend with them & at last come off worst.
My nurse came on Saturday. God grant that my next writing in this book, may be to say that I have another dear child. 1 o’clock.
9th July Still up & about, but very unwieldy & tho’ frightened when I think it is coming, yet I wish it to do so & am very weary of waiting. I am sure my time is past, last night I had another little alarm.
10th When my time will come I cannot guess. GM has been poorly but is better.
18th On 12th July at 5 in the afternoon I left off work determining to put fresh flowers in all the jars. As soon as I got into the garden I felt labour pains begin, but persisted & gathered flowers for 6 jars, going to the bottom of the garden for some. I then set them out & having completed my job, told Laura to call nurse. Just then, in walked John Caffary & all the other 7. It was a hard job to get them out of the room & as soon as we did so, I went up stairs, had my chair & other things up & told Eliza to go to Mr T as soon as she had had her tea. Nurse’s tea was brought up to her, as I felt I cd not be left & I very soon altered my mind & sent Eliza for Mr T, a decided appearance having come on.
[July 20 at top of page] He had just come in, so staid very quietly & had his dinner & was up in ½ an hour. Soon after he arrived, he examined & found the child’s head right for the world & as he allowed me to get off the bed again I sat down & wrote to dear GM saying the exact state of affairs. The pains now got rather sharp, I told Mr T to have it over before Robert came. He shook his head. I had (at the beginning) sent to get Miss Sharp to send for the children, so that they were all in there. A few minutes before 9 I saw Robert arrived & beckoned to him but he did not see me, or rather did not see anything particular, but continued quietly talking to some man. My pains increased, Mr T came up. I got on the bed, had 3 forcing pains & just as Robert arrived at my door to see what was the matter, he heard the voice of his first born son. I was most mercifully delivered & trust I felt grateful for the mercy – surely it is the greatest transition from joy to sorrow which can be experienced in this world, it was a very thin small child born, but is filling out nicely now. As soon as he was dressed, the children came all of them to the door & looked at him, their joy when they came home & were told they had a little brother, was so great, that they sobbed & cried for joy & cd not even stop themselves when they came to my door to look at him. Robert missed Emily & Iphigenia & after hunting all the house over, found them sitting in the dark drawing room, their arms round each other, sobbing & crying.
· Robert Barkley Shaw 12.7.1839-15.6.1879
I laid still till 5 in the morning when I moved very comfortably into bed where I have remained till the present time, only having gone from one side to the other, but this I am able to do better than ever I did before & have not felt any uneasiness at all as yet of any kind, excepting a little head ache occasionally. Jane came to see me the 3rd day, not dear GM.
The enquiries are very numerous, every one seems interested in its being a boy. At first I really felt something very much like regret, but seeing Robert so delighted & every one else pleased, I now wd not have it a girl for the world. I have abundance of milk & he sucks night & day incessantly. I sleep 4 hours every day, have not eaten anything but slops & as yet am doing well thank God.
The Baroness has taken John to Brighton, the poor girls are still in expectation of their parents but 5 of their 6 week’s holidays are expired. Charles has given up 2 cases at York, owing to Mrs H Gordon’s death. I hope he will not be disappointed.
25th Still going on quite well, tho’ ungrateful enough to be getting out of spirits & cross. The Caffary’s came on Tuesday, took a bit of dinner & left at 4 o’clock with the girls, they are at St Paul’s Coffee House & are going to join the Baroness at Brighton today or tomorrow. They had a most stormy passage & Mrs C looks more the picture of woe & misery than ever, she only came to see me for 5 minutes & cd hardly stand, seemed scarcely to notice even her own girls, who in all their joy, regretted leaving us, Iphigenia cried all day. Caroline is greatly annoyed at Madlle H- & who seems resolved to make a hard push at harying herself completely on upon Mr & Mrs Caffary. She puts herself on a par with their own children in point of feeling & without invitation was here from six to eleven & Robert cd hardly get rid of her then. Carry was disgusted to see her kiss her Papa over & over again, even after the first meeting & at one time he put one arm round her waist & one round Carry’s, who in telling it to me said “I turned round & gave him such a look! & then went away from him, for I had no wish to be coupled with her in that way”. Mr C little thinks what a sharp scrutinizer he has got in his own child, I pray that he may have respect enough for her modest & upright feelings to be more circumspect, I had no idea that Caroline saw his faults of this kind, untill Tuesday. She has often spoke unreservedly, but never quite so much so, it appears that Madlle flirts terribly with him & that Carry has long been disquieted at it & says her Mamma dislikes her for the same reason tho’ she has not strength of mind sufficient to discourage it. Poor Mrs C, her only chance now is from her daughter’s purity of heart, which perhaps may check conduct which causes her such misery. This can be no part of a wife’s duty I am sure, to encourage any woman in taking improper liberties with a husband, far better wd it be to assert her own dignity to attach herself more so & interest herself in her children, instead of giving up health, spirits, maternal care, friends, happiness & at last life itself (I fear) in a vain, fond childish devotion to a man, who wd be far more likely to do what was right if he saw his wife more like other women. Poor Caroline will have many an unhappy moment I can see, as far as I am able I trust I may advise her wisely, she is now bent on making her Papa a promise not to have her again to live with them. I hope she may succeed.
· Mrs C - Mary Salome Caffary née O’Neill 1799-1845
Babe thrives well, I have not had my bed made yet, as I can have it shaken up at the sides & am unwilling to bring on uneasy sensations by moving on to a sofa. I dread nervousness.
26 Dearest GMamma came over to see me, in face she looks as well or better than usual, but walks very feebly & requires some one to lean on. I enjoyed her visit very much indeed.
27 Had my crib to the side of my bed & got on to it, I am now lying on it, but being wrapped up in flannel gown etc do not enjoy it much, my bed will be a treat to me after it. Thank God for enabling me to get so far without suffering. Mrs Gordon has left Anne £7000.
30th I had my bed made for the first time on the 15th day & he every day on my crib, am perfectly well.
30th July On the 16th day began eating boiled chicken.
31st Suffered from bowel complaint.
1st August Rain ceased & fine hot weather commenced. Bowels better, but have sore throat & cold & am out of spirits.
2nd Still poorly. 3rd in bed all day.
4th Got up on my crib, but spirits bad. Feel some of my old complaints.
5 Better & able to work & read again.
6 Taking tonics & am much better, begin to animal food.
7 Rain again.
8 Had a spasm in my chest & have a bad cough.
9 Jane brought dear GM to stay, the former has a cold & cough worse than mine & seemed in rather poor spirits. After she was gone I sat up on my sofa with my feet on a chair for 5 minutes & felt no worse.
10 Sat up a quarter of an hour & nursed baby. Enjoy GMs company. Mrs de Berchem called.
11th Sat up 35 minutes, had my tea & nursed baby. Thank God. I hope I feel sufficiently thankful, Robert & children.
12th Charles & Anne dined here & took leave previous to leaving England for 2 years, they are going to travel on the Continent & he has had a delightful little bed made for the baby, which takes to pieces & folds into a very small compass, so that he will always be sure of a well aired bed. Anne looks to me as if she was in a decline!
13th Got on to my chair, went into Emily’s room. Saw Mrs Marshall, Mrs Wynn, & Mrs Caffary called on her way to Edmonton, the children were as delighted to see me & all of us as ever & Mrs C brought me a little box & one which she said was a little basket from herself. I took no notice of it till she was gone & then thinking that it was merely a little nest of boxes, I handed it very carelessly to Fanny saying she might amuse herself with it, she opened it & began pulling out something, exclaiming “Oh these are such beautiful things” upon which I look it in my hand & discovered a set of the handsomest silver fillagree ornaments I ever saw. This does not please me, because I told Mrs C I wd not have any such thing & they might have paid me a compliment in a much better way & I know not exactly what to do.
14th Saw Mrs Marshall again & tried my feet by standing for a minute.
15th Saw Mrs Bischoff.
16 Walked across the room holding by nurse’s arm.
17 Put on my stays & got out of bed on my feet.
18 Stephen & Mrs Field brought me down for the first time on the carrying chair, it made me nervous at first, but I shall soon become accustomed to it.
19 Down again & walked a few steps.
20 I see some of the neighbours almost every day now & have no drawbacks.
21 Dear GMamma left for Toft. I took 3 turns round the garden in my wheel chair, without any inconvenience & afterwards laid on my in door chair for an hour out of doors.
22 Took several turns & had my dinner out. On Tuesday Aunt Cook & Miss Vandelun drank tea here, both well.
23 Marianne Witherby came to stop. It is a great pleasure to see one’s friends. Anne Barkley came also for the afternoon & brought her dear little girl, who is fatter than when I saw her, but they say is falling off since weaning. She is a nice little soul & seems very fond of music.
24th August I can now walk about the room tho’ with great difficulty & went into the dining room & surprised Robert whilst at dinner. My legs & feet still feel very dead & my hips disjointed.
26th Dearest Emily’s birth day, 13 years old! She is a good girl, quite a child in some things, but pretty forward in learning for her age. Her faults are, untidiness, carelessness & indolence. She is stout & awkward, but some say good looking, delightful with the baby, in extasies at every new thing I do or put on & takes an interest in all that goes on.
September 10th Since writing as above I have had slight drawbacks, which have prevented my going in the garden or doing any more than I should. Indeed I am forced to lie more constantly & flatter. My spirits flag at times, but upon the whole I am going on well & now getting the better both of piles & irritation. Nurse Crook went & I got a Mrs Hale who was called away the third day & now I have Mrs Lemon.
27 This last nurse was called away a fortnight nearly ago & I have a young person who was never out before & who yesterday told me she had sprained her back & cd not nurse Babe, so I made enquiries directly & have seen several, but by night she was well & wishes to remain, I think of keeping her till GM leaves, when I can have a nursery & not before. All my hopes of further health & enjoyment are put a stop to by Mr T declaring I am asthmatic, curious enough, Mr Scott has just pronounced Jane the same, Oh! the disappointments of this world! God grant me resignation, but I so ardently love my husband & children, that I dare not think of leaving them, my sweet boy too, I want to see them all grow up.
October 2nd My spirits very low, for my breathing continues short & comes on in fits, generally at night, so that I fear it is really asthma, this frightens & weakens me very much. Jane wants me to join in a trip to Brighton with her, but if I cannot take air, of what use wd it be. Mr T senior called to talk with me. He was seized with it at about my age & has had it badly ever since, but is better of late years.
Oct 14 Mr Heathcote called & prayed with me. He talked very well on the subject of resignation & explained how very very short is our life altogether & of how little importance whether passed in health or sickness & said that perhaps nothing could really be so bad for me as health, how little we know of causes & effects & therefore how childish to cavil & complain. He talks of establishing a sort of class for young persons of about 12 years old, to go to him once a month & be catechised. An excellent plan, I warmly seconded it. On Wednesday our darling boy is to be christened. I am so much better as to think of sitting at the head of the table. I feel consoled by Mr Heathcote’s conversation & prayers, but of course I am very low. Dear GM & 3 girls gone to Aunt Cook’s.
16th Our dear little boy christened by the name of Robert Barkley Shaw. He was attended to church by 4 carriages full. Mr Caffary & 3 children, Dr & Mrs Rogers, GM Barkley, Edmund, his wife & William, Papa & 5 girls. At dinner we had Mr & Mrs Caffary, Caroline, Dr & Mrs Rogers, Mr & Mrs E Shaw, Mr & Mrs Hammond, Robert, William Edmund & Mary, Aunt Harriet! first time she has been out for years, GM, Robert & self. Then we had in the evening 4 Dodgsons & their brother, Mr W Marshall, Mr Neilson, his son & 2 daughters, Miss Hubert, Mr & Mrs F Toulmin. All went off well. A pretty supper in library, a rubber, plenty of dancing & merry faces. GM looked quite young. I dined at table. Aunt Harriet sat a short time. Every one seemed pleased & happy.
· Aunt Harriet – Aunt Harriot James Cook
22nd Have walked round the garden & can now go up & down stairs without help.
November 7th Have now forgotten my confinement & go out as usual, only I do not go down stairs into the kitchen. It is quite curious to see the difference in comfort & economy since my caring & superintending. Dear John & his family are settled in Melton. GM went to Brighton to accompany Jane for her health, who was called away almost directly to Henry George who has had the scarlet fever very badly at school. Jones has nursed him. Jane has remained at Southend in charge of the younger children & not been allowed to see him. Fanny, Harriet, Patty & Judy at Brighton, what a job! The next boy who took the fever is dead. Mrs H Foster is dead! Charles has been detained at Lucerne, the Alps having been impassable owing to avalanches. Babe has a cough, so have Fanny & Laura. Mrs W Marshall has a little girl.
12 Dear Babe has had a violent attack of influenza, which frightened me much for a day or two, indeed he is still an invalid & coughs sadly & is almost choked with phlegm, but much better. Almost every child in the place has had it & yesterday a poor child of the Club died of it.
25th On the very evening of the day I last wrote here, dear Emily was seized with a sore throat which I got Miss Young to rub with hartshorn & put flannel round. The dear girl hung about & laid on the sofa till I sent her to bed & gave her some Lenitive Electuary & told her to sleep in the little bed in my room for fear of Fanny getting the sore throat. In the night Emily began as I thought to have the medicine operate & towards morning she was very sick. When I got up she was still going upwards & downwards & I sent for lemons for saline draughts thinking she had a bilious attack. My own breath pained me so sadly & looking a little red I wrote to Mr T to ask what I sd do & he thought it best to come & see me, but when he arrived he found a worse patient in poor dear Emily, who was wretching & having a constant run on her bowels. I saw immediately that he thought her very bad. He sent something for her & called in a few hours, when he seemed to consider she was going to have a very serious illness, her pulse 140! I moved her into my bed & went with Babe into the next room. He came again at 3 in the morning & considered her a shade better, Eliza & I sat up with her. At 8 in the morning, Wednesday, he thought he saw a rash & at any rate had made up his mind to scarlet fever. I then began taking precautions, the other children having been ill, Laura with influenza as well as Babe, put me off my guard & I fear I did not take sufficiently immediate measures. As to the darling girl, she got over the first fever tolerably & was certainly doing well, we hardly thought of danger, but on Sunday evening Mr Hammond first saw her & thought her very bad. Her throat was in a frightful state & her fever very high. Oh! to watch her dear face, her eyes & the quivering of her whole body under the fever was almost too much. I got a nurse who sat up 5 nights but had no experience. That evening Mr T brushed her throat with Lunar Caustic. The next day the same & when Mr Hammond came in the middle of the day she was very bad. He waited some time to see Mr T but at last left a note for him, to say he thought she wanted quinine. It was tried & I also gave her 2 injections but she wd not bear the quinine & it had to be discontinued. Mr Hammond remained here all night & gave her an injection at 5 in the morning. I slept 3 hours. On Wednesday morning I requested to have further advice & Robert went for Dr Tweedie of the Fever Hospital, who came at 1 & pronounced her in considerable danger, but not hopeless. Robert never thought so badly of her as now. She had her head shaved, a blister on her back & her head constantly kept cool, by applying cold lotion & blowing it whilst wet on her head with the bellows, the medicine was altered & at night he sent me a nurse from the hospital, she does every thing beautifully. Dr Tweedie came again at 9 the next morning, the others met him. They thought her better, her brain was less affected & she cd open her eyes. It was fearful all the day before, to see her look so dull, so glassy, so fixed. She was on the verge of brain fever. The doctors came again on Saturday & Dr Tweedie did not propose another visit, tho’ he told me she was still in a very precarious state. Since then she has improved slowly & almost to me imperceptibly, but they say her pulse is 96 only now. She appears quite childish, hardly ever speaking sense, a kind of stupid torpor overpowers her, she sometimes calls me “Dear dear Mamma” but oftener does not notice me. During the first week she almost broke my heart by her affectionate ways. Even now she is never impatient, but her mind seems clouded. She has a violent cough at nights & today is to have a blister on her chest. God Almighty restore her. The nurse manages famously, gives her an injection every morning, which produces a good motion without aperient medicine, washes her daily with soap & water from head to foot. Keeps the room very sweet & is very clever & attentive. I have had a sore throat for 10 days. They call me singed. Dr Tweedie & Mr Hammond are of opinion that Fanny & Annie have had the decease, as they have had all the symptoms excepting rash. If so, Babe, Clara & Laura & the nurse have had it. She went home 10 days ago with a sore throat & I have only Mrs Wickenden to nurse dear Babe. The one I had hired of course ought not & will not come, but these minor evils do not trouble me yet. Emily & danger overpowers every thing else.
Nov 29 A very little better today. Yesterday began a tablespoonful at a time of port wine negus, but at the same time another blister on her neck, the one hardly healed & her chest all sore with one. Cold lotion still on her head constantly & her brain greatly oppressed, wanders at times considerably & almost distracts me by her dull heavy unmeaning eyes. Poor love she does not like me out of her sight & last night asked me to pray with her. I made a little prayer of 6 lines & repeated it & the Lord’s Prayer, it was a great trial but gave me much pleasure too.
December 2nd Her fever now assumes an intermittent form, but one gland threatens to break & her stomach gets usually distended. Her head is better & altogether Mr T gives me great hopes, but her state is very precarious & distressing & I feel most miserable about her.
Dec 14th Awful indeed have been the scenes we have gone through with my blessed girl, too awful to restate. For 4 days in a state of strong delirium, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing, her whole face & head distorted in the most awful manner, one gland punctured, her eyes closed & a large abscess in one, which has slanghed. Twice have we waited to see her die, but this day Mr Hammond gives me the blessed news that he thinks she is almost safe.
17th I am up today & have seen my darling Emily. It seems altogether a dream, or rather a resurrection. She is not like herself, but a very very pretty lively child, her eye is so bright & sparkling that it almost dazzles one to look at it. She raises herself in bed, talks, smiles etc but it appears to my heated mind unnatural & whilst I rejoiced, I still tremble. I cannot hardly assure myself that the sparkling creature I now see in bed, is the same. I left her head & face one complete lump, distended, distorted & discoloured, her lips now smiling & moist, were then parched black & hardly able to be opened. The eye they say is going on well, but 3 or 4 months must elapse before we can tell the damage done. Oh Lord God Almighty preserve her to us alive & with her right senses! She is now evidently excited by the quantity of wine taken. A bottle of port a day! besides brandy, 2 new laid eggs, 2 mutton chops & a slice of chicken, all this she takes & relishes.
I have been in bed since Wednesday with a very severe sore throat, at one time it was almost closed. I had a mustard poultice, 8 leeches, then 10 & then a blister. I am now better, but have a weakness in my legs.
20th Dec Emily was carried to the little bed yesterday & laid on it 3 hours, but having since complained of slight head ache several times, she is not to be moved today. Her wine is reduced to 7 ounces in 24 hours, in which time she takes 2 chops, 1 meal of chicken, 2 new laid eggs & 3 wine glasses full of ale. I have not seen her today, for fear of exciting her. She is certainly stronger.
January 7th 1840 Thank the Almighty our Emily is much better & quite out of all danger. Her senses perfect, her spirits, appetite, bowels, all right, no head ache, no fever, in fact she has only the common weakness of limb, caused by illness. Her eye is nearly open, her deafness gone from one ear & no ailments. It appears that the Eysificlus assumed a putrid form & mortified the top eye lid, which they were obliged to cut from one end to the other to extricate the piece of mortified flesh! under the eye it burst & let it out of itself & will be a worse scar this is the one underneath, [drawing of small curved line] this the one above, _____ & this the one on her neck !!!!! but I promised to God not to fret at any disappointment, if he restored me to my own Emily & her senses. He has done this & shall I repine? Oh no, I will check every such ungrateful feeling. One of the little Pooles has the complaint. Mr T sent for his injection syringe to go to her this morning, so I offered nurse to go to use it. She went & found them in a mess, not knowing how to do it. She did it for them & returned, but as I found the child was very bad & they had no efficient nurse, I sent ours back for the day. I wish I cd spare her altogether, for it is indeed a comfort to have a person who can do all that is wanted. The poor child was lying & breathing in the way persons do before death, what is vulgarly called “the rattles” & nurse thought she wd not survive the day, but it is now near 5 & she is not come back, therefore I suppose she is still alive. God grant she may survive. After his mercies to us, I feel that no one ought to despair, but always to pray. I think I never prayed before really. God forgive my negligence now.
We shorted Babe on Xmas Day 1839 & the following Sunday the family again went to church & on Sunday 6th of January Mr Heathcote returned thanks in the name of Emily Shaw. God be praised. The scarlet fever is extending very much in this neighbourhood.
10th Poor little Poole died the same day & nurse stopped till 12 at night to lay her out. Mr & Mrs Poole did not go near the room all day nor given nurse one sixpence!! [last 5 words were crossed out by Martha].
21 Moved dear Emily into the schoolroom. Robert came back to mine & Laura, Annie sleeps in the nursery, Fanny in Miss Y’s room, Clara with Nurse Edwards & Miss Y in Fanny’s dressing room, to be close to Emily, but she appears to fight shy of taking any trouble in her. I am suffering from a lump in my throat. I am very nervous.
February 17th Dear Babe vaccinated yesterday & began to feed on beef tea twice a day on 14th, he is quite well & such a darling! Our dearest Emily too is quite well & we hardly know how to be happy enough with them all preserved to us. The scarlet fever is raging every where, one family have lost 4 out of 6 children! another 2, another 1 & indeed not a day passes without fresh cases. Thank God that we are yet safe! Dear Emily is taking warm baths & early in March is to come down stairs to be once more united to her sisters & brother. They are all anxiety for the event. John took Patty to Southend last week & came here in his way back. He found Emily looking very well.
19 Robert dined at Maria’s. 18 in company, very gay.
March 1st Our dearest Emily came down stairs for the first time & joyful indeed was the meeting between the sisters & dear little brother, these moments of happiness are what as far as possible repay us for past misery, but the dear girl is not yet as strong as she was & we must be very very careful of her head. She is now down again & writing to announce her coming down stairs to all her dear friends. May we be sufficiently grateful. I read prayers last night & trust to be able little by little to establish family prayer.
12th Going on well. Jane passed yesterday here & found Emily much better than she expected. Clara has a swollen gland, I only hope it arises from a bad tooth.
April 1st Going back tonight to our own room, having been away from it since 12 November 1839. Mr Witherby dying in a consumption, Miss Staples dead!
2nd God grant no harm may arise from our return to our own room. We are all well at present. The spring is beginning to advance & we especially seem to rejoice in its approach. How sd we have felt if dear Emily had not been with us!
23rd On the 19th Easter Monday Clara (who has had a swollen gland & a tooth extracted) complained of her gland & a little sore throat so that I told her to stop from church with dear GMamma who arrived from Brighton the evening before. We had a joyful meeting & were all enjoying our reunion exceedingly. Mr Heathcote returned thanks on dear Emily’s part, she had been to church every day in the week, but he called & expressed a wish that she should return public thanks on Sunday. He did not name her again, as it had been previously done, but he behaved most kindly both here & in his manner at church. Robert & I stopped the sacrament but I was sadly nervous all through the service & almost thought I sd be forced to go out, as I had done the Sunday before. When we got home Clara still complained of her throat & I got Robert to ask Mr T to see her before night. As I was reading afternoon prayers she turned sick & pale, but did not wretch. I laid her in bed & when Mr T saw her he said it was influenza cold, but I took Annie out of the room to sleep & nurse laid in her room. She was merely restless & her throat still sore. Fanny went to church with the rest, but was poorly when she came home & her throat sore, this she felt when she got up. Mr T called whilst she was out & pronounced Clara’s throat to be that of scarlet fever, so that I was now aware of our situation. Laura had been to church twice & was quite well, but just as she was being undressed she began to wretch & continued it all night in her little crib by our side. Babe in bed! Towards evening Fanny got worse & of course on his second visit Mr T pronounced all three to have scarlet fever. Fanny began wretching about 6. We got a man to come & move the two beds into the school room for Fanny & Annie & a crib for Laura & by 9 o’clock it was all comfortable, every thing taken out & a regular hospital established. I sat up, Fanny was very ill, sick & her bowels bad all night. I feared Emily’s case over again, but at 8 Mr T came & found them on all going on well, tho’ Fanny had it pretty severely, very sore throat etc. Laura came out scarlet all over as full as possible on Tuesday morning & seems quite well. Clara has not any rash & on Thursday (today) Fanny’s rash has come out all over her. She has still a very bad throat, but all are able to read & cut out paper etc to amuse themselves. Laura & Clara each had an emetic, tho’ so sick to begin, Fanny still takes the efferfescent draughts, Laura & Clara ammonia. Laura’s bowels are in perfect order & a teaspoonful of castor oil to Clara & a desert one to Fanny, have done all for them.
Annie & Baby are quite well, may it please God to preserve them whether in sickness or in health. We had just finished & only just, putting the house in order & hardly knew how to enjoy one comfort enough, I hope now that we shall not have a very long or bad job. The schoolroom of course where they all there are is throughly infected. I have Babe down in the dining & the 2 first nights he slept with Edwards & I changed my clothes & suckled him 2 or 3 times, but last night I had him to sleep with me & Robert laid on the board in the sick room. Miss Young is constantly in & out, changing her dress however & Marianne attends them. Nurse has not seen them ever since Monday morning. Cook saw them today. God preserve us. I see in a letter to GM, Jane regrets our not having followed her advice & left the house to be aired, but this is nonsense, the part of the house which wanted airing was totally vacant & better aired than in my absence it wd have been. Certainly I did not have the schoolroom painted etc nor the carpet washed, but Emily did not come into it till after 3 months & Mr Hammond had said 3 weeks before, that there was no danger in her mixing with the other girls so that it appeared folly to suppose she cd infect a room, when she was so free as not to be in a state to infect persons & tho’ Mr T was more cautious & we did not allow her to join her sisters, yet Mr Hammond’s opinion was equally good I sd think. At any event we did every thing we cd & every thing that our medical advisers suggested or our own reason & we must patiently submit to God’s will for the rest. Dear GM thought it best to leave directly & got a very clean comfortable lodging at Barber’s. She feared for her maid & also that it wd be unsafe for her to go with her packages either to Jane or John afterwards. Emily & Annie dined with her yesterday. She comes here today.
27 I have again suffered by taking the sore throat & have been in bed since Friday night, 16 leeches etc & am still suffering with great soreness in my throat & general weakness. Edwards sat up with me the first night, Miss Y the second. Robert has a sore throat & does not appear well. He sleeps in the spare room to be near the 3 children, who thank God are doing very well, they got up on Saturday, but do not leave the room. Annie & Babe yet keep clear.
[April 30] The last day of April is in every respect like a day in a very hot August & so it has been for a week past. It is hardly possible to remain a minute in the sun. The lilacs, irises indeed all June flowers in bloom, grass parched up, watering pots in great requisition. In one week almost all the trees are in full leaf & the country exquisite, but there is an east wind. Fanny, Clara & Laura went into the garden on Tuesday, a day over the week, they are all a good deal pulled by it, but are doing wonderfully well. My throat continues to be very sore at times & smarts when I swallow. Dear GM comes to dinner every day, altogether we ought to be & are truly thankfull for our preservation through this second bout but expense & inconvenience it certainly brings in abundance.
May 11th GMamma left Clapton this for day for Aunt Cook’s (who is very poorly & thinks she has a cancer). I took Emily & Laura to see the wax work, which is really very amusing & clever, tho’ I had determined not to be deceived, yet I sat down by a wax figure, taking it for an old Quaker gentleman. It moves its head & really is very natural. We went to the Pantheon & Bazaar & finished by the National Gallery & Exhibition. In the latter there appears to be some very fair paintings, particularly Landseer’s dogs. In the former all appear good, tho’ all are not pleasing & many very indelicate. Those which most pleased me were Coreggio’s “Ecce Homo”, his holy family called “Vierge au Panire”, a Spanish boy of Murillos & above all a picture called emblematical of the Trinity, the subject I think profane, as it attempts to represent the Father above as an old man, the Spirit as a dove & the Son as a child of perhaps 9 years old standing on a piece of broken rock or ground, with Mary & Joseph on either side. The child has a hand in the Virgins & on Joseph’s & the attitude, countenance etc are angelic. Joseph’s face too I think exquisite, but the child pleases me more than any I ever saw. Wilkie’s Village festivities & Blind Fiddler are delightfull, Hogarth’s “Marriage à la Mode” astonishing tho’ never pleasing. It is not possible to mention all which delighted me & I dare say I did not notice half.
23rd Just as Annie was commencing reading, she fainted & on undoing her clothes Emily & Miss Y discovered her to be covered with a red rash, I was down the field & by the time I got in, she had recovered, the rash was gone & she only looked deadly pale. I sent off for Mr T who having her undressed found her sides, shoulders etc quite covered with what he pronounced decided scarletina, ordered her to bed in the infected room, an emetic, efferfescent draughts etc. However I had not courage to condemn her quite by putting her into Fanny’s bed, so put her into her own & by the time she undressed, no rash was visible. After some time the emetic made her sick, but when Mr T came in the afternoon, she was quite well.
24 She got up & about the house.
25 She is up, but looks pale & appears rather poorly. What this attack cd have been we know not. It is quite unsatisfactory.
[The next date is 5 September 1842 – Robert Grant Shaw’s death on 23rd August 1842 at Springfield, Upper Clapton, buried 30.8.1842 St Mary the Virgin, Cheshunt, Herts]
5 September 1842
After having so long given up my journal, I have to record the death of him who was the joy & delight of my heart. My husband, my blessed, beloved Robert is gone for ever. This day fortnight the 23rd August after having slept in peace between me & his boy he was attacked at 7 o’clock with Cholera Morbus & was a corpse in 24 hours leaving me a wretched, forlorn & poor widow. I have nothing but my own money to bring up my six children with, but this grieves me not, all is lost in the certainty of never more seeing, speaking to, being loved & cherished by my blessed dearest Robert. Oh God another scene of my life has closed on me. Have mercy on me for Christ’s sake & pardon the sins which have marked, forgive I implore thee the waywardness of my temper & grant me consolation in the knowledge that I have been a faithful wife that tho’ my temper & my many trials have made me at times irritable, yet have I ever loved him most dearly, lived for him & his children only & now deplore his loss with all the bitterness of blighted joy. Oh my God, let us meet I beseech thee in thy eternal kingdom to part no more. Oh grant this fond hope I most earnestly entreat thee for Christ’s sake.
[END OF JOURNAL – next Journal, Travel Journal 1 - Cuckfield 9 December 1845 – 25 August 1846 Meggenhorn, Switzerland]
MARTHA SHAW
Travel Journal 1
Start of travels :Cuckfield 9 December 1845 – 25 August 1846 Meggenhorn, Switzerland
Original Journal in the British Library Younghusband papers F 197/3
Journal was donated by Eileen Younghusband with her father’s papers. Eileen’s father Sir Francis Younghusband was Clara’s son.
8 in group, Martha and her 6 children, Emily, Fanny, Annie, Clara, Laura, Robert (age 6), Miss Aurélie Hubert de Fonteny 1813-1907 (French companion/governess, her family lived in Paris). Packham went with them from Cuckfield to Paris. M. Hubert, accompanied them from Paris to Lucerne. Clara in her album at BL (F 197/36) wrote that they went for education. Transcribed and typed by Madeleine Symes 2017 with her notes in italics & in square brackets, mostly capitals removed (french, german etc capitalised), places/people/things of interest in bold. Martha’s spelling. Various pencil notes on the pages made by someone else.
Martha recollects on 10th May 1845 about a visit to Dresden after her brother Charles Francis Barkley’s death in Dresden on 3.5.1845 & not being with her mother Frances Barkley at her death on 22.5.1845 in Cuckfield.
After Robert Grant Shaw’s death on 23.8.1842, Martha & family lived at Hove & Cuckfield.
9th December 1846
[handwritten in pencil below “This is a mistake for 1845”]
There could not have been a more lovely evening than the last as we were in our own country. For weeks previously we had been in a continual bustle & confusion, which was unpleasant & fatiguing, tho’ rendered less annoying by the anticipations of pleasure in which we were indulged ourselves, the taking leave of poor Charley was very distressing to us, but we were greatly gratified by a visit from our good friend Mr Heathcote [vicar at Cuckfield]. During the last two days of our sojourn in the dear little white cottage we had scarcely a place to sit down on & on Monday we were really in a pitiable state.
[Cottage in Cuckfield- Martha’s drawing from her 1856 Souvenir Album, she wrote: In this pretty cottage at Cuckfield we lived untill my dear Mother’s death rendered the neighbourhood melancholly & we left in 1845 to travel in France, Germany & Italy.]
We cleared everything off & about 10 at night we finally left the little place which had been our resting place in a time of comparative poverty. We slept at the Talbot & passed the morning of Tuesday in saying goodbye to our poor & rich neighbours, paying bills etc. At 4 we had an excellent dinner & at 6 started in two Flys to the station, poor Elizabeth Gard accompanied us & her real distress at parting with us was quite affecting. As we past our late abode the moon was shining brightly upon it & upon the heavenly view spread out before it, it all looked peaceful & lovely & gave one an idea of cruelty in leaving it solitary & empty. Packham had rather a hard struggle to maintain his composure in parting with his wife & daughter but his endeavours to amuse us on the journey were most entertaining. We laid down on 2 beds at Folkestone & started early in the morning on board the “Queen of France” for Boulogne. All were sick even Packham & I who were never so before. Fanny & Annie stood together. Packham & Clara, Emily & an old gentleman sat at the two ends of a bench which they occupied between them, Aurélie, Laura, Robert & I were below, but wholly unable to assist each other. We were delighted to land at Boulogne which we found a very pretty place charming sands/pier on which we walked, as well as about the town. We dined at 3 & started afterwards in the “Diligence”. We took the places before we left England & had no trouble. Aurélie & Fanny were both unwell, the latter did not I must say enjoy the journey. The little ones slept all night only waking up at each town as we past & with each of which they were in raptures, the sight of the fortifications at Montreuil enchanted them. I think they were all getting tired when the excitement of drawing near to Paris roused them & as we past St Denis their anxiety encreased. We entered Paris in a drizzling rain at dusk & it poured when we landed at the “Bureau”. Here Miss E Hubert & M. LaChevardiere were waiting for us, he very kindly stopped & got our luggage past & we came home. We found our apartments very pretty & convenient, the premier “etage”, 13 Rue Rumford. The street is one of the nicest in Paris. We have an entrance, dining & drawing rooms, 3 bed rooms & 2 cabinets, kitchen etc. The manner of living here & every thing else being new, was the source of constant & great amusement. The size of the house, the number of families, the height, the gas lights, the porte cochère & court yard, the people, the food, the doors, the windows, the fires, every kitchen utensil, all amused us. We had an excellent dinner prepared according to Aurélie’s orders & of her giving, but she was ill & unable to enjoy it with us. Her Mamma came in to coffee & her sister to dinner. Her eldest sister came to see us for a minute. We got to bed at 12 & really were not so much tired.
· Alexandre de LaChevardiere 1795–3.5.1855, French bookseller, printer-publisher. He was one of the introducers of mechanical presses in France, in 1824 he was a founder & printer of Le Globe & in 1833 Le Magasin pittoresque. His printing house became one of the largest in Paris but was severely affected by the destruction of mechanical presses during the 1830 revolution. His father was Alexandre Louis de LaChevardiere 1765-1827 a Jacobin militant then senior official & his grandfather was publisher & Parisian music dealer Louis-Balthazar de LaChevardiere 1730-1812. He wrote Robert 2 letters in 1851 & 1852 in which he signed off as de LaChevardiere, copied at end of last diary in 1850. Martha spelt his name slightly differently in her journals.
· Martha wrote in a 1855 Journal [a bit of sealing wax left on the page probably stuck to a leaf]
“From the tomb of our kind & faithful friend M. de Lachevardiere who will ever be most deeply regretted and affectionately remembered by us all, who were indebted to him for many & great kindnesses and attentions & to whose unvarying friendship we owe many & many a pleasing remembrance.”
The next day we began to unpack & also to go about shopping. The girls all had put off buying cloaths in order to get them here. Therefore before they could go any where they were obliged to get bonnets, cloaks etc & in a few days they were all nicely dressed. Our apartments were all in order & many of the Cours [tuition] arranged. Our cook was an excellent one & we had our food sent in in the French way. Packham is very amusing & very cross. Here is a plan of our present abode. [2 small drawings, one of the building with shops below & one with bedrooms].
On Sunday we went to the Ambassador’s chapel in the morning & in the afternoon to the Madelaine. Nothing can shew more chaste & exquisite taste than the exterior of this building, but the inside altho’ striking is not grand. The quantity of ornament spoils the whole effect & gives it the appearance of a theatre. Of course all the young ones were greatly interested in the ceremony, the first of the kind they ever saw.
On Christmas Day we received the sacrament & afterwards went to hear the music in the fine old church of St Roch. We were greatly pleased & it was an additional pleasure to have an excellent view of the good & respected Queen of the French & two of the princesses coming out of the church. There was a great crowd. There were only 2 royal carriages, each with 2 horses & 2 footmen standing up behind. The Queen is so much beloved she needs no escort. Strange that in a nation said to be so irreligious, this amiable woman should be so loved & respected simply because she is good.
A few days after this we witnessed a grand procession, the King going to open the Chambre. There are two hundred thousand troops present & a magnificent sight it was in that superb Place de la Concorde, with the Tuilleries, Barriere de l’Etoile, Chambre des Députe’s, Madelaine, Invalides, Obelisk, fountains, avenues of fine trees, broad walks etc. After this we took a walk to the “Palais Royal”. What a surprising number of jeweller’s shops filled with the most shewy & tasteful articles & what a fine palace it is.
The New Year has commenced, our first in a foreign land. It is a curious & interesting sight to see the streets crowded with people & carriages, all going on one pursuit, the purchase of New Year’s gifts & bons bons. The boulevards are literally a mass of people precisely like a fair & it looks pretty to see the number of children with their parents all looking so happy. We have resolved to go sight seeing every Wednesday & have been twice to the Louvre. Once Madame Odiot met us there & once M. LaChevardiere. It was very kind & we have by this means attained a tolerable idea of the contents of the gallery. How superb it is & what a splendid collection. The landscapes of Claude Lorrain are lovely & how pretty are those of Joseph Vernet. There are one or two of Salvator Rosa, which quite come up to my idea of the works of that master. We just ran through the Musée, but had only time to admire en passant the splendid collection of old china, Etruscan vases, Egyptian antiquities etc. It is a splendid suite of rooms & every thing kept in the nicest order.
We went one day to see a collection of modern pictures. One or two I liked very much, but I found they were not those generally esteemed. The subjects are generally very horrid, such as the murder of the Duke de Guise. Tintoretto painting his young daughter after death. The murder of the Innocents etc. Horace Vernet. Paul de la Roche, Ingres, Léon Cogniet are the painters most in vogue. Vernet is painting for Versailles & has an atelier there, where the King often goes. We saw him coming out & had an excellent view of him, we were close to the carriage, the glass was down & he bowed & smiled very graciously to & at us. He looks well & not so old as he is. There were two royal carriages with six horses each & an escort of about 50 cavalry. All the royal carriages are dark blue & scarlet liveries.
We went two Wednesdays ago to Sevres, St Cloud & Versailles. We stopped first at Sevres. The weather was lovely beyond all my powers of description. I can feel, enjoy & fully appreciate the beauties of nature but I cannot describe them, who can? None can do them justice, but some writers have a way of noticing particular aspects, trifling details & smells of flowers, singing of birds, colours etc which bring entire scenes vividly before one’s mind’s eye. Such art is not mine or I wd try to recall to those with whom I enjoyed them the feelings with which we descended into Sevres. Here we enjoyed a desplay of art in the admirable china manufactured at this place. It exceeded my recollection & all our expectations. I remembered the place very well & after quitting the manufactory we walked through the pretty gardens of St Cloud, to the palace where we could not gain admittance to see the interior as the King was expected. We went on to Versailles where we saw him 3 times very well & his retinue gave the whole place a perfect appearance of a regal residence. It is a most magnificent place indeed, the roads, avenues of trees, palace, gardens, tower, all are in accordance. We stayed till late & the royal party left with the lamps lighted. It was splendid to see them moving off down the very grand road to Paris. How tired we were. Shall we ever forget Aurélie running with Robert hat off bowing to the empty carriages! How every one has laughed at his little bare legs. The soldiers often feel them to know if they are cold. I have at last bought him gaiters & on Saturday he will have a suit of boys clothes. The dear boy is charmed.
18th February We have had a great treat today. Notre Dame & La Sainte Chapelle. The former is grand in the extreme, simple & noble. No gold, no white paint as in the Madelaine. We went to the top of one of the towers & had a capital view of the city. There are 300 steps to the top & at first I was very giddy. What shall I say about La Sainte Chapelle? It is the most beautiful, most graceful, most exquisite thing I ever saw. It is attached to the Palais de Justice, was built by St Louis to hold the reliques he brought from the Crusades. All its peculiar beauties were buried under a coating of paint in imitation of marble untill within the last 4 years when the most exquisite colours have been discovered & the government has undertaken to restore the whole to its original state. The work is being executed in a style which does credit to the age & nation. There is not one inch of the whole which is not covered with the most exquisite design & colour. The windows are all of the finest colours. It is very very curious to see the work in progress. The statues & ornaments are being collected from Germany & many other countries, an arm is found here, a head there & thus numbers of the figures are now complete. It is wonderful how by dint of strict examination & comparison they are able to complete the patterns & make out the colours & designs. There is another chapel under this one, which appears equally lovely, tho’ it is not so forward, not is it certain whether it will ever be completed, the expense is enormous. I shall never forget this admirable specimen of man’s work & for those who were with me I will just mention the blue ceiling with gold stars, the angels with clouds under them. The two stair cases, the high pillars each a different colour, the figures & slats on which they stand, the altar, the painted windows. At Notre Dame we saw the robe Napoleon was crowned in, the vestments he gave the priests etc. There also we saw two ceremonies at variance with each other, a burial & a wedding.
Last Wednesday Aurélie took some of them up to the top of the Barriere de l’Etoile where they had a splendid view of Paris & the country around & then they went to the fortifications.
19th February We had a treat of a different kind today. Emily & I witnessed a séance at the Chambre des Paris. It is held in an elegant room at the Palais de Luxembourg. There were about 122 peers present. They wear coats embroidered round the collar & cuffs with rich gold lace & their orders. They speak from a Tribune, behind which is another for the president the Duke Pasquise. The subject was an unimportant one, but yet they were much excited. Some were uncommonly handsome elegant men. When it got dusk they let down a magnificent chandelier from the ceiling.
A few days ago Mlle de l’Espinasse was trying to speak English & said “I desire it, but I have no imagination to do it”. Robert by way of instructing her told her to say “I want to, but I don’t know how”. They say that the Duchess of Orleans is a most amiable & virtuous woman, still inconsolable for the loss of her husband, over whom she had great influence. He was a complete rake before she married him & became a most domestic man & good husband. It is even now distressing to see her affliction. She brings up her children well but is so particular that she does not allow them too much food. A little time ago she took them to a grand review & in a moment of enthusiasm seeing the troops changing, she exclaimed to her son “You will fight for your country one day” to which he replied “Oh no, Mamma, I will be a cook & eat soup”. What a very wonderful country & people is France & the French. What a mixture of good & bad, great & little, civilized & rough. Contradictions strike one at every turn. Dirt & cleanliness are strangely mingled, luxury & a want of comfort. Every thing seems to me to bespeak the same inconsistency. The French character is light & airy, their manners enthusiastic, lively & clever. They delight in the most elegant & tasteful ornaments in dress, furniture etc, but their buildings are massive, large heavy substantial & respectable looking, their roads partake the same character. Many of their utensils the same, their soldiers clumsy in dress & inelegant in their way of walking, handling their arms etc. How much more suitable to the French elegance wd be the English grates instead of the clumsy contrivance of burning wood on the hearth. The English coaches & horses instead of the French Diligences & cart horses. French pins are like nails & there are numbers of English articles which excel for their neatness & lightness. Then in cleanliness the abundance & cheapness of their baths argue a greater attention to personal care than in England, but what want of cleanliness is to be observed in every street & how odious is the habit of spitting.
Emily & I went to the Chambre des Députe’s & were delighted with an eloquent speech on free trade from M. de Lamartine. He is a very elegant man. He praised Mr Peel (Sir R Peel) very much. Neither M. Guizot nor M. Thiers were in the Chambre.
· M. François Guizot 1787-1874 – politician & historian
· M. Adolphe Thiers 1797-1877 – politician & author
25th February Today we went to see the ceremony of crossing with ashes, which almost every persons performs on Ash Wednesday. It was curious to see so many persons with a black cross on their forehead. There was a splendid funeral also going but there was too much pomp, too much noise & bustle to render the scene solemn. Silence is the most appropriate attendant upon death & after all the glitter of the Madelaine how soothing it was to enter our own quiet chapel & hear the good old Bishop Luscombe [1776–1846] read the service. Far be it from me to ridicule or dispise the Roman Catholic religion. I feel respect & sorrow when I am in its places of worship & there are many things in it, most admirable, none more so than the churches being always open. The practise also of never reading the Passion but once in the year & then with great solemnity appears very fine, but the dreadful abuses which even now exist lead the mind back to those times when the religion was at its height & when its clergy were so inflated with pride as to enslave the world, who can wonder at some of its members making a stand & how can we be thankful enough that so terrific a power should have been subdued. It appears to me that our religion takes in the whole spirit of sacrifice & if we did but act what we profess we should be perfect. Our priests have no mysterious powers ascribed to them. They tell us where to search for all truth & there we see what authority they have, whence it is derived & how far it extends. We read & judge for ourselves whether or not they tell us the simple truth in Christ & how simple is his religion. Believe in me, repent, forsake your sins & be saved. We want no saints, no Queen of Heaven to intercede for us, for Christ tells us that he alone can intercede & that whatever we ask the Father in his name he will give it to us. Oh God grant us all grace to follow the footsteps of our blessed Intercessor. How lovely was the weather today. From the door of the Madelaine it was impossible not to be struck with admiration of the scene. The lovely clear soft blue sky, the delicious warm breeze coming as if pure from heaven. The buildings, the fountains playing, the Obelisk reminding one of ages long gone by, the Chambre des Députe’s, all looked so noble that we all agreed it gained upon us the oftener we saw it.
26th February 1846 We took a most lovely drive up the Champs Elysées to the Barriere de l’Etoile, thence to see the fortifications, on to the Bois de Boulogne & entered Paris by another Barriere, past all along the river’s side, the Ecole Militaire, Invalides & stopped at the Chambre des Deputes where Annie & I went to hear the debates. I do not understand one word, but was amused at seeing the numbers of members go up the Tribune & vote. There are two urns, the white one for the government, the black for the opposition. Each member as he goes on has a ball given him which he puts into whichever urn he chooses. The first time there are 150 in the white & 13 in the black. The next time 260 in the white & 50 in the black, so that the government is pretty strong just now. Clara, Laura & Robert went to dine at Madame Trianon’s & saw the magic lantern. We had the literature at home & past a pleasant hour afterwards.
27 I took Emily & Annie to the top of the Barriere de l’Etoile. How splendid! Paris spread before us, all its buildings, its churches, bridges, palaces, the river, the fine roads & avenues of trees. Mont Martre with the buildings now spread nearly all over it. The country looking lovely. The sky pure, the air as balmy as in a fine May day! From such a height how paltry does all human strife appear & all amusements of a light kind. The people look like ants & the carriages & horses like play things.
I was much affected in chapel this morning by the good old Bishop fainting. He struggled hard & just finished the blessing. I thought he was going to die & it appeared to me as if it wd not have been at an inauspicious moment. He appears to do his duty & to labour to the utmost of his power in the station in which the Almighty has placed him but alas! how little do we know of the hearts of our fellow creatures. We ought to judge well of all but not to be presumptuous & suppose any one in a fit state to leave this world.
Dear little Robert has this day begun trousers! How delighted he is, God Almighty bless & preserve the dear child.
1st March 1846 I heard more of the Bishop’s sermon today than I ever did before & the little I heard was sufficient to impress me with the idea of how excellently he preaches. He said that undoubtedly it is our duty during this season of Lent to retire a little from the pursuit of pleasure & sympathise with our blessed Lord in the sorrows he underwent for us. That it is impossible with bodies so frail & in a world so corrupt for us to partake much in the enjoyment of life, without contracting some evil. He implored us to consider the nature of true repentance, to rend our hearts & not our garments only & to pass this season in a sober & religious way, abstaining more than usual from dissipation, using more frequent self examination, retiring into our own chambers for the purposes of prayer & meditation. He said we never heard from him that it was right to be morose & solitary, but that we must carefully draw the line between the use & the abuse of the world. He exhorted us most earnestly to remember that however young or strong or healthy we might be, this might be the last Lent we should ever pass in this mortal life & that therefore it behoved us to repent now whilst we had time. He wd not set a limit to the mercy of God but was it right to put off repentance for our death bed & risk our immortal soul for a few unsatisfactory short lived pleasures! He expressly begged us to give up all places of public amusement. God grant us grace to profit by his good & earnest address. Lord God have mercy upon us.
The heat is quite the same as in summer & generally the sun shines brightly & hotly. Today it is a little cloudy but still very warm. The public gardens are crowded with persons walking & sitting. The boulevards daily present a scene of masses of persons walking & indeed all through the Jardins des Tuilleries, Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysées, up to the Barriere de l’Etoile is a most curious scene of bustle & fashion. There is a sale opposite. How curious a custom! All the china & domestic utensils placed on each side of the fine porte cochère on the pavement. How they are sold I do not understand. Every thing in Paris seems done in such an easy off hand sort of way & yet there is a vast bustle about many things. What weather! Windows open, seldom a fire till the evening.
4th March 1846 Saw the Pantheon, Colonne de Juillet, Elephant, Ste Gèneviève, Gobelins, Halle au Vin etc & a conservatory where we saw a good collection of camelias. M. LaChevardiere insisted on our going saying it was the most beautiful sight in Europe! What would he say to our English nursery grounds? Really it is not nearly so good a collection as Lowes at Clapton. Aurélie told us we should be much disappointed, but I am glad we went as we are now convinced of the inferiority in this respect. The Pantheon is a splendid building but there is something in it which is not loveable. What a strange word! but I do not know who to express what I feel. It is bare, there is nothing going on in it. There are a very few great men buried in the vaults but it all looks naked & new & without an object. However it is a temple dedicated to glory. Rousseau & Voltaire are buried there, opposite each other in the vaults. I cd not but think where were the souls of those men! We went up to the top. It is the highest spot in Paris & magnificent indeed is the view! I was very giddy at one time. Indeed two places are very frightful, being quite straight flights of steps. One especially coming down appears as if you were walking into open space. Emily was horridly frightened. The Gobelins are astonishing& very lovely. You pass through atelier after atelier full of men working in this most wonderful manner. They work at the back. The picture or pattern is behind or above them. These are all sorts of things, pictures, vases of flowers for chair & sofa coverings. Carpets which are 5 or 6 six years making, over it is painting with wools. The foundation is a kind of cord & fastened thus [small drawing]. The Church of Ste Gèneviève, the patron Sainte of Paris, is lovely, much more beautiful & interesting to me than the Pantheon. The style of architecture is very curious being Gothic, with the Arabic mixed something like the Sainte Chapelle only no colours. In the centre is a Tribune approached on each side by the most lovely stairs winding round the pillars of the church. On the Tribune is a figure of our Saviour & on each side an angel. This Tribune was for reliques. Ste Gèneviève’s tomb is there. Her body has long been taken out of it, but her tomb is still held in extreme veneration. It is in a niche at the side. A woman sits near to sell candles & various offerings for the Sainte. We saw many persons come up & purchase a candle, light it & then set it up & pray whilst it burnt. The tomb is covered with chaplets of flowers & there are lots of little pictures hanging around, all offerings to the Sainte. Miss Hubert asked the woman if there was not in the church a picture of Albert Durer’s. She replied she did not know, but here were all the pictures which had been given to Ste Gèneviève & no doubt that was amongst them! - not one which certainly cost more than 2 or 3 francs. As we stood there a poor old woman came up with a little ring which had probably cost a sou. She gave it with great reverence to a priest who opened a little door of the tomb & put the offering in. He did it with such a careless air & with something so nearly approaching a sneer that I was disgusted. The old woman however went off with an air of perfect content. The frivolities of this religion are so numerous & so ridiculous that they account for the total want of religion in men. They have been taught to consider it a heinous sin to forsake the name of Roman Catholic, their sense however shews them that these ridiculous observances can have not truth in them & they become nothing. Indeed amongst well educated women also religion is little regarded. What will be the end of all this! It is common for gentlemen when they are going to be married to pay some one to go to confess for them. They are obliged to produce a form but will not go through the farce themselves. A strange custom in this religion is that no actor or actress is allowed to have religious obsequies.
Whilst we were going over the Gobelins ateliers it came on to rain heavily. No carriage to be had, no umbrellas. We walked to the nearest Bureau des Omnibus, got into one after about ½ hour, were brought about as far as the Pont Neuf. Obliged to walk till by good luck we met one close carriage & one cabriolet. We were very wet but it shewed us a Paris Omnibus.
There is a very curious custom here which surprises me very much. We often meet young persons in the street dressed entirely in white, bonnet, shoes, every article is perfectly white. The reason is that they have been dangerously ill & whilst in that state their parents have made a vow that if God will spare their lives they shall wear white for a certain time after their recovery, some for months, some of years, some for life. What a strange custom.
It is also very curious to see women soldiers. There are a certain number attached to every regiment, their dress is odd enough. Their occupation is to mend the cloaths & manage the drink for the soldiers.
The Paris season is drawing to a close, next month numbers of families will leave Paris. The opera closes next week & every thing will soon begin to wain.
The carriages in the street are taken either by the course or the hour. You have a very nice carriage holding four persons which will take you to any part of Paris for 1fc 25c. A course is always the same price, next door or the utmost extremity of the city, but you must not stop any where. It is a little more by the hour & there are a superior sort of carriage which is dearer still. These stand always under cover, there is a stand in almost every street. We have very good meat at 16 sous a lb. This is equivalent to our 8d but there are 18 ounces to the lb. Therefore it is not more than equal to 7d a lb. Poultry is much less than in England. Washing not altogether much dearer but very much better. Butter the very best in the market 50 sous, but what we buy is excellent at 24 sous. Beautiful Narbonne honey 24 sous. Cauliflower 15 sous each. Bread [blank space]. Coals are very dear & they sell them here all large. Coke is the cheapest sort of firing. Wood is expensive & charcoal for the kitchen is a sad tax.
16th March We had a woman to do needlework today. She worked from 8 in the morning till 8 in the evening for 1fr 25c. Not dear this.
18th March 1846 We went to the Louvre & saw the Exposition. There were many pictures which we found very pretty. I was most pleased with some lovely bunches of grapes I hardly think it possible to paint more like nature. A child healing his mother’s sickness. Some persons on a raft with a shark just seizing a woman. A sun rise at sea, with some birds on a piece of rock & a ship in the distance. A moon light on the sea shore. Effet de pluie a poor man escorting his flock through the flood & carrying a lamb in his arms. An old woman teaching a little boy to read. A girl’s head much in the style of Mme. Odiot. There were so many persons that we found it hot & unpleasant, therefore did not remain more than an hour & a half & then went to the Palace of the Luxembourg. Here it was quiet & quite a relief after the Musée Royal. Here also there are only the best pictures & we greatly admired some of them. Edward 5 roi mineur d’Angleterre et Richard duc d’York sitting at the bottom of their bed frightened. A light appearing through the crevices of the door & a little dog listening. Le derrière de la vener Cosé. Dathen & Albion. Louis XIV benissant son arrière petit-fils. Roger déliverant Angelique. Jeanne de Castille becoming an idiot at the death of her husband. Eberhard Comte de Wurtemberg, Dit le Larmoyeur. A fine old man weeping over the dead body of his son, slain in battle. Effet d’Hiver. La Prise statue en maitre. Jeune pecheur napolitan joisant aver une tortue. Une baigneuse.
At the Luxembourg we saw the room & throne of Napoleon when Consul. The rooms & chapel of Marie de Medicis. The Chambre des Paris etc.
After this we walked in the rain & dirt to the Val de Grace, a very fine church & hospital for soldiers. There is a beautiful canopy supported by solid marble pillars over the altar. This church was built by Ann of Austria who made a vow to build one if God granted her a son & accordingly did so after the birth of Louis who was taken when an infant to lay the first stone. The whole is covered with very fine bas reliefs. It is much neglected.
We now went & visited the Sourds Muets, the whole establishment is very good. There are different ateliers where they work as taylors, lithograthists, drawers, joiners, turners etc. The girls we found at needlework. They look happy & intelligent. There 4 or 5 young men learning history & geography. The masters write on toiles & they reply by writing on a slate. We asked them many questions in this way, to which they gave us good answers. One conversed in this way with Fanny & one asked Aurélie what country she belonged to & guessed us to be Flemings, then Germans & when Fanny drew a map of England, English. After all this what a waiting job we had in a little cold room with a great cat, whilst a commissionaire went to get us two carriages. It poured & we did not get home till past 7. Went to bed at 9 & slept till ½ past 7 the next morning when the streets were dried up & the weather is again fine tho’ colder. If we go to Dresden we will look at Liotard’s pastels & think of M. LaChevardiere’s Magasin Pittoresque.
There are two grand objects in travelling & residing in foreign countries, amusement and instruction. The first may be thought very easy of obtainment, but unless the mind is in a proper state, even amusement (I mean innocent amusement) may be missed. If we encourage a love of self indulgence, if we expect too much, if we regard bad weather, if we fret at disappointments, if we think of finding all our own little particular pleasures, if we form plans & are vexed when they cannot be accomplished, we shall certainly fail in deriving amusement from our adventures. A party travelling for pleasure ought above all things to resolve on having only one opinion. Advice may be offered but whatever is resolved to be done, ought to be acquiesced in with cheerfulness by all & if it should prove undesirable in the execution & matters should turn out adverse, still all sd join their endeavours to lighten the difficulties & to bear them with good temper. Each member of the party should be at all times ready to promote the comfort of the whole & to extract the very greatest quantity of enjoyment from every thing possible. Good humour & patience should be a travellers motto.
As to instruction, much is necessary for its attainment but the chief is in my opinion modesty. If we fancy we know every thing, if we form hasty opinions or harsh ones, if we are too proud to acknowledge our ignorance or seek information from the meanest source, we shall fail in this attainment also. A person going into a foreign country & feeling desirous of improving himself, should lay aside all prejudice & with humility resolve to judge for himself. We should examine & weight every subject, take notes & only come to a conclusion after time & care. It is most contemptible to go into a country for the acknowledged purpose of instruction & yet with a predetermination to disapprove & to try to shew one’s information. A clever person who is presumptuous & self opinionated obtains far less respect than a modest humble person with little talent. How delightful it is to see a person of judgement, discrimination, good sense & ability, instead of striving to display his attainments, anxious only to add to them. I cannot think there are many very clever people who are vain & boasting. In fact true wisdom is the best master to teach us humility, by shewing us how much we have to learn. Having once made up our minds to do nothing contrary to God’s principle & propriety, we should on entering a foreign country give ourselves up entirely to the enjoyment of all the novelty which surrounds us. It is absend to try & carry our own ways with us. The variety is the very thing we come to enjoy. We should take every opportunity of mixing with the people & we should seek to discover every thing that is good. When we observe customs & regulations, habits & manners better than those of our own country, we should candidly & readily acknowledge it. When we observe what we know is decidedly wrong we should be thankful that we have not had opportunities of falling into the same & also remember how much bad there is in ourselves. After all these sage remarks I believe I need only have said “Be a Christian wherever you go”. Christianity will teach us to shun all evil, to seek all good, to be complying, patient, cheerful, to offend no one by harsh or ill-natured remarks & jests, to annoy no one by discontent & under all circumstances to be ready to derive harmless amusement & seek useful knowledge.
26 March 1846 We went on Monday with M. LaChevardiere to the Hotel de Cluny, an old mansion filled with old curiosities. The carvings are very beautiful & wd interest Jane & Mr Perkins much, the china also & the Venetian glass. It was very delightful for the girls to go with so clever a man & the son of the collector being with us, they had the advantage of hearing their conversation. Yesterday we went with M. LaChevardiere to the Hotel des Beaux Arts, an establishment not yet completed for the benefit of artists, where they had studies in architecture, painting etc where prizes are awarded, their works presented & from the funds of which young artists are sent to Italy & into Greece to study works of art. It is very large & very interesting. There is the copy of Michael Angelo’s Last Judgement in which I was greatly disappointed. The figure & expression of Christ are totally at variance with all my ideas on so sacred a subject. He is represented in the centre as casting into hell the wicked, his figure is rather stout & he has quite the appearance of a man revenging himself on his enemies, not of the diety executing justice on those who have rendered themselves by their crimes unfit for the enjoyment of heaven. Surely there ought to be sorrow mingled with majesty in the countenance of one who laid down his life for sinners. The Virgin’s figure by his side is also insignificant. I was disappointed altogether. I wished to see & study that heart stirring subject but it did not affect me as I expected it wd. I sd like to have a good picture of it always in my room to remind me of the fate of those who have not God in all their thoughts. Knowing however the certainty of the reality, how is it possible we can ever sin!
After leaving the Palais des Beaux Arts, we went to the dentist & had Annie’s tooth drawn. How kind & good is M. LaChevardiere. He held Annie’s had & encouraged her so kindly. Poor child she suffered much but did for a very short time.
1st April 1846 Annie has had another tooth extracted. It was worse than the last & being so much decayed there was a fear of its breaking. Thank God however it came out whole, tho’ it gave her dreadful pain. Our kind friend M. LaChevardiere went with us.
In the morning we went to see the “Invalides”. It is a fine & interesting establishment. We talked a long time to one of the old soldiers. The tears came into his eyes when he talked of Napoleon. How strange that a general so reckless of the lives of his men should have been so beloved. They seem so glad that they have his body with them. This old man said he had been embarked to go to England. Emily said “Ah but if you had gone, we should not have allowed you to land” to which he replied with the greatest gravity “Oh que Oui. We should soon have finished the English”. He then asked if they grew corn & that sort of thing in England. In this establishment there are 2000 disabled soldiers & 200 servants to supply their wants. In the kitchen there were 36 sheep being cooked for their dinner besides vegetables & soup. The chapel is a fine one, but close behind the great altar is a picture which completely shuts out the remainder of the building where the body of Napoleon is. There is a very grand tomb being formed, which will take 2 or 3 years to finish & no one is at present permitted to enter. It was provoking not to be able to look at the coffin containing all that remains of so wonderful a man.
Packham was greatly interested & when he came home he said he had looked sharp at all the men for very likely he had had a hand in wounding some of them as he fired in one day at Waterloo 100 charges. Robert also was greatly excited & his little eyes were strained to their utmost size. The library is a very good one. We saw the dining rooms of the officers as well as soldiers. There are round tables down the middle of the officer’s hall each holding 12 & in the soldier’s hall there are tables on each side. Cleanliness is particularly attended to in their table cloths, napkins but the whole building is very airy & smells very sweet & wholesome. It is immensely large & consists of a number of squares with open collonades all round each. It must be cold in winter but much air is necessary where so many reside under one roof. We saw all their little neat gardens, in which they take great pride & every thing looked so neat, so green, so lively, with the numbers of wall flowers, stocks, primroses & all spring flowers scenting the soft air. I cannot help admiring more & more the admirable sites of all the public buildings here, such space & it adds not only to utility but beauty.
From here I went with Emily, Fanny & Annie to a famous shop where there was an exhibition of spring fashions & Packham went with Clara, Laura & Robert to the Tuilleries to meet Aurélie who took them to a very grand Panorama of the Battle of Eylau. Robert was greatly excited & was particularly attracted by the situation of a general who was thrown down & apparently in the act of being killed. To Robert’s astonishment he was told that the same general was standing at his side alive & well. Aurélie after this took the children to the Giorama, a representation of the whole globe. The rest of us went to a shop where they exhibited for three days the whole of their spring goods. There were about six large rooms opening one into the other, all hung to the ceilings with the most splendid articles of dress, India & French cashmeres, evening dresses etc & the doors all hung with draperies of shawls. From this shop we walked down the Rue de la Paris to the rue St Honoré to an English pastry cook’s where I gave Annie a glass of port wine & we then went to have her second tooth taken out. It was a sad painful operation & the dentist has since said that owing to the state the tooth was in, it was one of the most painful operations in his profession. For fear of breaking it, he was obliged to loosen & extract it by degrees. M. LaChevardiere got us in very soon & he held poor Annie’s hands whilst a man servant held her head. I am thankful it is over. About two hours after we got home, M. La Ch sent Annie a beautiful bouquet of little rose buds & in the evening came to see how she was. Miss Elisa must take it as a great compliment to her, his being so kind to us, but he is a truly kind hearted man, as well as quite a gentleman & very clever.
· Miss Elisa – Aurélie’s sister Adèle Élisabeth Hubert de Fonteny died 19.3.1862. She had had an early photographic printing establishment in Paris & published photographs. In 1853 she & M. de LaChevardiere, owners, sold the Première imprimerie photographique printing company in Paris. In 1854 she married M. Alexandre de LaChevardiere. Martha wrote in a later Journal on 29.1.1856 recollecting the last year 1855 “when Aurélie returned from her annual visit to Paris, we were all in good spirits. She had enjoyed herself more than for years past. Elisa was married & she & her long loved husband were as happy as human beings cd expect.” Then later “news had arrived of poor M. de Lachevardiere being ill, very ill & so for six weeks he remained, sometimes his wretched newly wedded wife had hope, sometimes watched for his last breath. All sorts of frightful agony she endured, but she bore it all & tended him always, always till at last the cord snapped! Poor Aurélie has never recovered the misery of M. de Lachevardiere’s death & now in Paris feels it more than ever & the miserable widow, left to contend with the world & forced to go & make another happy with a broken heart!”
2nd Went to enquire for a shawl for Jane. She can have a very handsome square for 250 francs. I bought Emily, Fanny & Annie each a very pretty large barege shawl for 9 francs & ½. Fanny’s plaid at last arrived by Mr Crowe. Mlle Jeronyme brought it when she came to the literature.
6th Yesterday was a day altogether like summer. As we went twice to church, I quite longed to be at Versailles, but today tho’ it continues warm, it is just beginning to rain.
[Martha recollects going to Dresden from Cuckfield after her brother Charles Francis Barkley’s death on 3.5.1845, to join his wife Anne & their daughter Annie.
· Anne Eliza Barkley née Murray baptised Ann Eliza Murray born 29.11.1812 Jamaica-4.2.1895 Kent, m. Brighton 26.7.1836 Charles Francis Barkley. She is Anne Eliza on her marriage & death records. Her father Robert Murray of Knapdale Estate, St Ann, Jamaica died 21.6.1820 at sea from Jamaica to England. She was niece of Lt Col George Home Murray C.B. 16th Queen’s Lancers died 15.12.1834 Cawnpoor, served in the Peninsula War & at Waterloo. Mrs Nugent was Anne Barkley’s mother, b.1793/4 St Ann, Jamaica-9.1.1876 Lillington, Warwickshire, death transcript Anne Brown Nugent. She had married again 6.8.1840, Ann Murray widow née McCook (father Henry McCook deceased) to George Nugent 1794 Ireland-10.2.1878 Lillington, Major in the Queen’s Bays, originally with the 16th Dragoons, saw action in the Peninsula Campaign, Waterloo, Ireland & exchanged regiments twice to avoid being posted to India. Anne & Charles’ daughter was Annie Murray Barkley 11.10.1838-14.6.1882 m.1859 Henry Denne].
10th May 1845
[Cuckfield? is written in pencil next to the date]
Germany
I was in bed very unwell & Aurélie also. The children were at breakfast. Robert brought me two letters, one in a strange hand. I opened it & read of the death of my poor dear Charles! I was stupefied. I called Aurélie twice, she did not wake. I went to the top of the stairs & called Emily, Fanny, but it was long before any one heard me. The news was soon spread & my instant determination taken. I wd go to Anne at Dresden! At that moment I had no idea of the time or distance, my thought was of her in distress & far from friends. Emily & Aurélie prepared to go to London with me & as circumstances turned out, one or other were to accompany me. Mr Byass said it wd do Aurélie much good & as to my dearest mother he adviced not telling her & my going without seeing her. Oh how little did I know that I had seen my blessed mother for the last time! God only knows whether my leaving her was a crime. It is a thing I have never been able to comprehend myself. I certainly anticipated her being very angry with me & calling me very unfeeling, but I never contemplated finding her as I did - in her coffin! I can never know what she thought of my going. I can never know whether that & its cause hurried her death. I can never know whether she wanted me & missed me in her last days & this must for the remainder of my life rest as a dark cloud on my heart. When my old Uncle [John Barkley] died with whom I lived from childhood, I was sleeping from home & against his wish. When my father died I was ill & not allowed to go to him. I had not courage to see my husband die. I was absent from dear Charles at the time of his death & had not written to him for a long time & now after watching every stage of my beloved mother’s illness, I have not had the consolation of being with her at the close of her life! God be with her soul & forgive me if this was one more sin added to my long account.
We started in an hour & a half after the receipt of the letter, having thrown a few cloaths into Aurélie’s black box, some of hers, some of Emily’s, some of mine & as every one assisted it so happened that our not knowing what the other had put in, there were many things of a sort & some things altogether missing. We arrived in London at ½ past 12. Went to Mark Lane. Got Mr Perkins to go with us to Mr Tathams, where we read a letter he had received from Collins which added to what he had written me, that Anne was very ill. Of course this only decided me more fully on going. Mr Perkins took us to get our passport & a credit from my banker’s & Emily & I returned to the London Bridge Hotel where we had left Aurélie to rest & have something to eat. At 4 o’clock Mr Perkins came & took us to the rail road & Emily to Southend [the Perkins’ house in Southend, Lewisham]. Aurélie & I arrived at 12 o’clock at Dover, ordered some tea, but she was obliged to go immediately to her room & was sick & a bad migraine. At 4 were called to go on board the boat in a fog & drizzling rain. Aurélie was dreadfully sick & soon went below. There was a large party crossing, ladies, gentlemen, children, servants, carriages & horses. I remained on deck till almost wet through & then went & stood at the bottom of the companion. The cabin was strewed literally covered with sick women & children. Before 11 we were at Ostend. A high surf running on the shore, a great many passengers to be landed & few boats to hold them. Aurélie immerged from the cabin still horridly sick, but my fright at being handed over the side into the bottom of a little boat with about 2 doz other persons & their luggage recovered her. We soon however got on dry ground & there begun the usual bustle of hotel keeper’s agents, police officers etc. We had lost the early train. Indeed had we arrived earlier, we cd not have got our little box through in time to start. We left it at the Douane & went to the Hotel d’Allemagne. Here I wrote to the dear children & Aurélie went to enquire about rail roads, change money etc. When she came in we dined & at 3 we started in the second class for Louvain where we arrived about 9 o’clock & took up our quarters for the night at the Hotel de Suede. We had only a bedroom but it was very comfortable & we were waited upon by a young woman the nicest, cleverest & most obliging little creature who was ever seen. I went instantly to bed being very tired & soon she brought in a delicious little supper, a very small chicken, potatoes, asparagus & sweetbreads with capital coffee & bread & butter. Aurélie arranged it by my bedside & we were not sorry for the refreshment. We were up very early & went by 7 in the morning to the cathedral where Mass was performing. It is a very fine building & being a fête there were very many persons there even at that early hour. The Hotel de Ville opposite the cathedral has been recently repaired & looks new but it is an old & very handsome building. We got back to our hotel in time to take a cup of chocolate & a beefstake & started in a vigilante for the rail road. The bill at the Hotel de Suede was very moderate. Louvain is a very nice old town. In coming from Ostend to Louvain we had a sufficiently ridiculous scene. Aurélie wanted a window open, which was refused by an old man. All the others took it up & insisted upon his moving into a corner where he cd have the window shut & our moving to where we cd have it open. It was really curious to see the men, respectable tradesmen & I sd suppose out for a Sunday’s excursion. They never looked at us, but they continued their persecution of the old man for a long time. One of these men was very handsome. The others reminded me of descriptions I have read of citizens of Bruges, Liège etc. The journey is very uninteresting, the country flat & at that time flooded. We passed outside all the towns. It was rather tantalizing to stop for five minutes just outside Bruges, Ghent etc.
Monday 12th We started from Louvain not far from which place we were obliged to get out & walk a considerable distance, a tunnel having fallen in. We went in the first class as the carriages are more easy. After we had walked over this broken tunnel we got into a carriage with two very well informed young men who gave Aurélie much information. The carriages are in this form [small drawing]. Shall we ever forget the absend little couple who got into the same vehicle. A little German young man with long hair, broad brimmed hat & turned down collar with (I suppose) his bride, an English girl, very smart, very die away, not very pretty, but pretending to a vast degree of loveliness & delicacy. When they got in he spread a silk cloak lined with ermine along the seat, upon she extended herself & he took his seat at her feet, watching her in so absend a manner that it was almost beyond endurance. We arrived at Aix la Chapelle in the middle of the day & were detained there for examination of our luggage 3 hours. What waste of time. It rained very heavily. A gentleman in the passport office lent us an umbrella & we went into the town which is at some distance from the station. We dined at an hotel, l’Hotel de l’Empereur & saw the bath of Napoloen & returned to the station in a fiacre. I sd say that the rail roads in Belge are horridly shaky but here they became easy tho’ horridly dilatory. We arrived very late at Cologne, had ages to wait for our poor little box to be examined which had nothing in it & then got into an Omnibus so crowded that I thought nothing cd save us from an upset. Here as in every other place we met a German gentleman, a young man who was travelling on business & determined to get on as fast as possible, so we had the consolation that we were taking the quickest route. Cologne appeared a very fine town, but we went straight to a stinking inn, l’Hotel de Russie, laid down on a wet bed wrapped in all the shawls & cloaths we had, had a very bad meal & tried to sleep till four in the morning when we were called to go on board the boat. Our first impressions of the Rhine were not favourable, the shores are flat & as the morning was cold, the boat wet & cold & ourselves tired we did not enjoy any thing untill in the distance we discovered the Drachenfels or Mountains of the Dragon or 7 Mountains. These are very beautiful & from time to time our interest was kept awake by a succession of lovely scenery, mountains covered to their summits with vineyards & forests & numbers of romantic castles on each side. It is certainly very beautiful but it did not answer my too highly raised expectation. We dined at the table d’hôte on board the boat & towards evening began to get rather anxious as to our farther proceedings. A respectable man on board, who had been very civil in pointing out the different spots, gave us a great deal of information as to our route, which was however incorrect & caused us unnecessary fatigue & expense. When we arrived at Mayence, it was wet, cold & dark & the Bridge of Boats had a most dreary appearance. We proceeded however to the Hotel aux 3 Couronds where we took what they call a Chaise de Poste, such a vehicle! It seemed scarcely strong enough or rather in good repair enough to bear our getting into it, being a sort of caléche & the German shutters rattling & hardly keeping out the wind & rain, but when it began to move how did I every moment expect it to come to pieces. Such however was our state of fatigue & exhaustion that notwithstanding we were in a strange country, in the middle of a tempestuous night, unable to make any one understand a word we said & in such a crazy carriage, we were soon asleep. All I saw of the road was that it seemed straight with a forest on each side. Aurélie was rather startled at one time by a man on horseback who kept by our side & whom our driver appeared to watch closely. In the middle of our sleep we stopped & were awaked by our driver blowing a horn repeatedly. We were in a most dismal looking town & were a long time rousing the people to give us fresh horses & carriage. What a hideous scene presented itself when we got out & had to pay the man. We neither understood him nor the money & as Aurélie kept putting piece after piece into his hand he only shook his head & said Nein, Nein, this too by the light of a lantern & in a pouring rain. At last Aurélie became out of patience & asked me if she was to go on for ever. I cd not refrain my laughter, tho’ certainly having more reason to cry & I begged her to go on & satisfy him, indeed what else cd we do. At last he closed his hand & turned away. When we arrived at the Hotel de Frankfurt we found he had not taken a piece too much. We were now handed into a still worse & more dilapidated Chaise de Poste. It really seemed impossible ever to get into it. The steps were broken & the German shutters also, but again our fatigue got the better of all danger & we slept till within sight of the lights of Frankfurt. We entered by a wide street with lamps suspended across and drove up to the Hotel Russie. Here of course every one was asleep as it was one o’clock. At last we roused a surly old German who was asleep in the Entrée. We shall never forget how like a beau he appeared roused from his slumbers & muffled up over head & ears. He wd hardly allow us to enter, grumbled horridly at shewing us a room, still more at being told we were half starved and must have some food & his indignation was at its height when we said we must have our little box in our room. At last however he ordered some coffee & cold meat & bread & we went to bed Oh how tired. The next morning poor Aurélie was obliged to be up early to go to the banker’s & get me some money. Rothschilds readily promised me some when they saw my letter of credit from Barclays to their agent at Dresden. All they required was my signature to see if it corresponded. I did not get up till 1 o’clock & at two we went down to the table d’hôte, a capital one & we enjoyed a most excellent dinner. After which we walked about the town, as after all our endeavours to get here at night, the Malle Poste did not start till 8 at night. About 7 we had tea, coffee & meat & now Aurélie began to be ill. However we started & were greatly affected by a fine young lad who ran by the side untill totally exhausted exchanging affectionate farewells with his mother & sister. I cd not but admire his good feeling for whenever his mother looked out at him, he put on the most cheerful face & immediately that she did not see him, his distress was apparent. At last he fell behind & leant against a wall. We saw him no more. As the night advanced Aurélie became more & more unwell & by midnight she was in a dreadful state, sick & fainting as she lay along the opposite seat (there not being any one else there only one gentleman on my side) I thought she was almost dying. It was a horrid night indeed. At 5 in the morning we stopped for a quarter of an hour at a beastly public house where was a wretched breakfast. So shockingly ill was Aurélie can we ever forget the scenes of that night & day. We here bought a little bottle of rum which kept us alive I think. No sooner was I once more in the Malle Poste than I began in the same manner & such a day I never past. Each was too ill to attend to the other, our great comfort was having the carriage to ourselves till the evening when we took in passengers & were full. Thank God we both got better & tho’ still suffering greatly from illness & fatigue we slept at intervals till 6 o’clock when we arrived at Leipsig, Hotel de Baviere. We had some food & laid down for 2 or 3 hours & started in the rail road for Dresden. We were not a little nervous at the thought of what might await us there. At times I felt almost persuaded that the account was untrue & that we should find poor Charles alive. As we approached the city I felt a degree of nervousness I cannot describe expecting sometimes to see him himself. Sometimes expecting to find Mrs Nugent with her daughter & then again thinking Anne might have left or be dead or ill, or unable to return to England for a long time. We stopped & then had great difficulty in making ourselves understood. We cd not take a carriage because the centre arch of the bridge had been carried away in a great flood caused by the too rapidly melting of the snow on the mountains, so we got a man to shew us the way to the Hotel de Saxe in the old town, where we engaged a room & had coffee, sending a commissioner to try & find out where Anne lived. After some time he returned with information that she was at a hotel not far off. They had not moved into their new house, it was not ready, but at the Hotel de Hamburgh he had died. We started to see her, were shewn up. Knocked at her door, she opened it & the whole scene wd do well for representation in a deep tragedy, for a more desolate sight cd not be witnessed. She had one candle in a large dull dark room. Trunks were ranged round & she was in the act of packing one. She soon recognised us, I will not enter into details. We found from her that poor dear Charles had died of most virulent typhus fever of the most infectious kind. She was ill of the same complaint when he died & Annie & Lisette had had it slightly. He had died in the next room, the one we were sitting in had been the scene of all their winter’s happiness & pleasures, now looking so dull & desolate. We stopped a couple of hours & returned to our hotel to sleep not in the highest spirits. The next morning we went again to Anne & ascertained that she wd be ready to leave on Wednesday. This was Saturday. On Sunday we went to the English church & afterwards the clergyman Mr Lindsay directed us to the cemetery where my poor brother lies. We visited his grave, it all looked lovely, the flowers blooming & all the surface gay, but how dreadful to stand by the tomb of one’s younger brother, a fine man of the vigour of manhood, only 37 years old, strong, clever, active, handsome! All laid in the dust! When I saw him the last time about 7 months before, he said he grew young every day, that his was the kind of life to make a man live for ever! & he at that time looked remarkably well & handsome. He gave me Murray’s Hand Book [Travel books published by John Murray] saying “This is a present for you, it will be very useful to you” & so it proved for it guided me to his grave. What an awful thing is the uncertainty of human life! We went daily to see Anne during our stay at Dresden, which is a very fine old place. We passed a couple of hours in the fine & interesting Gallery & we went to see Charles’s house, so pretty! near the banks of the Elbe & with a view of the old town. On Wednesday morning we nearly lost the train by not being able tell the driver when we wanted to go. We found Anne greatly agitated thinking we sd not arrive in time. The man belonging to the hotel was with her to the last. He had behaved very kindly. Our journey home was a repetition of the one to Dresden with the addition of my being ill & Annie also & obliged to stop a whole day & night at a hideous Inn at Aix la Chapelle. We got home on the Tuesday morning & what a shock awaited me at the Haywards Heath station! I will here leave off, as what followed was too distressing [they arrived back on Tuesday 27 May & Martha’s mother Frances Barkley had died on 22.5.1845 at Cuckfield & was buried on 30.5.1845 at St Andrew’s Church, Enfield]. The impressions I received on this journey, tho’ taken at a time of such family distress left me determined if it pleased God to take my family on the Continent at a future period. Emily, Fanny, Annie & myself past a month at Melton [Martha’s older brother Rev John Barkley lived at Melton, Norfolk] & Southend [Lewisham] in June & July, then Anne & her little girl staid three months with us, during which time we had so many conversations on the advantages of going abroad, that a sudden determination seized me & I have come to Paris for the winter. In three months, please God, we shall go into Switzerland.
[Journal returned to present time Paris, 8 April 1846]
8 April 1846 The Holy Week. The churches are all crowded & there are all sorts of ceremonies going forward in them. Aurélie & the elder girls went to a sermon at Notre Dame on Monday preached by M. de Ravignan to ladies. There is one every day at 1 o’clock & in the evening one for the gentlemen. He addressed them Mesdames. His subject was Confidence in God & was excellent, not subjects of faith being discussed. I took the younger ones to our chapel & then joined the others at the Jardin des Plantes. We were much interested in the animals & plants. Robert enjoyed himself amazingly.
Yesterday I went to church alone. Today we all went & at 4 o’clock went to hear “les Tenebres at “La Madeleine”. The music & singing there are not very fine but it is a most extraordinary sight to see the crowds of persons & all the different forms & ceremonies. If you go into the middle of the aisle you pay 5 sous for a chair for each person.
Thursday 9th We started in a Ramise at ½ past 10 for Notre Dame & found that all the best places had been reserved since 5 in the morning. People send their servants at that hour, who poor creatures have to sit all that time keeping the chairs for their mistresses to go at 1 & hear a charity sermon! for this sermon daily at 1 o’clock. Ladies only are admitted & women servants only allowed to certain places. In the other parts of the church men may go but only women are admitted in the middle. Aurélie after a great deal of trouble & fatigue got Emily, Fanny & Annie chairs immediately opposite M. Ravignan, she & I were farther off & had each a chair behind the other next the passage, which today at Notre Dame was ordered to be kept clear for going up & down & a strange scene ensued in order to enforce this wise regulation. The ladies according to custom insisted on bringing chairs & blocking up the passage & it was really most amusing to see the officers take them away & carry them off over their heads as fast as they brought them. At last the church became so crowded that in order to enable those who had seats reserved for them to get to them at all it was necessary not to admit any more persons. This order was most strenuously objected to by the hundreds who still insisted on being admitted to sit I suppose on the other people’s heads. Aurélie had gone out for a minute & on trying to get back found not only the two officers but the Curé himself keeping back the persevering & vociferous women. The only means he cd find were to have the names of the persons from their servants & then extricate them & admit them through the crowds who had no places but who insisted on coming in. I was obliged to speak to him to tell him Aurélie’s name before he cd admit her, altho’ a lady who sat near me went twice to try & get her in, for she was nearly fainting, the crowd was so dreadful. I saw many handsomely dressed women, with their cloaths almost torn off their backs. At last as the time approached for the commencement of the sermon the gate was closed & no farther admittance allowed & the Curé then mounted the pulpit & spoke in very severe terms upon the impropriety of the proceedings of the ladies & to say that the next day no seats sd be allowed to be kept & the doors not opened untill 11 o’clock. The sermon was very fine they say. M. Ravignan is indeed a most prepossessing preacher. After the sermon the Archbishop washed the feet of 12 boys & there were as many girls ranged opposite the boys in very neat dresses with a medal tied by blue ribbon which fell over their shoulders & formed a cross behind. To these the Archbishop handed wine & cake & gave each a printed paper. We had however a very imperfect view of all this standing on chairs. It is striking to see the tabernacle & altars deserted. We returned at 4 & then Aurélie & I walked with Laura to see “la Madeleine”. Here the ceremony of kissing the cross was going on. They have what is called the “Tornbeau” at every church, which is a cross placed in a conspicuous position with the crown of thorns hanging on it & the white garment twisted round it. Under the cross is an altar, very improperly decked with flowers & handsomely lighted. Two priests sit at it & at their feet lies a cross which every one goes & kisses on their knees. The crowds are so great that a temporary barrier is erected & numbers of gens d’armes keep the peace, preserve order & arrange for every person to go successively & kiss the cross. This has a most strange effect, like so many other things in this wonderful city the inconsistency is most forcible. The black cross, white robe & crown of thorns so solemn, the enormous crimson & gold canopy extending a third of the length & nearly the whole height of this superb church so gaudy, the position of kneeling & kissing the cross so imposing, but soldiers! in a church! We came home & dined & at ¼ before 8 started again in a carriage with Packham on the box for Notre Dame. This was the most splendid & agreeable sight of all. M. Ravignan was preaching to a dense mass of gentlemen, filling the whole centre of the church & beyond also in every direction within hearing of his voice. The uniformity of their dress & uncovered heads produced a very fine effect, so different from the motly appearance of the ladies in the morning with all their smart bonnets etc. As soon as the sermon ended they arose as if by one motion & turned to the altar at the end of the noble cathedral & instantly the great organ was begun to be played & such a swell of harmony I never heard. The Stabat was joined in apparently by every man’s voice in the assembly & there must have been several thousands present. The pulpit is in the middle of the church & the great altar at the end. Near this we sat, quite removed from the crowd, which we saw consequently to greater advantage. Our end of the church was dark, only at the extreme end the fine white marble altar piece had a strong light thrown upon it tho’ the lights themselves were unseen. This represents Jesus just taken from the cross, his head resting on his mother’s knees & an angel at his feet, this being the only object visible & above the faint moon light appearing through the long windows, the heavenly music & when we turned our heads the immense mass of men all apparently in the act of devotion, the effect was more sublime than any thing I ever experienced before. Packham was close to us all the time & much pleased. We got our carriage without the slightest difficulty altho’ there were such hundreds there & we enjoyed the drive home along the splendid quays of this splendid place.
Good Friday 1846 Received the sacrament at our own chapel. Splendid as the ceremonies of the Church of Rome are, we see that they are wrong because unscriptural & leading weak human nature astray, by making it rely on observances more than on spiritual worship, but yet there has been something in the services of this week which have certainly not disinclined one to the enjoyment of religious worship. All we have seen & heard have at least been intended for the honour of our own God & Saviour & the sight of the cross every where inspires one with the thought of who died on it for us. It is very solemn to see the tabernacle on every altar thrown open, the lights out & all wearing an air of desolation. This takes place from the time of the crucifixion to the rising. Our own much more solemn tho’ simple ceremony of the sacrament was most comfortable. We afterwards walked for half an hour to the Champs Elysées to see the crowds there who at this season of lamentation & fasting go to see the fashions! Another inconsistency, but the custom arose from there being a convent at Long Champ in the Bois de Boulogne where the nuns sang very beautifully & the crowds used to go to hear them on Good Friday. The nuns are long ago silent, the convent is pulled down but the crowds continue to haunt the same route at the same period for the purpose of seeing & being seen & here it is said the fashions are set for the year. It was a curious & grand sight. Almost every & the whole of the road up to the Barriere de l’Etoile were lined with horse & foot soldiers. These prevent the slightest confusion or danger. The carriages are only allowed to go in file at the sides. The middle is reserved for those who have orders & no pedestrian is allowed to go off the path way. The magnificent trees now just tinted with the loveliest spring green, the buildings so noble, the Place de la Concorde so spacious, the crowds of soldiers, carriages & people altogether formed a splendid scene & the weather was like heaven itself. We merely walked straight through the Jardin des Tuilleries & went to hear the Stabat at St Roch. The crowd was dense & the music very scientific & fine but nothing to equal the simple grandeur of the great organ & human voices at Notre Dame. Coming home we looked in at the Madeleine, where the ceremony of kissing the cross was still going on. We returned very tired to a 7 o’clock dinner, Aurélie having gone to the Conservatoire with Madame Odiot, where she heard a fine concert of sacred music.
11th April Went to buy Annie a bonnet. Robert has a few days of Easter holidays & is gone very grand with his sisters to the Atélier. We have not been into a church today but I look forward with great pleasure to our service tomorrow. I never thought more of the solemn event we commemorate at this season.
17th April 1846 The lilacs have been in full bloom for many days. The horse chesnuts also & every thing wears the fact of spring. I sat for some time in the gardens of the Tuilleries, the limes are quite in full leaf & the scene altogether most lovely. Asparagus is very abundant now. Today we had a very large dish for 1-50 or 15d English. Green peas are beginning to appear in all the shops. Departures for the country are very frequent.
18th April Green peas selling about the streets.
22nd Went to the Bois de Boulogne, very fine & very gay. The carriages are very handsome. Robert had a donkey. We were much amused to see a bride riding on a donkey with her bridesmaids. She was full dressed, no bonnet, flowers round her hair, white dress, shawl. It was a very characteristic scene. There were numbers of violets in the wood. Certainly Paris is a fine city. What a noble entrance is that by the Route de St Germain & it looks far more imposing & noble as well as pretty now that the foliage is out.
24th M. LaChevardiere brought a review the other night called Revue des Deux Mondes. Talking of it at dinner Laura asked what it meant. Aurélie said “guess” & Laura guessed that it meant literally the two worlds, this & a better, but Robert immediately said “No Laura “c’est l’ancienne & la modern”. This is clever for a child of 6½ years old.
Certainly the Parisians concult more good taste in their stay at Paris, than the Londoners do in their long sojourn in London, tho’ to speak candidly I suppose they cannot help it, it is the sitting of Parliament which detains them so long from the beauties of the country. Here almost every one seems to be talking of going & many are gone. There are several apartments already shut up in this street & I shall not be sorry when the town is less crowded for the next thing to enjoying the country is to enjoy quiet. At present the streets are as bustling as ever. The people leave Paris now & do not return till December. Clara & Laura are lamenting the near approach of the end of their Cours. It lasts only through next month. All the people will then be leaving.
May 3rd Since I last wrote we have seen a great many things, amongst others a Jewish wedding. It is a curious & very absend ceremony. The synagogue is rather like a large room with a square place nearly in the centre, going up three steps & covered with a canopy there is a table with a crown & some other things on it. At the end of the synagogue is what we should call an altar & here the bridegroom led his bride on their first entrance into the synagogue. They sat down in the front & behind them were their families & all those who were guests at the wedding, M. & Mme. Odiot amongst others, all nicely dressed. The rest of the synagogue was nearly filled with spectators like ourselves. After they had sat some time the Rabbi went into the place like an altar & they stood whilst we spoke something. They then came into the raised place in the centre & one of the Rabbis covered them with a white silk veil. The chief Rabbi then put one over his own head & went to them & whispered something. He then said something in a kind of chanting tone to which they replied in the same. After this he gave them some wine & a glass was broken to indicate that as it wd be impossible to unite it, it was impossible to dissolve their union. The ridiculous appearance of their bobbing about with all their hats on under the veil it is impossible to describe. There was no prayer or other appearance of its being a religious ceremony, neither does the synagogue present a religious aspect. The singing of the Rabbis & boys is horridly discordant & all looks bare, unfeeling, insignificant & uninteresting. After witnessing this we went to Miss Elisa’s atelier which is quite different from ours. They have every week a different “Modele” sometimes a man & sometimes a woman. It is an admirable way of studying. There were many ladies there. Aurélie now took the 3 young ones to the Diorama & Fanny also. They were all much delighted, it appears to be a very good one. There is an admirable representation of the deluge, so good that it almost frightened Robert. I came home with Emily & Annie to order the former a bouquet as in the evening Mme. Odiot was kind enough to take her to the wedding ball where she was greatly amused. The bridge seemed to enjoy it as much as any one & danced like the rest. At ½ past 11 she went round to her particular friends to say good bye & the bridegroom did the same. They then started off for the country seat. The account we hear of the family is very interesting & makes one wish all families cd resemble them. They are very rich & very numerous. The father of the present head of the family was a very amiable man & he left a beautifully written will, which he desired might be read in the presence of the whole family every year. This custom is of course adhered to & if any quarrel or dissention has occurred it is then adjusted. They have an immense hotel in Paris & a large country seat about 20 miles off. They all live together & when any of the young people marry if necessary rooms are built for them. There is one large drawing room where they all meet in the evening but each has separate apartments.
On Friday was the King’s Fête & a wonderful sight it was to see the vast crowds of persons assembled in the Tuilleries, Champs Elyées etc, theatres, ballrooms, booths, games in almost endless variety amused the people all day. We took Packham with us & had a look at what was going on. Every thing is wonderfully orderly, it is remarkable to observe the quiet & apparent decorum which pervades all these festivities in Paris. We did not see one drunken or ill behaved person. We had only time to come home & hastily eat some dinner before we had to go back & secure places on the roof of a pavilion which commanded the best possible view of the fire works. M. Odiot was kind enough to obtain tickets for us & I went there with Emily, Annie, Laura & Robert. Aurélie, Fanny & Clara walked with M. LaChevardiere & got mounted on a cart where they saw well but were very tired. I can give no idea of the beauty & newness of the scene. The Chambre des Deputes was illuminated very prettily & it was curious to see as the light died away the tops of Notre Dame, the Pantheon etc being lighted up. At ½ past 8 the fire works commenced & tho’ they did not last more than a quarter of an hour they exceeded any thing I ever saw of the kind. There were three different sorts along the Quai immediately opposite the Palace & they say all the Royal family was at the windows, but what they call the Bouquet was on the Pont de la Concorde close to where we were stationed, at least as close as was safe. It extended from one end of the bridge to the other & was the grandest & most beautiful thing imaginable. Cannons were fired during the whole time & the effect was almost overpowering. Emily says she had great difficulty in preventing herself from going into hysterics after it was over. The sight of the vast crowds of people under us, the soldiers, the river, the opposite buildings, the trees of the Tuilleries & one end of the Palace just visible, all this when the brilliant light of the fire works fell upon them was very fine. There were 100 persons on the roof where we were. We ascended by a ladder & in coming down I was by no means sorry to find Aurélie waiting for us & helping me down for it was dark & I was not very sure I sd arrive safely at the bottom. Robert is a curious little fellow. As we stood anxiously awaiting our turn to go down, he said most composedly “Come we must close in upon them”. We returned through the Champs Elysées. M. LaChevardiere gave the children some goffres. It is curious to see them made. The batter is put into an iron close pan & in a few minutes they are done. The man has about six. He continually turns them over.
Robert & Laura were delighted in the morning by Aurélie giving them gingerbread, barley sugar etc at the different booths. How they enjoyed themselves. We finished by taking tea & coffee at M. LaChevardiere’s. What kind hospitable people & polite people they are!
May 2 Laura had two teeth drawn. Clara one. M. Trianon has finished his Cours of literature. It has been very interesting & will I trust always be very useful. The atelier also will be concluded this week & then their whole attention will be bestowed on German.
We are acquainted with a lady of a very extraordinary character. The old Madame de Ségur, herself of an old & good family & also married into one. She is poor but of a most noble mind. Her eccentricities carry her to the utmost verge of propriety. Her dress is as bad as it is possible to be, no stays, a shirt not always particularly clean, gown hanging like a sack, hair white & arranged in one large roll on each side her face, no cap & all her actions like a man, yet with all this there is nothing coarse or vulgar & you can see she is well born. She is very clever, writes extremely well, her ideas are brilliant & she appears not only to have a good stock of useful knowledge but is excessively imaginative, dotingly fond of music (plays the violin), poetry & painting. She seems to have taken rather a fancy to us, for she has sat here two evenings lately, read her poetry to us, letters etc & told us a multitude of amusing anecdotes. Her independance of principle & conduct she expresses in warm & fine language. Her hatred to all sorts of meanness, her abhorrence to cruelty towards animals, her love of charity are all exemplified in her conduct. She has been known to strip her shawl off in the street & put it on a poor person & she will trot all over Paris to serve any one. She has but little money but she courts no one excepting those who are in distress. It is the most curious thing in the world to see her & to hear her talk. It was really beautiful to hear her tell a story of the poor people where she lived in the country. Misfortune had rendered it necessary to sell the property & estate & she had left her house in order not to be present at the painful scene. The next day she was informed that as soon as she had left all her tenantry had collected & threatened with violence any one who attempted to enter & that the whole matter was settled & the sale was rendered unnecessary.
The following was written by her to a lady who was dwelling upon the misfortunes of her life.
[2 pages of lines in French dated 29 March 1836 and verses in French by Madame de Segur’s father Charles Louis Portlants]
The following verses were written by her father & are remarkable for their toleration. They want something more to render them true. It is not by our virtues we shall enter heaven tho’ they must accompany us. Still the verses are pretty & curious I think.
May 5th Went to the grand Review at Vincennes. Saw Ibrahim Pacha entering the castle with the Duke de Nemours & a splendid staff. The gold & jewels of the Egyptians glistened splendidly & added greatly to the magnificence of the scene. Annie & Robert sat on the grass. We all stood behind & were close to the procession. The Pacha is a ferocious looking old man & only scowled at us in return to our salutations. He rode a beautiful white horse which he rode at Nezib & sent it afterwards amongst others as a present to the King of the French. It has been taken great care of & as a compliment was provided for Ibrahim to use at this Review which pleased him much. We also saw his sons who are being educated in Paris & his brother. It was a very splendid animated scene as we saw this costly array wind into the castle across the moat & draw bridge & under the portcullis, the large area around the castle covered with troops returning from the Review, carriages & people. It had a beautiful effect to see the cavalry & other soldiers issuing from all the different roads which lead through the wood. How civil were the people amongst whom we stood to see the Review! Men & women quite of the lower order all behaving with great propriety, tho’ laughing and chatting at their ease. The Parisians seem so perfectly accustomed to sights of every description, that they range themselves in files as if by intuition. The whole road & streets through which we past home were lined with crowds of persons, which as we drove through them had a very fine & cheerful effect. I suppose the quiet & order preserved on these occasions here arise from the people being so used to such numbers of serjents de ville. We were greatly fatigued, the day being very hot & we having to walk. Carriages were not allowed as it was feared accidents might occur with the horses. Two poor Germans had their faces injured with the powder. They were carried past us in a sort of carriage with the surgeon at their side & presented a fearful appearance owing to the curious manner in which they were bandaged with white linen.
Thursday 7th We saw a premiere communion at the Madeleine, about 500 girls & boys. The girls in white even to their shoes & many of their prayer books, the boys with white satin on their left arms. Amongst the curious things we noticed on 1st May, I did not mention the lots of little glasses of ice which people were eating ½ a sou each.
We had the Arnolds to take tea with us. They are very poor sight seers & talk of the churches being pretty, of beginning to get reconciled to Paris, of avoiding French cooking as much as possible etc. I cannot think of what use it is for such people to travel. What absend & false accounts they must give of things which they see under such false colours or do not see at all.
I have determined on leaving Paris on 2nd June & we are now busy preparing for our departure.
22nd May Ever since writing an incessant succession of occupation has prevented my having a moment to spare for my journal. We have been delighted at the old paintings in the Louvre & by going over & over again have formed a tolerably good idea of them I think but I am sorry that the catalogue is lost! I will endeavour to replace it in some degree by mentioning here which I recollect as most striking. The two landscapes one of which Mrs Harrison was copying. [List of catalogue numbers with brief comment]. All Canaletto’s, some more of Guido’s, Cranach’s. I cannot remember. I am so sorry for the loss the book.
23rd May 1846 Emily, Fanny, Annie & I went to Versailles, met Aurélie there & went over the chateau. It is impossible to describe the grandeur of it. It seems devoted to painting recording the victories, noble acts & public events of France. A complete history of the country might be learnt by studying the paintings on the walls of these rooms. We were 2 ½ hours walking through them & barely stopping to look at a few. Napoleon’s acts always form interesting subjects & here every public act of his life seems recorded. In some of the rooms the whole of one side or end is covered by one subject & the border formed of portraits. The Field of the Cloth of Gold is very fine & the modern paintings of Horace Vernet are very fine & spirited. We were much interested in passing by the door & little passage through which Marie Antoinette escaped to her husband’s apartments, whilst her guards were being murdered in her defense at the other entrance to her room. The grand ball room is finer than I cd have imagined with its immense length, finely painted ceiling, long range of windows all thrown open & looking over the spacious & noble park, gardens & grounds with magnificent plate glass opposite each, reflecting the view. The polished floor & a range of splendid lamps on each side, altogether it is a room fit for the greatest sovereign. The chapel is very fine, dedicated to St Louis. The opera house also is much ornamented & in good taste. The whole is well kept up tho’ no part of it is now ever inhabited by the family. The regulations are excellent here as well as in every public place in Paris. There are servants sitting in the different rooms to shew you which way to go through this wildness of rooms but no one accompanies you. We met here Mr Davis, one of the young men who used to go to Mr Fearon’s. He introduced us to his father & sister & we went through most of the rooms together. After quitting the chateau, we had a long & tiring walk to the Grand Trianon & here we saw the rooms which the royal family occasionally occupy for a few days. It is very very pretty. The first part we went into was the side containing the apartments of Madame Adelaide which are very snug & comfortable. The furniture & walls of the bed room, bath room cabinets etc all chintz. Then came the Princesse Clementine’s apartments. She has only a bed room, bath room etc but the Duke de Nemours who is next has also a salon. Then there is the billiard room, family salon, long dining gallery opening at the end into the garden & on the other side the King & Queen’s apartments are. The bed room is very splendid. A pleasant walk through the shady grounds brings you to the Petit Trianon which is very small & allotted to the Duchess of Orleans. Her bed room contains a very small bed & we were told that it has been substituted for the large one ever since her husband’s death. In the other palaces, her little bed is placed by the side of her husband’s larger one, none of which have ever been slept in since his death. The bed room of the King Louis 14th at Versailles is curious & rich. The contents have been collected from various places & even the individual articles he used. We paid a short visit to the pretty Swiss dairy & were almost exhausted with heat & fatigue when we got back to the rail road. I shall never forget the heavenly air as we past through the country back to Paris. Every thing is so fresh & sweet it makes one long to leave the town. The rail road is well managed. No one but passengers is allowed to go on to the platform where the train stops & your ticket is taken from you when you are in, so that when you arrive at your destination you have not any thing to do. The coupé is the most expensive & from Paris to Versailles 13 miles costs 2 francs. Few persons seem to go in these. The Diligences are exactly like our first class & cost 1 franc ½. The wagon is like our second class with the addition of good cushions & being softly lined all round. Outside on the tops of the carriages are seats, where I see many gentlemen even go. The wagon is 25 sous. We only arrived in time to eat our dinner & dress & go out to a party at M. Hubert’s. The country about St Cloud is very finely wooded & extremely pretty.
Sunday 24th May 1846 Went once to church & afterwards joined Madame Hubert & went to the Chapel St Ferdinand, erected to the memory of the Duke of Orleans. It is most affecting. He was driving in an open carriage on the 13th July 1842 when the horses took fright & ran away. The coachman turned & said to him that he had lost all command of them. At that time the Duke was standing up & it is not known whether he was thrown out, or whether he jumped out. He was found senseless opposite a little grocer’s shop & carried in. His wife was in the south of France but the other members of his family were soon collected, but only to witness his death. He never opened his eyes & only once spoke a few German words saying “How warm it is here”. His poor wife reaps a melancholly pleasure from the thought that his last words were in her native tongue & probably he thought he was addressing her. He was embalmed & his body exposed 15 days in state & then buried at Ese. Exactly in the spot where this dreadful tragedy took place they have erected a simple & very pretty chapel. The altar is built over the spot where he died & a few paces behind it is a small apartment where there is a picture of the scene of his last moments. It is most aweful & affecting. It appears acting at the moment you look at it, for the boards of the shop were taken up in order to build the altar over the spot & placed as a floor to this little room stained all over with the blood. He was laid on a mattress on the floor & the blood is all over, trodden in evidently by the people about him. The fittings up of the little shop are also arranged in the same position they were at the time, the only difference is, that a picture represents the actions in this afflicting scene. The little chapel itself is all fitted up with black. At one side there is a fine marble monument, the poor Duke lying dead, his head supported by an angel. This angel was sculptured by the Princesse Marie for the birth of the Duke of Orleans’ son. It now serves to ornament his monument. There is a marble image of our Saviour & the Virgin over the door behind the altar. Every one enters this little chapel of woe almost on tiptoe. No one speaks & many were crying bitterly. I longed to do so, it wd have been a great luxury. Close before the monument is a black carpet & a Prie dieu, evidently where his wife & members of his family kneel, for they pay almost daily visits to the spot where he breathed his last. The chapel stands in a neat garden beautifully kept up & full of flowers & just opposite the chapel is a range of rooms, 4 in number. In the last is an ebony table with a clock of the same materials, the hands of which are a serpent. They stand always at 10m to 12. The clock is a broken column with an inscription 13th July 1842. In the second room is another clock of the same kind standing at 10 minutes past 4, the hour at which he expired. The poor widow comes here every day. The furniture is grey & black & all is so beautifully neat & clean, so quiet! so solemn! The public are admitted every day but Wednesdays with tickets easily obtained & from 2 to 3 o’clock.
After this we visited the “Parc de Monceaux” which is a delightful resort for the Parisians on Thursdays & Sundays. The trees are large & handsome, the walks shady & there is water & bridges & ruins. Altogether it is very pretty. A ticket also very easily obtained gains you admittance here. The more I see of Paris the more admirable it appears. Where we were today up by the Barriere de Roule, it is very handsome, wide road with a boulevard recently planted on each side, double rows of trees & wide walk between. I cannot deny that the French are an absurdly vain people but I must confess they have much more to be proud of than I imagined. I wish they were not so self conceited. Vanity seems too mean a passion when applied to objects so truly magnificent as their public buildings, institutions etc. It checks one’s admiration in the same degree as seeing a fine, manly, handsome man admiring himself in the glass.
Amongst the many excellent regulations here, that of the Fly men being forced to light their lamps at dusk is one. Another their being forced to take any thing left in their Fly to the Prefet de Police, where if you have the number of the Voiture which they are obliged always to give you, you may recover it.
25 May 1846 M. Odiot was so very good as to give us tickets to view a very grand review. We were in the Ecole Militaire under an awning thrown out from one the windows which protected us both from dust & heat. What a splendid sight. 30.000 troops & Ibrahim Pacha, the princes & their superb suite passing up & down through every line. After which the whole past in review before the royal pavilion, where were the Queen & princesses. The cavalry wheeling round the corner in front of us was very fine. The artillery passing was tremendous & after a while the dust perfectly hid them & we cd only hear the roar of the heavy carriages & horses. The Champs de Mars is an enormous square fronting the Ecole Militaire & on each side is a raised platform which was thrown up in some almost incredibly short space of time during the last revolution. To see this one entire mass of people & the troops in the middle was an exceedingly grand sight. Emily went with Madame Odiot. We all followed excepting Fanny & got into a tremendous crowd, which however gave us an admirable view of the cavalry who were just going on the ground. The Hankeys were in the same place with us & were very kind & polite to the children & ourselves. After the review was over we saw the Pacha etc dismount & get into the carriages & pass quite close to us. His lovely little Arabian was led about to cool by an Egyptian. The dress, complexion & attitudes of these people are highly picturesque.
27 May We all went to a party at Madame Odiot’s who most kindly had a conjurer to amuse us with his very clever tricks. The new drawing room was thrown open & looked charmingly. We had a delightful evening & are much obliged for the kind attentions shewn us by all Aurélie’s friends.
28 Clara & Laura dined at Mrs Hankey’s. They appear to live in good style here.
29 Went for the last time to the Cours, at which Clara especially has succeeded so well. The elder ones all went in the morning to the Louvre & in the evening the three young ones dined at M. LaChevardiere’s who most kindly took them to Franconi’s with which they are all in extasies.
30th Gone to the Louvre again. I must mention the extraordinary ways the French have of spelling our name. Chot, Schauw, Chouawe, Schw & a variety more.
3rd June 1846 Left Paris after a residence of six months & having received such a continual kindness from all Aurélie’s friends. We felt great regret at leaving them & shall always retain affection & esteem for them. Madame Hubert is a very nice good old lady & I gave her great credit for overcoming her anger at Aurélie’s change of religion so far as to conceal it from view. She became quite at home with us & will I fear miss her daughter greatly especially as almost all her family are leaving Paris for the summer. Miss Elisa is perfectly lady like, very sensible & very agreeable & kind & deserves great credit for her perseverance in studying drawing as she does. M. LaChevardiere is altogether one of the most estimable persons I ever knew. He is extremely clever & well informed on all subjects. At the same time he has an excellent heart, is friendly & domestic & appears to become attached to people in proportion to the degree of usefulness he is of to them. Added to all this he is a gentleman in every respect, a man of the world & also a moral man. His mother & niece were excessively kind & hospitable to us. I like M. H. Hubert very much indeed. He is friendly, obliging, domestic, appears to have a good sound understanding & is quite a gentleman. Madame Odiot shewed her affection for her sister, in her very kind & obliging attentions to us. She never lost an opportunity of obliging us. She is very handsome & altogether a particularly nice woman. M. Odiot is what is called a throughly good natured man, very fond of his wife & sons & apparently quite willing to second his wife’s obligingness. Miss Pelagie was very polite to & sociable with us, which does her great credit, considering the strong feeling she had with regard to religion. She is a very good person. Old Madame Ségur delighted me by her good feelings, fine taste & independent character tho’ her eccentricities amounted almost to wildness.
· M. LaChevardiere’s mother - Madame LaChevardiere (Louise Josephe Jerosime Martin), niece Mlle Jerosime Catherine de Lespinasse
We started at ½ past 7 & had a hot dusty journey all day & night & were immensely relieved by stopping 5 hours at Nancy till ½ past 6. Emily, Fanny & Annie took warm baths & then walked round the pretty town with M. Hubert. We then demolished a shoulder of mutton, a chicken & lots of asparagus. Saw the Vosges in the distance. The roofs of the houses began to get very flat. Women wore close straw bonnets [small diagram], all were exactly alike, standing in the water washing. We observed some very pretty groups. The vineyards ascend every hill & cover half the plains. The sun rising at 4 o’clock behind part of the range of the Jura was lovely. It is not possible for me to describe the view as we descended the “Côte de Saverne”. For 2 miles we wound down the wooded sides of this part of the mountains of the Vosges, with the intermediate country stretched before us, the Rhine winding through the plain. The mountains of the Foret Noir in the extreme distance. The freshness of the morning. The pretty dress of the peasantry, numbers of whom were going to market with their loads on their heads. The little long carts. The beauty & novelty of the whole were charming. Monsieur Hubert kindly put Fanny, Annie, Clara & Laura into the coupé & came himself into the rotonde.
We arrived at Strasbourg at 9 in the morning of Friday 5th June & went to an hotel. The approach over the fortifications to the town & the town itself are interesting & very pleasing. The height & architecture of the cathedral surpassed all my expectations. We had an excellent breakfast & then went to view the interior of the cathedral. It does not answer to the exterior but the clock is a wonderful piece of machinery & tells every event of the solar system. At each quarter a figure of an angel at the bottom strikes with a hammer upon a bell & at the same time a figure above passes before the figure of Death & strikes the bell he holds. After which Death himself strikes the bell every hour & another angel turns the hour glass at every hour. At 12 o’clock all the twelve apostles pass before our Saviour who blesses them & to see this great numbers of people go daily.
After the cathedral we went to St Thomas’s where there are two curious mummies, a man & a woman dressed & some of the dress exactly what they wore when they were embalmed.
There were numbers of cherries at Strasbourg, 2d a lb. We regaled on some & Aurélie attempted to draw a market woman. They were so amused that very soon a crowd began to collect & we were obliged to go away. We dined at a restaurant & went to bed very tired.
At eleven next day we started in an Omnibus for the rail road station & past the Rhine on a bridge of boats. It excited the greatest interest, then seeing the French soldier on one side, the German on the other. As soon as we were over we stopped to have our baggage examined & then got into the train & had a lovely drive to Baden with the Rhine running through the plain on one side bounded by the Vosges & the Foret Noir on the other. An Omnibus brought us into the town & we took up our quarters at “Der Hirsch”. The afternoon was past looking for lodgings. The evening we went to the promenade & took ices, but all this part is full of fine people & is like all other watering places odious & to me disgusting.
On Sunday the elder ones went to church. I staid with the young ones & came into our new apartments, three stories high, but very clean, airy & comfortable. The woman of the house has 9 children, her eldest a girl of 12, Louise is the nicest little creature it is possible to see. She goes part of the day to a French school & can speak very well.
Monday 8th June 1846 Started at 6 in the morning on a walking excursion up the mountain to the Altes Schloss. We were two hours ascending but were repaid by the lovely scenery the whole way. The road winds so as never to be very steep. It goes through deep & dark woods through the openings of which you occasionally get a glimpse of the country around & beneath you. When at the top of the old castle the view is indeed a noble one. Mountains which from the valley appear high are now diminished so as to be scarcely distinguished from the plain. The ruins are very fine & the height great. Our heads cd not bear at first to look down, but after a while they began to sketch the view kneeling down & resting their books on the parapet. The Rhine winding through the plain between France & Germany. The Vosges beyond. The wooded mountains all round & about us & the town of Baden immediately below! We saw many lizards, they are very pretty. We had a substantial breakfast at 9 o’clock & rambled about ruins, rocks & woods till 4 when we dined. Poor Aurélie was obliged to return on a donkey at 1 o’clock, having a sad sore throat fever etc which have since attacked Laura & Emily. Annie had it before. We came home nearly exhausted with heat & fatigue, having come a very long & rugged way home. The country about Baden is lovely but I can scarcely describe why it loses some of its enchantment by being made so easy of attainment. There are roads & seats & arbours every where & the wildest spots are rendered accessible by all these precautions. It is very ungrateful to say that they spoil that which (I at least) cd not see without them. A good breakfast was certainly absolutely necessary after such a walk but to see lots of round white tables & chairs set out just in front of the old castle gate was rather annoying. During our absence the clergyman Mr Hopper called & we have since made acquaintance with his wife and daughters who are good tempered but rather too common placed people. Emily, Clara & Robert have walked with them to a pretty village not far off, Lichtenthal. Every one here seems to pass the evening at the “Conversation” talking, ices, talking, playing cards & seeing who is best dressed. Altogether my impression of Baden is not favourable. In a great city like Paris one expects to rest & to admire all the efforts of art, but here it seems wholly misplaced & one cannot avoid pitying that taste which can convert that which is so lovely with that most detestable of all things a “Watering Place”. After all the talk of cheapness I believe that with the exception of lodgings we could live as cheaply & much better in Paris. It is very curious to see the water from the hot springs running down the streets from the Baths of the Hotels. To those not used to hilly places the streets going up steps also are odd looking. The dress of the peasantry is very shewy & clean looking & the manner in which they carry immense tubs of water & other weights on their heads is really extraordinary. There is no water laid in to the houses. It is all brought from the different fountains in tubs on the head & the women walk straight up stairs without spilling a drop.
I want to remember the old architect in Strasbourg cathedral peeping over the gallery up in a corner!!
Thursday 11th The invalids are getting better & all are occupied with their drawings, German & journals. We went in the evening to the station but got little or no information concerning the journey. We are hoping to be able to go by Schaufhausen & Constance but I fear my money will not last out. The weather is so very hot that it is quite impossible to enjoy the beauties of this place or rather neighbourhood. It is out of the question going out untill the sun is down & then it is soon dark. Baden will not I fear ever have a favourable impression in our recollections. I shall be glad to get away.
Saturday 13th Being all a little better we took a walk up one of the lowest heights & watched the sun set behind the Vosges, the Rhine like a silver thread winding through the plain. The first pleasant evening at Baden.
Sunday 14th Went twice to church & were astonished after dinner to see M. Hubert come in. He persuaded us to start on Monday 15th which we did & had a pleasant journey in the train to Freyburg. The hay making all over the country is charming. We had the mountains of the Black Forest on our left the whole way & to our right we had our last glimpse of Strasbourg cathedral. As we approached Freyburg the country became grander, mountains higher etc. The cathedral is superb, pure Gothic. Went in the late evening. Costly silver altar, length of nave & height of arches truly grand but what can exceed the richness of the colours of the old windows. One in particular appeared to me exquisite, nearly opposite the curious stone pulpit under which is the figure of the sculptor. Starting from Baden we first saw Mr Raven & Mr Gordon at the station. In one niche were our Saviour & the apostles in stone as large as life at the table. There are many niches with similar quaint & curious objects. We had about 2 hours sleep & then got up, had a good breakfast with delicious little hot milk cakes & took lots of eatables away with us. Poor Aurélie awake all night & very unwell. I also felt very nervous & poorly but the beauties of the Val d’Enfer soon made us almost forget ourselves in astonishment & delight. The road winds through this valley, sometimes at the immediate base of almost perpendicular rocks, on the other side perhaps you see a mountain rivulet & above, wooded heights so high that they are at times wholly shady, at others openings in them let in streams of sun shine. Then come lovely little cottages, churches, villages, bridges, trees. How pretty it was when we changed horses & all stood on a bridge & drew. Mr Raven never lost an opportunity of taking a sketch & he draws very well. That one church in the middle of the mountains & woods how very lovely it was. As we began to ascend the mountain out of the valley I became frightened & was obliged to walk. It is very very steep & winds like a stair case up the side. The view of the church & country lovely. We went up a great many heights & were charmed with the variety & beauty of the wild flowers. Such bushes of roses, such hare bells, convolvuluses & many whose names I do not know. The fields are masses of flowers. Here the peasant women wear high crowned shining yellow & other coloured hats, very ugly, but I saw one most beautiful girl. At last by a most rapid & long descent we found ourselves in the valley through which runs a little stream & this divides Germany from Switzerland, which country we entered under an arch of flowers for there had been a grand festival at Schaufhausen & every place was decorated. We were perfectly charmed with the appearance of the Rhine as we entered Schaufhausen, so blue, so rapid, so sparkling. Owing to the festival we were a long time before we cd get a carriage to take us to the Hotel Weber for the Malle is not allowed to stop there, so were obliged to go into the town. What a crazy vehicle took us up & how fully did I expect to be overturned when the horses began galloping down. The Hotel Weber is a fine house, we entered, were shewn to our apartments & all rushing to the windows beheld the “Falls”. They are not high & looking at them from such a height they appear lower but they are most lovely & the whole country & scene charming. It is astonishing how soon the current of the river gets calm again & how softly & sweetly it glides through its wooded banks & turns out of sight. We went after dinner to the Cockney place built to make persons pay for seeing this beauty of nature. The lowest platform is however curious, taking one almost under the spray of the “Falls”, crossing in the little boat looks rather frightening. In the morning the girls went with M. Hubert again to see them & before we started we went to the mill where the appearance of the stream is very rapid. Met the Diligence at the top of the road & had a good view for some time of the Alps. As we approached Zurich we cd scarcely believe that what we saw up in the clouds cd be really mountains. Zurich seems a most charming place. The lake washes up against the road as clear as crystal & you step into a boat (of which there are hundreds) with the greatest ease. We went up on to the top of the Hotel du Lac. What a view. I think I like Zurich better than any place I ever saw. In the morning we went in the steamer boat to Horgen where two carriages awaited us with our luggage & for 2 hours we ascended a mountain with the most superb views the whole way. The descent frightened me dreadfully & even the lovely drive afterwards along the heavenly Lake of Zug scarcely quieted my nerves. We dined at Arth & at 3 o’clock commenced our pilgrimage up the terrific Righi. For 6 hours we had a succession of beauties & horrors. I had 4 men to carry me in a chaise à porteurs & the others had 2 horses but it was a most tremendous task. At the end all were knocked up excepting Emily & Laura. It is wonderful to me how horses or even men can scramble up such places, many parts consisting of rugged stone steps. The latter part was frightfully steep & the lightning flashing constantly over the snowy Alps encreased the effect. My chair got before the rest & I had full room for indulging my fears. Aurélie had had wonderful spirit & courage all day but was now nearly fainting, so was Annie & M. Hubert at one time fairly laid down in despair. However we survived & got to the wooden hotel to sleep. I was very ill. The horn woke us before day break & those who were well enough went out with our guide to watch the scene. I saw it from my window & splendid indeed it was to see one snowy height after another catching the red & gold sun beams & sparkling with brightness. I shall not forget the cows & sheep standing on the brink of the precipice to watch & welcome the coming day.
We descended in 2½ hours, thank God I had my back towards the view & was a degree less nervous than in going up. We arrived at Weggis where we took a little boat & all came to Seeburg. We found the left wing which poor Charles inhabited full & where we are is not very comfortable. They are new people, but very very civil. I went to bed the instant I arrived.
On Saturday 20th went in a boat to Lucerne, nice old town. Saw Madame Schümacker. M. Hubert left us to our very great regret. In the evening walked to see two houses, did not like them. Mr Bates the clergyman walked with us, he had come out to call on Mr Raven so we went altogether. An unpleasant looking man.
Sunday 21st Went in a boat to church. Liked Mr Bates’ reading & preaching. In the afternoon Mr Raven read to us at home. In the evening we walked to Meggenhorn & were quite terrified at its wild lonely lovely appearance. Met a man who knew Uncle Charles! All is the same as when he was there & used to admire every spot, but where is he, so strong, so handsome, so bold, so young! it is aweful to think of.
Monday 22nd We returned in a boat with M. & Mme. Schümacker & almost determined on taking it.
Tuesday 23rd Aurélie & Fanny gone to Lucerne to make final arrangements for Meggenhorn where we go on Friday.
Thursday 25 Aurélie & I went into Lucerne. We walked there & back & finished all the commissions for Meggenhorn.
Friday 26 June 1846 All came in the Seeburg boat to Meggenhorn. Our luggage came afterwards & by 5 o’clock we were completely arranged. The house is large & roomy & we have every thing necessary. The cook is to go to Lucerne in the boat every other day or nearly so to market. The getting food is the great inconvenience, the situation is lovely & retired in the extreme & I trust I shall be able to economise £100 in the three months having our 2 extra expenses, the hire of a piano & a German master. The former 15 francs a month, the latter 16 francs a week. We have the huge mountain Pilatus in front, the Righi behind. The Lake at our feet, a lovely green wooded foreground with our Farmer’s house & in every direction, rocks, woods, mountains, hill & snowy peaks. All this with uninterrupted quiet & retirement affords the best possible opportunity for study & repose. One delightful practice Aurélie proposed & we are delighted to put in practice. Prayers morning & evening in the little chapel belonging to the house.
Sunday 28 Were much pleased with church this morning, after which we went & saw the famous Lion & talked to the old Swiss soldier who shews it & who was one of the few who escaped being massacred in defence of the royal family of France. We had the large boat from Seeburg. The people there are exceedingly civil to us. The weather now is very hot but fine beyond description.
Tuesday Emily, Clara, Robert & I went to Lucerne to market, rowed by the Farmer & his wife. It is a curious sight. The market is under cover by the side of the river & you go up a high flight of steps into the town. There were crowds of people & the peasants put on their best apparently to go to market. The Farmer’s wife in full costume escorted us every where carrying our great baskets into which she deposited our purchase of meat, eggs, bread etc. The meat market is most disgusting & if one wishes to relish the food it is better to avoid purchasing it oneself. The civil grocer as usual took us under his guidance & then gave us over to the hair dresser. As we came back we saw a storm gathering on Mount Pilatus & were thankful to get home with only a shower. Half an hour afterwards a violent thunder storm commenced & torrents of rain fell. How great was our astonishment to find Mr Gordon, Mr Raven & Mr Bates here on our return. The two former had shortened their tour & returned by Lucerne. We settled that they should bring out a large boat & we intended going to Kussnacht on Wednesday 1st July, but it rained so violently & incessantly all day that it was with difficulty they came out to dinner. We arranged to walk a little after dinner. Professor Lendy appears a very good master & they all like his lessons very much. We have had many thunder storms. They are really frightful here. Nothing can be more tremendous than the appearance of the mountains especially Pilatus, in bad weather. On Wednesday during the violent rain, all the higher & more distant mountains were hid & it altered the whole appearance so much that I sd not have known where I was. The lake looked very much wider & the banks distant & flat. I cannot say I enjoy going on the lake as much as I expected. When on it, its great expanse & the deepness of the water frighten me. Neither do I like the flat bottomed little boats.
Saturday 4th July 1846 They are all taking their German lesson, I am sitting at my little table in the window. There is not a cloud in the sky nor a sound on the earth. Our little garden & two summer houses, the large horse chesnut tree, the deep green sloping down to the water’s edge with the trees contrasted so beautifully with the exquisite blue water. The lake so tranquil, the opposite reflection so distinct of hue & there a cottage, a boat house, there slopes green & wooded, gradually ascending to mountains & rocks, till at last all is crowned by the splendid glacier, that called Wetterhorn. At this moment is a dazzling sheet of white in the exact shape of a pyramid. It is a most splendid sight but I am ashamed to say there is still something wanting to complete its loveliness & to touch my heart. Perhaps it is its want of congeniality with any of my previous feelings & a certain degree of awe with which I cannot help still regarding these enormous mountains. I do not wonder at dear Charles being able to admire the views in England after the wonders & splendour of all this. I know not how I may feel if I am ever permitted by God to see my own country again, but I do not think I sd ever look upon these charms with such fondness & pleasure as I used to feel for the views at Cuckfield. I begin however to feel anxious to proceed & witness more of the wonders & beauty of this country. The walks are endless & perfectly safe, quiet & lovely. The peasants are invariably civil, sociable & respectful. The men take off their hats & salute you in German. The women nod & laugh good humouredly. Therese is an excellent cook. Reghina a good housemaid, active, clean & very obliging.
Sunday 5th July 1846 Reghina amused the young ones by changing dresses with the Farmer’s wife & appearing as a peasant, whilst the woman put on Reghina’s cloaths & did her hair up & came to see us metamorphosed. She looked by no means such a fine handsome woman as in the costume of her own country. This little piece of fun shews the good nature & cheerfulness so visible here. We have lovely moon light night now & it is a heavenly scene from our windows. About 10 minutes before sun sets, the Righi, the Burgen & all the mountains, rocks & lake from that side assume the brilliant glowing tints of the opposite sky. From the other side of the house we then witness the sun set, after which the whole of that part of the lake before Lucerne & the sky are in a glow, all of the same tint, so rich, so deep, so hopeful. We turn our eyes & there see the moon rising over the other mountains & almost before the glowing tints of the sun have left the one side of the Pilatus, Wetterhorn, Titlis etc we see the moon light upon them & a sparkling ray on the lake. As it gets darker the mountains appear misty, their outlines finer & more delicate & the glaciers above & beyond them looking like a white shadow but still preserving their outline distinctly. The other evening we saw a fire half way up, lighted either by some adventurous people coming up for pleasure or by the herdsmen.
July 8th 1846 A lovely moonlight scene from my window, the full moon rising over a mountain & gradually casting its mild light over the tranquil lake, glaciers etc. Walked up the path at the back of our house & round to see the tints of the western horizen.
July 9th Aurélie, Emily, Fanny & Clara went with the Farmer in his boat & sketched Meggenhorn from the lake. Annie, Laura, Robert & I had a boat from the next Farmer & rowed out to them & nearly across the lake, then to Seeburg where I ordered the large boat to be here at 5 o’clock tomorrow morning to take us to Cusnacht to see Tell’s Chapel. The lake today was perfectly calm & glassy. When in this state it makes me very giddy to see the perfect reflection of the sky & mountains beneath me. They say the lake is 1200 feet deep where they were sketching from today. Robert has learnt music with me a week & promises to be very clever with it. Thermometer all day at 82. In the evening we had a magnificent storm. It was splendid to watch it as it envelopes one after another each of the great mountains. It was astonishing with what rapidity it came up the lake from Alpnach & when it seemed to be coming straight over our heads how quickly it was attracted to the Righi. It had not subsided sufficiently at 5 this morning for the boat to come from Seeburg.
10th This morning as we sat at breakfast an old peasant woman walked up stairs & straight into the dining room with a basket full of beautiful new laid eggs. I bought them, 19 for 5 Batzen, or about 7½d.
13th July 1846 We started in the Seeburg boat at 8 in the morning with two of the brothers & a boatman & went to Cusnacht. It was the most heavenly weather & the lake looked loveliness itself. As we proceeded one glacier after another opened out, the Wetterhorn, Titlis, glaciers of Berne, Unterwalden etc, the Pilatus, the Righi cd never have looked more superb. As we approached Cusnacht the church bells were ringing. We landed & went into the church. There is a curious little boat suspended from the ceiling with a candle for a mast. A little chapel behind the church full of mementoes of what our crimes must lead to if not repented of & forsaken. There are in all directions pictures & various representations of human beings tormented in flames of fire & 3 human skulls lie on the floor under a vessel containing holy water with which they appear to be continually sprinkled. All this is coarse & in bad taste but all things of this sort must strike the mind with the idea of the certainty of judgement. We walked about half an hour & arrived at Tell’s Chapel, insignificant in itself & only interesting as being associated in our minds with the story which has amused & interested us as children, the whole of which may altogether be a fable. Aurélie & I searched the book & at last found dear Charles’s name.
C.F. Barkley
et E.R.
Made. Barkley
Between 21st & 23rd Sept 1836 just after his marriage. Poor fellow! God grant he may be in heaven. He was then in the height of enjoyment, young, strong, healthy & looking forward to a long life. How soon it has been cut short.
There is a very fine view from a hill just over the chapel of Lucerne on one side & Zug on the other. We walked straight across the isthmus to the village of Immensee on the lake & here we took a boat & our two civil men from Seeburg roved us a little about as I wished to be able to say we had been on the Lake of Zug but four of us soon landed as the boat was small & we were afraid it was over-loaded. The rest continued rowing about whilst the others chose a spot & sat down on the borders of the lake & sketched it with the Righi (which on this side is most luxuriant & splendid) & all the other scenery. We then had an exceedingly hot & tiring walk back to Cusnacht. Saw Gessler’s ruined castle a little on the rise of the Righi & were glad to get back to our boat & regale ourselves our wine & water, cake, cherries etc. The row home was truly enjoyable. We got home to dinner at ½ past 5 but were much fatigued & had dreadful headaches especially Aurélie who was forced to go to bed. There must be some great difference in the seasons here. On 1st July apricots were ripe, today 13th July there are fine ripe blackberries, the wheat is being cut, but they do not appear to have begun digging new potatoes. The farming here is very different from in England. The cows are kept out in stables & the grass is continually being cut for them, so that there is always hay making or rather cutting going on. They cut it early in the morning & carry it away before noon quite green in little long low carts drawn by cows or bulls, the same with their corn. They seem to cut a patch & take it away. I have not yet seen any put in sheaves today.
The routine of each day at Meggenhorn. Prayers, lesson & psalms in the chapel at ¼ before 8. Breakfast at 8. Clara, Laura & Emily read with Aurélie or least one reads whilst the others draw for two hours. Robert does his lessons with Fanny. Annie does her German & I work & do various jobs about the house. Emily then goes to her German. Clara & Laura to their French. Robert either prepares his French, writes music with me or plays. Fanny practises. We have lunch at ½ past 12. At ½ past 1 Robert goes to his friend till 3. Clara practises, then I give Laura her music, Robert his & nearly an hour to Clara which fills up the time till 5 when we dine. Twice a week Clara & Laura read & work with Aurélie for an hour after dinner. Laura always begins practising at 7 & Clara studying. At 8 our prayers as in the morning. Sometimes a walk after dinner. Tea at 9 & generally bed soon after. Drawing & preparing German fully occupy every remaining moment of the day. On Wednesday & Saturday they have Professor Lendy to give them a German lesson for two hours from 8 to 10 which is the only variation to these proceedings. We have many books from Meyer’s library which is a great pleasure to them all.
We pay for beautiful green lawns here, the grass is mown & carried away directly for green meat for the cattle but no sooner do you rejoice in the lovely appearance of the newly mown patch than you see a huge tub on wheels full of liquid manure which they ladle out & throw regularly all over the part. Unfortunately this process is now going on close to our house which renders the air any thing but sweet. The way they procure this liquid appears to be by placing their dung hills in a hollow, where the water from the higher grounds drain into them & then they place a wooden pump in the middle & pump up the decoction. Also under the houses there are enormous reservoirs of manure & you see the women & girls of an evening lading it out & watering the vegetables with it. Professor Lendy is telling them that the people of this country get up at a very early hour. Breakfast at 6, dine at 12, have coffee at 3 & at 7 supper. Not only the common people but all orders keep early hours.
27 Walked after breakfast to the old ruin of Neu Habsbourg which is beautifully situated opposite the Righi in the Bay of Küssnacht. We took lunch with us. Aurélie read & the girls sketched. It is a heavenly walk & the whole country is like my idea of paradise.
[2 pages of drawings of apartments with rooms].
1.1 Apartments at Baden Baden June 1846, Lange Strasse No. 50. Ulrich.
1.2 Apartments at Seeburg June 1846. Stone passage in the middle, with M. Hubert, Mr Raven & Mr Gordon on the other side.
1.3 Meggenhorn Ground Floor July 1946, includes chapel
2.1 Meggenhorn Front of the House S. looking towards the Lake & Pilatus, drawing room with piano, dining room, kitchen, bedrooms, W. looking towards Lucerne, N. back of house looking up the steep avenue, E. looking towards Burgenstock & Righi, most lovely.
2.2 S. A lovely view of Pilatus, the lake towards Alpnach to Burgenburgh, Stanzer Horn, Wetterhorn etc. Bedrooms & Therese & Rechnina [Reghina] room. E. a splendid view of the lake towards Altorf, the Nasen, Righi, Burgenburgh, Titlis, mountains of Engelburg etc.
I begin to envy the peasants who dwell so peacefully in such loveliness. All seems so free, so quiet, so undisturbed, the children may wander amongst the most lovely scenes of nature up hill & down dale. There is no thought of trespassing, all is open. The fields or rather pastures being constantly mown & there being trees every where the whole scene is that of some nobleman’s fine & well cultivated park, embellished by the picturesque chalets, costumes & above all the lake & mountains & to add to all this there are paths in every direction & even seats in fine situations. We have been here a month but we are still finding out new & lovely walks, now the path descends by steps in the rock to some little sheltered dell, where stands a chalet & where you see the prettily dressed peasants at their various occupations. A clear rill of water is the invariable accompaniment to such a spot. You pass this & perhaps immediately ascend to where the view extends over miles of lake, bounded by mountains & glaciers. Then you wind along a lawn like slope studded with fruit & other trees & slanting down to the water’s edge. Again you find yourself in a thick wood & emerging see before you some fresh enchantment. There can be nothing conceived so rich, so romantic, so varied, so heavenly as this splendid country & withal so enjoyable. After the reading was done I strolled down a steep declivity to the side of the lake where a sudden opening in the rocks admit you to the water’s edge. Here I was soon joined by the others & the beautiful clearness of the water was so tempting that Aurélie & Robert took off their shoes & stockings & walked into it. They went some way along under the rock on the sand, Robert gathering the fine blackberries which grow out of it as he went. At last Aurélie came out & we undressed Robert & put him in altogether to his great delight. We only got home a little before dinner.
28th July 1846 Sat out & drew & read on the path to Seeburg. I rambled up a steep path & was charmed with the view of Lucerne across a part of the lake & all the delicious undulating ground on the banks. There was a heap of stones by the side of the path over which were creeping lots of wild strawberries & a little farther on I came to some rock covered with blackberries as big as mulberries, a strawberry bed beneath. It is wonderful what a delicious smell is emitted from these wild strawberry plants. Therese still brings us a good supply from Lucerne but one mountain girl no longer has them.
August 6 Aurélie & Fanny have gone to Lucerne to try to arrange with the guide to start tomorrow morning for the Oberland but I much fear there is a storm blowing up. Two days ago we resolved to change our plan of taking the whole journey at once & determined on going on Monday this first part of our tour & not going over the Simplon at all. We intend to be a week absent & then remaining here till the 26th of September & crossing the St Gothard pass. Last evening after prayers we strolled out & leaning over the terrace it all looked so bright & lovely in the moonlight that we decided on trying to start tomorrow & saving these lovely moonlight evenings.
6th August 1846 Aurélie & Fanny went to Lucerne & settled every thing with François Küttel the guide. We are to start tomorrow morning.
7th I was up at 3 o’clock & the weather appeared very threatening. It felt cold & damp & there were terrible looking clouds coming up from behind the Oberland Alps & Pilatus. As the twylight encreased it looked very bad, but when the sun rose they gradually became thinner & thinner & at last only distant clouds were visible. We had our breakfast & the guide arrived with a large boat from Lucerne about ½ past 5 when we all got in anticipating the greatest enjoyment from the wonders we were going to see. (Extract from a book kept during my journey). “As soon as we rounded the point opposite Meggenhorn we entered a kind of bay, shewing to the bottom of Pilatus, the effect of the most rugged jagged rock softening down to the edge of the water studded so thickly with chalets, is exquisite. Stanstadt on the opposite projection, at the opening of the Valley of Engelberg looks lovely with its Roman tower standing out almost in the water. We appear to be rowing almost up against a rock where there is a footpath by which Lucerne can be reached in case the lake is too bad. The Stanzerhorn looks noble & more beautiful the nearer you approach it. The Burgenberg also. Bells of Stanstadt so cheering & clear. We now enter the Lake of Alpnach, water not so blue, quite a different colour, the change is curiously sudden. Rocks magnificent. 4 goats have come down the rock to the edge of the lake, one lying on a piece of rock in the water. Alpnach & its lake rather disappoint me, nor is Pilatus so grand from this side as from the other. Faulhorn in sight! Eiger is now come in view. Landing at Gestadt the grand depot of wood from Pilatus. Here we took some cold meat & bread & got into two carriages such odd ones! one with two horses, the other with one. On the front seat sits the driver in his blouse with his face to the horses & by his side Annie with her face the other way! However in these crazy conveyances I felt no fear. At ½ past 11 Clara & I being dragged up a mountain, such a road! with deep rivulets supported by pieces of timber crossing it every here & there, we stop to rest the horses every two or three minutes. The path for it hardly deserves the name of a road goes through a pine & beech wood up this magnificent mountain. The walkers are all sitting on the rock at the road side, some creeping under the rock for shade & we are literally going along storm steps, but I am not yet frightened. It gets steeper & steeper & we now mount by zigzags which wd be frightful only there are no precipices, each side being clothed with woods. We now had a lovely view looking back to the Lake of Sarnen & all the surrounding mountains & country. It is very lovely, rocks & pines, chalets, churches climbing up & perched upon such steep slopes & great heights that they almost appear in danger of sliding down. At about one we reached Lungern a village at the foot of the Brunig where all appearance of a carriage road ceases & where we took 3 horses & my chaise à porteurs & left the 2 little carriages in which we had come from Gestadt, one horse with rope traces, the other with leather. Nevertheless we went in them safely, comfortably & without fear. Our road went round the partly drained Lake of Lungern & then it was rather precipitous & we past one part where a cascade past under the road, so that to our left we saw it rushing down from above & to our right it rolled down into the Lake far below us, crossing under the road. The trees here were lovely & one which had either fallen or been felled lay with its head to the road, a magnificent trunk.
We stopped at Lungern only whilst the horses & chaise à porteurs were being got ready. The chalet inns look clean & pretty, special staircases, wooden walls & ceilings.
We now set off, I in my chaise, Laura & Robert on one horse, Clara & Fanny on the others, the rest walking. We almost directly got into a fine forest of all sorts of trees, not only pines but splendid walnuts, beeches etc. Nothing in its way cd surpass the beauty of the scenery up the Brunig. The precipices concealed by the woods. Here & there open green slopes bounded by noble trees & rocks, then all closed in & half darkened by woods. The ascent at times very steep, then almost level, then going down. Here the men who bore me began their wild mountain songs & cries, the Ranz des Vaches which is beautiful & most extraordinary especially sung as now amongst these beautiful specimens of Swiss scenery. Their loud shrill notes were echoed from mountain to mountain. Sometimes the melody was regular & soft, instantly changing to the wildest strains & choruses. They sang in regular parts & at the end of each melody uttered wild but yet melodious shrieks, as if answering & imitating each other. It is curious to watch their mouths & throats whilst performing these singular lovely songs. At last we reached the top & immediately descended by a most rapid stony path to a chalet where we rested for about a quarter of an hour & where the guide gave our 8 men a bottle of brandy, which so encreased their spirit & energy that they continued their wild songs during the whole of the descent. The view from this chalet on the brow of the mountain was splendid. The steep wooded & rocky side of the Brunig formed the foreground of the Valley of Hasli & the Aar running at the bottom, wild steep rocks & wooded mountains opposite with 2 picturesque cascades rushing down their sides. Aurélie & Emily had stayed behind to sketch. Fanny & Clara sat on the railing & drew here. It is wonderful how the horses go down these paths. They almost slide down on their haunches, so that if they fell it wd be backwards. Poor things. The one Fanny rode went best by himself, the man wd not lead her even in the most difficult parts. When we started from this resting place, we descended by a most picturesque & at times rapid & stony path to the valley in which Meyringen is situated. We went very fast being threatened by a storm from the mountains over Brunig. It was strange to hear the answering cry of the men to the growling thunder from the opposite rocks. At one time my bearers ran with me past all the horses uttering their shrill cries & tho’ they appeared likely to tumble I felt no fear. Sometimes we past through the cascades which rushed from the mountains across our path.
We arrived at the Sauvage Meyringen & took rooms, ordered dinner & dined. Our apartments look against the mountains of Rosenlaui with the Falls of the Richenbach & other cascades before & behind. The noise is pleasing. After dinner we walked to see two behind the village, which tho’ too inconsiderable to be even named, appeared tremendous to us when near them. One falls in a continuous stream, the other more divided & in spray.
8th Saturday morning. What is our consternation on awakening to find a complete wet day! The clouds hanging over & upon the mountains. No glacier or snowy peak to be seen. Nothing but watering clouds & mist. We are waiting for 12 o’clock to see if there is any hope of its clearing. A ray of sunshine induced us to start at 1 o’clock & with my chaise à porteurs, 6 horses & 4 men we have reached Gutanen, the highest village but one in Switzerland. Here we have dined & must pass the night for it pours & has done so for 2 hours of our journey here, so that we have given up all hope of reaching Grimsel where we intended passing Sunday. How shall I describe our journey along the Ober Hasli & Valley of the Aar, such a valley! The Aar rushes along with the most impetuous course over rocks & stones & sand & the most stupendous rocks & mountains enclose it on each side. Along the face of these, sometimes on one side the torrent, sometimes on the other side winds the path composed of rock & steps of jagged stone either cut or worn away in the roughest manner. Sometimes we mounted several hundred feet above the river by most steep & difficult ascents, then down by equally rapid descents to the bottom & across bridges of wood without parapet or railing, the planks of wood loose & the whole tottering as we past it over the rushing foaming torrent beneath us. At some parts the rocks absolutely hung over our heads, whilst the torrent dashed under our feet, those on horseback were obliged to stoop their heads to pass under. At others we found ourselves in a dark forest & then passing through green meadows & potato fields. Just as we were rounding a point of rock where the path was steepest & worst the man who spoke French stopped & said “Voila Madame l’Aar!” It was about 200 feet below me, the precipice perpendicular & my chair partly over it. I scarcely had breath to look down & yet it was so lovely I cd not resist a look.
As I was airing the wetted cloaths in the evening by a roaring wood fire François ushered in 8 young women peasants & said they were come to sing to us their national songs. He seated them at the end of the room behind one of the long tables, put some candles before them, we sat in front & the other end of the room was soon occupied by men, women & children. For nearly 2 hours these women sang their national songs, in regular parts & with much taste & feeling. The guide supplied them with a great quantity of wine. Some of them were very pretty or rather handsome, their attitudes extremely natural, easy & graceful, as are their dresses, their arms crossed, with their large white sleeves, their heads on one side, then their arms round each other. The servant of our Inn for some time sat with them, leaning her hand on another woman’s knee & during one song they all held hands. When they drank their wine it was a long ceremony to touch each other’s glasses, without which they wd not drink. When they went away they shook & squeezed our hands most affectionately. We were delighted to get into our high narrow hard beds. Next morning we were frightened to behold ourselves completely inveloped in clouds which enclosed us & the vapour drifted past the windows like a very wet fog but it did not rain & the guide assured us it was only fog rising from the valleys, that it wd clear up. At times the vapour became thinner & we cd see the form of the mountains through it. We started at 7 o’clock through this high rough mountain village. The whole population out to see us go, nodding, smiling & wishing us good bye. I forgot to mention the flock of goats which came down last evening from the mountains to be milked, filing off of their own accord to their own masters as they past on. From Gutanen to Handeck the grandeur & beauty of the scenery are too great for any attempt at description. The Aar becomes more & more tumultuous, the enormous rocks become higher, or more abrupt forms, more naked & wild, the torrents tumbling from such dizzy heights, glaciers in all directions with their torrents rushing from them & crossing our path in their way to the Aar. As we approached Handeck every thing became wilder & wilder untill we arrived at the chalet which is situated on a green plain between high rocks & forests. A little since before we reached this spot we all walked to see the Falls from a spot about half way up its height. We clambered over rocks untill we came to a ledge exactly wide enough for our feet. About 100 feet beneath us almost straight down the torrent rushed, from about the same height above us it came foaming down & here we sat! One slip, one push & we were lost but François is a powerful & determined man & all our other men went with us & held & helped us. What a splendid sight! how terrific, how grand!
We now proceeded up a very steep & difficult path to Handeck which is a spot worthy of all admiration. Here they all dispersed to sketch. A glacier above us & its torrent rushing past us, splendid rocks, pines! And now we went to the Falls. We crossed the bridge & looked down into the abyss of foam. We recrossed it & watched the whole, foam, falls, stream below roaring down the valley. Even I went on the piece of rock which overhung it & from which you have the most complete view of all its beauties. The lovely Erlenbach with its brilliant icy waters tumbling into & mixing with the Falls of the Aar doubles its loveliness, then the rainbow perfect in form & colour stretching all across the foam from one rock to the other, divided at times by the dashing spray joining again most gracefully. In nature it is impossible to imagine any more sublime & lovely scene than this. Here we became convinced of the utter impossibility of conveying any idea of the beauty of such scenes either with the pen or pencil. Use what words all language can furnish & still you are in ignorance of the excessive beauty of the reality, nothing but being on the spot can suffice. There you have the noise, the motion, the colours, the air, the whole scenery together & you are enraptured & astonished at the power of the Almighty.
We left the lovely Falls with great regret & returned through the valley we much admired to Meyringen where we slept & started at 6 in the morning up the Great Sheideck [Scheidegg] to the Falls of the Richenbach which are graceful & beautiful, but sink into comparative insignificance after the Aar. The path up is extremely steep, there is a little house erected to enable one to see the Falls without getting wet with the spray. The rainbow here again was very lovely. Immediately after this we walked along the highest precipice I had yet witnessed, the horses went round & joined us higher up. We then proceeded between two heights with the torrent of the Richenbach foaming along between, sometimes far below us, sometimes at our side. By degrees the scenery became more level & tranquil. The whole scene assumed more loveliness, untill we found ourselves on a green plain with the river flowing gently by our sides, a dark forest before us & all the glaciers of Rosenlaui, the Wetterhorn, Wellhorn, Ingelhorn etc, all white & glorious. We had our breakfast at a little Inn & then went to see a beautifully romantic waterfall & a mineral spring. After which we mounted by a long steep difficult path to the glacier & in our way past over a wooden bridge from which you looked down a deep crack in the rocks 200 feet deep & just discerned in one spot the water flowing. A man threw down a piece of rock into the chasm, the noise of which was terrific. At another spot we had a splendid view of the torrent flowing down the valley. But now we are at the glacier, we mount a ladder & get on the ice. We are lead forward & look down a crevice 150 deep in clear blue ice! & such a blue, no colour I ever saw before can compare with it, transparent, lovely! We descend & look into another crevice or sort of cavern, where the exquisite clear blue shades off into almost white. Again, we get into a cavern of ice & all look like dead persons. How refreshing is the cool temperature! but we must leave it & I at any event shall most probably never see it again. We started again & soon enter the Black Forest with the sublime & gigantic Wetterhorn at one side, when just emerging from the woods an avalanche fell. We now ascended the Sheideck, it is perfectly wonderful to see how the men can carry, run up, down such places. When I get out & walk I am obliged to have 2 men to keep me on my feet. As to the horses it is quite beautiful & wonderful to watch them picking their way, sometimes going up the steepest places or down on loose slabs or steps of stones. On the top of the Sheideck we parted. Laura, Robert & I with the nice little white pony went to Grindelwald & the rest mounted the Faulhorn, a huge mountain on our right, on the top of which is a hut for an Inn, the highest habitation in Europe. We were 3½ hours descending the mountain side. No path but picking our way through loose stones, deep gullies, ragged rocks etc, seperated by a precipice from the splendid Wetterhorn & other tremendous mountains. We heard a most pleasing & wonderful Echo, an old man & little child are stationed opposite the rock. The man lets off a little cannon & blows through an Alpine Horn & the Echo is soft & perfect & seems as if it came from heaven itself. We were obliged to walk a great part of the way, the road being so bad. In about 2½ hours we reached the Ober Glacier, which we went aside to see. A man conducted us who keeps as is usual in all such situations a little shop of wooden articles. It is not so beautiful a glacier as that of Rosenlaui but we went into a much larger cavern of ice. In another hour we were at Grindelwald & felt dull enough. Went to bed directly after dinner & to my great delight next morning found the weather most bright & lovely. It rejoiced me to think how the mountaineers were enjoying the lovely view. After a bad breakfast we strolled about & tried to trace the path down the Faulhorn but finding the sun very hot we went in & were soon agreeably interrupted in writing our journals by the arrival of the travellers. They had found very bad dinner & beds on the Faulhorn, the hut being exactly built in the rock, of which the staircase etc is composed. The path was very steep up & they were enveloped in clouds the whole way, bitterly cold & obliged to wrap themselves in all the cloaks & shawls. Fanny was nervous but in the morning all was clear & bright & they were amazed & delighted with the glorious scene beneath them, of a character so different from the Rigi. Here the Bernese Alps form the grand feature of the view. They got down safely in 4 hours having walked 2. They had breakfast & then we went to see Lower Glacier with its enormous cavern. The lower part of this glacier is very dirty, but higher up it is immensely large & fine. Laura, Robert & I returned to our Inn. The others had the horses & went to see the Ober Glacier. I have seen the highest peaks of the Finsteraarhorn, the highest in Switzerland & the Schreckhorn the 3 I hope to see the Jungfrau tomorrow.
And so I did, and never can I forget the surpassing splendour & beauty of this day’s journey. We left Grindelwald at 5 in the morning & soon began the ascent of the Lesser Sheideck which is however higher than the Great. I was very unwell but yet cd but enjoy the fine scene. The road was in places very wet & very very rapid & rugged, with the splendid Eiger on our left. At last towards the top we beheld the Queen of all mountains, the Jungfrau with the dazzling white pure peaks called Silberhorner, the Monch which the people name the husband of the Jungfrau. At the top is a little Inn & here we rested an hour & a half & saw frequent avalanches from these towering rocks. Nothing can exceed the purity of the snow & the noise of the avalanches is equal to the noblest thunder. We watched the snow rolling down to the bottom & making a loud rumbling noise till it reaches the bottom. This continued during our stay & we shall never forget that splendid scene. Our process down the mountain which now takes the name of the Wengern Alp was lovely. The descent into Lauterbrunnen tremendous but superb & beautiful beyond conception. The Staubach is the most elegant light, airy thing ever beheld. It falls perpendicularly down a rock 900 feet! Half way down it is blown & lost in spray but reassembles its scattered drops & forms a waterfall again towards the bottom. We took carriages to Interlachen. I went to bed ill. They walked to see the place, some parts are pretty & the situation in the broad valley at the head of Brienz Lake very picturesque but it has too many features of resemblance to Baden. When I got up next morning I had the lovely Jungfrau & the Silberhorner before me still. We started in a large boat having walked down a shady road to the border of the lake or rather the river for the Aar enters the Lake of Brienz at the east end & resumes its course at Interlachen. We were 20 minutes on it before we got to the lake & in two hours we were at the waterfall of Giessbach which is very lovely & comes third in estimation, Aar, Staubach, Giessbach, Richenbach. Many other ones are inexpressibly romantic. We reentered our boat & landed beyond Brienz where we dined & then commenced ascending the lovely Brunig. On this side there are many precipices. We quitted the Oberland on its summit with infinite regret, but I was glad to find that after all the splendid scenery we had witnessed this lovely pass caused the same sensations of admiration as when we past it the first day. Its rocks, trees & valleys are perfectly charming. We slept at Lungern & here took our leave of chaise à porteurs & horses. We had had the same all through our journey.
On Friday 14th August we started in two carriages for Alpnach, where we took a boat but the lake being exceedingly rough we were obliged to put into a little boat house or Inn where we lunched & the lake calming we at last arrived safely at Meggenhorn, having had 8 days of great enjoyment in the most lovely part of Switzerland. We returned to all our occupations with encreased pleasure & Aurélie gave C & L a week’s holidays in order to arrange their flowers, drawings & journals. We had splendid weather for our journey but since Monday it has rained almost incessantly.
Sunday 23rd August! Sounds of cannon made them think that an insurrection had taken place but it turns out to be from another cause equally disastrous. Owing to the torrents of rain which have fallen, Lucerne & Alpnach are being inundated by the vast streams of water which rushing from Pilatus have caused the Reus to overflow its banks & these cannons are fired to collect assistants during this time of danger. Just now the clouds cleared away from Pilatus for a few minutes & enabled us to see numbers of torrents rushing down its sides in all directions. Again the clouds have closed in, it pours in torrents & looks like a deluge. What will be the result!
25th Dear Emily’s Birth day. No one has any presents for her, because as so much money is being spent on gratification we thought it ridiculous to throw any away on such things as can be bought in Lucerne. I have however promised her a bracelet when money is more plentiful, when we are in a place to get it & when she is likely to want it for wearing.
[END OF TRAVEL JOURNAL ONE – Journal Two starts Meggenhorn 30 August 1846]
MARTHA SHAW
Travel Journal 2
Meggenhorn, Switzerland, 30 August 1846 – 4 November 1846 Florence
8 in group, Martha and 6 children, Emily, Fanny, Annie, Clara, Laura, Robert (age 7), Miss Aurélie Hubert de Fonteny 1813-1907 (French companion/governess). François Küttle (guide) was with them after they left Meggenhorn. Transcribed and typed by Madeleine Symes 2017 with her notes in italics & in square brackets, mostly capitals removed, places/people/things of interest in bold. Martha’s spelling.
Label on cover, book bought in Luzern
M Shaw
August 1846
Meggenhorn
30th August 1846
Yesterday dear Clara my fourth child completed her 14th year, how does the encreasing age of all my children warn me of my own. The years which are so rapidly bringing them out of childhood and up to womanhood to what are they conducting me, and what lesson ought this to teach me! Next month if I live as long I shall be 44 years old! This month has brought round the fourth anniversary of my own dear Husband’s death.
September
1st As I was standing at the dining room window today I was induced to make some reflexions good enough in themselves & which might be useful if I had the ability to describe them. The sun shone brightly, there was scarcely any wind, every thing looked bright & lovely & amongst other objects one of those beautiful lilac flowers which look like crocuses erected its head on its slender unprotected stalk & unfolded its leaves in full security, I looked up & from the North West a storm approached. I heard the thunder in the distance & even whilst I stood at the window the breeze began to freshen, it occurred to me that this blooming flower would soon be laid low, that the storm was gathering now its head which must destroy it & that lovely as it was, it was doomed to be short lived & thus I thought it is with many of the human race – alas! how many do we see, young, strong, healthy, blooming as this flower & enjoying life with the same apparent security & yet the storm is gathering, the thunder already sounds in the distance, the wind of sickness or misfortune approaches which is to crush them & lay them as low as my pretty flowers, and there is an eye which sees the storm coming, which knows the day & hour to be approaching when all will be ended. To that eye, to him the leader of all, how vain must all our plans, our pursuits, our amusements appear, how full of folly must all our thoughts & actions appear to him, which have not Heaven for their ultimate end. Lord grant us always as to act as if we saw the storm as I saw it today.
3rd Aurélie, Emily, Fanny, Clara & Laura went to Lucerne to see the flood, it must be a curious sight, for the streets are full of water, temporary wooden bridges are erected from which planks are laid to go into the houses. The doors are all open & planks put to walk across the shops etc. Boats are being rowed about from house to house. Men occasionally go on rafts & many a one gets a fall into the water. The village of Brunnen is a still more curious sight for the lower parts of the houses are all under water & the people live in the upper stories. One of the large churches by Meyers is full, that is to say, the floor is covered. There was a fine sun set this evening & the people talk very confidently of fine weather, but there is a halo round the moon tonight which looks very suspicious in my opinion. I have often heard dear Gmamma [Frances Barkley, Martha’s mother] say that it was a sure sign of bad weather & I have repeatedly found her words proved true – we shall see now who is the best judge, the people of Luzern or Gmamma. The month of Sept. has brought with it the usual weather - fog & haze all the forenoon & a hot sun afterwards, as yet there is not the slightest chill in the morning.
8th The weather has again become most lovely, more agreeable than before the wet weather commenced, because tho’ equally clear & fine the temperature never rises above 74 in our drawing room, whereas it rised to be 84 which was oppressively warm. The moon light nights are now heavenly. Aurélie & Emily went down to the Boat House last evening to see the Lake as there was lightening over Pilatus, but they found it lonely & dark, so that they were glad to return.
10th The weather continues so lovely that one hardly knows how to be sufficiently grateful to the Giver of all good for being permitted to enjoy it. Each night there is a magnificent storm, so grand & tremendous that we never in England saw anything equal to them. Emily is even getting over her fear.
The appropriateness of some of the German names is to me very pretty, a Swiss cottage is called Alpen hute, an evening meal Vesper Brode, one of the most pointed, sharp, barren & terrific looking mountains is named Shreckhorn or Peak of terror. The Blumlis Alp, the Brighthorn, are all beautifully appropriate.
11th I have often thought that if we were so inclined, a useful lesson might be drawn from numerous little incidents of daily recurrence, for instance in church last Sunday it was excessively warm & I was suffering much from the heat, the white blind was blown up from the window & let the sun shine full upon me. I felt much disposed to repine at the circumstance but was instantly reminded of my folly by feeling quite refreshed by the breeze which whilst it blew aside the blind, also cooled me & convinced me that there is a bright side generally to every thing if we try to discover it. Again, there was a cloud behind Pilatus last evening at sunset & as it glowed in the bright tints it formed a most beautiful object with pile or pile rolling & swelling one over the other. I turned my head for an instant & when I looked again the cloud was no longer the same. The sun’s rays had left it & it was now one unvaried mass of dull grey coloured vapour, in how many ways might this be applied to human life & the human mind. The latter how dull & dark it is when not illuminated by wisdom, the former when uncheered by the light of the Gospel.
27th Since I last wrote I have been very ill & even now have only sat up for a couple of hours in the evening twice. The first time was on Friday my 44th Birth Day, the Fann people all came up to see the drawing room, which Aurélie & all the children had been occupied the whole day in decorating in honour of me, and really they had made it very pretty. In each window there was a transparency with an appropriate motto surrounded by a garland of flowers. On the table a very handsome display of flowers supported on wooden hoops, the candles arranged amongst them & all the little presents they had prepared for me, each had done a different & very pretty drawing of this house or the view from it. Emily & Fanny had joined to give me a pretty little cast of the “Lion”, Aurélie my slippers, Annie a ring for my watch, all these offerings of affection are most precious to me & become more so, the older I get. I think no one ever had a more curious celebration of their Birth day, our maid Regina was dressed in the marriage costume of the peasants, Fanny began to play some waltzes & polkas, Regina began to dance, the Fannessess sent for her shoes & a man who dances well. They stood up together & danced beautifully, not merely the simple waltz, but all sorts of graceful & fantastic figures, she dances with the most perfect ease in excellent time & very gracefully. It was really very curious to see these poor people in their common cloaths stand up with perfect gravity & propriety, promenade round the room several times beating time with their feet & then setting off in the waltz as if on a pivot, I never saw any one waltz so well excepting the dancing Master in Paris. They sang & I believe wd have kept it up all night if I had not been tired & gone to bed at 9 o’clock. The passage was all the time filled with men, women & children. We regaled them with wine, cake & tea which pleased them greatly & the next morning they sent me a large basket full of pears, another of walnuts fresh shelled, some fine grapes & new laid eggs. The man who sleeps here dressed himself & came in quite nice & clean, had they known of it before, they wd all have been dressed. I was pleased to see such perfect propriety of behaviour & not one spark of vulgarity, simple, bashful, even serious, but not one vulgar look or action.
There has been much snow fallen on the high mountains, but yesterday the hot sun melted the greater part. Our journey is fixed “with God’s permission” for tomorrow week. All the people in Luzern were very kind during my illness. The Dr I like very much & I think he has treated me very judiciously, the woman also who attended me is most clever, I should have not suffered half as much as I did in my old illnesses, had I had such a person. What kindness I have received from all the dear members of my own circle, sitting up with me night after night & attending me with so much sympathy. I hope & trust I shall not cause them any further disappointment but be able to start on the 5th October. The weather continues splendid. They are all gone to church excepting Annie & as I watched them down the path it looked heavenly, the whole of creation seems composed of two colours deliciously blended & melting one into the other, the sky & lake blue, the earth green, there is not a cloud to be seen, the water ripples & sparkles in the sun & the glaciers above & beyond all are almost too brilliant to be looked at. It is a perfect paradise. I am going to attempt to dress for dinner today.
30 Busy packing up. I feel the effects of my illness but yet am well enough to start. We finished our packing by 3 o’clock, paid the servants & all bills yesterday & also received a visit from Mr Knön who persuaded us on no account to go by the early boat as it is very cold & we have no more to do, we are longing for dinner & bed time. I went to bed directly after dinner & they lighted the wood in my great chimney, made a good fire & sat down to eat walnuts by way of amusement.
1st October We did not get up till very late. Clara, Laura & Robert employed themselves in bringing us our breakfasts in bed early & at 12 o’clock Therese had a nice dinner for us. We ate as much as we cd & at ½ after 1 started. I in the waggon, with the bull out he being very vicious or as Therese expresses it Mechant. The Farmer & his man drew me down to the picturesque little boat house, the last time probably we shall ever see it. Nothing cd be more civil & delightful than Therese & Regina, a very few francs more than their wages made them grateful in the extreme. They hoped to see & to serve us again. Regina ran about the house exclaiming Madama is so good, she brought us walnuts, she cried & really appeared sincere in her sorrow. The Farmer (& the man who slept in our house & who was gratitude itself for the 20 francs I gave him) rowed us to Luzern. The lake was very rough & we were obliged to keep close to the shore by Seeburgh all the way. François was awaiting our arrival. We went immediately on board the St Gothard having taken leave of the men who scarcely took their eyes off us even after we were in the steamer, so thankful they were for what was given them. It appears peculiar to the Swiss to be grateful for the most trifling gift. Mr Knön & the Schumackers came on board to say good bye. The weather was fine but cold & the clouds hid some of the high snowy peaks, which occasioned us to be somewhat disappointed in the scenery which perhaps we had heard too highly extolled & which we expected to surpass all else we had seen. It is however beautiful enough & in some parts highly romantic & sublime. We landed at the miserable village of Fhuellen at about 5 o’clock & there took two carriages very comfortable ones to Amsteg. I laid down as easily as in a bed, the road runs through a picturesque valley to Altorf, a town whose only attraction is the different spots still consecrated to the memory of Tell & Gessler. The situation of Amsteg where we arrived at 8 is so highly romantic & the little Inn so tolerable that we willingly put up with the little high sloping ridges called beds & the homely fare for the few hours we were to remain there. The rocks around it are most grand, there is only room between their bases & the clear rushing stream of the mountain torrent Reuss for the little scattered village.
Before daylight on the 2nd after taking a cup of coffee we started in the same carriages & immediately crossing the first bridge over the Reuss began ascending the celebrated St Gothard pass, which well deserves all we have heard of its excellence. It is a wonderfully good road, being a shelf on the rock now on one side, the river now on the other. Granite posts certainly far enough apart to allow a carriage to fall through are the sole barriers between us & the precipice & the road looks more narrow than I had expected tho’ I believe 3 carriages might stand abreast on it, sorry sd I be to be the outside one on such an occasion. The precipices however are certainly not very high generally speaking because it ascends with the river which rushes from the top of the pass & foams along its impetuous path horizontally with the road the whole way. After mounting for about 3 hours we had a specimen of zigzags in surmounting a high rock on the very summit of which stands a church & village. My nerves began to be shaky but not very bad, the horses were so steady, there was no wavering about, no shouting, whipping etc. We had 2 to start with & when the road became more rapid 3. The Devil’s Bridge is not terrific, we all got out & walked to see the different points of view from which the falls here are very fine. The old Bridge closer to the new one is very fearful looking, but is so low in comparison with the new that it appears rather insignificant. The carriages stopt on the Bridge for us to remount but there are such high substantial parapets, that there is not the slightest excuse for fear. Directly after leaving this aweful scene of rocks & rushing waters we went through the first gallery in the rock & came out in the valley of Andermatt generally described as offering such a palpable contrast to the savage scenery previously past on account of its fresh green pastures. These were now half covered with melting snow & the cold was very severe. All the tops of the mountains we had seen with snow on them all day, but here it lay in half frozen, half molten masses on the road. No horses cd be had at Andermatt so we proceeded for another half hour to Hospenthal, here we had a bad dinner at a disagreeable Inn where they looked sulky because we dirtied their newly scoured floor & put our wet cloaks to dry at the great comfortless white stove, which without apparently affording our shivering bodies any relief, suffocated us & made all the blood rush to our faces. François cautioned us not to say we had stopt first at Andermatt as in that case they might refuse us horses here. My foolish fears obliged me to send on a chaise à porteurs from this place to be ready to take me down the long dreadful zigzags on the other side. Neither horses or carriages were here so good & at one part of the road I was very nervous as the two leaders appeared at every turn to be actually going over the precipice. At last to my infinite satisfaction we came to a sort of flat top of the pass, covered 3 feet thick with the finest white snow in every crack of which appeared that exquisite azure tint which is so beautiful & so remarkably in the glaciers. Through this barren desolate but sublime scene we arrived at the highest point of the Pass. Hospice, a wretched lonely dwelling, built to shelter travellers in case of necessity, without which certainly no one wd enter such a place. It was piercingly cold, raining in torrents & the road one mass of half melted snow many inches deep, blowing violently & past 4 o’clock! Yet with all these difficulties I was delighted to get out of the warm carriage when we had bottles of hot water for our feet etc & descend into my very disconsolate looking chair, with 2 men to whom I cd not speak a word. Aurélie lent me her water proof cloak & hood which I had over my own & François wrapped Fanny’s plaid round my legs & so wishing me good bye I was left to my fate. I soon lost sight of the carriages containing all those who are dear to me on Earth. They seemed to disappear in space for it is incredible untill you actually arrive at the turn to believe that a carriage & horses can go down. When I actually beheld these wonderful zigzags I rejoiced that I had resolved not to try my nerves by descending them in a carriage. The enormous rock or successions of rocks down which they are to convey you and down which they wind & twist & turn for miles beneath one’s feet, are nearly perpendicular & tho’ such is the beauty & skill of the manner in which these zigzags are formed, that when you come to the turn the descent is easy, yet from a distance it appears as if you were going into space. Certain it is that if any part of the crazy vehicle in which you trust your life was to break or the old rusty harness & joined ropes were to snap, your fate seems inevitable.
Tres peu de temps apres avoir les quitter & pendant que j’etais transporté de joie de n’avoir pas été persuadé d’aller en voiture avec les autres, j’ai entendu quelque chose cassé quel malheur! le pole de ma chaise had given way, et les hommes etaint forcé de l’attacher avec un morceau de cordon, je remonté & allicy quelque pas, mais encore down I came, encore et encore la mème chose untill at last I was fairly lodged in the bed of a swollen torrent, for the men had taken a shorter path from one zigzag to another, they were in despair, what was to be done! They pointed to the rocks & mountains covered with snow, to the sky which was pouring torrents of rain on us & at last their only resource was to insist on my getting on one of their backs! This I absolutely resisted & succeeded in getting them to carry me between them out of the positive run of water in which we were standing & then comprehending that there was a Housen down the zigzags I took one man’s arm & the other ran with the chair to try & get something with which to bind it up. I walked at least 2 miles down these aweful zigzags wondering as I approached each turn how it was possible for horses to take a carriage down in safety & yet as I past the river feeling myself obliged to confess that the descent was not very rapid & that divested of its apparent turns the road was safe & good. At length wet through, we arrived at a wretched hut when I found my man tying up the broken chair. I went in & sat down, there was a woman & 3 children, the swaddled infant in a curious little wooden cradle of which it seemed part, so closely was it swaddled into it. Once more I got into my wet chair & desolate as my condition was I cd not avoid making one of my usual reflexions by feeling my feet glow, instead of their being in a frozen state as before my walk. Here thought I is once “good out of evil”. Never was there a grander & more aweful scene than that now surrounding poor me. No trace of man excepting the road – all else was wild & savage as at the Creation – on we wound. The evening began to close in. At last 3 carriages past quickly. I watched them winding down the pass into the valley where at length I was glad to discover at a great distance Airolo, the resting place for the night & where I hoped by this time all the rest were safely if not very comfortably established, but it was rather frightful to see the great distance I had to go & to perceive that the men were getting very tired, for they landed me in the mud to rest themselves at least every 5 minutes. About one hour after dark we entered the wretched mountain village of Airolo where we met François coming to look for us. The latter part of the road had been so bad & my men so tired that I had almost begun to despair of the poor creatures being able to get me to the place. I shall never forget the dreariness of that evening expedition, the wild desolated spots we past with tall pines over our head rendering the darkness still greater, a Cross occasionally just appearing in the dusk, but what I most disliked was when they took a short cut & got into places from which I sometimes almost feared they wd never extricate me. After all this it was not a small pleasure to see them all again & to be put into bed with 3 hot bottles to thaw me for I was bitterly cold. They soon went down to tea & after drinking 2 cups full & eating some chicken I got warm & slept very decently on the high platform called here a bed. What a contrast between this lovely romantic situation & the wretched, dirty, cramped stinking village. How strange that men living amongst the grandest & most beautiful works of God, should perform their own works so ill. Why where there is such space should they build their miserable comfortless dwellings as high as if every inch of ground was scarce & their streets scarcely wide enough to allow two carriages to pass the heaps of filth with which their wretched streets are already half closed up.
· Fhuellen –Flüelen, south of Lake Lucerne
· Altorf – Altdorf
· Devil’s Bridge – 2nd one built 1830
· From Airole they followed the River Ticino
We started at 7 o’clock on Wednesday 3rd October in two tolerably comfortable vehicles & had a superlatively lovely drive to Faido, the first 2 hours were rather tame through the valley, but suddenly we came to that most exquisite and enchanting defile of Dazio, rivalling in beauty the Falls of the Aar & the Devil’s Bridge. We walked down & were charmed with the romantic loveliness with the grandeur & sublimity of these Falls of the Ticino. This bright sparkling mountain torrent here rushes down between perpendicular rocks of the most picturesque & gigantic forms, at times taking graceful & enormous leaps from one shelf of rock to another & at others forming at the sides basons of its crystal waters or eddying whirlpools. It is a privilege to have seen & to be able to retain in recollection so lovely a scene. The road is a shelf along the rock on one side, at times going even through it. After passing over 2 or 3 very picturesque bridges we proceeded under & along the most splendid & variously coloured rocks to Faido, where there was a fair & where we were struck with the different appearance the town & shops presented. We bought a few things & here first heard the Italian spoken. From Faido to Bellinzona the scenery was very fine, as we were travelling post, we had changed carriages & the other carriage having very weak horses we proceeded but slowly through this valley which is bounded on each side by superb rocks, at one opening we saw the Bernardine road which here unites with this. There are 3 castles over Bellinzona completely commanding the pass through the valley & rendering it a strong place.
· 3 castles – there seems only 2 now: Castle Grande, Castello di Montebello
Sunday 4th October We remained very quietly & rather dully, the girls went out for half an hour after breakfast & saw one castle, after which we had prayers & about a quarter of an hour before dinner went to see the church. There was a curious service going in which there was not any priest officiating, only about 50 persons who seemed to repeat their prayers together. The town is extremely filthy & streets narrow. People so different from the Swiss! Tho’ Napoleon added this part of Italy to Switzerland he cd not alter the character of the people. They are handsome but bold, impudent, sly & satirical looking. There was not a child who did not laugh, point & cry after us. Coming back we met huge droves of bulls & cows, not pleasant going through a gateway with such fellow passengers. At dinner we met an Irish family whom we had also seen at Airolo. They travel Vetturino & go more slowly than we do. The Inns are all situated up court yards & are exceedingly dull, all the lower windows being closed with iron bars resembling a mad house & as it rained all day we were not sorry when night arrived. Our sitting room went out of the dining room, we sat a long time chatting with our friends the Dealtey’s & then left Robert who entertained them highly for 2 hours. We then had evening service & went to bed glad to think we should leave this prison in the morning.
[5th October] At breakfast we again met the Irish family who offered to take apartments for us at Pisa if we thought of going there & asked us to secure rooms for them for the night at Como. They started a little before us, but we soon past them. Their carriage had got out of order. François was delighted because he cannot bear them on account of their being stingy & quarrelling with their Voiturier & every body else. He declares they cannot reach Como tonight, because their Vetturino wanted them to start earlier & they kept him waiting. I mention their details to shew how dependant travellers are in a foreign country & how wise it is to take things as they come & avoid disputes. A short time after leaving Bellinzona we began to mount the Cenere, the weather was rainy & we past it mostly in clouds, it seemed as we tried to discover the valley as if we were looking into the clouds below us looking very curious. The mountain is lovely & here we saw in perfection the woods of noble chesnuts which replace the pine forests of Switzerland. We had first seen these trees at the Defile of Dazio. They are very fine, both in form & colour & at this season it is the general business of the people to thresh them & collect their valuable nuts, which are most abundant forming a very chief article of food. We met numbers of carts lodded with sacks full & at the house doors we every where saw quantities being washed or boiled over charcoal fires & we were often glad to get François to buy us a meal of them. No bad fare, hot & good. The ground is strewed nay covered with the shells for they have wooden tongues with which they sit under the trees & shell them previously to taking them away. Many of the trees are of an immense size & very old, some quite hollow & filled up with large pieces of stone. The road here is wider than on the St Gothard, but the zigzags numerous & precipices high, so that I was frightened tho’ this mountain is considered a mere mole hill. Each carriage had two enormous bulls to help the horses up. Once when we stopped to rest them with a high precipice on our right I begged for a piece of stone to stop the wheel, upon which a regular quarrel commenced between our men & one who seemed placed to take care of the road. He said it was not allowed because people left the stones & it rendered the road dangerous. This mountain used to be infected with banditti but at present there is a strong body of military quartered on it & it is quite safe. François here gathered us violets & many other flowers & today we first became acquainted with the lovely vineyards of Italy, so different from the little stunted vines of Germany & France. Here they are trained over high trellis work & form a beautiful shade underneath. The vintage is over which we regret much as we do not see the grapes hanging, but the loads of them about the country are astonishing. We buy as many as we can all eat for less than a franc & they are delicious especially the white ones. Here we observed that the women do not wear stockings but only wooden sandals. They are exceedingly handsome but of disagreeable expression. The other side of Mount Cenere winds gradually up & down & the road descends rapidly down sundry zigzags into Lugano the appearance of which as you slope down into it is so lovely with its Lake beyond that I can attempt no description of it, tho’ it will never quit my remembrance. We went into a most filthy Inn where however we had an excellent Déjeuner à la fourchette. Here we cd not obtain horses, as the autumn fairs cause an immense call for them & this town was filled to over flowing with farmers etc going to & from them. Our only alternative (& a charming one it was) was to engage a large boat & row the whole length of this heavenly Lake. The boats here are large round tub shaped vessels, safe & altogether different from the Luzern ones. We went gliding along the left bank, enjoying the lovely details of the side near us, the more distant beauties of the opposite shore & the clearness of the water. The woods were very lovely & the numerous villages, single houses, towns & churches all reminded us of the exciting fact that we were at last regarding Italian scenery. The houses appear miserable enough when near but there is something uncommonly picturesque in their flat roofs, many stories, open windows, colours etc. About the middle of our course we stopped at the Douane & now actually entered the Lombard Venitian territory. The boundary is marked on a rock by the side of the lake. François as usual nearly upset us in jumping out of the boat, but soon settled the affair of examination by declaring we had nothing contraband & as usual giving a fee & we continued our lovely route, our four rowers taking their little short strokes of the oar. I can see the little old man in front & the wild dark haired one behind. At the end of the lake is the very wretched looking village of Porlezza & here as we sat in the boat awaiting François arrangements for our farther transport, we were almost frightened at the ferocious looking crowd which assembled on the shore to look at us. They stared, laughed, scowled, but not one good natured pleasing countenance was to be discovered. Men, women & children looked alike savage. We obtained 3 extraordinary little vehicles for ourselves & 2 for our luggage. François acted as coachman to Annie & Clara. We had a most amiable person & as soon as we had contrived by clambering, jambing, securing, pushing, thumping to get stowed away, off we set in the middle of a crowd at full gallop, the absurdity of the affair rather overcame my fear of being upset & we pursued our course in safely past the pretty little Lago de Piano. Our coachman took a great fancy to Robert, placed him by his side on the box, let him drive, covered him from the rain with his coat, admired his plaid frock, stroked, patted, kissed his own hand & then put in on Robert’s lips! & at last fairly kissed him looking round at us & exclaiming “Molto Bello”. We were 2 hours going to Monaggio on the Lago di Como & the descent into this little town is so rapid that the men led the horses who then actually slid down on their hind legs. We were met half way down the hill by numbers of wild looking boatmen all vociferous to be engaged to take us across the lake to our sleeping place, they hung to our crazy vehicles till we arrived on the banks of the lake. It rained violently & this was our greatest loss from bad weather, as the view here must be magnificent. As we waited for our boat, a crowd collected as at Porlezza but they did not appear so savage, tho’ equally wild & poor. I threw them a few baty tho’ they did not beg & their joy was unbounded. In a few minutes the carriage was surrounded by women & children, they scrambled on the ground for the money, seized my hand & almost drew my glove off. When all my small money was gone I threw them some bread which seemed equally to be prized & when I got out of the carriage they seemed as if they cd not be too grateful, following me to the water’s edge with uplifted hands & calling their thanks after me. When I was in the boat, I saw them long after we had rowed away still watching us, one woman in particular an old woman with a baby in her arms I shall never forget.
It was now getting dark & it rained heavily, yet still we cd imagine how very lovely the surrounding objects were, we had an hour’s row to get to Belaggio when we disembarked & had a most comfortable night’s lodging in a new & good hotel. The night was most tempestuous &
[6th October] in the morning the heavy clouds crowded about the mountain tops & every one prognosticated a continuance of bad weather. The people belonging to this hotel have a very nice house to let close by upon very moderate terms [blank] francs a month with plate & linen. We are up at ½ past 5 & at 7 were over the lake again to meet the steamer for Como. What a scene of loveliness have we past through! What clear water, what rich woods, what splendid mountains clothed to the water’s edge with olives, lemons, chesnuts! What cascades with their little bridges across to continue the path. What churches, villages & strange to say what lovely weather! So warm it is complete summer again or rather we have come to the land of summer & of every thing charming in appearance. The people are odious. It is a very poor steamer, so small that when we stop to take in people & the passengers run to the side to see them come on board, the vessel seems likely to go over. It was very crowded, lots of persons some decently well dressed seem going to Como for a day’s pleasure. Just before we entered Como which is well situated at the head of the lake, we past the handsome Villa d’Este so long the abode of our unfortunate, weak, ill used perhaps guilty, but most unhappy Queen Caroline.
Como is a fine & flourishing town, an astounding number of large rowing boats on the shore, we went directly to the Duomo. How different from any thing we have yet seen & how splendid! It stands in an open square, is all of marble & beautifully carved. The interior so striking for its simplicity & grandeur, such pillars, such altars. A priest came to shew us every thing, there are some good paintings & fine carving. The ceiling is very splendid & light well managed, even little round yellow windows give a good effect. Como is a nice clean place but looks too smart, fine shady promenades just past the gates. We had a good dinner at the Angel. Some English gentlemen at the other end. François peeping in every minute in a great hurry. The Agoni a lake fish very delicious, better than smelts. We were obliged to take an Omnibus & 3 horses to take us to Monza, it was very hot at first & the road rather dull. We had just time at the smart looking town of Monza to run into the magnificent Duomo which is entirely covered with paintings excepting the lovely marble columns. It is almost finer than Como. The beggars here are even more disgusting than in other parts of Italy. After being assailed as we stood at the station for some time we gave a few pieces & actually saw the older & bigger children rob the younger ones of what we had given them & if any old person got near, the younger boys abused & shooed them away. In one hour the train conveyed us to Milan! We were amused at going through quite a quiet pretty garden to get to the Terminus at Monza.
· Angelo Inn, Como, Murray’s Handbook 1852 “the best Inn: it is pleasantly situated on the edge of the quay, on the east side of the little port”.
We were delighted with the general appearance of Milan as we drove to our hotel in an omnibus which François had engaged for us, but into which the driver continued to cheat some gentlemen & ladies into. In Italy you are cheated every where & in every thing. We are at the “Grande Bretagne” a fine hotel. It was a bright moon light night & we were pleased to see from our high windows the moon shine on the opposite houses, domes etc etc.
7th This morning we had a large open Barouche, which was amply large for 6 inside & Clara & Laura behind. François with the coachman on the box & in this manner we continued sight seeing from 8 in the morning till 6 in the evening. The first church we entered was St Maria, with splendid dark square marble pillars, gilded roof, costly silver & gold altar at the side of the great altar. Silver carving, fine paintings. The darkness, silence, people at prayers were very solemn. Mosaic altars. 2nd church all of Sienna marble, that is to say a kind of yellow. Enormous square pillars very old. St Eustorgio. Shell over the altar. In our way from this church we past a fine old gateway & a row of ruined Corinthian columns, in the gateway a picture with shutters to close before it.
3rd church St Ambroggio old red brick, the exterior with Etruscan figures on the walls. Interior a mixture of very ancient & modern architecture, white marble. 2 high square towers. We now past the fine barracks & the flower market. Here as in all the gardens the salvias & other green house flowers are as common as heartsease in England, the smell & appearance delightful. Fine private palaces.
4th Fine mosaic altar, large round plain stone columns no pedestals. A Chapel of the Virgin wonderfully rich & old, quantities of frescoes. Behind this church is an old convent turned into barracks, it was curious to see the old cloisters with fine frescoes all round & soldiers issuing from all parts. A restive horse was being shod. The noise of his hoofs formed a strange contrast with the appropriate stillness of such a place. Here we were shewn Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Last Supper. It is at the end of a deserted refectory & is now taken as much care of as possible. There is a platform to which you may ascend by a few steps & look at it near but it is dreadfully spoilt by damp & in the middle a door has at some period been cut out. It is a heavenly picture, there is nothing that does not correspond with one’s idea of such a scene, nothing to offend the eye or heart. Our Saviour is dignified, resigned, gentle sorrowful but divine. All in harmony, the attitude of every figure is a study in itself. We bought a good print of it, which with others is lost.
5th church St Salvador. All loveliness too beautiful to leave.
We now drove through the large open space made by Napoleon to the Arc of Peace, a very lovely miniature of the Arc de d’Etoile at Paris. All went up whilst I drove round & contented myself with admiring the fine outside. From here we went & saw the Arena built by Napoleon, sometimes it is flooded artificially & they have boat races. The paintings we most liked at the gallery were Salvator Rosa’s Purgatory, the faces of those being rescued from their sufferings, looking up towards the opened heavens express every thing that we cd expect of half doubting extasy. One feels almost willing to endure the torments to enjoy the deliverance. St Jerome in the wilderness is equally fine. Abraham casting out the poor weeping Hagar is also good. We had not much time, but it is an easy well arranged gallery.
The black veil thrown over the cap or dressed hair is the common costume of the women. The pavement is good & curious & rows of flat stones the width for the wheels of carriages to run on, the rest round stones embedded in the ground forming an excellent pavement & flat stones again as a trottoir, but not raised or divided from the carriage road.
Duomo. It appears quite incredible that this is the work of man, outside a wilderness of spires & every kind of splendid architecture all marble to the very roof, inside it gives me the idea of being in the interior of some mountain of marble, which has been excavated into these most splendid columns by God himself. A man close at my side has just mounted a very high ladder to trim a lamp at the top of a bronze candelabra. Enormous as it is I had not noticed it, untill my attention was drawn to it by this circumstance, such is the magnitude of the other objects around me. I am sitting by myself whilst the others are ascending the dome & I feel awe struck at the solemn magnificence around me, all is so still, so sombre, the immense height, the open lace work of the roof, the elegance of the arches, the lovely painted windows, the voice of the priest now the organ. Here & there poor persons praying on their knees on the marble pavement, some service has just commenced, the smell of the incense, the tall slender painted glass windows, two rows of these gigantic & most exquisite columns on each side, the wonderful harmony, grandeur & beauty of the whole quite overpowers me. 30 steps round each column & the tops of each composed of very elegant statues. There is always a canopy over the grand altar in Italy & almost as high as the ceiling in front of it, a Christ crucified. Just in front to me is a young man asleep apparently ill & at my side a poor market woman has deposited her basket & is praying earnestly. There are a great many persons scattered about on their knees. A row of priests in their scarlet tippets sit in the stalls round the altar & numbers of others in white robes. The priests have now filed off each in rotation turning to bend the knee before the altar twice, the foremost appears blind & very old. The painted windows seem to shade off into the marble architecture, so exquisitely soft & harmonious are all together. There is always a large curtain before the doors of churches here. When they came down we went to see the costly gold & silver Chapel of Charles Borromeo & his monument of the same materials, all round in silver carving are the events of his good life & peaceful death. He was a real saint, in one he is represented giving the sacrament to those dying of the plague, in another visiting & consoling them, in another accompanying a procession for their relief in a spiritual sense. Once a year his tomb is opened & his embalmed body exposed to the view & veneration of the public. Mass is performed every day on the altar before the tomb. This superb Chapel is under the great altar where there is an altar for invalids in winter, who wd find the church too cold. We were now shewn the church treasures consisting of every description of candelabra, crosiers & other implements, utensils etc used in the church ceremonies of silver & gold studded with gems of enormous value & beauty. There are two silver statues larger than life, the head dress & other parts entirely studded with large brilliants, pearls, sapphires & every other precious stone. A sapphire ring of immense size & splendid colour, such an amethyst! Almost all these treasures were gifts from Borromeo & the town of Milan. The latter paid Napoleon 5.000.000 francs to preserve & spare these valued treasures. François is indignant at the idea of such sums being shut up for mere ostentation by the priests & it is true whilst so many are starving. We left this lovely Duomo with much regret but comforted ourselves by the hope of visiting it at some other time.
8th October Had the same nice carriage as yesterday to take us to the Railway station. Fanny was very ill & altho’ we had sent the two carriages on to meet us at Treviglio, I feared she wd be wholly unable to start. 5 drops of Laudanum however quieted her and enabled us to proceed. Quiet good station, a room for each class & one class let out at a time. The 1st class are long with 3 windows on each side & room for about 24 persons, curious seats, the backs are moveable so as to enable you to sit with your face either way. Flat uninteresting country crossed the Adda & had a view of the Alps. Found the carriages at Treviglio, but our horse was dying & the Voiturier was forced to stop with him & François drove us to Brescia. We dined at Chiari a miserable place, wretched tea, chicken, bad eggs, stinking butter & every thing dirty & disgusting 18 francs! Fine church with large pink marble columns, fine white marble monument to the right as you enter. Arrived at sun set at Brescia. Very fine flourishing town. Beautifully situated, very long broad straight good road into it. Met many carriages & persons taking their evening promenade. Large cemetery, fine gate. Good Inn clean & civil. Women carry 2 baskets or a basket & a copper vessel across their shoulder on a kind of bar. Men seem to feel the slightest cold & wrap their jackets across their chests, at other times they hang them over their shoulders, but I know not when they wear them properly with their arms in the sleeves.
9th Left Brescia early before light for Verona, the Voiturier joined us having left his poor horse dying. He is a civil man, has strong horses & is merciful to them. The other man is a curiosity, they call him a Jew. His horses go wonderfully fast & well, altho’ one is dreadfully lame, his oddities are a source of amusement to us. Totally different from any other lake we have seen is the lovely Lago di Garda, half surrounded by the most picturesque mountains, the side of which we approached is level & soft. The water is the finest blue imaginable & the mountains partake of the same peculiar tint. You cd not tell that you were not on the sea shore with this high surf breaking on it. We walked on the sea shore & watched a boat & a steamer come in. The boats are immensely large, with enormous sails & a peculiar flat form of the prow. There are large iron rings in the pier & as the boats approach they take the sail down & guide themselves into the little harbour by putting a long pole with a hook in it, into these rings of iron. It was curious here to see the numbers of women washing on the beach & in every spot where they cd get to kneel on their little boards close to the water’s edge. Numbers of boards are ready & each woman takes her own to kneel in, in front this board slopes down into the water & on it she rests, dips, shakes, presses & soaps her linen. In every piece of water in Italy you see the same operation going on, it is curious to see how soon the linen gets clean with only this squeezing & rinsing. Generally outside the smaller towns & villages there are proper places, kinds of ponds for the women to wash in, they look odd with their legs naked & cloaths tucked up to their knees. We are in a little town on the border of the lake at the Hotel Imperiale, called so because the Emperor once slept in it. It is a wretched place, but our little room has a large stone balcony, where there are table & chairs, just over the water & here we sit enjoying this lovely scene whilst the poor horses are taking their mid day rest of 2 hours. The landlord is old & appears very ill but he helped to bring in our dinner consisting of soup, delicious trout & a fine turkey, but we were much amused at the old rogue, laying aside his illness to carve our turkey at a side table & so arranging it as to give us the worst parts & carving off all the white, we just detected him in time & made him restore our dinner. After dinner we pursued our course along the side of this lovely lake, with the Tyrolean mountains beyond. Poor Aurélie distracted with one of her abominable migrains. At last from the top of an eminence we came in sight of Verona, down a road miles in length. As we approached it is impossible to describe the exquisite beauty produced on the city & mountains by a glorious setting sun. Some of the tints resembled those we have so often admired at our lovely Meggenhorn, but the buildings were most magnificent. The stuccoed walls red, yellow, orange, but yet all so mellow as not to be gaudy. The bridge with its curious parapet, Verona through the arches, a very high steeple. One high mountain particularly was every shade of sparkling pink.
Verona appears a very fine city, but we started from it at 6½ 10th October & a curious sight it is this morning. We past through the market. At the corner a large old painted house, immense umbrellas of every colour stuck into the pavement for the market people to sit with their goods. The stoppage at the gate for the Domus is extraordinary, files of waggons, oxen, cart, mules. Men & women all loaded for market & not allowed to pass into the town without having their loads examined. The women carry their loads rather differently from yesterday, their hoop is bent. Some wear little double straw hats. In the town most of the women wear white muslin veils over their head & shoulders. The white oxen are noble animals with their great yoke & pole sticking high up. 2 mules just pass with a really handsome red ornament over their heads. On one side I now count 21 women picking the great heads of the maize, on the other side are 6 digging the earth after ploughing up to their knees in the fine rich soil. Now they are ploughing with 4 oxen & another man sowing. We are passing the field of Arcoli. Robert has a rag doll made of an old glove, I have just made it a paper hat. We have the most delicious grapes as many as all can eat for 4d!
The women for some miles before we came to Vicenza have worn round black beaver hats. Here we see great quantities of black grapes on the vines. They are here trained to all the trees & twine round & about them so as to even the original support, they are also trained from one to the other & their long festoons are quite loaded with fruit. François has gathered us grapes out of the hedge. Dined at Vicenza, a young Englishman & his wife are also here, they travel in a handsome carriage but do not look an interesting couple. Here we changed our luggage, taking only a part to Venice & sending the rest by our Voiturier to Padua. After dinner we had a carriage which speedily drove us to the station & we found ourselves in the train actually en route for Venice! How astonished we were to go 8 miles across the Sea to the city on the Rail! We were detained some time at the Douane, which is not at all well arranged. I think it was quite dark when we got into one of those mysterious gondolas, which here answer the purposes of a carriage. It was a novel sight & scene for us to be gliding through these water streets, looking through our little windows & trying to see something of the scene around. Another gondola insisting on passing us, came against us & by the screaming of women & children in it, I suppose there was danger of being upset. However they past us in safety. We arrived at the steps of the Hotel de l’Europe, where we were obliged to put up with rather indifferent accomodation every place being full. Our windows however were to the front & we had a splendid view, it was moon light & we could by it see the opposite very splendid church, the sea & all the interesting objects. At night we were victims to the mosquitos & rose perfect objects. The smell here is at times intolerably bad, particularly in the back narrow streets. Next morning
11th October we went to St Mark which reallizes all one’s ideas of a Turkish mosque. The Piazza & church altogether have a splendid appearance. It is one mass of gold & marble mosaic. I am sorry to say I think it more wonderful & curious than beautiful, it is so very old that untill you examine it you scarcely see its costliness. The pavement is splendid, but so excessively worn & old that you might well stumble over the uneven surface. I am now sitting in the gondola, a lovely sea breeze, unclouded sky & every thing having the appearance of perfect summer. What strange wild looking creatures are the chamber maids, one poor soul is covered with gold & pearl ornaments, all real. The gondolas are black, most of them are quite enclosed, the covering is light & when done with, one of the men carry it into the house on his head. It is covered with black cloth, ornamented with tufts & plated things just like a hearse. The handsomest private one I saw was thus black & the rowers in black velvet with a silver hat hand, it looked very elegant. There is as much taste desplayed in the Venetian gondolas, as else where in carriages. One is just now gliding under a bridge. Men wait at all the landing places with hooked sticks to draw the light gondolas to shore. Rowed to the Ledo where is the Fortress & wandered for an hour on the shores of the Adriatic. To get across to it you walk over a very ancient burial ground & the lizards romed under, over & between your feet at every moment. Boatmen went with us & gathered up lots of shells. Vast numbers of persons came across to the Ledo with baskets of provisions to pass the day. Fanny & I sat in the gondola whilst the others went to see the fortress. The heat great. Man offering us a little dog for sale. Remarked such a small boat! Rowed all round the city, it is most wonderful. The streets are very narrow in the back parts & it is not very pleasant at times to see the emptyings into, the water is very dirty. The cry of the men as they approach the corners to ascertain if there is another gondola coming & which way it is going is necessary, as all is so still, no sound of carriage wheels to apprize one of the approach. It is also a picturesque cry. Dear Robert was charmed with a most lovely & diminutive little puppy on the Piazza. After dinner we rowed along the front of the buildings by moonlight. It is a superb sight. The contrast of the well lighted city. The shipping & water. We walked home through the Piazza & splendid & curious it is. Crowded with well dressed persons walking up & down, or taking coffee, ices etc, sitting before the caffés which are very numerous under the collonade on each side. St Mark has a most solemn & splendid appearance with the bright starry heavens above & the bustle below. The Campanile appears to tower up to the very sky. Went to bed to be devoured again. Fanny is a complete object. I am very bad & the little ones also.
12th Delayed an hour not being able to get breakfast. At last by threatening to go to a caffé we obtained it. The shops are very good. Went to the Church of St Roch [San Rocco], a fine family by Titian. Christ bearing the Cross, small 2 heads. Sta Maria de Frari Canova’s monument. Titians hidden by a scaffolding. Another in black marble immensely large a Death & Negroes very striking. School of St Roch. Staircases & every part lined with fine pictures. Titian’s Annunciation, gallery with sides & ceiling all by Tintoretto. Splendid iron gate before altar, exquisite wooden carving all round the lower part, some carved like books. Galleria di Manfini 2 lovely Venuses only the heads. Ariosto. Marriage of Virgin over the door of 3rd room. Yellow tinted landscape under it & a St Cecilia, Raphael’s Descent, next to it a small Carlo Dolci Venus & Bacchus. In the 1st room Virgin, Christ & St John the very epitomes of lovely children. Marriage of St Catharine by Paul Veronese. Lucretia. In fact there is hardly an uninteresting picture in all this splendid collection.
Honeysuckles in full bloom. I am sitting in the gondola whilst they are seeing the finest church in Venice, an immense number of statues outside, white & black marble. The grand altar has 4 verd antique pillars. Magnificent Christ in white marble by Master of Canova. Pulpit has a drapery in white marble & black very elegant. Before the altar the marble pavement represents a Turkey carpet. We now get into the open sea & it is rough, a storm blowing up, begins to rain, go to the shore for safety. We have been over the Doge’s Palace. What splendour & what horror! The glories of the Paradise by Tintoretto is the largest canvass painting in the world, it is very fine & fills up the whole end of the room of the grand council over the Doge’s Palace throne, now converted into a library. We sat in the Doge’s chair in the room where he used to receive Ambassadors, who were never allowed to approach beyond the second step. There are always 5 seats on each side the Doge’s chair for the 10. The size & splendour of all the apartments are horribly contrasted by the dreadful dungeons to which you are admitted by a wretched little dirty dark passage & small door from one of the splendid Council Chambers to the Bridge of Sighs! We were shewn the Golden Staircase & the spot where Marino Faliero was killed & when the Doge’s were crowned at the head of a superb white marble staircase. We now saw the wretched dungeons where murderers were imprisoned, no opening but a hole in the wall to admit air. The door about 5 feet high, a stone raised platform with a stone ledge, the one to sleep on, the other for food. Arched stone roof. No ray of light had these wretched beings untill they confessed their crimes & then they were promoted to another cell, where there was a grated iron into the passage & which admitted a little light. We descended a stone staircase & these horrid cells were shewn & vaulted passages were shewn the spot where the priest sat to confess the criminals before execution & immediately after which on the very spot where we stood they were strangled! Close to this was a door now bricked up & through which the bodies were conveyed & buried! Oh the horrors of this place. It is quite impossible to conceive any thing more aweful & desolate than these places, the scenes of so many crimes & much misery. We cd not go over the Bridge of Sighs, as it is still used for criminals.
The costliness of St Mark is certainly wonderful. One Chapel is covered by a roof of agate, one slab. There are 2 valuable & large twisted pillars of alabaster from Constantinople & also 4 of carved ivory. The pavement is mosaic of finest porphyry verd & rose antique & other rich kinds. Pillars of verd & rose antique porphyry, jasper.
We are now sitting at the station, waiting for the train to go to Padua, sorry to leave this still splendid & most curious city, not having seen half its beauties. Arrived at Padua around 6. Our Voiturier was there, he had been to Venice for his passport to Rome. The little Jew also & his lame white horse goes with us. We walked into Padua, the desolate deserted dull looking Padua. They went on to see the Cathedral which contains the most splendid candelabra in Europe. Robert & I waited dinner for them at the Inn where he amused himself playing at theatres with me & the great curtain seperating the bedroom from the dining room. He is delighted when we arrive at the hotels & after travelling all day, he fixes on the first things etc to play with.
13th We started very early & travelled 43 miles resting twice. The country flat & uninteresting, dined at Rovigo, put a mustard poultice on Emily, who has a severe cough. About 4 o’clock it began to rain violently & we arrived on the banks of the Po in wretched plight. It is the largest river we ever saw, but muddy & the shore uninteresting. We had to wait for the ferry some time, being late & it being on the other side. We had a sufficiently desolate scene in crossing this broad rapid river at dusk & in such weather. It is so steep & muddy on the opposite bank that I suppose we had 12 men to push us up the bank. We immediately came to the Douane, where we paid usual 7 francs not to have our luggage examined. The horses & men all too tired & wet to go on to Ferrara & we were obliged to sleep at Francolino a little miserable village & the Inn & people originals. It was curious to see the anxiety to oblige. They watched us like some wonderful creatures & whilst waiting for our most horrible supper the hostess brought her whole family to visit us in our bed room & her eldest son came & kissed my hand. François says they were obliged to send in every direction to collect the materials for our uneatable meal & yet with all their poverty & civility they asked as much as the first hotel in Italy & took less than half.
14th We are now waiting at an excellent Inn in Ferrara for breakfast. We arrived at 7½ & went into the handsome cathedral, where Mass was being performed at 3 different altars & a great many persons poor as well as rich were present. It is a very handsome cathedral, large simple & grand. We past a large old red brick castle in the center of the town. Ferrara appears old but not a very attractive place. We started after having had a very comfortable substantial meal & past through a most uninteresting country for 5 hours & then stayed to rest the horses at a curious place consisting I think solely of the Inn itself & two ranges of buildings one on each side, one stables, the other several sorts of shops, butcher, banker, blacksmith. We were amused by watching the operation of making maccaroni, the man kneading the flour & water by a kind of dance on a strong lever. Then its being pressed by an enormous wheel through holes, first large then small according to the size desired. I must say I am much disappointed in the general aspect of Italy tho’ the large towns are every thing I had expected. Of course the season is too late to see the country in full beauty & yet there are few other trees excepting acacias, chesnuts, olives etc. The acacia is quite as common as Quick in England. The fences or hedges are entirely of them & besides them are woods of it & avenues by the road side. The hedges are still full of flowers, different sorts of clematis, gourds seem absolutely to grow wild as well as fig trees & numbers of plants which with us require the greatest here grow like weeds. There is still a profusion of roses, honeysuckles, jasmines & the master of the Inn at Ferrara presented us with 4 beautiful bouquets before we started. Still the country wants something to render it interesting, long straight roads, chiefly on raised causeways, with rows of trees on each side, few cottages & those frequently of mud & without windows, having the appearance of the huts of savages, out of which at the sound of wheels out rush swarms of ragged impudent bare footed children who run screaming & with hands extended after the carriage for money. The beggars are a disgrace to the country & a great nuisance, they are stationed not only at every place where you stop, but at every little hill, bad road & on where they know you must go slowly. They even accompanied us in the ferry boat, into the Inns. François puts up with them for some time in silence then abuses them, throws them some small piece of money & sends them off. There are often the most frightful cripples & objects of all sorts. They thrust thin deformed limbs into the most conspicuous situations & evidently glory in the infirmities which render them objects of compassion. I certainly have no favourable impressions of the Italians. Curious scenes go on with our Voituriers. The one they call the little disagreeable man & his poor lame grey horse crows now over the civil quiet man who drives me, one of whose horses died at Treviglio & another good strong looking animal was taken ill 3 days ago & has kept us in continual agitation ever since, sometimes being sent on before us early in the morning so as not to be hurried in order to keep up with us, at others when better tied to the side of our carriage but not allowed to draw. The fact is that it is only the little spirited Roman horse who can bear the climate of & mode of driving in Italy. Yesterday at Rovigo the little man bought a third horse & goes on in style. The manner of conducting the purchase amused us. He left it behind in a great rage at the price, but before we got ½ a mile he begged François to drive whilst he ran back & took the horse, who he declared was too good. We are arrived at Bologna & it is determined to leave our nice civil man as his poor horse must rest 3 or 4 days. I hope we shall get as good a one to take us on to Florence. It is perfectly ridiculous to hear François with Robert, who has been wonderfully good for such an active child during this long journey. Every time he is the least fidgetty, François condemns him to some punishment. “What Robert no good”. This of course makes Robert more inclined than before to have a little fun & it has become an established joke that he has been thrown into every lake or river we have past, left in every town, packed into every bag & trunk & forwarded per rail, steamer etc as the case might happen & as to his hat! Oh! the perils of that have been ten times greater than those of his little master.
15th October We have been out all the morning in two carriages seeing sights, the cathedral or the church in the market place. We look for it is the strangest looking affair outside I ever saw. Scarcely any architectural ornaments, but the whole upper part composed of flat brick work, with rows of round stones sticking out, but the form is very fine & might vie with Notre Dame if formed of more costly materials instead of being white washed. Many of the churches in the last cities we have visited have had stalls for the priests round the back of the altar, worked in wooden mosaic. The cemetery here is very curious. Every monument under cover, ranged along the arcades of which the whole is formed, all white washed, the number of monuments is quite astonishing & altho’ I do not admire the style of sculpture here, yet numbers are very fine & expensive. It seems the prevailing fancy in Bologna to have arcades. They extend for several miles outside the city & are built by voluntary contributions, the names & arms of the person who erected each compartment are put up against the wall. Sometimes the same person has built a long way, sometimes only one arcade. This arcade extends to the cemetery & we saw it stretching beyond over a far distant hill to a celebrated church. The streets are the same, so that the lower stories & shops have a dull dark appearance but you can always walk dryly. There are numbers of splendid churches & palaces. We thought of Sir Charles & Lady Clementina. There is a small gallery full of exquisite paintings, Raphael’s famous St Catharine did not please me, but Guido’s Crucifixion is admirable. Christ himself very fine. The Virgin’s majestic expressive attitude, so simple, the colours of her dress so harmonious, the face so full of grief & resignation. St John’s figure & face exquisite. The Magdalen perhaps the least fine of all. Guido’s Adoration of Christ, with an angel’s face in the right hand corner, really the face of an angel, a head of the Father. Murder of the Innocents, a Pontiff praying to the Virgin & child in heaven, in fact almost all are admirable.
We returned to dine at our hotel & at ½ past 3 set off to go 12 miles & sleep at Pianova a wretched village, tho’ picturesquely situated looking down a valley & surrounded by hills. A fat landlord the beau ideal of Shakespeare’s “Mine Host”. Our rooms smell so horribly of the stables that I imagine we were over them.
16th Next morning we started with 2 oxen in addition to each carriage & were the whole day amongst the Appenines. It was a splendid drive, the views at times most magnificent & extensive. The wind as we approached the summit was sufficiently high to make us credit the accounts of its blowing over carriages & even waggons & carts. There are now storm walls built in the most exposed places where accidents have occurred. At one part it was really tremendous, there not being any trees & the hills & mountains extending far & often on every side render the situation exposed to the wind in an extraordinary way. All today we had either Beefs of extra horses, immense numbers are employed on these mountains. Whenever there was a long steep hill to go up we had oxen, then perhaps ran down the descent with our own horses & at the bottom found more oxen waiting for us, or if the hills were short so as to enable us to go quick we had horses. Men with their red caps & sashes screaming to the horses, talking & laughing, running by the side almost all the way, or riding on one of the front horses, jumping up when at a full gallop with perfect ease. The horses have scarcely any harness & go very fast indeed down hill. We dined at Pieteo Molo & had 2 bottles with water fetched from a neighbouring spring. There was only a little water in each bottle, the vapour of which was so sulphurous that it ignited immediately on having a lucifer applied to the mouth of the bottle & by pouring common water continually into the bottle so as to press up the vapour it continued to burn until the bottle was full. Slept not uncomfortably where were the 3 old women. Beautiful situation and on the morning of the
17th October started for Florence. What a view it is when you have at last mounted the last rise of the Appenines & you behold Florence! With its suburbs extending far over the surrounding heights & the Arno threading the valley, it is totally different from what I expected & more lovely. The suburbs or perhaps seperate villages seem scattered over all the neighbouring country. The entrance is very fine, numbers of good houses with the gardens shewing above the tops of the walls where you see all sorts of lovely flowers & shrubs, nothing the least shabby, a fine gate way. Stopped some time at the Douane & then entered the streets & past the Duomo, all of black & white marble & afterwards the Piazza del gran Duca, which we knew instantly from the little fixé of Aunt Anne [Barkley]. Arrived at the Hotel de L’Arno, cd only get back rooms, went to enquire about apartments. Our landlord shewed us some belonging to him, very nice ones, but he will not let them for less than 6 months unless at a very high rent. After much reflection & many enquiries I have agreed to take them for 6 months from 15th November to 15th May & go to Rome & Naples first, as at the end of 6 months it wd be very hot for that expedition.
19th A most busy day, giving all our cloaths to be washed, changing our packages. A dreadful desaster with the pastelles, spoilt the whole of the contents of my trunk, all Aurélie’s books & mine & my cloaths, the latter however will wash, but the books are all covered with dirt. The pastelles worked out of the box & by friction got ground to powder & absolutely incorporated with every thing. Got our bonnets trimmed. Left almost all our luggage with the man of the hotel. Tonight we are all exhausted. I went & signed my certificate before the Consul & sent it to Mr Perkins, requesting to have another letter of credit sent to meet me on my arrival.
Notwithstanding all this we had to rise at 3 ½ & started for Sienna at 5 o’clock on Thursday 20th October. The country was hilly & very lovely all day. We have the little Jew & another good Voiturier with 2 excellent Roman horses. We had a most wretched dinner at a very busy Inn & town, we then continued our route through very pretty country & at 5 ½ arrived at Sienna which is beautifully situated on a hill & looking over a succession of others on most of which is a town or village or church. We noticed that the colour of the soil for miles before coming to Sienna is yellow & red corresponding with the colours we call raw & burnt Sienna. It has a curious effect especially as all the water is the same. The instant we got out of the carriages we walked off to see the cathedral & in our way past the Piazza, a curious looking place, going down a long flight of steps or sort of inclined plane. It was dusk when we got to the cathedral, but there were two very obliging intelligent men who shewed us every thing by torch light. They were father & son & the old one especially seemed to appreciate throughly the beauties of the place. It appears to me one of the finest Duomos I have yet seen. It is composed entirely of different sorts of Sienna marble, has a very splendid & large collection of illustrated missals. I never saw any to equal them for beauty, size & number. The pavement is entirely marble mosaic, so finely executed that it appears as if painted. The chief parts are covered with planks to preserve them from the constant wear of so many feet treading over them & are only uncovered entirely on great festivals, the principle events of the Bible are there recorded. They remove the planks to exhibit the different subjects. I cd not have conceived any thing so fine, so elaborate & covering so large a space. The columns are numerous, elegant & of great size. The monuments fine & one mosaic very large against the wall in one of the chapels looks like a fine painting. In the Sacristy is a fine group of the three Graces. Lovely but ill placed in a church, the only excuse is that they were dug out of the foundations. Nothing can be more solemn than the sight of one of these fine cathedrals at this light. We saw Freyburg at the same light. We were forced to get a little boy to shew us the way back to our hotel & in our route we passed a funeral, a most aweful procession it was. They only bury after dark here. The black coffin is carried by men in black & about a dozen priests precede & follow it dressed entirely in black with openings for the eyes, which gives them an unearthly appearance, each carries a flaming torch, they walk very fast & chant something as they go in a monotonous voice. We stood to let the procession pass & they ceased their chanting as they past, at the same time turning their ghastly looking eyes upon us, it was really enough to frighten any one. We found François in a great fright about us, he thought we had met with some accident from being so long, but we really cd not leave the lovely cathedral sooner. We had an excellent dinner, rooms & beds, enormous baskets for wood in every room fitting into the corner.
21st We rose this morning at 4 & were ready to start at 5 but the coachman kept us waiting on account of the heavy rain. We got to the city gate at a few minutes before 6 at which hour they are opened. They wanted us to pay 3 francs to have them opened for us, but as it wanted only 2 or 3 minutes the coachman said he wd wait & they actually kept us & dozens of carts on the other side for some time after the hour hoping to extract the money from us & the men who did this were actually dressed like gentlemen. It is a melancholly thing in Italy to witness the venality of all persons in office, according as they find you desirous of avoiding having your luggage examined at the Douane, so do they try & extort money from you. One evening on the banks of the Po they asked & obtained 9 francs! for it was raining so heavily they knew we wd not expose the men & horses to it longer. We are now stopping at a very dirty Auberge where we have had one decent chicken, one red, and one stringy. Some little birds are usual. Apples & grapes. There is a violent thunder storm. Our Voiturier has two faces. His profile that of a boy, his full face a man’s.
The country on this side of Sienna is very curious. One can easily fancy its having been in ages past the seat of a volcanic eruption, it has a most uncommon appearance as if it had boiled & rolled over & so got hard & remained till this day. For several hours the heap of stones on the road side to mend it, have been quite black like Welsh coal. The road itself seems solid rock, with this stone laid on the top of it, which when worn down resembles ashes & makes a very soft heavy road. Our present Voiturier has 2 very fine fast spirited Roman horses, it is quite wonderful how they go & the little Jew’s also. We start daily before light & travel till 12. We then drive sometimes tolerably & rest the horses for 2 hours. We always take 2 extra horses or oxen as the hills suit best. Some of the places we stop at are really filthy. Shewn up a flight of filthy stairs you generally enter a large long brick-floored apartment with a long table spread with a table cloth. Here the dinner is served. We have noticed at times the plate, bearing arms & crests & being really good & pretty. I wonder whether it has ever been plundered from the travellers by banditti & afterwards sold. The bed rooms generally present the most wretched appearance & really it almost makes one ill to attempt to eat, drink & sleep in such places. Walls covered with spitting all over them, writing & all sorts of dirt. Floors dusty, dirty & generally the bricks so broken that unless you place your chair carefully you have a good chance of being upset. Our dinner generally consists of vermicelli soup with grated parmesan, not very detestable. Then some pieces of beef boiled to rags & not looking like meat at all. Skinny chickens roasted or rather burnt & so tough that really I cannot masticate them, fried potatoes sadly dirty & greasy, a plate of apples & grapes & parmesan cheese so hard it is almost impossible to cut it. After dinner we start again & generally arrive at our sleeping place at ½ past 5 & this is our greatest trial. Tho’ the sheets are for the most part pretty clean, yet the filthy floors & horrible walls against which lies your pillow & the total absence of all comfort renders it a most disconsolate affair to undress & go to bed. I always wrap myself up in a cloak & shawl etc etc. This night it was worse than ever, a little road side Inn. The rooms over the stables & smelling so strongly I was nearly suffocated. We got out of the carriage in all sorts of dirt. They were forced to put a piece of board down to put our feet upon.
Tonight at Bolsena we are rather better off, tho’ bad enough. We past a curious ruined castle, the road cut through the old dungeons. The lake is fine & very rough. Shutters are attached to the windows. A fine view of the lake & the surrounding country from a steep hill some miles before we arrived. People, especially the men, remarkably handsome, as you see them in groups you cannot help remarking what very fine countenance & figures they have. They have a sneering malicious cunning expression which however prevents their being pleasing. Beggars infest the road, tho’ I must own they appear to devour a morsel of bread eagerly & to be as thankful for it as for money. We refuse any longer to have our luggage examined & therefore they open our trunk whenever we enter a new state. We are now again in the States of the Church. What a pity in so fine a country, so luxuriant, such a climate, such a population, such rich productions to find immense dirt & want of moral rectitude prevailing. The Crosses have lately been very curious being covered with all sorts of implements of the crucifixion, the spear, the sponge, 4 nails, a hammer, a chalice, a ladder, the crown of thorns, a scarlet robe & others which I do not remember.
23rd A dreadfully wet day, the first time we have been regularly prevented seeing the view by the weather. We slept tolerably well at Bolsena & started at 7 after drinking a cup of coffee in the great red brick floored room where the night before we had had such a roaring wood fire in the large chimney & out of which went our bedrooms down 3 broken brick steps. The road is more curious than yesterday & the views of the lake by which we drove for the first hour must be very pleasing. We observed constantly the bare rock scarcely covered any where & so rough that it appears that an upset is inevitable. Yesterday we past through two fords swollen by the rain to such a degree that the water nearly came into the carriage & we sunk into such holes that we were nearly jolted off our seats & upset.
We have arrived at a neat town & Inn to dinner. It is curious to notice our fellow creatures in any station of life & to fancy one can read in the expression of their faces a history of their lives. The host of the Inn where we dined yesterday was tall & handsome, middle aged & really a commanding sort of person, but with an expression of deep melancholly on his features. I imagined that some grave misfortune had fixed on them this aspect. He had I am sure suffered much in some way, tho’ it appeared as if he had had mental & bodily strength to conquer it. Today the man who so quickly & anxiously prepared our dinner was of a different character altogether, tho’ still one on whom care or sorrow had left its never to be mistaken traces, active, anxious, a smile on his face, an appearance of liveliness but with a deep hollow round his eyes which told the tale his demeanour seemed to try & conceal. This man’s sorrows I fancied to have arisen from sickness, losses in business, or other common place causes, those of our yesterday’s lost from more grave & lofty ones.
We proceeded literally through clouds & torrents of water untill ½ past 5 when we arrived at Ronciglione & had a more comfortable Inn than since we quitted Sienna. We had however lost all the scenery between Bolsena & this place, which from the faint & partial glimpses we had of it from time to time must be very pretty.
24th Saturday We started at 7 in the morning for Rome! The weather a degree better, the rain comes in violent showers, with sun shine between. The country is different (as usual) from what I expected it to be, a constant succession of hills, bare generally & ugly, if nature is ever ugly. We have just past a swollen stream & are now arrived at another, it extends for a great distance, we are standing still on this side, another carriage has come down an opposite hill & stands on the other side waiting to see if we have courage to pass first. A man & a donkey also wait to see us try our fate. The road is wholly concealed & the water rushes with great violence. We go first, the water comes almost into the carriage, above the horses’ knees, if we get off the road we shall be upset, in the middle the current is very strong. We are over safely & the other carriage full of gentlemen now venture. The donkey man also comes on. Really when the road is subject to these inundations they ought to mark the road with posts. We are now on a very fine pavé, composed of stones placed thus [small sketch]. The country gets flatter. Arrived at our dining place & some time after, François friend arrived from the other road from Florence, with his English family consisting of a little fat lady & her husband & two middle aged ladies, sisters, one was obliged to go directly after her dinner & sleep in the carriage. She is tormented by the filth of the little Inns, that she never undresses & scarcely sleeps. They were very civil to us. We have not lost much by coming the Sienna road, as the weather was too bad for them to see the famous Falls of [blank space]. The rain came on very heavily after dinner & a doubt arose as to our being able to get into Rome as the Tiber is dreadfully swollen. We started & the clouds opened just sufficiently to allow us one peep at Rome & the dome of St Peter’s from the hill. The rain recommenced & all were in despair, not expecting to see it again from a distance. However as we got nearer the clouds cleared away & we had a full view of the great city all the way. It is not imposing from the approach, the country is hilly & different from what we had expected. We had for some time a fine view to the left, with villages & one large town scattered at the bottom of rather picturesque mountains. We past close by what is called Nero’s tomb, but it is doubtful. At last we came to the banks of the Tiber! & past the bridge in safety, 2 hours after no carriage cd go over. Rome from this side does not strike one with such great admiration as Florence does. We past one fine gate way & piazza but the streets look dirty, dull, dark & noisy. The Hotel Angleterre is like a very comfortable English hotel, but we cd not get all the rooms together.
25th We went to church. It is a large carpeted room with an altar, a reading desk & a pulpit, chairs for the congregation. An excellent clergyman who preached on a subject I think rather too seldom dwelt upon by our clergy. The free forgiveness of all repented sin. Perhaps it wd be advisable to give a little more encouragement to poor sinners & it may be injudicious to represent only or chiefly the justice of God, for we know that mercy is equally an attribute of the Deity. Some wretched beings there may be who require more encouragement to bring them to the mercy seat. I entered Rome on the 24th October!
After church we went to the Coliseum & various other fine ruins. They do not preach bad sermons! At 3 we entered St Peter’s! It exceeds all my expectations, description of course is not to be attempted. The numbers of lamps kept always burning around the great altar under which are interred the bodies of Saint Paul & St Peter have a fine effect. We heard part of the afternoon service, the singers come & stand in the moveable organ loft or gallery like at a concert. A poor woman is confessing in a confessional close to us & amidst all the noise & bustle is sobbing violently. The priest sits writing or reading & only closes his little window when some one comes to confess. A poor ragged beggar just knelt down before him & was blessed by a waive of the priest’s wand. There are confessionals all round the north transept, where you may find a priest who understands the language marked over the door. There is one for almost very language. I was much interested in descending into the prison, where St Peter is said to have been imprisoned & where he brought water from the rock miraculously to baptize his converts. It is most venerable if only for the antiquity of the tradition. The prisoners were let down thro’ a trap door. They are now holes with gratings over them. The wretched steps we went down are called the “Stairs of Sighs”. The Arches of Constantine & Titus are very fine, but the Coliseum almost engrosses one’s attention exclusively.
26th We went first to the Vatican & were 4 hours going through the splendid galleries of statues & paintings. Never had I imagined any thing so fine as they or rather their contents are. The lovely Minerva, Venus & Fortune in the first room. Sallust with agate drapery. Many others so fine besides all the exquisite remains which are beautifully arranged. But all sink into comparative insignificance when you contempt the gems of the collection which are the Laocoon, the Apollo Belvedere, Perseus & the wrestlers etc. In general each of these is placed by itself in a small room with seats round & this is in my opinion good taste. Such very exquisite pieces of art ought to be seen & meditated on alone. They only lose by being put amongst other & inferior objects, they want nothing but themselves. There are two magnificent pillars one of African marble & one of porphyry truly magnificent, and a most exquisite vase in one solid block of porphyry, which is superb. In fact there are so many wonderful and admirable things, that it is quite useless to attempt even mentioning them. There are but few pictures but those few are invaluable ones. The Transfiguration, St Jerome’s Last Communion & the Madonna del [blank space] in one room! How absend to attempt a description or to say how I admire them & yet the more than earthly loveliness of the Virgin & child, the angel looking up at them, the figure of John the Baptist are so fine & so enrapturing I cannot pass them in silence.
The library with its arched painted roof. All the books are in enclosed shelves, but there are objects of taste & value in the middle of the rooms, amongst others a vase presented to the Pope by the Emperor of Russia.
But now for St John Lateran the Cathedral of Rome. It is at present hung with crimson & gold for the Pope’s Coronation which takes place next week. It is a splendid church, we were taken down to a chapel beneath where the Corsini family are buried. There are many childrens coffins there, but the white marble altar piece is the most affectingly lovely representation of our Saviour lying dead on his sorrowing Mother’s knees I ever saw. The marble is so fine, the faces so divine, the Virgin’s face so expressive of the wretchedness every mother must feel on such an occasion, but blended with an almost celestial resignation. The little taper held up to the different parts throw them out so finely. The veins of the left arm of our Lord & in the right hand & arm are exquisitely done. In the chapel above this, two small paintings on wood, shewn by a taper are very fine. One is St John beheaded in prison & the other St John in the boiling oil, Domitian looking on & enjoying the sight of the Martyr’s sufferings. Here we were shewn what is traditionally believed to have been the real table on which our Lord ate his last supper, it is in cedar wood, a slab & under a glass case - the hope of its being identical is too vague to render one’s feelings acute in witnessing it. A poor man whom I had noticed kneeling before half a dozen shrines in the church, came in & evidently regarded it as a veritable relic. The pillars in the cloisters are of splendid mosaic & of every variety of shape, exquisitely delicate & elaborate. We saw the Pope’s chair. After this we witnessed the to us novel & very curious sight of dozens of persons ascending on their knees the flight of steps said to be those up & down which our most adorable Lord walked when going to & coming from Judgement in the house of Pilate. They were really brought from the Governor’s palace in Jerusalem. At first I thought this a more credible tradition than others, but now that I consider it coolly, I fear there is small hope of these being authentic. If I thought they were, I wd not hesitate in taking another journey to Rome. I must say I viewed the stairs with indescribable veneration. Numbers of persons come continually ascending them, it is a painful execution to the aged. At the top lives a monk locked up in solemn charge of a true nail of the Cross & some other holy relics. These are only exposed in a glass case once a year & the door where they are kept is never unlocked excepting by a cardinal or the Pope himself. The white marble stairs are covered with wood, but there is an opening left here & there, through which as they ascend the people kiss the steps. I contented myself with a hearty prayer to thank God who is said to have touched them.
30th For 4 days we have not ceased seeing sights from morning till night. I remarked 2 things in Rome which I wish the Parisians wd adopt. Every cart horse has a bundle of hay tied to the end of one shaft, so that he may eat when he likes & every wheeled cart has a support in front which wd prevent the poor beast from being crushed were he to fall. It is curious to see the care which all persons here take to avoid exposure to rain & I suppose sun also. There is a most quaint looking little watch box on every cart under which the man sits.
At last we have seen the far famed Sistine Chapel. Michel Angelo’s Last Judgement will ever be a thing which to my mind is more wonderful than beautiful, altho’ admired by all the world. I can never think that either the Saviour’s position or that of the Virgin are well imagined. Christ’s position is that of an indignant, revenging judge, so indeed we are told he will be, but can we suppose that the same benignant Being who gave his life for his creatures will feel no sorrow at seeing so many condemned to eternal woe – true it will be their own fault, so was all sin when he had so much compassion on earth for us wretched sinners. Can we fancy him there even at the last day enacting the angry judge. Oh no, even there his benignant nature will punish only of necessity, not in revenge. He ought to have been represented dignified, even stern, also immoveable, but never enraged. His person too is fat. The Virgin also appears to one in a wholly wrong attitude, she is on our Saviour’s right hand & all the redeemed of course are ascending on her side, but instead of receiving the beloved & redeemed of her Son with rapture & tenderness, she is crouching towards him & apparently shrinking from them. The ceiling is amazingly fine but we have not seen these fine objects as we ought.
In one of the churches we saw a Virgin actually covered with the most valuable precious stones, her head, neck, arms, stomacher, the child a mass of brilliants. It is a small church, but such a favorite is this Virgin, that the whole church is covered with gold & silver presents, chiefly in the shape of hearts. We have for some time noticed half length images of Christ.
Michel Angelo’s Moses is a most noble statue. How busy little Robert was in placing chairs for us to view it in every different direction. The four Sibylls is one of the finest paintings we have seen. The Baths of Caracalla present a most wonderful scene of ruined grandeur, enormous rooms with rich mosaics, the remains of these vast establishments are most ingeniously traced & how fine they must have been & how many useful objects were gained by them! The view from St Peter’s is very grand, we ascended to the very ball, one at a time went up the ladder, I only peeped in. There are houses for the work people on the top of this church & from this part of the roof the dome looks very fine, but when you stand near it outside, you see only a flat roofed church, the dome being so far back as to be quite hidden. One afternoon we mounted the Coliseum, noble him! Grand even in its fall. We gathered honeysuckle & other flowers when at the top. What lessons do these grand and magnificent ruins teach us & how plainly do they declare the vanity & worthlessness of every thing but God & his laws.
I took (with consent of the sacristan) a small piece of bone out of one of the urns of the Great Men, certainly great no more. The Columbrarias present a mournful spectacle, in one coffin lies the almost entire skeleton of the Great Man who so long ago was laid there. Certainly it is more decent & appropriate to lay our poor bodies at once in the dust, from which they were taken.
On our last day in Rome we had an excellent sight of the Pope. We shall not forget our watching for him & finally speaking to his servants or rather to those of his Major Duomo, two portly men & following them to the door at which he was expected to come out. We went with our poor old scolded guide first to see the carriages, there is a large shelf for the servants to stand behind. Inside the back seat is fitted up as a large arm chair & at one side is a little box into which we saw his Holiness put the two petitions we also saw presented to him, the one by a poor woman who stood close to us by the door & threw herself on her knees as he came out, the persons in attendance ran forward, but the Pope took the letter. The other was presented by a man on the steps as he entered his carriage. He appears a very good natured man. We saw him walk or rather roll through several apartments. As he past us he smiled, we curtsied, he made the sign of the Cross & past close to us. He wears a simple white surplice & a red cap. When he got into his carriage he had his large hat on. I hope the Jesuits will not poison him, but he appears almost too moderate in his opinions. It is said he has given some hint as to the lawfulness of priest’s marrying & many other inovations. God grant he may be the means of reconciling Catholics & Protestants. I left Rome without any regret & tho’ if I had the means I wd go there & stay longer, yet I wd by no means wish to pass a winter there. Modern Rome appears like Bath or Brighton, lots of young men loitering about & rendering it impossible for ladies to walk. I saw not one in the streets. The filth of the common people is disgusting tho’ cleanliness itself compared with what we afterwards saw at Naples. The places they live in are perfect caves scooped out of the bottoms of the old buildings. Sometimes it really looked frightful to see such wild fierce disagreeable looking faces staring at us from such places. The ruins are even more interesting than I had expected. The Coliseum exceeds all my previous ideas. The Catacombs excited our intense interest. They are really fearful. The galleries at the Vatican are perfectly charming & St Peter’s the finest thing of the sort. I shall never forget standing in the first gallery & looking down on the well illumined shrine of the two great apostles, the numbers of priests performing high Mass, the magnificence of the building, the smell of the incense!!
· Pope Pius IX from 16 June 1846-1878
30th Started at 8 in the morning by the Diligence for Naples. The conveyance was good & easy. Robert went with François in the coupé. Having windows in all directions we saw the country well & magnificent indeed is Rome from this approach. The Compagna extends for miles & you form the exact idea of Rome which at any rate it has always had in my mind. You see the vast aqueducts now in ruins traversing this vast plain towards the city they used to supply. Every here & there they are broken, sometimes when a hill intervenes they cease altogether & continue at the next rise, having been destroyed entirely in the intermediate spaces. At last we came to more considerable hills & often thought we had seen the last of this splendid city, when to our joy we caught sight of it again when we arrived at the top, St Peter’s towering above it & looking like a monarch. In the middle of the night we passed into another state & were forced to turn out, ill, tired. No possibility of having any description of comfort & got into a very rackity and uncomfortable Diligence. Half of us ill & certainly our journey to Naples was not propitious. The country enriches much as you approach the city, there are splendid woods of vines & a very wide road. The number & extraordinary sorts of vehicles which you encounter crowded with persons of all descriptions & sexes & ages strike a stranger with great astonishment. Never in my life did I see such a sight, you positively cannot see the carriage itself for the crowds which are in it, on it, under it & clinging to it. 2 or 3 generally lie in a net under it & one miserable horse or mule pulls this whole establishment. There are numbers of a sort of vehicle which appear to run between Naples & all the surrounding villages & the mules, carts, donkeys etc are countless. When do you ever see a poor wretched overladen donkey without the additional misery of a man or boy dragging along by his tail, you very seldom see any poor beast drawing without being sadly galled & yet the collar seems a more merciful one than ours being a broad strap across the chest.
Naples is totally different from any place I have ever seen. The whole of its enormous population appear to live in the streets. There they are, eating, sitting, lying, cleaning heads, talking, laughing, idling. Men, women & children all in heaps, in a bustle, forming groups which tho’ in detail filthy & disgusting, at a distance have a most picturesque appearance. It is at present exceptionally hot & at 5 o’clock when we approached the sea shore the fashionables seemed to be taking their afternoon drives. We had two fiacres from the Diligence bureau. They drive full gallop thro’ the crowds, who seem to let them pass by inspiration, making a way & closing it up again instantly. Whilst stopping to have our passports examined we were amused with a little black eyed beggar boy who wd have done well for Murillo playing tunes on his chin & with very joint of his nearly naked body. The beggars are odious beyond description, you dare not look at even a decent person (if such there be) without the hand being stretched out to beg. They almost put their hands in your pocket, in the churches, inns, shops. At the very altars you are beset, they appear to delight in living in this idle, mean, degraded way, all the tales we have ever been told appear true. The noise & confusion in Naples are unequalled, no trottoirs & lots of galloping horses & carriages amongst the crowds of walkers. I have literally seen persons hold their cloaths aside not to touch the wheels as we past rapidly along & another carriage equally close on the other side. In this as in all Italian towns there are large spouts from the wide eaves of the high houses, which during rain convey torrents of water splashing & inundating the passers by, perhaps this is one cause why the people walk in the middle of the street even when there is by chance a piece of pavement. Divested of its inhabitants Naples wd appear a heaven on earth. We went to the Hotel des Etrangers, an English woman & Italian man, professing much but not proving civil. However they gave us excellent apartments & food & only wanted us to stay longer. Our windows with balconies look into the bay, a grove of large olives to our left hide Vesuvius. I saw this mountain long before we reached Naples tho’ François wd not allow it, yet I recognized it immediately. A cloud seems to rest on its summit, it is a conical shaped black looking mountain, but highly characteristic & interesting & as soon as it becomes dusk you perceive the flames. When we looked from our windows at night how tranquil & lovely did all appear. There can scarcely be imagined a more heavenly view.
1st November Went twice of church. It was overpoweringly hot, afterwards we went to see our cabin on board the Lombardo Steamer Boat. We returned across part of the bay in a boat to our hotel to dinner, as it became dusk Vesuvius looked most grand with the flames & smoke issuing from it. Then the lovely clear sea, the sweet breeze, the fine white town beginning to be lighted up. All formed a scene of such exquisite beauty as can only be imagined when seen & felt.
2 o’clock I went with Clara, Laura & Robert to the gallery & we saw many curiosities from Pompei & Herculaneum, wonderful indeed is the perfection of the paintings & their state of preservation. I never saw such perfect Egyptian mummies as there are at this museum. They are exposed in glass cases & are perfect human figures & their features exhibit the differences in their ages. The rest of our party started at 8 in the morning for Vesuvius & returned at 6. They had a carriage for the day which took them to Resina, here they took horses & sent on chaises à porteurs to ascend the cone. In all they had about 30 men, 5 for each chair made 20. Then a gens d’arme, a guide, one or two to carry the eatables & François. The soldier was well armed with pistols & daggers, his protection is needed as well for banditti as for the tribe of men necessary for going up. The sight amply repaid the expense & fatigue. They describe it as most grand. They were one hour ascending the cone & 8 minutes descending. Fanny & Annie believing it to be dangerous to go down in a chair, ran down with the men to hold them & burnt their shoes etc finely. There was a more than usual eruption the day they were there & so much flame & stones that they were not allowed to ascend the crater. One man went up, but ran much risk in doing so.
· Resina – renamed Ercolano in 1969
2nd November At 5 this morning we started in the same carriage for Pompei, we had 3 fine Roman horses & went at a most rapid pace. It was beautiful to pass through this magnificent city by moonlight, all now so quiet & peaceful & looking so infinitely better & grander without its human additions. Opposite the different public buildings the sentry box & quiet watchful sentinel had a fine effect. Here & there some solitary individual going silently along, the Venetian shutters of every house closed, one cd but wonder where each of this vast population had found a resting place. As the morning advanced the numbers of persons encreased & by the time we got to Resina many shops were opened. As we past along the quay of Naples we noticed several very remarkable groups, especially one composed of several men assembled round a torch examining eagerly some object. Their wild ferocious countenances & gestures & very picturesque dress were most striking. This road is most interesting, composed of lava, heaps of it lying by the side. The divisions of the fields, gardens etc all of the same material. The earth all covered with cinders, vegetation seeming literally to grow out of them. How strange & aweful it is to see the towns, villages, seperate houses built & inhabited over the ruins of those destroyed by the terrible volcano which still burns & smokes above them. In all human probability the same catastrophe will overwhelm these. We grew very anxious as we approached Pompei. At last we turned off the main road & got into a kind of lane of cinders & finally stopped at a kind of lodge or gate. Here we got out & immediately were conducted by a guide to the scene of desolation we had come to see. I wish I cd describe the appearance. It is at a considerable distance from the foot of Vesuvius & the whole city covered up formed a mound of volcanic matter on which have grown trees & a stunted vegetation. How it can have remained so long undiscovered & unexplored is almost miraculous. About a fifth is now cleared out. It is very curious to see the parts where the excavations at present end & where they are being continued, the tops of the buildings, pillars etc are not many feet below the surface where the trees & vegetation grow & I longed to go & dig & grope away the loose ashes & see what was beyond. We first entered the house of Diomed, you can go into every room & see exactly the plan of the building. It is very small but has been most richly decorated, many frescoes are left in their original places, but the finest we saw in the museum. It is most aweful to walk through these apartments without roofs & so desolate now. Once (& that more than 1700 years ago) so full of life & business, but still more solemn it is to descend into the cellars where still stand the wine bottles & where the family took refuge, for here were 16 skeletons found & you see the impression of a female figure on the wall into which she was actually pressed. We saw the lady in the museum. Again I repeat my astonishment that this city was not before discovered, for you see the stream of lava dark & distinct down the side of Vesuvius taking its course, exactly in the direction of the huge mound of lava. The cause of its wonderful preservation is that it was actually filled with cinders first & then the torrent of lava ran over it & hardening formed a crust over all & effectively excluded the air & thus preserved every thing during more than 17 centuries. It is quite light work to clear out these ashes, when once the upper coating of lava is got through. The only thing that remains is to shovel out the ashes, we saw them thus clearing out a new street. The burying place of this Diomed is near his residence which is outside the city gate. Diomed himself & a slave were found in the act of going out at the house or garden gate with a bunch of keys, probably to see if it was possible to obtain any means of escape for the rest of the unfortunate inhabitants. How little they thought they should stand there at that gate for 1700 years & then be discovered & taken to Naples & now we pass the sentry box entire, in which was found the noble Roman sentinel at his post. He had kept a faithful & long guard. What a proof of the power of Roman discipline, he had not dare to stir even in such an extreme case without orders. We pass the gates & are in the city, walking along a good raised trottoir, there are the marks of the carriage wheels, here are the stepping stones, the horses & wheels used to pass between them. Here is the baker’s, here stands the mill which I turned & which ground the flour, here are the ovens & in there were found loaves one just cut. This is a coffee shop & here on the marble slab are the round marks of the cups. An hotel, remains of carriages etc found here. Now we walk down the street of tombs & here is one half finished, surely the workman will return, he has only left his work for a time & is coming to continue it. Locked up is the house of a Poet, the government is going to restore this to its original state, they have ample materials, as it is the most complete yet discovered. A sun dial. What silence, what desolation & still Vesuvius flames & smokes & seems to triumph over its work of destruction. Now let us enter the luxurious baths. Here is a bronze sofa & a brazier. They found here the vases of perfumes with which the bathers were rubbed & anointed, here is where the vapour past behind the wall. We are now drinking wine cooled in the cellar of the baths, delicious it is. Here is a brazier filled with lava. Splendid marble mosaic peacock’s tail fresh as if done yesterday. Beautiful little statue in fountain with eagle. Ancient placards on the walls & names & trades by the doors. The street of the Forum is wider than the others. Here is a bottle shop & now we stand in the Pantheon, 12 vacant pedestals where stood 12 gods! 12 bedrooms round for 12 priests. Their dining room. The altar of sacrifice, a curious trough runs round the tables used for spitting into after washing their mouths. Affiches quite distinct. Coloured marble trottoirs. Pillars just coming out. Walking in the cinders. School, pulpit for master. Temple of Isis. Altar of Sacrifice, little chamber for washing priests hands. Steps leading to the oracle. The place behind the statue where the priest concealed himself & spoke to the deluded people. Theatre, cosmic theatre, place quite plain for the curtain, orchester. Entrances for the consul & pro consuls, names on the floor. Prison & holes where the prisoners were let down. We have now gone through all that is yet known of this unfortunate place & a melancholly & aweful sight it is. I wd give much to wander here in silence & ruminate on all that my fancy cd suggest, ought we not to take warning by such an evident proof of God’s judgement & not think ourselves too secure from similar ones. It thinks me as an aweful fact that in all these scenes of ruin & desolation, theatres, arenas, temples are the most conspicuous objects of destruction. I am more than ever confirmed in my detestation for these places of public immorality & idle amusement. God grant that we of the present generation may escape not only such earthy judgement but still worse those in eternity. Our fine Roman horses soon brought us back to Naples, now full of life, noise & confusion. On our way we went down into Herculaneum, all we saw was theatre! Here the lava rushed at once in a molten state & filled up every part, it is almost impossible to detach it from the building & therefore little can here be discovered. It is even more aweful than Pompei, quite under ground, seen by torch light. Narrow passages excavated just wide enough to walk through. The dimensions of the theatre are distinctly marked, proving it to be the largest in Europe!! In the streets of Resina I noticed the lava obtruding between houses which are actually built up against it.
2 o’clock After having lunched we are now on board the Lombardo. Farewell lovely most lovely Naples. What a situation! What a climate. What advantages & yet what filth. What poverty tho’ seemingly happy poverty. It is the place of all others which has struck me for its beauty, novelty & interest. François having a battle with the boatmen, who of course wish to make us pay 3 times as much as we ought. The Lombardo is the largest steamer on the Mediterranean. We have a cabin on deck with 6 beds round it one above the other & a mattress Robert. We were detained for 2 hours owing to the police officers delaying to come on board & examine the passengers & luggage. Robert began to be sick long before we started & all the others threatened it, but were rather mistaken. They all went to bed before dinner excepting Emily, Annie, Laura & I. We went down & ate a little, the others finding they really cd not be sick had some chicken. The sea continued tolerably calm till 8 o’clock when the wind suddenly rose & we had a very high sea all night. I remained awake & almost always at the cabin door till 12, when the wind abated & I laid down. At half past 6 I went on deck & saw the sun rise over the coast of Italy, it was a lovely morning. We arrived in the harbour of Civita Vecchia at 8 & am now sitting on deck as much in the shade as possible, expecting the vessel to start at 4 for Livornna, it seems loaded with figs in small baskets. The sailors have occupied the whole day in hauling them all upon deck, to get at a few which are for Livornna, the rest being for Marseilles & now they are bundling them all down again. We are surrounded by wasps, a sailor has given Robert lots of figs. They seem to make no ceremony of taking them. The steamer is getting dirtier & more untidy every minute & the heat is intense. We are covered with great blacks from the chimney. We started at 5. The evening was lovely, a calm sea. The sun set red & glowing, the moon rising in full glory opposite, its beams playing on the water. Luminous fish in numbers, they look lovely in the white spray from the wheel. Slept with the cabin door partly open to the air. Very hot.
4th Nov Arrived at Livornna and went by steamer to beyond Pisa. Had two carriages & arrived at Florence at 5. Took up our abode at Hotel de L’Arno till 16.
[END OF JOURNAL TWO – Journal Three part 1 starts Florence 4 November 1846]
Trael Journal 3 Part 1: Florence 4th November 1846 – 17th May 1847 Pisa
8 in group, Martha and 6 children, Emily, Fanny, Annie, Clara, Laura, Robert (age 7), Miss Aurélie Hubert de Fonteny 1813-1907 (French companion/governess). Transcribed and typed by Madeleine Symes 2017 with her notes in italics & in square brackets, mostly capitals removed, places/people/things of interest in bold. Martha’s spelling.
[spine of Journal “Libro di Memorie”]
[Drawing of Florence apartments at Lungo L’Arno opposite first page]
1846 Firenze…………4th November
I am much vexed at not being able to get into our own apartments. It was a sad mistake engaging them for the 15th November in consequence of doing which we have the discomfort & expense of being at the Hotel de l’Arno for 15 or 16 days. I pay 40 francs a day for every thing. Sig Aretini let my apartments 1191 Lungo l’Arno for 3 weeks as soon as I had gone off to Rome. We employ this unpleasant intermediate time in enquiring for masters etc & hope to be soon settled regularly when we get our own apartments.
13th Taken ill.
14th Had the Doctor.
15th Still ill & in bed but getting better. Mr Cornish called. Walked to church with them.
16th After much trouble & delay got into our apartments.
2nd December Sitting with all the windows open & the Venetian blinds shut to keep out the great glare & heat of the sun. We have tremendous thunder storms. We are established with Signora Parini to come every evening for two hours to converse, Signor Aretini to give 2 Italian lessons a week and Monsieur Favier for 2 music lessons. He plays very finely.
3rd Fanny, Annie & I went with Mr C to the Pitti Palace & gardens, the paintings are lovely, but I must go again to really enjoy them.
5th Went the same party to the Uffizi, very fine.
8th Went to hear the music at the Duomo, very solemn & good. The inside of this splendid cathedral does not disappoint so much after repeated visits, as after the first, we were utterly unprepared for such a style of interior. We have of late been accustomed to enter churches which have literally dazzled us by their splendour. The dark marble of the most admirable Duomo of Milan, the ever varying costliness of the marbles at Venice, the exquisite pavement & whole interior of Sienna cathedral & then the churches at Rome headed by the splendid St Peter’s had only served to raise our expectations with regard to this, which outside is almost more rich in marble than we have seen. It is one entire mass of marble mosaics & more costly & superb than any thing we had ever imagined on so large a scale. What then was our astonishment on entering it to see the walls quite unadorned of white wash & the pillars & architraves stone colour. The altar nothing at all remarkable & not a painting! Our wonder & disappointment were so great that we did not do justice to the beauty of the architecture. The proportions being really very elegant the more we see of it, the more we admire it, tho’ I can never compare it with the cathedrals of the other Italian cities. Outside it excites our admiration also more & more but I cannot understand why the façade of this as well as of other churches in this place are left totally unfinished. It has the most curious & unpleasant appearance possible to see the front of this beautiful building covered with half distinct kind of pillars, white wash, uncovered brick work & all sorts of rubbish. Every other part is composed of black & white marble, inlaid in the most exquisite manner. The twisted columns up each side of the windows & door ways are elegant beyond description.
Campanile. No words can convey any idea of this. Seen as we see it going to church with the sun shining on it & a blue sky behind it is the most lovely, the most costly & the most astonishing effort of art it is possible to conceive. It looks like a very beautiful trinket, one can scarcely believe even when looking at it, that it can be so large a building. It is like a thing in some jeweller’s shop & appears as if it ought to be put under a glass case. It seems incredible & improper to expose it to the open air. It is entirely of black & white marble, worked in the finest way possible. Here again the twisted pillars please me exceedingly. The Baptistery is in the same sort of work & here are the admirable gates which M. LaChevardiere made us admire so much in Paris, where they have the casts of them. After leaving the Duomo we took a walk in the gardens of the Pitti Palace & just escaped a violent thunder storm.
9th Went with Mr Cornish to the Academy. It is very interesting here to observe the progress made in painting from the earliest to the present time. There are two pictures of Perugino’s here totally different from his usual style & much finer. I admire especially Our Saviour praying before his crucifixion & the three disciples in the foreground asleep. We were too late to see the manufactory of pietra dura.
11th Went to the museum of the Pitti Palace. It is a beautifully arranged collection of marble, stones, crystals etc birds, fishes, way flowers etc. Very well worth visiting often & affording an admirable opportunity for studying natural history. It is worth noting how extremely polite all the Grand Duke’s servants & attendants in these places are, they are dressed in the Grand Duke’s livery & I suppose are his servants. They treat one as if visitors to their master & there is not any thing to pay any where. The only disappointment is the numbers of fête days & half fêtes.
We have visited several times the Church of Or‘San’ Michele, in which is a most splendid tabernacle or chapel by Orcagna. It is in white marble, has beautiful twisted pillars.
12th A dreadful storm in the night. A week ago it is said there was a shock of an earthquake.
13th Snow & severe frost commenced. Sent a carriage to fetch them from afternoon church.
14th Much snow. The cold is intense & the poor Florentines appear paralysed. They know not how to shovel away the snow. There is hardly a carriage or cart, for they do not seem to understand roughing the horses. The people walk about carrying thin little earthen ware pans full of braize to keep a little warmth in them. The men seen to suffer even more than the women & go trotting along covered up to the eyes in their great cloaks. In the shops the poor creatures can hardly part with their rechauds to give you what you want. The civil ones hand it to you & it is very acceptable to warm your hands. Such cold has scarcely ever been remembered in Florence. Signora Parini took the children a walk in the Cascino. She had never before walked in the snow which, if it falls here at all, melts immediately.
18th Thermometer 1 above 0 of Reaumur in Aurélie’s bedroom.
25th Xmas Day. Very warm & mild. Had the windows all open & fires out! We must no longer grumble at the sudden changes of English climate. There was a full congregation stayed to receive the communion which was most devoutly administered. We had a very comfortable Xmas Day. Robert has a few days holiday & is perfectly happy with sundry swords, flag, whip etc. Aurélie gave Emily & Fanny each a battledore & shuttlecock which are quite the fashion amongst them all. She also gave Clara a skipping rope & Laura a game of Loto. I delight in seeing them play at their active games.
26th Very warm, went to the gallery of the Pitti Palace & were charmed with many of the paintings, indeed they are almost all fine. Canova’s Venus appears very inferior after having now so often seen the Venus di Medici. There are some pictures here of Salvator Rosa’s, most exquisite. One large one with shipping & a rising sun resembling Claude, ladder against one vessel on the shore, fire in another. Beautiful colours, water very fine. The opposite picture almost equal in beauty & two others in the end room past the Venus, forest scenery with figures! A landscape by Rubens with a cart in front, sheep driven by a dog along the road, the colouring so admirably shading off from the foreground to the distance mingling the green into the blue. Another landscape of his so exquisite also, that I fancied I cd not be looking at the works of a master whose huge women I dislike so much & yet the same lovely soft colouring & fine drawing are the same. 2 of Murillos admirable Virgins. The one where the child stands on her lap & places his little hand against her breast is my favourite. Then comes the picture of pictures, Raphael’s Madonna della Seggiola. The Virgin is so holy, so pure, as she leans her head down towards her heavenly child & clasps her arms around him, he nestling into her bosom, looking as if he would be hidden then from the trials which await him, one little hand buried under her shawl, St John behind looking so devout. Next to this picture is such an exquisite one by Andrea del Sarto of the same subject, that it seems impossible to desire any thing more charming. There is something in the works of this master resembling Murillo, the same soft shadowy flowing colours, I know which figure to admire most. The Virgin is lovely & so holy, Elizabeth’s old & devout countenance forming an admirable contrast to the youth of Mary. Each mother has her son in her arms or rather on her knees & the two children appear springing towards each other. Beautiful picture of Allori’s. Judith with the head of Hollofernes. The latter a portrait of the painter, the former a friend of his own. Perugino’s descent from the Cross, such holy faces! St Joseph by Guerchin splendid!
27th Church, very cold again.
28th Went to the Uffizi again. We begin to know a great many things here. I shall not say yet which are my favourites.
29th I wish any of our English shopping ladies cd have seen Annie & I today waiting to see the tags hammered on to a stay lace and counting out 3 needles from each size. Really the system of bargaining here is most absend & is absolutely necessary unless you choose to pay very nearly double for every thing you want. In whatever shop you go, you see the thing going on. The article is first asked for, the choice made & then the price demanded. It is given in a determined voice, upon which the purchaser starts back with horror, throws the article down in indignation & retreats almost to the door, the seller holds it up, smiles depreciatingly but holds to his price often till the customer leaves the shop when he either runs after the person into the street, or else the person returns and makes another offer or gives the price named. This done both return to their usual good humour, whichever way the affair turns no offence is taken or ill will felt & they part with requests from the shop keeper for future favours. The other day Aurélie was buying a silver pencil case & was asked 15 paoli. We went on & not finding a better returned for the same one & another man being at the door he asked us boldly 20 paoli, we offered 12! & it was immediately put into paper & we carried it off. They seem not to have even a definite rate of demanding, because you are never asked for the same price by two persons in the same shop. However no doubt they have a certain price which they know they may descend to without loss, indeed I generally find in most shops that one person finally concludes all bargains. I was buying Annie a frock at one of the best shops here, they asked 60 & I paid without any trouble 50 paoli. Very often you obtain the article for very little more than half what is first asked. It has a most curious appearance (to us inhabitants of a cold climate when every attention is paid to the art of keeping warm) to see the poor souls here with their pans of braize in their hands. Both men & women carry them even in the streets & really they are very comfortable little things in addition to warm fires not as substitutes for them.
1st January Firenze 1847
Owing to having colds & there being another fall of snow we did not go to church. We however had prayers at home & did not I trust begin the New Year without some serious & profitable thoughts & resolutions. Aurélie & I each found a fine bouquet of carnations & violets opposite our plates on the breakfast table with a little note from François in German wishing us a happy New Year. The 3 dear little girls & boy, Clara, Laura & Robert had also provided some presents for us all with the produce of their good marks. After prayers Robert read to us in English, French, Italian & German. He read French the most fluently, it was certainly an easier book than the English one. It is wonderful how he has got on in 5 weeks to be able to read Italian almost as well as the other languages. German he has never learnt, so of course that was a poor concern. After lunch we heard Fanny, Clara, Laura & Robert play. Fanny really played beautifully & Clara cannot fail to be a fine performer if she practises & gains confidence & power. Laura is much improved & Robert does very tolerably. He is very clever at his scales. In the evening we played at Loto with the children till 8 o’clock so that we had a very nice New Year’s Day.
3rd I think it is rather milder. It rains very fast but the thermometer in Aurélie’s & Annie’s rooms now at 3 o’clock in the afternoon stands at only 4 ½ above freezing point of Reaumur. Sniffing & making faces ½ paoli 1st February. Not having an answer when spoken to but complying cheerfully ½ paoli 1st February. Making a noise in the throat like a horse, mule or pig ½ paoli 1st February.
7th Went with Signora Parini to the Pitti Palace & saw the Duke’s private summer apartments. They are of course very handsome, but there interest consists in some superb pietra dura cabinets. In one room there are three, the first we looked at on the left side opposite the windows had all the little lovely columns of lapis lazulae, it is composed of ebony most richly & elegantly inlaid. The next was also of ebony inlaid with every kind of stone, ornamented with gems & the columns of agate. The third, my favourite, is in ebony, ivory & alabaster columns, it stands between the windows in a rather bad light. These cabinets must be at least 7 or 8 feet high & of beautiful forms. In the next room is a fourth extremely rich ebony with the pietra dura in relief as well as inlaid. The bundles of acorns hanging down are remarkably lovely. In these summer apartments there is seldom more than one tall narrow window with Venetian shutters etc so arranged as almost completely to exclude the sun, or to exclude it in any direction required. In one bed room there is an exquisite prie dieu in pietra dura & a very lovely Virgin & Child by Carlo Dolci, the child standing on the Virgin’s knee.
After seeing these apartments we went down to a large room with a fine ceiling & the walls covered with paintings in imitation of tapestry, representing the decline or expulsion of the arts from Greece & their reception in Toscany by Lorenzo the Magnificent. In the next apartment we saw a good painting of a man being attempted to be murdered by one brother, whilst the other is trying to save him. The young artist died after completing this work. In the next are 3 paintings of Signorini representing a scene which took place at Lucca 4 years ago. The river overflowed its banks & destroyed a cottage where dwelt a poor family. One child was saved from the encreasing waters & the poor mother tied her youngest a baby to herself, resolving to save it as long as she could. They were however both carried down the stream & caught to the trunk of a tree by the rope which attached them. From this perilous situation they were rescued with great difficulty. Signorini had the poor woman to sit for her likeness & painting three pictures representing this scene. When the poor woman was shewn them finished, she fainted at the recollection which was so vividly represented by the artist.
There are two very lovely statues by a modern sculptor in these rooms, one of Charity, one of Poverty.
We were now taken by the guardian of the treasures to see the Grand Duke’s plate. There is an immense quantity of it, both silver & gilt. It is plain & badly cleaned. I do not know what Jane [Perkins] wd say to it. There is one armoire full of church ornaments in which there are some of the most exquisite works of art it is possible to see. A tabernacle formed of gold with groups of coral figures in niches etc, precious stones of every sort. 2 emeralds certainly of this size [small drawing showing size], a topaz perfectly clear like crystal set as a little window through which you see some other gems so clearly that it requires you almost to touch the topaz to persuade yourself you are looking through any substance. It is about this size & form [small drawing] with jewels seen through it. The summit of this lovely tabernacle is ornamented with angels in ivory & other figures. There are many other figures. One in ivory St Sebastian’s martyrdom with 3 angels hovering above him ready to present him the crown, they literally appear in air.
We saw the fine golden dish of Benvenuto Cellini with a kind of fish in the centre through which rose water was caused to flow for the purpose of the guests dipping their fingers in previous to eating. The workmanship is of course most exquisite. There are numbers of vessels by the same hand. The fineness of some require a microscope to examine them with. After this we went to see some of the engraving on silver, very fine & rare. The gentleman who went with us, who is guardian of the Grand Duke’s treasures, some years ago found prints of all the engravings in an old book, which he bought for a few pauls. In the same way at an old broker’s shop he purchased a fine head of Michel Angelo painted by himself & said to be one of the only three oil paintings by that master extant. It is life itself & Signor [blank] is not a little proud of his discovery. He is a particularly genteel, well informed obliging man. I sd like Mr Perkins or M. LaChevardiere to know him. He showed us a plateau of lapiz lazulae inlaid with rows of chalcydony resembling the most prefect pearls, its value is 20000 English pounds.
This afternoon we saw a melancholly procession pass. The brothers of the Misericordia carrying the body of a young officer 25 years old recently married who was this morning found dead in bed by his poor wife’s side! They carry the body to the Misericordia, let it lie open 24 hours & then bury it. The muffled drums, the body carried by their aweful looking monks, the sword & scabbard of the deceased lying crossed on the velvet pall above the body, the torches & the dismal history, were all extremely affecting.
8th A very lovely sun rise. The glow of the eastern sky was beautifully reflected on the snowy mountains to the west.
9th Went to the Uffizi again. The little ones begin to take interest in the painters & paintings. Went into the Duomo which gains upon one more & more, it is a most elegantly proportional building & the painted windows very fine altho’ I sd think too small for the building. Examined the interior of the Baptistery more minutely than heretofore. The font is extremely fine. The roof also & indeed it is a perfect gem inside & out.
10th Walked twice to church. The gentleman who read prayers in the morning pleased me much. He read beautifully, has a very magnificent voice & sings finely. It is very pleasant to see a young man so devout & so earnest in every part of the service. At a distance he reminded me of Charles Barkley.
11th Delighted François by engaging his friend to teach German. He appears a very good master, very intelligent & anxious to do well. I trust that 2 hours daily may give them a good lift till we get into Germany. Note sign of cross on walls.
12th Academy for the second time, Emily’s first visit. It is very interesting to see the gradual but evident improvement in painting. There are some paintings which I did not see last time. St Peter & St Andrew (I think) are two of the finest figures & in the most lovely colours I ever saw & this time I admired the Assumption of Perugino even more I think than Christ’s Agony in the garden. The faces of the cherubs, the position of the supporting angels, the lovely face of the Virgin & that of the Father are all truly admirable. A painting of Lorenzo di Credi is magnificent, the infant Jesus in the ground, the Virgin looking down at him. St Joseph in meditation, 2 young female figures kneeling & 3 shepherds behind, the procession of the wise men approaching in the distance. The next picture to it contains a lovely Virgin with a veil on her head & neck. Saw some frescoes of Andrea del Sarto near the Academia, very fine, particularly the group of Charity surrounded by children.
14th Went with Dr Taussig to see the Atelier of Mademoiselle de Feauveau. She is a sculpturess & her brother a sculptor. Their mother is with them. Mademoiselle dresses something like a man, partly from coquetry I think & partly from necessity, as her occupation renders it more convenient. She wears a dark velvet petticoat & jacket, her hair short like a man’s & a velvet cap on her head. She must be approaching 40 I think, but is very genteel looking if not actually handsome. Her hands are very ladylike & white, she places them in ways well calculated to shew them off & yet she has no appearance of affectation, but is extremely polite & attentive. Her works are of a light, elegant style. There is a statue of herself done by herself, a perfect likeness. At Mr Power’s the American sculptor we saw many very fine busts & a female slave which is one of the loveliest statues I ever saw, the chains hang in a most graceful manner & her whole attitude is perfectly elegant.
16th Madame de Fauveau called today, she is a very elegant old lady. I like her very much & she seems so wrapped up in her daughter, she speaks in admiration of her costume & says that in company she always appears more elegantly dressed than the gaudily appeared Italians - a plain black dress, high & only sufficiently open in front to shew a fine frill of lace. Madame de Fauveau wished to know if we wd go to a bal masqué, the theatre, concerts etc. I hope she is convinced I do not wish to go into public but I sd much like to see something more of her & her family. They are very interesting persons and would be very improving nice acquaintances. I hope we shall not lose them altogether.
19th Aurélie, Emily, Clara & Laura went to the Uffizi & finished studying the corridor. Went to see this fine museum, it is very beautifully arranged, we saw many stuffed & skeletons of animals which we did not see the other day.
24th Today we went as usual twice to church, but I think that during the carnival I shall not go again in the afternoon. Today is the first day of masks, there have been very few, but the crowds of persons are astonishing. Posts are put up from 3 to 6 to prevent carriages going along the Lungo l’Arno & other parts where they promenade. We were I am sure full a quarter of an hour coming from the corner to our own door. It was a dense mass of people & the tobacco almost suffocated us, but I cannot say I saw any inclination to be impertinent. Looking down on the mob from our windows, it appears even more curious than when in it. I fancy the festivities of the carnival are gradually declining. Just now Annie has upset the whole establishment of kettle & water & fire. François attended by the old woman has wiped it up, smeared it with soap & done it in a most extraordinary manner. The old woman is quite smart today, she has left off her coloured gown & has a red one, her black skull cap too is exchanged for a regular cap with ribbons on it & she looks as if charmed with her own personal appearance. The German master goes on admirably, only he almost works their brains too much. He seems a person bent on improving himself & others, a deserving industrious energetic man. His plan is excellent. We have now bought a nice black toile so that I hope they will get on well.
26th Went to the manufactory of pietra dura, little there to be seen but certainly that little is very fine. They are making the table which is to the placed in the Medicean Chapel at the church of St Laurent. We also saw the churches of St Marco & the Annunziata. They are fine churches & there are some bronze bas reliefs, statues etc very beautiful. The architecture of the Annunziata is exceedingly good & a silver chapel there of great splendour.
29th Went with Signora Parini to the church of St Laurent, which is one of those which inspire me with feelings, such as ought to be excited by the House of God. There is great art requisite in church architecture, it ought to be different from every other style. I do certainly admire St Peter’s immensely, but still as a place of worship I like these solemn, shady, majestic buildings, at the head of all I have yet seen stands in my imagination Milan cathedral. St Laurent is exceedingly sublime, there is something so simple, yet so rich about it, so noble, so worthy of the object to which it is dedicated. At present there is merely a temporary finishing behind the altar. The Chapel of the Medici when finished will be the end, it is immediately behind the high altar, has been many years building & is entirely composed of marble & pietra dura, with a very costly ceiling. It is splendid & rich in the extreme, but I think for so large a building the pietra dura work is too detailed and minute & has rather a patch work appearance. The marble alone wd be preferable in my opinion. The chapel containing Michel Angelo’s monuments is very interesting & the statues immensely fine & grand. It is perfectly wonderful into what striking positions he has thrown most of his figures. It is said his group of the Virgin & Saviour in this chapel is the most touching of all his works, this opinion appears to me incredible after having seen that most exquisite Pieta in St Peter’s. The figure of this Virgin is not to my mind at all elegant, her right hand rests on a piece of rock almost behind her & her foot on a stone in front, the other arm is gracefully placed holding the child, which is a perfect model of infant vigour, energy, strength & liveliness, not to my apprehension so well suited to our Blessed Lord as the lovely gentle heavenly looking children of Raphael. After having in some slight degree gratified our curiosity here, we went to the library & saw lots of old illuminated books, very beautiful & very curious, but more to Emily’s taste than mine. We shall not I think easily forget being ushered two or three into the raised seats to look at the books, which being chained to the desks are otherwise not visible. The seats resemble somewhat the pews in an old church & it was ludicrous enough to see Mr Parini’s friend the librarian handing us about & observing that our numbers made it rather long job to inspect these treasures. He placed first two, then rushed & seated another two & so on, until we were all fairly installed in couples in the old pews or seats. It was as much as the old gentleman cd manage to seat & reseat us in rotation at each curiosity & then the way in which he hoisted my shoulder up to my ear in taking care that the old lady did not stumble over the raised or sloping thresholds & then the bouquet & Signora Parini so afraid that I should not hear & understand his admiration of my family, whom he called a bouquet of beautiful flowers. I am sure poor old soul he had as much trouble in arranging them, as a real nosegay. We now went to the Palace of the Medici. It is very very fine, noble, solemn, grand & every thing you can appropriate to these spacious & majestic abodes of greatness & power now vanished from the earth. We sat for a long time in the gallery, a beautiful room where the Grand Duke still occasionally receives foreigners of rank. The ceiling is very finely painted & amused us all for a long time making out the allegories. This fine old palace is now divided off into public offices. It is such a pity to see the noble ceilings only in parts, the enormous rooms are divided by partitions into different offices, but as these partitions do not go to the top you see the ceilings all along. They are of a peculiar style. I cannot describe them so as to be understood by any one but myself. The noble squares into which they are divided & which go deep in have a splendid appearance, some are in wood, others much gilded, others painted, but all are magnificent.
31st January Dear Annie’s birth day. May God long bless & preserve her. She is 17 today!
2nd February Today being a fête we could neither go the galleries or churches, we therefore resolved to devote our morning to the Pitti Chapel & gardens. We went at ½ past 10 & saw the priest go through the whole ceremony of the Mass, I never saw it so distinctly before. It is solemn no doubt. After this was over, the candles around & about the altar were lighted & at about 11 the Royal family arrived in their two tribunes over on each side of the altar. The good old Arch Duchess & the Dowager Duchess Ferdinand were on one side & the Grand Duke’s daughter & her husband on the other. They were all very attentive, the two elder ones devout. The young ones yawned a few times, the Dowager Duchess is a very royal handsome looking woman about 36 years of age. The husband of the Duke’s daughter is a good humoured looking young man, brother to the King of Greece, son of Otho King of Bavaria. They look very happy, it is said they married from choice a rare thing in a royal family. We heard a most beautiful Mass, I think it was Mozart’s. I never saw the ceremony so well, so distinctly & so respectfully performed before. The Chapel is small but very pretty, the altar a good specimen of pietra dura. After the service was concluded we went into the Boboli gardens & saw the whole or at any rate a great many of the Royal family go out for a drive in 6 coaches. They were a long time arranging themselves, getting in & out of the carriages laughing & talking. They are in mourning at present. We walked for an hour in the gardens & admired the beautiful appearance of the town & surrounding country, it is a scene which can never be viewed without much admiration. Robert enjoyed his holiday & a good run greatly, tho’ Emily was cruel enough to wish him at school. After lunch we had a had a long conversation with Dr Taussig who talks of 2 or 3 years or rather winters in Italy being necessary & the sea side absolutely, so this spring, so good bye to our visions of Swiss scenery enjoyments. We are to go either to Livorna, or Genoa but how shall we support the heat of a summer in Italy!
· Archduchess Maria Luisa 1799-1857, daughter of Ferdinand III & sister of Grand Duke Leopold II.
· Dowager Duchess Ferdinand 1796-1865 (Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony) - 2nd wife of Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany 1769-1824. She was an older sister of Leopold II’s 1st wife Princess Maria Anna of Saxony 1799-1832.
· Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany 1797-1849, son of Ferdinand III.
· Grand Duke’s daughter & husband - Archduchess Auguste Ferdinande of Austria 1825-1864 m. 1844 Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, brother of Otto I King of Greece, son of Ludwig I of Bavaria.
5th February Went with Signora Parini to the Palazzo Vecchio. The first court is one of the richest & most beautiful ones I ever saw. The columns are twined & twisted in every part with lovely designs, flowers, fruits etc, there is a fountain in the middle, the arched roofs & in fact every part is fine. We mounted to the tower & found the view splendid, but it was very cold. There are some amber tabernacles, crucifixes etc in one of the rooms surpassingly lovely, also in ivory. A beautiful little chapel covered with frescoes in imitation of mosaics & one large room of noble dimensions. Looked in as we came home at the beautiful tabernacle in the church of Or St Michelle.
7th February Masks appear to be beginning to go about, towards the end of the carnival it is to be very gay. Owing to the scarcity of provisions it is ordered that an old ceremony of throwing tapers, bons bons etc is not to take place this year, for fear that the sight of so much waste might cause discontent amongst the suffering poor. I hardly know whether this is not likely to do harm rather than good, for what the rich spend is dispersed amongst the poor & gives them work & the means of feeding & clothing themselves. The nobility have offered to dispense food to the poor if allowed to continue their old custom, but the authorities will not consent.
11th February Saw the Royal family under the piazzas of the Pallazo Vecchio, where they walk always on this day amongst the people, without servants or any sort of ceremony. The Grand Duke is exactly like Mr J Trevor. He walked with a little girl of about 6 years old. The Grand Duchess walked behind with a girl about as tall as Clara & a boy of about 10 years old. Some little ragged boys pressed so close as to touch the little girl, a gentleman who was with them merely put his hand to keep the boys off & smiled so much as to say it was rather too close quarters. We stood close to the carriages as they got in, so that I believe even Laura was satisfied that she had seen enough of them. The children are by no means graceful or good looking. The girls wore Adelaide coloured short satin pelisses, with very showy plaid silk frocks under & I think white bonnets. The Grand Duchess was in black with a white bonnet & handsome cashmere shawl. From 3 to 6 we drove in the Corso, saw the Royal family, the nobility & the foreign ministers with their state carriages & liveries, very splendid. The streets were crowded with walkers & a great many wore masks & fancy dresses. There was a double file of carriages & all was arranged & kept in order by soldiers. The English Ambassador’s equipage is very magnificent with red liveries. The French extremely elegant & plain dark green liveries. Prince Poniatowski splendid & 6 horses fine animals. There were 4 of his carriages on the Corso. It appears that the young Arch Duke is very proud of being heir to the crown. It is the custom whenever he passes for the drums to beat. A short time ago he was passing some soldiers with his younger brother, the drums beat & both boys took off their hats, upon which the elder turned to the younger & said “Why do you take off your hat. Do you suppose they beat the drums for you?” This speech being reported to his parents, they punished him by ordering that for a fortnight when he past, the soldiers should not beat the drums. Thermometer at 8 in the morning out of doors at 0.
· Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany 1797-1870, son of Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany 1769-1824.
· Mr J Trevor – John William Trevor 1774-1848, Martha’s mother, Frances Barkley’s eldest half brother, lived in Bridgwater
· Grand Duchess Maria Antonia of Tuscany 1814-1898 (Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies), Grand Duke Leopold II’s 2nd wife, who was aged c.33 in 1847. They had 10 children between 1834-1852, 8 by February 1847.
16 The last day of the carnival. Almost every person in fancy dresses & masked. Mr Cornish returned yesterday from Rome & says it does not deserve to be called a carnival here in comparison with Rome. He took Robert walking. We past nearly all the afternoon looking out of window. It was to us a novel & curious sight.
17th Ash Wednesday. Went to church. Fasts and fêtes seem here all alike. The streets are as full of idle Italian loungers as ever. They just go & hear Mass & the rest of the day they parade the streets full dressed, this is their chief delight. They seem never tired of it.
18th Mr Cornish left us this evening for England, too late I fully believe!
19th The weather is becoming exceedingly hot, but so exquisitely lovely. We had a charming walk to the church of St Miniato, what a splendid view & what a splendid church tho’ so dilapidated! 5 alabaster windows, the bright sun upon them rendering them beautifully transparent, they look almost like tortoise shell. There is a screen of exquisite workmanship & a pulpit. It is the first church in this style we have seen, the crypt below behind the altar & the high altar up marble stairs above, all visible at once. We were obliged to get a man who was at work in the fields to shew us in, for the church being under repair was not open. A very civil man, who really appeared contented with the 2 paoli I gave him. Gathered violets.
March 9th Went out of the Porta Romana to see some villas being desirous of knowing what they are like & at what price they are let. Saw one with I sd think room enough for 2 families, a garden & shrubberies, stable etc 25 scudi a month & another with a view which is like paradise for the same money not so large but much prettier. 3 sitting rooms & 3 bedrooms opening to the garden & looking over Florence & all the neighbouring mountains & valley of the Arno. It seems as if nothing on earth cd exceed the loveliness of that view, it wd be considered high treason to say so, but in some respects I prefer it to Meggenhorn, heavenly & sublime as that is. I still have a great predeliction for a distant view, one tier of mountains rising above & beyond the others to a greater distance than on the lovely lake of Luzern at least pleases me very much & yet when I reflect on the views from the different windows at Meggenhorn I must confine myself to saying that at any event no one who lives in the villa we have seen today ought to regret any thing else. The cloudless sky, the vapouring distance is gradually becoming bluer & more distinct as it approaches the nearer view. The graceful & noble outcome of the Duomo, Campanile & different buildings, the whole city spread out before one, the mountains all around. Then the nearer view, the terraced garden covered with violets & hyacinths which the woman & her children gathered & made into bouquets for us all. The curious & picturesque appearance & arrangement of the villa. The extreme quiet, perfect appearance of country, the poultry, all were lovely. The country people are extremely handsome. We bought 9 new laid eggs for a paul & returned & set Aurélie also longing for a country villa. We are very much puzzled to know what plan to adopt for this summer. The woman to whom I gave a paol today for shewing us a house said “Thank you thank you Signora, a thousand thanks for so many favours” & the man who shewed us the other, in answer to our saying we feared the heat of Italy, replied that we should live divinely in the lower rooms, they were so cool.
The Italian master tells some rather droll stories. One of last night was that in the Duomo here there is one favourite Virgin who wears a very handsome pearl necklace. A man stole it & it was found upon him. Upon being examined he said that the Virgin had made him a present of it in answer to his prayers. The magistrate sentenced him to 5 months imprisonment & told him that if he ever accepted such presents from the Virgin again, he sd be confined 5 years. Every thing is getting dearer here as well as all over Europe & François tells us there are many robberies & murders, but he tries to frighten us as much as possible about every thing in Italy, heat as well as every thing else. His friend has been here for 3 days from Rome & Naples. Emily, Robert & I called upon them at their hotel yesterday. The little old lady very fat & short wears a wig & large bunches of curls entirely covering one eye. She is a most curious person but very civil & kind. She says she has had a cold during the whole time she has been in Italy & after all prefers her own views from her house in Shrewsbury.
11 Drove to see several villas out of the Porto Romano & afterwards to the beautiful little villa we saw before. It seems more & more desirable, for from its position I think it must have all the air from the mountains & there is an orangery with I suppose at least 60 large orange & lemon trees which are put into the garden on stone pedestals on the 1st May, so that it must then look more than ever like a paradise. These trees are now covered with fine fruit, some of which the man gathered for us & in May they will be in flower! All this for at most 25 scudi a month about 30s a week! We went round the gardens of Galileo’s villa, the view is indeed grand beyond all imagination, you seem to look into the very centre of Florence & it is only when in this way elevated & placed at a distance that you can form a conception of the perfect forms of the domes & other superb buildings. The view will never I think be so beautiful as it is now, for the verdure of summer will scarcely compensate for the loss of the sparking white snow on the distant high mountains, contrasted against the blue sky. But I almost think that a letter from Anne Barkley will decide my plans. Aurélie has long said that she has heard that Sorrento is a very cool place for Italy & today on my return from driving, I found a letter from AB expressly to say that we cd not find a more delightful summer’s residence. It is so situated as almost to face Naples, consequently has a north aspect & a chain of mountains running behind it protect it from the south sun. It is very lovely & the Campagne situated in orange groves with all our choicest hot house flowers, the common ones of the field. I trust we may accomplish this plan, it seems a very feasible one, uniting sea, air & bathing, fine scenery, one journey, vicinity to our wintering place & no greater heat than we are fearing here. A letter from Jane attributing the illness of Fanny & Clara to want of nourishing food. I wish she could see how we live. Sirloin of beef as good as English our principle food. Before I forget it I must mention that all the fields are covered here with anemones of the most various & brilliant colours, blue, lilac & red. Again the woman at our pretty villa gave us nosegays of violets & hyacinths. On each side of the lane leading to this heavenly spot there is a bed of violets & there is another flower like a large daisy of different colours, very pretty.
16th Visited the fine church of Sta Croce, full of splendid monuments to great men. Michel Angelo’s is very beautiful & it is said that he chose the spot himself, because when the doors of the church is open, you can see the Duomo. There are about 8 or 9 chapels all along the top of the church, one to the Buonaparte family. Mass was being performed in one of them. There is a very fine old monument with twisted columns, disfigured by a grating. The pulpit is very finely carved in white marble, a priest was preaching & they said they cd understand every word. There was an attentive congregation, two monks in their white surge dresses & hoods with eyes turned up towards the preacher were striking, as pictures. As usual the outside of this church is of rough unfinished brick work.
We also went to St Marco & tho’ we had an order from the Archbishop, the monks of the convent wd only admit us to their cloisters to view the frescoes. The weather is most splendid, so bright & cloudless is the sky, tho’ still the east wind renders the corners of the streets dangerously cold. We sit however every afternoon with the windows open, the heat in the front rooms is considerable.
18th Palazzo Corsini. We walked in to the court yard which is a public throughfare & were directed by a man from a window to ascend the elegant staircase of the palace. We did so, it is very splendidly ornamented with statues & is in itself handsome & well proportioned. At the top we found the doors all open & we entered, vestibule with statues all round. One or two men whom we met took off their caps to us & motioned to us to proceed, which we did & entered the fine apartments of the palace ornamented with paintings. The rooms are extremely pretty, some are crimson & it has a very pretty effect to see the doors fitted up with curtains & draperies just the same as the windows. The mantle pieces as in Paris are covered with rich velvet in a way very easy to be imitated & in one room we noticed the fire place to be enclosed with doors covered with silk, like Emily’s cabinet. One room fitted up in yellow is very pretty. The ceilings are all circular or dome shaped & exceedingly elegant. There were two sea pieces by Salvator Rosa in a back room with scarcely light to see them, which might almost vie with those splendid ones at the Pitti. In a picture representing the death of a saint, the angel is so lovely, the expression so heavenly, the action so protecting that it wd make one long for the hour of death to believe we sd be received by so benevolent & heavenly a being. A Holy family by Bartolomeo up in the alcove of one room is very beautiful, colour of the flesh, pale faces very heavenly. It is certainly very delightful to be able to visit these fine galleries & residences with so little trouble, merely that of walking into them. A person whom we look for a gentleman sauntered about the apartments whilst we were there & when we went away requested us to write our name in a book. The only bad thing was that (gentleman as he looked), he asked for 3 paoli when we went away.
After lunch by appointment we went to the Duomo & past 2 hours in examining & ascending it. The Tomb of St Zenobia is most richly adorned with basso relievoes, at the back are 6 angels floating in the air, very elegant. These figures are very numerous here. A statue by Michel Angelo behind the altar is very beautiful, the head of our Saviour reclines in the most natural & simple manner. The Duomo altogether struck us today as singularly grand, chaste & elegant. As we ascended the 450 stairs to the top, we went in & walked round the interior galleries. I begin to admire the white & stone coloured walls & the windows here are beautiful. The paintings of the cupola inside are good & very terrific. The tortures of hell are representing with aweful verity. I cannot think such sights wholly useless, at any event they inspire me with additional dread of being condemned to suffer them. But now we are outside the cupola. What a scene! What splendour, what harmony, what softness, what variety! An unclouded soft blue sky canopies the whole. In the distance, as if melting into the azure are seen the mountains white with the purest snow, having the most picturesque outlines, merging with & coming from these the mountains continue with increasing distinctness & more vivid colours until they join the valley & you see clearly the trees with which they are clothed & the white houses which are dotted over them. The valley is divided by the blue winding Arno, at your feet and all around you lies the lovely city of Florence, with all its splendid buildings, gardens, palaces! undisfigured by smoke & rendered more lovely by the clear atmosphere. At your side stands the beauteous Campanile, which is something to this view of what the Venus is to the Tribune. I think the eye can seldom rest on a view more lovely than that which we were permitted to see this day. Certainly a fine prospect must have some resemblance to the moral beauty, for here & there the chief charm is in its perfect harmony. In all this extensive & varied prospect could any one detect a single discord? I cd have sat for hours meditating on its loveliness & fancying that I was holding converse with the Great Creator through his works & yet perhaps it may be his will to allow me to see still greater loveliness, to view some of his works on which he has lavished even more beauty than here. One of Salvator Rosa’s views of Castelamare in the Palazzo Corsini shews that it is a heavenly place & there the ocean is added to all the other sublime objects. We went into the Baptistery, that is a superb work of art, a little infant of a few hours old was baptized. All children born in Florence are baptized here & always a few hours after their birth. Strip Roman Catholicism of its superstitions, observances & how much is there to venerate & admire. Its open churches, its constant services, its attention to all the events of scripture, history, commemorating them all so regularly as to let none escape from the memory. The people poor as well as rich whom you always see kneeling devoutly & openly on the pavement & altogether the attention which is paid to religious services are delightful to witness. What a pity that the ambition of man should have subverted so much good with superstition & formal observance. A stranger in the world would imagine on entering a Continental town & an English one, that the former was infinitely the more religious of the two, the cathedral with its piazza, its campanile, its baptistery, its priests, processions, numerous worshippers, these form the prominent features of every place. Whereas in England it is only on Sunday that you see a church door open & even if they were open there is scarcely an English man or woman who wd not blush at being found kneeling on the ground praying. Experience proves however that good as it is to make religious subjects the chief things, appearance is not always to be relied on. Here I suppose it is an allowed thing that morality is at a very low ebb. Let us not however flatter ourselves that England is pure because Italy is highly impure & let us not use generalities too much. There is much charity, much good heartedness, much gentleness & humanity towards animals, much of that amiability which endears man to man, much civility & willingness to oblige strangers which it wd be well if the English wd imitate & remember that these are Christian virtues. God forbid that the English as a whole may be ranked with the Pharisee in scripture. Rather let us be humble & fearful & benevolent & tolerant. Let us hope all things, believe all things & not vaunt or be easily puffed up. Be assured there is much to be praised & imitated as well as blamed in these our brethren, tho’ of a different name in religion. I was going to say a different religion, how horrible! Are we not all followers of the same Jesus Christ! Is it not his Cross, his mother, his apostles, his worshippers which are held in veneration tho’ in an improper & sometimes unscriptural way in these Roman Catholic countries. Oh let us imitate & emulate what is good & pray for & avoid instead of ridiculing & despising them for what is bad.
19th A letter form M. LaChevardiere dated 12th March on which day he says the ther is 7 below freezing point or 16 Far. I did not mark what it was here on that day, but certainly there was a very hot sun, lovely sky & most lovely weather tho’ with a cold wind, whereas in Paris it was snowing & the snow all over France was many feet deep. On the 11th we went to look at villa’s outside the Porto Romano & were almost scorched with heat & found the country covered with all coloured anemones etc & the gardens blue with hyacinths & violets. This is wholly without exaggeration & shews that tho’ we grumble at having a cold wind, yet there is an immense difference in this climate. For my part I think Italy a sort of paradise. I shall never forget the politeness of the man who shewed us the Duomo.
Today is the fête of St Joseph, the husband of Mary & all the people even at this early hour 10 o’clock are dressed in their best & parading the streets or rather the Lungo l’Arno. What wd the Italians do without their lounging days. Last night Signor Gordini the Italian master brought a little machine which he has invented for fastening a telescope. He fixed it to the window sill & shewed us Jupiter & its satellites very distinctly through Aurélie’s glass. The moon last night was like a pale white body with a bright ring half round.
20th First visited the church of the Carmine where are some famous old frescoes which are really beautiful without any reference to their age. This church is modern, the original one having been destroyed by fire & only few of the old tombs escaped, a plain sarcophagus surrounded by an arch behind the altar is reckoned very fine. It is so much the fashion to slight modern works that no notice is taken of some very fine statuary in the Corsini Chapel entirely of white marble. I think it very beautiful indeed. Some horses to the left of the altar are very striking. Santo Spirito. Almost I think superior to the Duomo (interior), Santa Croce, or Santo Lorenzo. The number, height & elegance of the columns, the tops of the arches circular, the harmony of shape & ornament & colour are charming, looking down the side aisles towards the door of entrance, the effect is truly sublime. Some statuary at the top of one of the side aisles representing Tobias & an angel is very beautiful. The altar is very fine & gorgeous, surrounded by beautiful balustrades & figures of angels really angelic at each corner, one in particular seems to lean forward with such an earnest heavenly countenance! We walked straight into the cloisters, noticed the monument to Napoleon Louis Bonaparte, who was (according to the inscription) little less than an angel. The sacristy was also open from the cloisters, we went in & admired some paintings, one especially where the Virgin, our Saviour & St John as infants form a lovely group. The child stands in a most graceful attitude, a light garment round him, his face turned benignly towards the earth & one leg in advance of the other. Another painting represents the Virgin between the Father & Son being crowned by them. The Saviour’s figure is beautiful. Santa Trinita. Does not bear visiting after Santo Spirito, a man insisted upon shewing us something very beautiful & gained half a paoli by moving every candlestick on one of the altars to shew us some of those old paintings intermixed with gold, done I believe in the 14th century. San Gaetano. Small but very pretty, dark & harmonious looking. Angels supporting vases make two very pretty benitiers near the door. Santa Maria Novella. A very splendid church. I sat down near the entrance & admired 2 beautiful benitiers, white marble vases supported by beautiful little columns. (In one of the churches we saw today (the Carmine I believe) I greatly admired some large twisted columns with an elegant wreath of flowers running round the indentations). I joined the rest of the party at the end of the church & found them in a chapel mounted up many rough stone steps admiring one of those old frescoes which are really sometimes very fine & always curious. Opposite this chapel is another of similar size, with pictures frescoes I believe representing the last Judgement, in the centre, paradise and the infernal regions at each side. Behind the high altar are some remarkable paintings, it is an immensely high arch & painting entirely over. It was here that Fanny said she saw a man & woman married, I think the ceremony was one of a different nature. The woman wore a black veil. I am often disgusted with the common vulgar appearance of the priests & here I was particularly so. The man who conducted us was an impudent impatient sort of personage & I saw him joking with one of the priests who was going to perform some of the services of the church. The cloisters here are very fine & we staid a quarter of an hour admiring & examining some frescoes which entirely cover the walls & ceiling of a large chapel opening from the cloisters. There were 4 or 5 men evidently work men employed about the cloisters, they were dining off black bread & pears diced & boiled. They were very civil & each one took off his cap & said something civil to me. I like poor people in every country. We finished this day’s sight seeing by visiting the Farmacia or Spezeria of Santa Maria Novella, a fine establishment where you are shewn through all the apartments & garden with the utmost civility. There is a parrot which talks admirably, he imitated with the intonation & pronunciation of the French when Aurélie spoke to him. We saw the distillery & the man dipped the handkerchiefs into the honey water which was draining into an immense bottle through a paper funnel. We bought a box of essences in the shape of a book & various other little things. There is another monks pharmacy belonging to St Mark’s also very well managed, clean & spacious.
21st Went to church twice. Very close & warm. A general fast is proclaimed for Wednesday next. I heard a great deal of sermons today both morning & afternoon. In the morning it was on the necessity of immediate repentance. The text, Felix’ answer about a convenient season. The afternoon was on the same text as the one I heard at Rome “Come boldly to the throne of grace” differently treated.
Perhaps many years hence if any of the present party should take the trouble to read these pages, it may make them laugh & review a host of recollections to mention The Noses. The Sticks. The Miss Nisbets. Mrs & Miss Ward. The nice Couple. Miss Thomson & Mr Kallend. All these names will cause a revival of lots of old stories & suppositions and a laugh at my backward writing. Upon seeing this there is a general outcry that I have not put in Mr Curyon & The pretty Lady. The two pretty girls. The Gacombs. The family of Wigs, to say nothing of young ladies with Heads and Eyes.
24th A general fast. We went twice to church. There was a good congregation & the service was very impressive. God grant that the poor may be relieved & the famine arrested. The weather is becoming exceedingly warm, generally misty in the morning & hot afternoons.
25th Aurélie & Emily went to call on Madame de Feauveau to enquire about what she meant by a message Signor Gordini gave us from her, desirous of knowing whether we were likely to take a villa in this neighbourhood as her married daughter wished to take a large one with another family. It proved however that she herself had some thought of joining her so that it is not likely to come to any thing. When they came home however we had a fit of villa hunting & plan forming, therefore ordered Aretini’s carriage & went out at the Porta Romana up to the Poggia Imperiale. The avenue up to it is one mile long & formed of 3 rows of live oaks & other trees on each side, the favourite summer walk of the Florentines. I must always repeat my admiration of the extreme civility we experience every where, particularly amongst the attendants of the Royal Family. Here, as soon as our carriage stopped, the gardener conducted us to the gardens, they are in the usual formal characteristic style, full even now of flowers, hyacinths, tulips, jonquils etc. The orangery is superb & all thrown open to us. When we had finished the gardens, another man came to shew us the palace, every door & window of which was thrown open, as if we had been the proprietors. It is very pretty, very cool & very comfortable looking, so clean & white looking. The dining room is a particularly pretty apartment, with ancient statues all round it. 5 paoli between these two men drew forth very polite Grazies. After this we went to see the view from the top of Gallileo’s tower. It is very crazy looking & ascended by a succession of ladders, the view of course is lovely. We then proceeded to a villa large, dirty, stinking rather, where a young married woman had died, so her husband wd no longer inhabit the villa. Some of the rooms are very lovely & the view splendid. Numbers of fine orange trees were dead here. The gardener was most noisey & anxious that we sd take the villa, keeping us waiting ½ an hour whilst he sent for the man who has charge, who had gone to a neighbouring church to vespers. We shall always remember the three little girls who ran after the carriage from the next village & then to the church to fetch the man. How they watched us & laughed & threw up their arms in the air as we repassed them on our way home. After trying to see various other villas we went to the one Madame de Feauveau is thinking of, the situation is very fine but the villa not agreeable. Are there any words in any language which can describe the beauty of the scene we witnessed this evening, a sunset in this lovely part of Italy! Looking towards the west the mountains bore a succession of grey tints, one behind & above the other getting fainter & fainter until at last they mingled with the red sky. Looking towards the east the mountains reflected the western sky & had that glorious purple tint we admired so much at Meggenhorn. As we drove up & down the steep hills, first one lovely view & then another coming in sight with the balmy air blowing on us, it was really delicious. Aretini’s carriages are as good as private ones & the horses seem to go as swiftly as the wind, young & spirited, it is comfort to go with them. As we passed the Ponte Trinita, the river was a rich red colour glowing in the setting sun & the mountains were quite blue.
26th Walked to the Villa Nicolini and saw the most superb prospect of its kind I ever beheld. Aurélie’s remark about the views in Italy is very correct. They bear the same comparison with other countries as Raphael’s paintings do to those of other masters. It is all so soft, so graceful, so fine & from this lofty spot you seem as if in a balloon looking down on the earth. You look as it were into Florence. Every building is distinct, the whole of the Boboli gardens is spread before you. The river becomes visible here & there & the whole valley up & down, with the complete amphitheatre of mountains forms a panorama such as I never expected to behold. The large handsome villa stands on a high conical hill & you have an uninterrupted panorama excepting the hill of Bellosquardo, which is immediately opposite. All I can attempt to say, is that I was enraptured. The grass walks through the gardens, the vigns, fruit trees, seats, broken fore ground, flowers, altogether surpass all description. I have read descriptions of fine scenery, but none ever gave me an idea of such a combination of natural beauties as I saw here. The hill is so steep that the path for some distance is cut into steps. The orangery smelt deliciously, the terrace & balconies are delightful. The dining hall large enough to drive a carriage in, but I cannot come to terms with Mr Jontiffe, who has taken it I fancy as a kind of boarding house. A Miss Thomson who has a spine complaint & lies constantly on her back has taken 2 of the best rooms, she remains there with a servant. Her sister is going to be married & all her family are going to England. Mr Jontiffe offers to board and lodge us without any extra. Breakfast, luncheon, dinner & tea, 8 good rooms, firing, attendance etc for 30 francs a day. £438 a year. I think he would do it for 25 francs £365. My expenditure for the same items at Cuckfield in 1843 was £296.8.10½. In 1844 £232.5.4. In 1845 £272.16.2½ and in 1846 £333.7.8½. So that it is decidedly cheaper to board one self. Of course before I came abroad, the great difference is caused by living in an unfurnished house at £30 per year. I certainly must resist the temptation to go to this splendid place, as for many reasons it is my duty to economise.
The wild flowers are very beautiful, it still appears wonderful to me to see the corn fields spankled with anemones.
29th Took a fiacre & visited 3 villas on the north side of Florence. Do not like them. I have often read of banks blue with violets but never saw it till now. Wherever we go here there are beds of violets twice as big as those in England, the air is strongly scented with them & they form rich blue patches. Today the hedges were spankled with lovely blue perrywinkles, really the flowers surprise & please me more & more. After our drive Aurélie & I went to speak to the Chevalier Baldovinetto about his pretty villa. He lives in the Palazzo Baldovinetto. We were kept a few minutes in the court below & then the gentleman came down to us, handed us up stairs & shewed us into a drawing room with the utmost politeness. Certainly the English are the least polite people in manners in the world. There is an openness, a freedom from mauvaise houte both in French, Italian, German & Swiss people which is very pleasant.
30th Went to church & after lunch Signor Gordini went with us to see villas. We have now at last I think made up our minds to one of two, either of which are exceedingly lovely. Today I first noticed that the fields are as full of tulips as anemones. They are just beginning to blow. It must be splendid when they are all out. Yellow jonquils are also very common. I also saw an animal on a wall about 2 inches long, of the locust kind which gave me a little foretaste of the pleasure I must expect this summer.
31st March Letter from Jane strongly recommending Sorrento or Castelamare by the advice of the Algernons as well as Anne Barkley. No person here however to whom I have ever spoken will allow it to be otherwise than a very hot place & exceedingly dear. Went again to see the Villa Miniati after lunch. We had a fiacre as far as the tower & then walked to it & back. Liked it very much. Owner refuses to give us china, glass & kitchen utensils. My furniture in England is spoiling.
1st April Fanny drew out Robert’s first tooth. As we walked to church I became so convinced of the imprudence of taking a villa for 5 months here, that I got Aurélie & Fanny to go & stop Signor Gordini making farther arrangements. The rest of us went to church in regular April weather, such warm showers & glowing sun as we read of in Thomson’s Seasons. On our return found that the owner of the villa had consented to give us every thing we asked, begged Signor Gordini to wait till tomorrow morning. As we walked home from church a sudden clap of thunder was heard, upon which the people in the street looked up joyously to the cloud, clapped their hands & exclaimed Welcome Spring.
2nd April Good Friday. Received the sacrament. God forgive our unworthiness & accept our imperfect service. Yesterday Aurélie & Fanny saw at the Duomo what is called the interment or deposition of the host in a sepulchre, one being placed over an altar at the end of the cathedral for that purpose. The Archbishop performed it with much pomp. They afterwards went to the Chapel of the Pitti Palace which was entirely hung with black & in the centre were placed all the instruments of the Passion. After lunch we all went to the Duomo & saw 12 old men dressed all in white have their feet washed by the priest. Some of the poor old souls cd hardly walk & were supported. It looked strange enough to see them in white gowns, white night caps & putting up their feet to have their stockings pulled off. Today in coming home from afternoon church we went into the Annunziata, it is hung with crimson & gold but not actually disfigured. There is a splendid silver tabernacle on the very elegant altar. It is generally covered, I never saw it before, such a mixture! with all this splendour of the richest pietra dura, statuary, mosaics etc. Before every altar is now suspended a paltry kind of drawing with a cross, a robe, a ladder, spear, nails, cock crowing, dice etc, so ludicrous, that really it is painful to see it. There is a chapel in this church fitted up by the Dowager or Arch Duchess. She was dangerously ill, the wonder working picture of the Virgin was uncovered & prayed to. She recovered & of course since that time double reverence has been paid to this picture. Is it possible that in this age such superstition can exist!
3rd April Went to the Duomo with François & witnessed an extraordinary ceremony. Our Italian master calls it only an exhibition of joy, but François told us it is the common understanding that it is symbolical of the resurrection, which extraordinary to say, is made to take place today instead of tomorrow. The interment was represented on Thursday since which all the bells have been silent, not one has been allowed to sound, not even the clocks to strike, but at 12 today the Archbishop said Mass at the Duomo & suddenly along an iron attached to a pole in the front of the choir & extending to a temporary building opposite the Baptistery (the door of the Duomo being open) ran a rocket or some species of fire work. It darted over our heads & then darted back again. The building was charged with fire works & the intention is for this rocket to dart towards it & set it on fire, but owing to the wet weather or rather the sudden April showers it failed & this by the people is considered as a bad omen & to foretell a scarcity & dearness of corn. God forbid that their superstitious fears should be realized. The people believe or say they believe this to be intended to represent the resurrection, when the spirit darts from the tomb, rushes into the world, illumines it & returns to the church. This I believe to be what is intended by this show, tho’ Signor Gordini denies it. What else can it represent, particularly as at the same time is suspended by a wire over the tomb a figure of our Saviour flying, as if just immerging from the grave, how degrading! how utterly unworthy, how sacrilegious! It is quite wonderful how any set of people can allow such idle vain paltry violation of the dignity of such a subject! As soon as the fire works commenced, all the bells of the city began to ring & have not ceased since. I cannot imagine why the resurrection is represented as taking place 24 hours or at least 18 hours before the time mentioned in scripture.
A remark I have made during this Holy Week is that it being a fête of penitence only not a shop has been shut, at least only a few on Holy Thursday & every sort of work has proceeded as usual. Whereas on St Joseph’s & a hundred other saint’s birthdays every shop is shut & for your life you cd not buy a thing, these are fêtes of pleasure. Signor Gordini was telling us the other day that an observation has been made during the last years in England, that whenever the oak has begun to shoot before the ash, we have had a dry hot summer. They are now paying attention to this subject in Italy. The oak has begun before the ash. Shall we therefore have a dry hot summer? Time alone can prove.
I had a letter from the clergyman at Naples today in reply to my enquiries respecting Sorrento & Castellamare. There is always service at both places & good English medical advice. Castellamare is under a wooded mountain, therefore so shady that persons can walk in the day. This gentleman past last summer at Sorrento, where he recovered from an illness taken at Naples. The air is light & elastic & it is neither so fashionable or so dear a place as Castellamare. Where shall we go?
4th April In walking to church we found the Piazza del Duomo surrounded by soldiers, a large awning over the door & preparations for the whole of the Royal family attended by 400 priests hearing Mass in the cathedral. A soldier told us not to pass in very rough terms unlike other Italians who with all their faults are very civil & good natured. We were obliged to go through the Duomo, which being lined with soldiers, had a strange & grand effect. We got to church in good time. I remark in church a very nice looking old lady who tho’ old & exceedingly infirm never fails to kneel, she has great difficulty in doing so. Another lady I noticed yesterday. When she came into church she found a gentleman had taken her place. On similar occasions it is usual to observe a look of astonishment & indignation, expressing as plainly as looks can speak “You have taken my place. How dare you do so. Leave it instantly”. This lady on the contrary seemed distressed that the gentleman should move for her & looked up so humbly & deprecatingly as she past modestly to her seat that I was quite pleased. She was old lady, so there was no coquetry in the act or look.
5 April After Emily & I had waited 4½ hours at the Ambassador’s to have my signature witnessed, we were shown into his secretary’s office, the Honbl Mr Scarlett who had very honourably left word with his porter that he should be back in half an hour & at the same time told another gentleman he should be back in two hours and a half. When we entered not a chair even was offered us. Mr Scarlett pompously sat down to his desk & said surlily “I’m sorry you’ve waited so long, but I can’t be in two places at once”. Whilst I signed my name standing he walked off to talk to half a dozen gentlemen & literally kept us waiting whilst they settled that they wd dine at ½ past 6, go to the opera & at 10 these gentlemen who had come from Vienna with despatches were to start for England. What a pity that what are termed English gentlemen sd be such complete boors. I firmly believe there are no other men in the world who would be so wanting in common courtesy & humanity as to receive two ladies as we were received today. Surely the English are the proudest, least amiable & most haughty people in the world. I call it brutish as well as british to behave thus to women. I wd venture any sum of money that amongst no other people would you meet with such treatment.
6th April Went out in the rain palace seeing. Called at one & were politely told by the porter that the Marchioness would allow us to see it tomorrow at 11 or 1 if we left our address. At the next a respectable old concierge made us write our address & promised to send us an order. At a third, the Pallazzo Guadagno after knocking a tremendous time we were let in & admitted without farther trouble to see the galleries. In the first room is a very pretty copy of a Madonna & Child of Raphael, the Virgin has a book in her hand. A St Francis with a death’s head by Spagnioletti very fine. In the second room a baby asleep in pastelle by Volterano, but the gems are two splendid landscapes by Salvator Rosa, altogether perhaps the finest we have yet seen. I know not which to admire most, the magnificent rocks & groups of trees & trunks, the cavern with water at the right side of the first – or the soft aerial perspective of the graceful trees, lovely right hand corner, beautiful distance of the second. The owner of this palace is mad.
7th Having immediately received an order from the owner of the Palazzo Rinuccini we went today at half past eleven & were directed most politely by the porter to the entrance. At the bottom of the stairs we were met by the Guarda Roba bowing & ushering us up, at the top he motioned us still to proceed & we found ourselves in the splendid apartments of this noble palace. We were soon joined by (I suppose) the Maestro di Casa, apparently a gentleman, he sat reading in each room we were in & the other attended us, giving us the cards of the paintings, moving them, drawing & undrawing the blinds, in fact shewing us as much attention as if we had been his master’s honoured guests. I cannot speak too highly of the courtesy shewn to foreigners by the nobility in thus allowing them to see their magnificent residences & lovely paintings. We past through about 12 rooms, all hung with fine paintings ornamented with elegant vases etc, very handsome sofa’s & chairs sometimes placed in the best positions for seeing the pictures & each room divided in the door way by the most graceful little gilt gate & in the corners of the rooms are sweet little brackets with ornaments in amber, porphyry & all sorts of precious stones. After keeping these two men in attendance more than two hours & receiving every sort of information & attention, the Guarda Roba was charmed with 5 paoli & the porter 1. They bowed us out & seemed delighted. Amongst the beautiful paintings in this gallery stands foremost Raphael’s Holy family. The Virgin & Elizabeth are each kneeling and holding their son, St John seems eagerly listening to the infant Saviour who leans towards him with the scroll in his hand. St Joseph stands close behind & looks down on the group. There is a pretty soft distant landscape. The old face of Elizabeth looks up eagerly at St Joseph whose face & figure are very fine. The Virgin is admirably simple & pure. Both children are charming. The Saviour’s foot is on his mother’s & the style altogether resembles that in the Tribune. Fine & lovely as this is, I must say I rather prefer the other, and more than either the Madonna del Seggiola. This painting is evidently much prized being entirely enclosed by green silk curtains which they open for you to see the painting & close immediately, a splendid sofa & carpet are placed before it. Next to this painting I admire the landscape by Salvator Rosa with shipping, rich yellow tints, lovely water, two projecting rocks. Opposite this another with the same tints, rocks, but no water. Then there is one very beautiful with pale colours, lovely tall slender trees, colours not at all like S.R. One with the sea so exquisitely green & clear, ships reflected in it. In this room were many of Poussin & Salvator Rosa. We were really unable to notice all. Two paintings one of St Sebastian having the arrows extracted & the other a female saint are heavenly pictures by Ferrini. In the first room is a large painting of the crucifixion, the sublimity of the Saviour’s agony finely contrasted with the fierce contortions of the dying malefactor by his side. The other one is just being raised on the Cross. St John figure noble & impressive, the mother’s grief grandly expressed & the Madelaine very lovely. In this room St Peter & St Paul energetic spirited figures, beautiful colours. There are here casts of Canova’s finest work, his wrestlers & his Madelaine seem to me so far to surpass his other works, that I can hardly fancy them by the same hand. Some of his are so stiff & blank I think I shall be tempted to buy the Magdeleine in alabaster, she is so fine.
We returned to lunch & then went to the house of Michel Angelo. It is open tomorrow. After this we looked at the house where Dante was born, a poor shabby place in a dull narrow street. We then obtained permission to see another palace tomorrow, did some shopping & came home.
8th Went to the house of Michel Angelo. Saw first his reception room. Then his bedroom, his chapel, his study & an anti room, his walking stick is there & the chairs & one table the same which he used. There is a full length statue of him in the salon done by the person who made his monument in Santa Croce. The walls of the room are covered with paintings representing the interesting occurrences of his life. An English lady who has married a Buonarotti resides in this house & on Thursday between 9 o’clock & 2 permits any one to visit it. A servant attends & there are books describing all the objects of interest. We visited also the Palazzo Martelli, there are only 3 rooms but tho’ small they contain many lovely pictures. In the first is the famous statue of St John the Baptist by Donatelli. It is most expressive & perhaps is a just conception of the person it represents, who living in the wilderness & being described as eating only the plainest food may have been attenuated by hardship as well as by his earnestness in the cause to which he had dedicated all his energy. David by the same artist, standing on the stairs, requires more judgement than I profess to admire. The paintings I most admired were Salvator Rosa conspirators & 2 or 3 beauteous little landscapes. 2 Holy families resembling both Raphael & Perugino. A Virgin & Child, the latter sleeps so easily in the watchful tender mother’s arms. 2 old women’s heads. A pretty little Madonna & infant, the latter playing with & going to caress the Virgin’s face, she lifts a veil & is full of intense tenderness & respect. The Badia is a small but pretty church, beautifully rich ceiling in carved wood & the whole a good example of the Greek Cross.
10th Four hours at the Uffizi. I believe I have never yet said which are my favourite pictures at this gallery. I shall now try to describe some of them in order that years hence they may perhaps be recalled to the minds of some of the present party. In the corridor 2 Magdalene’s, one at the entrance to the Tribune by Cigoli at first I thought far inferior to the other, but now I like it as well as that by Allori a little farther on, both are perfectly naked, the only drapery being the long hair. This I consider very disagreeable & absurd, and I call these Magdalenes, Venuses. They are however extremely beautiful. A picture representing the Father on one side, the Son on the other, the Spirit represented in the centre very light, numbers of cherubs, one under the foot of the Saviour, one behind the book of the Father, both admirable. Thomas de Saint Friano. The election of St Mathias, a ray of light descending upon him. François Boschi 2 Holy families one above the other, the under one is in the style of Andrea del Sarto. The child’s face rather long & with too deep a dimple. The statues I most admire in the corridors are of course the Laocoon. Hercules killing the centaur. Lucillia, a little cupid leaning back & looking upwards very wickedly at the corner. A young man picking a thorn out of his foot, Venus rising out of the water & another opposite here. 2 little children struggling. St John Baptist by Donatello.
Salle du Baroccio. At the right of the entrance Adoration of the Child Jesus. Light comes from the infant. Carlo Dolci’s Magdalene one of my greatest favourites, still a lovely picture. A Madonna opposite by Sassoferrato.
Salle des Insriptions Bacchus leaning on Arnfielos both figures beautifully easy & graceful. Mercury very fine & soft. Venus Uranie one of the most graceful of all the Venuses, stands opposite the Bacchus. Priestess remarkable for her dignified graceful & modest appearance. I wish all statues were draped. Alexandre splendid head. Portraits de Peintres. Canova like Mr Cornish & also like his own most formal statues. Carlo Dolci not inspired. Perugino like all his pictures. Salvator Rosa wild as his own compositions. Leonardo da Vinci fine flowing beard & remarkably handsome face. Titian very fine. Madame le Brun beautifully painted & spirited. Raphael! Ecole Venitien a painting by Bassano. All his own family & his master Titian & his wife. Tintoretto the marriage in Cana. Tilien’s Flora! Paul Vironese crucifixion.
Ecole Flamande et Memande Claude’s Sunset!!! Bronze Mercury! Niobe. The 5 grand statues in the Tribune, of which I like just the Venuses. Then the Apollino, the Remouleur, the wrestlers & lastly the Faune I hate that subject always. The loveliness of all the paintings in my mind is Raphael’s Virgin & the two children. She is as lovely as divine, as humble as you can fancy a human creature to be. The child expresses compassion, love, sorrow, heavenly composure. St John is all eager & mortal beauty. Immediately behind the Venus de Medici. Andrea del Sarto’s fine picture. The Virgin in this picture is all nobleness & altogether it is splendid. Querchini’s Sibyll! Correggio a head of St John in a plate. Luini. Herodias’s daughter & the head. Titians 2 Venuses as fine as painting’s can be, but how indecent! Pierre Perugino a large Holy family.
Ecole Toscane. St James with two children. Andrea del Sarto by himself. Allori’s adoration over the door. Bronzino the descent of our Saviour into hades, how beautiful are some of the figures, especially Eve & Adam, a young boy to the right, a woman with a blue veil, an old man in the left corner. Ghirlandaio. Miracle of St Zenobia.
11th At church today I had an opportunity of remarking the difference (at least in appearance) of amiability. One of those certainly very unpleasant young women whom they jokingly call the Noses fainted. Mrs & Miss Ward never moved. The lady & her two daughters next to them were anxious even to one of the girls crying. She went out of her seat to get a smelling bottle & at last obtained one from Fanny. They are very awkward plain looking persons.
12th Visited the Uffizi again, saw the inside of Fiesole’s [blank], examined the bronzes, Niobe room & portraits.
13th Pitti Palace gallery. 2 hours in the three first rooms. I think I prefer this collection to those at the Uffizi. In the first room stands foremost the sea piece of Salvator Rosa nearest the great door of entrance. Never surely was a more lovely picture. The reflexion of the sun on the clear rippling water is quite magical, the light between the boats, the distance of the horizon, all are really so beautiful that it is quite a treat to look at it. The opposite picture is its fellow tho’ not its equal in beauty. There are also 2 landscapes of Rubens wonderfully lovely, one of these is superior to the other. I admire most the one with a piece of water overshadowed by lovely trees in the right corner. A road with a flock of sheep scampering away from a cart & 2 horses, all seem actually to move. 2 or 3 peasants with loads of grapes & other fruit & vegetables on their heads appear harmonious in the extreme & the plain in the distance exquisite. Head of St John wonderfully fine tho’ more appropriate to our Saviour by Garofolo. St Joseph by Guerchino. The “Bella di Tiziano” a very lovely portrait. 2nd room. Murillo’s lovely Virgin & Child called by Murray little more than a vulgar Spanish woman. His taste & mine differ strangely on this subject, it is so exquisite a picture both for drawing, colouring that I cd never persuade myself to say I decidedly prefer any other. The softness of the colours, the pretty affectionate attitude of the child, the drapery, altogether it is charming. Over it is a lovely Holy family by Andrea del Sarto. The child is looking up behind at St John, both children are superb, indeed the whole is delightful. Cigoli. Descent from the Cross, the mother’s death like face is very appropriate & very moving. Andrea del Sarto Descent from the Cross. The Magdalen especially answers all my ideas of that devoted & pardoned penitent, simple kneeling with her hands clasped in an attitude wholly free from affectation, astounded as it were by grief. Rembrant painted by himself. Titian’s Madeleine we cannot argue about. 3rd room. Madonna del Segiola. Holy family next her by Andrea del Sarto! Rubens 4 portraits, himself, his brother, 2 philosophers, another the consequences of war, one of the best I have seen. Sacrifice of Isaac exquisite!
15th Pitti Palace. 4 room. St Mark very fine. Michel Angelo’s 3 Fates. 5th room. Perugino’s Descent from the Cross a perfect picture in my estimation, every face holy. Raphael’s Madonna del Baldacchino, the angels who support the drapery above are in the most aerial & elegant positions & the two angels in front are perfect specimens of infant loveliness. 6th room. Andrea del Sarto’s two Assumptions, the Virgin in one much resembles the one in the Tribune. A lovely Holy family by Perugino, the child supported by an angel, the Virgin kneeling before him & St John behind him. I think I have not mentioned two of my very favourite pictures. I forget in which room. One is the 3 ages of man, the other Abrahim about to sacrifice his son.
16th Went to the Uffizi & found that the director the Marchese di something had given orders for us to be admitted to him. We had applied to him some days before to see the drawings. He received us very politely & after making some little hesitation about numbers, gave orders for us to be shewn these celebrated drawings. They are most carefully kept in armoires inclosed in curious wooden boxes, so composed as to keep them perfectly tight & in order, we saw I should think 150 altogether of different masters, Raphael, Rubens, Michel Angelo, Perugino, Bartolomeo etc. They are extremely interesting. Many of them are mere scraps of paper, torn & dirty with dabs of paint etc about them & all sorts of lovely sketches by these great men. On one is a sketch of Michel Angelo’s Pieta the loveliest of all his works in St Peter’s at Rome, on the same paper are many other things. 3 lovely things forming the whole of Perugino’s Descent from the Cross, this appears to have been almost exactly copied by him. There is little difference in the age of the Virgin, but in other respects it is an exact sketch of the painting. In many nothing more than the design is visible & you see the same thing sketched over & over again, an arm, leg, or hand tried over & over again. In one Raphael has had his scholars to sit to him for the postures, so that the Virgin & other female figures have men’s faces, which in the paintings are changed to those of lovely women. There is one sketch by Rubens, where there is the greatest combinations of flowing lines I ever saw. Andrea del Sarto’s are lovely, there is the Magdalene, kneeling with her hands clasped, which is perhaps the most finely imagined & expressive figure in one of his depositions. Sometimes both sides of the scrap of paper is covered with sketches, some in pen & ink, others in sepia or indian ink or red or black chalk. How little did then painters think that these bits of waste paper, many of which have evidently served as mere pieces to try their brushes on, should become the prized & cherished treasures of Princes & objects of interest, admiration & curiosity to people from all countries in Europe & other parts of the world. It is quite wonderful to observe how the most simple line of these master spirits produces a perfect effect. In the Saviour taken from the cross, there is not a single shade on the legs & feet, nothing but the exact outline & yet they appear not to want a single touch. There they are, dead, stiff, close to reality, the right hand & arm also hanging down lifeless, helpless. The gentleman who shewed them to us, pointed out in a sketch of Paul preaching at Athens the wonderful power with which the different characters of 3 different persons is expressed. Paul stands preaching, one has his head & eyes down, his fingers to his mouth, he is evidently deliberating & seriously weighing the truth of the apostles arguments. Another seems uncertain, wavering, doubting. The third with outstretched hands & eager eyes seems to be seizing with eagerness the word of truth & one is tempted to say, God give him grace to hold it fast for ever. If one did not know it was true by sad experience, one should be tempted to wonder how any men with such perceptions of beauty, purity & truth as these fine painters had, would lead dissolute lives. Alas! poor human nature!
17th Saw the medals & cameos, the first money, enormous block of metal. How gradual the diminution & improvement. Each Roman family of rank had the right to coin their own money & in this splendid collection there are numbers of drawers filled with the money of the different families. The cameo’s are very beautiful. We are accustomed to think of cameo’s as seen in brooches etc cut out of shell but the fine cameo is that cut in precious stones, of which there are exquisite specimens in this collection, cornelian, emerald, sapphire, jasper, blood stone etc.
18th In returning from afternoon church, saw a ceremony or rather procession coming out of St Gaetano, which I think wd alone be sufficient to give one a mean opinion of the Roman Catholic faith. Not having sufficient soldiers to keep the line, some boys rushed about & made confusion, even close to the priest who (under a canopy) was carrying the host. Soldiers & even priests scuffled with these intruders & even I saw one take off the hat of a boy & throw it away, because he did not uncover his head. The more respectable kneeled down.
19th A gentleman brought a letter from Jane. He is French, very smart, very polite & has promised to procure us some orders.
21st Mr Haefliger has come from Leghorn to speak to me about accompanying us to Sorrento. His proposal is to manage every thing for us whilst travelling, teach German (& other things to Robert) whilst we are stationery.
27th I have agreed to Mr Haefliger’s proposal, and am to give him £20 a year, at least at that rate, for I wish only engage him by the month. He is to do every thing for us in the way of managing on the journey & when we are settled he is to give them 2 hours a day German, 2 hours to Robert, take him a walk, pay my bills etc. I hope I shall not repent, but as we must have a courier, it is better to have an honest German as a constancy, than a dear & cheating Italian during our journeys.
28th Took dear Robert to the museum & was much pleased with his quiet & intelligent behaviour. He took interest in every thing & entered into the subjects readily & cleverly. I first showed him all the productions of the earth, marbles, stones, coal etc, flowers, then the productions of the sea, sponges, corals etc. He was delighted not only with the large or fierce or more wonderful fishes & animals, but he also admired very greatly the beauty of the colours on the butterflies, flowers, shells, birds etc, noticed many things he had seen before at other places & was most interested in observing how all sorts of animals, birds & fishes have the same forms, tho’ differently proportioned. After bringing him home I went out for an hour & a half with Fanny & then had a carriage & went to call on the Ryan’s. They give a most formidable account of the heat & say that it is quite impossible not only to move out during the day, but even to have a door or window open from 8 in the morning till sunset. They were at the Baths of Lucca the year before last & having a small house were nearly killed by heat. They cd not endure the kitchen fire in the house, but the cook took it out on the steps, where they had an awning put over her & she there cooked the food. Mrs Ryan says that she used to beg for a little bit of the outside shutter to be open for one ray of light to come upon her paper in order that she might write a letter & that the perspiration poured from her face, so that she was forced to leave off every minute to wipe it, that if she worked her needle rusted & in fact she thinks it a perfect martyrdom to remain in Italy in the summer. If you bathe it must either be at 4 in the morning or 11 at night & the heat disables & renders you so weak that you can do nothing but loll about & sleep. I think we shall not find it quite so insupportable as they say. I am sorry to hear from every person that Sorrento is very dear & very hot, Castellamare cooler, or rather, more shady but still dearer. I have a remote hope that we may find some cheaper & more retired place in a village or other place. The Ryan’s are good sort of friendly persons themselves & are going to make further enquiries for us. We then drove to the Niccolini villa. Lovely view! The olive trees are just shooting, the new leaves seem to be the same soft colour as the old.
6th May For the past few days Robert has been chatting out of the back windows with a young lad who lives in the story below us, he proves to be the son of the Marquiss Nerli, about 17 & a very nice young man indeed. By means of a rope & bucket he sends Robert quantities of presents, first his own drawings, then shells, pieces of minerals, alabaster etc, a little pocket book, a box of paints, a pretty bon bon box full of shells & last night an alabaster tower, really very handsome, books lent to read etc. Asking Robert what he had seen in Florence, he came at last to asking if he had seen the frescoes of Raphael, and it turns out that his father is director of all the royal buildings & is the person who has the management of it & all the public works. He immediately sent us an order & then offered to accompany us. Today at eleven o’clock he accompanied us to see a fresco of Giotto very curious & in which there is a fine portrait of Dante & his wife, from which all the drawings of him are taken. This is in an apartment in the prison which is a noble building. There is a curious moveable platform, very high, which shakes tremendously as you ascend the staircase. On our return he sent us up a print of Dante & I am afraid he is either going to buy it for me, or get it for me to buy. I do not know what it will come to. The whole day until bedtime, there they are, talk, talk, here comes a guitar, then an accordion. In the afternoon he sent me a little note card made by himself, with his compliments & begging my pardon for giving me the trouble to accept such a thing. He is very clever, draws & plays well, likes mineralogy, learns English, speaks French fluently & appears altogether a very delightful young man. On Saturday he is to go with us to shew us the Raphael & the David also which his father is having moved & which has been surrounded by a scaffolding ever since we have been here. It is very characteristic to see so young a man so polite, so free from all awkwardness, shyness etc. Whatever may be the state of morals on the Continent certainly people are much more sociable, more easy & more agreeable than in England. Robert says the apartments in which they live are like a palace & they have 30 chambers. It is a very nice thing for Robert & never was a creature prouder or happier than he was when we walked out with him this morning. After going to the prison, we went to the Pitti Palace & had a look at all our favourites to which we add fresh ones every day. A lovely Holy family by Titian now pleases me immensely. My lovely Holy family by Perugino was being copied, the Descent over one of the doors. Perugino’s Descent both appear more splendid, more glorious every time I see them. I hope I shall never forget the expression of the faces & figures in these pictures. In the one over the door the Magdalene folds in her arms the Saviour’s feet & bends her face over them. The Virgin’s face leans down & almost touches her son’s head. St John with grief beautifully expressed in his face supports the dead body. In Andrea del Sarto’s the prominent & preeminently devout penitent & natural figure is Mary Magdalene kneeling with clasped hands, looking at but not touching the sacred body. The Virgin holds his hand, St John supports him, two apostles behind. Perugino has represented the Saviour stiff & extended. His mother looks at him in tender sorrow, her eyes red & swollen, the Magdalene kneels behind her. There are numerous mourners around this solemn sight, destined to be the most joyful in the world. Cigoli’s crucifixion is splendid, the Virgin faint & appears as dead as her blessed son. The Madonna de Segiola. The Holy family of Andrea del Sarto and Rubens picture with 4 portraits were all being copied today, all stood out upon their hinges in full light. Can any one even see three finer figures together? Murillo’s 2 Madonna’s are both to my mind exquisite, the first holy, innocent, graceful, lovely. The 2nd the portraits of a Spanish lady & her child, noble, graceful. We walked back & sat for a long time in the Boboli gardens, enjoyed the exquisite air, which rendered a powerful sun bearable. What an orangery! Florence approaches one’s ideas of an earthly paradise.
In returning, Fanny spent the remainder of her poor Grandmamma’s legacy in purchasing a beautiful lapis lazuli bracelet. It is a most elegant thing. [Frances Barkley’s will proved 16 June 1845 PROB 11/2019/28]. Santa Croce, beautiful portico in cloisters by Brunaleschi l’Annuniziata. Academia Guarda Roba. Duomo. Saw Miss Steele’s death in the paper and wrote to Helen. She was a valuable, active, sensible woman, one of my dear Robert’s oldest friends & one who was always friendly & hospitable to me & my family. She will be a great loss to her poor sisters. I really feel exceedingly uneasy about Miss Witherby. We have not had a letter since January!!
8th Went with Robert’s friend Ferdinando to see Raphael’s fresco. It is almost perfect in all senses of the word in preservation as well as in execution. Some few years ago it was discovered by a coach varnisher who lived on the premises & he cleaned it very carefully, tho’ not in a proper manner. Several artists were asked to see it & in a short time a rumour was in agitation that it was by a famous master. At last on the belt of St Thomas RAP & UR were discovered & these premises were once a convent inhabited by a noble family whom Raphael knew. Many other suggestions were made, all tending to confirm the opinion that it is by Raphael & I think its transcendent loveliness is the strongest proof of all. Our Saviour is placed as usual in the centre & looks at Judas who is alone, opposite him, with a look of sorrow, feeling even love, just such is the expression the Redeemer ought to have when looking at a lost one. St John is asleep, his head is resting on his arms on the table, our Saviour’s left hand on his shoulder (who ever had such a guardian hand on him). Several of the older apostles appear to look with indignation at the declared traitor, whose face hardly expresses sufficient wickedness I think. St James the less sits at the end of the table, looks out of the picture & is perfectly angelic, as is also St Thomas who is pouring something out into a glass, no picture I ever saw gave me more satisfaction. There is not a face or expression that does not appear perfectly just, natural & appropriate. There has been a door cut through it, but it does not reach so far as the figures. The tables & its contents are spoiled, but scarcely any other part.
Robert’s friend becomes more & more devoted, he must really have taken a fancy for the child. He knocks to call him at 5 in the morning & tonight he has played him to sleep on his accordion.
8th After lunch we went to Fiesole, the view is very lovely, especially towards Prato & Pistoria. It was hazy & blue, which I think as lovely as when clear. We talked to an old monk who told us he had been there 32 years & tho’ the rules are very rigourous he says he does not repent. Thin dress of coarse porous cloath is exceedingly hot in summer, cold in winter. They rise in the middle of the night & pray for 2 hours, rise early & do not eat till 12. Six months in the year they fast, eating only dry bread & a little wine in the evening & at 12 a little salt fish & dry bread. Many young men die after this treatment. There were loads of beggars. We saw a small part of the remains of an amphitheatre & the old cathedral is very curious, the same shape but not so handsome as Miniato. Coming down the coachman had nothing to stop the wheel of the carriage, the consequence was that the descent being very rapid & the carriage very heavy, the horses cd scarcely keep it back & at last one of the breechings broke. I got out & walked with Emily, Clara, Laura & Robert, as usual my fears nearly produced mischief. I had cautioned Robert to keep close to me when the carriage came down, but just as it was coming he rushed across the road. I screamed to him to stay there, but no he came back & whether from narrowness or other cause, he cd not get over, his knees failed, bent & he fell! Emily dragged him to the side of the road just in time to save him, upon how little depends our salvation from the most dreadful scenes & afflictions. At least it appears little, but it is in fact the Almighty’s hand. I sent him to bed with only some soup & dry bread for supper. His friend attended for him in vain & the next morning I wd not allow him to go to the window until he was dressed, where he found Ferdinando asleep with his head on the sill of the window.
9th Church twice, especially hot & sultry, the thermometer is generally about 74 or 76 in the rooms & it is altogether as hot & oppressive as a hot summer in England. There was a grand illumination in the Annunziata, every part of which was hung with gold, silver & crimson. Returned very tired!
10th 3 times out shopping. Ferdinando now plays Robert to sleep, with soft low airs on the accordion & is with him or rather talks with him at the windows at every spare moment.
11th Aurélie & I took Robert to the Uffizi. He takes a great notice of & interest in every thing. How he and his friend are to part I know not.
12th It is now become necessary to keep every shutter & window closely shut in order to keep out the hot sun & air. Ferdinando Nerli continues devotedly fond of Robert & loads him with every description of present. Today he has brought me a lovely print of Dante copied from Giotto’s fresco in the prison. Almost every morning whilst we are at breakfast he continues to put up on a long pole a beautiful nosegay on the window sill.
13th I was up at 4 o’clock. Robert went off in great glee at 6 with his friend to the cascino where it is custom to go on this (Ascension) day to breakfast. He was with him till lunch time. We went to church.
14th Bid adieu to the two fine galleries which have afforded us so much amusement & interest this winter. I think the pictures appeared more lovely the last visit than they did even the first. The Duomo & many other churches we visited. Florence is a lovely interesting convenient place. The people detestable! They have added to all their national faults, the evil habits of foreigners who swarm here & their propensity to cheating is carried to the greatest pitch by the facility & constant opportunity of imposing on strangers. They are extremely civil. If you ask your way in a shop, if you want to see any thing, you invariably meet with the most ready civility & assistance but beware how you trust to any professions when once money is concerned.
15th Packing all day.
16 Too hot to go to church. The rest went. A long visit from Ferdinando Nerli, whose character has opened out as one of the most extraordinary ones I ever knew. Some time ago it seems he was acquainted with an English gentleman who died. From him he has imbibed the tastes & opinions of the most rigid & refined English gentleman, add to which all the taste, the accomplishments & acquirements of a foreigner & a very handsome person & you have an idea of the young Marquiss Nerli with a most excellent heart & ardent affections. He sat up all night, we went to bed as soon as he left us.
17th At 3 when Miss Hubert looked out of her window, there he was, sitting on the ledge of his window, his lamp on the table, he had been up all night. As soon as we were dressed he came to us. We could only prevail on him to drink a cup of coffee. There was a mistake about the “stage coach” which we had engaged three days before & had it not been for Ferdinando who rushed about from one place to another for it, I think we should never have got it. He stayed with us to the last. He had employed every spare moment for the last three days & nights to make me a thermometer & beautifully he finished it at last. He had provided us with an enormous nosegay of lovely flowers. He had in fact attended to us as to his dearest friends & at last we parted from him, probably for ever. We watched him as he stood & took his hat to us as we crossed the bridge, we saw him dart down the little street which leads to his house. We shall never perhaps see him again, but we shall never forget him & as often as I feel disposed to blame the Italian character, I will think of Ferdinando Nerli & let his virtues & amiable character cover all their faults.
The vehicle we travelled in from Florence to Pisa was a “stage coach” which a gentleman had brought to Florence for his own use & sold there. It is beautifully fitted up & very easy. Our coachman who had been rather cross at the beginning, ended by being very civil & by wishing to accompany us to Sorrento. I am sorry to see that Mr Haefliger is a perfect “Dominic Sampson”. We had a delicious dinner. The view down the Valley of the Arno, looking back at Florence is enchanting & the mountains I had admired towards the west all the winter, are admirable as you approach them.
Travel Journal 3 Part 2: Pisa 17th May 1847 – 31st December 1847 Sorrento
8 in group, Martha and 6 children, Emily, Fanny, Annie, Clara, Laura, Robert (age 7/8), Miss Aurélie Hubert de Fonteny 1813-1907 (French companion/governess). Mr Haefliger (arranger and German master to Robert). Transcribed and typed by Madeleine Symes 2017 with her notes in italics & in square brackets, mostly capitals removed, places/people/things of interest in bold. Martha’s spelling.
17th May Pisa…………1847
Pisa is lovely, we drove to the Hotel de la Grand Bretagne, which is the very perfection of cleanliness & comfort. Our rooms face the Arno, which is here a wide fine river, the mountains behind the town have a fine effect. As at Florence we are on the Lungo l’Arno. Every thing appears much more quiet, moderate & simple & the people more civil & respectful. I quite regret not having come for 3 months instead of remaining to be cheated. If we had not remained at Florence however we should never have known that excellent young man, who will I hope be a model for my own dear little boy. How wonderful that a young lad brought up in such a corrupted state of society sd have such beautiful & pure thoughts. He cannot go to a theatre. He is too disgusted with the women’s dresses. He cannot shut his eyes & he will not look at them. He never stopped for a whole hour, walking up & down the room discanting on the horrors of Italian society & character. He says he is determined when he is old enough to go to England & choose a wife. He dares not mention the subject to his friends, because they wish to marry him to an Italian, but he will rather die than do so. He considers marriage & death the two great events of life. If he can get a wife who will love & be faithful to him, he will even die for her, but if he should get an Italian wife, it wd be his death soon. He hates to go out of an evening, detests the women’s dresses & impertinent bold manners. In fact he is as particular & as delicate in his ideas as any man can be. He says he should talk for 2 years & not finish all he has to say on these subjects. I could write a long time & not express all I have to say on the subject of his amiable character. It appears that when he rushed down the little street it was only to get up to his window, where he waved his handkerchief & hat till we were quite out of sight.
After dinner we went to see the Duomo, Campanile, Baptistery & Campo Santo. We just looked into the cathedral, which is very splendid, white & black marble, double tiers of columns, a very perfect & simple Latin cross. Splendid ceiling in the manner of those at Florence. Gorgeous or rather costly altar of porphyry inlaid with jasper. Fine paintings, especially one by Andrea del Sarto. St Agnes with a lamb in her arms, the figure exquisite & colouring beautiful. In this cathedral hangs the lamp, which by its regular movement hanging from the ceiling gave Gallileo the first idea of a pendulum. The whole group of buildings exceeds all we have seen of its kind for elegance, softness, tranquillity & loveliness. The cathedral is in the centre of a lovely verdant lawn of which close on one side is the rich & splendid leaning tower. On the other side the magnificent Baptistery & along the other side of the lower stretches the elegant Campo Santo.
18th After breakfast we went to the Duomo, examined all its splendid architecture & paintings & then ascended the exquisite Campanile. It has a very curious effect in ascending & descending, the ascent & descent varying on account of the leaning. Every part is splendid white marble, with a profusion of colours of different forms. When you reach the belfry what a glorious view! The rich glowing fertile valley. The misty grey mountains with their graceful outlines. Those to the eastward of a dark purple hue. To the west Leghorn & the Medeteraneum. It was too misty to see the sea clearly but the Island of Gordona was distinct. At our feet the Campo Santo, Duomo & Baptistery. Murray says right when he says that to see this alone is worth a journey from England. We returned to our delightful Inn to dinner. We pay 40 francs a day for every thing. Our dinner today consisted of capital soup made of asparagus, green peas & parmesan. Roast veal, ducks, cabbage & potatoes, chickens, green peas, rice pudding, apple fritters. 2 dishes of strawberries, one of cherries. Nuts, biscuits, 4 bottles of wine. Excellent linen etc. 2 respectable men to attend. Our breakfast is coffee, rolls, toast, meat etc & we have 7 rooms well furnished & exceedingly pretty. After dinner & writing our journals, arranging flowers etc we took a walk regularly along our side of the Lungo l’Arno over the last bridge at the last end, along the other side of the river etc, across the last bridge to the west & so home. In our way we saw some curious churches, one especially which is much shattered by the great earthquake last year. Many of the altar pieces are entirely destroyed, the organ loft & organ nearly entirely in ruins & many parts of the wall. It has a very aweful appearance. Over one altar nothing remains but the representation of a skull on the rubbish from the rest of the statue. The street in which this church stands appears the most busy one in Pisa & is entirely composed of arcades. San Sepulchro is a very curious round temple. I never saw one of that shape before. In the centre of the circle is an inner circle of columns & there is the altar. I noticed a man on his knees behind the door with his head buried in his hands on the ground praying!! & in the Duomo a young woman prostrate on the pavement with her forehead on the ground, her basket by her side. What sins were these poor creatures mourning for! God forgive them & us all!! Sta Maria della Spina is a perfect little gem. It is a little chapel where in 1500 a thorn (spina) from the Crown of Thorns was deposited & in honour of which several successive ages bestowed money & art to decorate & enrich the chapel. It is a perfect model of architectural beauty & we shall not soon forget the good tempered old man who shewed it to us & who must have a faculty for remembering dates. Towards dusk we entered St Paulo from which it is said the Duomo was copied. It is plain inside, lofty & simple. A number of young girls, men & women were chanting a litany. No priest. There can be nothing more beautiful than the view from the bridge, of the river, town & mountains. I am now going to bed, having past a most agreeable day at Pisa.
19th After breakfast another disappointment. Mr Haefliger arrived from Leghorn & no boat again today. It is really most vexatious. We determined to come immediately to Leghorn ourselves & see into the truth of the matter. Our bill at the hotel was most moderate & we parted from it & from Pisa altogether with great regret. It is the place of all others I have taken a fancy to. We came in two little carriages to the station which is clean & quiet & we got into the rail road carriage directly. We had a delighted little journey of half an hour, with Pisa & its splendid background of mountains, the rich glowing valley & in a quarter of an hour the sea in view. Nothing can exceed the soft smiling rich fertility of the scene. Mr Haefliger has brought us to a very common Inn which appears horrible after Pisa, but the people have given us an abundant dinner. Clean coverlids etc. They try all they can to make us comfortable & we ought to be so. It is very doubtful if there is a boat tomorrow. A man has just now told us that if both the Castore & Maria Antoinetta arrive tomorrow the latter will take us for 100 francs less in opposition. After dinner we sauntered to the sea side. A boatman came with us & took Robert under his patronage, a row on the sea. Mr Haefliger went with him. He is immensely improved since his acquaintance with Ferdinando & grows very pretty. Whenever he goes & whoever he meets he talks & chats with either in English, French or Italian.
20th Two vessels have arrived in port, the Castore & the Maria Antoinetta. As the Castore has so deceived us & kept us waiting so long, we have resolved to go by the latter & they have proposed to take us for 380 francs, which in all is a reduction of about 480 francs!!!! The hedges between Florence & Pisa are almost universally of clematis. The roses, convolvulus etc are lovely. Along the banks of the Arno the men draw the boats, harnessed like horses. The streets of all the towns now look very curious. The blinds are extended like awnings from one side of the street to the other & of every variety of colour. It has the great advantage of affording shade to walkers & riders. After breakfast I took a boat & went with Emily, Annie & Robert to see the Maria Antoinetta. She is a fine large vessel, we have chosen 8 good beds in 2 births. Mine is a large enough for 3 persons. We returned & settled the bill etc at Leghorn & at 2 went on board for good. Soon after starting we had a capital dinner served on deck. Monsieur & Madame Maiger & their 3 children, an English newly married couple very vulgar & in all 84 passengers. M. & Me. Maiger are a very handsome & pleasant couple. She is a Neapolitan married to a Frenchman & residing in Paris. She is coming to stay with her mother for 6 months after an absence of 6 years. He is to leave her & fetch her again in the autumn. I hope she will not fall into the error of other Italian women & that when they leave Naples they will be as fond & as happy as they are now. Tea was served in the cabin at 8 o’clock. We sat on deck till 10 watching a fire of brush wood near the point of Piombino. They light it to clear the ground, it had a grand effect. I slept pretty well, very comfortable & pleasant to lie on my wide bed, my head at the window, look at the lovely sea, sparkling in the moonlight. I never saw any thing like the clearness & deep indigo colour of the sea.
21st I was on deck at 7 & watched the coast till we entered the Port of Civita Vecchia. They were all sickish & few of them got up until the vessel stopped. But there being a good fresh breeze, there was still a movement even in harbour & they were rather uncomfortable. We had a capital breakfast. Lots of wine, meat, coffee, vegetables, poultry, fish & fruit. At ½ past 10 we started again & took up our station on deck, writing, working, reading etc. Madame Maiger laid down. Her husband played at soldiers with Emily & Fanny till each successively got sick. Aurélie had been so all the morning tho’ not proceeding to extremities & at last all were obliged to lie down, even I had a nap. Another good dinner & not long after all went to bed excepting Emily, Fanny, Annie & me. M. Maiger came & sat by us, took us to the fore part of the vessel to see Mount Terecino, a fine mountain which we past very close. Yesterday the islands of Elbe, Corsica, Gorgoni & Procera looked very lovely.
22nd May All on deck at 4 or a little after, we were just passing by & between Messine, Ischia & [blank], Vesuvius & Capri with the coast of Sorrento & the bay of Naples all distinct tho’ still grey. The sun rose behind Vesuvius as we cast anchor at Naples. Madame Maiger in great anxiety to see her mother & other friends. She made many polite offers of attention & assistance at Naples. Her brothers Messrs Merricoff are bankers there. My letter of credit is on Rothschild. After we had seen her & her husband & children go on shore with their friends, we had our breakfast & then got boats & went on shore. Had a very hot walk to the rail road. Waited an hour. Mr Haefliger came with the baggage. Went in the train to Castellamare where we left Aurélie, Fanny & Clara to go house hunting on donkeys & the rest of us got a nice carriage & came to Sorrento, the loveliness of which surpasses all description & every thing we have seen. The orange groves, figs, olives are equal to all we have ever heard of their beauty. The whole country is covered thickly with their foliage & the air is perfumed with the scent of their blossoms. Our Voiturier a regular Italian rogue, after every description of promise carried us to the Hotel de Sirene, a totally different hotel from the one we wished. The man speaks English & evidently lives by imposing on the English. He refused to take us in for less than double what we had paid elsewhere, but consented to give us board & lodging for 2 days at a furnished apartment of his, certainly one of the finest situations it is possible to conceive, with the whole bay of Naples & a foreground of orange, lemon & fig groves spread before one. I had so violent a head ache owing to the heat that I was truly thankful to get into the cool & quiet of this lovely place, lie down & have a handkerchief dipped in vinegar & water on my head. At about 2 the rest of the party arrived more dead than alive. They had seen several places at Castellamare but none very cheap. We dined at 4 in the lovely arcaded balcony & afterwards went to see a pretty, clean, well furnished house belonging to the master of the hotel but it has no view of the sea from the windows & is quite surrounded by orange & lemon trees which I do not think wholesome & they ask 300 piastres for the season, nearly 6 months. We were pleased in the evening by watching the fire-flies.
23rd Aurélie & I went at 7 in the morning to see houses. We went to two or three & at last saw that belonging to the Prince Santaseverina. We liked it & asked him to call, which he did & refused my offer. He asked 500 piastres & I offered 300. Whilst we were at dinner however he brought me a fine nosegay & came into my terms. In the evening we came to see it. They all like it very much. There are 7 rooms, one opening into the other & each opening into a bower of roses at one side & a balcony of arcades on the other.
[Drawing of Villa Santaseverina, drawn in the Journal at 25 September 1847]
24th Came to our new abode. I am afraid our friends the Prince and Princess are no better than their neighbours or than they ought to be. In coming we saw a large snake curled up on a wall close to our house. They call them harmless. The lizards are very pretty. How extraordinary is the manner in which these people conduct business. No regular inventory is yet made out tho’ I said I should come before the rest of the family in order to see that every thing was right. Monsieur Luci took me to see what I wanted in plate & linen, marked it down & then began to saunter & idle about. Finding it utterly impossible to get him to continue, we began to unpack & put every thing away.
25th This day past in arranging lessons & washing, servants etc. Letter from M A Witherby. I fear these people are worse even than the Florentines. Princes & Princesses are nothing here, but all seem alike mean & horrible. They are however civil & will I trust keep so. No possibility of getting the inventory.
26th Coachman from Castellamare came to try & abuse me out of another half piastre. Called the Prince who had himself written the letter, supposing us only to have paid a ducat. He turned the man out of the great prison gates by the shoulders & left his friend or double inside. Emily & I were unable to go out. It is like being in prison here & unless one was to make a regular row, one must be under complete subjection. When first we came here the master of the Sirene took us in tow & recommended all his friends, some of which tried to cling to us after we got into the hands of these people, but one by one they are all turned off. The man who was to take & bring letters etc to & from Naples was literally turned out & kicked & their own man introduced.
27th Went with our gaolers to see 2 nuns take their irrevocable vows. We were first taken to the nuns parlour, 2 there. They served us with delicious ices & bons bons. We then went in the church which was most gaudily decorated. There are gratings all along on each side, behind which one sees the nuns peeping. Behind one grating near the altar were the 2 nuns kneeling. I was taken close up to the grating, they were 2 pretty young girls, one was very fine, the other cried much & her voice shook sadly. The Lady Abbess sat in an arm chair, on each side of the room the nuns were ranged & at the end 3 novices stood with their arms crossed, one was dreadfully affected & sobbed aloud. The Archbishop sat close to the grating & read what appeared to be questions & what was required of them, to which they each answered in a low kind of chant. After this they each chanted a long declaration renouncing for ever the world & all their worldly connections. The youngest cried & was much affected. The eldest was more firm but suffered evidently. After this they each signed a paper which the Abbess put through the hole in the grating & gave to the priest who was by the Archbishop. Immediately after this, two black cushions were placed on the ground. They laid themselves flat down, 4 very old grey headed women differently dressed from the other nuns brought a large black pall & laid over them, kneeling themselves on each of the corners. Then the nuns all chanted a funeral dirge. When this was ended the pall was raised & the two young girls came forth, looking more tranquil than before their interment. They again knelt at the grating & their mother & I went away after which they received the sacrament & then there was a lot of dressing & undressing the Archbishop. His mitre & other cloaths are very splendid & he had a fine emerald & diamond ring on. I cd not help being affected at the sight of two interesting young girls thus cut off from life as it were, but they have been in the convent since they were babies & they have now taken the vows of their own accord. We returned to lunch very warm. I was sorry no one but myself cd go to the grating, but there was barely room for two. The mother did not appear much more affected than I was.
28th Letters from Edmund Shaw and Ferdinando Nerli, the latter full of all sorts of expressions of attachment. Took a walk in the evening half way up to the point to which we walked the other evening with our friends. How lovely it looked, with the glow of the setting sun in the magnificent panorama. We saw the infamous Queen of Spain arrive in a steamer this morning. It was a pretty sight to see her & her suite land under the rocks, but she has given great offence to the Sorrentines. She did not go to any hotel, nor did she even give any thing to any one, not even to the band which played in honour of her arrival. They say the Royal family have left Naples on purpose to avoid receiving her. The master of the Sirene had prepared a fine dinner for her, for which he has not received a carline. Coming down the hill this evening, we met the young man with blue spectacles. He turned with us & took us to an orange garden, it is immensely large. We went up to the roof of the contadina’s house, where were chairs & a table. The woman hung a basket over her back & went to gather about 18 oranges. These she weighed & then put them on the table & she & the young man peeled them. They were delicious, he has a peculiar way of taking off the peel. When we came away the fire flies were darting about in all directions, they are the prettiest things imaginable. We ordered some oranges to be brought home & I was paying for them at the door when the young man put himself into a violent attitude & took the money away from the boy. They were his present. Who are these people I wonder. It is very disagreeable not to know how to behave to them.
29th Mr More the old gentleman to whom the upper part of this house belongs is just arrived. I hope we shall not be annoyed with his attendants & there they will be rather a protection than otherwise.
30th I hope we may get rid of the attentions of our Italian friends by means of M. H. who has I hope thrown out some hints as to our being fond like all English persons of being alone. The more I look out upon this exquisite scene the more I regret the extreme degeneracy of its inhabitants, mean, mercenary, idle, false, deceitful, inquisitive, gossiping to say nothing of being vicious etc. Their only redeeming quality seems a species of good temper & this is not so observable here as at Florence. It is curious to notice the extreme meanness of the people here. When we were walking thro’ the orange garden belonging to the house we were looking at, the ground being literally strewed with oranges & lemons, I picked up one of the latter, not imagining that it cd be objected to, but within a few minutes the man absolutely took it out of my hand & after walking round the garden for a long time & nearly settling to take the house, he made a great phrase of giving me one orange to take home. This Prince as he is called gave me some roses from the thousands in his garden before I signed the agreement, but not one since. Before I took the house it was said we had a garden & way down to the sea. The latter can be opened without some permission from the police & it seems to me very doubtful whether it will ever be opened at all. Perhaps I shall be called upon to pay money for it. The garden we seem not to have the least right to & are eyed by the old woman whenever we walk round it. I once touched the blossom of a tree I did not know, without any intention of gathering it, the old witch was watching me & called out. Yet when speaking to the people of the house we are overwhelmed with fine speeches & any one wd suppose all was at our disposal. In fact it requires all the exquisite loveliness of Italy to reconcile one to an abode in it. Our cook is the pleasantest & most sensible cheater we have around us. He does the thing in a regular business-like style, gives us excellent food & is not disposed to let others cheat us. Every thing is decidedly plentiful & cheap & the 1st weeks expenses only amount to as much as they used at Meggenhorn. Again I must revert to the hatefulness of these Italians. They look on a foreigner as one upon whom they are to prey. They never will say the price of any thing, or if they do & one pays it, they expect double. In making an agreement you are never able to get at the whole. There are bonnes mains & extras of every kind. It is absolutely incredible the manner in which our Prince & Co have deceived & endeavoured to manage us. Because we employed another man to execute our commissions in Naples the Prince quarrelled with him & kicked him out. After which he introduced his own man, who is now trying to impose on us in every way. We were told the old woman wd wash for us & that she was a sublime washer. She counted & took our clothes & we imagined she was our washerwoman, but on Saturday a woman from Sorrento brought the things home & infamously done. It is of no use to remonstrate, they either laugh, say si Signora or are impudent. I believe it to be utterly impossible to incourage an Italian excepting by force. They are the most detestable creatures in existence. It is in vain to persuade oneself to have patience. They are so utterly provoking, that at the moment one cannot help being vexed. The hair dresser has just come grinning like a baboon & has cut Robert’s hair so as very much to resemble a monkey. When I ask him how much I am to pay for his most infamous performance, he scrapes, bows, grins & says whatever my excellency pleases. This a stranger might construe into moderation & humility, but it does in fact mean that he has come to cut the hair of a little English boy. His expectations have immediately risen & he expects to live for a week upon his miserable work. When I decline over & over again settling the price he bows & at last says one two etc carlines, any thing my excellency pleases.
31st Went after breakfast & sketched the bridge outside the town. It is a most picturesque spot. Dozens of beggars beset us. The children seeing me gathering flowers, thought they sd get something out of me by giving me some & numbers of them brought me one little wretched flower picked dead off the ground, not like other children & peasants who gather pretty tasteful nosegays. When I said “Oh how beautiful etc” looking at the view, they stood around me, laughed at me & mimicked my words. The meanest & youngest child is illnaturedly satirical & as soon as they have the earliest shade of sense, they lose all childlike simplicity & innocence. What will become of such a population. How much lower are they intended to degenerate? Imagine at the rail way, as soon as the train stops dozens of Lazzaroni rushing & seizing every thing they can lay hands on in order to get paid. It requires main force to resist the clamour & no attempt is made to repress their importunity, on the contrary every opportunity is afforded them to force their services on one. I think we travelled with 16 packages, each was taken by a man & when deposited the whole band came to be paid! In the evening we took a boat as some boatmen insisted on taking us to see the beautiful baths where we cd bathe for nothing. They spoke so positively that really I thought we were going to see something true, but behold we were rowed to a large cavern in the rock. Aurélie was carried on shore & shewed a kind of basin formed by rocks where certainly the water was exceedingly clear, but bathing for nothing wd be to pay 90 francs a month for the boat to take us and canvass placed before the entrance of the cavern, in all really a very expensive job. We were followed by & surrounded by muleteers, carriers, boatmen etc & those we do not employ make gain of us & seem ready to murder us if they dare.
1st June A tremendous storm in the night. A fine morning, breakers on the sea. Naples & all its environs quite clear, snow mountain behind, very lovely. None of my party I imagine will easily forget seeing me mounted on a mule, riding up to the part of the promontory of Sorrento from which on one side you see the whole Bay of Salerno, on the other that of Naples, with the Piano di Sorrento lying spread out at your feet as it were. Mountains & rocks surrounding you, the former covered with oranges, lemons, figs, chesnuts, oaks, olives etc & the common bushes being entirely composed of myrtles, roses & cactuses. I have heard often of all this, but in my own mind always allowed a great deal for exaggeration. I find I was unjust for these flowers grow in the wildest profusion. The myrtles are a mass of buds at present & in about a week will be in full flower. You might gather bushels full. My mule carried me easily & safely with a Spanish saddle & I was not frightened after the first few minutes. We had to walk down for about ½ an hour. I think it was as rapid & difficult a descent as that down the Wengern Alp into Lauterbrunnen & the whole ride resembled the Oberland taking away the snow mountains & adding the sea. In these excursions you also miss the honest frankness of the Swiss mountaineers. Our muleteer is a very handsome civil young man. One of the boys sang, but how differently from my bearers in Switzerland & there is a sly impudent cunning manner which is far from pleasant.
3rd Went sketching out of the Porta Massa & annoyed as usual with the beggars & impertinent persons. A little girl rather more decent than the rest offered me two cherries which she had hanging in her carriage. She was going up to the Capo del Monte with a little basket to gather flowers to strew in the streets before the procession. In returning we saw the procession of the Fête Dieu coming out of the cathedral. Such an affair, one of the Capuchin comes every year from Jerusalem & collects money from every house. The Capuchins are dressed in brown, the Franciscans in black. Every one knelt & uncovered their heads when the Archbishop past & the yellow flowers of the sweet scented broom were thrown & strewed about. Otherwise there was nothing respectful or picturesque. We went into the cathedral, it requires no description. Also into another church, where St Anthony performs so many miracles that I wonder there sd be either Drs or Chymists [chemists] at Sorrento. Returned very warm, but in the house cool.
4th Went in a boat to sketch the house & rocks. Aurélie, I & Fanny very sick. The thermometer is generally at 66-67 or 68 out of a north window & really it feels rather cold than otherwise.
5th Rose at 3 in the morning. The thermometer was then 9 R. 57 F. out of the window & 17 R. 68 F. in doors. We had breakfast & then descended the rock to see where our boat was waiting for us. We had a delightful row to Capri. The colours of the scenery just before & at sun rise were truly admirable. The clearness & exquisite colour of the sea are incomparable here. We past some ruins, the Temple of Hercules upon a projecting part of the rock, which have a very fine effect. There is a large fishing station beyond the town of Sorrento. As soon as we came in sight of Capri, we thought we were there, but we were more than 2 hours going. The high rocks were very imposing as you approach the island. As soon as we were there, the little boats for the Grotte d’azur came to the side of our boat. Aurélie & Laura got into the first. I alone into the second rowed by the old sailor who first discovered this lovely grotto with some English gentlemen. Emily & Annie, Fanny & Clara, Mr Haefliger & Robert. It was really a most absurd sight to see the 5 little loads popping about on the water, like tubs, with each 2 or 3 persons. We skirted the rocks in the clear blue water for about 3 quarters of an hour admiring the enormous height rising perpendicularly from the water. The natural grottoes, the bright red coral fungi all along the edge, the flowers & I think I saw eagles. At last we arrived at the mouth of the grotto, which appeared too small & low to admit even our little boats. However in we went, sitting on the bottom so as to let our heads be as low as the boat’s side. As soon as we had one by one past the entrance we found ourselves in an immense cavern very highly arched. The water a perfect transparent blue & the whole scene giving one a complete idea of the Arabian Nights of the sort there can I am sure be nothing finer than the appearance of the water & rocks in this grotto. When you get quite to the hinder part of it & look back towards the entrance, the extraordinary appearance of the water where most light is concentrated on it is something so heavenly that one can only say it gives one an idea of a something not belonging to this world. One of the men, the one who rowed Aurélie & Laura proposed to dive, accordingly he jumped out of the boat & ran behind a piece of rock, the only place I saw where a man cd stand, stripped & dashed into the water. The appearance of the water when thus agitated is beyond description, wonderful. He dived to the bottom & then came up between the boats. He gathered a lot of coral polype which hangs about the rocks just under the water line, then crawled behind the rock again & dressed in a minute. When he returned to the boat he was trembling violently & he told them that he was the only man who had tried the experiment who cd bear it, the water being so much colder than the outer atmosphere is extremely dangerous. We returned to Capri & there found tribes of people waiting for us with a very good chaise à porteurs & lots of donkeys driven by women. We ascended the mountain, between loads of cactuses & other rare trees & plants. Nothing can exceed the surrounding beauty. Being so small an island as you ascend it seems only like a pedestal for one to stand upon & one sees the sea & islands & mainland all round. We dismounted & went to a spot fearfully high, the men threw large pieces of stone from it, which seemed fully ½ of a minute making their descent into the Gulf of Salerno. We now walked through the ruins of Demetrius’ Palace, the acqueduct is a splendid ruin, shewing to what a height luxury had attained, to suppose that for one palace water sd be conveyed to such a height & at so vast an expense! What a prospect from this royal residence! The island itself forming a rocky yet verdant foreground, all around one the delicate clear blue sky, dotted with islands, which seem to lie on the water & intermingle their colours. The bay of Naples with the white buildings of the city & environs studding shores. Vesuvius & the land forming the promontory of Sorrento. Nothing in the world can be more lovely or more truly noble. A Hermit (so called) lives on the highest point of these ruins, he looks very thriving & stood at the entrance of his domain with a bouquet of roses for each of us. He soon produced 3 bottles of wine, chairs, table, plates, glasses & we dined off the cold veal, bread, oranges & cherries we had brought with us. We then gave him a piastre & descended. At a house half way down we were dragged into a room not very large to see the tarantula danced, it is very graceful & expressive, but I dislike the Italians & all they do. Even the tarantula was spoilt by the manner in which I was required not asked for wine which the whole party consisting perhaps of 2 dozen persons poured out & drank as much as they liked at my expense. I was so much disgusted with these poor wretched ignorant people, their flattery in good Italian & their abuse in bad, that I determined not to extend our rambles so we returned & had a beautiful sail home, where we had tea & went to bed, charmed with Capri, disgusted with the Caprians.
6th No clergyman yet. It is very vexatious and makes me feel very uncomfortable.
7th Mr Haefliger gone to Naples. We had a row & went to see the baths at the Serian, they are very delightful. We then went to look at a great cavern & returned to lessons. Saw Signor Trilli & settled with him to give a two hours lesson 2 times a week, a piastre each lesson.
9th A proposition from the cook to have 1 cor. 2g. about 5d each for himself & Marianella to feed them. At present there is nothing but quarrelling as the old woman insisted upon being fed & her boy also out of what comes from our table. The old wretch goes as soon as the food goes down & demands her exact share of every thing. It seems in vain to attempt any remonstrance, we are quite as if in prison.
15th We have had some stormy & for this country immensely cold weather. I do not know how it has been with us in England but here we feel 64 or 5 or 6 very chilly. I do hope we may not have a very hot summer after all & that God may preserve every member of the family from suffering from the climate. They are all just gone to see 2 sisters take their last vows. All here is so lovely that it gives me a kind of foretaste of heaven. It is utterly impossible to describe the admirable atmosphere & temperature here. With a bright sky & hot sun there is so soft & lovely a sea breeze that no one can say they suffer at all from the heat. 66 or 68 of Farenheit is what the thermometer constantly stands at. There is but little variation night or day. We had a strong south wind the other day which raised the thermometer at 10 at night to 74 & at ½ past 11 it was 78. When one went out it felt like the air from a furnace blowing on one. Today we went on to the beach to see Robert take his first lesson in bathing or rather swimming, after which we sauntered on the beach, then lunched. Then looked over inventory. Then went to orange garden. Came back & returned for the rest to see the winding the cocoons of the silk worms. The cocoons are put into a large earthen boiler erected over a kind of furnace which keeps the water always boiling. One man stands to put in the cocoons, collect the threads & give them into the hands of the other who attaches them to a large wheel which he moves with his foot on a broad strap & a little boy helps him. As fast as all the silk is wound off the cocoons they are thrown away & fresh ones placed, there they are all bobbing about in the boiling water. They are I suppose soon dead & it does not take long to wind off the silk. It is curious after they are put into the water to see the man collect the good & bad or rather the wound & the unwound with a little brush, the dead worms & empty cocoons are thrown away. The little brush by a sweeping motion collects the silks so that the man twists together about a dozen before he gives them to the other man to put on the wheel. What a splendid sight is this orange garden where they keep the silk worms. Every description I had heard or idea I had formed falls far short of the beautiful reallity of the orange, lemon, fig, olive & other trees & plants here. The vines too here are far more gracefully cultivated than elsewhere. In fact, it appears as if the soil only produced what is rare, oderiferous, delicious, lovely. What in other countries are considered delicacies & are rarities are here in the greatest profusion, what a contrast between man & all the other works of God here! & yet the human species is very handsome, it is only their want of mind & morals which renders them so degraded. The fine half naked figures of the men & picturesque dresses of the women add to the beauty of every scene. If Italy belonged to English persons, it wd lose as much in beauty as it wd gain in morality probably, cleanliness & comfort, not that the latter wd be encreased by little thin walled English villas, broad streets, or fine wide dry hard roads. Nothing renders this country bearable but the shady narrow roads & streets & the thick walled houses facing the north. Strangers think of Italy & the Italians as one people & one country & imagine that Florentines, Neapolitans etc are all the same, but this is not so. Here in Naples they call the inhabitants of Tuscany foreigners & the dialect is so very different that very often the Neapolitans learn Italian. It is perfectly wonderful to see the fertility of the soil & richness of all the productions here. What it must be in the time of grapes I know not. The vines are now quite covered & they are getting very large.
20th Letter from Madame Maiger, perhaps she or her family will be good acquaintances for us either in Naples or Paris.
21st Imagine at this moment I am sitting writing & working, the girls taking their German lesson, in glides the sailor who teaches Robert to swim, with 2 or 3 great stones he has picked up having left him with the Padrone on the beach. The man is the exact epitome of my idea of St Peter. I can never look at him without thinking of the wonderful choice our Saviour made of his apostles. This man appears religious & I can imagine him very simple & zealous. As he comes in bare legged & bare footed gilding through the room without noise it has a strange effect. The other day during the German lesson a tap was heard at the garden door. Signor Serci entered. He had two little blue mosaics in his hand & he asked if we sd like them made into a pin, drew the pattern on paper, asked if we wd have them set with pearls or turquoise or plain. I cd not imagine what he meant & asked him how much it wd cost to have such a thing made. He said “Niente” & bowing went out backwards saying he sd send them to Naples to be done. I wonder whether he will. This was after our having scolded about the bath which seems as far as ever from being finished. No one wd believe that it is impossible to obtain any direct answer respecting it, tho’ we are on the spot to see the people constantly. They bow & smile & say it is quite ready. They have lost no time etc & yet day after day passes & no bath is done. We shall see what comes of it. If it was not that one suffers, it wd really be amusing to see the artfulness & deceit which goes on in every thing & from every person.
1st July Yesterday they at length began to put in the posts into the sea for the cabin. Today the foundation is nearly finished, but as there is a soft lovely shower I suppose they will leave off. Our three young jays are very amusing now. They fly on to the tops of the trees & backwards & forwards to the arcades & balcony to be fed. I have been very poorly & still feel weak. Mr Moore is very polite to us & sends us lots of newspapers & other publications which are very entertaining. This appears a great act of politeness from him, whom we were told was a complete cynic. I have engaged a painting master which is a very great delight & I trust will prove a great improvement.
5th Weather continuing perfect. At this moment there is a clear blue sky, a soft delicious breeze, a brilliant sun, the sea perfectly transparent, deep blue far out & a clear light green near the shore, where you see the bottom clearly, covered with rock, different coloured pieces of marble & stones & sand. A little gentle ripple breaks on the beach, the islands are distinct & of a heavenly colour, Vesuvius looks majestic with a wreath of white smoking curling out of the crater & forming a white peaceful cloud over the top. Naples & its widely spread environs forms a kind of white border to the blue sea. The close foliage of figs, olives, lemons etc are most luxuriant & the 3 pet jays sit in the apricot tree enjoying it.
6th Mr Moore has been kind enough to send to Naples & enquire if the Consul is there. Mr Moore has fundamentally performed his promise & sent me word that the Consul is at Naples but starts tonight for Paris. I set off with Emily, Annie & Mr Solari at ½ past 4 this morning. We had a nice little carriage to Castellamare, where we took the rail road to Naples & and arrived there at 8 o’clock. We set about our commissions immediately & engaged a carriage for the day. We did every thing we had to do. Found Mr Galway the Consul at home very busy packing up. He was very civil, sealed & took charge of my letter & said he should meet us at Sorrento when he returned from Paris. We went in for half an hour to the gallery. The paintings were just closing but we saw the statues & Egyptian etc antiquities, those fearful looking mummies, which give so admirable a lesson to mortality of the vanity & fruitlessness of all human pursuits excepting those which lead to the elevation of the soul to God. Of what use is it to care for a body such as we see here. We went to see the coral shops, the things in this are beautiful. We took some cakes & stopped & had iced lemonade, deliciously refreshing. Naples is even a finer city than I before thought it. Signor Solari stayed with us the whole day. We reached the station at 5, Castellamare at 6 & home at 8½. Glad to go to bed.
10th All at their painting lesson & the weather so exquisitely lovely that it seems as if the atmosphere of heaven was given to the earth. I had no conception that this climate was so perfectly fine. I thought it hotter, the sky a deeper & more unclouded blue, less air, more sultry. We were told that we must never expect to do any thing between 8 in the morning & 5 in the afternoon, but must remain with doors, windows & shutters shut. That if we were forced to write a letter we cd with difficulty admit a ray of light on to the paper & if we dropped our pen, we sd be exhausted by picking it up. That no cooking cd be done in the house for heat. That the beauty of the country was of no avail, for it was impossible even to open the windows to look at it. Instead of all this, here we are occupying every minute of the day. A delicious breeze flowing through all the open doors & windows, the country heavenly & altho’ it wd be very hot to walk in the sun, yet it is perfectly agreeable in the house & in fact I cannot imagine any one having a wish ungratified with respect to climate. Neither are we in the least annoyed by insects & every thing is extremely cheap. Anne in her letter of yesterday says that Uncle Charles had by no means so mean an opinion of the Italians as I have. No doubt their sort of immorality is by no means so dangerous as that of those who are more refined, more insidious, more polished in their crimes, who in fact give crime a gloss & cover which unhappily often causes them to be mistaken for sentiment & thus fascinate & ruin those unhappy beings who are thus deceived. No one unless very ignorant & bad cd be misled I think by Italian manners & vices, but that is not the question, I have never entered into the subject in that way, or sought to discover the causes of their degeneracy, yet still vile & degenerate they appear to me. The men effeminate, spiritless, trifling, selfish, mercenary. The women sly, bold, indelicate, unfeminine, surely a masculine indelicate woman is about equal to one effeminate cowardly man. Both are alike objects of disgust. A German & his wife live in the little end rooms now, as I saw him just now walk past, I thought what a difference in the German & Italian character. I know very little indeed of the former, but it seems more to my taste. I cd imagine more enjoyment in the quiet tranquil sedate look of this person, than the sharp, cunning, restless, enquiring, inquisitive, satirical look of all Italians. I cannot like them. Yesterday our boy came quietly into Fanny’s bedroom & asked her to lend him her shoes whilst his were being mended! They have a curious & somewhat beautiful custom here, when they bathe, before they go into the water, they dip their fingers in & cross themselves on the breast, saying a prayer (I fear) to the Virgin, and only conceive their having a duplicate of St Anthony, him they only trouble on great occasions, on all little ones they apply to a sort of secretary of his, St Anthoninus, who does little jobs as well as his superior.
Today finding that the wine in one of the bottles was an odd colour we sent to Giuseppe to ask about, when to our astonishment he appeared quite in a consternation, examined it, then poured out an enormous tumbler full & insisted on the old woman, her daughter Marianella & the boy all drinking some, he also took some himself. This latter precaution was to convince us that he had not put poison into it & making the others drink it was to prove whether or not they had done it. He declares positively that last summer the old woman had such a hatred of the cook who served the family in this apartment that she actually put a needle into his food. He was forced to leave, for fear of her poisoning him.
17th Walked to Sorrento in the evening to see it illuminated in honour of some virgin. I never saw a more picturesque sight. Poles twisted with green & hung with little coloured paper lamps on both sides the long road from the bridge ending with I believe a church on which was a fine star. All the shops, doors & windows open & rows of lamps lighted. The old fat man had a stall as at a fair, with all his old goods set out in a different form, china ware, glass, tomatoes, oranges, melons. Coffee shops, ices, drinks of different sorts & lots of people in their picturesque costumes rendered it altogether a very striking countrified pretty sight.
19th Today I hear around me the first serious complaints of heat. The Ther is today 83, the hottest it ever was at Meggenhorn, but still there is a lovely breeze.
27th For many days have suffered miserably with nervous toothache, headache etc alas! how impatient I am when in pain, God forgive me that as well as all else, it is a long account often added to, the summing up is indeed aweful to think of.
On Friday a singular coincidence took place. Aurélie was reading a letter from her sister, mentioning curiously that M. & Me. Colart were intending to make a tour in Italy this summer. She went out of my room to tell Clara & Laura this piece of news & as she went out Annie quite unconscious of the letter entered & said “There is a Signor & Signora Colart come to see us”. They stayed all day, had mules to see the Gulph of Salerno in the evening& left us pleased I hope.
Last night we had a splendid shower for hours, the lightening continued one flash in rapid succession after another so that it was never dark. The lightening is perfectly white, thunder not loud. This morning the air is much fresher & pleasanter, the sea rough & altogether has a more English feeling.
31st July My face ache etc have been extremely bad since I wrote last & I have had miserable nights. Last night however I slept so much better that I was able to get up at 5 this morning, my usual hour again. We had breakfast at 6 & had the boat to take us to the Marina Grande to paint. It was their first lesson out of doors. Signor Solari did Emily’s entirely, it is an exceedingly pretty thing & shows Vesuvius. Aurélie & Fanny did very well, considering that the subject is difficult & it was their first lesson. I think they will all succeed very well in oils. Whilst they were painting on the beach, Annie, Robert & I had a delicious row. Capri looked more romantic & lovely than ever, this end standing perpendicular out of the water, the bare rock taking every shade of the sun & passing clouds. The whole form of the island, colour of the sea around it, the boats & vessels all form such an exquisite scene! I returned & found them still painting, Signor Fiorentine with them still & surrounded by the picturesque inhabitants of the Marina. One man in particular struck us by his great beauty of countenance & fine form. We had a sail spread as an awning over us. We returned at 1 to lunch. Part of them staid to bathe. In the afternoon Signor Solari went on with the painting of our villa. He takes his meals with us, which affords them opportunity to speak Italian. Vesuvius has been aweful of late. Every night it has been truly grand. They say there are six streams of lava. We have seen one tremendous one extending one third way down the side of the mountain towards Naples.
25th August My dearest Emily’s 21st Birth Day which she has attained without ever having caused me other anxiety excepting on account of her three severe fevers, when I expected the Almighty to deprive me for ever in this world of my first born child. I think she had a very happy birth day commencing with the assurance that she possessed the entire love of all her family, especially that of her only parent, and great indeed is the value of a parent’s blessing through life & in death. After receiving her presents, we sat down to dinner at 12 o’clock. At 2 we started in 2 carriages for Resina stopping at Castellamare, where we took a boat and went on board the “Souverain” one of the finest French men of war of 120 guns & 1100 men. It is a perfect town & a most interesting sight. Two of the officers took us to see every part of the magnificent vessel. There is not the slightest smell or smallest particle of dirt in any part. Each man has two bags for his cloaths & 2 places for his hats. These are all stowed away in perfect order. Those decks even which are below water mark are cool & airy owing to the size of the openings to the other decks & the large chimneys of canvass which convey a considerable quantity of air to them. The other decks are delightfully cool in this hot climate, the port holes admitting abundance of air. We were shewn the manner of letting off the cannon different they say from ones which are fired from the side. The officers told us that the noise when they are fired has frequently killed men. It is really a wonderful & beautiful sight to see such order, quiet & regularity amongst so large a number of men. The hospital is a delightful apartment in the best order. There were perhaps 8 men in bed there, some reading, some with fevers. The Dr & attendants are walking about. We saw them all go to dinner. They had soup, meat, bread & fruit in abundance. It is wonderful when standing on the upper deck to look up at the masts & rigging & the beauty of their appearance was greatly added to by having as a background the finely wooded mountains above Castellamare, from which they stood out in fine relief. We remained on board this magnificent vessel about an hour & received great politeness from the officers. The sea was quite rough as we returned to Castellamare, where we got into our carriages & proceeded to Resina, first taking up Sig Solari & leaving Sig Fiorentino’s letter at his friend’s. We did not reach Resina till ½ past 8 when a horrible scene of confusion arose about getting us horses & a chaise à porteurs. Mr Moore’s cook was with us & did all he could. Giuseppe also was attentive but neither of them cd preserve us from the horrible men. We were told to go into the office set apart for the arrangements of mounting Vesuvius, but before we were fairly off there was a regular fight, Annie crying & Clara almost refusing to go. However at last the whole cavalcade started with torches & loads of men who proved perfect savages. We however got up to the Hermitage well, but then commenced the quarrelling & disputing. We stayed there about an hour & were amused as well as annoyed by Marianella’s stupidity & simplicity, there she sat, her gown spread out, continually setting to rights the various articles of finery with which she had decked herself. When however it was determined that we should all ascend the crater she smilingly said she should not go without a chaise à porteurs to carry her. When told that there were only 4 to be had & that some of the young ladies wd walk up holding a rope & drawn by a man, she said her shoes were too thin. Then she said she should not stay at the Hermitage which indeed I had no intention of allowing her to do & when we asked her what she intended doing her only answer was “Non to”. I certainly much repented bringing her. Like all Italian women I have seen ever so little above the quite common sort, she is a perfect doll. At last seeing that she must go she took my shoes & started. We went for an hour to the bottom of the crater on horseback & in my chair. Here we found the other chairs & innumerable men waiting for us. After innumerable quarrels & fights we all started. 8 men to each chair. Fanny, Clara & Marianella to be dragged, Robert on a man’s back. Shall we ever forget this excursion & then our valiant gentleman companion Sig Solari, taking the man with a proper strap from Clara for himself & sending her to a man who had simply a handkerchief for her to hold by. Fanny immediately went forward & said that Clara was very weak & cd not possibly go up without a strap, to which our polite considerate beau replied that she had a handkerchief. Fanny however insisted on Clara having the strap & no sooner was the handkerchief offered to him, than he found out that it was of no use & he ended by having two men one to pull & one to push. All his expenses be it remembered paid by me. Miserable creature & yet he is a hero compared with Sig Fiorentino who is afraid to go up at all. Now comes my disgrace. The ascent approaches very nearly a perpendicular & cd only be surmounted in the cinders which prevent the feet slipping, tho’ at the same time they cause you to slide or sink back at every step. I went on tolerably well till my men began to faulter & stop which I considered was because I was too heavy, but it proved to be that they were fighting. I looking up & then down, my head became giddy with the great height above & below me & I cd not proceed. The men had all the time taken every opportunity to dissuade me from going on. I was forced to go back on foot to the bottom of the crater, poor Fanny went with me. A little way down we met Giuseppe & Marianella wading up, the latter was thankful to go back with us & Guiseppe & Sig Solari wd willingly have done the same, but we insisted that they sd go on to assure the others there was nothing the matter. Giuseppe never reached the top, he gave some account of his & the telescope’s rolling one after another down the crater. Certain it is he did not succeed in getting up. The 2 gens d’armes too who we had engaged to go with us, stopped at the bottom, in short nothing cd be worse managed & yet we saw & did safely all we had intended.
[27th August] About 3 in the morning they all joined us at the Hermitage, we waited till day light to see the view & sat watching the remaining lava & flaming crater untill it was quite light when we descended to Resina. I believe we all went to sleep as we went along. Laura’s horse fell & she had a fine tumble. Sig Solari never offered the slightest assistance, never got off his horse or approached her & only said “Oh Niente” tho’ she & the horse were rolling on the ground together & she was much bruised. It came on to rain heavily. He rushed in a shed which was near & positively stopped up the entrance so that none of the ladies cd enter till they had actually pushed him far enough in to give them room to get under shelter & this creature calls himself a man, at least I believe so. At any event he wears the clothes of one. After a complete row at the police office, we got clear off & returned by 12 o’clock. I went to bed directly & Robert, we had tea, eggs & toast & then all betook themselves to bed & to sleep. We awoke at 6 in the evening, had some more tea etc & went to sleep till morning. We thought we had managed so wisely to get Sig Fiorentino to make arrangements with the Voiturier. They were to manage every thing & pay every thing from here to the Hermitage & back, procuring us either horses or carriages as the case required. He was here for an hour making the agreement with the man & when I asked to have a written one, he put his hand on his heart, talked of honour & said in an offended tone, that what he said & arranged we might rely on. Nevertheless when we were in the carriages & spoke to the coachmen of the arrangement, they said they knew nothing but that they were to drive to Resina & they never got off their boxes or offered us the slightest assistance. Sig F. however told us to pay 14 piastres, 2 of which the coachmen were to have on the road. We have not yet been able to settle with them, really it seems trifling to be vexed by such things, but the utter impossibility of making these people keep their word or come to the point where money is concerned is odious.
On Friday we had a letter from Edmund Shaw & Miss Wood, the latter had never received Aurélie’s letter dated February until May, then the Winstanleys have not received the letter we wrote from here, for they could not tell Miss Wood where we were. Now I hope we shall soon hear from them. The irregularities of these Post Offices are extraordinary.
· Herbert Winstanley was a friend of Robert in 1850
29th Dear Clara is 15 years old today & as good & industrious a girl as I cd wish. God keep her as amiable as she is now & cleanse her heart from all imperfections. Being Sunday we have not been able to do any thing to amuse her, but on Tuesday I propose a little excursion across the mountains. Mr Haefliger has been today to Castellamare to go on board the French vessel. His leg is healed & he seems getting better all together.
31st Today after the German lesson they started, Aurélie, Clara & Laura on a mule & 2 donkeys & were out from 11 to 8. They took their lunch with them & went over the mountains above Naples, to the “Deserta” etc & took several beautiful sketches. Clara is quite getting her drawing again & she takes views very prettily in sepia.
Sep 2nd A remarkable rainbow on the sea instead of the clouds, it moved from Procida etc across to our beach & was very beautiful. In the afternoon I went with Emily who took two very pretty views in Sorrento. Their drawings delight me much.
3rd Emily received a very affectionate letter from Marianne Winstanley, which has given us all great pleasure. She & Elizabeth have been in Devonshire.
5th 5 o’clock Sunday morning. It is really chilly this morning. Indeed for some days one cannot say there has been any more heat than has been quite agreeable. The Italians are such strange creatures that one can never get a straight forward answer to a question, therefore I cannot discover whether or not this is an unusually cool summer.
6th Went to Sorrento sketching. They took several nice sketches at the ancient Roman reservoirs. What inimitable workmen were these Romans after so many ages, the present generation are being supplied with water out of the same reservoirs which supplied their forefathers. I think if those who undertook & performed these splendid works could see their present successors they wd destroy their own works, rather than let such a degenerate posterity take advantage of them. These large reservoirs are in perfect preservation & appear likely to last as long as the water lasts. I see no signs of decay, excepting exteriorly, some of the ornamental parts are gone. We saw a large myrtle tree thirty feet high, 400 years old.
7th Today we have one of the most oppressive siroccos I have yet felt. It is now one o’clock, the thermometer 84, cloudy. The atmosphere in this lovely climate is so brilliant that even the pieces of rock which lie in the water just opposite our villa, present a constantly varying appearance. Sometimes a bright glowing yellow you see down to their bases in the still clear water surrounding these, at others their rich colour is set round with white rippling foam, at others the water foams numerous breakers over these & their colours are softer. At this moment before sunrise they are a pale brown & the water round them a soft green. Even the pieces of marble which I have collected & placed on the arcade will never look so rich elsewhere. It is wonderful to see how transparent & bright they look & how correctly they respond to the glowing tints of the sky.
9th I went in with Emily, Fanny, Clara & Laura sketching to Sorrento. We saw the painful ceremony of exposing the corpse. A young woman who had died the evening before was dressed in her gayest attire, decorated with ribbons, flowers etc & a white lace veil thrown over, lying or rather reclining on a kind of sofa or car decorated with gilt angels etc, was carried through the streets & into a church whither we followed it. We had no desire to stay long to witness the sight, every one around excepting one girl appearing quite unconcerned whilst this melancholly proof of human mortality lay as if in mockery of life. Her poor sedate solemn discoloured face contrasting miserably or rather awefully with the frippery around her. Poor creature, she looked so sad, so serious, it was horrible to see her so surrounded by human creatures who did not appear touched with her degradation. One girl knelt on the pavement, hid her face in her hands & sobbed violently. She seemed the only mourner, she was poor & did not appear to belong to the ceremony. About 2 dozen monks stood with lighted torches round the corpse & chanted (I suppose) a funeral dirge, but they were looking around them & seemed wholly unmoved.
18th Went again into Sorrento for them to sketch. The people were so troublesome & so impertinent that the sacristan of the cathedral was obliged to drive them away with a pitch fork & then one of the town authorities came & protected us. He often comes to us on these occasions. The other day after going from one to the other, he came to Clara & said that her sister did much better than her because she did it more slowly. These Italians are the strangest possible mixture of politeness, sarcasm & rudeness.
22nd Went at 6 in the morning to see a launch at the Piano di Sorrento, which took place at 8. This was a successful ruse of Benedetto alias Paddy. It is not often that he is able to impose on me with impunity. It is a fine sight to see such a large vessel glide down as if by magic into the water & so majestically to take possession of its own element. Today the sight was improved a thousand fold by the picturesque group of assembled on the shore, in boats & on every spot they cd stand on amongst the rocks. The fishermen dived in numbers after she was in the water to pick up the pieces of wood attached to her & which fall when she gets into the water. Robert rowed about with his friend Stephen. He rows very decently indeed. Coming home I never saw even here the sea assume a more delicate hue than just as we approached, fissure in the rocks which admitted some sharp rays of light & caused the water to have every shade of clearest green.
24th My dearest Robert has just gone through what I consider a wonderful examination in his 4 languages. He is astonishingly improved in his writing since Fanny has taken him in hand. His readiness in French grammar & sacred history are extraordinary. He seems not to have the slightest hesitation in his terminations & other parts of grammar. With his German he has made rapid progress, but his English & French compositions are really curiosities. God make him as good as he is clever & he will do well. After lunch we all went excepting Fanny to sketch along the shore & visit the many romantic & extraordinary caverns along the coast between here & the Marino of the Piano di Sorrento. The first was rather a ravine than a cavern. At the entrance is being built a handsome villa, it is wonderful to see buildings erected on such rocks, which appear splitting in every direction. You go far into this ravine. Some of the rocks are covered with the most vivid green. In another the water is almost as blue as in the Grotte d’azure, in another looking through a narrow chink the water is perfectly green. Another is large & the entrance forms a fine arch, at the end it is so dark that you do not see it. In all the water is perfectly clear & the difference in the colour is caused by the manner in which the light is admitted through the rocks. It is truly admirable.
25th My forty fifth birth day. Thank the Almighty for having spared me so long. May I employ this next year or as much of it as God sees fit to grant me, in preparation for another world. After breakfast we all went to the Capo del Monte. It is one of my great pleasures to see them all sketching the exquisite views we are amongst. How beautiful is the view from the eminence, overlooking so much that is lovely. Emily stationed herself & took the whole. Fanny, Aurélie & Clara were left by the way taking studies of trees, in which they all succeeded. Aurélie has made a rapid progress in sketching, particularly trees & country objects. Fanny also has succeeded wonderfully in town views, streets, buildings etc. Clara has got back her beautiful style of Isabey. Annie is doing very well indeed. Laura greatly improved, takes views from nature exceedingly well. Emily is really quite an artist. It is to be hoped no one will read this but very indulgent friends who will excuse my partiallity. Luigi brought us a very bad lunch at 12 o’clock. Giuseppe’s taste for a pick nic is curious. A dish of sardinias neither hot nor cold, a loaf & 8 pears! N.B. never leave any thing to him again. I wandered from one to the other the whole day. At 4 Aurélie, Fanny & Robert left us to make some preparations for the evening. Emily nearly finished a very beautiful drawing of the entire view & all the others did several exceedingly pretty ones. We only got home at 7 to dinner, after which to Robert’s great delight some fire works were let off & Giuseppe & Mr Haefliger desplayed much intelligence in letting off a Katharine wheel lying flat on a rock. I was after this taken into the drawing room which they had illuminated beautifully with the curious little paper lamps of the country, attached to branches of vines loaded with splendid bunches of grapes & large oranges. It was really beautiful & certainly it is not likely I shall ever have another Birth day commemorated in such a manner. My presents were all attached to the branches & hanging amongst the fruit. Was it not a joyous thing for Robert to say nothing of me to have these all taken down & opened. Each had done me a lovely little drawing. Emily, Fanny & Annie had joined to give me a coral paper knife. Aurélie gave me a coral pen holder, a pair of black velvet slippers, a sweet little green & gold purse & 2 rulers for my desk! Clara a very handsome card case of every different wood of the country. Laura a lovely little card case. Dear little Robert joined the 3 oldest for the paper knife. I thank God for all these proofs of their affection. To me they are invaluable & the attachment they evince is the greatest earthly blessing I possess & now for my return to all this, I have resolved to take them to visit all the remarkable places round the Bays of Salerno & Naples. Accordingly at 5 o’clock on
Monday morning 27th September we started, me in a capital chaise à porteurs, the rest on mules. Aguello went us & we found them a very quiet contented set of men. We crossed the promontory at the lowest part of the mountain, had a fine view of Vesuvius between 2 high jagged near mountains. At the top I saw for the first time the fine nets in which they catch the poor little pretty quails, which they sell for about 2d a piece. As I was unable to undertake the walk, my men determined to carry me down the mountain to the coast on the opposite bay. I have now had some experience in mountain travelling, but both for difficulty & beauty I think this is the first in rank. All the others walked. Our boatman Giuseppe Paddy’s second was there to meet us. You actually descend the perpendicular rock by zigzags & often where the lovely foliage did not intervene, the side of my chair was over this precipice! How lovely, how inexpressibly lovely is it at this great height to look through the climbing olives & all the soft & lovely plants at the bright blue or green sea beneath! Most of the descent is formed of rugged steps in the rock & often I heard the voices & saw the figures of the others descending quite underneath me. It is assuredly the finest thing of the kind I ever saw. At last after immense toil my men landed me safely under a double row of enormous aloes where a hut is erected for the fishermen. Here stood all the girls panting for their breath, very warm, but very delighted & a parcel of laughing handsome country girls. My men only waited an instant & then actually ran down the remainder of the precipice to the sea shore, where we were soon jumped into the boat & for a wonder parted with our men perfectly satisfied on both sides, they bowing down to the ground! I took care to see they had their proper bonne main, it was required. I forget to mention that I took Mr Haefliger to manage for us on this journey. From this little fishing station we had a glorious row to Amalfi & of all the places I have ever seen I think this once great & very ancient town is the most picturesque & the finest situated. It has a great commerce in paper & maccaroni. A stream rushes down a ravine & supplies the paper mills, which altogether form the most picturesque scenes it is possible to conceive. We had 2 guides who forced themselves upon us & we divided into 2 parties to sketch. Oh the heat! I seated myself with Fanny & Clara sketching the main street. A crowd regularly ranged on each side, the guide making them form ranks, children in front to see better. Then came a crowd of remarks, our dress, looks, manner of sitting etc. At last we went on & joined the others whom we found sketching different picturesque objects. It is a curious sight this ravine, with paper mills on each side making such a noise! Then the lots of maccaroni ready cut, being carried to be baked. We were often asked to go in & see it made. The cathedral is a noble old building up an enormous flight of stairs. The rocks seen thro’ the columns of the façade are very imposing. Inside we in vain attempted to find the often talked of altar in lapis lazuli, there were some very curious pillars with fine mosaic work twisted round them. The crypts here are curious. They contain as is reported the remains of St Andrew & there is an inscription over a place on the stairs where they say his head was discovered a few years ago. When we had seen all worth seeing here, some of the party went to see the house of Masaniello & I & the rest went in the boat to sketch the town from the sea. We took them up at the next village close to Amalfi & had a delicious row to Salerno, which we did not reach till dark. We got tolerably comfortable accomodations at the Victoria Hotel paying about the same as in Naples. Salerno is by no means comparable to Amalfi, tho’ at present a larger & more flourishing place. When we arrived there were drums beating & lots of people sitting out at the café’s taking coffee, smoking etc. We made arrangements with the same men to take us in their beautiful boat to Pestum & back.
· Pestum – Paestum, Martha uses both
28th We had breakfast at 6 & started directly. We had scarcely any wind going & rowed nearly the whole way. Our men sang beautifully all the lovely airs of their country, it was really a treat to hear them. About ½ an hour before we got to Pestum we eat some of the provisions we had brought with us, as they say the air is unwholesome as to cause fever & I have always heard that an empty stomach is the worst thing in this world for contagion. As soon as we landed we waded through deep sand covered with shells to an old town where we found a soldier and some most wretched huts inhabited almost by savages. I looked into one, it had but very faint traces of civilisation. A wretched half starved trembling donkey was brought out & a species of pad on which they proposed to place me, but I declined & the boatmen got an old chair to which they attached 2 poles & we started not many paces & down I came. Up again with another pole. Then came a waggon with 2 huge oxen which became so frightened that they broke their harness if such can be called the knotted ropes with which they were tied & tore & bounded about like mad creatures. We now past the walls of the ancient town & the whole ground became strewed with broken pieces of columns etc. It is a scene of ruined grandeur never to be forgotten, once so populous & grand now wholly desolate, deserted except by a few miserable creatures, scarcely able to live in the malaria. In the midst of this dreary scene you come upon a fine broad high road, as good as an English one, on each side marked by fallen columns & ruins of every description, but words cannot convey any conception of the grandeur of the ruined Temple of Neptune. All the lower columns are standing & some of the upper ones. These enormous but yet elegant structures consist of 6 blocks of stone in height, another half circular one for a capitol on which is placed a gigantic flat stone. Then from column to column a long enormous stone upon which again is placed the next story or row of columns. Is it not almost miraculous that these stupendous structures sd have remained for so many centuries in this state! We know from history that upwards of 1800 years ago these ruins were in the same state as at the present moment & were visited then as curiosities & yet there is not an appearance of cement in any part, they simply consist of stone placed upon stone! & in what simple majestic proportions are these stones arranged. I never was more struck than by the solidity, antiquity & simplicity of this splendid ruin & the idea of the present malaria around it adds to the mysterious interest of the scene. Here there is nothing to desire. All is wild, dreary, desolate. All is in accordance, there is no disenchantment & I must say that grand as are the ruins at Rome, their interest, their character are much destroyed by being frequently surrounded by gay modern houses & iron railings. I think Paestum a perfect scene of its kind. There are two other superb ruins standing up in solemn grandeur. The one nearest to the Temple of Neptune is called the Basilisk & here the guide gathered for us many leaves of the graceful acanthus which gave the first idea to sculptors for their elegant Corinthian capitals. We stayed untill our sailors began to shake their heads, shrug their shoulders & talk of the sea & then hurried back to the shore as quickly as we cd where to our dismay we found the waves dashing in white foam on the beach & the sea covered with breakers. Nothing remained for us but to trust ourselves to this agitated ocean. It was 3 o’clock, we cd not now get home to Salerno untill 9 o’clock, we cd not remain for banditti & malaria were certain to assail us, the whole flat coast between Salerno & Paestum being infected with both. Our boatmen said that if we insisted on remaining they wd not, as they knew the banditti wd see us & come & murder us for our money & that at any rate putrid fever must attack us. We thus had no recource but to embark & certainly for about 2 hours I think the sea was as rough as our boat wd bear. Poor Fanny was so terrified she nearly fainted, Aurélie a degree less so. I at one time thought it very dangerous, more especially as I saw there was no possibility of returning to land. Whatever came, on we must now go & I had all with me. Thank God the wind changed & abated & tho’ we were wet through with the dashing waves & did not arrive at Salerno till 9 o’clock, yet we were safe from the various dangers with which we had been threatened & truly thankful I felt. Those who were completely wet through went to bed. I had my dinner there & slept well. How strange after being soaked with wet & sitting for hours shivering with the cold air, yet I took no cold.
29th Went from Salerno through Cava to Nocera. Cava is a picturesque old town amongst mountains & rocks, but I cannot say I like its appearance one quarter as well as this place. At Nocera we took the rail road to Pompei, where we stayed 3 hours which appeared not longer than half an hour, so interesting is this place. I had a chaise à porteurs in which I was conveyed all over the city. We entered of course by an opposite entrance from what we did last year, but saw pretty nearly the same streets, houses etc. They have just discovered a very fine house full of most interesting remains, which at present are left on the spot where they were found, by far the most interesting plan, but I hear that it is thought best to remove them to the museum at Naples. I suppose they wd be stolen or spoilt if left at Pompei. There are numbers of splendid paintings on the walls & wherever there is a more than usually fine & perfect group, they have fastened before it a glass door, which is kept locked & opened for the inspection of strangers. How wonderful that painting so many centuries ago sd have attained a perfection which at the present day we can scarcely find artists clever enough to copy. But still more strange is it, that as far back as history takes us, the ruins at Pestum should have served as models of architecture. On one of the walls in a passage of this newly dug out house is the scribbling of a child quite perfect, a labyrinth scratched on the wall with writing underneath. I cd fancy the child punished for disfiguring this still beautiful wall. In another part is a painting representing the direction on the back of a letter, with the pen & papyrus there. This gives us exactly the way in which writing was executed & certainly we have improved on them in this respect. There are some exquisitely carved statues in white marble, also mosaic work etc. How common must have been the execution of all these splendid things in those days. Princes now cd hardly afford or have their walls so splendidly decorated & these houses which now excite the wonder & admiration of the world belonged only to the civic authorities of this city. We went to the amphitheatre which last year we had not time to visit. It is at some distance from the other parts of the city & you go to it through lovely vineyards full of grapes. It is an aweful & interesting thought to reflect on the buried city which lies beneath all this. In every respect I find Pompei exceeds all my expectations of admiration & interest. We very reluctantly left this scene of wonder & beauty & went by rail to Naples. As soon as we arrived, we took carriages & went shopping for 3 hours, whilst Mr Haefliger went to the Hotel di Rome & prepared for our reception. Naples looked as lovely as ever. The shops are exceedingly good. We were rejoiced to get into our sleeping quarters & after a 12 hours fast to have some food & delicious coffee. They were fortunate in getting very nice books &
in the morning of the 30th Aurélie & I started an hour before the rest & did all the commissions which were not finished the evening previous. At 8 we began our route in two carriages & our first stoppage was to see Virgil’s tomb for which purpose we had a very hot fatiguing walk & arrived after many zigzags at a garden gate which a man opened & admitted us through. After making a bargain to receive 4 carlines, through this garden we wound up & down till we came to an old stone with an inscription which we cd not decipher, but which intimates that Virgil is here buried. In a cave opposite is a monumental modern erection with an inscription in French. We were glad to descend & get into the carriages, immediately after which we drove through the Grotto of Posylippo [Posillipo], a very fine long dark dangerous tunnel under the rock where Virgil’s tomb is. It is ill light & the dust almost choked me. It is wonderful if there are not many accidents here, for a dull lamp at long intervals cannot preserve from danger the number of pedestrians with burthens on their heads who have no trottoirs to protect them from the variety of vehicles constantly passing. After getting through this we went along a dusty flat road untill we turned down a very hilly sandy lane to go to the Lago d’Agnano. When we arrived on its borders we got out of the carriage & went to see the various baths, rude sorts of huts & dark passages built against & in the rock in each chamber. The heat encreases from the sulphur springs, till at last the heat was really frightful. It was curious the man lighting a piece of tinder, which draws forth of the crevices of the rock heat & smoke. We now went to the Grotte du Chien, a little door in the rock is opened by a man who stipulates for a certain number of carlines to shew it you (very cockney). The Grotto is neither more or less than a great hole or cave in the rock. I had expected it to be a grotto like so many we have seen here & at Capri, into which we were to be rowed in a boat. We declined having the poor dog thrown into convulsions by being forced to inhale the carbonic acid gas which rises about a foot along the surface. It is extremely curious if you stoop down low enough, one breath sets you choking & coughing or the man moves it & throws it as it were with his hand in your face. He then lights a torch & as he passes it towards the ground it is extinguished instantly as it reaches the noxious vapour. The smoke rests & floats on the top giving the appearance of the bottom of the Grotto being filled with water. After this we were shewn the part of the Lake where the water boils continually, it is only in a small spot, but this does not render it less wonderful & they say its motion or boiling is affected by Vesuvius. How wonderful. What can be under the surface of this part of the world & what will be its ultimate fate! We were now shewn a newly discovered grotto, where the air is so charged with sat ammonia, that 3 minutes in it causes death, and now came a long quarrel with one of the numerous men who swarm about all these shew places, which lasted untill we had nearly regained the high road, along which we went untill we came to the Monte Nuova which is a round green hill thrown up in one night. It is now gradually sinking again, but the convulsion which raised it, caused many curious contortions in the vicinity. I forgot to mention the Island of Nisita & the remains of a bridge by Caligula. We have also past Pozzuoli, visited the fine remains of a Temple of Serapis, the ground now covered with sea water. There is a large old ring attached to the marble pavement which was used to tie the victims to. 3 very fine columns are standing & the shape of the Temple is entire. We had hence a very hot walk to see the remains of a fine amphitheatre with the underground apartments for the animals & prisoners. It is very perfect & very grand. At Pozzuoli we were offered many little curiosities & here Fanny bought for a piastre a bronze figure which was offered us for half a one. It is extremely pretty & Aurélie bought a lovely little bronze lamp which she has given me & 2 sea horses. We next past the Lago Lucrino formed at the same time as the Monte Nuova. We saw here numbers of large fish jumping out of the water. Soon after this down a pretty lane of chesnuts we came to the famous Lago Averno. We left the carriages & walked through a grove of chesnuts, the ground covered with lovely flowers untill we came to a door which on being opened admits you to a long dark passage. We had brought a guide & torches from Pozzuoli & it was a curious sight to see our long train winding along by this light & every here & there a piece of the torch left on the ground. When we came to a little dark passage, suddenly 6 or 7 men made their appearance, they had come in a boat to meet us from Bahia, but their appearance seemed by magic. It is utterly impossible to describe the scene which took place & it is useless to attempt it, as we can ourselves never forget the being carried on men’s backs into the narrow dark passages etc of the Sybil’s Cave. Here we are popped down upon her bed. Now we are mounted again & go to the different parts of her palace in water & are shewn the passage where there was a way underground to Bahia & Cuma. It is a curious & ludicrous expedition. The open air was delightful after our subterraneous excursion. We gathered flowers from this mouth to the infernal regions & when we were again in the carriage pursued the route to Bahia & they all went to the Baths & Prison of Nero. Then we passed Julius Caesar’s Palace, Diana’s Temple & I stopped at the entrance to the Temple of Mercury whilst they went & looked over a rock at the rivers Styx & Acheron. I quite forgot to say that we past the house of Cicero. The whole of ancient Bahia is in magnificent ruins, I was too tired to get out any more & sat & had a nap in the carriage whilst they all went to see the Piscine Mirabile, a beautiful set of ruins, where they bought some Etruscan vases, lamps etc. At Bahia we embarked in a famous safe boat for Procida & Ischia. At the former place we landed & went into a house to see a girl dressed in the costume of the isle. It is Grecian & very curious. What a splendid sunset & what a glorious colour was the western sky & sea as we approached Ischia, cold but soft towards the east, grey-blue as it proceeded, golden in the west. How lovely was the whole coast, Capri, Procida, Ischia, the Capo Myseno & all the coast each way, the colour of the sea, the boats, the calmness & then as it grew dusk, the stars in the clear sky. It was quite dark when we reached Ischia & it was a wild idea to proceed in the dark we knew not whither, but Signor Drago, who keeps the Hotel Villa Drago is one of the best landlords we have fallen in with. A little civil bustling old man, with an old wife just like himself, his house is perfectly clean, built entirely of the old lava, the rooms large, bare & lofty, each having one little bed, a chest of drawers & chairs & a little round washing stand. Whilst coffee & supper were preparing, some went to sleep, some went to taste the landlord’s delicious wine etc. His house is built in the old stream of lava which poured from the crater into the sea, it covers the ground from the mountain to the water in huge masses. It is cleared or rather a space in it is lowered for the garden, upon which is spread a layer of mould from other parts of the Island & in this grows the vines which produce this delicious wine. It is incredible that so small a garden sd produce 12 enormous barrels of strong rich wine. He makes it himself, we tasted the new wine of this year & it is excellent. We had a capital supper of maccaroni & most delicious fish which Signor Drago brought leaping in his handkerchief. Whilst we were at supper the old man brought us the basket containing the bed linen to smell. It was indeed a nosegay. We slept well
[1st October] & started a grand cavalcade to go over the island. I as usual had a chaise à porteurs & the rest donkeys. I never saw such excellent chairs & bearers as here & at Ischia & Capri. They have very long poles for 2 men in front & 2 behind, a foot board & arms. The men manage them admirably. In ascending the hind men lift the chair upon their arms, shoulders etc to keep it on a level & they go at such a pace! These men refrained from asking for maccaroni every 5 minutes. I never beheld any thing like the grapes on this Island, they hang in rich clusters & festoons in every direction & are almost the only production. When they fail the poor inhabitants are almost starving. This is an abundant vintage & we met constantly tribes of peasants & donkeys bearing baskets & tubs of the luxuriant fruit. I never beheld any thing like it, some a transparent yellow, others purple, so large, so fine. Such enormous tomatoes all covered with fresh delicate bloom. As we went up out of the town a young woman (one of the hundreds we met) stopped, took her basket off her head & gave me a fine bunch of grapes, I gave her 5 grana about 8d & she presented a bunch to each of the party. I pointed out to her an enormous bunch which she had dropped on the ground, but she only laughed & said (far niente) it was not worth picking up. A little farther on, one of our men came to me & pointing to the vines on our right hand, said they were his, wd I have some, upon my saying yes, he leaped down into the vineyard & soon returned with a load of bunches of grapes & leafs. They gather whole branches of the vine with the splendid fruit hanging to them. He was charmed with a carline 4d. The whole island is covered with vines. The weather became cloudy & we had rain. We past a lovely little town with a glorious view & after a long ascent we came to Fontana, a little picturesque village, where the men & donkeys stopped to eat & drink & they sketched. After this we began to ascend the rock or mountain of St Nicholas & reached it in thick clouds! You go right into the passages in the mountain, where the church & hermit’s dwelling are built. The hermit came to meet & escort us into his dwelling & we were hardly in before he began to beg. When we were in the church, he fairly told us that strangers always gave him 3 or 4 piastres for it (or rather for him). They went up some steps in the rock & very frightful they say it was. The clouds skudding all round about us, rendered the scene very characteristic & wild & added to the sublimity of the scene. It is grand & aweful to look down into chaos, hearing at the same time sounds but seeing nothing but white cloud & vapour. Yet I much regretted the splendid view, tho’ I can well imagine it, as we have often seen every part of it & many entire similar prospects. It is astonishing to see the rapid pace at which clouds travel. They literally rush through the air, to see them is something extremely aweful in being at such a height as if out of one’s own element. I was glad to descend. We had a good deal of rain as we went down, but when we arrived we were dry. We diverged from our path to visit the old crater of the ancient volcano which 500 years ago threw up the immense quantity of lava which covers the whole surface & which as I said before descends in a direct stream to the sea, it is a wild & terrible scene. Our old landlord had prepared a capital dinner for us, but there does not appear to be any meat on the island. We did not see any. The fish is finer than any I ever before tasted & a mackerel we had was nearly as large again as any I had before seen.
2nd I was up early & Aurélie & I managed every thing for our departure before Mr Haefliger was up! We had our breakfast and embarked on a boat intending to cross to Sorrento, but we soon found the sea too rough & the sailors taking advantage of a certain little lady’s fears immediately proposed landing us at Pozzuoli, stipulating however for the same sum as if they had taken us to Sorrento. I had (for me) the wonderful sagacity to see through their craft & to insist on being taken to Naples, as I well knew if the sea permitted us to go to Pozzuoli, it was safe for Naples. This they cd not deny, we arrived at Naples in time for the Commissioner’s boat & after a very windy passage in that great overloaded thing we got safe to the Piccola Marina to shew what meddling impudent cheating beings the Italians are. No sooner did we arrive at the quay at Naples than a strange man called out “Giuseppe has 2 letters for you”. When we arrived another man repeated this intelligence & in the town we met Giuseppe the Marinaro who told us he had 2 letters for us, not as we supposed our own cook. He ran off & fetched them & followed us home as usual. We found out that he had actually had the impudence to force the post woman to give them to him. One letter from Ferdinando Nerli excited dear Robert to write him a long description in Italian of our journey. It is well expressed & beautifully written. I am getting Annie to copy it, in order that it may be preserved. He is indeed astonishingly clever at present. We found our house looking delightfully clean & pretty.
4th Giuseppe has just told us of a horrible thing which took place this morning in the lane near our house. 2 little boys 7 years old were playing in the road with walnuts, they got angry, one had a knife in his hand. He called out “I will kill you” & thrust into the other child’s stomach, who died instantly! Dreadful effect of passion, ignorance & ferocity.
9th The whole of the above horrible story proves to be a fabrication of Giuseppe’s! A singular thing the first day of our last journey I forgot to mention, we met an old man loaded with faggots of myrtle covered with berries. Our muleteers ran up to him & seized as many sticks out of his faggot’s as they wanted for whipping their mules, the aromatic smell was delicious. What luxurious whips for mules! Neither did I mention the striking, magnificent & aweful ceremony we witnessed in Naples, the funeral of a General Officer. We were in our progress shopping when we saw numbers of troops advancing up the street. Our carriages drew up to the side. Two regiments passed with arms reversed, drums muffled. After both regiments had gone, there came the body of the old General dressed in full regimentals borne on a very high platform covered with crimson velvet, on which was a sort of car or sofa where reposed the remains of the poor old man. I never saw a finer face, different from the young girl we saw under similar circumstances in Sorrento. His face was calm, composed & extremely handsome, the mouth a little open, the nose hooked. Very much resembling dear GPapa [Martha’s father Captain Charles William Barkley, died 1832]. Good God how aweful it is to write of one’s father as of one so long ago gone & yet I seem as if I saw him before me now & when I saw that poor dead old man, I thought it was so like my poor beloved father! but how aweful to see death thus intermingled with the bustle of life, is it right or is it wrong? This ceremony appeared to me well conducted & altogether solemn & imposing, excepting that after the body had past in all its gorgeous array then followed a set of sombre shaby looking men carrying a plain coffin, wooden without any inscription or other emblem to distinguish it from any other wooden box. They tell us it is an order specially employed for this sad service. They were in uniform dark brown, carrying a sort of shovel, but they carried the coffin so carelessly & walked in such a straggling way that it looked horrible. They seemed like persons appointed to execute a vile mission. There was the old General, carried on velvet cushions, splendidly dressed, a car like that on which he wd while living have been carried as a conqueror. Here followed a miserable looking brown box carried by mean ill dressed men, into which (after this short ceremony) his remains were to be deposited untill the judgement day! God rest his soul!
Oct 21st Our life is now so regular that there is little to make a journal amusing & for utility I keep a little daily record. I continue my early rising. It is always a delight to me to be up & ready to see the first rays of the sun illumine this lovely place. I shall however not be sorry to be moving. I know I shall regret as long as I live this beautiful climate, country & productions but yet it is not natural to be so long away from my own country, notwithstanding which it wd be well for the younger set to remain some years abroad when every description of education and improvement are so much more easily obtained than in England, no doubt can be entertained on this point.
23rd A splendid rainbow, the arch itself extended over the top of Vesuvius & one end tapered down to the beach in front of our house. There were two distinct reflexions under it, one cutting the crater in half & one at the bottom & one over it. A steamer & brig with white sails were under it & altogether it was a singular & beautiful sight. I never saw rainbows on the sea untill I came here.
25th Emily, Annie & I went on the beach. It was a strong gale of wind, the waves had washed over the stones & we found many curiosities, amongst others a large piece of mosaic work with colours in it. Settled to keep or pay Giuseppe 3 months, could not get off. Wind very warm, sea very rough.
26th Got up at 6, quite dark or rather dusk. Fanny began her new plan with Robert. Aurélie began yesterday, each are to give him one hour & half. Aurélie French, Italian, history & geography & Fanny English & German, writing, arithmetic. I trust that he will do well. Still a warm air tho’ it looks winterish & cloudy with a great deal of wind. After lunch went on the beach & found some very beautiful marbles amongst the ruins of the amphitheatre or Temple of Hercules, I know not which. It is extremely interesting to walk amongst the remains of these magnificent buildings. In many parts the waves dashed against the old Roman walls, so that we were obliged to watch an opportunity & run past. We all were wet up nearly to our knees, but our curiosities repaid us & this sort of exercise is very healthy & bracing. Sig Fiorentino in the evening brought us a fine piece of porphyry from his cousin. Wanting some hot water at night we called & found it impossible to make Giuseppe hear. Marianella at last came out of her room & acknowledged that he had come from Sorrento so tipsy he cd scarcely stand & yet I suppose in this country, this is not sufficient reason for my getting off my engagement to him for 3 months.
27th Up at 6. Fanny is giving Robert his lesson. I am going to Laura’s music. It is a bright windy morning, waves making a tremendous noise. After lunch I went with Robert on the beach till nearly dinner time. The snow is lying thick upon the distant mountains behind Naples.
28th Up at 7. Clara & Laura past an excellent examination, for 5 hours they continued answering questions in history, mythology, architecture & painting. Their compositions were exceedingly pretty & they repeated some poetry beautifully. May God grant them not only to retain their knowledge but their peaceful innocence. Robert wrote a most curious composition, a speech from Hannibal to his soldiers. Last night I wanted some hot water & calling Giuseppe received no answer and found he had gone to bed drunk, a common nay constant custom of his. Next morning he did not attempt to deny it, but laughed & acknowledged it as a child wd eating a lump of sugar.
29th Our last visit to the beach. The calata is to be closed tomorrow. I have written to the English Ambassador about it but I fear it is too late. I received a long letter from Jane & a most interesting one. Very distressing in some parts, miserable wretched C.W.B! [Charles William Barkley 1824-1885, Jane & Martha’s nephew, eldest son of their brother Rev John Charles Barkley].
30th Went to see villas, that of Rispoli is in every respect desirable, safe, well furnished, cheerful & cheap, besides being in a much more sheltered situation, consequently not so cold. But how to get off here without quarrelling & imposition I know not. 2 visits from the Signora, agreed to take the inventory on Monday. Calata closed.
31st Lovely day again. After prayers & lunch took a walk, then sat on the terrace.
1st Nov Dear Laura’s Birth day. May she be good & happy. Annie went with her, Clara & Robert a lovely ride on mules for 7 or 8 hours. The rest of us at home went over the inventory. The Princessa came & sat down whilst Emily & Marianella went over all the things together. I had not replaced or mended a thing during the whole 5½ months & Emily made the account come to about £2.10s. How strange after all our fears about their imposing & quarrelling to have every thing settled more amicably than we ever did before. After paying this, we went to the villa Rispoli & settled to take it & go into it tomorrow. I am to pay 35 ducats a month, linen, plate every thing included. This is about £1.9s a week! We have 10 bed rooms, 4 sitting rooms. Handsome entrance hall. Capital kitchens & all sorts of offices. The use of a lovely mango garden in which is the amphitheatre & several ruins. All this is in the most excellent order, beautifully furnished, every wall & ceiling newly done, every floor covered with Dutch tiles, and commanding the most picturesque views of Sorrento & the mountains in the background. Upon our return we found the party returned from the mountains. Robert had been very good.
2nd All the morning packing up & after dining at 2 o’clock Aurélie, Emily & I came to take the inventory, leaving the rest to follow with the luggage. We found Mr Fiorentino very busy. He read to me the rough copy of the engagement & then we expected to go through the inventory, but it was not written! We waited an hour & then completed the job. At ½ past 4 all the rest arrived with the luggage. All are delighted with the house & place. Went to bed very early. Intend to try Giuseppe & hope he will not get tipsy again.
· Villa Rispoli Sorrento, the drawing is drawn at 25th September 1847 in Martha’s journal.
· Laura visited Sorrento 30.3.1891 & stayed at the Hotel Victoria. “Drove to Hotel Victoria, iron gates into Piazza & long straight drive through orange & lemon trees. On enquiry found it was the old Villa Rispoli! The chambermaid had lived there 40 years. Pretty terraces & lovely view.” 2018, the hotel is now the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, who provided the 1890 photo below & confirmed in 2018 “the hotel name in 1890 was ‘Vittoria’. Before becoming such, the hotel was the 'old Villa Rispoli', which was then sold to the Fiorentino family”. Laura also visited Villa Santa Severina, which by 1890 had become Hotel Bristol & in 1890 was “closed at present”. It belonged to the brothers Fiorentino, proprietors of Hotel Vittoria.
3rd All the morning settling & putting to rights. We are going to have a nice young man as servant & his mother to make the beds. I think we shall be very comfortable. The Princessa came in the afternoon to say good bye & Mr Solari arrived for tomorrow’s lesson. The old woman & Marianella were inconsolable at our departure, both cried & kissed our hands, were delighted at their bonnes main & altogether we left with flying colours after all our disputes. It is most curious to see the tables turned, all those who were abused for coming to us at the other villa are now playing off the same trade to the others. The old woman who has literally fought with people to avoid our dealing with them is now quite aggrieved & shrugging her shoulders at being an interloper here & such fighting for Marinaro washerwomen, clean starcher etc & then the speeches of Marianella that the day of our departure was molto bento. Indeed like the day of death, she has cried ever since we left she says.
4th After breakfast they went with the master to finish the view from the terrace, Robert, Annie & I joined them. It was perishingly cold when exposed to the sea breeze after the hot sun. Here the thermometer in the south & west rooms continues all day at 70 or 68. After lunch we walked to the ravine, it is very romantic.
5th Can it be possible that this is Guy Faux’s day! How often do I remember wrapping the dear children up in shawls & opening the window for a minute to let them look at the boys with their guys & how often have I made a guy for them with snow on the window sill! Fog, shine, a sharp piercing damp cold are the characteristics of this season in England. Here we have not thought of a fire & tho’ it is chilly in the morning yet all day the ther is 69 or 70 in the rooms exposed to the sun. There is not a breath of air or a cloud in the sky. I get up very early. Letters from A.E.B. [Anne Eliza Barkley, widow of Martha’s brother Charles] & F. Nerli.
6th I never saw any thing more lovely than the new moon & Venus over the dark line of the mountain in the faint blush of morning sky. The moon only exhibited the slenderest ascent of silver! How exquisite every thing is in this most exquisite country. At night what can be more grand than the black mountains rising immediately behind the picturesque white buildings of Sorrento. Then the first tinge of sun light on the tops of the mountains, then the glowing busy day, with the numberless groups of people in their many bright coloured clothes. Then the glowing sun set, then the stars & planets. When I am dressing in the morning I have olives & syrins before my window, but I shall hardly know them again if I live to return to England.
7th A few clouds made their appearance over the mountains this morning & some still being over Vesuvius, but it is to all intents & purposes summer. 94 in the sun, 70 in the drawing room without sun & the windows shut. 68 all day in my room with the windows open. 72 in the south rooms with the windows shut. Nothing can exceed the enjoyableness of this house, garden & situation, gay, bustling, picturesque, warm, comfortable, airy, large, well furnished. 300 paces through a grove of oranges, lemons, olives, vines & chesnuts & we are at the amphitheatre. It is aweful as you approach but there is a little iron railing in front of the first step of the amphitheatre & here we have been siting reading Massillon’s fine sermons. The rock goes 500 feet perpendicular down from the old Roman remains on which we sat & the view embraces much more than that from our old terrace for it takes in the Piano & looking the other way the foreground is more interesting having the old town on which stands St Anthony. Marianella has been here dressed in her best. She is in perfect admiration of every thing.
8th The weather so heavenly that I proposed going to the Capo di Monte & most exquisitely lovely it was, just as in summer the sea perfectly calm & transparent & in a mist in the distance with the glowing sun, the rich autumnal tints of the oaks & chesnuts varying the pale green of the olives, the vines red. Altogether it was a scene of perfect beauty & they all took very nice drawings. But my pleasure was sadly disturbed towards the latter part of the day, by my stupidity in standing whilst a funeral past, with Emily, Fanny, Laura & Robert. The body was that of a young child quite black & from I have seen & heard, I think it must have died of small pox! God preserve us all. It is astonishing how little the people here & all over the Continent think of contagion. The woman who is our servant, a very respectable person, mother to the mistress of the Tasso says she never heard of such a thing as taking even that malignant desease unless after sleeping with the person or actually living in the same room. May it be so is my prayer.
9th Again an exquisite morning. What is there on earth that can exceed the beauty of this country & climate. Letters from Fanny Hankey & from Madame Hubert.
10th Weather a little colder but as lovely as ever. Clara & Robert had a 3 hours ride on 2 fine mules on the mountains. It was a promise that if Robert got very good from each of his governesses he was to have a donkey twice, but he preferred having the 2 at once with Clara as his companion.
11th If possible the weather much more lovely. Such multitudes of wasps, we can hardly sit at lunch with the window open.
12th It gets colder & not quite so fine. We have sent 36 different marbles to be polished which we picked up on the beach.
13th It has rained in the night & is cloudy this morning. Towards afternoon the sun burst forth again in all its glory & perfectly revived me. I can easily imagine that natives of these climates droop & pine when deprived of the cheering blessed light & heat which seems to animate & enliven all things. At about 8 o’clock Laura & Robert happening to go out on the balcony saw a great light & screamed for some one to come & see what it was. Aurélie went & for a time thought it was a fire, but suddenly it occurred to her that it was Vesuvius & we all rushed up to the Belvedere where we beheld an enormous stream of lava rushing down this side of the mountain as nearly as we can guess half way. I was up in the Belvedere looking at Vesuvius this afternoon at 2 o’clock & remarked that there was only a very little smoke coming from it. How sudden & terrific then is this eruption. It appears in fact to be going towards Torre del Greco. I am anxious to know the results.
14th I went out at 5 & 6 o’clock this morning to look at Vesuvius, the lava descends lower but not I think more than one third down the mountain. At night it appeared much nearer the sea. By day light you only see the clouds of white smoke issuing from the molten lava. At night we have been down twice to look at it from the amphitheatre, it spreads apparently in every direction & the reflexion on the sea comes straight over to this shore. It is a magnificent & aweful sight. How fearfully different from any idea I ever had formed of the appearance of a volcano! Lighted a fire this evening for the first time, merely a few faggots, but ever so little fire warms the rooms at this season. It rains tonight & the wind is from the south east. Got out of bed & went to the upper window. Vesuvius most grand. 2 or 3 splendid torrents of lava, an incessant eruption from the crater & the whole summit of the mountain sprinkled nay almost covered with fire. With the telescope we cd distinctly see the lava moving, pouring rapidly from the crater!
15th A spring morning, sun shining, a soft balmy air & the windows all open. Vesuvius appears much in the same state. At night after dinner we went down to look at it from the amphitheatre, it did not descend so low, but the top of the mountain was more covered with fire & at 10 at night it presented a spectacle more splendid than ever. The crater gave forth constantly, the enormous mass of smoke which hung over it was all brilliantly illuminated & the many streams of lava formed almost one broad expanse of fire. The contrast of it & the lovely moon behind us was fine in the extreme. Fanny who went up after the moon was set, represents the irruption more brilliant of course.
Before I forget it I must mention the winter dress of the men whose bare legs & feet & lazaroni dress in summer look so picturesque. The generality now wear dark blue trowsers, black velvet jackets & the red cap. This with a very white shirt & their fine & graceful figures is very handsome. The women have not yet adopted a different costume, only they wear the handkerchief always over their head. The white are very graceful & pretty, but I admire most the bright scarlet or deep moroon with a jacket of green or some other bright colour, red boddice & different coloured petticoat.
16th Received 2 Magasin Pittoresque. No letters. Did a great deal of work & writing.
· Magasin Pittoresque - first popular French illustrated magazine published in 1833 by their friend M. LaChevardiere in Paris.
17th Set 40 drawings! I think we shall never want sketches to remind us of all these lovely scenes.
18th We had a violent sirocco & thunder storm in the night with torrents of rain & hail. Today the little town looks quite miserable as if unused to such rough treatment & all the people look like chickens in wet weather with their feathers drooping. They have all a delightful plan for their days employment, the 3 eldest paint, draw & read aloud to each other till lunch, Aurélie, Clara & Robert read to each other & draw, for 2 hours prepare Italian or German the other 2. I give Robert his music. He then has 2 hours preparing & I write etc. After lunch Emily continues painting till 3. Fanny practises. Aurélie has Robert. Clara & Laura have spare time & prepare at ½ past 2. Aurélie, C & L study together for 2 hours then. Clara & Laura practise by turns 3 times a week. I have a French lesson, Robert goes to Fanny & then till dressing time Emily, Fanny & Annie study languages together. Dinner. After dinner generally they dance & teach the young ones who dance very nicely already. Robert seems to have a very correct ear & dances very nicely. I think after all that Sorrento is the most agreeable & cheapest place we have yet lived in, every thing is so good, so plentiful & so cheap. Giuseppe cooks so well, our other servants are so civil & attentive. The house is so handsome, comfortable & cheap. The climate is so fine. There are so many curious & interesting things to be seen & done & it is so supremely lovely & picturesque & so safe!
19th Tremendous sirocco accompanied with violent rain. Whilst they were dancing last evening a sudden flash of lightening succeeded by thunder which shook the house, alarmed us & a few minutes afterwards, Fanny being near the window a still more violent flash almost blinded her for a few minutes & caused her to feel a singular sensation through her arms & legs. The thunder which followed this was aweful & like every thing else in this splendid country grand beyond description.
20th Tremendous wind all night. Still the thermometer keeps above 50, out of a north window generally 54-56, of sun 60. We have no fires of course with this temperature.
21th Sun came to cheer every thing, the walk under the orange trees perfectly dry & pleasant. What wd a covered walk in an English garden be after such incessant rain. Every thing looks & feels like spring & the moonlight when I went to bed was admirable, you can read here by moonlight as easily as in the day. The reflexions & shadows are as perfect, indeed it resembles our sun more than our moonlight. Nothing can be more enchanting, this dear little white picturesque town, so silent, so calm with the high mountains rising directly behind it.
22nd It rained still this morning, but this afternoon we are again blest with a bright blue sky & brilliant sun, sitting with all the windows open & after a week of storm & almost incessant rain, it is as dry & balmy as ever. The people seem to have all come suddenly to life again. It is quite pleasant to see them collected on their favourite place the bridge & to hear their voices. Such a bustle, all is once more astir. The Sorrentines are in their element again, rain does not suit them.
23rd Bright sun shine, not a cloud! how lovely & joyous every thing appears, excepting the yellow & red tints upon some of the foliage on the mountains. Nature is as splendid & as fresh as in its spring or summer. Daily do I see fresh beauties here. The enormous baskets of such magnificent vegetables on the women’s heads & their dancing pace as they carry these loads. Every thing has the appearance of God showering down his benefits in bountiful profusion. I have just been walking for half an hour in the garden, the shade of the oranges is quite delightful, the sun being exceedingly hot. The ther stands now in the sun at the window where I am writing 84. In the coldest place out of doors 60. The smell of the oranges & lemons & of the blossoms is most exquisite, the air so balmy, the sky so bright, the sun so life giving. This country is a perfect heaven. Robert is playing pelting the contadina’s little children with oranges!
Found a scorpion crawling up the door way in my bedroom. This by way of disenchantment.
24th Heavenly weather, it gets warmer. I wish always to remember the view I look at as I sit at work in the drawing room of an afternoon. Half way up the mountain a white contadina’s house, a little way to the right a fine pine & farther still a tree more brilliantly red than I ever saw before. Another most beautiful appearance is when there is smoke coming from a house on the mountain side & the wind carries it right up the mountain, it looks so soft & white & dwindles away so gently. Then comes the moonlight night & Orion rising above the mountain, the scintillation of the stars here is most glorious, Syrius above all others.
25th After the painting lesson, went to Villa Santaseverina, Aurélie, Clara drawing the pines, Robert walked home alone! The view looked so splendid from poor old Mr Moore’s apartments, the sea so brilliantly clear, rippling as it used over the rocks & the fisherman the same as ever.
26th Windows all open, every one sitting, lying or standing about as in summer. The whole country & place looking as lovely as ever. Impossible to remain in the sun. Ther at 2 out of a north window 58, in the drawing room 68, in sun 79.
27th Laura & Robert gone out on two fine mules for a 4 hours ride on the mountains, earned by Robert for good character. God bless them. It is again such a splendid day! Yesterday a baby past in an open carriage to be christened. This may afford an idea of the temperature for they christen the children at about 12 hours old & this infant was full drest and laid along one side of the carriage, its long embroidered white muslin robes extending all over the seat upon a light blue silk cushion, a blue silk sash! But they say it looked lovely. Today there are men drest up in the costume we saw at Salerno. Peaked hats & sandals laced high up their legs, going about playing the bag pipes, which they speak of as being purely Neapolitan & I thought was entirely Scotland. This is a custom which continues from this time to Xmas. At 2 o'clock ther sun 82, north 52, drawing room 58 late in the afternoon. I wonder what that enormous light half way up the mountain is. I fancy it’s the same which causes the smoke in the day time I so much admire.
28th It is rather cloudy today but I cannot say I feel no cold, altho’ certain young ladies talk of shivering, the fact is that just after sunset there is always a kind of chill, but no sooner is the house shut in & dinner up, than it is warm enough. Dear Robert not very well at dinner. Aurélie took him off upon her back, had a hot bottle for him, put him to bed, told him stories, then others continued the story telling when they came up from dinner, so that as Annie remarked, he had a very happy evening. This is what attaches a child to home amongst many other things & this is the sort of circumstance which tho’ little thought of perhaps at the moment, leaves an impression which death alone effaces.
29th Warm sirocco. Cloudy. Dear Robert in bed, more from precaution than necessity.
30th The last day of November & not a chill even in the air, tho’ there has evidently been rain in the night yet here is a morning like the very finest spring. Ther all the evening 60 in drawing room.
Dec 1st Lovely soft spring morning, sun & sky brilliant. Robert seems quite well again. Salvatore tells us that at half past 5 Vesuvius was actually covered with fire & made a most brilliant appearance. I wish he had awoke us. 2 Equally lovely or if possible more so, very warm, I might say hot. I never saw any thing so lovely. The sun is so hot that we are obliged to threaten to punish Robert if he goes even to stand at the window for a minute without his hat. The flies swarm as in summer, in fact there is no difference. I found the contadina sitting under the orange trees with her little curly headed child by her side. She was making the little cushion which it is the custom to put under the head of an infant when it goes to be baptized. If a child is born today, it is taken tomorrow to be christened. This woman might grace any society. She is very handsome, very lively, perfectly easy & exceedingly graceful. She looks the picture of peace & plenty.
7th I have been in bed ever since the last date & am now only sitting up for a short time since. The weather has continued equally mild & fine till today when we have strong wind & rain but yet mild. Yesterday they sat at the amphitheatre until ½ past 4 & found it very warm, even Aurélie! This is something rather strange, the 6th December. How odd it looks to see the young infants here swaddled & held stiff upright in the arms like a wooden doll! Sig Solari says that at his house they never have a fire all the winter. His sister lives with them & she has young children who she is afraid wd fall in. The reason of this fear is that the only fire the Neapolitans ever have is contained in a basket with a kind of cage over it, round which they sit when very cold, but it is seldom used at all. What a climate. Did I mention that the other evening Hermann Sherroe, François friend came to see us. He is with a family for the winter, they were passing 2 days here, were remaining a fortnight longer at Naples & were going to Rome before Xmas. He has promised to enquire for apartments for us at Rome & let us know the prices. Switzerland is in a sad state of insurrection. Shall we be able to travel in it next spring? He says that June is the very earliest you can visit Chamonny. The Tyrol is very beautiful & very safe.
9th I was not able to sit up at all yesterday & even today only whilst my bed is being made. I have not the remotest idea what can have brought on this visitation. I have not walked so little for years I may now say. Weather beautiful again but cooler. Yesterday in my room the ther was 56.
11th Thank God I think I am better today tho’ only sitting up whilst my bed is being made. Aurélie had a letter from her sisters & mother yesterday. Full of wonders about a somnambulist, who plays at Ecarté whilst asleep, reads books without opening the page. Told Miss Elisa that her sister was near the sea not far from Naples, with a zigzag path down to the beach in a chateau not belonging to herself but her friends, that at that instant she was “en soirée” & dull. They have looked at my diary & find that that evening Sig Fiorentino & the old Princess were with us. According to this we must take care what we do. For my part I believe not a word of it.
14th Still in bed & only able to remain up whilst my bed is being made. Weather continues as lovely as ever, ther 42 north at ½ past 8 but in the middle of the day nay as the sun is fairly up it has immense power, impossible to remain in it for any time or for even a minute uncovered. All goes on as usual. I am very vexed at unsettling the family by my ailment, but there is no help for it. I must bear it as patiently as I can.
17 Bed still, but yet I hope the visitation is gradually subsiding. Robert has such frequent headaches that I feel uneasy about him & Clara when getting up this morning nearly fainted. It appears that when she was sitting on her little stool in the garden yesterday drawing, she heard the bagpipes & starting up suddenly to see them she strained the bottom of her back. The pain was very sharp at the moment but she mentioned it so carelessly to Fanny when she came in, that she thought no more of it. This morning however after stooping down, when she raised herself the pain was so violent that it turned her faint & sick. I have had her back rubbed with rum & soap & trust to God for its being better. Fanny’s eyes are very bad.
22 My gown on the first time for 3 weeks. I have suffered much. The weather has been splendid until Sunday, since when we have had the usual heavy rains.
28 I think I may now call myself pretty nearly reestablished excepting that I suffer from violent pain & weakness in my back & do not yet go down to breakfast. Xmas day was celebrated by us very grandly. I had a fancy fair of 109 articles, habit shirts, cuffs, night caps, shirts etc, pen wipers, mats, pin cushions all made by myself, besides book weights, wooden things & china toys. The choice of these things amused them all much, especially Robert who fought enumerable battles afterwards with his tin soldiers. The country people celebrate Xmas very prettily. Vegetables are the grand things. The green grocers opposite were up for 2 previous nights watching their enormous pile of celery, cabbages, cauliflowers, endive etc which not only filled their own shop & opposite their door, but nearly covered the old bridge. Altho’ the weather was very tempestuous yet the sale of these & enormous quantities of nuts & chesnuts occupied the time untill about 5 o’clock on Xmas eve, when all was shut up & then during the whole night immense explosions of gun powder took place constantly. At 12 at night every one goes to Mass. Emily called me to get out of bed at 5 o’clock in the morning to see a procession of about 50 boys walking 2 & 2 with each a torch & at every minute letting off this loud fire work. They were followed by priests & were coming to the church near us. The effect was strikingly picturesque of this unostentatious procession winding down from the ravine in the dark. At about 9 o’clock a gay & beautiful tho’ absurd procession came down the ravine, priests carrying a little gilt cradle with a doll in it, a bright yellow & gold parasol held over it by priests from behind & a gay many coloured canopy over all. This was followed by many women & children in their best & gayest attire carrying large bouquets of flowers. The rest of the day every thing was perfectly quiet. The weather has been very tempestuous, violent rain, wind, thunder & lightning, but with the exception of a few days when the ther went down to 34 in the night, we have had it at 8½ in the morning north out of doors 48 & 54. Nevertheless we have had fire in the drawing room every day for about a week & sometimes lighted in the morning. The bagpipe men here are very curious, several wild looking men in the pointed hats etc come from the country about Rome, wild looking strange creatures they are. They bring a sheep skin full of common wooden spoons. When they first arrive about a fortnight before Xmas they go round to every house playing their bagpipe & flageolet a low monotonous dirge of about 6 notes & at each house they leave some spoons, in return for which before they leave the place they receive sweetmeats, money & the print of a saint. For 9 days before Xmas they play a certain number of times daily before the crosses, images, madonnas etc. We have heard them long before light in the morning playing their dirge before our cross & St Anthony. Whilst this goes on they take off their hats & so do all the persons near. It is a very curious sight. The washerwomen & servants brought us immense presents of fruit & bons bons.
31 Yesterday it rained unfortunately again all day. Fanny & Aurélie started at half past six for Naples & did not return. I shall be most anxious to see them this afternoon for tho’ they took their night dresses & it was agreed that I should not be frightened if they stopped, yet I shall be more easy I must say when I see them safe at home again. It is the first time since we left England that we have not all slept under the same roof. The old lace woman was here today. I left the room for a minute, she took the opportunity of asking Emily if I was her mother, hearing that I was she instantly exclaimed “Magnificent feminine”. Shall we ever forget seeing this little old woman & little Emily struggling to reach the half canna to measure the lace & when the old soul found their efforts ineffectual she put on the most theatrical attitude & exclaimed “Most blessed Virgin help us”. No comedy that was ever acted was ever so comic as this old creature. She was wet through and we told her to go to the fire & warm herself. When our servant Anastasia came in, she told her that we wanted her to put herself into the fire, but she was old & putting her hand to the side of her face & lying her head on it to intimate sleep, she said she was old & wd soon die & then she should have enough fire. Hearing us speak a different language she asked what language she spoke, Anastasia told her Italian & so she kept repeating “Oh Italian, we speak Italian”. The travellers returned to dinner, Aurélie with a horrible migraine & Fanny with a stomach ache. They have nearly settled for a small cheap apartment, which will I trust answer our purpose. They found out Madame Perugino, who with her cousin obtained them their apartment. And now we are finishing this year & leaving this lovely tranquil place, how can we be too thankful to the Almighty for having preserved us all so long, for having loaded us with blessings, for having given us opportunities of repentence & for having permitted us to see some of his most glorious works.
MARTHA SHAW
Travel Journal 3 : 4.11.1846 – 28.3.1848 typed in 3 parts
Travel Journal 3 Part 3: Sorrento 1st January 1848 – 28th March 1848 Rome
8 in group, Martha and 6 children, Emily, Fanny, Annie, Clara, Laura, Robert (age 8), Miss Aurélie Hubert de Fonteny 1813-1907 (French companion/governess). Another guide François accompanied them to Rome. Transcribed and typed by Madeleine Symes 2017 with her notes in italics & in square brackets, mostly capitals removed, places/people/things of interest in bold. Martha’s spelling.
Jany A New Year! 1848
1st Rain, wind & packing all day, dreadfully sorry to leave Sorrento.
2nd Quiet all day. I think there is an alteration in weather. Marianella came to wish us good bye. She wants to go to Rome with us & says with utmost innocence “if I go with you I will try & get a husband who will travel with you too, I shall not want to come back to Sorrento. I have never listened to a Signor here, because I want to see the world”. The contadino & his children came to take leave of us & brought us an enormous basket of huge oranges & lemons. Anastasia brought us a lot of dried grapes in leaves.
3rd Up at ½ past 5, a brilliant morning. Luggage gone by boat. We had a good breakfast, then settled with Signora Rispoli, very amicably, paid all sorts of bonnes mains & set off surrounded by adios & all sorts of salutations. Really we felt inclined to cry at leaving this most heavenly place & as we drove through the lanes with oranges on each side & almost over our heads we were melancholly at the idea of taking our final leave of all that is most beautiful & rich in nature. The oranges there are literally loaded & weighed down with fruit, there are more oranges than leaves. Villages, churches, oranges, olives, mountains, the pure blue sky, rocks, very turn of the road desplaying fresh beauties. What a paradise it all is! when we look back on the Piano as we would up Scutali! the one projecting mountain which we past in going up to the Colli, the white church, the house on the top of that perpendicular rock. Oh it is so lovely all, that I mourn to think we shall probably never see it all again & then the climate, driving in an open carriage, without any particular wraps, we were absolutely warm & wanted parasols untill we got to the north of Scutali & then not positively cold. When we got to the station, we were glad to see Aurélie, Fanny, Clara & Laura still waiting for us, they had gone on before as we were kept waiting so long by Signora Rispoli that we expected to lose the train. We took our tickets & soon started, eat a good lunch as we went along of the sandwiches we cut at breakfast & a large cake the Collar woman brought us as a present at 6 o’clock in the morning. We arrived at Naples at about 1 o’clock. I took a carriage & came to our lodgings with Fanny, Annie & Robert, whilst the rest walked to the Douane & got the luggage from the boat & then joined us. I watched them from one of our balconies as they came in & cd imagine by the faces of the novices, that they were as much pleased with the entrance to our domain, our concierge etc as we were. Owing to a mistake between the cousin & Fanny when dinner time came we found it had not been ordered, so we had to wait till seven o’clock & then we had maccaroni which is here called soup in two white terrines, then six portions of veal & all sorts of vegetables, then a large dish of fish small & large, cauliflowers, liver, brains, potatoes etc all fried crisp. Then 6 beef steaks & potatoes, then apples, grapes, nuts, figs, cakes, besides this scraped cheese, anchovies, slices of sausages, butter, radishes, bread & 6 small bottles of wine. This all cost 24 carlines or 8s 4d – we went early to bed.
4th Directly after breakfast a part of us went out shopping & executed our commissions much to our satisfaction. Emily, Fanny & Annie have each a pretty black silk, it is gone already to be made, as well as a plaid blouse for Robert & 2 frocks for C & L. Emily has a silk capote. Fanny & Annie similar ones ordered. Aurélie is to have her Leghorn cleaned & trimmed by the day after tomorrow, Robert’s hat is nicely done up. Aurélie has a plaid, I a shawl, in fact we are completely refitted. The bustle in the streets of Sorrento [Naples] is beyond all conception, carriages, oxen, mules, carts, goats, poor people, rich people, soldiers foot & cavalry, artillery & no trottoir! I shall not trouble walking much.
5 Aurélie took Robert to see his friend Charles, who however did not recollect him & does not seem very sociable. After lunch I went with Emily to the Consul’s & to Rothschild’s, signed my certificate & got £50.
6 Aurélie & I went out marketting for we are horribly cheated in this place by old Marcana & her fat spouse. 2 grana upon every small loaf & every thing in proportion. We bought a gateau de roi & Robert was very happy all the evening as we played at all sort of games with him.
7 Pouring rain. Battle about dirty water for breakfast paying for clean. They are gone out shopping & frock trying. Fanny is in bed with a cold. I have put her on a mustard poultice. I signed the agreement for a month of this apartment 46 ducats nearly £2 a week. We have 5 rooms & a kitchen such as they are. I dare say we shall not forget them.
8th Four having just started in a drizzling rain & cold wind for the gallery. I remain at home with Fanny in bed with her cold (better), Laura & Robert happy at soldiers & me wrapped up in my wadded cloak making the best of a cold.
11 Have been two days enjoying the great comfort & consolation of bed & a horrible cold in a dirty lodging. Laura has also been in bed. Fanny is better. The rest & especially Aurélie are perfect slaves. They are so afraid to being laid up with this horrid influenza & disabled from seeing the gallery & other things, that they are at it from breakfast to dinner or at least till as long as they can remain out. Emily was 6 hours & Aurélie 8 yesterday on their legs. Today I have insisted on their taking a little carriage to call on Madame Perugino. The weather was lovely yesterday but very Londonish again today. It is the King’s Fête, great preparations for illuminating the barracks close to us & a great bustle with the soldiers, all enveloped in large white cloaks on account of the rain. Lots of carriages at the palace & of course lots of cannons being fired. Yesterday to our surprise we had a visit from François. He is here with an English family for a few days & is going to Rome perhaps Paris. He brought a lot of English newspapers. At Rothschild’s yesterday they gave Miss Hubert the address of an apartment which in case of need they went to look at, very nice indeed, every comfort, good situation & not dearer than this vile hole. How can any human creature like a town even in its best form in comparison with the country, lovely clean poor beautiful country! How I long to be in it again! The Italian master gave his second lesson, 3 hours instead of 2! so deeply engaged in Dante. François called, he has a letter from his friend Hermann who can find nothing for us for the price he mentioned. The Marinaro from Sorrento came. As the King & Queen past the other day in a little open carriage, a poor man ran up & gave a petition into the King’s hand, who took it very quietly.
12 I am very much better thank God. Today the weather continues horrible. Aurélie has taken Robert in a little brougham to have his first lesson of Italian with Charles. The other day they went into a shop to look at old guipure lace. The woman asked an exorbitant price & Aurélie said she had been in the habit of buying of the old women about Sorrento for much less “Very likely said the woman, but when they come to me I give them a fair price & don’t impose upon their ignorance as ladies do”. One old woman when told that we use too much oil says “I can’t eat lamp oil” & in an ironical manner when she wants any thing she says “you had better come too, for fear I should take any you know”. Robert’s hat had been cleaned, it did not come home, we called to ask about it, the woman proposed our carrying it ourselves. A man brings some soup from the restaurateurs & we do not give as much bonne main as he expects. He stands in the middle of the open parlour door with his white night cap & looking steadily at us all, he says “You understand. I shall not bring it tomorrow for that. You understand me”. We did indeed understand so well, that as we were almost sure to want soup again, we thought it wisest to give him what he asked, for had we complained to his master he wd not have reprehended his servant for being impertinent, but have told us we ought to give more. At Sorrento when the man who brought home the tea caddy & other things asked much more for every article than we had agreed for, we desired to have the bill, he quietly took it out of his pocket & was not the least abashed when we showed him the right price there charged. Having other cause of complaint we were almost afraid to mention this circumstance to the master, however being driven to extremities, we did mention it, when instead of hearing him exclaim against such gross dishonesty & threaten to discharge him, we had the annoyance of seeing the usual shake of the finger & being assured that the man only meant that the things were worth that, this tho’ he knew the man of course meant to pocket the extra money. I am throughly sure that the Italians cheat each other, father, mother, child, husband, wife, no matter who, they live cheating & lying & imagine die so too. I have the greatest curiosity to know whether as children they are taught to think these things vices or virtues. I am strongly inclined to think the latter because I never yet seen a blush or the slightest indication of feeling wrong for such delinquencies. The fact is that they certainly are semi barbarous, how otherwise can one account for the practice of carrying exposed the corpses of persons dead of the most loathsome & pestilent disorders & when one meets a child’s body so black & disfigured as not to be able to distinguish it being carried to the burying place for contagious disorders, to be laughed at if one’s face expresses dismay & then the eternal “non fa niente” that enrages me. No matter what danger moral or physical, real or imaginary, you must always hear “fa niente”.
13 Rather finer today. Emily in bed with the worst cold I think I ever saw. Clara also. Aurélie has it, but has insisted on going once more to the gallery. This evening I know she will knock up, thank God I think I shall be able in some measure to supply her place now. I am much better.
14 Aurélie in bed. I went out & did an immense deal of shopping with Fanny. Bought lots of little & big presents in coral & lava.
15 Went to this most uninteresting & most uncomfortable & most unsatisfactory picture gallery. Wandering through dirty brick floored rooms, with dirty vile coarse sign posts hung round them, sometimes their numbers marked on them in red, white or black chalk, otherwise under them on the filthy wall, it appears to me that one must be true devotees to art to admire or be amused by it here. There is one Raphael with the child much in the same position as my favourite Andrea del Sarto in the lovely Pitty gallery but I cannot fancy it to be one of the finest of his. Domenichino’s Child praying being protected by some angel from the devil is very fine. I must take dear little Robert to see that. Absolutely at this moment I do not recollect one other painting I admire. I never was so astonished & disappointed. After stopping a decent time we walked down that terrible Toledo & came to the “Little Mans” Squadrilla, where we met Aurélie & her little ones. We made many little purchases & returned tolerably tired.
16 A good sermon against persecution of the Jews & general toleration. François called to propose a Voiturier for us to go to Rome, all in one carriage, also to get us apartments at Rome.
17 Gallery 3 or 4 hours, much interested in seeing the bronzes, glass & earthen ware utensils from Pompei, it is a most extraordinary collection. All the culinary utensils are bronze silvered inside not as now tinned! There are vessels of very description. All the articles for a lady’s toileter, combs, tweezers, glass pots of rouge, lamps of every description & for every purpose, seats, toys, locks of doors, types for the names of shops etc, small bronze altars for sacrificing insects! The helmet encrusted with lava belonging to the faithful sentinel who lost his life at his post, utensils for boiling eggs, bones to make musical instruments. Of all the things to be seen however the most curious are the models of old burying places with the tombs open & the skeletons lying as they were found with the little vases for tears etc. All round inside one is the skeleton of a warrior & there is the whole of his armour arranged by his sides & his arms on his bosom & lots of little vases about his tomb. The Etruscan things are splendid.
18 Again to the gallery with Fanny, Laura & Robert. I wanted to shew the latter Domenichino’s picture of the Child’s guardian angel. It is a thing well calculated to make an impression on him poor little fellow, I trust he may always have such a protector to shield him from the general enemy. We walked hours. There are certainly many fine statues, the family of the Balbo’s, the Venus’s, the Flora & many more are admirable. There are species of most of the marbles & alabasters we have found in such abundance at Sorrento.
19 Gallery directly after breakfast. Gave our letter of introduction & had the inestimable advantage of seeing the usual public objects with the addition of giving a very smart young man the trouble of attending us, giving me his arm & supposing us intimate friend of the Duchess of ---- whom we never saw in our lives. The manner of unrolling the burnt papyrus is extremely simple but effective. It is found in rolls entirely carbonized, the stick a kind of gold beaters skin over the outer part to which all the particles attach & they then unroll so far, of course as it unrolls the writing is visible on the other side. When they have unrolled so far they stick the skin on the next outward part & so on, in this way they have obtained books full of writings. They add in red ink the words necessary to make the sense clear. How wonderful & interesting is it to see every article of use & ornament belonging to a city full of people 1800 years ago! The colours & paintings on their walls are as fresh & lovely as when done. There are their seats, sofas, carriage wheels, saucepans, gridirons, egg boilers, shapes for jellies, cakes etc, kettles, urns exactly as now used. Boilers with cocks precisely as now. Lamps for table, bed, hall ec. Children’s toys, all the phials & boxes of a chymist’s shop even the pills! Combs, tweezers, ear picks, musical instruments, altars for sacrifice, sacrificing knives. Glass pots of rouge, types for printing names, all sorts of ornaments, rings, bracelets, armlets, gold lace found in the theatre, human bones, skull, hair. Large cakes baked in round shapes with the name of the baker stamped on them. Walnuts, fibberts some cracked, the shells empty & some not yet taken but only cracked. Eggs & egg shells, a ragout in a saucepan, small round cakes with a hole in the middle, the same as you see in the streets today. Prunes & all sorts of dried fruit. In fact there are few articles in daily use now, which are not to the found amongst the remains of the unhappy Pompeians. It is an aweful lesson! Then their exquisite mural paintings! Colour, form, design all so lovely. Then their bronzes, their marble statues, their mosaics, their cameos & intaglios, all serving as models to the present generation! How wondrous that such apparent destruction should have been the means of preserving to us 1800 years after the event all these specimens of the art, the luxury, taste & the riches of these people. The part which strikes me with most interest is that these things belonged to a period very near to our Saviour’s appearance on earth, had it but pleased the Almighty to reserve to us some traces of him! The Hercules & the Bull are splendid pieces of sculpture. François has engaged for me a Voiturier who engages to carry us & our luggage, board & lodging included to Rome for 18 Napoleons, 152 miles, about £15.
20 A long fatiguing walk to the church of St Martino & Castle of St Elmo, both of which according to Italian prudence are closed to strangers. Aurélie & Emily took a sketch of the splendid view but were narrowly watched by the sentinel who indeed warned the former that she must not go so far. No doubt they supposed we were taking plans for taking the castle. Oh how ignorant & absurd are these people. What a King! What a Government! Just now we have seen the usual evening sight of a troop of horse & foot soldiers gliding slowly along close to the houses. First come 3 horse soldiers, then about 50 foot. After them about 20 horse & behind at some distance 3 more horse, not a sound to be heard, going at the slowest possible pace. Hardly a soul is ever to be seen about in the evening & it appears like a besieged place. The mass of the people I believe think that with perseverance they will oblige the King to comply with their just demands. We have today obtained the proclamations which have lately been placarded, by which he gives a little & in his supreme stupidity thinks the people will be contented with. Night & day the troops parade the streets & this great Bourbon blockhead openly declares his intention if necessary of sacrificing his wretched soldiers to a man & then flying. He looks a heavy thick headed blundering man, fat, slow, dull & obstinate.
21 Went with Annie first to the chymist’s & after lunch with Emily, Fanny & Clara to the usual round of Madame Boltan, Palchetti, Squadrilla & a variety of “little men”. I bought a variety of presents & think I have now almost enough.
22 Pouring rain & much disturbance among the people. About 10 o’clock there was a general rush towards the mob, soldiers, men, women & children. There was a bustle at the palace, officers galloping backwards & forwards, carriages full, men rushing after officers etc. In fact there seemed every probability of a regular confusion. The shops were all instantly shut & Emily & Fanny were in the height of expectation, when all subsided & was restored to its usual appearance. The Italian master this evening was accompanied by a man servant & his nephew came to fetch him. When the disturbance began this morning, he was at the house of a magistrate, the lady fainted & Signor Sica had a carriage sent for him, his family being frightened. He gives a famous account of affairs in Sicily. They have completely conquered, they refuse to negotiate with this lubber headed King except as seperate powers. They have conducted every thing with perfect moderation & prudence, not having committed a single act of violence or robbery. The King’s troops have returned many wounded & at present the Sicilians are independent. May they long remain so & every one else of this foolish obstinate fellow.
23 What a relief & blessing to be in church! & how well wd it be if one cd write down at the time the feelings produced by harmony in devotion. An excellent sermon on “Thirsting after righteousness” certainly if we thirsted we should go quickly enough to drink. The allusion is most perfect, for as there is no suffering so intense as thirst, so do men more eagerly strive to satisfy the agony of it, than of any other human pain. How forcibly then are we reminded by scripture of the ardour, the impetuosity, the eagerness with which we ought to thirst after righteousness, alas! do we so thirst as to render us impatient! agonized! untill God satisfies us with his grace.
24 Walked with both parties altogether 7 hours, looking out, buying, ordering a variety of coral & lava presents, I wish to have some little remembrance for every person I call friend in England, but it is difficult, because my funds are very limited.
It is a curious state of things here. Constant little disturbances & agitations take place, today as we were coming out of Palchetti’s, a sudden & general rush of carriages & people took place. In a moment all the valuables were taken in from the shop windows & Emily was as delighted as usual during these miniature revolutions. What they are or what they arise from no one pretends to know, but what Sig Sica says is very probable, that they are got up on purpose to render the presence of a certain number of troops here necessary & to prevent their being sent to Sicily.
25 Worked & packed trinkets & presents all the morning whilst Aurélie took Clara, Laura & Robert for a last and general view of the gallery. Robert was much delighted with the grand group of the “Bull” & Hercules, both of which he has been drawing ever since. Signor Sica is now here, he seems to consider the news from Palermo as very promising. They have not only established their own liberty, but they now refuse to accept from Ferdinando any constitution in which his other subjects do not participate, so that it is to be hoped the Neapolitans will obtain liberty also & with it a better character, I trust that their bad habits arise from the state of ignorance & slavery in which they are kept. They say that in all the villages around armed peasants are collecting & that now they amount to 10.000. Yesterday there were new placards up granting life but perpetual imprisonment to the offenders in the provinces & as high as well as low are amongst the number of course this does not satisfy. Surely they will have courage enough to insist on better terms than these for the friends of liberty. I hope it will prove that the King has formed too low an opinion of his wretchedly degraded people, effeminate & poltroon as they are, yet surely they will rouse themselves & shew they have some pretension to the name of men with the Sicilians before their eyes. One Neapolitan soldier who is returned wounded is quite downcast, he was wounded by a nun. Monks, nuns, all ranks & sexes have risen in Palermo & see what they have done, long live the Sicilians say I. I went with Emily, Fanny & Annie to have frocks fitted by Madame Louise. She says she has nothing to do, every ball, every public amusement is prohibited & Naples is deserted! I dread the concourse of people, the bustle, the expense of Rome, which owing to the Pope & the Neapolitan riots are doubly & trebly crowded. Tomorrow week we are to start. I am anxious to know what François does for us in the way of apartments.
26 Aurélie & I took a little brougham & went to Rothschilds. I took about £50 & he has given me an order on a banker at Rome for the rest. We then went to the post & the market & were a little surprised to see so many shops shut & a crowd of men before the palace. After leaving the market I proposed going to take leave of Madame Perugino. We found her at home & I asked her to let me take Charles to pass the day with Robert. She sent him to dress & after waiting some time for him, all of a sudden we heard a distant cry & every member of the family rushed in pale, trembling & exclaiming “alarm”. The gates of the barracks were closed instantly & we had the probability of being kept prisoners & sharing the fate of the soldiers if the barracks sd be attacked. Fortunately for us at this instant the old Colonel returned saying all was quiet & after waiting a little we came away with Charles who was received with great delight by poor Robert. We have found a letter from Hermann at the post informing us that he & François had found a very nice apartment for us, about the price & size of that of Florence. We were all talking over the letter, when we observed troops collecting from all quarters. The Largo del Castello was soon filled. We ran up to the Belvedere & then saw that the palace gates were all shut & soldiers strongly armed, cannon etc lining the iron palisade inside. The small portion of the Toledo which we cd see appeared crowded with men & soldiers. Poor Charles was dreadfully frightened for his mother & said that for the last week they had been talking of escaping to the Castle of St Elmo & he knew not what they wd do without him being with them. The disturbances encreased & at last a red flag was hoisted on the Castle & unfurled by all the regiments in token that the King had given orders to fire on his beloved people if they shewed signs of revolt. Not long after this we saw Madame Perugino & her sister flying down the street. Charles & Robert ran down to meet her, she only left her company & took her little boy away with her. Aurélie & Emily also ran down & the latter followed & spoke to her as she was getting into a brougham. She was much agitated, the sister crying, she asked Aurélie for some money & they went off. For a short time we saw white kerchiefs waving in the Toledo & apparently the cavalry charging down the street. There were several cannons fired from the Castle, but towards 4 o’clock the movement subsided, the streets were opened which hitherto had been barricaded by cavalry. The troops all moved off & the city resumed somewhat it usual appearance, the shops however closely shut. We went out as far as to see what was passing on the Largo del Palazzo & we went in to the English chymist. He appeared quite indignant & said that merely 150 boys had brought a tree of liberty & had been routed by the soldiers. Of course all the trades people are greatly irritated & injured for there is no trade going on & half the days the shops are closed. Our old woman says that numbers of people have laid in provisions for a month anticipating a regular siege. All however is quiet, only the usual number of creepers about, hardly another individual.
28 At breakfast this morning the man from the deux Parisiennes came for his money thinking we were certainly going away on account of the revolution. He appears a very determined French man & quite a respectable sort of person. He assured us that every one was fully armed having pistols, guns, powder, shot, swords etc ready to attack the soldiery. He told us he thought we might safely go out at once, but that by 11 o’clock all the streets wd be barricaded & stopped by the soldiers again. I went with Emily, Fanny & Annie to the police office & got our passport, it has to be viséed by half a dozen different authorities & then we shall be at liberty to leave. We walked a little on the Ncole & by the time we returned the Largo was filled with cavalry & infantry. We came in & looked at them manœuvre about, but nothing was done & at 3 they all moved off again like boobies to the sound of a victorious march. Aurélie & I then went out to try & do some of our shopping, but the shops were mostly closed. Wherever we went in we heard tales about tonight when some mysterious movement is to take place, some said at 5 precisely the King had promised to sign the Constitution & he was to make it known by firing cannon, but the hour is long past & all is quiet. Then we hear tales of imprisoning & sending off the Minister of Police, or resignation of ministers, of threats from the high nobility etc. We shall see what will happen, it appears a most extraordinary state of things.
29 I took Robert to walk round the Largo this morning after breakfast but was soon obliged to come in on account of crowds collecting round gentlemen with the tri coloured cockade. Soon after a tremendous bustle commenced in the Toledo, tri coloured flags & crying “Viva la liberta”. Numbers of carriages filled with gentlemen are going about in all directions & the bustle encreases every minute. The Largo is now full of soldiers & artillery & the red flag is again unfurled. I am very uneasy, because Aurélie, Emily, Fanny & Annie went to take a last look at the gallery directly after breakfast & are not yet returned 11 o’clock - I cannot imagine why they do not return. We have about 200 cavalry before our door. Just as I had written the above, I saw them coming in a carriage & to my great amazement they rushed up & cried out “It’s given”. I cd scarcely believe such good news. Immediately they insisted on me & the little ones getting into the carriage & driving up & down the Strado Toledo, we went. There was a regular string of carriages up one side & down the other, the intermediate space entirely filled by walkers. The gentlemen who filled the carriages wore all of them tri coloured cockades & in every carriage they carried one, two, or even more flags with various devices. Viva il Re. Viva la Constituzione. Viva Pius Nino. Viva Palermo. Viva Italia. All these Vivas they vociferated, joined to every possible gesticulation, clapping of hands, shaking hands with each other, embracing & kissing each other. The chief part were young men & many were evidently of good rank, but mingled with these were priests, old men & in fact men of every age & condition. The most curious sight was to look up at the houses, every balcony to the very top filled by smartly dressed women & men, all waving handkerchiefs, bowing, laughing, in fact indulging in every demonstration of joy. It was such a sight as we are never likely to witness again. At last the number of carriages became so great that the street was entirely full & they cd no longer move. As soon as possible we got down a side street & so round the back way past our house & to the end of the Toledo, where to my astonishment in a balcony I saw Emily, Fanny & Annie. We remained opposite to them for some time but cd not make them see us & so at last I resolved to come home & see if Aurélie was here for I saw nothing of her. When we came in sight of our house, she was standing watching for us in the balcony. She ran down, got into the carriage & took us to the place she had accidentally procured for us over the restaurateur’s. Emily had had a fine sight. The King had come out from the palace on horseback attended by a few officers only, to receive the thanks of his people, those grateful people whom he had so deprived of their liberty, but whose facile disposition allows them in an instant to forgive & to forget all his injuries & to receive him as a benefactor. Only yesterday he sent to the Commandant of the City & the General of St Elmo to order them to fire on the town in case of disturbance, but for answer they sent in their resignation saying they had never refused before to obey the King’s orders.
Well we joined the girls & saw a continuation of these rejoicings, a young Greek particularly exerted himself. I wish it was possible to describe so as to give the faintest idea of the excitement & animation which prevailed. One old priest was nearly suffocated. He was on foot with 2 o3 gentlemen who guarded him as well as they could. He was talking & laughing & at last when he took out his purse, the crowd seized his hands & pressed on him so he was nearly crushed. The young Greek stood in the carriage & harangued & gesticulated to every person & balcony. Another young man on foot rushed up & down the street followed by 100’s untill he was nearly exhausted. With both arms spread, hats off, hands spread & then clasped, their hair flowing, their eyes seeming almost to start from their sockets, they kissed their hands, their flags, their cockades, they seized the flags which past & kissed them. They threw handsful of cegars & money amongst the crowd. Every carriage private & public in Naples must have been there, crammed inside, back, front, the gentlemen standing on them as closely as they cd cram. In one carriage 3 gentlemen sat side by side, each had a flag & each was dressed in a different coloured scarf to represent the popular flag. At last a general rush towards the corner took place, it was the King. Hundreds of poor persons ran before him, throwing their hats in the air, shouting, jumping, running, the band playing, every head uncovering, every mouth uttering thanks & blessings. It was a splendid sight full of interest & good feeling, King & people all together. As he wound back through the crowd to his palace, it was most grand & imposing & the hats thrown in the air & the waving of flags & handkerchiefs had a singular appearance. As soon as he was gone, the Corso resumed its march & we got home as soon as we could. A 2 carlini piece which I gave to a poor man as I came home, almost overpowered him & the same to our concierge (of Shoe memory) did the like, double fare too to the coachman etc were received with delight. After lunch we went out again about 4 o’clock Emily & I & soon the King’s brother & wife in an open carriage overtook us, crowds running in front. He took his hat off to us & laughed most good humouredly. Soon after came the King & Queen, he did the same & looked delighted. A poor woman rushed from a side street & waving her apron in the air, waved it over her head close to the King exclaiming Viva il Re. He looked what he ought, the happiest of men. Coming home the King past us again. The evening was perfectly quiet. They say the Theatre of St Carlo was crowded to overflowing & the King never ceased bowing.
30 I was not well, but went to church. The town is immensely gay. Crowds going to the Villa., lots of cockades. Yesterday some of the ladies had their bonnets trimmed with them.
31 Dearest Annie’s Birth day. She has lots of Neapolitan presents, a very nice collection. Aurélie & I went to market for her dinner, every thing is excessively cheap. We had 6 enormous head of celery for 3 grana, a little more than 1d. Our horrible old cheat of a woman assured us it was less & worse than she gets, being at least the double & much finer, every thing the same. Wine! Oh such cheats, so bare faced. Lots of shopping, bustle etc & tomorrow what a lot of packing!
Feby 1 Packed every thing & went out for two hours shopping. Signor Solari & Signor Sica called to take leave. Both have given us recommendations to Rome. I bought some lovely lava brooches & Aurélie & I have given the “little man” addresses in Paris & London.
2 Started at 7 in François’ excellent carriage & 2 beautiful horses. They took us as far as Aversa, where we took 2 additional ones. The roads are horrible, both for horses & people. Our insides are almost jolted out. The road is wide & handsome & with scraping & mending wd be magnificent. This however is not done & therefore they resemble a ploughed field. We left Naples with infinite regret, as with Naples we have bid adieu to southern Italy & our enchanting Sorrento & Amalfi & Capri & Ischia & Procida & all the scenes of loveliness we have so long revelled in. Their image will never fade from my memory for I think they must resemble heaven itself. There is also a charm in the climate quite indescribable. Naples itself I do not like as a place, in fact I do not like any city in the world much less an Italian one, but its picturesque beauties are undeniable & I used to enjoy an almost daily view of my beautiful Capri & the mountains about Sorrento. The sea too always looked beautiful, particularly when it dashed against the old castle. But good bye to all these admirable sights, we are now sitting at a really decent Inn called St Agata, a single house amongst the mountains. We had a very comfortable meal at Capua, where we took a carriage the instant we arrived & went to see the ruins of the ancient amphitheatre about a mile out of the town. It is a most interesting ruin, preferable to my mind to all those in the fashionable Rome. I can never fancy a ruin in a crowded smart street, with iron railings round it. To me it has something hatefully cockney in it. This one near Capua stands quite in the country, with a fine background of mountains & just before arriving at it, the road passes through a very handsome ancient archway. The ruins themselves are more picturesque than any I have ever seen, of course not so splendid or so desolate as Pestum, but very pretty & interesting. There were some sheep feeding about them & a little girl stood in one of the highest arches with a long pole in her hand, adding greatly to the effect. Emily sketched her but we had no time to stop as the days are too short to allow long mid day rests. We returned, eat our meal in haste & started for this place at 20 minutes to 2. We had veal cutlets, omelette & potatoes done with the green part of the celery, oranges, apples & figs. The usual tasteless rolls of bread & a little double glass salt & pepper thing. Here we have had soup with the little maccaroni in it, boiled beef & beans, 2 ducks & potatoes done in the same way, oranges & apples. They seem very civil people, anxious to please, we have an excellent fire & 8 beds! Robert is not very well. He has had some wine & water & nutmeg, his bed warmed & is fast asleep. Laura & he went in the coupé to Capua, Aurélie & he from Capua here. We are to start tomorrow morning at 6 o’clock. It is a very long day, poor horses! There are lots of soldiers about Capua. They had walked I think from Naples & some were horribly lame. It was a blessing to see them turn in to their barracks. One poor fellow was walking with his heal quite out of his shoe.
3 We left St Agata a quarter before six. Therefore we arrived & departed in the dark. I was up at a few minutes past 4. We took a cup of coffee & set off. The day soon began to dawn & the country was very fine especially the trees, each one of which wd form a splendid study. The enormous twisted trunks of the old olives & their graceful forms & directions always excite my admiration. The first very interesting spot we past was a suspension bridge over the Garigliano. Near its mouth it joins the sea at 2 or 3 hundred feet from where we past it. The mountains are extremely wild, their tops covered with snow, but the costume of the people is picturesque in the extreme, set off as it is by their graceful & handsome persons. The women wear the large white or red kerchief on the head arranged in that peculiarly becoming manner so as to form a flat oblong piece on the top of the head. Then the green bodice, the deep crimson petticoat & knee stockings & a kind of shoe, that is to say a piece of leather with a string at each corner, sandalled all up the leg. The men wear the pointed cap & universally a brown cloth cloak, dark blue knee breeches & white stockings with the same sort of sandal. The shepherds who are very numerous wear sheepskins for dress & they live in round straw huts peaked & with a simple opening for a door, no window, no chimney, just as at Pestum. Nothing can exceed the wildness & at the same time beauty of today’s drive. Snow at the top of the mountains but all around us through the plain this whole day, have we gone through groves of olives, figs, lemons, caroube, oak etc. The ground & hedges covered with myrtle full of berries, caroube. Lauristinus in full bloom. Arbutus, daffodils, violets, tulips, honeysuckle, roses & peas in full bloom! the cactus & aloes past all credence for number & size. One aloe had its flower stalk still standing full 30 feet high. One hill (on which stands a town, is a most picturesque one with its round domed churches & arches) is entirely covered with aloes & olives. The caroube is one of the most beautiful trees I ever saw & I longed to be able to stop & let them draw the knotted, twined old trunks & roots, so red when broken! We arrived sooner than we expected at our breakfasting place. Fanny set to work to draw the town & mountains from the balcony of the Inn, whilst I & some others asked to go into the garden, a lovely orange garden like our dear Sorrento. To our surprise the contadina’s boy shewed us to the ruins of Cicero’s house where he was assassinated. There it stands or rather the ground plan of it being washed over by the waves, excepting those parts which are high up on the rock consisting of arches & passages. We picked up mosaics white & blue as we went along & after breakfast some went on the beach & Aurélie drew from above. Fanny & Laura washed a part of the wall & copied a beautiful little fresco, 2 birds & a flower. Emily made many sketches which she can now make into drawings & Aurélie took the whole panorama. The near foreground, with Capri, Ischia, Procida, Sorrento, Castellamare, Vesuvius in the distance, what a view! I tried to persuade our Voiturier to sleep at Mola, but it was impossible without remaining another day on the road & this interfered with Monday. We left Mola with infinite regret & past through a most romantic country actually sprinkled with Roman ruins. At last we came to Itri the very quintessence of wildness, picturesqueness & beauty. The road winds along & round the bare rocks, going across an immense viaduct at the beginning. The village lies along the opposite side of the ravine & the mountains were behind it. On the left immediately from the road rise wooded mountains, interspersed with huge Roman remains of walls, temples etc. The manner in which towns & villages are usually built in Italy is most romantic & striking, perched on the very summit of high & precipitous hills, their tall flat roofed houses seem to form part of the rock & I hear the inhabitants might often drop a stone from their windows to the valley below. I forgot to mention that in the early part of the day we past a most splendid aqueduct stretching right across a plain, the arches entirely perfect. Altogether we have seldom had a drive of greater beauty & interest. The glowing tints of sunset illumined the jagged rocks near & to the distant & lovely mountains & sea as we entered Terracina from where I now write. At one turn of the road I looked back & beheld the sea, the rocks, the snow, the mountains & the sky all exhibiting the most delicate & gorgeous tints of blue, pink, lilac & orange. The road winds close to the sea shore, with the bold & bluff rocks out of which it is heaven rising perpendicularly from it on our right. A town which we past, just divided the view as we looked back, shall we ever forget those tints. Oh Italy is indeed lovely surpassing all I ever hoped or expected to see on earth. It seems almost too much, almost too much to be looked at by mortals, it seems fit for angels. Surely they cannot have more & yet how wrong it is to compare heavenly to earthy things. The entrance to Terracina is under an archway. You then immediately drive under the Arcades of the Dogana, go through the expensive vexatious system of examining trunks, which you pay not to have looked at or rather rummaged & a few steps farther is the Grande Albergo, a very large excellent hotel. All but Annie, Robert & me ran off to see the cathedral up the hill in the old town. We went on the sands & picked up shells, then took a stroll through the lower town. There is a very fine new church & everywhere is written “Evviva Pio IX”, the dress is picturesque, the town large & airy & every thing charming. Two men past us in carnival costume very elegantly drest in white shirt, jacket, trowsers, green scarf, white long stockings & I forget the rest. The rocks rise so perpendicularly that they seem likely to crush this hotel. On the very top is a large old Roman house. The artichokes grow almost on the land of the sea shore. We had soles & other fish, veal cutlets, potatoes, wine, oranges, apples, figs for breakfast & for dinner soup, fish, roast beef, potatoes, snipe, pudding oranges, apples & figs. François has us well fed, but tonight I have ordered tea, I cannot resist it. I am so thirsty. After that I shall say good night. Dear little Robert is so good if he wd not sniff, he is an excellent traveller & it is really a trial for a little fellow like him to get up so early & travel so far & so long for 4 days successively.
4 Our road today lay through the Pontine Marshes. We entered upon them immediately on leaving Terracina, a straight Roman road with a canal on one side & rows of trees on both extends along this vast plain for 36 miles without a turn! We were prepared to be very weary but I do not think we any of us found this day’s journey less interesting in its way than the preceding ones. In the first place the road itself is a wonder. I do not know whether it is true or not but it seems certain to my mind that a great part of it is composed of the very stones the Romans put in. The reparations are so evident & it seems so utterly impossible at the present day to imitate their work. The road is composed of diamond shaped pieces of the hardest stone cut & fitted as exactly as the finest mosaic work & bordered by larger ones. When the traffic has sunk these either into ruts or holes, they take them up, lay fresh soil underneath them & put them down again. They are so hard that nothing wears them. Wherever however the road is destroyed & has been repaired, the clumsiness of the roughly & unequally cut stones displays the difference at once. The more I think & see of the remains of this most wonderful people, the more I am lost in admiration of the magnitude, grandeur, beauty & costliness of their works. This one great piece of mosaic work wd be sufficient to prove their powers but when we see these all over the different countries of Europe, even in our own distant island & when we see the splendid remains of their public & private buildings, one can scarcely conceive where their riches, their workmen, their taste, their art, their vast ability sprang from & where they are gone! every thing in modern times so infinitely inferior. The second point of interest was the Circé, that fine mountain which we kept in view to our left all day, with the sparkling sea for our horizon, to our right the noble mountain, capped with snow sparkling in the sun. The wild dress of the peasants. The fierce looking buffaloes & at 11 o’clock we stopt at the “Foro Appio” in scripture called Appii forum or the 3 Taverns where the Christians came from Rome to meet & escort St Paul. How did I long to be able to look back into the past & to see that great & good man. How did he travel on that very road. How did he meet his friends. What was then the building designated the 3 Taverns. Now a little square house bears the name, with 2 or 3 rooms fitted with a wooden table & chairs for the accommodation of travellers who must stop here to rest the horses both coming & going from Rome. Between Terracina & Villetri there are some of the straw out houses & lots of poultry & tho’ situated a lonely house on this straight road & in the wide marsh, yet it has a countrified look & is highly interesting from the reflexions it inspires. Nothing can be more pleasing than this to have scripture brought home & familiarized to one. We visited Puzzuoli (Puteoli in the Acts) in the summer where St Paul landed & here we saw the place where he was cheered by his converts coming to meet & escort him to Rome. Theirs was no common zeal. They did not weigh inconvenience, fatigue, expense to do honour to the man who was coming to save their souls from eternal death. It was a consolatory & agreeable thought to be where we felt certain he had been & very little alteration in the scenery can have taken place, for we know the marsh was what it now is & the mountain must be the same & there is nothing else to alter. François had brought chicken, bread & salt with him from Terracina, but they gave us some excellent ham & eggs & shall we forget our waiter! long straggly hair, handsome serious face, poor, with knees & blue stockings. We saw him beg in vain of 2 sets of travellers for a bonne main, who set off in high glee on their way to Naples & left the fierce half savage waiter with his face a degree more woe begone than he was before. I must own it seemed churlish of these gentlemen travelling at their ease & spending money at libitum for their pleasure to refuse a few wretched little bits of money to this half starved eager civil creature. I was happy to see that he looked cheerful as we past to get into our carriage, he had had a bonne main. Nothing can be so vexatious as these incessant calls upon your purse in the shape of bonne mains. It is never ceasing, it gives little satisfaction, has no limit, no rule, no law, no cessation & one’s anger as often arises from the difficulty of providing such a vast stock of little money, as from the loss of the money itself. Sometimes it is impossible to enjoy a view or see a place for the beggars, waiters etc. However I will never refuse a bonne main to such a poor wretch as this at the 3 Taverns! After lunch we continued across the same marsh for some time. At length we got gradually amongst trees & hedges & hills, untill just at sunset we ascended to Villetri, one of those towns so picturesquely situated on a steep hill overlooking the whole of the Pontine Marshes, bounded by the sea on one side, mountains on the other. In the distance still we saw the Circé & some islands the next to Ischia etc. Who can describe the harmonious softness of this view as we watched the evening mists rise from it & at last hide it from our view. Our bed room windows overlooked the whole. The Inn was rather cheerless looking untill the wood blazed brightly. The most indifatigable of the party Aurélie, Fanny etc went ruin hunting & really cd not find one stone of the said amphitheatre. We had an excellent dinner, soup, fish, boiled beef, wild boar & small birds. The boar was dressed with a delicious sweet sauce & is extremely good. The waiter was one of those civil, laborious, worn, mechanical creatures who inspire one with pity & following my feelings of yesterday I gave the poor creature 2 or 3 little bits of silver. After he was paid, he put it hastily into his pocket as if afraid any one sd deprive him of so much luck. He said “how is it possible I should not look ill, when I have had no rest night or day for 10 years!
5th The streets through which we past next morning were so steep that we were obliged to have a man with us to manage the drag. He went with us or rather ran after us for at least 3 miles & he too I made happy by giving a couple of pauls to after he had been paid. The road between Villetri & Albano is extremely hilly & out of one street it is so steep that we were obliged all to walk down. Here we made François very angry because we stopped about a quarter of an hour sketching the very fine old gate etc. We soon after got to Albano, which I found rather too cockney for my taste, garden in terraces, fountains & all in high order. How different from Mola, tho’ when we talked to our Voiturier about the latter he said “Ah at Albano there is a garden”, so much do tastes differ. We had an excellent lunch of cutlets, omelette & little birds. Robert’s delight is to be in the stable with Mouton, Nina etc the horses. Albano is a place where the gentry from Rome come in the summer & of course like every place resorted to from a great city has lost its rurality.
We started after lunch to see the lake, but as it seemed up a high straight hill & very hot I turned back. They went on & were highly interested by the fine & extensive view they obtained. The lake is very pretty but the prospect contained all the places in the Roman history. Albano itself is Alba & the guide pointed out Ardea, Civita Vecchia, Ostia, Frescati, the mountains from behind which came the Sabines etc. We were scarcely out of Albano before we looked down on Rome. It seemed at our feet & we cd scarcely believe that we sd not reach it for 3 or 4 hours, but the distance when thus foreshortened deceives greatly. St Peter’s, St John Lateran, the Coliseum, the gates, the houses all came gradually out as we neared the great city. How wonderful to think it alone amongst so many others as big as itself & often much more advantageously situated sd have risen to conquer not only the other states around it but all Europe even our own remote island! It is impossible to avoid forming the most serious & aweful reflexions when thus contemplating the decrees of God & now what are the Romans, glad to pick up the broken morsels of their forefathers marble pavements & think themselves grand to pave their rooms with them stuck indiscriminately into the cement! On each side of our road lay aqueducts & ruins of every description, monuments, walls, houses, towers, untill at last we entered the gate & were detained half an hour going through the farce of having our luggage not examined. We past St John Lateran, the Coliseum & at last stopped at the post office where we found letters from Anne Barkley, Fanny Hankey & Elisabeth Winstanley. We now proceeded to No. 39 Via Ripetta, where we found the other François in his usual bustle scolding at our being so late, to which our Voiturier replied it was not his fault, he was always kept waiting attending to our unfortunate quarters of an hour’s sketching. This upset my temper never famous at first entering a town & I spoke to both pretty sharply. Up came Hermann & then François repeated they had been waiting for us since 1 o’clock. I am sure I wished them both farther, then we found waiting for us the woman of the house & two women servants, besides enumerable articles of glass, china, silver etc. The servants had to be settled & we were entertained for fully an hour with a quarrel between the two, one wanted to trim ball dresses, the other to make the beds. Then Madame must have a man & if she intended cooking at home a man cook, besides neither woman wd sleep in the house, but at last we succeeded in getting the concierge who as all the women agreed is a perfect saint & perfectly to be relied on, to sleep in one of the ante rooms. Aurélie went to bed with a migraine & as soon as we had looked over the inventory & descarded about 2 thirds of the things, we got some tea & went to bed, not however before we had unpacked what was wanting for Sunday morning.
6th Rose at 6 or ½ past with a tremendous headache, sore throat & chilliness, but resolved to get myself & Robert in order & go to church before I laid up, which I felt I must finish by doing, however I performed my task & it was some comfort to me during my illness. I heard an excellent sermon, tho’ with a burning head & shivering body, my limbs ached so that I thought I cd not stand & so long getting out of church, so crowded, so smart & so busy about the opera, balls etc & then the carriages coming out, the risk of being run over, the confusion, but I did get home & the happy moment of getting into a warm bed with a hot bottle at last arrived, how I thanked God for it. I got very feverish & my throat was very sore, but the pain & restlessness of my limbs caused me most suffering.
7 A little better. Aurélie up & out making the usual round of enquiries etc attendant on our first arrival, such worry with servants, dinner from a restaurateur’s, 2 scudi.
8 Still in bed & suffering much but better rather. Asthma bad. Hired a cook at last & then found our old woman asks exorbitant wages. No piano to be obtained.
9 Got another woman recommended by Antonio the concierge & were set up with servants. At night however the cook quietly said he wd not sleep here, the woman wd not leave her husband & why sd he leave his wife. No, he wd not be sacrificed. Moral fond domestic people these Romans. Patterns of propriety & connubial affection! So we discharged him, amiable man as he was, the woman had gone at 7 o’clock.
10 No woman arrived. Aurélie & Fanny lighted the fires, put the kettle on, little ones got breakfast. Aurélie & Emily went out to buy the food for it. We sent for Antonio. He appeared in saintlike innocence of the whole & tho’ he had brought & recommended yesterday’s woman he now professed entire ignorance of her or her abode & rushed off to get another who lives next door & has 2 black eyes from a fall! Guere! We engaged her & determined to try & do with the dinner of 1 scudi & a ½ from the restaurateurs. I still ill in bed & attacks of asthma every night.
11 Aurélie & Emily took a letter of recommendation sent us very kindly by M. LaChevardiere to the French Consul M. Defly. He was very civil & gave them orders & a promise of places in the Tribune of the French embassy for the Holy Week. I still in bed. Dreadful sore lips & mouth.
12 No one went out all day. Rainy. I still in bed. Emily & Fanny have bought new frocks. The priest came to give them their first lesson.
13 I got up & drest. One stayed from church with me.
14 Went out in a carriage & afterwards walked, but the bustle confuses & renders me extremely nervous. Shops full of cameos, mosaics & all sorts of stones. Saw a lovely watch for Annie, blue enamel & diamonds in the centre.
15 Went to the Palais Borghese & saw the gallery. There are some fine & pleasing pictures. 2 of Andrea del Sarto’s, one a Virgin & child of Perugino pleased. He has the art of painting most justly the Holy love of a mother & the heavenly innocence of an infant Saviour. There was a living picture of beauty there, evidently a young English married woman. Her face was lovely both for features, complexion & expression & expressed perfect peace & amiability & contentment. He also looked good humoured. The storms of life will however come upon them no doubt sooner or later. Sun shine is always succeeded by storm or at least clouds.
16 Our old Abbé brought a younger one as Robert’s school master, but what sort of school or class it is I know not, nor will he name his terms.
17 The master came to fetch Robert, took him to see a little girl, then took him home to a very poor house where live his mother & sister, very poor to judge from Robert’s description. He then learnt some lessons, then went to dinner, soup with bread in it & little fishes. After dinner they went out again & fetched a little boy to walk. They went to a garden a long way off & then the 2 boys played together, after which they took the little boy home & then Robert was brought home. I went with Fanny, Aurélie & Annie to the Vatican. We walked through the statue gallery, took a glimpse of the Apollo, Laocoon, Perseus, Antinuous & Wrestlers, all the splendid vases, baths etc. Then took a much longer look at the paintings, the three grand ones St Jerome’s last communion, the Transfiguration & the Madonna del Foligno are more splendid than they appeared even before. They are indeed glorious specimens of human art. In the latter picture I think nothing can exceed the beauty of the positions, forms & faces of the Virgin & child & the angel standing on the earth is lovely beyond description. We afterwards walked through the Stanze & Logge, how extraordinarily diversified & delicate was Raphael’s ability. After this we went in St Peter’s. What splendour, what magnitude. Aurélie & Fanny walked from one end to the other & counted 350 steps, 50 more than our orange garden at Sorrento! Fanny counted 58 steps round one of the columns. On the pavement are marked the sizes of our St Paul’s, Milan cathedral, Florence & the Basilisk of Constantinople. St Paul’s is the next in size, but considerably smaller. The Pieta of Michel Angelo struck me as much as at first & the church altogether more.
18 Went to the Vatican gallery, it is now open every day to those I suppose who choose to pay the guardians who are all there as on public days. It being wet Robert’s master did not come for him so we took him. It is essential he sd see every thing for he takes great notice, has quite a taste of his own & remembers a great deal of what he sees. We visited only the statue gallery & those we had not time of course to examine entirely, I think it better every time we go to take a look at the famous ones. The Apollo appears to me now as it did last year the finest statue we have ever seen. We had not then seen the Florence gallery, but even the chefs d’œvres in that seem inferior to this. The nobleness, energy, purity, grandeur & beauty of this are unequalled. The little old man who accompanied us brought us a fire wherever we went, it was exceedingly cold. The Laocoon, how far does it exceed the copy at Florence. The what we call the Antinuous is now called a Mercury, how beautiful it is! & Canova’s three fine statues are exquisite, the Perseus is admirable. Altogether every other gallery we have ever seen sinks into insignificance after this.
19 Great talk about the introduction to the Pope, practising the salutation & dressing up to see how we look etc. I wish it was over. A grand review to take place tomorrow & we heard a benediction by the Pope, but that proves false so we shall not trouble it. I did not go out at all today tho’ it was very fine. Robert went with his priest to the Pantheon & other places, got many very fine pieces of marble, oriental granite amongst the number. Robert wants me to send Antonio to the little villa where he plays to fetch an enormous block of serpentine. The rest went out shopping, preparing for our visit to Court.
20 Received the sacrament at nine in the morning. I never was at this ceremony when performed without the other services, it is perfect, very impressive & very solemn. It is administered here every Sunday morning at 9 o’clock, a praise worthy practise which deserves imitation. There were perhaps 40 or 50 persons present. I did not go to the morning service afterwards not being well, but I went in the afternoon. I never saw a more uncertain climate than we have here, if it is fine in the morning it is sure to rain in the afternoon. François was waiting at the church door & gave Fanny his umbrella, I sent there, for tho’ there was not a cloud in the sky when they went to church, it poured when they came out. He called afterwards & was very civil.
21 Did not go out. Four of the others went shopping, to the post etc. Robert’s master came in the afternoon to take Robert a walk & afterwards stayed & gave him a lesson for an hour & a half. It was too wet in the morning. What a curious arrangement it is, he seems quite to domiciliate himself, glides in & out, makes enquiries for a window for us to see the carnival, lets us know about the Pope & all this without being pushing or familiar. He is really a very nice person.
22 Went with Emily, Annie & Clara to pay a second visit to the Borghese gallery, there are very fine pictures in it. It is a mistake about a Sybil of Guerchino’s, there is only the famous one of Domenichino & the Circe both extremely fine. The Chase of Diana also is beautiful.
23 Sprained unawares the tendon Achilles of my left foot & obliged to remain in bed all day. Robert poor little soul will be walked off his legs by his perambulating master. Today he was delighted to have Augusta to play with him in the garden of her mother’s villa. Wd any one credit that without a downright scene I cannot get to know what I am to pay for this most extraordinary kind of master. He seems scarcely to teach him any thing, but keeps him walking about, seeing all the curiosities of Rome, talking Italian & being with other children. In some respects this well answers my wishes, but really he must learn something regularly.
24 Lovely Italian sky, very hot sun, but in this house it is cold & we always have a fire. Up again today, foot a great deal better, but very lame.
25 Worked all day. Have taken a window or rather a room & balcony to see the carnival. Hermann called to tell us we cd not possibly get one under 40 or 50 scudi. I pay 20 which I think very enormous & horrible. Received an order & a very polite note from M. Defly who called yesterday.
26 The old Abbé came to give his usual lesson. We lunched early & afterwards went out, the festivities were not begun so we quietly walked up & down the Corso. A man presented us with 2 unhappy little goldfinches tied to 2 nosegays. I bought the 2 for 2 pauls, he having asked for 5 for each! We walked as far as the Piazza del Popolo one way & the Caffé Nuova the other. Every balcony & window is hung with some brilliant colour, deep red silk or damask trimmed with gold lace, yellow damask & white, or some such gay colours. We went up to ours & were almost tired before the full thing commenced. First came a body of cavalry with a band playing, there were many carriages & people before this. A horse soldier was left at the end of every street to prevent any carriage entering or leaving the Corso excepting by the Popoli or the other end. The street now became very full, many carriages & a very few masks. In every direction were enormous baskets of flowers & sham bons bons. Every carriage had enormous bags & baskets with bons bons & flowers, in fact the carriages were full of them, every one dressed in their worst cloathes, many covered with white entirely & veils & little wires over their faces, giving them an extraordinary appearance. The whole form consisted in pelting each other as the carriages past with these little bouquets & sugar plums, which are nothing but grains or something of that sort covered with flour or chalk, which soon rendered every person not drest in white, like millars. All the carriages were lined with white callicoe to save them, but the excessive mess they were in was beyond conception. A procession now past, soldiers preceding & following the Senate they called it, 4 state carriages with running footmen, something like our Lord Mayor’s Show. This past, the pelting continued for about 2 hours & then all at once the soldier who was at the end of each street turned every carriage as it came up to him down the street, so that in a few minutes not one carriage was left. The persons out of the carriage, then many of them went to their balconies. Soon after this a body of infantry came down the street & left as they went a soldier on each side at about every 20 paces. This was I suppose intended to keep a passage clear for the race horses. Not long after this another grand procession past with soldiers, a great many flags & 4 other state carriages, this they called the new Constitution & greeted rather warmly. The gentlemen inside were very nicely drest, but now came the most astonishing part of all, without any gun being fired or any notice whatever being given. About 8 or 9 fine horses were started from the Popoli, to race to the other end of the Corso right through the crowd. Not the slightest attempt was made by soldiers or people to form any line & it seemed as if by magic that the crowd cleared off just to let the horses rush through. Wd any human creature credit that such a thing cd be done in a civilised country. It must be some particular providence which saves accidents for as no signal is given & the street is covered with earth, the people do not hear the horses untill they are close to them & I really think they must almost touch them, it seems miraculous how they do get out of their way. This is certainly one of the most wonderful things we have yet witnessed. They say that when the poor horses reach the other end of the Corso there is a large canvass hung up to stop them & men rush & catch their bridles! The animals went as straight & as fast as I ever saw horses at an English race course. Immediately after this, every one began to move off. We had not the least difficulty in getting home where we found dinner just arrived, after which we had a little music & then the conversation lady. Just as we were talking etc in came the old Abbé Barola with the Pope’s permission to visit him at four o’clock tomorrow. This caused quite a sensation amongst us, the old Abbé in raptures, conversation lady the same. We were not sorry to get rid of them all & make some little final preparations & go to bed.
27 Today our presentation to his Holiness took place! We were all in black with black veils etc. I had a white net cap under my veil. Robert had a black velvet blouse, short white pantaloons trimmed with guipure, cuffs & collar the same, silk stockings & dress shoes. He looked very nice. We started in two carriages & took up the Abbé in our way. He paid us a great many compliments as to our appearance & as I had asked him to write his name in a little book which he had given us, he now presented it, evidently most charmed at the compliment. He had also written his name & the name of each of the family on two little poems which he presented to each. We now arrived at the steep hill which precedes the arrival at the Quirinal & were alarmed to see revellers join a whole train of carriages full of people on the same errand. Officers in full uniform, ladies no smarter than ourselves, all were ushered up stairs into a long corridor. Here we were kept about 10 minutes, then all were shewn into a room where there was a fire & odd sort of chairs round the walls, all looked very unfurnished & uncomfortable. 2 sets went in before us & then we were ushered in. We past through the room & then into the small one where stood Pius the 9th! He was drest in a kind of white flannel gown as usual & a little white cap. It is surely the least becoming dress in the world but there he stood, by the side of a kind of secretaire, on which stood a crucifix, pens, ink & paper. As we entered the room we curtsied & did so three times before we reached him, then each kneeled on one knee & kissed the cross on his shoe. He held his foot up as high as he cd, supporting his leg under the knee with one hand & supporting himself with the other on the back of a chair. He looked very smiling & the old Abbé immediately began telling him that I was the mother & they were all my children, that they spoke & wrote four languages & were reading Dante with him. When he said how far they had got, the Pople said Oh you sd take them up to heaven & leave them there. As soon as Robert had kissed his foot, he took his hand, stroked it, patted it, smoothed his hair, asked where he was born & how old he was. He said he supposed 6 or 7, when some one said 8, he said “Ah yes he is old, he is losing his teeth”. Then he said “You are dressed half like a Highlander”. Then he made each of the girls tell him their names & Laura not speaking he said “You have not told me yours”. He took notice of her because she had been the last in kissing his foot, he had put it down & raised it again for her. Aurélie now gave her little box of rosaries & crosses to be blessed for her mother & family & the Abbé presented the indulgence he had written out for Madame Hubert & all her relations for three generations! This he signed & then she made an effort & begged him to write something else. I think he did not like the trouble but he wrote on a sheet of paper “God direct me”, folded it & then gave it to her. When Aurélie asked if she should take the things out of the box, he literally smiled & said “It does not signify, the blessing goes through” & closed the box. He scarcely made the sign of the cross over it. When the Abbé told him we wanted to see every thing worth seeing in Rome, he said “Then they must stop till after Lent & see the church in all its glory, sometimes it is necessary to rouse the feelings by the external senses which often has a good effect in causing the good seed to spring up”. After we went out the Abbé remained a few minutes, when the Pope told him he sd be very happy to see us again before we left Rome & that he had blessed the whole family. When we had been there a decent time, his Holiness bowed & said Addio & we curtsied & backed out of the room. The Abbé was in raptures, as we were departing the Pope again took Robert & gave him his hand to kiss, a great favour! He kept him by him the whole time, excepting when writing. As we came down stairs we found our poor conversation lady & her husband waiting to see us. She said she was so anxious to see how we were dressed, she cd not help coming. Poor creature she is incessantly endeavouring to get the Abbé to present her to the Pope, but he puts it off, knowing that she wd petition for something & he never asks favours for himself nor likes to force petitions on the Pope. He was professor to a college & one day the Pope told him, “You are too old to do any thing now, don’t work any more, you shall have your salary all the same” & he has paid it ever since. Our poor lady seemed to envy us so & yet she looked very smiling. When we got home Ursula took up my gown & kissed it as holy. And so ends our long talked of presentation to the wise, liberal & good Pope Pius the 9th.
28 Fright about my pulse & heart. Sent for Dr Dickens. He says he thinks it is from my stomach. God grant it. What affliction, what attention do I experience from my dear little circle whenever I am ill especially. How thankful I am to God for such grateful fond children & friend. May God reward them & keep & bless them. I am so sorry for having frightened them today & spoiled all their enjoyment, even little Robert was serious. I made them go to the window in the Corso. Dear Emily stayed with me, the others sacrificed their own feelings & went. Had more than one insisted on staying it wd have distressed me & been a reason for my trying to over exert myself in future. What can afford such pure & grateful satisfaction as to see oneself beloved by those so dear to one. Once more may the Almighty shower his best blessings upon them all.
29 I went today to our window in the Corso, having remained in bed till the last moment. It was more crowded & more fancy dresses & masks than on the first day, but no variety of the old story, pelt, pelt, pelt. The women dressed in their sticking out petticoats & short jackets sitting up on the head of the open carriages look dreadfully bold, but add to the gaiety. Numbers of ladies in their carriages are in costume, some of the beautiful girls dressed like the peasants look most lovely, their fine blooming expressive faces & sparking eyes set off by the picturesque dress consisting of the hair beautifully done, a plait round the head & round the plait a wreath of roses on a plait of brightish cherry coloured ribbon & a long silver bodkin struck across. Scarlet jacket, white petticoat, white muslin kerchief & lots of gold chains, almost every person is drest in some odd way. It is scarcely possible to go on the Corso in a carriage in decent clothes so that every one not in regular costume covers themself with a blouse or cloak or some complete overall in white callicoe, brown holland, muslin etc. One very handsome carriage looked very pretty with four ladies all in full white muslin dresses confined at the waist & collar with a cherry coloured ribbon, a gentleman behind in white trowsers & shirt, no coat. The warmth of the climate may be inferred from all these ladies driving about till 6 in the evening with bare heads & numbers with bare necks too. The dirty state in which they leave the Corso may be imagined but it all seems to brush off, for each day they come out again quite clean. This evening one lady tells us there have been several persons killed by the race horses, one father & son etc & she expatiates on the sad scene at his house etc. It turns out however to be I believe almost a fabrication for little by little it is now reduced to one drunken man knocked down, a little hurt. By the way I have not seen one drunken man.
March 1st Got up & was preparing to go to the Corso, but it came on to rain & we were not any of us sorry to remain at home. I go on with my pills, Robert with his calomel. Worm! At present the effects seem good.
2 A grand day at the Corso, but not so much as I expected. Curious sight is it the umbrellas when it rains, all up & down the Corso nothing to be seen but the tops of the huge umbrellas. The carriages were shut up, but the people continued their pelting. Robert dear fellow got playing with a little boy in the next balcony. He takes great delight in showering down the chalk bons bons on the people & carriages in the street & he has one of the long poles with a doll at the end of a long string, also masks. The people in the next balcony really do pelt most unmercifully, they are not very genteel English people & they had today a huge basket of the bons bons & a tin scoop & they literally showered them down on the people. No one can imagine the horrid mess it made them in, in the rain. They did not seem best pleased many of them. The husband of our conversation lady brought news of a revolution in Paris but Miss Elisa does not mention any thing of it. Letter from John! [Barkley, Martha’s brother]
3 Let Emily send & take out a subscription for a newspaper, so she is in extasies. Great important events are indeed going on all over Europe. Austria at last must I think give way to the overpowering voice of the whole of Europe. The poor creatures who are under the Austrian yoke are indeed to be pitied & I fear many lives must be sacrificed before justice shall be obtained. Dear Robert has signs of rheumatism. God preserve the dear little child. I have desired to have Dr Deakin to him & me tomorrow. Aurélie, Fanny, Clara & Laura went to Torlonia’s & got my letter of credit. Before they went out I received a letter from Mr Perkins saying he had sent it, but without credit on Torlonia, only on Genoa, Milan, Turin & Geneva. Torlonia however promises to let me have money. Edward also is to pay Annie’s legacy [from Frances Barkley]. This evening the Signor brings word of some aweful disturbance in Paris, that the King has flown & one of the princes been thrown out of window! Of course we do not believe this literally, but are anxious for the paper tomorrow.
4th The old Abbé this morning fully confirmed all the fearful reports of yesterday. The Dr who came to see me & Robert says the same. As soon as we had lunched, Aurélie & Emily set off for the post & newspaper office. Robert remained in bed, Fanny with him. I went to the window with the rest & when Aurélie & Emily joined us there we found all the accounts likely to be true however incredible & terrible. A telegraphic despatch has been received at Marseilles. “The King has abdicated, the Duchess of Orleans is proclaimed Regent”. Is it possible, are we to credit this of Louis Phillippe. His conduct lately has been too ambitious but yet I cannot forget what a happy, united, respectable family they seemed when we were in Paris. Poor Madame Adelaide has died just in time to be spared this horrible scene. The poor Queen will no doubt sink under this accumulated sorrow. Her son the Duke de Nemours killed & the Duke de Montpensier dying, such are the reports. Then again, the King fled to England, dead of apoplexy at Calais. Again the whole Royal family prisoners at Vincennes. We have sent for newspapers but can obtain no intelligence farther. This evening it is given out that the Ambassador can give no more information untill 4 o’clock tomorrow, what cruel suspence! Poor Aurélie’s family are likely again to be sufferers, all being in some way connected with the Government. Let us however hope for the best & try to wait with patience. No letters either from England or France have been received, how fortunate that I have my letter of credit.
5 Robert very ill all night with rheumatic fever. Aurélie & Fanny started after breakfast to ask about an Italian Dr for I cannot really afford an English physician every day & for fever I have as good an opinion of the natives. They soon returned with a paper confirming the news of the abdication of Louis Phillippe, his flight & the poor Duchess of Orleans with her 2 little boys, so cherished as we know, walking through the streets to the Chamber of Deputies, then showing the King’s abdication, being proclaimed Regent & her son Louis Phillippe 2, then the mob rushing in & declaring this all a farce, she obliged to retreat to the back rows & then dragged off some where, we have not heard where. Aurélie & Fanny took Annie, Clara & Laura to church, left them there & returned intending to go directly to the French Embassy, but Fanny’s nose began to bleed violently & she was obliged to stay & Emily go. They took a carriage & drove straight to M. Defly. They found him standing the picture of despair, his arms folded & almost in a state of abstraction. They had no difficulty in gaining admission, for all the doors were open. He told them he knew no more than they did. He had been waiting all night for news, but none had arrived for several days excepting some little scrap from Marseilles. One thing he said was certain that the King had abdicated & fled, that there had been great bloodshed & every thing was upset. They came back to lunch, went to afternoon church & then again started for M. Defly’s. There they found a little scrap of paper from Marseilles which had just arrived from Civita Vecchia & which crowds were anxious to read stating that the Republic is regularly established, Louis Phillippe escaped to England & dead, but neither of the princes his sons killed. No mention of the Duchess of Orleans. Tomorrow there is a hope of a post & then perhaps Aurélie may hear from her friends. She as well as all of us are most anxious. M. Defly has promised to let us know if there is any danger at hand. They dread the Austrians taking advantage of this turmoil to advance on Italy, in which case we should be forced to go to Malta & thence to England, but for this I have not sufficient money. Aurélie has just cause to fear for her family, M. Odiot, M. de Segur & M. Hubert her father have all government offices. What will be their fate under a Republic! Some of the worst scenes have taken place opposite M. LaChevardiere’s house & of course M. Odiot’s because he lives just opposite the house of M. Guizot. He & the rest of the ministers are said to have escaped into Belgium. About noon dear Robert broke into a profuse perspiration, which I trust in God may arrest his fever. He cannot stand & has no use of his legs, the pain being violent in them. He is very good. Some of us sat by him constantly patting, stroking & singing to him. He likes all my old nursery songs.
· M. Guizot left Belgium & arrived in London 3.3.1848 & lived at 21 Pelham Crescent, SW7 until 1849, blue plaque
6 The first thing this morning I went to get £50 from the Torlonia’s, thinking it best to be prepared with money. There we found numbers of papers & many persons reading them. Aurélie sat down & read one whilst I & Clara got the money. The French papers are full of course of the wonderful event & really it appears almost ridiculous (if one cd apply such a term to events so serious) to read the declarations, attestations, protestations etc of the Republic, given out with as much assurance as if all was settled. I can never believe that it will last. How will other powers recognize it & how will it all end! We found 3 letters from Paris all safe but appearing dreadfully frightened & agitated &2 from England, one from Anne Barkley, lamenting her not being able to go to Paris, but very much hoping to be able to join us there next winter, her letter is dated 22nd. Had she waited untill the next day, she need not have made any excuses for once more giving up her plan. Paris at present wd not be a very safe or agreeable place of residence for English people, who at all times detested there, wd no doubt be objects of especial hatred & irritation during such an excitement as this.
7 The grand day at the Corso, but how little was it expected to have the festivities spoiled by such events as now taking place. The Pope seems to have feared some excitement from his subjects yesterday. They presented him a petition urging his immediately giving a Constitution. He made a very fine reply & assured them that he worked day & night at it & hoped to give it in a few days. This has reassured his people, who of themselves gave up the enjoyment of the regular conclusion of all carnivals, the lighting wax tapers. Some few began but were hissed off directly. The Corso was very thin owing to its being continued down this street, which was guarded by cavalry all day, the Corso itself being exclusively kept by National Guard. The Pope tries to conciliate & trust his subjects, by whom he is at present adored, but whether the example of France may supersede this affection it is doubtful. At any rate I sd think Pius IX will be the last Pope. The Abbé Barola dined with us, but what a dinner! poor dear Robert screaming with pain all the time & 2 or 3 being obliged to be with him all the time. The old man had brought each a copy of a little poem he has just published & with it 2 pretty little verses to each of them. I staid with Robert all day & tho’ in great pain & very ill, yet he slept quietly & was calm & comfortable. I fancy them all coming in agitated him & set his nerves going & untill 11 or 12 at night he cried & sobbed in the most piteous way. Aurélie sat up with him till ½ past 4, then Fanny took her place, at 4 he went to sleep God be praised & slept soundly untill ½ past 8!
8 Today he is of course better tho’ still unable to turn or move in bed. We sent last night for the Dr. He did not come & this morning when he made his appearance he said very independantly that he did not come because he had not a carriage. Aurélie & Fanny being in bed this morning, I left Emily & Annie in charge & went with Clara to see the newspapers & get Robert an embrocation. The Emperor of Austria has abdicated & Vienna declared a Republic! Belgium the same. We shall soon want a charitable institution for the support of ex Kings & Queens. What is to be the end of it all! I hate oppression & despotism but alas! will rulers ever be otherwise than ambitious & lovers of power. It is all very well at first, but what foundation is there for supposing that because a man is called King, he is embued with a greater share of tyranny than M. De la Martine will be when he has tasted the sweets of authority for a short time. Can the French be so absurd as to suppose this fine arcadian state of things is to last. Do they suppose all are going to continue virtuous & generous & liberal & consistent. No sooner will occasions arise which demand punishment & more rigorous laws than discontent will again spring up and their present magnanimous rulers be found to be men as well as poor old Louis Phillippe, who by the way has sadly over reached himself lately in trying to get Spain & in not aiding the Italians against those vile Austrians he has lost all! I do not think it seems sure that the Royal family have yet got into safety. There is an edict from the Republic ordering any of the blood royal to be ousted wherever they may be discovered. God preserve us from another slaughter of royalty & hope & pray they are in England, but if all Continental European states become Republics what will become of Queen Victoria! Will the English consent to be ruled, or rather will they consent to have at the head of the Government one of royal blood, whilst the other nations have the superior prerogative of having common or low born heads!
9th Robert better, but still very ill. He cannot stir in bed without being helped & then only an inch at a time. He had a composing mixture last night, which saved him, dear little fellow, much pain & irritation & us the misery of hearing his cries. That vile Dr refusing to come the night before last was abominable. Our old Abbé wrote to him & our conversation lady & her husband went to him, he coolly answered that he had seen the child in the morning & that he cd not have his carriage out again. They offered to go & get him a carriage if he wd go. At last after begging & entreating the old wretch he coolly drew out his watch & said “Well if you bring me one in half an hour I’ll go & if not I won’t”. They went to every stand of carriages they cd untill the half hour was more than expired & cd not find one, so the horrible old fellow went to bed & dear Robert screamed with pain untill 4 in the morning. I hope I am not very unchristian in thinking that a little twitch of rheumatism in his own joints might do him good. What business has a Dr to undertake a case if he does not choose to take a cure of it. When he came this morning the old Abbé came into Robert’s room with him & I gave the Dr a good through lecture. I told him that I had never had my children allowed to suffer before without assistance, that had I known he did not choose to come I cd have got another Dr, in fact I gave him a regular set down. Fanny told him or rather asked him what was to be done when a person was dying, “Send a carriage”, “But suppose there is not one to be had as last night one must die”, “Yes send a carriage”. Vile old fellow. He shall never enter my door, please God, as soon as dear Robert is a little better.
10 Aurélie sat up all night with the dear child, he was very ill & very breathless. She called me to him once. I sang to him to sleep with the usual string of songs. This morning I still found him every short breathed but to my inexpressible joy when changing his night gown & putting him on a clean sheet, Emily & I raised him to a sitting position & his delight is so great at being once more able to sit up & move reminds me of a similar scene at Hove. Laura is now sitting by his side dressing a little doll. Yesterday Fanny amused him by cutting out shades of faces from the Magasin Pittoresque. Aurélie bought him a nice little game of Swiss costumes. If his Dr neglects him, no one else does. Last evening whilst we were at dinner M. de Fly was so kind as to call, he is in office under the Republic. The arrangement of the colours in the tricoloured flag is changed, white next the stick instead of the red. All titles are abolished in France, I suppose I ought to leave out the de in M. de Fly. Every thing is perfectly quiet. The King, Queen & all their family (excepting the Duchess of Orleans & her children who have escaped to Prussia) are in England. What a position for Queen Victoria. She receives this ex royal family with unbounded cordiality & kindness & at the same moment acknowledges the Republic who have superseded them. All the reports of Republic’s in Belgium, Austria etc are unfounded. Now let the Republic fight the Austrians & I too will become a republican. Aurélie received a very kind letter from Mlle Jeronyme. They are all safe & well. She & Miss Elisa had been escorted to take a walk & see the barricades, for as she says it wd have been a pity to have been in Paris during such an event & not have seen something of it. I hope they will not see more! but I think it cannot stop here. M. de Fly says he thinks it impossible to go on without a war. Madame Odiot was dreadfully frightened by a party of armed men entering her drawing room, but was happy to find it was only to thank them for having succoured some of the wounded. It really seems all a dream!
11th Yesterday Mlle Pelagie writes to her sister immediately to send her a letter of attorney which is necessary to sell out her money to make the purchases she requires in Paris! We thought she was mad, but found soon that owing to the liberty in Paris she dares not write plainly & say it is safer not to trust the Republic with her money. Today we were in a shop making purchases in pietra dura. The man at length excused himself from attending to us by saying that very bad news had come out this morning. The bank had refused paying their notes & he has them for 1000 scudi! Poor man he seems almost mad. Not a day passes but we hear some fresh disaster! Dear Robert thank God is better, but so light I can carry him like a doll.
12 Dear Robert much better.
13 Aurélie & I both ill all day & night, Emily &Fanny slightly so, we think owing to the cooking. What a Birth day!
14 Up again to breakfast. Felt very poorly but Ursula’s husband coming to tell us that it wd not be safe to go out later in the day, Aurélie & I started for Fanny’s present & to put letter to Jane into the post. There are many papers from the Pope pasted about threatening temporal & spiritual power against all disturbers of the peace. At present the daily delayed Constitution seems to be forgotten, in some fresh & violent excitement about the Jesuits. They are turned out of Naples & threatened with expulsion from Rome, but the Pope protects them. Nothing can exceed the constant excitement about all this. Paris seems settling into a nine day’s wonder. Now again the papers say that nothing certain is known about Louis Phillippe & the rest of the ex Royal family, tho’ many particulars of their flight are reported. Emily is at this moment reading me of Jesuits turned out in all directions, revolutions in all directions. More & more vile oppressions from the Austrians, may they be speedily put down! but the good Pope, I think the Romans will sink greatly if they oblige him to leave them. The old Abbé gives such an account of his manner of living. He is called at ½ past 5, rises at 6. Says Mass etc till 8 at which time he takes breakfast, consisting of little else than a cup of chocolate. He then attends to business & dines when he has leisure, no fixed hour. He dines by himself & takes a quarter of an hour for it. After this he receives visitors & the Dr ordering an hour’s exercise every day, he drives out for an hour in good weather & in bad walks in the gallery of the Quirinal or Vatican. He then comes home & takes a cup of chocolate & passes the rest of the evening at business.
15 Fanny’s birth day. My second child out of her teens as is the saying. God bless her & them all. May none as they approach maturity be less worthy than my two eldest. The Pope has this day published the Constitution. We saw it almost the first as we past to go to church. As there was not a service, we immediately went into the Corso & took a carriage to see what was to be seen, but as nothing was expected untill 3 o’clock, we went to the Forum, walked about the fine Collosseum & rambled amongst arches, temples for an hour & then came home to lunch after which I had the extreme weakness to take dear little Robert to see the giving the Constitution. We were obliged to leave the carriage not being allowed on the Piazza & tho’ he was well wrapped up in two great plaids besides his own wraps, yet I fear he must have taken cold, as the ceremony of blessing did not take place till 5 o’clock & it got late before we cd reach home, the Corso & every avenue to our street being full. The Benediction is a fine sight. The perfect silence which succeeds the Pope’s appearance on the balcony is excessively imposing & seeing so many persons I suppose 20.000 on their knees with the good Pope extending his arms to heaven & his noble voice blessing them is extremely affecting. It made us long to be where such scenes are the constant enjoyment, where peace & harmony & love & devotion reign as truly & universally as they seemed in this vast assembly.
16 Went this morning to a church near the Capitol to hear a “Te Deum” in thanksgiving for the Constitution. It was rather well sung, the church was crowded & the Senate etc went in state. As usual in all things of this sort, the people make the show & the part which gives such pleasurable emotion is the harmony & uniformity of so many persons collected together, all to witness the same thing. In the afternoon we witnessed the same ceremony at St Peter’s, but tho’ the number of National Guards & banners was very great & splendid, the effect was greatly diminished by the absence of music. They came in & went out apparently without object. The crowd was immense & the view of the Piazza as the procession moved away was most grand. Cavalry were placed all along the streets to keep the carriages in single file. This made it very tedious in appearance, but safe & in the end quite as expeditious as if there had been a general rush. The numbers of carriages were very great & every window was hung with white & yellow. The Padrone of our house has illuminated our windows with the paper lanterns with the Pope’s arms on them & we have had the long draperies out all day, these give Italian houses & streets a most peculiar appearance. It is thing unknown in any other country I ever was in & looks very handsome. Dear Robert stiff & in bed all day, God defend him from a repetition of his rheumatic fever.
17 Went immediately after breakfast a regular church seeing expedition, but were soon overtaken tho’ not stopt by the rain for we went on, despairing of ever having in Rome a fine day. We were a week here in 1846, rained all the time (& then the spouts were in full activity). We have been here now 6 weeks & think I do not remember one fine day, parts of days have been lovely, a genial air, a deep & Italian blue sky, but one has hardly had time to rejoice at it than the clouds have collected & poured showers of rain upon us. Something like human life is it not? Well notwithstanding the rain, the mud & the horrible boots soled with brown paper, we saw several fine churches & did some shopping. Santa Maria del Popolo near the gate is magnificent. I think one of the chapels desplays the gorgeous marbles of which it is composed to greater advantage than I ever saw before. The pillars are of Sicilian jasper & the rest of verd antique & another dark green marble with portions composed of oriental alabaster etc. There are also some fine paintings & just opposite this splendid chapel is one in its way equally so, where the mosaics, paintings & statues are designed by Raphael. To me there is something truly gratifying to the religious feelings to see all the powers of man exercised in adorning the temple of his God. I do not wish to sift deeply & judge perhaps unjustly of the motives, I wish only to stand & admire the wonders of nature adapted by art to render these sacred edifices the most admirable buildings in the world, nor do I wish to meditate on the superstitions & ceremonies of the Roman Catholic religion. I know they are false or otherwise better results wd follow in morality, but I like to go quietly into these magnificent churches & always see religious services going on & apparently devout worshippers, always to hear the priest’s voice in prayer or praise. It is so soothing, so calm after the bustle of the world, after the noise & dirt & confusion of the street to pass under the great leather curtain & at once be admitted as it were into the presence of God. No sound heard but the priest’s voice, every thing around so grand, so worthy if one may so speak of the great & good being who is being worshipped by so many on their knees. Oh wd to God the Roman Catholics wd give up their bad & continue the good parts of their faith, then what noble results must follow. Today about 5 ladies were receiving the sacrament in Santa Maria del Popolo with every appearance of devotion & respect. We went into St Carlo, noble size & architecture, but alas! painting will not convert stone pillars into marble (my much admired lovely marble) & I wd rather see the stone colour & white of the Florence Duomo. Marble is something to me like flowers, it wd have answered the same use if God had made it all of one colour & all ugly. Why did he vein it & colour it & form it with every description of glory, why? to please his poor creatures, to gratify the senses he has benevolently given them & shall we not admire his works? & in those very works adore him. Yes, with every power of my soul & body I will love & praise him for all he has done & whether in a Protestant or Catholic church will humble my heart before him & acknowledge my utter unworthiness, my odious ingratitude in ever offending, so fond, so indulgent a Father.
18 Dearest Robert better today & towards evening able to sit up without his head being supported. I bought him a cap like the National Guard, a gun with a bayonet & an album to draw in. He is delighted. Went in the afternoon to the Palazzo Sciarra, a miserable deserted, dirty, untidy place, but some such lovely paintings! 2 most exquisite Magdalens by Guido. If the head of the second was put upon the body of the first it wd I think be even more perfect than it is, but there are very few Magdalens, however lovely as women, who answer to my idea of the penitent woman represented in scripture. We are never told she was a beauty, but a sinner of the lowest kind, struck with sorrow, filled with humble penitence, filled with holy love, faith, devotion, all this is expressed in the kneeling Magdalen in Andrea del Sarto’s Descent from the Cross in the Pitti Palace at Florence, most of the others I call Venuses. Not those of today, they are very lovely & the first perfectly decent, but there is a something still too fat, too easy in their appearance & position to give a very true idea of a poor low abandoned woman, struck with remorse & terror by the recollection of her transgressions. The two angels hovering over her are divine, the earnest, agonized face of the second splendid & the colouring most harmonious. Modesty & Vanity by Leonardo da Vinci are as fine as they can be, especially Modesty, who is very simple & lovely & has not the same Mona Lisa face of all Leonardo da Vinci’s beauties. There is a splendid portrait of Raphael. A lovely female beauty of Titian’s & in another room some very pretty landscapes. Before returning home I took my stones to be made into a table. No letters. No politics today! No ceremonies, no processions, no sights of any sort. I saw a sight yesterday new to me. A woman with two enormous baskets of frogs. She was skinning & cleaning them & they looked more delicate than any food I ever saw. I should not at all object to eating them & am persuaded it is only a silly & ignorant prejudice which makes people speak of them with such disquiet.
19 We lost a fine sight. Our conversation lady had a cousin who today took the last vows of a nun. She had obtained an invitation for us, but owing to its being Sunday we cd not go.
20 In the morning Aurélie, Fanny, Clara & Laura went shoe hunting & to see the Palazzo Colonna. In the afternoon I had a carriage & went with Emily, Fanny & Annie sight seeing. We are anxious to get through as much & as soon as we can. We saw the Palazzo Farnese. I almost begrudged the size & splendour of the building as the materials were taken from the Collosseum! It is very fine but looks dull & deserted. We hunted for some one to shew us the gallery. At last a youth came & unlocked the door of the room painted by Annibal Caracci, very fine but not to my taste. Some medallions like bronze in the style of Michel Angelo. We went then into a room with huge naked Hercules/Apollo’s etc which we walked through & went into a fine room with dark rich paintings all over & around it. Here there were two modern paintings by a Neapolitan artist excessively fine, Mary Magdalen wiping the Saviour’s feet & a Murder of the Innocents. Also three very lovely casts, the Prodigal Son, the dead Saviour & the death of the Magdalen. Our next visit was to the Palazzo Spada. The object I shall always remember is the very statue of Pompey at whose great feet Julius Cesar fell!! this is really interesting. Amongst the paintings Lucretia Guido, Dido the sword quite through her, Anthony & Cleopatra & in the garden a portico so constructed as to look long tho’ really very short. The Farnesina is situated in an orange garden, rather desolate looking, famous for being decorated by Raphael. I got into sad disgrace by saying the painting was bad, but found out afterwards that none of it was by Raphael or even his scholars, but he drew it all. The cupids in every direction & position are lovely & Venus drawn by 4 doves. I am to be sure to mention here Raphael’s Galatea, because I forgot it before I left the villa. Alexander presenting a crown to Roxana is very lovely. In an upper room the cupids playing about in every direction about a green curtain are lovely. The Church of San Crisogono is dark & solemn with old granite columns, 2 fine porphyry columns & 4 alabaster. Santa Maria in Trastavere, painting in middle of ceiling Domenichino, fine old columns. Santa Cecilia, a lovely monument to the saint, but just now disfigured by being dressed with a golden crown, diamond rings, necklaces etc. Saw the bath where she was martyred. A child fell upright over the altar rail just as we entered. We cd not get into Santa Maria della Pace, because there was a sermon being preached to the soldiers there. My alabaster column made into a really handsome ornament, Aurélie picked up the piece on the lovely beach at our dear Sorrento.
21 Went immediately after breakfast in a carriage sight seeing. First the weather was soft & heavenly, the first day of spring literally & truly. The Colosseum & other ruins looked superb. At the post we found 3 days have past without a post. St Clemens is one of the oldest churches in Rome, it was strewed with myrtles & bay, the mosaic of gold & every rich colour splendid, one exquisite little twisted column by the side of the reading desk most delicate. The baptistery of St John Lateran contains the font where the Emperor Constantine was baptized, splendid porphyry columns & balls of Egyptian marble. In the church the 12 apostles are placed up & down the sides of the centre aisle, each in a splendid niche with the fine verd antique columns. The effect is most grand. There are 5 aisles. What a glorious sight! The altar is a porphyry urn. The Corsini Chapel is splendid all marble, mosaic over altar & the 4 statues of Force, Temperance, Prudence & Justice very fine. Below is the mausoleum of the family, with that delicate & exquisite Pieta! We went to S [blank, Santa Prassede] & saw the column in granite said to be that of the Flagellation. Women are not admitted into the chapel containing it, but can just peep through iron railings at a distance & see it. The marble is the same as that I found & am having polished. In this church there is a flight of steps on each side of the altar of rouge antique. The beggars pursued us here & we met here the German family of ladies. Santa Maria Maggiore is even more splendid perhaps than St John Lateran, more simple & harmonious, the altar either of one or the other I do not remember which is a marble rouge antique urn. The Baldaquin verd antique supported by huge & magnificent porphyry columns twisted with gold wreaths, a perfect temple in itself (I see it is in the latter). San Laurenzo very old, the old church in part remains, the columns half below the surface, a trench left to see them. Whilst we were looking at the famous Moses our coachman was collecting most important news & we found him in great excitement. We drove to the French Embassy but the clerks were in ignorance about the non arrival of the French post. We past the Corso, all the draperies hung out & every creature in extasies. News have arrived that the royal family of Austria & the infamous Metternich are in prison & the people masters. God grant it is true. The Pope has ordered the great bell of the Capitol to ring a sign or rejoicing for the city. Every bell is ringing, every soul in extasies resembling the scene we witnessed at Naples. We came home, found our draperies out, took lunch & Fanny, Clara, Laura & I went out to the chymists. Going up the Corso guns & pistols were fired constantly from the windows & we encountered crowds of persons who had been up to the palace of the Austrian Embassy, torn down the arms & were dragging them along the ground to be burned at the Piazza del Popolo. As they went along all the men, respectable ones of all classes, beat the arms with sticks, broke off pieces & stuck them in their hats as trophies. As we returned Fanny & I each got a piece from 2 shopkeepers at their door, who presented us with it with much politeness. We found the flames rising most gloriously & crowds of people & carriages enjoying the sight, men rushing with ladders to tear down other trophies. May the Austrian tyranny be indeed demolished. We came home, found Aurélie & Emily had gone out. I took Annie to see the sights & found them there. We ordered dinner. They went to see the procession going to the Capitol where flotted the banner. We dined in haste & went to our old window in the Corso & then saw the famous Maccoletti. It is a very curious & interesting sight & the enthusiasm of the moment added to it. Every one of these many thousands carrying a wax light, some in coloured shades. The carriages were so thick they cd not move, all the windows filled & there also every one a light, the effect is indescribable & when a vast crowd came down, the band of the National Guard playing a hymn to the Pope, every one joining & carrying a light, it was almost overpowering. Aurélie kindly stayed with Robert (who today has made another effort to be up) & at 7 came to us leaving him in charge of the conversation lady who sat by his bed & read to him. I forgot to mention the splendid Porta Maggiore & the baker’s oven outside, with the statues of the baker & his wife.
22 Italian lesson in the morning. Robert’s master called & sang to us the Pope’s hymns & various other songs. Then Fanny & I went out shopping etc. In the evening the conversation lady’s husband brought news that it was widely circulated through Rome that the news of yesterday are false. If so what will be the consequence & will Austria be able to revenge the insult she has received! Dear Robert again in bed. Signora Chaldri brought her two children to play with him.
23 Aurélie, Emily & I went out after breakfast to see the marbles which I am having made into a table. We afterwards went to the post & found the Corso in the greatest possible confusion & excitement. News have arrived that there has been fighting in Milan. The Romans can no longer restrain their indignation & have sent to demand leave of the Pope to go to their aid. No post has arrived from England or France for 5 days. We know not what to think, but are exceedingly anxious. Every countenance expresses the deepest anxiety & determination. At 2 the answer from the Pope is to be given. We went & took our usual station on the church steps. An old priest befriended us & told us all that was passing. After some time 2 soldiers arrived who with the greatest animation declared that leave was given & that Pio IX allowed every man between 20 & 35 to go, soldiers & all, he seemed greatly proud of being selected to give intelligence of this. A little while after, a carriage full of gentlemen arrived & read aloud a paper to the same effect & appointing a rendezvous at the Forum at 4 o’clock. Then came the Monk Gavazzi who is a kind of Peter the Hermit preaching the crusade. He is the favourite leader of the liberals here & all seem liberals now. He walked between two soldiers arm in arm with them. There were many hundreds of men walking arm in arm about 8 in a row, the whole went round the Piazza del Popolo & returned up the Corso. At 4 we went to the Forum & there witnessed perhaps one of the finest of all the fine sights we have yet seen. Half the population of Rome amongst these noble ruins! We got into the Colosseum, they all mounted up to one of the openings, I walked about at the bottom. It was a glorious sight, this spacious arena crowded with men all enthusiastic in the cause of liberty & anxious to succour the unhappy oppressed Lombards. At last Gavazzi made his appearance, a man not very unlike the Pope himself & an intimate friend of his. He was greeted with loud applause & stood with other gentlemen in a kind of pulpit at one side of the arena. We were opposite & cd hear him distinctly. His first words were “The Pope allows us to go, are you glad”. Loud acclamations replied to this demand. He then excited them to action, reminded them of their former glory & prophesied that they wd again become the first people in the world. He entreated the women not to attempt to soften their relations by tears & dissuasions. A poet improvised & two or three short speeches were made & they dispersed. Our carriage was amongst the first who followed the procession & a most splendid sight it was indeed to see the modern multitude actuated by such noble sentiments winding out of the great Colosseum & through the Arch of Titus. Gavazzi solemnly left the people in charge of the other famous leader, the wood man [blank, Ciceruacchio?] during his absence. We returned home half dead with fatigue. I omitted to mention that we went this morning as we past & heard a sermon at the Jesuits Church. Tonight one poor lady is all in tears, either real or affected, for fear her husband should go to assist the wretched Milanese. I am persuaded I saw François Kuttel in the street today. I am so very sorry I did not stop the carriage.
24 Clara & Laura have just returned (9 o’clock) from seeing the troops start from the Piazza del Popolo amidst the cries & acclamations of the people. They say it was a most animated & enthusiastic sight. The civic guard & volunteers of all ranks go tomorrow morning, other troops went in the night! Are we not living in days of romance! All the rest of the party are gone to the post, I fear only to be more disappointed. What can have happened in France. Today M. de Fly expects despatches by sea. The whole city seems in confusion. I long to know what has become of the fine city of Milan, what has befallen her infamously treated inhabitants. 11 o’clock. They have just come in. No post! 6 days! The whole Corso decorated, the whole city in movement, bells ringing, papers being cried, people rushing. The man & woman to whom they went to pay for our window the night of the Maccoletti have been up all night crying because he is not able to go, the Pope having ordered that only single men shall go. The man of whom they bought parasols is in despair for the same cause but is trying to be allowed. He is charmed at our enthusiasm & enraged at the women who go crying about & trying to dissuade & discourage the men from going. The enthusiasm seems general & very great. This moment an order from the Pope has arrived for the instant embarkation of the municipal troops in 2 steamers, now waiting in the Tiber (I never knew it was navigable). My party have rushed out again to see them. They are going past in numbers all ready. Never to be sure was such a time, but what shall we do & where shall we go? 3 o’clock we have just seen two steamers loaded with soldiers go up the Tiber. It was a glorious sight to see them waving their handkerchiefs & the immense crowds which thronged the banks returning their salutations & crying out “Viva to those who give their lives for their country”. All ranks seem stimulated by the same ardour, some one to whom they spoke said “tomorrow we shall laugh” meaning tomorrow the rest wd go. All but Robert & I are now gone up to the Quirinal to see the Benediction given to the volunteers. God prosper them all & down with the Austrians.
25 Went up to Quirinal, not admitted to the chapel on account of not being in veils. Came down, M. de Fly’s office shut, went to post. Letter from Mr Cornish, speaks of returning to England if he was abroad, after the revolution in Paris. What wd he say how affairs have taken so warlike a turn all over Europe. He also says that Russia & Prussia are to aid Austria! We came home but in the afternoon not being able to settle to any thing we took a carriage & fortunately found M. de Fly at the office. There has been a riot in France again, the violent ones against the National Guard & moderate party. When the courrier left 50.000 men were parading the streets singing the Marseillois. I asked M. de Fly where he thought I had best go “To England certainly”. Aurélie says that he said we cd go through France safely, but he added “If you wish for more security do as I told you before, go by Malta”. As to money etc advised me to have it sent here. Thus at once is our project of learning German & seeing Switzerland & Germany put a stop to. I shall not however leave Italy or relinquish my plans untill quite certain of the necessity. I have not the money to undertake so long a journey all at once & sd arrive in England without money to encounter the enormous expenses which wd then accrue. It is vexatious & embarrassing to say no more of it. The voluntary troops start for the frontier at 2 o’clock tomorrow morning. No hope appears to exist of getting the letters which for 7 days have not arrived. What trouble, loss & disappointment!
26 Up at 5½. Went on the Piazza del Popolo to see the National Guard start for the frontier, a fine body of men, I wish them success with my whole heart. The enthusiasm was not great but I think there was some cause which hindered the shouts, for certainly it was not want of interest which brought the population of Rome of all ranks even before day light to see them depart. We went at 9 to the sacrament. Aurélie went to the post between the services in the hope of some news from France. None alas! It seems quite certain that the post of 10 days is lost. Today I cd have an answer from Mr Perkins to the letter in which I asked him to send money to Malta if necessary, but unless he should write by sea as Mr Cornish did there is little hope of my getting a letter. The papers here abound with flaming accounts of freedom, but I fear little reliance is to be placed on such uncertain information.
27 The Abbé this morning says no post again. He has an appointment with the Pope this evening so hopes he is not ill. Venice free but all the other cities fighting! Weather splendid. Only have fire because of Robert. Warm enough to leave off tho’ of evening we sd have it for comfort, our apartments being so large & cold.
28 Every one seems to speak of Milan being free. Reports of the Duomo being battered half down, 3500 citizens killed, but the Austrians routed. Even the names of the leaders who are killed are published, is all this false. The post is closed till 11½ when the letters from Tuscany & Bologna are to be delivered. Took Robert out for his second drive, dear fellow. He walked across the amphitheatre but he looks yawny & weak & very very thin & pale. His appetite & spirits quite good, sleeps well. Few days pass without our driving past the Capitol, through the Forum & round the magnificent Collosseum. How glorious are these ruins. The prettiest is the Temple of Venus just opposite the Collosseum.
This book contains the record of our lives for 16 months & at its conclusion finds me encircled by all the same temporal blessings. Whilst I return my grateful thanks to God for these, may I never put the dearest interests of this world in comparison with heavenly ones & may I unceasingly pray for larger supplies of grace, without which every other gift is valueless.
[Drawing on last page, possibly of apartment in Naples January 1848]
[END OF JOURNAL THREE – Journal Four Part
Travel Journal 4 Part 1: Rome 29th March 1848 – 31st May 1848 Turtmann, Switzerland
8 in group, Martha and 6 children, Emily, Fanny, Annie, Clara, Laura, Robert (age 8), Miss Aurélie Hubert de Fonteny 1813-1907 (French companion/governess). François Croissier took them on from Rome. Transcribed and typed by Madeleine Symes 2017 with her notes in italics & in square brackets, mostly capitals removed, places/people/things of interest in bold. Martha’s spelling. Various pencil marks, underlining and lines down sides of pages on original journal.
Cover spine : LIBRO DI MEMORIE
Inside first page:
F.M.B.
M. Shaw.
29th March 1848.
Rome.
March Rome 1848
29 What turbulent times this book is begun in, what will be the state of Italy, France & Germany perhaps England when it is finished? At present all the people here seem in high spirits. Today they say the news of the success in Milan & elsewhere is official, yet still volunteers are starting for the frontier, still preparations are making for defence. This morning Aurélie & I went to do two or three little commissions between the Abbé Barola’s lesson & lunch, but we made up our minds not to go to the post, as we have been every day without success. After lunch Emily, Fanny & Robert & I were on our way to the Collosseum & I ordered the coachman to go across the piazza & see if by any chance any letters were arrived. There was not one person at the windows, which are usually so crowded, but to our astonishment the notices of non arrival of posts were down & the windows thrown wide open. We enquired & found a letter from Madame Hubert but strange to say it is dated the 11th & yet called the post that ought to have arrived today. Tomorrow they talk of our having the back posts, in which case perhaps I may have some letters. God grant all is going on well & that the Austrians will be chased out of Italy without more bloodshed. Emily & Fanny sketched the Temple of Venus, Collosseum etc, the rest went to see the palaces, then came & Robert & I returned in the carriage whilst they finished their sketches & walked home. This afternoon an edict from the Pope is made known that the Jesuits are to leave directly! is not this wonderful in Rome! What does the Pope mean? Every thing the people ask, he grants & as to the National Guards they are every where & seem every thing. Dear Robert ran about for 3 hours! is not this too wonderful, but children recover so quickly, yet he looks most wretchedly delicate. The conversation lady has been enquiring today about what English people think & what they do, relative to the wars & means of getting money & tonight she says she has been informed by the master of one of the principle hotels that numbers have already left in terror of not being able to get money. Others remain in Rome, thinking that a less evil than being without money in the middle of their journey & some laugh at the difficulties. These last I suppose are sure of a good stock in hand. It is rather a serious joke I think & may turn out pretty badly for me. However I have enough to keep me here for some time & if my letter of credit does not arrive I just go to the nearest & cheapest country place I can & make it last as long as possible. In the mean time I hope the best. At any rate we have no more expense for firing, as the weather is very hot.
30 A carriage for the day, finished a great many things. Pantheon how splendid, the columns outside, the proportions inside. I think a monument might be afforded to Raphael & Carracci. A simple inscription seems poor for such men. In the French church there are some fine frescoes by Domenichino & a good copy of Raphaels St Catharine. St Agnes is lined with the most costly marbles of every sort & the white marble basso relievi are superb. It is a Greek cross which I admire greatly. St Andrew large frescoes by Domenichino round behind the altar. This church is built over the spot where Caesar was assassinated. Near here is a beautiful fountain, figures threading on dolphins & holding tortoises. It is exceedingly graceful & all in bronze. Sa Maria in Cosmedion is a curious little old church, built amongst the pillars of an ancient temple of Ceres & Proserpine. The sacristan took us all over the upper parts & into the organ loft. It is very curious to see the capitals of the columns peeping out here & there & some embedded in the walls. I cannot understand the sense of building in & amongst another structure in this manner. They shew one here also a Madonna & child painted by St Luke! At last we reached the enormous ruins of the baths of Carracalla. The more I see of the Roman remains the more I am lost in perfect wonder at their gigantic, gorgeous, costly, lovely works. These baths extend over acres of ground. The ruined roofs & walls falling in fill up the bottom, these magnificent ruins actually ruin themselves. You see deeply imbedded in the earth, the most lovely mosaic roofs supported or lifted up by brick work just to shew what is there. In some parts the mosaic pavement is entire & great part has been taken away & preserved in the Vatican gallery. Here are the spots where stood the exquisite Flora, Hercules & Bull we saw at Naples. What noble & spacious places were first assigned to them, now how desolate! The bath for swimming alone occupies I sd think an acre of ground & all this in a place where water is not to be found. You look over a part of the ruined wall & see the ruins of that superb aqueduct which was built on purpose to convey water for these spacious & luxurious baths from the mountains 20 miles off!
There seems to have been no limit to the immense talent, power, riches of these people. No difficulty stopped them that which they conceived wd be beautiful, grand, convenient, beneficial, desirable that they did, without regard to expence or capability. No one who has not witnessed the remains of their excessive grandeur can form an idea of what they must have been. St Peter & all the modern edifices however superb will never leave such remains! We called & saw the table which I am having made of the marbles I picked up on the beach at Sorrento (Romans again!), it is very pretty. Then we came home to lunch & started again with Aurélie & Robert instead of Clara & Laura. We went first to Prince Torlonia’s, the banker. I took £20 merely as an excuse for asking his opinion as to staying abroad, the only reply I cd obtain was that he intended to pay all letters addressed from first rate bankers. He was very polite, but being one of the heads of the liberal party it was not to be expected he should say any thing likely to cause a panic. I think my position is very dangerous as to obtaining money, but I have nothing to do but wait & see if my next letter which I have written for arrives & then if I am obliged & can realize the money I must act as seems best. To turn it all into napoleons & return to England wd be most ruinous & I sincerely trust not necessary. It was a public day at the Capitol & we cd not see the Venus so there is another journey there. The dying Gladiator is as fine as any thing can be & forcibly recalls Byron’s beautiful lines on it. The poet enhances the value of the sculptor & the sculptor that of the poet. Both are perfect in their way. It is most affecting. There any many statues in the same room, very splendid & graceful. In the two succeeding ones are the Fawn & the young Hercules in rouge antique, equally valuable as efforts of genius but how different as to beauty. I hate all Fawns, Bacchuses, Satyrs & fat looking Hercules’ & all naked things, unless of a very decent & superior kind. I see no taste in displaying what is odioius & disgusting. The best statues such as the Laocoon, Apollo, Venus de Medici & things of that sort do not strike one in the same way tho’ all are bad enough. The gallery of paintings is by no means rich. Our Saviour’s head in the “Woman taken in adultery” by Titian is surpassingly fine. There is an expression of divine authority mingled with mercy in his face, which gives one as fine an idea of divinity as it is in the power of the human mind to conceive. I remembered it perfectly from last year. A beatification by Guido, a fine figure rising from the globe. Some fine Magdalens, one by Guido especially & some portraits by Van Dyke. Amongst the statues, a brilliant Diana, young, full of life & purity, spirited, lovely & a Mars stuck me greatly & now the palace of Caesar. What a tale is told there. Looking all over Rome, with the Collosseum so grandly set forth, here where Caesar had amassed every treasure of art & nature he at last confessed he had built a house worthy of a man & now it is a storehouse for hay. Yet even now a good idea of its ancient grandeur can be formed. This was the last of our day’s excursions. I forgot to mention the Mask of Truth, huge head with open mouth into which a person was required to place his hand when he swore to any thing & children believed that if he told an untruth he cd never draw it out again.
31 Letters from Paris. Evidently no sort of security can be placed on the Government there. The workmen parade the streets night & day singing the Marseillaise illuminating the streets etc. M. LaChevardiere who is a lover of Republics has witnessed horrors tho’ not openly espousing any cause, he suffers in money matters. M. Odiot is sadly out of spirits, has put down carriages, horses, servants. They hope M. de Segur will not lose office or M. Hubert his island. M. Hyppolite is likely to lose the affair which was going on so flourishingly. Mlle Pelagie has lost all her pupils. Mlle Elliza gains nothing with her paintings. This is the resumé of the accounts from Paris. I have had a letter from Jane viewing the Paris affairs very seriously but not knowing of the disturbances in Germany & Italy. She supposes the state of France will not influence my plans. What will they say when they hear that all Europe is alight! John is very seriously ill. It was only this morning that I was regretting to myself not having desired them to send him some of my port wine. The letter does not contain much more news of any importance. I hope & trust all will go on well & that they will write again soon.
April 1st A new quarter begun under rather strange auspices & strong presumption of external disturbance, positive domestic trouble. Things gradually look more & more serious, money is much talked of. Ursula’s husband says that numbers of English are gone & going because they fear the bankers will not continue to pay the English checks & it seems they did refuse during the cessation of posts from France & England. The old Abbé shook his head & looked serious this morning, but he is only one of the numerous family of the lack brains, that is to say he has every sense but common sense. Robert’s priest however seems really one of the most straight forward sensible Italians I have heard speak. His advice was “Take the money directly if you can get it, in times of revolution every one ought to take every precaution possible”. He also said that if we were forced to remain he cd tell us of places where we cd economise immensely, gave us prices & altogether seemed really to believe & understand that our position may be any thing but safe or agreeable. I went immediately to Torlonia’s & presented him my letter of credit asking for the remainder £180. He looked very blank & said “Will you have it in notes or by letters of credit”. I muttered something about leaving Rome, he caught at it directly & said “Then you know you cannot take notes. I will give you letters on any town you like”. I said I should prefer money, upon which he plainly told me he cd not give it me, that it was not usual to pay so large a sum in cash & that he had had large payments to make. I saw how matters stood & asked him at any event to give me as much as he cd & at last he consented to give me £80 leaving £100 on my letter which I know not when I can realize. However I must go on as long as I can & trust to Torlonia. He has given me credit on a house at Ancona, but I cannot consider any such credit available in these times. Lafitte the first banker in Paris has failed & why sd not Torlonia. He is evidently greatly harassed, but he was very polite & when Aurélie & Emily went back to his room to get my letter he said “Stop here & I will protect you, you see I am a National Guard too”. I must say this is rather an awkward affair. I cannot stir unless I get more money, with their allowances & all I have nearly £150. That will last a long time here, but here I am afraid to stay on account of fever & must therefore get into the country & live in the smallest possible way. There seems great doubt of quiet lasting here & the Pope is they say very uneasy. Aurélie had a letter from the Miss Woods. They are going to leave off school keeping & retire on a small income. They have good expectations & intend coming abroad if peace is established. Oh Louis Philippe, Louis Philippe, what mischief has your obstinacy & ambitions made. Every one concurs in the fact of Paris being in a dreadful state. On all these occasions it is the failure of money which brings things to a crisis. They have promised support to the whole population, without money to enable them to fulfil it. Of course all that is possible is taken out of the funds, as no confidence exists & each person says as I do here “I cannot afford to be the one to make the sacrifice & leave my money to its fate”. Just now comes a fresh excitement, Ursula & her husband rush in & exclaim “St Andrew’s head is found (which was stolen)”, all the bells are ringing, the dome of St Peter’s illuminated & all but Robert the little Alexander & me are gone to see it!! When they came in they forced me to go over to the river side & see it also. It is wonderfully imposing & gives a better idea of the size of St Peter’s than any thing else. The whole dome & all are covered with lights & it looks perfectly transparent, the town also was illuminated. I suppose at this particular moment the Pope does not wish to lose any opportunity of shewing respect to religious subjects.
2 Started for church, but was forced to return for 2 reasons. One was the rain. Went in the afternoon. There are nearly as many English as ever, but no doubt numbers of them are residents & perhaps many more intend or at any event have the means if the necessity arises to return to England by Gibralter. I have not & I begin really to think after all that we shall go to Genoa & thence to Geneva very quietly. I cannot fancy but what I shall get money in the places I pass through. I will therefore for the present save as much as I can & shut my eyes to all danger for if I fret night & day it will do no good. I can by no profitability stir untill I am sure of money. The weather is now perfection, neither too hot or too cold, as long as you keep out of the sun which is exceptionally hot. Every one now is out. At the Collosseum & other quiet ruins & piazzas all the poor congregate especially lots of old men & there they lie in the sun asleep or sit on the grass or broken marble columns, steps etc mending their clothes or talking politics. Women also sit mending stockings & other clothes in all the streets. In the markets I have seen infants of certainly not more than two or three weeks old, the mothers take the cradle & rock the child whilst they sell their vegetables which are very plentiful, cheap & good. 4 enormous heads of broccoli or cauliflower for 6 baiocchi or 3d. Still Rome is much dearer than Naples, or our lovely Sorrento, to which I wd most willingly return. I shall never I think see a place so beautiful, so quiet, so cheap, so convenient, so abundant.
3 Monday morning. They went palace seeing in the morning & after lunch I went with them & had a through look at St Peter’s which is being hung with those abominable crimson & gold draperies for a grand ceremony on Wednesday in honour of St Andrew’s head. Each time I enter this magnificent church I admire it more & this is the case with every thing of a superior kind. Sometimes owing to circumstances a second rate thing strikes one with admiration at first sight, but it is sure to undeceive one on a second & third visit, but these first rate works improve the more one studies them. We also paid a long visit to the Sistine Chapel. The grand painting of Michel Angelo, the Last Judgement fine as it is, is never to me pleasing & I think it is more discoloured & spoiled than it was last year. The ceiling is to my mind superior, objectionable as such a subject must ever be, it is impossible not to admire the figure which is intended to represent the Creator forming Adam & other subjects which however absurd & I think sacrilegious to attempt such a representation are sublime figures. Zacharias is my favourite immediately opposite the Last Judgement. We saw the seats we are likely to occupy in the Holy Week. I have not the slightest desire to see any of those ceremonies. I have had enough of sights & only wish to enjoy the country & occasionally in a very quiet way view the churches & finest paintings & statues. I really dread the Holy Week & on Wednesday we have to hunt after the good excellent Pope who is to carry the newly found head of St Andrew from the Quirinal to St Peter’s on foot! On our return they laboured up a steep hill to a church where Tasso is buried. Had I known that thence is seen the Monte Circe I sd have undertaken the pilgrimage also. Lovely view of that lovely country, perhaps it may even command a glimpse of Ischia! Before we got home we went into Santa Maria della Pace & saw Raphael’s Sybils, more exquisite far do I think them than I did before.
4 Just as we intended starting for the Vatican it came on to rain a lovely warm soft shower but sufficient to render it imprudent to take Robert out, so the others went & had a through inspection of the galleries, Stanze, Loggie & with these of course they are more & more enchanted. I went out in the afternoon with Annie & Robert & found a letter from Edmund Shaw at the post. William Edmund Hammond is dead, he was always very delicate & has for some time been in a consumption, he was 28 years old their 4th child! Poor Mrs John Morrice is also dead. Later in the afternoon Emily received a long & interesting letter from Amelia [Perkins], she writes very well & has the not very common art of giving one the news one wishes to know. She says we have nothing to fear from the Austrians, as they have full employment at home, revolutions having broken out at Vienna, Berlin etc alas! she did not know then of the state Lombardy is in. William Shaw writes me a very good letter also on the same sheet as his father & gives much news. The English Ambassador in Paris had just desired all English subjects to leave Paris immediately. This looks worse than any thing else. Rothschild too has failed! & all the Paris bankers. In fact these letters give a worse account of the state of France than we have yet had. All my enquiries however today were answered as if I was dreaming of danger & want of money. When I told Lowe that I had not been to obtain more than £80 in cash from my banker, he looked very astonished & answered “Torlonia wd have given you cash”. I did not say that it was Torlonia who had refused it me. Amelia still mentions John’s illness. Unless they write here again soon, it will be long before I hear again, for I know not where to tell any one to address me. Ursula seeing us dissatisfied with our dinner, has undertaken for a scudi a day to supply us & cook for us. It will really be a curiosity if she does it.
5 After the Abbé Barola’s lesson we had the happiness of remaining quietly at work untill 3 when we started & walked to St Peter’s, every carriage was gone, the streets were crowded with persons walking like ourselves. No carriages were allowed to pass that way, they must have had to go over another bridge. Cavalry were stationed at the end of the streets, which were also thickly lined with the National Guard. As soon as we got to the bridge, we found chairs for hire all along to the Piazza, which was crowded. A space for the procession to go was strewed with sand & kept by National Guard, outside of whom were three or four tiers of carriage. We got where I always wished on the steps leading to the door of St Peter’s & then being at a little distance & raised above the crowd, we had an excellent & uninterrupted view. It was greatly crowded, but all were very civil. Two men took Robert & held him up by turns & then a woman, she was an Italian, they English. They told us that the English had been ordered by our Ambassador to leave Naples which is in a dreadful state of agitation but I do not believe it. They also said that a war was certain before long between England & France, God forbid! The procession was most grand & took at least an hour arriving, they say it extended a mile & a half. The sacred relic was in a large glass case like a tomb. It is contained in a silver case, shaped like a skull & they speak of its being certainly authentic. It is a curious story of its being found outside one of the city gates buried & they suppose the thief was too awe struck to break the seals, which the Pope has examined & found untouched. There is a story of his having prayed to have it restored & that it was found next day. Some say that the thief confessed either to the Pope or some priest in consequence of a pardon being proclaimed for the crime. Be this as it may, it gave an occasion for one of the grandest ceremonies of the church, the same as that of Corpus Christi which takes place in June. Thus we have had occasion to see it. The Pope followed on foot, no umbrella even held over his head through the scorching sun & only his little white skull cap on. The great umbrellas, symbols of the different metropolitan churches, preceded with all the priests, monks etc & ladies & he was followed by the cardinals & immense number of National Guard. As soon as he had entered the church, these latter formed in the Piazza. He came out at the side door & past through the crowds in his state coach & six horses amongst cheers & waving of flags & handkerchiefs. We then went in to look at St Peter’s. Its appearance was not earthly really. The crimson hangings were only over the white parts which are not marble & with all my prejudices against decorating these churches I must say St Peter’s looks most noble with all its lovely white statues & marble pillars & sides coming out from the crimson silk. A sort of mist from the innumerable tapers hung about it, the western sun added to the soft glowing tint & there cd not certainly on earth be any thing finer than the scene we then witnessed. We walked to the top & saw the head which the Pope had deposited on the high altar. Priests were stationed there kneeling by the sides praying, numbers of golden candlesticks with lighted wax candles crowded the high altar & some of the high dignitaries still lingered there. After walking about for a long time, we found our way to a pastry cook’s, had some thing to eat & then sauntered back to the steps of St Peter’s where we sat till dark. The Piazza got quite empty, here & there a few persons walking silently, some other ladies came & sat by us. The air was like heaven, little by little the illuminations shone forth & the stars in the deep blue sky. We walked across the Piazza & on turning round beheld St Peter’s completely illuminated & behind it the new moon, a full moon in this exquisite climate, the whole body was a lovely soft white light & the crescent a little more brilliant than the rest, then the stars above us & St Peter’s cross rising up so high & sparkling with its light. It was a glorious & never to be forgotten sight. We walked home half dead. Ursula’s dinner had waited 2 or 3 hours! For a scudi it consisted of a tureen of capital soup, a whole kid, a very large fowl, a great dish of rice, another of cauliflower & another of potatoes, an excellent salad & a beautiful sponge cake filled with cream! for 4s/2d. Both for mind & body what an unrivalled country is Italy & yet the corrupt state of morals denote that prosperity is not always favourable to virtue & tho’ so good a man as Pius IX heads the religion yet how odious to see that horrible image of St Peter dressed in robes, jewels, gold & crowds pressing to kiss his toe. He is in black marble & the toes are actually worn with kisses. Nothing can go right as long as this idolatry goes on.
6 Directly after breakfast started for the Vatican & then used all our orders & saw the mosaics, the Etruscans, the gardens & the apartments. In these latter you see the bed where the last Pope died, it as well as every thing walls & all are red silk, brick floors every where. The Pope passes 4 days here at Easter. He has only brick floors no carpet even over them. He sleeps in the room where his predecessor died. The next room is his dining room, there is his table & chair. 3 dishes of food are generally sent to him, but he never takes more than one & his soup & has no one in attendance on him, but one man to carve. At night his servants sleep in this same room, there are beds piled up in one of the consol tables or side boards which during the day are covered with a marble slab. Can any thing be more uncomfortable. Strange mixture of grandness & discomfort. Never surely was so costly a palace as the Vatican. It is a perfect town in itself & such galleries! Certainly the Apollo is the finest statue in the world, its superiority is more remarkable every time you look at it & Canova’s Perseus my favourite modern statue. The gardens are very delightful. We were amused with the water works & ship & we saw a garden house in which the Pope receives English ladies sometimes, it is pretty & the room in which he receives, a little quiet common summer room with a table & a few rush bottomed chairs, white callicoe curtains! There is a wood near covered with those heavenly dog tooth violets of a deep colour, superior to any I have seen. They look so lovely, so flourishing, so happy that I accuse myself of cruelty in gathering any of them & not letting them enjoy their inexpressively lovely air & sun. It is very curious to see them doing the mosaics, but there are only a few men at work, 2 sit making a table which has taken them 3 years & is supposed to be intended as a present from the Pope to the grand Sultan. One enormous gallery is fitted with cases of every different shade of mosaics, every shade numbered. We did not see any Porferina equal to the old pieces we picked up on the beach at Sorrento. The Etruscans form a magnificent collection, each vase is placed on a stand moveable so as to turn each side to sight. The Egyptian museum is grand also, numbers of mummies & some cats mummied! sent from Mahomet Alli to the Pope! An old bronze Roman car interested us & particularly Robert. We much wished to ascend the Capitol, the day was so splendid, but its being a public day deterred us & Robert having had enough exercise as well as ourselves being almost unable to stand. So we came home, lamenting the not being able to avail ourselves of this glorious weather to enjoy the country, go to Tivoli etc. Every thing is bright today, it makes one feel quite light hearted.
7 This morning at breakfast I said “Well now today we will sit quiet all day & do something, I must just go to the Consul & sign my certificate, if you want any thing I will bring it in & I must go to the post”. In a short time Emily & I were off with a long list of commissions. We did not return till ½ past 11. Then Robert’s priest called. We had lunch. I was obliged to go to the Consul again, took a carriage & ended by going sight seeing for 4 hours! We took a last look at those two grand churches St John Lateran & Santa Maria Maggione. I had a letter from François. He says he shall be in Rome next week & ready to take us to Geneva. He crossed the country from Padua to Florence without difficulty or dangers & our route lies through a much more safe country, as we do not even enter Lombardy. I went to Mr Freeborne the Consul almost afraid to ask any advice about money, as he is one of the chief bankers said to have refused checks. I found him very willing to converse on the subject. He told me I might safely go into Switzerland. I said “Yes if I was sure of being supplied with money”. He asked to see my letter of credit, said it was of no consequence its being on Torlonia, that he (Mr Freeborne) had bought all the napoleons he cd find in Rome & wd supply me with as many as I wanted. I took my letter after lunch & got rather more than 116 napoleons for £100 and now my only fear is that my next letter will not arrive untill after Mr F. is gone, or till he has parted with all his gold. The reason of his being so anxious to get my letter on Barkley is that he is wholly worn out by the constant disagreeables & anxieties he has encountered here for the last 5 months. “I assure you Ma’am my head is almost turned”. The Ma’am sounds funny after the Excellensias Madamas, Signoras, but nevertheless he seems a straight forward man. He is sending all his property to England by checks & intends to follow after Easter, rather than lose his senses & health here. It was really a comedy to see & his poor dear Italian clerks, they in their dress as National Guard, bowing, standing, hesitating & looking pale & astonished, he perspiring, wiping, bustling, urging, scolding. “You see Ma’am it isn’t as if I had English clerks who cd say no, but these Italians with their half measures bring every one to me. I have had 15 rows this morning already, because I won’t take their Roman notes, it isn’t to be expected Ma’am that a man sd invest his whole fortune in this paper which is of no value & some morning wake & find himself a beggar. No please God almighty I’ll wind up my affairs & go to England & this makes me so anxious to get checks on first rate London bankers”. He told us also of an interesting conversation he had had with the Pope last week, who said “he never foresaw or expected so great consequences to follow his giving his subjects reform. He had acted with good intentions & as his conscience dictated & he did not repent but was wholly resigned to all that God had appointed for him whether good or bad. He said he had written to every sovereign on the Continent to warn them that unless they yielded to the just demands of their subjects they wd lose their crowns. This he says they will not concede & the consequence will be their ruin”. Already that crafty old fox Louis Phillippe is gone, but alas! I fear great bloodshed will follow all over Europe.
8 Today no post from England, France or Milan has arrived. I hope no bad change has come, but it seems certain that the Austrians are very strong 60 000 now, soon to be 100 000. I tremble for these poor fellows who we saw leave their lovely city. The sun rose clearly as they filed through the Porta de Popolo. God protect & give them victory over their vile oppressors. They say they march admirably & each evening when they arrive at their resting place, they assemble on the public place, go through the manœvres & are joined by numbers. They have an excellent leader who is forming them into a well disciplined body of men. The lovely road from Brescia past the Lake of Garda, so beautiful & peaceful when we were there, is now likely to be the scene of a fearful conflict. The other day when being shewn the Egyptian curiosities, the man very innocently said “These images they worshipped just as we do ours”. When we went into a shop for some paper or tape yesterday there was one of the little papers lying on the counter. Emily took it up & began talking about the horrible sacrileges the Austrians have committed at Mantua. The woman folded her arms, threw herself back in a chair pale with anger but looking full of confidence exclaimed “The Pope will soon settle that, he will excommunicate them”. The coachman today talked a great deal about it & says that all Rome wd cry if there was an excommunication. The churches on such occasions are hung with black & a general horror prevails, are we to see this too? I hope not. Passing a certain spot the coachman said this is the place of public execution, here people are shot & beheaded. There were many in other Popes’ times, but Pio IX says it is molto bento to see a man without his head. Many deserve punishment but not one man’s blood has been shed since Pio IX was Pope. He has never signed a death warrant, noble, glorious man. Which of the party will forget the Corsini mausoleum last afternoon. It was a dark day & drawing towards evening. A pale, thin, still, mournful looking young priest descended with us to this abode of the dead, quietly lighted the long wax tapers & without speaking held it to the exquisite representation of our Saviour lying dead on his mother’s knees. The transparent whiteness of the marble, the heavenly expression of the face, the solemnity, stiffness & rushing of the wind above our heads with this most lovely representation of that death which gave us life was so touching a scene altogether that I for one was little disposed to move or break the silence & I shall never forget it.
9 It was exceedingly hot in church. Our minister did what I thought very strange. In the middle of an argument in his sermon he left off & said “And now I shall take this opportunity to say, that if the windows are opened opposite each other so as to cause a current of air, it will prove very dangerous to the health of many. We are obliged to suffer here from heat, but the danger of cold is greater than the suffering from heat”. I had not perceived that any windows had been opened, but many persons had just gone out ill through heat. Emily in bed with headache. I staid at home in the afternoon, the rest had hardly started when we heard drums beating & several batallions of National Guard went past. At last came the 2 long talked of cannons, with each 4 fine horses, they say given by the Prince Borghese & others from their own stables. They all formed on the Piazza del Popolo & seeing this Emily got wild, dressed herself & insisted on going to see what was going on. We went to the end of the first street & there saw the procession pass up the Corso, going to receive the benediction at the Quirinal. We came home & Emily was in bed again & I had almost finished reading when they came in from church, altho’ I always fear over fatigue yet I do like energy & am very thankful that none of my party want it. Aurélie proposed & all seconded an immediate rush up to the Quirinal & so they are off. I only hope they will be in time but I fear not. With all the good will in the world Emily is obliged to resign herself to stopping from this sight. The sight proved a disappointment. Numbers of persons were collected on the piazza of the Quirinal, chairs let out, carriages waiting etc & after all there was no benediction. The cannons were simply taken to the Capitol & there left.
10 I went to the post with Robert, no letters. Afterwards with Fanny about marbles. Lovely weather, they are gone to the Vatican. It was not open untill 3 & they came back very late & tired. The Abbé Francioni dined here & we had music in the evening. The conversation lady’s husband has just brought in news that the English are all ordered out of Rome! if so I shall be in a pretty plight for I have not money to go to England & my letter of credit will not at best arrive before the 25th! a nice jot this wd be, but of course I do not believe one syllable of it.
11 Went in the morning making purchases. Am waiting to see if I have another letter from Jane before I buy her cameos. In the afternoon went to the Capitol & shewed the younger ones the paintings & statues, that is a splendid collection in the same room with the dying Gladiator. There is a perfectly lovely Isis, a Juno full of loveliness & majesty, an Amazon with all the beauty of a woman, joined to the energy of a man, a little girl guarding a bird from a serpent. We mounted the Capitol. I cd not go to the top, my head was giddy. The view is splendid of the whole city & surrounding county, the snow still lies on the higher mountains. Albana, Frascati, Tivoli, the Monte Circe. I had almost forgotten to mention the Capitoline Venus, which is splendid, the face & head I prefer to the Florence Venus.
12 Emily ill all night, I trust better this morning. Very fine. Just going to Mr Freeborn as last night the lady & her husband confirmed the report about the English leaving. I believe it not. Went to Mr Freeborn, waited in the passport office a long time. There found my friend more perspiring & more bustling than before, very cross but he does not leave after Easter. Thinks or rather dares to say he shall have money for me. Says Genoa is perfectly safe, no order or thought of an order for English returning home. Lord Minto & his family here. If any one in danger, him & Mr F.
13 Went shopping all the morning but in the afternoon were prevented going to the Vatican by the rain & our first thunder storm this summer.
14 Past some hour’s shopping & in the afternoon they went to the Vatican & throughly studied the statues. It will not be open either tomorrow or Monday, therefore there is but Tuesday for a last visit if we start directly after Easter. François Croissier arrived, says every thing is safe & quiet but he asks much more than the Voiturier here.
15 Had a carriage for the day & went to see the Villa Ruspiglione where is a fine ceiling by Guido of Ancona. It is very beautiful, especially a cupid who flies above the horses. There are two other rooms, one on each side of this gallery & some good pictures of Rubens etc. You enter this villa through a little garden full of lovely flowers, yellow & white cluster roses trained round statues & basso relievi, beds of miginonette in full bloom, rhododendrums, agatias etc. The Villa Albani realizes all the enchanting ideas one has formed of Italian villas, the entrance to the grounds down a long straight walk, an oblisk at the extremity & on each side tall cypresses, between which are the blue distant mountains, the tops covered with pure snow. A lovely prospect. The villa is a mass of marble, mosaics & paintings, galleries of statues down stairs, lots of summer apartments, baths etc & all commanding beautiful views & looking into the Italian gardens, divided into parterres. It is a costly place, but uninhabited. Lots of English every where, they swarm now in double force. Palazzo Barberini merely to look at Guido’s Beating, on account of Annie & I having bought copies of it in Roman composition. Raphael’s Fornarina is also in the same room, beautifully painted, but I more than ever detest naked figures. Dear Robert pleased me very much by some manifestations of reflection & good feeling. Thank God! received my letter of credit, went to Mr Freeborn & found he had no money only notes, which may be useful here but no where else.
16 After afternoon church went to the Pincio to see the sun set & found what we never knew before that on Sunday afternoon there is a regular Corso, cavalry keeping the ground etc. They go round the Piazza del Popolo, up the Pincio & up & down the Corso. Of all things which rational beings do, none appear to me more senseless than this universal practice of promenading whether in Hyde Park, Bois du Boulogne, Corso or elsewhere.
17 Went to Tivoli & saw waterfalls by paying ½ a paul at each gate. Adrian’s villa on our road home is an enormous expanse of ruin & is a farther evidence if any were wanting of the superiority of the ancient Romans. Started at 6 & got home at 8. 14 hours!
18 Going to get notes for expenses at Rome to save my specie. Found Mr Freeborn had plenty of money & took £150 in gold excepting a few notes for present use. Engaged a carriage for the Holy Week.
19 Our work began by going to the Vatican & throughly examining the beautiful paintings in that gallery & afterwards went to look at the preparations in St Peter’s. It is hung with crimson & gold, but the fine marble & statues are not covered, only the paintings & the Pieta, it looks very handsome. In one of the transepts there are raised seats for ladies. In fact before all the altars there are some sort of preparations for sight seeing. We returned & after taking some lunch started for the Miserere in the Sistine Chapel. It disappointed me as much as I expected. The good Pope was there, but of course at that distance & behind the grating we cd scarcely see him. The crowd was dense. Robert had stopped at the entrance to the ladies’ seats with a Swiss guard, but owing to the crowd one of the chamberlains took him out. This I did not know & therefore becoming uneasy about him I went out, but it was with the greatest difficulty I cd make my way. Then I found my young gentleman in his glory with all the Swiss round him shewing him armour etc. They are very good natured & so are all the officials. Owing to a mistake in our tickets Aurélie, Clara & Laura cd not get in at first, but seeing them waiting in patient disappointment, one of the masters of the ceremony took their hand & said “Go in” so after we had been deploring their case to one of the chamberlains, they made their appearance. I was really not at all sorry to get into the other room where I admired the fine marbles, paintings & costumes untill it was finished, whilst Robert amused himself & every one around him by his affection & admiration for the great Swiss guards. The crowd was very great coming out but our coachman is always near at hand & we readily found him & went to see the Pellegrini. It is some charitable establishment where they lodge & feed for 3 days all the poor who go. The ladies of the highest rank are servants on this occasion. There were numbers there, the chief of whom seemed the Principessa Ruspigliosi, a fine looking old lady in her great red apron & silver medal. This apron every lady puts on over their other dress & it forms a pretty costume. The girls were generally fine open countenanced lively looking creatures, apparently delighted with their charitable occupation. We went down into the room where the washing of feet took place previous to supper. The peasant women were ranged round the room on high benches & a tub of warm water placed before each. A young lady then knelt down to every peasant & regularly washed & soaped her feet whilst a priest & Abbé Barola chanted a hymn. The heat & smell obliged us soon to go. Robert was with Signor Chaldea witnessing the same ceremony with men. We got home to dinner at 9 o’clock throughly exhausted.
20 We were seated in the front row in one of the transepts of St Peter’s at 8 & sat there until 12, 4 hours! The scene was gay enough, but certainly very unlike a church. During this time the Pope was hearing High Mass in the Sistine Chapel & giving a benediction. In the centre the gentlemen walked & talked & looked at the ladies with eye glasses, who on their part smiled & looked as pretty as they cd tho’ with two exceptions we hardly saw a pretty girl. There were decidedly but a small portion of English but a great deal of French conversation past around us & lots of German & Italian. Aurélie got into chat with an American French woman at her end & Annie with a very tidy looking French young woman. Various reports then reached us. English travellers not able to reach Leghorn by land, returning in dismay. Revolution in England. In fact every sort of report. None true. At last the Pope preceded by the 12 apostles entered close to us. He seated himself on a high seat at the end & the others along a bench just opposite us. After a little ceremony, the Pope went in full robes & began washing the feet, but we anxious to reach the apartment where the supper was to be celebrated, left before it ended. Aurélie, Fanny, Clara & Laura got to see every thing admirably, Emily lost her place trying for a better & met poor Annie & me who had been nearly suffocated & annihilated on the stairs just coming in to see that there was no chance of seeing any thing. Taddei the mosaicista a National Guard let us in with some young English girls to the centre, but of course we got no better sight & at last we determined to go & sit in the carriage which we soon found & waited a long time for the rest, who after the ceremony had seen the table & got flowers given them from it. We got home to dinner & had a long visit from M. De Fly who gives the worst idea we have yet had of poor France. He expects soon a worse revolution than even the great one. God prevent it! He says he thinks Switzerland safe for us but the sea to Genoa better than a land journey. After dinner we had a splendid & affecting sight in the Pauline Chapel. The Pope came to worship at the sepulchre (as the altars are now called, it being considered that the Saviour is now buried). It was brilliantly illuminated up to the very ceiling. The Pope was accompanied by a few Guardia Nobile, Swiss etc & he kneeled before the vacant altar for fully half an hour. There was more devotion in that one act, than in all I have ever seen of Roman Catholic ceremonies. As he walked up the aisle his face was quite radient, so calm, so unostentatious, so simple, his face was all one wished to look at, all the splendour of his dress was superfluous & on every occasion he renders the necessary ceremonies as simple as possible. Only a few persons were admitted but as usual we were among the numbers. At one time the Pope shed a few tears & actually sobbed. He tried hard to hide it & took out a common coloured handkerchief, first wiped his eyes then blew his nose. Poor man the sentiment of respect & pity he inspires is wonderful. No one can envy his state. He appears to me the most lovely unprotected individual in civilized society & when I thought of the dull crimson chamber where he sleeps at the Vatican, I wished to go & sit all night outside his door to see that all were faithful to him. Before we returned home, we visited one other church & returned to bed sadly tired. We all take our tea every night in bed we are so knocked up.
21 We went at 9 to our own beautiful & simple ceremony of the communion. At 11 to the regular service. Came home to lunch, went to hear the Abbé Barola preach. They say he preaches well. The church was so dark I cd hardly see him & there was a really pretty scene at the altar, regularly lighted up & in two or three distances the scene on Calvary. In the evening we went to hear the orations of the Arcadians. One cardinal was there, we sat directly behind him & Prince Corsini the Senator, who made a short speech. A young girl of 14 recited, a poet, 2 bishops & several others, one in Latin which sounds extremely well. The subject was the Passion but it seems that the first who spoke, inveighed bitterly against Luther. We brought the old Abbé home & were quite worn out.
22 Off again at 7 to St John Lateran. Old Abbé with us in high glee, dragged us backwards & forwards from baptistery to church & vice versa. At length it was decided that the cardinal wd not perform the baptisms in the baptistery as it rained, so we saw two little infants baptized in the church. A long ceremony blessing the water & fire but not very impressive. The ordination was extremely fine. About 60 were ordained, of 7 different degrees, from quite boys to priests. Their receiving the sacrament over a white silk curtain was very fine. They all seemed very serious & impressed & the whole was solemn & grand. The ceremony lasted 3 hours. We left the Abbé at his home, called at the post & found all missing. Got home & had lunch. Started at 3 & saw the Armenian ceremony of the Mass, solemn, impressive but rather wild. Noble man the bishop very tall & thin & Grecian looking & so devout & quiet, much more so than the generallity of Roman Catholic priests who hurry & gabble through their Mass, but because the service in this church differs from the usual one, the people young & old, gentle & simple behaved most disgustingly, really I hate being amongst my fellow creatures when they disgrace themselves in such a manner. A priest was actually laughing aloud, with 3 women decent looking people. How can it be possible that if these Roman Catholics do believe the principal topic of their creed, transubstantiation, they cd under any circumstances laugh when they see as they think the very flesh of our Lord. That horrid set of tall horse women who were introduced to the Pope before us, haunt us every where. This morning they were rushing & pushing & talking & striving to see every thing at St John Lateran & this afternoon they were again in front of us & struggling to get better places, standing up, altho’ sitting down they are taller than any one else, talking, laughing, moving, shaking, laying down the law, staring, criticising, Oh they are of the large family named Odious. I cannot imagine why people are not a little more amiable & decorous. Really it is the worse part of these trying sights to be mixed up with & annoyed by our follow creatures. I know the whole routine so well. Here comes a fat lady, red & perspiring, dragging her more peaceable husband through the crowd & knocking quiet people down, a train of daughters, one or two lanky boys follow, to whom she beckons & scolds, at last the storm arrives close to where one has established oneself with a tolerably quiet chance of seeing something. The fat lady begins to look fierce at you for having arrived before her, she puffs, she uses her elbows & having wedged in her huge body, she takes out her handkerchief, gives you an exulting look of victory & sets to work to wedge in the rest of her family. Operations commence by affectionate desponding glances over one’s shoulder, then winks & frowns. At last Mamma succeeds in getting hold of one daughter’s hand & once fairly hold of each other, a desperate struggle ensues. Perhaps she says “Excuse me Ma’am” & pushes you fairly out, or if you have strength & courage to stand on the defensive, grievous looks are exchanged or “Really Ma’am my little girl can’t see at all”. I make my friend speak English, but it is not the most frequent language used on these occasions. I must do the Italians the justice to say they are universally civil & anxious to oblige. Well, finding the neighbourliness of this fat lady very disagreeable one moves & gets another post, but now here is a fresh assault. A lady all delicacy & ease & grace approaches, her white glove resting lightly on the arm of a gentleman & a sweet little girl of about 8 in the other. The lady looks timid & rather faint, the gentleman bowing says “I beg your pardon, but will you allow this lady to sit down”. A chair as if by magic makes its appearance & the lady is seated just before you & then the child, the interesting young creature with a whole leghorn bound with blue rossettes at the ears & blue ribbon tied round it, what cruelty, what want of feeling to let the pretty little soul stand when she is unable to see, what disappointment to her & to her delicate Mamma, the thing is quite impossible. Another chair comes forth. She is seated but upon the first alarm of any thing to be seen she is on her legs nay she must be allowed to mount her chair. But look, here is a more formidable attack still. 3 or 4 single ladies of about 55, full rush, brows thick, eyes starting from their sockets, priding themselves on fighting their own way better even than men. Here they come & off one goes before one is aware of the danger & at the very first outset one finds oneself in the background. But supposing none of these misfortunes to have befallen one, we are seated in a row all in front & one has just whispered to each other than nothing can prevent our seeing today. The moment of the sight approaches, one feels in perfect ease & enjoyment, when a smart National Guard or a chamberlain or a master of the ceremonies or some official in the most smiling triumphant manner leads his mother, his wife, his wife’s sister & one or more minor relations, with bright yellow bonnets, red shawls, bare necks, gold chains etc & seats these authoritatively immediately before you. I do not know whether this is not the best of all ways of being shut out of a sight, because it is so completely impossible to dispute it & if you put with it meekly, in Italy at any event you generally meet with civility afterwards. I am often horrified at the manner in which gentlemen push & drive & stand before ladies, but perhaps we deserve it for putting ourselves in the way. François Croissier is evidently very anxious to get us to go at once & wd even put off his present engagement to take us but we have resolved to wait untill he returns from Florence. First because it gives us time to see if tomorrow’s boat brings us letters of any consequence. 2ly we shall see how affairs go on a little longer & 3ly if we go, it will give us a better season for entering Switzerland. I fear greatly being obliged to go to England by Malta which will at once swallow up all my Continental savings.
23 We attended High Mass at St Peter’s & were obliged to go at ½ past 6 in the morning to secure front places. Our horribly vulgar loud talking people arrived a few minutes after us & past the first 10 minutes in deploring the fact of our being before them, at the tops of their voices. Indeed during the whole time their vulgar loud volubility disgusted & enraged us. Even during the Mass & when the procession was passing just in front of us they continued, pointing & talking & noting & dictating in that presumptuous unamiable way which deprives one of all patience. Oh gentleness, modesty, humility, meekness, how sadly are so neglected & outraged, one wd think that so lovely are these divine graces that even where they are not inwardly felt, they wd be assured if only for the sake of rendering oneself attractive & loveable. We sat untill 10 & then the splendid procession arrived, it wd utterly surpass any one’s power to describe this scene. The church itself so superior to every other building & when that is filled with National Guards, people of all ranks in every variety of costume, the gorgeous mitres carried on velvet & gold cushions, the jewels sparkling, the cardinals & all the vast number & variety of officials & last of all the Pope carried in his chair on the shoulders of men & the two fans one on each side of him with the canopy over him, the sight is as grand as any thing one can fancy. We had a perfect view of the whole & were close to the altar where the Pope performed Mass & elevated the host. Wherever he is he seems to spread propriety & holiness around but even his presence cd not stop the tongues of the vile women behind us. If they had been open to shame, the quiet humble demeanour of the Pope might have shewn them their own odiousness. His own countenance & manner were expressive of the truest humility, tho’ surrounded by all this pomp. In his manner of putting his hand to be kissed under his robe it was apparent & as each successive order of ecclesiastic came to do homage the Pope inclined his head as if rejecting it as done to himself & as if he himself did homage to the symbolical action. He looks worn & harassed. The benediction is extremely fine. Part of us were on the platform & part on the piazza. I did not like it so well as the benediction at the Quirinal, tho’ it was so much grander. We came home & went to afternoon service. What a luxury to enter our quiet place of worship but yet we must not run into a contrary extreme & by too much banishing of all ceremony lose our reverence for events. In the evening we saw the splendid sight of St Peter’s illuminated for the resurrection. The usual illumination is done first & suddenly by means of numbers of men suspended every where, literally in one moment torches are placed in every part & the appearance is as if in an instant St Peter’s was in a blaze of fire. It very much surpassed our highly raised expectations, an unusual occurrence. We returned home at nine, I with a very severe cold. We had plenty of persons to help us & go about with us, the old Abbé, Madame Navonne, Signor Chaldea & several others. I must say that I heartily rejoice at the Holy Week being ended. I am more than ever convinced of the beauty of our own church services when properly kept up & felt & of the complete ceremonious worship of the Roman Catholics, it is impossible to witness their wearisome ceremonies, tiresome repetitions & entire lip service without seeing fulfilled in them the word of prophecy contained in scripture.
23 I longed to see an angel descend from heaven & by only repeating the words of the bible, convince them of their grievous errors, but in condemning the form which that sublime religion has assumed, we must carefully avoid an uncharitable opinion of individuals, who from infancy have been brought up in the belief of all this & know no better, do not even read or know the parts of scripture which so evidently apply to their vain ceremonies, which are bad only as being used instead of heart service which they are or were intended to aid & increase. The Holy Week has certainly not converted me, but has great strengthened my love for & admiration of our own clear & pure use of God’s word & may God in mercy make us as much better as we ought to be with such means of improvement & knowledge as we possess.
24 In bed all day with a cold. The Abbé Barola dined here in order to accompany us to the Girondola, but it rained & is put off.
25 Still in bed but much better. Robert stopped with me & the rest went to the Pope’s Chapel in the Quirinal to see him & the Mass. They did some shopping & also brought home a letter from Paris & one from Ferdinando. I had received one from Fanny & Jane & the Magasin. The letters are very interesting indeed, but do not materially alter our plans.
26 Writing to Jane, Mr Perkins, Mlle Jeronyme, Marianne Witherby. Out buying Jane’s cameos both before & after lunch. Rain in the afternoon. M. de Fly called.
27 Out again this morning shopping. Made many purchases for Jane in cameos. They went to the Pope’s garden in the Quirinal & to a palace to see Guercino’s Aurora.
28 Dressed & writing at 5. I so long to return to my habit of early rising. Went out to see for Jane’s cameos twice, it is very difficult to find size, subject, colour & comparative beauty all to suit. Sent letters to Jane & Mr Perkins, to John, Mlle Jeronyme, Emma Winstanley, M A Witherby, Jane Mullens & François Croissier. Was so ill I was forced to go to bed as soon as I came in.
29 In bed all day with my cold. Aurélie went out after breakfast with Clara, Laura & Robert & narrowly escaped breaking her leg! She fell with it up to her knee between an iron railing at the door of the Nataletti’s shop. He came & rescued her & was very civil. Abbé Barola came in the evening. He told them the Pope had done a very momentous thing, but he wd not tell them what, untill they had read a long manuscript of his addressed & dedicated to them about St Katharine!! If what he says is true, the Pope or people have done an outstanding thing. He declared in Council today that he was anxious to grant his subjects liberty of every sort, but that as Pope his conscience & the laws of the church forbade him to declare war, unless openly attacked, consequently that the troops who had left Rome were only gone to protect the frontier & whoever past it, did so without his sanction. Now it is true that we have from time to time heard this, but yet every newspaper & every tongue have spoken currently of the troops going to the assistance of Lombardy & Charles Albert & the greatest surprise has latterly been expressed at General not crossing the Po & occupying the station allotted to him as protecting a certain line. Ought this to have remained a matter of uncertainty whether war or not was declared? Is it not strange that there sd ever have been a doubt about it. I believe there is more in all this than we know. Surely there never was an instance of a country not knowing whether or not its people were going to fight or not. Thousands have left Rome & their friends have thought they were going into Lombardy. The newspaper of today positively asserts in an official part that the frontier is past! & yet the sovereign declares that his conscience does not permit him to sanction it! It will take a great deal to convince me of Pio IX being either vaccilating, deceitful or imbecile. How strange it is that the Austrian Ambassador remains!
30 Ursula this morning brings an edition of the above story but laughs at the very thought of the Pope not being at war to protect Italy. The Abbé positively asserts that there is a secret apartment prepared for the Pope in St Angelo, as he expects a revolution. When this determination is made known, does not this shew that he knows it will be a complete disappointment & surprise to his subjects! but I believe we know nothing about all this, it is too ridiculous a story altogether to be true.
May 1st Ursula brought news this morning that all the gates of the city are closed & well guarded to prevent the cardinals escaping, who are suspected to be concerned in an atrocious conspiracy, similar to the one they escaped punishment for last year. Those already in confinement are implicated. Numbers were to have dressed themselves as Civic Guards quarrel with & irritate the people & excite them to fall on the whole body, while a mine is actually discovered under the Castle of St Angelo. Emily & I went out after breakfast. There were crowds of men in the Corso, the post is crowded we cd not enquire for letters & the people at the shops appeared afraid to answer any questions. The man at the Pallade office said that the Pope had appointed a provisionary war government as he was unable as Pope to declare war. When we got home we found that Ursula had been out & had seen a tremendous row at the palace of a cardinal. The Civic Guard declared he had attempted to escape in the dress of his brother but he shewed himself at the window in his cardinal’s cloaths & called them fools. They were enraged & Emily & I had seen them pass from this scene looking very angry. After lunch we took a carriage with the intention of visiting the Vatican galleries. Passing St Angelo we observed it occupied by Civic Guards as well as soldiers & the Pope’s colours flying. When we arrived at St Peter’s to our astonishment the great doors where we always enter to go up the corridor were closed, all but one little part, the Swiss stood at it. He shook his head & said the galleries were closed in accordance with a new order. Our coachman then told us that every thing was closed in consequence of the disturbed state of affairs, that the mine had actually been laid & that it was intended that tickets sd be issued in order that every one who wished might satisfy themselves of the plot. We returned by the Jews quarter to see where the liberal & excellent Pio IX has broken down the walls & gates which up to the present time have disgracefully confined these persecuted beings from the rest of the city, the gates always having been closed at a certain hour every evening. At any other time this act alone wd have excited the love & admiration of his subjects, but now they blame him for it & say the Jews are under God’s malediction - vile & foolish & ungrateful Romans! When we got home we found that guards were placed at the houses of the cardinals, their papers were being searched & all their letters at the post office were to be opened, we saw a great crowd there. What a mercy that this plot was frustrated by no Girandola taking place last night! Every thing looks gloomy & sad, I hope we may not have staid too late.
The weather today is very oppressive, I do not desire to feel it hotter in Rome. Strawberries are selling in large baskets full. Cherries also are today to be seen in many places. Peas are more plentiful than they ever are at any season in England & as to artichokes, it is really ridiculous to see the plenty of them. They are beginning to have stalls for lemonade as at Naples & the shops are closed in numbers in the middle of the day, also the post for the siesta. News in the afternoon of a cardinal being taken to the Pope.
2 Our restaurateur set all on the alert by saying that the Pope has issued an edit saying that he guaranteed the Pope & cardinals against the people. Robert & I staid at home, the rest went to the Greek church to see Mass performed. Whilst they were gone the rappele was sounded & every woman & child were at the window or in the streets. Ursula in extreme agitation assures me that Pio IX has sent the Civics to St Angelo to shoot 15 of the conspirators & if they do not execute his orders, he will excommunicate them. All this time he has the cardinals who are so much more guilty in his own palace to protect them, so goes the story. I believe not a word of course. When the rest came in, the woman down stairs told them that I was in great alarm about them being out in such alarming times! I suppose I have lifted up my eyes when Ursula has told me something I did not understand & this she has construed into my being alarmed. They bring word that the Pope cannot give any more decided answer than that he cannot declare war, tho’ his army has crossed the frontier. This deprives his subjects of the rights of a declared foe in a foreign land & this seems bad enough. His ministers have all resigned, but he has requested them to remain performing their functions untill he cd form another ministry. All seems uncertainty & confusion. What I fear is, that the Pope has bad private intelligence from Austria, that he dares not go to war having neither money nor soldiers, two very requisite things & that in order to save Rome he is trying to conciliate matters. I must say his conduct is inexplicable to say the least of it. We received lots of Magasins today & and an old interesting letter from M A Witherby. 2 if not 3 of her letters are lost & I regret that she has had a severe illness, whilst owing to our not having reached her letters relating to it, we have never written to her about it. She seems fully to anticipate our returning to England & by Malta!
3 The only excitement we can make out today is that all the doors & gates at the Vatican are shut & barred. We got in & saw every thing, making the regular tour of the whole of those glorious galleries, which the more they are seen, the more they are valued & admired like every thing of real intrinsic worth. As you walk up the first long gallery of statues after entering the gates, on each side you are attracted by statues & parts of statues of exquisite beauty. Even in the passage leading to this where you deposit your parasols with the Swiss, there are lovely little urns & tombs etc. In the first gallery I cannot refrain from mentioning 3 Venuses together. The first if her graceful drapery cd be a little raised wd be perfect, I prefer her to many more celebrated ones. The middle one sits & has a lovely face. In the new branch, the stately Minerva & the exquisite Modesty opposite. The splendid figure of [blank] at the end & the charming little figures climbing in every direction & sporting over the Nile, with a figure of [blank] in a niche opposite are my favourites. You walk straight up some stairs & find the torso called Michel Angelo’s master, then the Meleager fine & noble but drapery rather stiff & face too fat. Then the Belvedere. First & foremost the Apollo. Then the Laocoon. The Mercury I do not like the right foot & the finest of modern statues, the Perseus & Boxers. In the exterior of this Belvedere what baths of precious marbles, what blocks, what costumes & what basso relievos. Today I particularly admired some which were I suppose, fronts of tombs, the doors partly opened by angels. Now the animals & through them a gallery with a Jupiter at one end & a sleeping Ariadne at the other, in a corner an exquisite little sleeper. The Menelaus of my cameo for Jane. Returning through the splendid specimens of animals in marbles the most costly, you go through other rooms to the glorious room where stands that prince of vases in porphyry & here is the exquisite mosaic floor & my Jupiter. Now pass through & be more & more astonished for it appears like a wilderness of costly magnificence. Such a door & pillars in oriental granite, such tombs in porphyry. Then go up the stairs & go to the balcony which one of the Popes had made on purpose to look down on these splendid objects & then you go into the small room where stands the car & horses & the candalabra apartment or gallery is full of beauty, such cupids in every attitude & form of infant grace, loveliness & sportiveness, such candalabras, such vases, such urns. Marbles with gold, with garnets in them. Leaving all this we went & took my last look at the paintings. The others intend going once more. Preeminent is the Transfiguration. The Madonna. St Jerome. The Assumption or rather coronation. Then that fine painting where the figures are all in white & yet perfectly relieved. In the next room the angel in the Salutation is grace itself. One Saviour by Coreggio. The miracle of the blood. One last look too we took at St Peter’s. The Pieta was lighted up for some fête, so we saw it to advantage. It is exquisite, but of course it can never be natural for a grown man to lie across a woman’s knee in that way & the Virgin is not represented older than her Son, but it is so fine! Good bye to all such beauties. In leaving Rome we are in fact leaving Italy & in Italy all that is loveliest in art & in nature. God protect this fine & favoured country. God reform its morals & its religion & God guide its rulers.
5 Out shopping & getting passport & other arrangements previous to departure. Letter from François, saying he shall be in Rome on Saturday. His horses are well & all is safe so I suppose we shall go. We met an English lady & gentleman at the office, who asked our advice as to the best way of getting to England. Wanted to join in a carriage with us! They say all the steamers are all full for a month to come. An English gentleman who came in whilst we were asking the clerk about the roads, said in the usual English bluff fashion “Safe to be sure its all safe, what’s to hurt you, you may be detained occasionally perhaps a week or two but nothing ‘ll hurt you, I’m going to Switzerland”. Every one in fact agrees that all is safe for the present & really I believe it. I also think that Austria will make up matters before it comes to greater extremities. Ursula poor soul has been beaten again sadly by that hideous abominable fellow her husband. She is going to leave Rome as soon as we go. The other evening he came whilst she was gone for me to the washerwoman. She had asked not to go but I most unfortunately forgot that I must send. Robert told him she had only been gone two or three minutes to which he answered in the rudest tone – she has been gone not two or three minutes, but two or three hours. At this time she came in & without saying a word he gave her two violent blows on her head. I had gone out in hopes of catching him at it, a vile fellow. She followed him home as she says to get her cloaths, but in fact to fight it out & she came home beaten & wounded all over, he must actually have clawed her with his nails. She is a most quiet cheerful hard working clever creature as long as he leaves her alone, but he drives her almost wild. I sent her today to get a little bottle filled with rum, when she came back she was in a rage. When first we came here it was filled & her husband charged me 2 pauls for it, an ugly cheat, bento Biarbone. When he went to save his wife the trouble he must cheat 5 biaoccchis. Certainly the Italian vituperative epithets are very quaint. Benti Porchi. Benti Diavoti are the cardinals often called.
6 A horrible day of packing. It appeared as if we never cd or sd get through such a job of confusion. Our packing is most difficult for we have very few cloaths comparatively speaking & quantities of unpackable or breakable articles. The changes of linen are obliged to be put by themselves where they can be got out at once, shawls & cloaks must be kept out for cold or wet days crossing mountains etc. Gowns & frocks go in a trunk alone, collars & bonnets ditto so that there remain boxes, trinkets, monuments, Etruscans, marbles, glass, agates, corals, crystals, alabaster, cornilian, mosaics, lava etc all to go & break each other. We have been fortunate hitherto, but the difficulty is great. Nothing perishable can go in the trunks off the springs. Shall we ever forget the packings, today’s the worst of all. “Where can I put this. What on earth shall I do with this, where is this to go. Can you take this. Oh dear dear what is to be done, here it is nearly 3 o’clock & I declare I have not put one thing into my trunk. Well I think I shall give it up altogether, I am perfectly bewildered. Who can pack without things to pack with. Will any one have the goodness to give me something to fill up between all their things”. 7 or 8 persons constantly repeating the above & many similar exclamations.
6 François arriving from Florence & passing to shew that his horses were not tired. Madame Navonne coming to look over inventories, Abbé Barola to talk & tell news, trunks of books to pack, strap & direct for sending to Genoa. At last we arrived at bed time & after all I believe every thing is very tolerably arranged. Aurélie & Robert went for the last time to the post, no letters.
7 Church, where we heard an excellent sermon from the same old gentleman who I admired & heard once before in the winter. They say he preached in Paris, but there I was too far off even to hear a sermon. Today the text was that interesting one concerning taking the communion unworthily & he handled the subject well. In the first place he shewed that the unworthy receiving aluded to was that of eating & drinking the Lord’s supper in a disorderly manner to satisfy appetite without reference to the spirit of the institution. He then dissuaded us from staying away from the communion on account of our unworthiness & insisted that any one who cd be presumptuous enough to believe himself worthy, must be the most unworthy partaker possible. He tried to convince us that the only unworthy partaker is he who takes it in an irreverent manner, from form sake, without a sincere desire to live a better life & without feeling at peace with every one. He entreated us to read the communion service attentively & to convince ourselves that if we feel truly sorry for having sinned, truly resolved to do better for the future, truly charitable towards all men & truly desirous of the benefits of the holy sacrament, we must be worthy partakers altho’ we have ever so many doubts & fears as to our own state. He also shewed us the beauty of that part of the post communion where we offer & present to God our souls & bodies as a reasonable, holy & lively sacrifice & entreated us to bear this vow always in remembrance. I like this old gentleman more than the regular minister who appears to me a little foppish, pedantic & affected. He entered the church today before service at a side door, in a canonical dress somewhat resembling the Roman priests.
Poor Ursula is in sad despair at our going. She seems to be puzzling her brain how to do something for us. She washes every handkerchief & pair of stockings we dirty & now she is gone to get us oranges for the journey. The other day when Fanny was cutting her dinner, she asked her not to give her any more & Fanny said, You can take more if you like, Oh yes she replied, I can take what I like, it appears to me I am more mistress here than any of you are, I have the food in the kitchen & I can do just as I please. Her delight has been great at being trusted, being left alone in the house appears a great thing here. Sunday evening 7 o’clock. They are just gone to see the sun set on the Pincio & at ½ past 8 are to have a carriage to go & see the Colosseum in the dark! Fanny & I are what I call “sweeping the house”. They went & are come back, having seen it beautifully. What good fortune we have in always seeing every thing well.
8 Up at ½ past 4. François arrived to put the luggage in at ½ past 5. It all stowed away well & we started a little before 7, leaving poor Ursula overwhelmed with her misfortunes. We gave her a good deal of money, but I was sorry to see that infamous husband of hers watching us off. Numbers of families were leaving Rome at the same time as ourselves, several from the same street. François says at least 30 started. He is delighted to get off as he expects revolution. 2 of the Pope’s brothers arrived yesterday, the people say to fetch their brother away. We started with Nina, Mouton & Lisette & one extra horse. The road is uninteresting & monstrous for many miles; up one hill, down another, at last we arrived at the top of that hill whence we took our first & our last look at Rome. We all regret that fine, interesting & instructive city greatly. We lunched at the hotel of our Padrone di Casa who behaved so ill to the National Guard the first night they left Rome. It is a good hotel & we had an excellent lunch, a large dish of excellent little fried fish, potatoes, a tender good leg of mutton & oranges. We started after a two hour’s rest with only our own horses, who get on admirably being neither hurried nor beaten, but how I pity the wretched animals who pass us galloping & being beaten horribly. Still more do I pity the unfeeling human beings who sit at their ease behind these poor ill used useful fine beasts & laugh to think how much faster they get over the ground than we do, forgetting that it is at the expense of agony & death. Some volunteers kept up with us part of the way in a little cart with luggage & a drum. They were singing a barcarolle & were amused at our appearing to like it but François was annoyed & scolded them, so they kept behind. It has not been cold all day. The left wheeler fell, Francois said Eh, allez donc & up she jumped & went on as if nothing had happened. It was caused by her treading in something slippery. She is not hurt. Honeysuckles, roses, wild peas, may, broom. The air is scented with the profusion of these lovely flowers & the distant blue mountains are softness & beauty itself. After passing Monterasa we took 2 extra horses. The road is very steep & bad but we arrived quite easily at Ronciglione at 5 o’clock. I thought I remembered it well but it seems strange to me. We ordered dinner at ½ past 6 & went out walking. The little narrow streets are extremely steep. There is one pine so large I took it for 3 or 4. The piazza is very pretty. We went into the church, very dirty & untidy looking, a priest christening a baby, another reading a book. A fine large doll dressed up in a gaudy gown with a baby in her arms holding out crosses etc. They drew several things & really the excitement was quite absurd, young & old of every rank to the number of 100 & more crowded about, they are extremely civil & intelligent & their remarks most amusing. I wanted to look at a copy book in the hand of a little boy just come out of school, but he drew it away in great terror thinking I was going to steel it, upon which the others all called out “Ugly fellow, do you think she wants to take it”. They called me the biggest, the feminine mother, laughed, talked & behaved just as you see persons at some grand procession, securing the best places, beckoning to their friends to come & see too, talking grand, my one is drawing so & so, this woman is done, the other creature is going to draw my palace, only see she does not mind spoiling that fine silk gown. Then they offered us chairs, some more officious than the rest preserved order & kept the people in rank with a stick. We came home at nearly seven & had dinner, boiled beef, veal cutlets, potatoes, spinach, pigeons, leg of mutton, cakes, oranges. We were at the Lion d’Or before, now we are the Black Eagle. Civil woman, great many travellers. François seems to hate all the military movements. I pay him regularly 2 4 5 franc pieces a day & have no other expense whatever & no sort of trouble, it is certainly a most agreeable, convenient & easy mode of travelling, Robert is in his glory with the horses.
9th Started out at quarter past 6 & mounted almost incessantly for several hours. We had two extra horses. The view on each side is lovely extending all over the Pontine Marshes. Emily is sure she saw St Peter’s lovely spire as late as 10 o’clock. Oh that exquisite St Peter’s! After mounting for so long, we went down the same range of little hills & were pleased with the view of Veterbo almost under our feet. It is a large town & the Inn good. Aurélie laid down, Emily drew the fountain & gate & the rest of us went to walk about the curious old town & see the cathedral which is not ugly, a font & some old monuments they took sketches of as well as others about the town. Returned to lunch & had an excellent meal. Roast mutton, peas, potatoes, omelette & oranges, all very good & clean. Started directly after & had a long & most fatiguing road for the poor horses. We started with 2 extra ones & left them at the gate of Montefiascone. Tremendous hill up & down, roads infamous, lovely views all the way, particularly when we descended the road by the side of the lake to Bolsena. Here we ought to have slept but François pushed on to St Lorenzo l’Ecu d’Or, a miserable house & place, just as if we were sitting in a stable. What a smell. I comfort myself in some degree by the idea that it is not actually unwholesome to swallow such a stench. We walked up the steep difficult hill to it & were charmed with the exquisite views of the lake & town of Bolsena with its two sweet little islands. Aurélie & Clara went & took a sketch of them. Emily did it from the window. I am vexed at having fatigued the poor horses & have determined only to go to Radicofani tomorrow & so instead of getting to Lucca for Sunday pass it at Poggibonzi, to the horror & dismay of all my party, who will I trust pay me the compliment to put up patiently with the disappointment for my sake. The roads have been so disgraceful today & it has been such hard work for the poor brutes that I cannot find in my heart to press them on again tomorrow. One public room here is hired with Etruscans! May Aurélie & Emily not take a fancy to them! Dinner! Chicken broth with rice not bad. 4 tender little boiled chicken, fried brain & kidneys with spinage, no potatoes, omelette & raw ham, roast lamb tender & delicate, an excellent jam tart & plenty of wine.
10th We started at ¼ to 7. Having been very tolerably off considering all things, the room Emily & I slept in was not so very smelly, but the others certainly might as well have slept in the stable as far as smell goes. The beds were however large & good, the people civil & attentive & the food by no means bad. For breakfast we had very decent coffee, fresh eggs & eatable bread & butter. We had some steep pitches to descend & one long infamous rapid hill we had to walk. It was very pleasant, the morning air was delightfully fresh, the flowers beautiful & the view splendid. We quite enjoyed the walk but I really never saw such a road. It is indeed scarcely to be called one at all & at one part a bridge is unsafe so large stones are laid across the road & the carriage goes round a little turn where it seems inevitably in danger of an upset. After we got in, we had to pass one of those beds of a torrent which were under water when we were here before. With our present heavy carriage, it seems even more dangerous than before. We are now stopping for lunch at a little Inn at Ponte Centino, very clean little place, pretty little brick common rooms & a worse torrent to get over before us. We saw two gens d’armes on the route, they appeared stationed as if to protect travellers, all this country is said to be infested by robbers. I hope we shall save our stays. We have had one of those delectable meals which are impossible to masticate, chops, a fine old hen, both unmanageable by knife or teeth, an omelette, bad bread, rather decent cheese. Obliged to send for François & ask him to get us some eggs boiled. These were fresh & the egg cups very peculiar, with an open rim. Wrote journals, drew & at last Aurélie & I started thinking to get over the bed of the torrent on foot, but alas! when there we arrived we found an unpassable current running so we were obliged to wait till the carriage came & then get in. François was greatly out of humour about something. He cd not get horses or oxen as he wished. He had one horse next to Nina but we were in danger of backing down two steep pitches we had to ascend, for the poor brute wd not go & tried to drag round Nina, the abominable urchin of a boy altho’ he knew how to manage his horse wd not go to its head. At last towards the top, as we were really in danger Francois gave him a severe slash with his whip & forced him to lead it. When we were at the top, he pretty quickly undid it & sent it off, but the boy came begging to us as if nothing had happened. We went as far as the road was pretty level & then took 2 oxen, but I was terrified all the way, as the mountains are extremely steep & we ascended for 2 hours, the cattle sometimes nearly stopping from weariness & being unable to drag us up the steep places. We arrived at 3 o’clock at this place Radicofani, as wild & outlandish as its name. The misses Mouton, Nina & Lisette would no doubt be extremely grateful if they knew how much I dislike sleeping here, but really with such a load & so long a journey I think they ought to be spared. The Inn tho’ large, sweet & clean, has no air of comfort or home, the people beg & abuse each other & altogether I do not exactly feel as if I was in our own world but as if we had paid a visit to the moon. They can none of them draw well today. They are now gone up to the picturesque wild looking village & ruined town on the top of an ancient crater. What a scene of grandeur & desolation is there all around. Strange that up in these mountains there are neither potatoes nor any other vegetable. We had for dinner execrable soup, stuffed full of bread, 4 very fine pigeons well roasted, boiled beef, veal & kidneys very good, salad, omelette & an excellent pudding, cheese, no desert. The sun is nearly setting, I have put out all the things for the night & journals to write in when they come down from the crater & now really I think I shall go to bed. It is astonishing how cold it feels up here & yet my cold in gone. Every thing is backward, strawberries in the pretty garden in bloom, whereas we saw plenty ripe in Rome, as well as new potatoes.
11th Thursday Started at ¼ to 7 after our usual breakfast of coffee, eggs, bread & butter. The poor lame boy who accompanied them last evening to the crater ran with us for miles to stop the wheels, for altho’ we had 2 extra horses, of course they were useless in descending & the wheel was obliged to be constantly locked. A half paul & a copper piece in addition to what François paid delighted him greatly. I am obliged to keep little pieces in my pocket, the beggars are so vociferous. I was in continual terror at the steep descents, the wheelers being scarcely able to keep the carriage back notwithstanding 2 wheels being locked. We walked down several hills & arrived at La Scala at ½ past 9. Such a quiet clean countrified English looking place, a cottage, lane & pond, a little wooden bridge, a chapel in front, distant towns upon the mountains, cross by road side, civil people at cottage brought out the little white puppy, opened the oven to shew us their bread baking. We all dispersed in various directions, they sketching, me trying to discover sketches, shady places to sit in etc. This is my constant & agreeable occupation, I delight in setting them all to work & afterwards seeing their pretty little drawings, which will I hope often remind us of the scenes we have witnessed together. We did not go into the little Inn untill just before starting time to eat our lunch. A large dish of liver, brains, kidney, artichokes, a dish of ragout beef, 2 chickens & a delicious pudding, baked thick milk. The women at this Inn wear a very pretty kind of head dress, black velvet worked with silver, a kind of turban. There was a pretty little child who wanted to give Aurélie & afterwards Robert a little horse to help us on our journey. She brought a nosegay of wild flowers. The people had given them milk or whey whilst drawing near the cottage. We started at 12 & had 2 horses extra, a boy or rather young man as postillion so nicely dressed, blue striped pantaloons, black velvet jacket, black German hat with a beautiful red rose, a white one & some green stuck in it for the tricolour. Walked down several hills, one sadly steep over flat stones through the town of St Quirico. François had the unusual grace to tell us we might go in & see a very pretty church, such an exquisite door & window outside & inside very pretty round sort of architecture. In this town I think it was that the women wear black velvet caps, very becoming. We reached Buonconvento at ½ past 4. It is the same Inn we were so disgusted at last year, where we stopped for storm & rain but it is not quite so bad now, the weather being so splendid. The town consists of one little street & any one cd walk round the walls in five minutes, the length of the street in 3 minutes from gate to gate. We went out & they established themselves to draw just outside the gates, a very curious cross is there, the people very good humoured & very handsome, liked to be drawn. Girl making buttons & knitting a border, women with babies very fond of them. One poor child was thrown against Emily & then sent crying into the town, all of them calling her “ugly creature”. One fine woman very pleased & very proud of a fine baby. Little lambs skipping about. The chicken we had for dinner was I think the father of the one of last year, we sent it away. Had lamb equally tough, omelettes & fry which I cd not eat, but a good pudding & cheese. I am now excessively tired & am going to bed where I shall be glad to sleep as soundly as last night. It is a rare thing to sleep all night. Both Fanny & Aurélie saw serpents today & at that most aweful crater yesterday the boy killed a viper whose bite he said wd more than kill. Up at that crater it seems to have been frightful, a well which is not known to have any bottom & aweful dungeons & holes.
12th Slept well & started at the usual hour & after breakfast of toasted bread, butter, eggs & coffee I very soon went to sleep not a usual thing & when I awoke we were in sight of Sienna. My first exclamation was “What is going to be the matter with the weather”. There was an unusual appearance in the sky & atmosphere, the sun’s light was as if there was a partial eclipse. Robert in describing it afterwards said he had been asleep & when he awoke he thought it was 6 o’clock. This is the first time I have known him sleep in the day. When we arrived at the city gate, the officers who took my passport asked us if we had had the Earthquake! François said he had felt a shock in the night at Buonconvento, we had not felt it. Every one here seemed to be frightened & anxious. They had had 4 strong shocks & 20 slighter ones. They had lasted from 11 at night till 2 in the morning & every person had gone & past the night either in the cathedral or on the Promenade or piazzas to avoid the danger of the houses falling. We proceeded to the Black Eagle, took apartments till tomorrow morning & went out with the intention of seeing the cathedral but passing a Leghorn bonnet shop we went in & past an hour in purchasing 3 & a hat for Robert. Each makes two so that each of the girls & myself have a Leghorn bonnet. I bought mine with the intention of making it a present & to assist Annie, as the large one makes 2 much more cheaply. We were obliged to return to lunch & had 4 fine pigeons which in Italy are so big I always mistake them for chickens, an omelette, potatoes, apples, cheese. Immediately afterwards we went out sight seeing & first saw the old paintings, statues etc at the Bella Arte. It is a good collection & in the casts I was glad to see we knew all the beautiful originals. We proceeded to the house of St Catharine, now converted into a number of chapels all handsomely ornamented. Each room is made into a chapel. The pictures & stories told of St Catharine are really dreadful, it is almost a love story. Here is the spot where our Saviour came to her &having nothing else, gave her his garment & accordingly there is a garment drawn on the pavement. In another place a cross, then a little grating & through it you see the exact pavement on which she stood. In a little dark room, now hung with flowers, garment, crown of thorns etc there is a little grating & under a glass a piece of iron on which the saint used to rest her head & where she had many visions. Horrible as all this appears the people seem so serious about it that one cannot feel as much disgust as one ought. Having read Abbé Barola’s life of this favourite saint we were much interested & amused. After seeing this we went to the library & saw some of her letters. Some are printed, some the original letters, not however written by herself because she was not so well educated as to be able to write. From the library we went to St Domeniche a finely proportioned plain old church, with one handsome chapel & painting up & down each side. Some old bones (relics) are ready to be exposed on Sunday. From here we went to see Perucchi’s Sybil said to equal even Raphael’s. It is a noble figure indeed, standing in the most commanding majestic posture, the hand & arm stretched out pointing to heaven, the face I do not think at all equal to Raphael’s. We were now so exhausted with heat that we determined on going straight to the cathedral, which on this our second visit exceeded our first impressions. Composed of black & white marble exteriorly & interiorly ornamented with numerous busts & statues, the ceiling pale azure blue with gold stars, the mosaic pavements, so far different from any other & fine, but the ceremony going on there rather disinclined & disabled us from so throughly enjoying the splendid church as we sd otherwise have done. The previous night during the earthquake, the famous image of the Virgin had been uncovered & now the priests were giving a little relic to be kissed by the people, who brought little tapers & stuck them up alight whilst they prayed. Two gentlemen sat with a charity box in the church to give tapers or prints to those who gave charity. I put in a paol & in return we had lots of prints etc which we have preserved. I saw one man come & present a very pretty diamond ring, with a piece of red ribbon tied to it, with which it was immediately attached to the saint. One cd not but feel pity mingled with awe & even respect at seeing these acts of devotion (false but heartfelt & rendered solemn by the terrific cause) of these simple ignorant & now afflicted people. We were little inclined to enjoy any thing after this mournful sight & walked to the Piazza Maggiore & then home. Once there our fatigue was so great that I laid down in my room whilst Aurélie did the same in here. In 5 minutes she came in saying she distinctly felt a movement, both she & Emily had felt it at lunch & every one in the town said it was almost constant tho’ to us unaccustomed to the sensation it was imperceptible. After this I certainly felt a kind of undulating movement. The girls however went on putting out the things for the night & arranging which rooms we sd occupy, sending odd shoes to be sewn up etc. At last the man announced dinner at 6 o’clock. Aurélie brought Robert into my room to put on shoes, she was lecturing him upon the impropriety of going to dinner without. I began to comb his hair, the incredulous Fanny stood by & Emily was just finishing her hair. Annie, Clara & Laura were at the window in the next room when suddenly a rumbling sound as of thunder under our feet shook the house & made it as well as every thing in it tremble. It lasted perhaps ½ a minute & filled us with terror & dismay. The three from the next room came in trembling. Fanny stood pale as death. A wild shriek from Emily awaked me from a sort of bewilderment, Robert almost cried. Aurélie pale as death, seized her bonnet & the carpet bag holding the money at least that part not in our stays & exclaiming “Allons, à present il faut que nous partions”. She rushed down stairs, most followed her. At the bottom stood François. She asked him to carry our bag & come with us to the Promenade out of the way of the houses, but he instantly said he wd put the horses to & go on to Poggibonzi. To this they all so eagerly asserted that I agreed, only begging them to come up stairs & collect our affairs. But no possibility was there of finding the keys. At last I thought of bundling every thing into the plaid of Emily, who was very nearly in hysterics, Aurélie rushing still for keys, collecting the things & every one clawing up whatever came in their way. At last I seized a paper which I found afterwards to be sugar, a case of pencils & a loaf off the table. No gloves. Emily no shoes, the old slippers without heels. In this state we started. François scolding because we had lost the keys & wd not eat the dinner he had paid for. All the people seemed in either woe & consternation, not even pressing us to stay, the women crying & the men pale as death. I asked one man who appeared most courageous if he was frightened. He answered “Very much so, Signora, but what can we do”. At the bottom of the stairs two women stood pale & weeping. I shook hands with them & Emily too. Aurélie, Fanny, Robert & I started getting a man to shew us the way but were soon forced to stop, as Emily & the others had gone to see once more for the lost keys. As we were doing up our things we looked out of window & beheld one of the most affecting sights in our lives. The priests of each seperate parish followed by their parishioners chanting a hymn, processing in solemn melancholly procession to the cathedral, to petition the Virgin alas! to preserve them from the earthquake! This procession or rather this continued crowd we encountered & cd scarcely get thro’ as it filled the street. Men, women & children of every class composed this large assembly, the women generally crying & many leading their children. The men pale, trembling & serious, they regarded us with a melacholly expression & our guide said that not a person in Sienna wd go to bed that night. When we arrived at the Promenade we found numbers of people assembled, all in the same kind of resigned terrified state of anticipation. Some were sitting on the benches, numbers were flocking from the town, here to pass the night in fearful expectation. We felt & heard another desided shock as we came on the Promenade but not so violent as the former. We were preparing to sit down on one of the benches when François arrived with the carriage & we got in. Our feelings were of the most painful kind as we drove out of the gate of this beautiful city, with its whole population in the most grievous state of apprehension & the aweful fire bursting & rumbling beneath it. It is known to be built on the site of some ancient crater. The country for miles around is spread with volcanic remains, the road is upon it, hard & shaky, covered with the same substance powdered. Who knows how soon flames may again burst their way where now stands this flourishing city with its splendid buildings & kind gentle manned inhabitants. As soon as we lost sight of poor Sienna our thoughts began to turn on our own situation, of course, we were still in danger from earthquakes tho’ not from the fall of houses, but the more immediate danger was or appeared to be from robbers. We had mountains to pass, a 3 hours or 4 hours journey & no man with us but François. We also had nearly £300 in gold! To be sure no one knew this but nevertheless we did & as night came on we kept a sharp look out tho’ a very ineffectual one for any persons who might be following us. We kept the green curtains shut to hide so many women & I took my bonnet off as well as Aurélie & Emily, that in the dusk we might be mistaken for men. At one time Aurélie converted a white chapel by the road side into a man on a white horse galloping towards us & the fire flies into banditti with lanterns in the woods. In passing through villages the men often used their lamps to cast a light on the carriage in order to see who was in it, but as we kept all closed & only I peeped out & converted their usual looks of curiosity & amusement into some terrible design to attack & follow us. François had to get up & down constantly to unlock the wheel & at these times of course we heard whistles etc. All joking apart we cd not have attempted this nightly journey excepting for necessity & its being moonlight. In every guide book & by every person it is advised never to travel by night in Italy & certainly for such an unprotected set, it was any thing but safe. We arrived at Poggibonzi at 10 o’clock dreadfully tired & weary. We found the Inn there & especially the sleeping room very good, so differently do things strike at different periods. Poor Robert was asleep, he slept upright as Aurélie took his clothes off & altho’ we had had nothing to eat since 12 o’clock he cd scarcely rouse to eat a few mouthfuls & drink a cup of tea which we made with our own tea & sugar. The people were all very anxious to know about Sienna. They had felt some slight shocks. Emily & Aurélie felt some after they were in bed. For my part I slept profoundly all night & did not get up till* ½ past 5. We had our usual breakfast & started at 7. [*someone has written in pencil: Note had not arrived till 10 previous evening]
13th On the 13th May for Fucecchio, the road was very good & passed through tamed & highly cultivated country. The fields of flax are exquisitely lovely & there is a large pink flower very pretty & brilliant. We lunched at Castel Fiorentino a most lively, bustling, clean little town, where we were received certainly with as much respect & more astonishment than Queen Victoria wd be in a village in England. A dense crowd of persons collected round the carriage, so that we cd hardly get out & we were shewn to some clean nice rooms. Two pillow cases particularly attracted our notice. They were beautifully embroidered with all sorts of satin & open stitches & initials in the centre. We went out immediately & walked up the steep street covered with awnings from side to side of every colour & fitted with stalls, it was market day. I never have seen a more curious and characteristic scene. The girls prolonged their walk outside this little town. Aurélie returned & met Robert rushing about in delight at his liberty. We attempted to stop to sketch the market, but were even forced to retire on account of the crowds. Came out & made another attempt but in vain. The windows were crowded, the passage of the street stopped up, we were obliged to go in & they all drew at the windows. We had an excellent lunch, waiting upon by a most attentive good natured country man, who looked quite shy & abashed at the high office he had to fulfil. After lunch sketching from the windows again commenced but I must pursue my intention & say what our repast consisted of. 1st an abundant fry, very good, sweetbreads, kidneys & artichokes altogether, peas humido done with onions & herbs fried & put amongst them excellent. Lamb chops not very good. Excellent new bread, delicious cream cheese & parmesan ditto, with young broad beans in the shell raw for desert & really the little inside bean is very sweet & nice eaten in this way. Excellent wine & pure cold water. All clean & particularly nice. Aurélie stationed herself behind the window curtains at the window to finish her sketch. Some men came in, respectable farmer looking persons & National Guards. I observed them whiting something on the wall & was curious enough to ask what they were doing. They shew me a painting on the wall of the Austrian arms. They were obliterating the motto, Salut et Gloria! This they did with infinite relish. We entered into conversation with them, which they were delighted at. I cd not help noticing the look of admiration & interest with which they regarded Aurélie & Emily as they talked with them. From them we learnt that Pio IX has instituted a ministry which has declared war & all is now right. They say France has sent a large army to her frontier. They are much obliged for England’s underhand assistance, but they do not desire the farther intervention of either of the great powers, who they say would be sure to help themselves & they say they do not wish merely to change masters. After politics one of the old men touched most respectfully on another subject, one of the Signorinas (Fanny) with light curly hair hanging down had been noticed as she drew at the window as the exact resemblance of a famous painting of a Magdalene about 7 miles off preserved in a monastery. He told us with great gravity & earnestness that there might be a slight difference in the mouth, but the hair, forehead, eyes & nose were exact. He offered us a letter to the monks to see it, but I do not think François wd quite have relished retracing 7 miles for this purpose, but I am really very sorry we did not get the letter. Upon going to tell Fanny the story, we found lots of people particularly women earnestly regarding her & I am sure she might in half an hour have persuaded them that she was really the very Magdalene come down from heaven on some mission. I feel certain that a few castings up of eyes, clapping hands, kneelings & other rhapsodies from her, would have induced them to fall at her feet. I cannot believe that this state of religious ignorance will last much longer. I only hope that in casting off their superstition they will retain the spirit of their religion. Before we left Poggibonzi we heard that the earthquakes had been very bad at Sienna all night, but no mischief had been done. Had we stayed we must have remained all night on the Promenade. How I pity the poor inhabitants, who if they do not actually suffer, must live in constant dread. I think there can be nothing in life so aweful as to hear & feel this unknown turmoil in the earth. In thinking now of Sienna I have a picture vividly represented to my mind’s eye of the vast volcanoes, the aweful underground fires burning, bursting, flaming, glowing beneath, a mere crust dividing all this scene of horror from the lovely city built over it & all its inhabitants like victims going to pray for preservation from it. I can so well imagine, after having so often watched Vesuvius, how it is the same burst which then issues out, that taking place under ground, shakes the surface, but to reflect upon the uncertainty as to how near the surface it will arrive & perhaps where issue!
We left this interesting little town after having rested till ½ past 2 in the afternoon. A priest very kindly brought us all the recent newspapers by which we learn that the war seems to be progressing and gaining ground every where. I fear we are going on boldly. I shall take good counsel before I go on from Genoa. The weather was most oppressively hot this afternoon. Our route lay through a richly cultivated & most fertile country. The vines are in full blossom & making most luxurious shoots, in one place the festoons are already joined & in every part they will soon require to be attached. For about 2 miles before arriving at Fucecchio we came along a straight gravelled road with the sun exactly in front. The poor horses must have suffered sadly, tho’ François takes such care of them, they go through well. The moment they arrive they are put into the stable & soon afterwards we generally see them being rubbed & washed & looking as sleek as possible. Fucecchio is a dull uninteresting slow place, the Hotel Maggiore does not resemble the Moro at Castel Fiorentino but it is certainly very clean & the mistress is more like a very particular standard old English maid than an Italian. She wears a plaited net cap, just like Mrs Packham & seems in a fright at having so many people to provide for. The Inn is on the piazza which is large but very dull, no shops. Miserable cripple with one leg hanging over this shoulder. A wretched dinner. Miserable fish, still more miserable pigeons, good peas, common salad, horrible sausage & cheese, but all these nothings were clean & we went to bed exhausted with the heat, journey, excitement etc.
14 Thermometer last evening on the table when we were sitting 79. Quantities of fire flies on the ground, amongst the trees & against the neighbouring church & houses. You see St Miniato from the back windows. There was an illumination at a church in its neighbourhood, which our upright hostess pointed out to us. There is a little balcony near our rooms filled with flowers. About 4 miles from here we crossed the Arno, the scenery very pretty, it reminded us of Florence tho’ we cd not see it of course. Today is very hot indeed. We are here just opposite the tower of the cathedral. There is a large break in it at top caused by the earthquake 2 years ago, which destroyed 3 villages not far from here near Leghorn. Before we were up we were told that breakfast was ready & upon opening our doors there was the toast ready made! & 8 tumblers for cups, all very clean. Ther 75 & I not too warm. Boys flying birds & insects with a string attached to them! Fucecchio is not a loveable place at all. I observed last evening on the road amongst the heaps of stones & those laid for repairing it, lots of pieces clear & sparkling like spa or alabaster. I shall ask François to try & get me some when it is cool enough this evening. We have a newspaper & find the troops & volunteers we saw start from Rome are now actually engaged. Out of 30 cavalry who left amidst the loudest cheerings of the Romans, 24 are either killed, wounded or prisoners but they fight excellently. We have had prayers & lunch. Today lots of tough cutlets, ragout, peas hot & in shells, cherries. I suppose François has scolded & we are to have a splendid dinner at 6. It proved decent, we had our two services, wrote our journals & went early to bed, in preparation for starting at 5 in the morning.
15 Up at ¼ to 4. Started at ½ past 5 & past through a richly cultivated & wooded country. We noticed the vines on terraces trained low. Ploughs do not appear to be used, numbers of men are occupied with enormous spades in digging up the earth which is so fertile it seems to produce every seed which is put into it. The woods & flowers are lovely & the whole scene one of perfect loveliness & abundance. The approach to Lucca is by a long straight road & the city has a most noble & imposing aspect, its splendid walls & trees, backed by the most verdant mountains, are delightful to look at nor does the exterior of the city at all disappoint you. An excellent lunch was prepared for us, 3 nice young chickens, a large piece of roast beef, potatoes, peas & ham & lots of strawberries. We started directly & got a very good guide, who took us round the town & shewed us the principal objects of curiosity. The splendid tho’ deserted palace, the stables of the worthless son of the Duke. The church of St Romano with 2 glorious paintings, the larger one representing the Virgin praying for the people of Lucca, a group in the foreground might be taken for a fine Holy Family. The other smaller painting represents St Catharine & Mary Magdelene in prayer. The boulevards are very fine with a charming view & fine rows of trees. The cathedral is splendid, exterior only inferior to Pisa. Painted roof, splendid architecture, paintings all round. The Salutation where the angel is very fine. A Last Supper by Tintoretto, a birth of our Saviour a splendid lovely thing, Fra Bartolomeo with a perfect little angel playing & singing in front, 2 others light as air itself holding a transparent drapery over the head of the Virgin & child. A St Cecilia in my opinion not inferior to Raphael’s famous one, an Annunciation where the Virgin is all modesty & humility. A tomb finely sculptured, strings attaching one part. Statues of our Saviour. St Peter & St Paul in the Chapel of Liberty. Painted windows. Basso relievos or rather alto relievos. Lovely colours & open upper tier. Clever old sacristan with his white gloves, our guide did not want us to have him. After one other church & some shopping returned to our Inn. Aurélie & Annie had gone before. Bought some little bottles, gloves for Robert, eau de cologne, cherries. Women all wear black veils. Dreadful state of politics. Their worthless Duke left them, finding he was forced to give them a National Guard etc. Was going to send off the valuable collections of books & paintings, but they were stopped. He has sold the best paintings to supply his extravagance. At present Lucca is under the Grand Duke of Tuscany but they complain that there are few travellers. Started at 3. Our road at first was long & straight through most verdant fields of corn, divided by trees & graceful festoons of vines. We soon took 2 men & mounted a very long hill. It must have been curious enough to see the man sitting on the yoke between the oxen with his face to the carriage, Robert on Nina, François walking. A long descent by zigzags brought us to the verdant country on this side & after seeing a glorious sun set over this lovely country & woods of olives, we arrived at the Europe, one of 4 bustling little hotels close together outside Pietra Santa. Altho’ it was dusk we went instantly to see the cathedral which looks like fine. Has a lovely round window in the façade & very remarkable lilac marble columns inside. Another church close by without aisles where they had yesterday a service for the war. It is curious to come into places one has never even heard of before & find life going on in the same routine as elsewhere. Churches every where fine & richly ornamented. This is a delightful Inn, well furnished, attended & managed, excellent dinner. Roast beef, soup & cheese, boiled beef & cabbage, beef stakes, potatoes, asparagus, pudding, cheese, apples, strawberries, all good.
16th Started ¼ past 5 & after passing for a short time along a pretty level road we took 2 bulls & mounted a very long winding hill through a beautifully wooded ravine of the mountains. Here again our likenesses ought to have been drawn with the bull driver sitting as before & Robert on Nina, proud as Punch. The splendid views of the sea. Elba. The plain so fertile & the mountains opening in the foreground were past description & when at the top who can conceive how exquisitely charming was Carrara embedded in mountains. I ought to have noticed Massa which we past before we took bulls. It appears a pretty place, the piazza strikingly beautiful with its rows of orange trees in full bloom, seats under them & its old palace. I stopped & went into a little Inn here where I bought a marble apple & cheated them with it twice. You begin to find out your vicinity to the quarries here as the windows & door sills are all of that costly material. The scenery is highly picturesque as you descend from Massa. We arrived at Carrara about 9 & found flags flying & volunteers starting. François was exceedingly out of humour at our resolving to see the quarries which was very wrong, as it only took 3 hours & we have lately always stayed 5 at our midday place. This he said was not a proper division of the journey. We were shewn into a room at a kind of caffé! There is no Inn here. They gave us good bread & wine & we had brought meat & chicken from Pietra Santa. After eating we went to a studio & bought a few little marble things & then started, me in a chaise à porteurs, they (4 of them) in a char à bancs!!!! Clara has drawn it, but what can give an idea of its horribleness & of the poor miserable horse. We went through a part of the town & then pursued the course of a clear mountain torrent running down over white marble through a woody ravine of high mountains. The soil of the road is all marble dust. This stream turns a number of saw mills which are all busy in sawing the marble. Tho’ rough mechanism it answers its purpose well, cutting sometimes 5 or 6 slabs at the same time & afterwards by a process equally rude polishing them. As you approach the quarry it gets steeper & rougher. The cart was first abandoned in the marbly stream, then my chaise à porteurs & last of all we were obliged to be pulled & pushed up the places to see the working the quarry. At one place we were obliged to hurry on as they were blasting the rock, at another some huge pieces rolled down from an opposite quarry, here laid an enormous block which most fortunately for the owner rolled down of itself unbroken. They said it wd be a fortune to him, farther on they were moving with vast trouble a block of about the same size which they said wd cost 5 000 francs. The labour is so great. I can only compare this place to a glacier. The pure white does not assume the lovely colours of the ice, but as it lies in blocks, heaps of broken pieces & splinters it much resembles ice. Take it up & it is almost transparent. All my men came with us & boys frequently offered us bits with ore in them, or simply remarkable for their perfect purity. A boy gave us water to drink out of a bottle gourd, it was deliciously cold. We descended very hot but greatly gratified. I & Robert went the same road, the guide took the others thro’ a lovely wood. I found François most anxious to start & tho’ it was only a two hours drive, put to his horses & as soon as the rest arrived we set off. The road has become bad as soon as we entered Piedmont & we very absurdly stopped at a very bad Inn at Sarzana instead of going on to Spezia, the consequence was I was obliged to scold François. It was a simple piece of obstinacy on his part & causes me to be another day on the road.
17 Left Sarzana at a little after 5, pouring rain, difficulty in finding our way across the sands to the ferry & a most awkward perilous transit in a boat over the river Magra. The country must be lovely, the road winding at the foot of the mountains clothed with chesnuts, olives, vines etc & the banks red with strawberries. We arrived in Spezia in torrents of rain. Went out when it subsided & walked along the avenue of white accacias which are within a few feet of the sea. A perfect wood of laurier cerises with lovely little cluster roses forming festoons from one to the other accacias etc form a most admirable view. There are numbers of seats & the sea comes within a very few feet of it. There are neither beach or sands but a green field slopes down to the water’s brink. The clouds at present conceal the view which must be exquisite. Women here wear the little doll’s hat. One I bought goes into the crown of the other hat. There are warm sea baths here.
18 We waited at Spezia untill nearly 9 o’clock waiting for the Diligence & Courier to arrive before we cd venture as the road being cut out of the rocks & mountains is liable to slips or as François calls them avalanches of earth. At last both vehicles past assuring every one that the road was safe. Accordingly we instantly prepared for departure & having a horse which kicked, an old man of 80 for postillion, a mule so obstinate on the other side that it required a man to walk by it to make it go, there being no leaders, we started forth in full glory for the mountains, which with proper horses I cd not have been much terrified at, altho’ in many places the trees had been broken with the previous day’s tempest, nay some had been torn up & the earth in places had slipped so much that there was barely room to pass. I was heartily glad when we left our two wretched beasts & pursued our way to Borghetto with Lisette, Mouton & Nina. Altho’ it poured literally in torrents, the clouds were high enough to admit of our seeing the mountains well & admiring the exquisite form & verdure. Borghetto is called a dirty little town but it is most picturesque & the little Inn where we stopped for lunch beautifully clean, pretty & neat, little white muslin curtains not only before every window but also every door. We had excellent fish, cutlets & roast veal, but no vegetables. They are very scarce amongst the mountains. The stream rushed past our windows which looked straight down into the water. The swallows were flitting about close to us. There were some beautiful prints from Raphael’s frescoes here. François hurried us off & no wonder as he well knew the horrible road we had to go before reaching Sesti. I think I never was so frightened in my life for we continued to ascend & ascend till we were far above trees & every thing else but bare wild rocks. No sort of protection against the aweful precipices which were partially hidden by the drifting clouds beneath us. It was altogether so terrific & so wild that I was seriously ill with it tho’ I scarcely spoke a word. We had 2 stout horses from Borghetto, but the boy who was with them sat very quietly in his saddle & wd not make them work. He did not like going on in the bad weather & François was forced to promise him extra money to induce him to go as far as he did. At last at the top of a peak up in the clouds he left us & I was in hopes we then had only to descend, but alas! our good horses had many an ascent to climb before the happy moment arrived for them & for me, when we caught sight of the sea in the next gulph to that of Spezia & at the same time perceived a break in the sky. The road down this part was less terrific than going up. François kept constantly on the side of the road by the mountain & this causing the carriage to sway off from the precipice I bore it better that going up. There was a glorious sun set as we descended to Sesti & the tints were splendid. Here we saw first the brilliantly painted houses & we approached the comfortable hotel by an avenue of oranges in full bloom. They were perfectly white with their lovely sweet scented blossom. The old waiter was most active & attentive. He is an old soldier & shewed us an aweful gash on his arm & another on his neck. They are unclosed, but yet he regrets not now being with his son, who has just left his home contrary to his mother’s wish to fight against the Austrians. The old father shewed us a letter he had just received from him. He says he has written to his mother twice before, but has had no reply (they have never received the letters). He asks for her & his father’s forgiveness & blessing & then wishes to spend his last drop of blood in defending his country. He had just been in an engagement. His father was never against his going & even his mother now forgives it. We had fresh pigeons, chicken, peas, pudding & fruit & went to bed.
19th Did not rise till 6. Fine morning, walked on the beach. It is a heavenly place, I cd live & die at Sesti. They are famous for lace, I gave each a little collar of it & bought some good black lace for myself. 4 francs the anna. Our journey today was most interesting. At first it lay along the beach, the enormous aloes growing in the sand as well as figs, olives & even oranges. After this we ascended & descended through groves of every kind of splendid trees, shrubs, flowers, corn, herbage. My ideas of the splendour of Italy increases hourly & yet we shall soon bid adieu to it & never most likely see the beauteous country again. Switzerland now appears to me as having no charms, so far superior is Italy & this coast I prefer even to Sorrento. It is decidedly quite as fine as Salerno. Nothing can exceed the interest of driving thro’ these villages & this scenery. In each place you see some fresh costume, manufacture, produce. Large towns, fine churches, splendid villas, beautiful manufactures meet you as you advance. Here all the roads are of slate & all the mountains. I asked François to pick up for me some of the stones lying in heaps to mend the road. It is a splendid mixture of white & black marble. He called it a mauvaise piera but it sparkles as you drive along & is indeed beautiful. The little hats which we bought at Spezia are no longer worn but white handkerchiefs. Now we pass a town, arcades on each side, excellent shops filled with all kinds of articles, most delicious strawberries, cherries, new potatoes, artichokes, peas, beans, fine & excellent linen of all sorts. The exquisite views of the sea & land. Here again every woman at every door is making lace. Even rain here only encreases the beauty making the greens more & more brilliant. The mountains here are more verdant than ever, being covered to their summits with terraces of vines, olives, apricots, oranges, lemons & the most majestic pines seem all to be doing homage to the sea over which they bend. Our road has skirted the promontories, now we wind round the headland with the blue sea sparking between the trees beneath us many hundred feet & now we turn & go up the creek or ravine, in which invariably is situated a picturesque & thriving town, into which we sometimes descend by zigzags, but more generally pass hundreds of feet above. Of course I was occasionally frightened but the lovely trees & terraces came between us & the precipice & the loveliness exceeded all conception, one cd scarcely believe it was Earth. We now had to cross inland the promontory which divides this gulph from that of Genoa & we once more got into the clouds & rain, so that when we arrived through a gallery in the rock at our midday resting place instead of the fine view of Genoa nothing was to be seen but cloud. We had however scarcely time to repine before the clouds skudded over & disclosed this finest & loveliest of all the views of the kind we have seen. I think it does surpass Naples & yet it has neither islands or Vesuvius. I sd like to go back & see which I like best, but alas! I cd never decide & sd never be satisfied with looking at & admiring them. We had delicious fresh fish, mackerel & another, roast meat, peas & potatoes, apples, raisins & cherries, a good fire to dry the cloaks. All the doors & windows open for rain here does not produce cold or damp. The little rustic Inn has a suite of apartments facing a view such as is nearly unrivalled & ends in an open terrace with vines, flowers, chairs, tables & forming a scene such as princes might envy. I hope I shall never forget it. From Ruta to Genoa it is lovely & splendid but less so than before & I am astonished to see that fine as it is, the mountains behind Genoa are not so luxuriant as those we have left. We descended into Genoa, a little disappointed with the site, but it is magnificent enough. Several lads surrounded the carriage, it is a right which they have in Genoa to draw it into the coach house. They ran by one side into the city from a great distance. It is curious to see how the walls run up & down the surrounding mountains with a fortress on every height. At last we arrived at the bridge. Numbers of volunteers & National Guard were practising shooting. At the gate we were presented with a note to a Mrs somebody who was expected, 7 ladies, of course we were mistaken for her party. Genoa seems in great agitation. In every piazza, in every court yard are men drilling, drums beating, soldiers marching. At length we reached the Hotel de Londres, there not being rooms at some of the others, which I rejoice at as they are over the old arcades which seem crumbling under them. We have five large apartments, our dinner table is placed before the door of our sitting room in an enormous & elegant kind of gallery, it is very comfortable, a large skreen being placed before us. We look over the harbour filled with vessels & the buildings & coast to the westward resemble much Pozolippo at Naples. Clara & Laura, Aurélie & I went immediately to the post, it was closed. We saw the splendid street of palaces, for uniformity exceeding any other I have ever seen & in returning we fell in with the jewellery street. The shops are full of gold & silver fillagree articles, the silver the prettiest. Our dinner was excellent. Capital fish, roast veal, plain boiled potatoes new, larded beef, chickens, salad & fine asparagus in great abundance, nice pudding, strawberries, cherries, apples, dates, biscuits etc. François has given me till 12 o’clock tomorrow to decide on going into Switzerland or not.
20th Aurélie & Robert went to the post. Emily & I to the Consul, we found the Vice Consul a very obliging gentleman, Italian but speaking English. He says that Milan is almost decided on giving herself to Piedmont, so much so that no passport is necessary from one country to the other. Nevertheless it is better to have it, in case of a change. All is perfectly safe now but no telling whether in a short time a general war all over Europe will not ensue & then Switzerland will not even be secure. If the French decide on taking part either way, war must follow. If they are quiet, order will be restored but as France has an enormous army all down her frontier & her only chance of internal peace is to engage her people in a foreign war, I think it most probable she will take this method of giving vent to the restless spirits which are now astir. God prevent it. Aurélie has a letter from Paris dated 9th May. Her mother & sister with M. & Mme. Odiot were to leave Paris the next day, the latter is in a dreadful state of excitement at the state of his affairs. The poor Magasin Pittoresque is to fall to the ground. People are no longer to be found of common sense & good feeling enough to read so useful & meritorious, so moral & so good a publication. M. LaChevardiere is going to publish a political paper, so I fear he will be mixed up in the events of his unhappy country, which however at the present instance seems to hold her head above water. The movement here is great. We were quietly looking at velvets, when news arrived from Naples that that most heartless, faithless & vile Ferdinand had at least succeeded in getting his Swiss to fire on the town for 11 hours. Some jealousy between them & the National Guard had induced them to do this, which when we were there they so nobly refused. The lovely city is they say greatly injured & great bloodshed has ensued. At last the French fleet arrived & the Admiral sent to the King to say that if the firing did not instantly cease he wd batter down his palace. I wish with all my heart he had done it. Well to return to us, who of course must be in every thing. The piazza where we were was filled, a rush was made to enter the house of the Neapolitan Consul, he or his son or both appeared at the window with tricoloured banners which with trembling hands they tied to the venitian blinds & something they addressed to the mob caused it rush off to some other place. The state of the city is very curious, I was never before during my recollections in a country actually at war. I hope we shall get safe through it. I tell them that I am sure before we have done we shall see the armies actually engaged, it is extraordinary how we come in for every thing. I have agreed with François to go on, I see no help for it. We are actually going to Milan, they say it is quite safe, lots of travellers going there. Very well, let us go. There is nothing like impudence, certainly it appears rather funny, but never mind, it wd be so very interesting to encounter some army. How well it was we did not see the demolition of poor Naples, vile King. Why do they not attack his palace at once. We have had lunch & a thunder storm. Beef stakes, new potatoes, croquets, apples, dates & cherries. I am writing, Robert playing in the great gallery at driving Nina, Lisette & Mouton to Milan, the rest gone to see sights. François to see a friend who arrived in the steamer from Naples, he has promised to come & give us all the news. Every stranger has fled from Sorrento & Castellamare. Every vessel in the harbour before me has the tricolour flag flying. Weather lovely again. White tarlatan veils very graceful & pretty, women & men very ugly. Good shops, civil people. Fine mules. Went to church, heard an excellent sermon on dear Robert’s text the rich man not entering the kingdom of heaven, alas! I know not who will, all seem to be sad delinquents. Illuminations & serenades in the evening for Gioberti.
22nd Spent a great deal of money upon myself, a velvet dress, a new collar, a silk dress. Well these things it is to be hoped will last & they cost much less than elsewhere, it is with that view I have bought them. I must have had them when I got to England & there they wd be twice the price or very inferior, but I certainly do most sadly begrudge the money. Genoa is decidedly my favourite of all the cities I have seen. It is stately & lovely in the extreme, flourishing & wealthy it appears tho’ not fashionable. The dress of the ladies & women is wonderfully fine & elegant & wd be perfection if they retained the black dresses as well as the white veils.
23rd Today we finally turned our backs on the south. We left Genoa this morning at ½ past 6 with infinite regret. It is the place I most admire, the harbour, the ships, the sea, the streets of palaces, the mountains, the women’s veils, the churches, the markets, the fruits, the vegetables, the shops, all are excellent & beautiful in their way. I never yet have seen so perfect a place. There is nothing shabby, nothing out of keeping, all is grand, noble, flourishing, lovely & so good bye to the most beautiful parts of the world I ever hoped to see. We crossed an exquisitely clothed mountain, fine road & at the top which took nearly 3 hours to attain we bid adieu to the splendid Mediteraneum. We dined or rather lunched at a wretched place Ronca on the north of the Appenines & soon after came in sight of the Alps! But even they failed to inspire us with any enthusiasm or delight, for what can be lovely after the south of Italy. Every thing here looks so meagre, so poor, so dusty, so uninteresting, food bad & scrimping, people light haired & red complexioned, in fact the country south of Italy quite spoils one. Those lovely places along the coast from Spezia to Genoa! with their markets glowing with the rich products, their people so well drest, so busy, Oh I never cd have imagined such a fairy land as it all is. Here they talk of strawberries not having begun yet, not a cherry to be seen & in Genoa & every where to the south the great heaps of those are so brilliant. It seems as if the Appenines now excluded us from all that is lovely & had sent us into banishment. I hope we shall not be disappointed with Switzerland, I can hardly think we shall. 200 Austrian prisoners are expected here tomorrow. We lunched at Ronca, veal cutlets, boiled fowl, omelette, potatoes, apples, raisins, figs, cakes & hideous cheese, the rest was good. Here we had soup, wretched antediluvian stinking fowl, horrible roast, fish, potatoes, asparagus, vile pudding. Stale very stale strawberries, oderiferous cheese, apples, figs, cakes, lots of things almost all bad. At the Hotel de Londres we lived admirably, delicious coffee, bread, butter & eggs for breakfast. Lunch 2 dishes of excellent meat, new potatoes, apples, oranges, dates, strawberries etc. Dinner soup, capital fish or croquets, roast joint, sweetbreads or other made dish, new potatoes, turkey, fowls or ducks, peas, artichokes, asparagus, large pudding, jelly or tart, lots of delicious fruit. Aurélie has been very ill indeed all today, laid down at Ronca, went to bed as soon as we arrived at Novi. Annie has a cold & sore throat, Robert is not well. Tomorrow we go to Pavia.
24th Started at 5 from Novi. Fanny & Clara had to go back in search of a map, which we found afterwards in the journal box. Robert is sick & does not eat any thing, Aurélie better, Annie’s cold bad. As soon as we had got clear out of Novi (a most untakeable place) we had a glorious view of the Alps, the rising sun tinging their highest peaks with that lovely pink we have so often admired. Soon the whole range was lighted up, tho’ we were still before sun rise. Monte Rosa higher even than Mont Blanc is stupendous & their lovely forms & enormous size appeared as wondrous as ever. Still nothing will make me ever admire or like any thing so well as southern Italy. The difference in climate is wonderful. We felt a really cold air coming across to us from the snowy Alps & the ther 65, yesterday 77. How wonderful Monte Rosa is 100 miles distant & yet it is standing like a giant before us. We are now at Voghera, a delightfully clean, airy, active town. Cathedral white washed, Greek cross. A small church opposite pretty, paintings behind altar good. A motto Silenzia very proper in God’s house. At all times & in all circumstances silence ought to be observed. The Inn here is one of the regular horrors. Hideous soup stuffed full of bread, tough beef stakes, peas, stinking omelette, more stinking sausage, some tender larded veal, nasty little round cheeses like those at Novi, fresh strawberries & little cakes ladies fingers. We dined in the public room, one officer dined at the same time, a quiet respectable looking man. 3 or 4 others came in just as we had done & from the conversation which directly insued, we found that the first one had been at the battle at Goito, the others are marching to join the army. The town is quite full of soldiers. Robert is now gone off with an officer to see his horses. It is very very hot just now sitting in the bedroom facing the south. Robert past the 3 hours we have stayed at Voghera with these officers, went to a caffé with them, saw their horses, their accoutrements & in fact enjoyed himself greatly. We started at 1 o’clock & experienced greater heat than we ever did in our lives, the thermometer at my side in the carriage inside but on the sunny side tho’ of course shaded was 92, on the other side 82 all the afternoon. The road was sandy & dusty & altogether it required real fortitude to bear it well. The poor horses! what they must have suffered! A wretched contrivance of boats for passing the Po, thought we sd be upset passing some carts & oxen. At last we crossed the beautiful Ticino & soon arrived at the exceedingly pretty town of Pavia. Every thing looked large, airy, clean & cheerful. About every other house had a tricoloured flag flying & every one wore the colours & the Lombard dress. We were at a good hotel the Lombardia. We dined in a front room with a little balcony looking into the street from one window, our bedrooms went down an open balcony shaded by a splendid accacia trained all along. We went to see the Duomo, they are adding to it & there is a very find tomb of St Augustine. We went into the Church of the Carmine, also very fine & returned late to dinner. Just as we were sitting down we saw some Austrian prisoners pass, they were escorted by a few National Guard & no fuss made. Robert was delighted at having 6 little beautiful puppies to play with, they are named Carlo, Alberto, Pio IX, Gioberti etc & if any of them are naughty they are to be called Ferdinand, Redetsky etc. Delicious butter & bread, soup, peas, veal, chickens, asparagus, blanc mancher, strawberries etc.
25th On account of rain did not leave Pavia untill 7 & went along a heavy road by the side of the canal for an hour & turned down another straight road about a mile long to visit the celebrated Certosa. The weather was fine, but the sun did not shine on the splendid marbles of the façade. We found several priests performing Mass with great reverence at different chapels & it was some time before we saw any one to guide us, at last a pale thin intelligent monk gliding silently down the chapels & informed us that without an order from the Pope we cd not enter the chapels or convent. We were sadly disappointed at first, but I believe we did not lose so much as we thought we sd. We saw the splendid pictures & pietra dura work in the chapels through the grating & the altar etc through the brass grating. Nevertheless we saw all very well & it is beautiful & costly beyond every thing that can be fancied. There are several precious stones & marbles here which we never before have seen, a lovely Swiss marble supporting a statue greatly pleased me. There are 3 pieces of lilac amethyst very rare & all the precious pietra dura such as amethyst, lapis lazuli, agate, onyx etc are in such profusion & formed into such exquisite designs that it is perfectly wonderful. Some idea may be formed of it by the fact that a family of artists settled near the Certosa & for 300 years continued working at it. The paintings are very fine. The exterior is as rich as the interior and especially the sides of the grand doors & the windows. One monk shewed us every thing he cd. He left us once to receive the Mass & again to pray. He never spoke above a whisper in the church & did all with apparent modesty & sincerity. I have never seen a church better reverenced that this. Robert was taken every where which delighted him amazingly & raised him in his own importance as a man. He behaved very well & pleased the monk with his intelligence. He gave us very good accounts of what he saw & did not forget to bring us some fine roses from the monastery garden. François was in a bad humour at stopping tho’ he had a good stable for his horses. He just put his head into the Certosa & turned away with a shrug. He thinks only of getting us from one place to the other & has no idea that our object in travelling is to see all that is admirable. The road was horrible all the way to Milan, quite straight, canal on one side, nice fields on the other & tho’ pretty, without variety. The admirable Duomo appeared at the end the whole way. At length to our satisfaction & the horses’ we arrived. It is curious to see the National Guard receiving our passport every where with so much satisfaction. I trust they will always be able to maintain their independence & manage their own concerns, without liberty life is valueless even if surrounded by ease & luxury, poverty with liberty is far preferable. The town appears very dull & we had a wretched lunch at the Hotel Suisse, always a suspicious title. Went to see the Duomo & found the interior of the same marble as the exterior. Owing to its being a bright sunny day & the doors all open, it bore a totally different aspect tho’ I still think it the grandest & most perfectly solemn church I have seen. Owing to a scolding we had a good dinner, soup, a piece out of the finest salmon trout I ever saw from Como, asparagus, veal, peas, chickens, potatoes, stewed cherries, large flat tart, strawberries, cakes, almonds. Dreadfully tired.
26th Went to the Brera after breakfast & admired our old favourites & many others in this fine gallery. The more I see of Garofalo the more I like his pictures. There is a fine crucifixion. A small picture with 2 heads, one like the Beatrice Cenci I greatly admired. Salvator Rosas purgatory. St Paul in the desert. Nicolas Poussin a landscape, fine trees. Raphael’s marriage of the Virgin. Abraham casting out Hagar that incomprehensible subject in which one always pities the bond woman & her son. We bought some caricatures & prints & came home to a late lunch. Saw many men in the street making ice. Lunch beef stakes, duck, potatoes, asparagus, strawberries, cakes. Remained quiet till 6 o’clock, then they went to Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper & I met them at the Duomo which looked most grand at dusk. I was almost frightened when by myself to see the deep shadows from the enormous columns & to look down into St Charles Borromeo’s tomb. The rest arrived just before it was closed. We returned to dinner a little after 8, soup, trout, cutlets, mashed potatoes, asparagus, peas, duck, veal, pudding, strawberries etc. Bed as usual. Dreadfully tired. I awoke at ½ past 1 & rose ½ past 3.
27th I did not mention yesterday that the old man who shewed them the Supper told them that his son had gone to his window during the five days to close it & was shot dead. In his neighbour’s house next door 5 women & children were wantonly slaughtered. Every man in Milan has bound himself by an oath never to submit to the Austrians again. God grant they may not be tried but they have sworn to die first. It is curious to see men, lads & boys of all ranks, priests & all drilling & being drilled. When we were at the Brera we saw a young priest in the court drilling some young lads & afterwards being regularly drilled by a sergeant. We left this morning at 5 & were much gratified in passing through the enormous & beautiful Piazza d’Armi to see the battalions of National Guard exercising all round under the trees. They were chiefly practising firing & fighting opposite each other. The National Guard who inspected our passport looked delighted at our wishing them to continue free from the Austrians. The barriere looked splendid. At 8 o’clock the ther was 80, at 5 in the streets of Milan 70 & I noticed men with their clokes across their breasts cold. One does indeed feel the least chill in this climate. The Alps have looked most glorious all this morning, more gigantic, more snowy, more lovely than ever, they say we see a range of them 200 miles long. We are at present resting for 3 hours at a place beyond Castignate, half way between Milan and Arona. We shall soon see the Lago Maggiore. I am getting awfully terrified at the Simplon. There are 2 lovely but terrific white peaks just a head of us, through which I am exultingly informed that our road passes! Robert had a through day of enjoyment yesterday with 2 little boys at the Inn, French I believe. When we came in from our morning’s walk we found them being drilled each with his gun & they took it in turn to keep guard at the door. Robert was charmed at receiving a military salute when he presented arms to any officer who past. He went out for a drive with these little boys, their father & the master of the hotel. I shall never forget the size of that splendid horse. The hostler was obliged (tho’ not a short man) to stand on a chair to clean him. I never saw such fine horses & mules as in Tuscany & Lombardy. For days past we have noticed women standing in the mulberry trees gathering the leaves for silk worms. We have had fish salad, fry, maccaroni, beef stakes, pigeons, apples & cakes & cheese & the man who cooks as well as waits came to know if we did not like his maccaroni because we had not eaten enough for a regiment. We started at 1 & did not arrive at Arona until 6. It was hot, dusty & the roads long & straight. Sesto Calende disappointed me much, I do not call it very pretty even & certainly not picturesque. We past the Ticino from it in a ferry & I think it very unsafe to drive with 3 horses into a boat not wide enough to take them, so that the leader is obliged to be turned & yet it is so steep that the wheelers cannot get the carriage up without him. A blind man played the violin & sang to us whilst we crossed. The Ticino is always the same lovely colour & at Sesto Calende it has just past from the mountains through the lake & resumed its form of a river. At present the Lago Maggiore disappoints me, to be in raptures with it at Arona one must not have come from the south of the Appenines. In fact I fully expect to be disappointed with Switzerland itself. I wish heartily however that we were quietly settled there on some cheap scale, for I am spending a great deal of money & I dread the mountains. The Hotel Royal here is any thing but royal, dirty, stinking & people germanified. We had a good dinner, badly served soup, fish, roast veal, large asparagus, beef stakes, pudding, stewed cherries, cheese, strawberries, cherries, cakes. Aurélie went to bed with a migraine & we were all too hot & dirty & tired to write, so we went to bed, the beds as usual were very comfortable. We had a tremendous storm which shook the house as much as the earthquake, excepting once at Sorrento, we have not heard such thunder since we left Switzerland.
28th Did not rise till 8, weather overcast & warm. A boat came across from Sesta Calende with National Guards & soon after another with wounded Austrians. We went to see them disembark & whilst we were there a large body marched past who had walked round. There were Croats amongst them, extremely ill looking men, fierce, savage & gloomy. They all looked tired, dusty & hot & the good natured Italians pitied them. They were marched to a house in the town where they were to rest till 4 o’clock. We had prayers. Laura & I went on the side of the lake. Lunch, fish, roast veal, potatoes, stewed cherries & raw. Went up to the Statue of St Charles Borromeo but were stopped to watch the prisoners start. 2 small carts were prepared with straw & a large mat to shield them from the sun for the wounded, the others all prepared themselves to march attended by National Guard. Dear little Robert who went closer than we did, rushed back to me exclaiming “Money Ma for the wounded Croat”. I gave him what I had & he ran back to give it. When he returned I said “It is a good thing to have money Robert”. I try always to impress him with an idea of the true value of money & the necessity for trying to earn it. I asked him if the man was pleased. “Oh yes tremendously & he seemed ill as well as wounded”. A beautiful walk up the mountain took us to the famous statue, which is indeed very fine & very enormous. It stands on an immense pedastal on a high hill of grass, is all of bronze & of a most prodigious size. The view is splendid & it is a good idea to have placed this excellent & benevolent man looking over & as it were protecting his native country. There is a chapel close by & the room in which he was born. In one cupboard is a mask or cast taken of his face after death, the cross he used to wear etc. In another a cloth used whilst embalming him, a piece of his robe etc. We were much amused at 3 pretty little quite young chickens following us from a house half way up, all the way to the statue, through the church, the room, every where, perfectly tame & as we repassed their house they went in as naturally as people. We looked in at the old Duomo & another church & when we came home, Robert having gone on before us, was mounted on a tree in the garden surrounded by National Guards & a priest who had been haranguing them, giving Vivas, Viva Pio IX, Viva l’Independenza Italiano etc were all replied to by the numerous assembly with ardour which charmed Robert & he wanted to accompany them to the statue where they were going with a band playing. I refused & soon after he was at the side of the lake making a dog swim. God grant that his energies properly directed may lead to good ends. We dined, soup, fish (a fine trout), beef, asparagus, potatoes, chicken, pudding, strawberries, cherries etc. It is not a good Inn, nor are the people attentive.
29th Started at 5 & drove along the borders of the lovely lake untill nearly opposite the Isola Bella. The clouds hung about the mountains & I at first refused to take a boat, but afterwards a man followed us & as the sun came out I determined on going. On our way from Arona we past a villa with an exquisite garden, porticoes covered with cluster roses, bowers, walls all covered with every description of rose, honeysuckle, jasmine, verbenum etc. All the gardens here are superlatively lovely. We crossed in a large boat to the island with which I was greatly disappointed at first & very much prejudiced against. I may say I was almost determined to dislike it, as well as the others, but I quite altered my opinion on visiting it. We landed at the bottom of the stairs of the palace which we went over. It is very splendid & of course commands the most extensive & beautiful views of the lake & surrounding islands. Nothing can be better arranged for the enjoyment of this heavenly spot. Under the main rooms are the summer ones, almost like grottoes where it can scarcely ever be too hot in summer even. We saw the bed in which Napoleon slept when he was there before the battle of Marengo, also that occupied once by our wretched Queen Caroline & another by Charles Albert. After seeing all over this large palace, we were shown over the garden by an intelligent civil gardener. He shewed us all the rare plants it is so full of & gave us leaves of the tea, the camphor, the aniseed, the cork & others, with bunches of orange blossom, daphne, yellow jasmine etc. There is a wood of laurels, as large forest trees, one on which are some words still remaining cut by Napoleon with his sword, is 16 feet round, that is to say the trunk is divided into 2 & each is 8 feet round. They form a lovely & aromatic shade. Palms, aloes, camellias, oranges, lemons, cypresses, cedars, all flourish in this sweet spot. The fruit of the laurel is quite large. Camellias bloom in January. One temple is covered with yellow cluster roses like dear GM’s in her pretty garden at Cuckfield [GM – Frances Barkley, Martha’s mother]. I tried to preserve one but it fell to pieces. I was surprised to see geraniums (not fine) in hot houses. It is a long walk, for the garden & palace occupy the whole island, excepting a few poor persons houses & a caffé for visitors just where you land. What a strange fancy & yet it has succeeded so well that one cannot ridicule it. It was a bare rock little elevated out of the water & to form this garden & raise this place they have first built enormous arches & brought soil & put upon them. There was not a particle of soil on the island & now the verdure & growth of trees is most luxuriant. In many places you stamp with your foot & hear the hollow reverberation. It is curious to see under all this, the dark vaulted passages & arches inhabited only by bats. What a long & splendid mass of ivy is suspended from one part! I cannot mention all the beautiful points of view we witnessed in our walk. We stayed about 2 hours & embarked for Bavenna, where we found François had ordered our lunch to be ready. The Inn does not look comfortable, the floors being of rock & brick, but the master was quite a smart gentleman & every thing was very clean. We had fish from the lake & mutton from the mountains, as gigantic as themselves, a very peculiar sort, not resembling common mutton at all, some mutton chop of the usual sort, pudding, asparagus, cherries, strawberries. After lunch we walked about & they took some very pretty sketches. The country is lovely. I got into a little winding path through an exquisite wood of chesnuts, under which grew corn very nearly twice as high as I am, occasionally vines & lovely wild flowers, with the dark granit & slate rocks towering above us. The village is highly picturesque, the church pretty. A little girl came after me with 2 roses, I had no money to give her. A boy offered me some minerals, which I made him understand he was to take to the Inn. The whole rock & mountains, all the roads, paths etc are granit black & white, red & white etc, white marble like alabaster with minerals of all sorts sparkling under one’s feet. The heat was excessive. We started at one & soon turned our backs on the Lago Maggiore. Our road lay thro’ a beautiful valley which gradually became more & more enclosed with finely wooded & shaped mountains. I confess that my admiration of them was largely mixed with grief at the thought that they were excluding us from Italy. About 6 o’clock we arrived at Domo Dosola a nice clean comfortable looking town, where we found a shoemaker who mended up sundry holes in boots & where we found a capital pair of shoes for Laura. Aurélie got some roots of forget me not from the banks of the lake which we have planted in the pots with the violets, but alas! I fear they like us will require the genial skies of Italy. We had soup, fish, asparagus, potatoes, roast beef & chickens, bread, puddings, strawberries, cherries etc. I went to bed meditating on the horrors of going up the Simplon tomorrow.
30th Start at 5 with 4 good horses & soon began that dreaded ascent. At first it is very steep but afterwards became much less so & strange to say I was not frightened though the road is dreadful. It goes by a stream almost in the bed of it, for the avalanches have destroyed the road as well as the rushing torrent & unless great & speedy repairs are made, I think the vaunted Simplon will be impassable. I am sure if our things are not broken we may be reckoned good packers &certainly François’ carriage must be strong to bear such jolting. In dozens of places there is not more than 4 or 5 inches between the edge of the road & the rock & it appears as if the jolting wd send the carriage up against the jagged rock & that it wd rebound over the precipice into the torrent. Another danger to be dreaded is the edge giving way under the wheel. It is really aweful to see such chasms with the road or the materials which made the road slipping down. At times the whole of the road is gone, or only indicated by a post here & there or a part of the side stones, bridges half carried away & we obliged to pass through sand & stones, in winter the bed of the torrent, which even now is very rapid. François walked close to the carriage on the side of the precipice the whole way & and we arrived at our lunching place without any very great agony, it was one or two houses on the opposite side of the ravine to one of the very picturesque villages so often met with amongst these mountains. A bridge across the rushing torrent conducted to it & we amused ourselves well for 2 hours walking about, sketching & gathering flowers. There are numbers of tiger lilies growing out of the rocks, as well as a variety of all sorts of flowers. We were delighted with the little clean country Inn, with boarded floors the first time we have seen them since we crossed the Alps 1 year & 7 months ago. This Inn is kept by a nice clean French woman with a clean white cap, with a great wide border. For lunch we had fried veal cutlets, beef stakes, boiled new potatoes, a fine fowl, asparagus, stewed apples & cherries, all cooked perfectly. We started with 5 post horses, François’ own being led on before & continued our way ascending with the torrent & consequently never having any great precipices, tho’ the road continued much broken & at times there being hardly an inch to spare between the side & the precipice. There are granit posts nearer to each other than on the St Gothard, but according human contradiction, wherever the road was broken the post ceased. Often there is also a rail along in safe places. The road & scenery is wild & grand in the extreme. The avalanches in some places came right across the ravine & the water rushed thro’ it, making itself a complete arch to flow through. Twice we past thro’ a gallery cut in the avalanche which had stopped up the road to the depth of 50 or more feet flowing past into the ravine below. They broke off pieces from the sides & found it hard as ice. In one of these snow torrents the men drove us right up against the side. They are indeed aweful things these avalanches. You see huge pieces of rock & whole fir trees brought down with them & near their sides often trees are uprooted. We had one very high precipice but owing to the horses drawing so steadily & having 3 men with us & François being very attentive in preventing their driving close to the edge, I arrived without fear at Simplon, a miserable mountain village like Gutanen something, but we are in a most comfortable little Inn with a fine intelligent young girl to wait on us, with shoes clumping on the boards. When we arrived no one came to meet us, Francois got impatient & called out for the Padrone. He did not see the 2 fine St Bernard dogs who were doing the honours to us. There was also a very fine one at our lunching place. We arrived at Simplon at 2 & had dinner at 5, beef stakes, soup, potatoes, chickens, roast veal, asparagus, shape of rice tart, cake, cheese, apples, honey, butter, all clean & good. Here we are sitting with a blazing fire, shivering& perishing & wheezing up amongst avalanches, glaciers etc after having luxuriated for so many months in the delicious sun shine of that heavenly Italy. Perched up here, pinched with cold, I cannot conceive what has induced me to be so foolish as to have come, whilst I cd have remained in sun shine.
31st Notwithstanding climate & situation we had every comfort & attention in this little Inn, a nice girl who never ceased her services & gave us excellent food, delightfully clean little rooms & most comfortable beds. Courage & Finette also continued their attentions especially at meal times. We had delicious honey for breakfast & started at ½ past 5 in a cold raw damp fog. Ther 52 instead of 77! Mountains whitened with snow during the night in addition to their winter clothing. François had engaged a man to walk by the carriage side, he had Lisette as a leader & Nina in her place. The man gathered us splendid flowers. The avalanches are surrounded with white & lilac crocuses, as fast as the snow melts they blow. One of the beautiful blue gentians which was gathered closed & wet opened in a few minutes in the book. We ascended for upwards of 2 hours but there was nothing at all frightful but the scene became wild, desolate & grand in the extreme. I never saw any thing at all to equal it. The avalanches, the vast quantities of snow, the height of the mountains & total cessation of all vegetation rendered it a truly surprising & aweful scene. The road is constantly cut through the snow or rather the snow is cut away for many feet deep & on each side of one is a wall of snow sometimes above the top of the carriage. The Hospice is a large dwelling & the monks have attempted to cultivate a little ground as a garden, but there is nothing yet coming up. One St Bernard’s dog stood at the door. A little beyond the Hospice we parted with the horses & still a few yards farther on & we came in view of the descent, I suppose we must have seen for 10 miles distance. It is a road skirting a tremendous rock & precipice, one of those terraces clinging to the bare face of the mountain very nearly perpendicular. The road is so formed as to slope rather towards the edge & is rather raised above the posts. It was enough for me, in an instant a sort of vertigo seized me, I became in an instant cold as death & threw myself to the bottom of the carriage, almost knocking Emily & Annie. In a few minutes I became very hot & but for the showers of eau de cologne poured on me, must I think have had a fit. François going at a trot without the sabot encreased my fear. He soon stopped in a gallery & put it on. I believe I suffered this for an hour & a half & then feeling really ill I got out with Emily & Aurélie to walk; it was still raining & very dirty. After a while I insisted on the former getting into the carriage & continued with the latter walking for about an hour & a half. Scenery exquisite but frightfully precipitous & posts much broken. After this I was so tired we were obliged to mount & in another hour by a steep descent we reached Bueg [Brig], where I laid on the bed for 3 hours, had lunch & went on again. There was a fair in the next village. What a difference in every thing from Italy! The women’s dress here is very warm & tidy but not picturesque. Their tight clean stockings & shoes look very odd. They wear a narrow brimmed man’s hat straw or felt with a wide ribbon pinned full round it, sometimes black, sometimes coloured trimmed with gold or silver, very ugly. The people are however exceedingly civil & robust. Arrived at Hurtenan [Turtmann] at 6 & found a very clean comfortable pretty Inn. Had a guide & went to see a very fine waterfall. Pretty indeed it is to see the tidy women, a basket on one arm, knitting as they go, a stick tucked under the arm driving their cows from the pastures for the night. Their bells have a peculiarly pretty rural sound. Excellent dinner, soup, cutlets, veal, Beccase a bird with black plumage whose head & neck are brought with the plumage on to shew what bird it is. It is rare & only shot high up on the mountains. Potatoes, roast veal, cake, whip & custard, apples, raisins, figs, cakes, no strawberries or peas or asparagus here. Fanny was still writing her journal when a large English family arrived in a private stage coach. They were ½ an hour before they condescended to come in, gentleman & courier inspecting apartments. Then they came, the lady went straight to her room, but some other person & the gentleman looking into the sitting room & seeing Fanny & Annie, turned indignantly to the waiter & exclaimed that it wd not do in bad French. Fanny not at the moment considering the vulgar rudeness said they were immediately going to bed, to which the French maid imperiously replied “Comment”. The waiter pacified the people who were literally packing off again at 10 o’clock at night, with 3 sleepy children, rather than enter a room with 2 young ladies, who wd not have been there had they known it was a room where other persons wd enter by themselves. How I sd much like to know like to know who these people are & what they think of themselves. What religion they are of etc, Christians no doubt & worthy followers of the author of that religion. Why do people act thus who have read the history of our Saviour & call themselves his disciples. How wd they behave to him if he was now on earth? What wd they think of the carpenter’s son, sitting & eating with publicans & sinners. Assuredly one need not wonder at the treatment he experienced when we see the pride, the presumption, the haughtiness of man. Oh let me & all whom I love be thought meanly of, considered poor & low & vile, only let us be humble & modest & lowly in our own eyes. Good God to call ourselves Christians & to be proud to disdain even our equals because unknown to us & yet to think what the Son of God became for us, what he did for us, what he suffered for us, what he taught us. What must he think of such conduct after setting us such an example. Let us hourly pray for a humble spirit, for none other can enter the kingdom of him who became poor for our sakes. In my opinion no doctrine of our sublime religion is more splendid or more neglected than this & the more civilized the nation is, the more frequent is the breach of it.
[CONTINUED IN JOURNAL FOUR PART 2 – Turtmann 1st June 1848]
Travel Journal 4 Part 2: Turtmann, Switzerland 1st June 1848 – 31st December 1848 Heidelberg, Germany
8 in group, Martha and 6 children, Emily, Fanny, Annie, Clara, Laura, Robert (age 8/9), Miss Aurélie Hubert de Fonteny 1813-1907 (French companion/governess). François Croissier took them to Lausanne, rejoined them at Geneva to take them to Schliengen Transcribed and typed by Madeleine Symes 2017 with her notes in italics & in square brackets, mostly capitals removed, places/people/things of interest in bold. Martha’s spelling, some names have various spellings. Pencil marks, underlining and lines down sides of pages on original journal.
June 1st
Started at ½ past 5 and came through a beautiful valley beside the swiftly flowing Rhone in lovely weather, past Leuk to the right. The situation of Sion with its 2 castles is splendid & but for the clouds hanging about the higher peaks, we sd see Mt Blanc at the extremity of the valley. We have lunch in the public room but were up in our corner, cutlets, steaks, eggs, potatoes, sorrel, cheese, fried something, cherries, cakes. Not very good. They are all gone to see the castles & cathedral. Our magnificent fellow travellers have stopped to change horses, even the French waiting woman has not once turned her head during the quarter of an hour they have had to wait for horses & as to the lady, she has had the carriage blind up for fear any one sd see her. The gentleman in a large Leghorn hat keeps guard at the other window for fear any vulgar eye sd gaze upon her, whilst the people of the town stand in silent wonderment at this ostentatious desplay of superiority. I wonder who the worms will have most respect for when all are in the grave at the longest in a few years all will be there! or in the next world, will our Saviour make a place in heaven to keep the poor from looking at the rich & to whom will he assign the place of honour! The little lively round faced red haired common looking children I cd see were kept in check by the maid & only looked as if by stealth at the town, the Inn & the people. Well, let us hope their parents were as early impressed with evil & then perhaps they will not be so blameable. We had a long drive to Martigny. The poor horses are sadly tired altho’ they look sleek & well & are throughly taken care of. François says 8 years finishes them for this sort of work. He means to keep Lisette to do this summer’s work & then sell her to a farmer. He has driven her for 7 years. The weather is cold & cloudy, the wind barely keeps off the rain. The country before Martigny is an unhealthy sandy swamp but near the town it is cultivated & shaded by the close high mountains from the winds. Martigny tho’ a small town contains many large hotels, a large shop for wooden wares & another for minerals. Owing to the disturbances all is dull & empty, no travellers, one only carriage besides our own in the town tho’ it is the regular post for the Simplon & Chamonni. I have not yet decided whether or not I shall go there. Walked & spent money. Dined, soup, fish, cutlets, potatoes, veal, sorrel, apple marmalade, cherries, apples, figs, cakes etc.
2nd A great discussion about going to Chamonni. Weather not rainy but cloudy, windy & cold. Finding that after calculating every thing the expense will be the same I have resolved on going on to the Lake Leman, round by Chillon, Vevay & Lausanne. Started at ½ past 6 & before reaching Bex our luncheon place, left Valais for Vaud. Hat changed to straw in this shape [small drawing]. Girl scrubbing room has 3 large tubs of water. The first full of soap suds, which she throws on the floor with a jug, then scrubs with a long brush. In the next tub is a large rough cloth which she wrings, puts over the brush & wipes off the soap suds with. I did not see how she used the third tub of clean water but she had a large dry coarse cloth to dry the boards with. This is a less laborious & cleaner way than ours in England. Lunch, cutlets, potatoes, ham, roast veal, apple marmalade, cakes, cherries, cheese. This is a Protestant canton. The church was being swept & consequently open. It is plain even to meaness. I like the Catholic ones best & only wish to God the superstitions cd be got rid of & all cd join the same establishment. I see no sense in endeavouring to make a building coarse & ugly & plain because it is appropriated to the service of the creator. I much admire the feelings which dictates the exercising all ones energy & devoted ones money to build a fine church instead of fine houses & palaces to indulge ones own luxury. Started from Bex at 1 & drove through the valley untill we arrived at the head of the Lake of Geneva. The weather is not favourable but yet I can see enough to convince me that this is indeed the finest lake almost we have seen, so spacious, so much less like a river. Our first point of attraction was the little island with its three graceful trees described by Byron & then the Castle of Chillon itself. An old soldier stands at the draw bridge, a woman drest in a straw hat & rather Swiss costume shews one over this interesting old place. We first descended to the dungeons & then saw the melancholly prisons so often described. There is the niche where stood an image of the Virgin to whom the wretched prisoner repeated his last prayer & immediately in front is still to be seen the beam to which he was hung & under the image the door through which his body was thrown into the lake. All this took place at the foot of a flight of stairs leading from the judgement hall. There is a part of the rock on which the castle is built, worn away or sloped for the purpose, on which the miserable tortured wretched victims were laid to die. Then the dungeons with the 7 pillars, the rings still there by which the prisoners were fastened to the pillar & the old pavement worn by the chains & feet of the sufferer. Above these dungeons lived the Duke of Savoy in stately apartments, where the huge chimney places show that he attended to his own bodily comforts, whilst beneath him were his fellow creatures lingering out their lives in darkness, solitude, cold & every sort of horror, perhaps less to be pitied than their tyrant, for he appears to have been in constant dread of his life. Ring holes are still seen in the walls for bars with which he secured his doors & behind the painted walls are vacant spaces for his treasures. The apartments on the ground floor are now filled with arms & artillery. There are 2 soldiers prisoners in the castle but rather differently off from the ones in older days. The woman told us that their rooms are so comfortable she cd let them over & over again to travellers for the summer. I saw one man at the window. The woman who seems a sort of character shewed us a hole at the entrance to which is a niche where there used to be an image to the Virgin, here prisoners were taken & told they were to thank her for that they were to be pardoned. They were then told to go down the hole by a staircase but alas! only 3 steps were there, the fourth led them into eternity. They fell into a pit 40 feet deep. Our guide had been down & found it full of human bones. A still worse pit opened from this, where the victims fell through a trap door on spikes & knives which cut them to pieces. The woman told us she intended to have it opened & to go down & see what was there, this is 50 feet lower than the other, horrible! After leaving Chillon, we drove by the lake through pretty villages & gardens for 6 miles to Vevay a pretty, neat & apparently good town, but as I am very tired I have not gone out. Emily & Aurélie are gone to see for houses. We are at a very fine hotel, our admired friends from Simplon memory arrived just before us. The views across the lake are splendid & even in this cloudy evening the water is a bright green. Our house hunters had not any great success. They cd only go to see the apartments in the town which of course I do not intend to take. It poured with rain & I cd only hear of houses ½ an hour, an hour or 2 hours from the town, this distance wd not do on account of church & masters so I gave it up. Vevay however must be a delightful little place, so clean & quiet & the country so countrified & lovely. I do not know how François can pay for the luxuries here, such attendance, such rooms, such dinner, so much show & parade, I detest it with all my heart. For dinner we were shewn into a private room, two lamps on the table, 2 silver dishes with boiling water & the dinner laid at once. Soup, fish, roast mutton, rice surtout, jelly & meat in a shape, chamois ragout, young carrots, potatoes, an excellent green gooseberry tart. Spoke to François after dinner, he is in an agony at the expected expense & strongly advises us to go on to Geneva where he declares houses are cheaper & prettier. I think I shall go, because I see no chance of finding out the best.
3rd Start at ½ past 7. Violent rain the whole way, the views must be most splendid tho’ the actual road is not very pretty owing to the low vines which are here only allowed to grow about 2 or 3 feet high, up sticks, which look very formal. There are numbers of pretty villages all along the lake & loads of yellow, white, pink, red & damask roses. The white & rose accacias are also splendid as well as the walnut trees. We arrived at Lausanne & stopped at the Hotel Gibbon (formerly his house & garden) at about 11. In every room is a bible & prints of Jerusalem etc. Strange in the Hotel Gibbon! Aurélie, Emily & Fanny started as soon as we had lunched in a Car to see for houses. Our lunch consisted of fish, cutlets, mashed potatoes, omelette, strawberries, cakes (I am so tired of repeating dinners & lunches). In the mean while Annie, Clara, Laura & I had the pleasure of getting a washerwoman, who looks clean, civil & clever. She has promised us a change for tomorrow morning. She lets out linen to those who hire a campagne here. After settling this I went to bed, being poorly & having rheumatism. They were out 5 hours & came in with lots of news about houses. There are numbers to let excessively cheap, only one family (a French one) having taken a house this season. 300 francs a month is for the grandees. We can be beautifully accommodated for 135 francs a month or 6 napoleons or 33 francs a week. I believe a little less than this. Bread, servants, firing, meat all cheap. A gentleman has been twice about one called Prairie. A widow is very anxious to let us one called La Caroline & there is one large old one nearer the lake, these are the most likely to suit. I shall go & look at the situations tomorrow & on Monday at the interiors. They sent me up my dinner. François paid but he demanded 5 francs a day bonne main! I have sent him 3 napoleons & am disgusted with him for undeceiving me just as I had found so good an opinion of him.
4th Fine morning, cd not get up early on account of our clean clothes not coming till 8 o’clock. Breakfast ½ past 9, beautiful honey in the comb. It is a land of milk & honey certainly & the scenery enchanting. Mont Blanc is never seen from here more than 4 or 5 times in a year. They are all gone to church, really church, a pretty neat little building with a spire situated very near the village church. They are Calvinists here. There is a regular English minister resident at Lausanne. Strange difference between Catholics & Protestants. No longer open churches. One service once a week instead of the constant services we have lately seen & admired & yet the people here seem quite honest & orderly. It is not for a weak simple creature like me to judge which is best. God will judge the tree by its fruit. They find the church very quiet & with good singing. The clergy man is an old man & difficult to be heard, this I am sorry for, as my hearing gets much more indistinct & it is a great privation to me not to hear the sermon. Before dinner we walked to La Caroline & La Prairie. The former I think is every thing I wish, a convenient pretty clean cottage with splendid views, fields, gardens, lots of hay, lots of poultry. I feel much disposed to take it tomorrow morning without farther trouble & yet it appears to me that on this side of the village the view of the valley of the Rhone must be finer. We shall see. For once we dined at the table d’hôte as there were only 4 other persons there. Every thing was perfectly quiet, all was soon over & no one took the smallest notice of us. Soup, fish, roast mutton, larded ditto, boiled chickens, potatoes, carrots, greens, roast ducks, roast chickens, peas, salads, pudding, apples stewed, cakes, strawberries, cherries, the cooking very good but very little of each dish.
5 Directly after breakfast a vast succession of employments began. Washerwoman first arranged. Then Aurélie & Fanny went into the town shopping & looking for masters, Emily & I padding through fields to look at houses. Fixed upon the Caroline & partly looked over inventory, here they put down every article of furniture. Obliged to return to table d’hôte at 1. Up to our ankles in mud, found the others had returned about ½ an hour. 4 other English ladies at table d’hôte. Not very famous dinner. Hired cook, cd not get girl. Came to “La Caroline” & took up our abode. Cook came “Fanchetta Blauen”. Partly finished inventory, had tea, went to bed, asthma & rheumatism!
6 Being tired with my asthma I did not get up for breakfast. Past all the day in putting to rights, clearing, signing agreement etc. Our landlady’s niece is come to be our housemaid. The cook’s wages are 30 francs French per month, providing herself with coffee, sugar & wine. Housemaid 15 notwithstanding those articles. House & linen 190 French francs one month & if I stay longer 150. 2 hours music lesson 7 francs, ditto German 5 francs.
7 In the morning finished inventory with Madame Grand & afterwards occupied myself the whole day in looking over & repacking all the purchases I have made during my journeys, it is very difficult to keep them all safe. Nothing has been broken during our last month’s travelling, but several frocks are cut with their own buttons. No tidings of piano. Very little hope of German books or master. They are gone in to Lausanne, Aurélie & Emily to rout out the people, who seem slow & stupid, I am less pleased with this situation than with any I have yet had. Tho’ very lovely, yet we have seen so much lovelier places, that that alone wd not be an inducement. Master & books are not good or plentiful, things not over wonderfully cheap & altogether it does not seem as if I was doing any good here.
8 Two of them went to Lausanne & did not return till 1 or 2 o’clock. Our boxes of books will not arrive till nearly a month. The German master will not do. The piano is not even finished. No books to be hired excepting French. No painting master worth learning of. In fact nothing to be had, strange to say there is not a single subject even for sketching. I cd scarcely have made a worse selection for a place of residence than Lausanne. Yesterday morning as Aurélie was pinning dear Robert’s collar she observed a rash upon his throat. I instantly put him to bed thinking it measles. It got redder towards night, the cook’s old sister said it was measles & advised me to give him a little weak hot wine & water to throw it out, no fever, quite well. Today the throat is not so red but his right arm is covered, it is a raised rash & in my opinion is Scarletina, but as the dear fellow seems quite well, I have not sent for a Dr or taken any other measures than bed & broth. Rain, rain etc dripping leaves!
9 A much more flourishing day, Robert’s rash gone. The sun shining, lake looking lovely, mountains clear. A young German lady, really genteel called with a gentleman with whom she is staying. I do not think she will do, because she talks of fatigue, time etc but still she will come if we determine on her, for 2 or 3 hours every morning for 2 francs. After lunch the two envoys set off again on a search in Lausanne & tho’ they kept the dinner waiting an hour I forgave them in consideration of their bringing better news. In the first place there is a good German master who will come for 2 hours for 5 francs. A German minister has recommended a treasure, a young German lady, whose sister teaches at a school here, offered this minister to teach his family German for her board & lodging. He did not require it, she is now in Vevay & we have written to her to propose her coming to us. Madame Grand has sent us a lot of English & Italian books. Clara & Laura are in raptures with the History of England & Robert also with that & the History of Rome etc. The servants are getting into an excellent train. The cook sends us capital dinners, the meat is excellent. The washerwoman has sent home 21 collars & a muslin frock beautifully got up. They have found some good drawing paper & darning cotton! We have had a most brilliant sun set, the lovely purple & violet tints on the mountains. What an accumulation of good things we have had today!!!!!!!!
10 Cheered by Madame Grand sending us up several Italian books. We are endeavouring in every way not to lose time.
11 Church & sacrament. Madame Grand lent us Sunday books. François called, he is on his way from Geneva to Basle with some English ladies. He says the trunks ought to arrive this week.
12 Worry with bills & inventory & washing. The bills do not promise any thing cheap. The cook is wild & both seem desirous of having as much as possible. We 8 drink 6 bottles of wine. Marie alone 3! This is pretty well in proportion. Heavy overcast weather. I feel unsettled here, it is not a place I like & there are no advantages either of climate, cheapness or education to compensate. The great vexation of living always in a furnished house makes me wish now to be in England. I doubt my courage even if it was quiet to go to Germany & I also dread encountering the expenses & trouble of returning to England. How many things there are to be considered in my choice of a residence & yet how foolish it is to lay plans & to fret about the future. Why not leave all entirely in the hand of God.
13 I cannot say things brighten at all here. The lady from Vevay is engaged, but we have heard of others. Great dissatisfaction about my bills, it is provoking to have settled in a place we do not like & then not be able to economise in it.
14 In the evening the German girl from a good school came & almost settled to come on condition of my paying her washing & Aurélie teaching her French. I wish it, but am afraid of responsibility, illness etc.
15th Plan given up on account of the difficulty of not knowing what to do with the young lady when we go to Chamonni. Fanchetta who took the note says she expressed a wish to go with us, no doubt had she come, she wd have considered it a hardship not to be taken. No one in this world thinks of the circumstances of a stranger & on the Continent, to be English, is quite sufficient to raise one to the very unenviable state of being expected to do every thing. If you are English you are rich, you are extravagant, you are to be cheated & every thing to be squeezed out of you without mercy. The foreigners with whom you have to deal with actually live by getting as much out of you as they can in every way. Their eyes grow sharp & keen as they look at you & they bear a strong resemblance to a cat when first she smells a mouse. All this diminishes greatly the pleasure & the profit of travelling on the Continent & I think it will do some good if English people are prevented from flocking in such tribes to these places. As it is, it is perfect Cockney, tho’ more I believe a place of fashionable resort for French than English. This year there are neither one or the other, but the people keep up their hopes & pretensions all the same. It is so detestable to see the half genteel provincial manners & language. There is nothing pure or characteristic, nothing picturesque. The people are stupid & grasping. They are ugly, their faces being without intelligence, their manners without ease or grace, their dress without taste, their language a sort of drawl. Altogether they are neither French, Swiss, English or Italian but a mongrel breed between all.
16th Today they took their first lesson of the music master, who being very strict may do them a great deal of good. I have just written to the Caffary’s, it was a difficult & unpleasant task. Had I thought better of Mr C I cd have said a great deal more on the subject. The German came in the afternoon. I hope they will get on a little with her. If I can only mange Chamonni & Germany in the next quarter & all remains quiet I shall be very pleased.
· Mr C - Patrick John Caffary, widower, former business partner of Robert Grant Shaw. His children Caroline Caffary (b1823), John Charles (b1825) & Iphigenia/Effigenia (b1826).
17 Began the regular routine, all being now arranged, which cd not be done untill the German lady was settled. The piano occupied a great deal of time, it came on Wednesday. Our time is to commence on Thursday when he brought the desk.
18 Church. What a pity it is that any thing should ever be done in church to excite a smile. Really it almost is enough to make one laugh to see the little tin box on the end of a long stick carried round by a man during the singing of the second psalm for contributions. To make matters worse I dropped the 5 franc piece I had ready to put in, it rolled on the bench in front, the man picked it up & then came close in front of me to put it in to show me that he was honest. The opening in the box was filled up with little copper pieces, which he had to shake down to make room for the 5 francs to enter. All this made rather a noise & I am afraid caused considerable mirth, for I saw 2 young ladies unable to maintain their gravity, even after the sermon commenced.
19 Robert went to Lausanne, no letters, sorely tempted to stop & see soldiers fire, came home in an agitation about it. My 2 trunks arrived at last from Rome, they cost every thing included 93 francs. François called again on his return to Geneva.
20 The weather still continues chilly to us tho’ I must own the ther is always 68 or 70 in my room but where is the sun, where is the blue sky. Mountains (when visible), water, clouds, all the same dull uninteresting colour, so dull that even I feel it a punishment to rise early. Instead of walking to the end of the arcades looking down into the clear soft sea & longing to bathe in its cool water, I sit wrapped in a shawl, windows shut, shivering & longing for breakfast to warm me.
21 Weather a little better, water of the lake doing its best to find a little loop hole in the clouds through which it may see & reflect the blue sky. Some hay in an adjoining campagne has been spread & wetted, spread & wetted alternately for many days. Mountain strawberries are not even now in. No one interests themselves about politics or any thing but doing crochet, in fact Lausanne is a regularly slow place. We asked the German mistress whether they were much interested here about the French politics to which she quietly answered No. How strange that in India even, revolutions sd arise on the news of the French Republic & yet here close adjoining & where every interest is concerned, it sd be treated with inattention. This is not the case of course really, but the answer shows the stupidity & every one you speak to is the same. The clerk arrived today with a subscription book for the church. I gave 20 francs, having given 5 on the Sundays. Only 2 old ladies have taken a house here this summer. I never wd again tho’ now they are going on with German & music I feel less fidgetty. The painting & drawing I greatly regret.
22 The weather improves. It amuses me to see the servants at the first glimpse of sun shine run to close all the outside shutters to prevent a ray coming in to warm one, even the outer door of the garden door is shut, putting the house & passages all in darkness. If I wd allow it, we sd live in the dark for the pretty little light green outside shutters wd always be closed. As it is, they will hardly open for the creepers of all sorts which grow up the house & cover it on all sides, absolutely growing into the windows. It is strange that in so poor a climate compared with Italy people sd surround their houses with trees & shrubs & take every precaution against the heat which never comes. I remember in England I used to do so also, trying to train the slow growing creepers over the windows if possible. Here at any event they are not slow growing, every thing is most luxuriant & a full month earlier than England. The wheat is full & ready to ripen. I am sorry to say Aurélie is in bed with migraine & toothache. I received a long letter from Jane last night. Amelia [Perkins] also to Emily. The lamentable conduct of Mr C forms one subject, melancholly enough it is. God forgive him & change his heart. His want of affection for his children I own surprises me & lowers him more in my estimation than any other part of his conduct. A parent who can desert & neglect his children in order to pursue a vicious life is as far as human knowledge goes, a complete reprobate, unworthy the name of a Christian or a man, deliberately to go & establish himself apart from them no doubt to enter into domestic interests & concerns from which they are excluded. It is too horrible to think of, into what a depth of sin has he fallen!
23 Weather today fine, but rain is prognosticated by the German mistress owing to certain appearances on the lake.
24 The pain in my thumb which I have felt ever since the day I crossed the Alps & which I attributed to a strain from holding so tightly is now so bad I am at last unable to use it. Fortunately it is my left hand, so that I can still write but my work is a sad trouble & loss to me. Today I intended to mend the 2 muslin frocks & finish Emily’s purse, instead of which I have my hand in a sling & cannot even dress myself. Obliged to go to Laura to have my things done. Rain, rain, the prognostication came true. I have written to Jane but it is very unpleasant to write on subjects of such an aweful kind as this desertion of Mr C’s. Today is his birth day, it wd seem better that he had never been born. Midsummer day.
25th Church. Thumb still bad, used the oil. Aurélie in bed with migraine or toothache. I do not know which to call it.
26 Up before 5 & did music with C & L but on attempting work, find it hurts my thumb too much. How very unpleasant to be kept idle & I have so many things to do. Walked to Lausanne with Emily, Annie & Robert. I had never before seen it excepting in pouring rain. It is a fine & picturesque town with a splendid view over the lake & mountains, with all the little snug campagnes embedded in trees for the foreground. The streets are all up & down, exceedingly steep & none level, but some are wide & there are good shops of all kinds. How I miss the picturesque dresses & loads of fruit & vegetables of Italy. We get plenty of the latter & not dear, but so few in the streets! In Italy the enormous piles, the rich colours, the variety & abundance look so luxuriant, so much as if it was a favored land, a land flowing with milk & honey with wine & oil & with every thing rich, wholesome & nourishing, so fitted too to the genial warmth, so cool, so fresh! I shall never again see any thing I admire in comparison with Italy.
27 Letter yesterday from M. LaChevardiere in despair about France, he seemed to think it in the most alarming state. His advice to us is to go to Munich & see what is to be seen, then proceed to Heidelberg which he says is the only quiet place. In April & May he talks of Belgium, the Rhine & returning to Vienna if then quiet, but not a word about going to Paris. I fear indeed our visit there is very uncertain. Bought Robert Bertini’s Methode, it seems excellent for a beginner & the arrangement of scales & cords will be very useful to Fanny, Clara & Laura. My thumb continues very bad.
28 Worked all the morning but now obliged to put on a poultice & kept my whole arm still. It is really very tiresome & according to one’s usual personality, I feel no inclination to walk now that I have so much time.
29 Thumb still bad. When sitting down to dinner the German mistress very quietly said “They have been fighting in Paris”. This excited us all very much & immediately after dinner I set off for Lausanne with Clara, Laura & Robert. We found 2 letters, one from M. LaChevardiere & the other from Mademoiselle Pelagie for Aurélie. I concluded of course that there was something very wrong & on going to the library found there had been a most aweful insurrection of the ouvriers in Paris, attended by (they say) 10 000 dead & 14 000 wounded. This last 5 days from 22nd to 27th & is now quelled by the bravery of the National Guards but alas! how soon may it be renewed. Imagine the stupidity of the people here who of course have known from day to day the progress of this bloody & cruel insurrection & never told us a word & our German lady wholly unmoved! We hurried home to hear the letters read. M. LaChevardiere says all his presentiments are verified & the most aweful bloodshed has taken place. Mlle Pelagie is in Paris having stopped for the sake of some lessons. Madame de Segur is in the country & so are M. & Mme. Odiot, Madame Hubert & Mademoiselle Elisa. Mlle Pelagie when she heard of the first outbreak was rejoicing because M. de Segur had gone to see his family in the country but as she says “ill news fly apace”. He heard of it immediately, walked back to Paris in the night 36 miles! and was there by 4 in the morning. At 5 he went out in his uniform to his battalion & has been amongst the first ever since, as also M. Ernest Odiot. The massacre is represented as aweful, the barbarity unequalled & the destruction extensive. Paris is declared in a state of siege. The ministers have all resigned & General Cavaignac has the sole command. The barricades are all carried & at present Paris is quiet & the National Guard victorious, but will it end here. Will this wild ferocious & infuriated mob cool down without farther bloodshed? As far as I can see all has arisen from the false promises made to these ouvriers, which every one knew cd not be realized & every person of common sense foresaw. What wd be the consequence of their eyes being opened to the truth. They say now in bitter irony, Fraternity in misery, Equality in [blank], Liberty to die of hunger. Mlle Pelagie says that to go from one street to another it is necessary to have an escort & an order with the name & number of the street from which & to which you go. The gates & doors are all shut & only opened to allow persons to go out to obtain the absolute necessaries of life. Streets filled with soldiers, dead & wounded being carried past & a constant roar of cannon. She had just seen a wounded National Guard carried past, to whom every one raised his hat & he poor creature had just strength to move his hand in acknowledgement. A great friend of M. LaChevardiere is arrested & not even allowed to see his wife. His politics are the same as our friend’s! I hope he will not get himself into a scrape. Great barbarities are recorded of women as well as men. For the honour of human nature & the age we live in I hope these accounts are much exaggerated.
30th After breakfast went in again to Lausanne, the librarian having sent us back the same paper we had yesterday! Nothing farther has taken place & there are no letters. Emily & Aurélie are gone again this afternoon but the only fresh news is that General Cavaignac after having honourably resigned his power on the restoration of peace in Paris, has been unanimously elected President of the Council & requested to choose his ministers, so now we shall see whether he is sufficiently a man of character to maintain this elevated station & restore order to his wretched country. He appears to have acted promptly & judiciously during the insurrection.
1st July A tremendous storm of wind, rain, thunder & lightning all night & today it is raining heavily. The fine heavy crops of wheat opposite our windows are lying flat on the ground. I lament to see it but all is for the best & in this way we must reconcile all things. Very cold cheerless day, church, questions well answered.
3rd Robert dear child is so good just now, I am quite happy to see it. He wears his white cockade this week, an emblem of “perfectly good”. Paid all the allowances, calculate that I shall enough money this quarter for Chamonni & Heidelberg.
4 Began to work a little again. My sprained thumb has been very bad for some time but I have strapped it & it is better. I can use the other fingers of that hand now.
5 Very warm. Paid Madame Grand 190 francs for a month’s rent, Fanchette 30 francs for a month’s cooking. Went to Lausanne with Fanny, Annie & Robert, shopping.
6 Very warm. Ther in sun 114, in shade 85, in room 84. All but Annie & I are gone to see the Swiss shooting, an annual fête peculiar to this country. We hear a good deal & see something of Swiss drunkenness, strange that in Italy I never saw a drunken person.
7 Very hot. It is so different here & in Italy. All the nest of these little rooms wd go into one of those at Rome, Sorrento etc consequently the heat is much more felt. Low ceilings & walls six inches thick instead of 3,4 or 5 feet & where are the arcades? How poorly are the places supplied by the neat little green painted Venitian blinds, which render the rooms dark & close & soon get hot through, whereas the wide high arcade kept off all the suns rays & did away with the necessity of blinds & those when wanted were of reeds, very cool. However it is very wicked & ungrateful to complain, for this little place is most neatly & comfortably filled up & had we not had so much more charming residences we sd have called this a paradise. We had a letter yesterday from Anne Barkley & I wrote to her today, for Mlle Obrecht frightens me by saying there is not an English church either at Manheim or at Heidelberg. What are we to do!
8 Very warm but overcast. Robert is this evening gone off with Marie to the fête as Mlle Obrecht brought word that there were all the colleges of boys shooting. All the rest excepting Emily are gone to Lausanne to see for presents for Robert who is 9 years old next Wednesday. He is a dear boy & most improved in every aspect. He looks so pretty in his black velvet blouse, large straw hat Leghorn I sd say, short white drawers, white socks & his nice bare knees. I have let him adopt this dress during the very hot months.
9 In bed all day owing to being obliged to rest my toe, really it is ludicrous & very vexatious my numerous little ailments. However God be thanked that they are not great ones. My toe, my thumb, a little asthma, a good deal of rheumatism, my feet swelling, generally a little headache, I threaten to keep a little book with a list daily made out, in order that every one may know what to enquire for. Very hot.
10 Music master at 7. I was up at ½ past 4. I almost think it a farce this music master. He gives barely an hour & three quarters & has only just time to play their one or two pages twice over. Today the weather is totally changed & is quite cool & rainy. It was tremendously warm in the night & I had 4 fits of nightmare.
11th Dear Robert’s examination previous to his ninth Birthday. He is greatly improved in reading, writing & arithmetic & he went through an excellent examination in French grammar, did a long dictation without a fault, answered numbers of questions in geography, Roman history, cosmography & astronomy. He looked so intelligent, so pretty, so lively as he answered his questions, but he is not strong. Clara & Laura quite surprised us by their compositions in several different styles. I think hardly any one could write better. A letter from Mlle Jeronyme. Sad account of Paris, so many appear to have betrayed the cause of the Republic.
12 Dear Robert is 9 years today! my youngest! God preserve him. He is as much improved as we cd wish & displays good feeling & good principle, as well as excellent abilities. Thank God!! He has just received his presents. Aurélie had decked his bed with flags, mottoes, flowers so he was greeted with the sight of them as soon as he awoke. She also gave him a pretty cornelian seal from Rome & a steel buttoner besides deceiving him with 2 or 3 parcels containing 2 or 3 pins, nails etc for which he thanked & kissed her & entered into the joke. Emily made him a pretty green silk purse. I tell them it is what they will have to do for him untill he gets a wife, purses, sowing on buttons, mending gloves etc are all sister’s work. She also gave him a paint box. Fanny a pretty little silver pencil case & box of leads. Annie 2 books & a knife, charming! He screamed with joy on seeing one book entitled History of the Crusades, but because the other has only the title of a story he said nothing, it is however historical. Clara gave him a book for drawing in & a ball. Laura a new sort of slate & pencil. I packed a box with soap, scent, oil for his hair, scent bags, sealing wax, pens & an onyx pen holder from Rome.
13 Cold morning. Feet perishing the first time I think for 2 years. M. LaChevardiere sent newspaper. Prussia in movement.
14 Dull morning, we have rain every day more or less & seldom see the tops of the mountains. Consulted Dr Mattais about the general health of my dear children, it is not pleasant, but yet I trust with time & care they may become strong. Sea side, a warm day, air, nourishing food, exercise to keep the blood freely circulating are the remedies necessary. Ischia wd have combined every thing for us all. There there are sulphurious springs for baths in abundance.
15th For a wonder we have a splendid morning but alas! such a sight here is only calculated to make one pine after more frequent enjoyment of it. Half a day of delicious air & view only tantalizes one. I really do not think any one prizes fine climate so much as I do. I cannot describe the effect it has on my feelings to see the lovely earth spread out so softly for me to admire, to smell the delicious odour of the country & to feel the balmy sun & air. Some of them went to Lausanne this afternoon in hopes of letters in reply to our questions concerning Germany, none however are arrived. A Paris paper sent I suppose by M. LaChevardiere does not contain by any means good accounts. They speak of threats to burn & assassinate, that the late insurrection though suppressed is not subdued, that things are only yet beginning, the funds are down & no confidence progressing. Germany too seems in a very agitated state. I do not know where we shall go. War & dissention seem threatening every where. Yesterday the insurgents in Paris threatened to rise again, in commemoration of the taking of the Bastile! We shall be anxious for the paper tomorrow.
16 I have a bad head ache & cd not walk to church. Fanny & Clara went after breakfast to the Lutheran service in one church & now they are all gone to our own beautiful & best of services, which like every other thing framed by human beings has some faults, hardly the services themselves for they seem to me to be perfect, but their infrequency & too great length altogether. I think there cannot be a doubt but what it wd be right to have our churches open as the Roman Catholic ones are & our different services performed at different times not all together. For instance the communion service is complete in itself & to hundreds like me wd be far more edifying if performed alone as at Rome. For when it follows the whole of our morning service, it is so long that the fear of not being able to stay, preoccupies ones enjoyment & improvement of the whole. I hope wherever we settle in England we may have the service every day as at Cuckfield. I cannot endure to see our church doors closed excepting for the two services on Sunday. The Roman Catholic religion does not produce virtuous effects because of its odious & monstrous abuses & superstitions, but the main plan is & must be right. Religion ought to be the main object of life. The cathedral ought to be the centre, the object of attraction, of veneration, of admiration, in every town. It is beautiful to see the care, the money, the art, the attention of the citizens so liberally bestowed to ornament & shew honour to the house of God. It is a pleasure, it is what ought to be to see the numerous churches all kept with sacred care, all open & worshippers always in them. It is a thing I always feel that the Roman Catholics are so highly privileged in, to be able at any time to go in & indulge the devotional feeling which so often inspires us & which it wd be so delightful to gratify. I may be told that one may always find a place to kneel in & that God is every where, but surely in the house consecrated to him, there is a something indescribable but yet irresistible, which fills the heart & seems to render ones church the place of all others the most appropriate & most agreeable to pour out ones hearts in to God. There every thing around is his, dedicated to his service & having immediate reference to immortality. At home we are surrounded by the common objects of every day use, comfort & necessity & delightful & useful & necessary as domestic & private devotion is, yet must I ever think it a privilege of the highest order to be able at any hour of the day to go & kneel in God’s own house, to retire as it were from the world & go into his sanctuary to pray against any sudden temptation to which we are either exposed or have given way, to give thanks for any mercy or rescue from misfortune & to pray for pardon for a transgression as soon as committed. I cannot describe what a relief it was always to me to pass behind the great leather curtain & find myself at once shut out from the busy scene of life, hearing the priest’s voice repeating the litany, seeing my fellow creatures on their knees & feeling myself in the place appointed for God’s worship. Would to God that those churches, those constant services could be throughly purged from their defilements. Would to God that no other name but his were addressed in prayer, no other image set up, no other hope felt but that arising from a knowledge of the sacrifice once made & always open to the penitent sinner. We Protestants profess & rightly profess that we pray to God only & solely through the mediation of Christ & yet any one of us wd blush to be seen kneeling in his house at any other time than during the hours of public worship. The Roman Catholic prays to the Virgin, to the saints etc but is never ashamed to be seen kneeling at any hour or time. High & low they all do the same & yet surely we have less cause for shame for backwardness than they. I should indeed be greatly ashamed to kneel down as they do & pray to mortals like myself but why sd the proudest, the greatest in this world be ashamed to be seen kneeling & praying to one who is so infinitely superior that no sort of comparison can ever be drawn between him & us, one too who is possessed of all power, might, majesty & dominion. Let me hope in charity that our backwardness to shew our desire to pray arises from a feeling of the grandeur of him to whom we are speaking, from our considering it too sacred a service to be performed often or lightly, or when by its publicity our thoughts may be distracted. If these are our reasons, then let us be very very careful when we do pray, do pray reverently, fervently, devoutly. Certainly it cannot take off from the solemnity of church worship, that we do it seldom & only at public appointed seasons. On the contrary this ought to render our service more strictly attended to, more devoutly felt, our eyes, our minds ought to be wholly fixed on God & his service. True I have seen the Catholic’s praying & looking about them all the time but have I never seen Protestants do the same? When others arrive late have I never seen all eyes turn towards them & watch their every movement till they are fairly settled in with the rest of the congregation. Have I never seen eyes & heads in perpetual motion untill the clergyman commences the service & even afterwards tho’ perhaps more quietly do not many persons keep a tolerably sharp look out for fresh arrivals. Well but it is very wrong of people to come in after the service is begun, to walk straight up the middle aisle, to choose the best place they can, if in England to slam their pew door & make as much bustle as possible. All this disturbs devotion, distracts attention, certainly it does so & I sd say that those who do so, do not come to church with any proper feeling of respect, or any sort of probability of worshipping God to their souls’ health, but what do we do to our poor contemned Catholic fellow creatures. We go into their churches, we examine all the fine paintings, monuments, architecture, we stare, we talk, we read Murray & then we criticise the poor people who we found quietly saying their prayers because they look at us. I do not mean to say (far from it) that Roman Catholics are not in the habit by constant repetition of the same prayers repeated over & over again for form sake or I suppose as penance of committing that aweful sin of lip service, but I say that they are more excusable or perhaps I had better say less inexcusable than we are if we do the same or any thing at all like it. I wrote all this during a severe thunder storm which came on just as they were coming out of church. When they came in they all began calling out about the bad behaviour of the people, who (detained by the rain) began in church talking, laughing, running about for umbrellas etc clergyman & all. Fanny who had taken a great liking to a family of young girls, the only genteel people we have seen here, is now glad not to have been acquainted with them, so much disgusted is she with their behaviour. But we must recollect that education & early impressions do a great deal. A place like this where the church is used for other people, only one service etc of course there is much less thought of it than in England. Aurélie & Emily are just gone to Lausanne to await the arrival of the post which may bring us news of fresh horrors committed on Friday 14th that being the day threatened for fire & blood. God avert it. Newspaper all right.
17 Newspapers, all going on right in Paris.
18 No newspaper. Letter from A.E. Barkley as much puzzled as we are as to where we can go. Church at Manheim. Railroad 6d from Heidelberg. We have had 3 very fine hot days.
19 Very warm & very fine. All but Annie, Robert & me gone to meet Mlle Obrecht in Lausanne to walk up the mountains to see Mont Blanc. I think they will be melted. Wrote to Mary Barkley, Anne Barkley, M A Witherby & the hotel keeper at Heidelberg. Hope we shall be able to go to some place in Germany, otherwise we had better return at once to old England. It wd be remarkable in any more clever place that a lady bred & born here as Mlle Obrecht has been, should not know Mont Blanc which she had taken them up to see. Fortunately Aurélie discovered it & afterwards in descending found she was right from a person who was drawing it. It is perfectly white.
20 No newspaper. Rainy afternoon.
21 Wrote to Mr Perkins. Clara, Laura & & Robert took it to the post. Newspaper, sad confusion in the Assembly.
22 Very fine morning. No newspapers, no letters, no news. All negative but still I think we shall miss the comfort of “La Caroline”. We have every convenience of home, great quiet & regularity & when not compared with Sorrento & Meggenhorn, great beauty. The softness of the view towards Geneva is exquisite. The mountains of Savoy in front of us are grand & at sun set this evening they became so suddenly & so very strongly lighted up by the western sky that we all started up in admiration. Some went out to the garden to enjoy the scene more fully, some went to the upstairs windows. It was like magic, those high & distant mountains which a minute before appeared far away, seemed suddenly brought close to us, so that we cd see the trees, cottages & rocks & all of such a brilliant colour as to be dazzling. I have several times noticed the same appearance of their being so suddenly brought near to us. Ther in sun 120, very hot.
23 Sunday. Nature today has on its Sunday attire. It Italy it was always so. It had no working day suit. Even late in December when the heavy rains commenced nothing looked as it does in other countries, dirty, shaby, grey, dingy. There can be nothing unlovely in Italy. I wish I cd do the Italians justice about honesty. Owing to prejudice I once abused & distrusted them as much as I had been told they deserved, but I was a year & 3 quarters in Italy & cannot remember losing a single article. I no sooner arrived in Switzerland than at an Inn at Martigny, Robert’s merino neckerchief was stolen from the bedroom table where it laid when we went down to breakfast & here I have lost several little things, such as dusters, stockings, eau de cologne filled up with water, arquebasade etc.
24 Whatever our opinion of this climate may be, I fear we shall find that of England far inferior. Certainly not 3 weeks ago I sent Robert out to see them plowing up a piece of land from which had just been gathered a crop of [blank] for oil. Yesterday as we went to church I was perfectly astonished to find a forward crop of corn & turnips on it. In a fortnight after cutting, the grass is grown thick & strong again. On Saturday evening the wheat was carried from a piece of ground just opposite our sitting room window. This morning, Monday, I see a man digging it up. I suppose a plough cannot be brought to it, as it is surrounded by other crops. It adjoins Madame Grand’s kitchen garden. There are no divisions between fields here, altho’ there are very neatly cut hedges along the road side, which add to the formal appearance of this country. The grapes are getting very forward, almost large enough to turn. Cherries are over, plums began a week since. Went with Annie & Robert to Lausanne. The shops are very good & all articles of clothing excellent.
25th Cloudy morning but breaking off into a fine day. Very fine afterwards. No newspapers or letter. Usual routine.
26 Splendid morning but feels chilly. Ther at 5, in the morning 58. Rise very early now.
27 Very fine. Emily & Robert went in to Lausanne.
28 Determined on leaving this day week. I am so disgusted with the people. A man in the hay field struck Robert with the hay fork the other evening. I believe really that in any other country a child going into a hay field amongst a parcel of men & women wd be played with instead of struck because he wanted to play. A churlish character is that which feels no delight at the joy of a child’s heart, alas! pleasures are so fleeting in this life that it is cheering to see the overflowings of childish gaiety whilst yet the heart is unseared & it exhibits the last degree of selfishness & moroseness to begrudge the joy of a child. I believe that these people from Madame Grand upwards fret inwardly even to see the child bounding over the fields in the light heartedness of running into God’s air after being at lessons, which also he enjoys whilst at them.
29 Letter from Caroline Caffary. Newspaper, all going on quietly.
30 Church probably the last time at Lausanne. I have much enjoyed being able to sit close to the pulpit & hear some excellent sermons. Today it was on that stupendous instance of the mercy of God & the frailty of man, David’s fall! Dear Robert went to the post after evening prayers. There was a thunder storm coming up & we walked about & waited for him untill he returned. The lightning was flashing & thunder rolling when we walked up the lane to see if he was coming & there behold the little man with a letter from A Barkley & one from M A Witherby, both very good & full of information. Newspaper does not contain much news. A Barkley recommends or rather agrees that Frankfurt wd do for us. Says we must not go to Dresden on account of the cold for winter.
31st My early rising has quite returned. After breakfast went to Lausanne shopping with Annie.
1st August Last German lesson. Letter from Mary Barkley to Emily. No very particular news.
2 Weather is cloudy & unsettled. Not by any means promising for a journey amongst the mountains. Walked for the last time to Lausanne & found out the Bazaar Vaudois, a very good one indeed. Saw for the first time the top of Mt Blanc & the cathedral. In the latter is a tomb of a Henrietta Trevor, daughter of somebody Burton. Whilst I was gone the inventory was looked over very amicably & quickly & very little damage done.
· Gentleman’s Magazine 1833 online. Inscription in north chancel in the memory of: “Henrietta Burton, daughter of John Roper of Berkhamstead, esq. and widow of the Rev. Dr. Daniel Burton, Canon of Christ-church, Oxford. She was born 1720, and died at Lausanne, Sept. 28, 1789. Her daughter Henrietta Trevor, and her son-in-law John Trevor, caused the monument to be erected”.
3 Packing day. That day of struggle of calling, of losing, of hunting, of cramming, of expiring with heat & fatigue. That day when Robert is let loose to take his pleasure any where but near us. That day when Clara & Laura are supposed to have nothing to do, tho’ at the call of every one else. That day when Annie stows away all her treasures into the little black portmanteau. When Fanny arranges all her property on her bed & chairs & finally packs them neatly away. When Emily is seen seated in the middle of the room on the floor surrounded by every description of good & chatels. When Aurélie once more fills the trunk which at Cuckfield we considered enormous but which we now find too small by half & finally when I bustle, scold, drive, insist, praise, blame, encourage, grumble & at last go to bed exhausted with fatigue & horror at the impossibility of making packages hold more than they will. From Geneva arise regular rays of windy rainy clouds. The tops of the mountains are entirely hidden. The lake roars like the sea & is covered with breakers. The wind howls & slams all the doors & the clouds roll & twist down the mountains’ sides.
4 Adieu for ever to La Caroline, Fanchette, Marie & Madame Caroline Grand. How strange! The house is comfortable in every point, as much so as an English home. The country & view are beautiful & luxuriant. There are chickens, cows, pigs, pigeons, hay making, harvesting. I have lived here cheaper than any where else & yet I never left a place so willingly & never found so little congeniality. The people are all comfortable, clean, regular & neat but so precise, so selfish, so unmeaning, so ugly, so unintelligent, they have so little esprit, that really they inspire one only with dislike. After finishing packing (& remember it shall never again be finished on the morning of leaving) we had the old man & cart for the luggage & walked to Ouchy. The lake was splashing & dashing & casting up spray against the shore. We got into a large flat boat & waited for the steamer. It soon came up & we got on board notwithstanding Emily being quite sure we sd first be drowned! We were 4 hours going to Geneva. The shores of the lake get less & less pretty & the lake narrower but Geneva delighted us. François was waiting to receive us & took us to the Hotel de L’Ecu de Geneve close to the landing place. We went out immediately about Annie’s watch & were disappointed at first but afterwards when we saw the best shops, we were really delighted with the beauty of the workmanship. Many shops had hardly any stock of watches & some not any, so bad is the season. At last Annie fixed on a lovely little blue enamelled watch with a rose in diamonds in the centre, a blue enamelled chain seal & key all for 300 fcs. We came in to dinner at 8 very tired.
5th Started with Francois at ½ past 5 for St Martin. Took lunch at [blank] half way & arrived at St Martin at about 2. Certainly so far the scenery is not so fine as in other parts of Switzerland, Mt Blanc covered with clouds tho’ it has been very fine all day. Took 2 Cars from here, they are like sofas put side ways on 4 wheels, very easy, very safe. 2 fine strong horses to each & a regular driver in uniform. All is under the direction of the Government. We find as soon as we enter Savoy that great fear is entertained about the war. No enthusiasm, no tricoloured cockades here. The people were perfectly happy, thriving & contented before & now they are being drained of money & men to obtain northern Italy for the King, who governed them very well without it. They say Charles Albert has asked the French for 60.000 men, as the Austrians have 3 times his number. They seem sadly dispirited about it. The drive from St Martin to Chamonnix first crosses the valley & then mounts the great mountains by safe but very rugged mountain paths, where you wonder how any sort of wheeled vehicle can go. Up & down, through torrents, over stones but the Cars are made for the roads & the horses & drivers so experienced that no danger is incurred, excepting that of the dislocation of bones & violent head aches from the shaking. We arrived at Chamonnix at 7. Aurélie obliged instantly to go to bed with migraine & sickness & Emily going directly after dinner. Clouds about the mountains, only got a glimpse of Mt Blanc but how high! & how white! Comfortable Inn.
6 I was up & out very early, a fine morning. What a splendid glowing sight of this stupendous chain of Mt Blanc! I first went in to the church & then up the mountain behind. When I returned, they were just waking, so I took another walk to the other side. We had a good breakfast, dined at the 1 o’clock table d’hôte consisting of ourselves & no one else & in the evening we walked to the bottom of the Mer de Glace whence issues from an enormous cavern of ice the river Arveiron. It is a wild & romantic scene. Every now & then piece of ice or stones fall from the glacier, these displace others & often cause enormous blocks of ice to be rolled & tossed with noise & uproar down the rushing stream. Quantities of blocks of ice lie in the river, which have fallen from the glacier, the noise they make in falling is prodigious, we heard several. It is very fatiguing to clamber over the beds of broken granite in order to arrive at the spot, the nearest you can approach with safety to the cavern. Many little girls accompanied us, all are very well dressed, none have the least appearance of poverty, capital shoes & stockings, excellent dark woollen gowns & petticoats & all women & girls wearing a black silk cap trimmed with goffred black lace. Numbers of women & young women & girls with their prayer books in their hands driving the cows from the mountains. These pretty animals are so tame. They walk beside one absolutely touching one, they stop when one stops & go on again side by side. In returning we went to a chalet & drank lots of cream, saw the cheese making etc. What a huge chimney! Went to bed as soon as we returned.
7th All but Robert & I started on mules for the Montanvert. We had a breakfast together at a little table, just big enough for 2 & how dear Robert enjoyed it! Strolled into the many cabinets d’histoire naturelle but they are half empty & contain only old dirty shaby things. There are hardly any travellers & they cannot afford to keep a stock. They returned at 11 o’clock from their expedition to the Montanvert, with which they were highly interested & delighted. The path up the mountain was steep & commanding fine views straight down into the valley. When they reached the little habitation placed at the spot where persons dismount, they each on foot scrambled down to the glacier & each having an alpen stock & a guide, they walked if you can call it walking half way across this aweful mass of ice & chasms. Annie appears to have had a narrow escape of tumbling into a chasm. Her alpen stock slipped & she fell. Her guide however held her, tho’ she did not go any farther after her fright. Thank God they all returned in safety, tho’ the same cd not be said of their cloaths which were torn & rent in all directions. They went to see what souvenirs they cd purchase & found a few in the deserted shops. We took an excellent dejeuner à la fourchette & started in our Cars. At Boisson Robert & I were again left. The guides were all in waiting & they started on foot for the Cascade of the Pilgrims & the Glacier of Boisson. We got a little shade & waited two hours for them. A girl brought us some raspberries. We contrived to break her plate. She & all her brothers & sisters sat & admired us for the two hours, as well as occasional visits from the villagers. At last down we saw them run from the glacier into the wood & down the mountain, what a state did they arrive in! each with her guide but the heat, the fatigue! They were however delighted & had found the glacier splendidly pure & grand beyond description, really this expedition was enough to kill them. We proceeded & went to St Gervais, the loveliest spot amongst the mountains, the nook is filled by the bathing establishment which entirely occupies the end of this little romantic valley. We went in to see the baths, dining room & a fine cascade up the mountain straight at the back. There are fifty seven persons there. The waters resemble Harrowgate. We did not get to St Martin till 9 at night. Francois was gone to bed, but soon made his appearance. We had some undrinkable tea & uneatable bread & butter & went to bed in damp sheets. Next morning the same fare.
8th Returned to Geneva. Nearly an accident on the broken bridge which I had been dreading ever since I went over it in going. The second view of Geneva pleased us even more than the first. The streets are wide & handsome, the bridges over the Rhone light & elegant, the shops very handsome, the river splendid rushing through the city with its sparking deep blue clear waters. Finished all our purchases & went half dead to bed.
9 Left at 5 o’clock on our road to Basle. We drove along the lake till lunch time & lunched at Rolle. The environs of Geneva are very pretty & comfortable looking, lovely villas so neat & all surrounded by flowers & lawns. From Rolle we soon left the lake & ascended the outskirts of the Jura where we had fine views over Lausanne & the lake & mountains. Our landlady at La Sara made us laugh with her bustling ways, thinking it a high honour to entertain us & asking how we liked every thing, especially some cutlets reduced literally to cinders.
10 For several hours this morning we had one of the most splendid views imaginable, Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa & all the Bernese Alps. We all recognised the lovely forms of the old friends. Wetterhorn, Wellhorn, Eiger, Monck, Jungfrau etc. We lunched at a little place called Concise, where we found every thing as good & more plentiful than in a first rate hotel. The landlord & his daughter waited on us. We had roast beef, cutlets, 2 chickens, ham, roast veal a large joint, curds & cream, stewed pears, strawberries, nuts, almonds, cakes, all perfect in their way. We proceeded after lunch to Neuchatel, the whole afternoon our route having laid along the borders of this pretty lake. Neuchatel is a fine town, the hotel first rate. We walked up to the cathedral & castle. The town is on the very borders of the lake, with promenades, walks, lawns, benches & gardens all along its edges. Emily & Clara ill all night.
11 Started late on account of the invalids. Road very pretty along the borders of the Lake of Bienne, where we lunched & met with almost the only instance of incivility in the landlord of the Hotel des Jura. From this place we had 2 extra horses to drag us up a steep ascent of the Jura. Lovely view & fine defile, I was frightened & walked with Aurélie. We had a surly boy with the horses who left them to take their own course. We got rid of both at the top & proceeded down the valley for a long way through beautiful scenery. At a little public house we got 2 enormous cart horses & a civil boy with whom we ascended another high mountain. Several of us walked down, as it was very steep. What a curious & splendid view through the Pierre Pertuis. There is a Roman inscription, you drive through an arch in the rock & have a lovely view through it of the valley beyond. Through this valley we drove for some time & at last reached another excellent Inn at Mallaray where we had a good deal of conversation with the owner. His hotel is finished like a handsome private house. He keeps 15 servants & gave us an admirable dinner. In the whole month of June he had but 4 arrivals & not more in July & August as far as it goes, but he is a farmer & employs his servants in his fields when he does not want them for his hotel. He has the people from the Diligence to drive every day, has trout from the Birs always in a tank, has had a fine crop of hay & thus makes two ends meet altho’ he has no travellers & is forced to get meat from Basle!
12 Started at 7 & drove through the exquisite Munster Thall along the clear Birs to Laufen where we have lunched & are waiting to start. I want to remember the curious way of making dunghills, ladders for the building houses, watering & sweeping streets at Neuchatel. Trout every where now, the Innkeepers preserve a quantity in tanks & when they want to dress any, they fish them out poor things with a little hand net. At this place they were kept in a locked up wooden chest in the public fountain. The morning’s drive being very long, we had only 3 hours this afternoon & arrived at Basle at 5. The approach is very good, but you do not see the river untill you get to the hotel & the town is by no means picturesque. We were at the “Couronne”, the cheapest hotel I have ever been at & tho’ not first rate yet very decent. Beds 17 fcs, breakfast or tea 1 fc. Table d’hôte 2½ fcs. In general one may reckon 2 fcs a bed, 1½ breakfast or tea with honey, 3 fcs dinner at 1 & 4 fcs at 5 o’clock. Sitting room 5 or 6 fcs. Servants fees 5 fcs.
13 I was unable to go to church, the rest went twice & also to the cathedral. I took a look at the outside in the evening. It is curious & old, of red stone & coloured roof.
14 Started at 5 for Schliengen to meet the rail road. What a job wheighing the luggage & paying for it & what a fright of having left my desk in the carriage. 4 women got in to go back with François. Aurélie & Emily ran off instantly to go to a little village near where we hoped Francois might rest his horses, half way they met a man racing back with my desk. How it puzzled us to see them turn back & how delighted I was to see my lost treasure in their hand! They pointed out the clergyman who had preached & his wife. They were waiting for the same train. The second class carriages are as good as the English first class, easy spring cushions, drab cloth lining etc. At the first station we stopped at, the clergyman came to our window & asked if my name was Shaw, saying his was Bunch. This led to a chat. He had called at La Caroline after we left. He had been at Chamonnix all Sunday & yet we had not met. At the next station he brought his wife to introduce to us, a little laughing, talking, countrified young woman, shorter than her short husband. We had rather an uninteresting journey & wondered where mountains were to spring from to make Heidelberg pretty. We arrived at the terminus about 5 o’clock. Aurélie & Emily waited to see the luggage taken out, I walked to the town with the rest. We took apartments at the Prinz Carl & after tea Mr & Mrs Bunch came & sat an hour with us. They are in raptures with every thing & are hoping to come abroad again.
15 Emily & I started in a carriage house hunting. In the afternoon the rest joined but we were almost hopeless of finding any thing when Aurélie & Emily discovered good apartments close to the old castle. I went up immediately & took them. They are clean & airy, in a baker’s house in a very picturesque village overlooking Heidelberg. You mount straight out of the very centre of the town, 250 steps up the mountain & there you are. The windows look down into the town & we can see & hear what is going on there almost as if in a balloon. The river, the opposite mountain & the whole valley as far as Manheim & beyond that to the Jura is very splendid.
16 Employed the day untill 4 o’clock in buying Annie a frock, Robert a blouse, piano etc. Came home, hired a cook (Catherina) a civil good tempered sort of person & the people of the house are to do our rooms, wait at table etc. Aurélie went about some commissions & was stopped ascending to us by a very violent thunder. Torrents of rain made the village street a sort of cascade, into which it wd have been dangerous to have been, for being exceedingly steep, the water rushed with perfect fury, bringing with it stones, earth etc. The soil here is a rich red purple. At last we all assembled & had tea, with a piece of beef & potatoes, went to bed strange & exhausted.
17th All day unpacking & trying to establish oneself, enquiring about a German lady, music master etc.
18th The same proceedings as yesterday. More settled, but no farther advanced as to masters.
19th Splendid morning. Not a cloud. Fanny, Laura & Robert went to the castle before breakfast. You can ramble all about the gardens & terraces, all is free to any one who likes to go in. We went also after breakfast. I read & worked whilst they drew. It is the finest ruin of the sort we ever saw of red sand stone, fine architecture, splendid view & situation, lovely gardens & trees, all open. War did all it cd to destroy this fine castle, but lightning was the cause of its total destruction.
20th Went to church, there is only one service. It is a pretty little church. 2 young ladies sang. 2 letters from Mr Perkins & from Jane. Letter of credit. Emily & Aurélie went to meet Mlle Sergere. Found her a nice girl & also Mlle de Grimpere. I hope the one will prove a teacher, the other an acquaintance.
21st Aurélie was in Heidelberg for 7 hours! looking for masters, schools etc. We called on Mlle de Grimpere, she went with us to see for a school for Robert but we cd not get in. Found really a very decent girls school to which I agreed to send Clara & Laura & Aurélie determined also to go for 2 hours. Each are to pay 3 florins a month about 6½ fcs. But a school for Robert is not practicable, such dirt, smell, heat, such shabby boys! I am almost in despair, called on Mlle Sergere, she cannot come at present & she I fear is a failure. There are others in view, but the people here displease me more tho’ in a different way from those at Lausanne. Old man died.
22 Took Clara & Laura to school. Went into the town, got a new butcher, went to the grocer, had bills & lots of fighting with the cook & the people of the house seem to charge very high for every thing & bring in their account in the most confused uncomfortable way. I feel far from settled or well & I dislike this place more than any one I ever was in. Mr Turton the clergyman from Manheim who performs the service here called, lent us Amy Herbert. Mr Zimmern brought Mlle Hanno to speak about giving lessons. Mlle Graemberg called. They went out walking with her. Clara & Laura went to school from 8 to 11 & from 2 to 6. Aurélie also went in the afternoon, but she does not think she did much good, for the girls I think it will succeed well. The Miss Woods sat the evening with us last evening & came in again today. They are genteel women. The youngest they say seems clever & well informed, both seem disposed to be very sociable. We breakfast now at 7 o’clock & when our time is arranged it seems as if we should be very comfortable.
23rd Called on Miss Wood, the youngest draws a very great deal, but how differently from our party! Weather cold & rainy.
24 The most disagreeable day I have past for a long time.
25 Today dear Emily is 22 years old! how time passes & how aweful to see my children getting on so fast. She was delighted with the gold chain I bought her at Geneva. Aurélie gave her a rouge antique obelisk to remind her of that in the Piazza del Popolo. Fanny gave her a cameo brooch. Annie a cornelian & agate bracelet & a penknife. Clara a little basket of scent bottles. Laura a lucifer box & Robert a piece of tricoloured soap & a smelling bottle. The 2 Miss Woods & the 3 Miss de Graembergs drank tea here & we had a very gay evening. Robert not a little pleased to hand cakes etc.
26 Tailor to try on my black silk dress.
27 Church. Warm, cloudy, close weather.
28 Very hot & fine. The thermometer has been at 82 in the north window all the afternoon. Aurélie & I walked down into the town, paid bills & almost annihilated coming back up the 207 steps!
29 Clara’s 16th Birthday. I bought her a pretty little gold watch at Geneva for her Paris prize & a key as her Birthday present. Her delight was so great that she burst out crying. Aurélie gave her a Temple of Vesta in bronze. Emily a band & buckle. Fanny a bunch of watch ornaments. Annie Miss Bremer’s Home & H family. Laura another German book & Robert a little blue vide poche. I gave Laura a band & buckle to match Clara’s. We had the Miss Woods, 3 Mlle de Graembergs, 2 Mlle Sergere, 2 Mlle Faller’s to tea. Our Mlle Faller stayed.
30 Our German governess very shy at breakfast, better towards evening. They all think she will do very well. We have plenty of German conversation & society now. We could not associate in this way with the poor Italians who nevertheless possess some qualities worth imitation. How sad it is to think that they are again obliged to submit themselves to the Austrians. We read in today’s paper that they have packed up the finest paintings in the Brera intending to carry them away. It seems impossible that any one sd so humble themselves as to submit to this!
31st The German governess does not get much more easy, but I hope she will soon, for unless she talks & corrects I do not see the use of having an extra member of the family.
1st September Today she seems worse than ever. Lots of visits & occupations it is a constant succession of things. The Miss Woods asked to pass the evening reading hours with us. They are very sociable & lively.
2 I was not able to leave my bed all day owing to a very severe head ache & my asthma. This last complaint is I am sure sent as a trial to me & I must try not to regret its visitation or look back with sorrow to the climate which freed me from its suffering.
3rd Fine morning. I am so far better as to be able to get up & go to church & receive the most blessed sacrament. In the evening the Miss Woods asked to join our evening service & were present at the reading of the children’s answers, payment of marks etc.
4th The weather much resembles our English September, misty & rather chilly mornings, hot sunny days, cool damp evenings. This in England lasts till after the 14th (Edmonton fair!) & then generally sets in wet for Enfield fair. Mr Turton who paid us a long visit yesterday says he finds this a much finer climate than England & is here for his health!
5th Report of Henri 5 being proclaimed in Paris.
6th Mlle Kempf, Mlle Faller & Baby, the Miss Woods & all our own party made 14 to tea. We had a great deal of music. Mlle Kempf is exactly the person for young people, takes notice of all their proceedings, pays attention to their music, drawings etc. She paid our girls great compliments. They danced afterwards, learnt the Mazurka Polka etc. Our Mlle Faller sings very well & is a great dancer. She is now quite at home, goes drawing with Emily every day at the castle & will I hope be very useful as well as agreeable to them all. Poor Aurélie suffers terribly from the tic twice in the 24 hour’s! It is hot, hindered her lessons till today when she was forced to return from school, but after sleeping she was able to give Robert his lesson & to talk all the evening. They are all delighted with the clergyman who gives lectures on geography at Miss Kempf’s. They all go to hear him twice a week. He is lecturing on the natural phenomena of Italy, Switzerland etc.
7 I went to the school with Annie to hear Laura have her music lesson, the most unpleasant little woman I ever saw who shakes Laura’s hand the whole time she plays, but who will very probably do her much good. They all went in the afternoon to hear the lecture on geography. They go twice a week, it is great advantage.
8 Children at home today, it being the Virgin’s birthday. Mlle Kempf is gone with all her pupils resident to visit the clergyman across the mountains. His daughter never misses coming to school every day by 8 in the morning summer & winter, one hour’s walk across the mountains. Weather continues very fine & very hot.
9 Rather cloudy but very warm. They went yesterday across the river again to draw. Emily took her painting box & began in oils. Fanny, Mlle Faller & Robert went to draw in the ruins. The Miss Woods joined them & they rambled about till nearly seven o’clock. I am wanting to go to market regularly. This is the cheapest place I have ever lived in, but yet I am much cheated owing to not being able to market myself, which every one does. The servants always cheat but will not submit to be told so. For example Emily bought 18 fine plums for a kreutser that is 54 for a penny! but Katerina makes me pay 5 kruetsers for as many as will make a tart. Butter is 17 kreutsers in the market, the Müllers make me pay 24 & Katerina 20. Vegetables etc all the same. With all this my bills have as yet only amounted to 50 fcs including postage of newspapers etc. It is astonishing for a family of 10 persons! What must it be for those who manage their own affairs, which every lady & female does here. Housekeeping is the main object of life. After leaving school at about 16, a girl immediately enters on her education as housekeeper, learns to cook, to wash, to do every thing. The Müller’s girls here are better dressed than my own, hair splendidly clean & neat & in fact they look like very nice young ladies & are very delicate & pretty, yet they are constantly occupied in sweeping, cleaning etc. Just now the younger one is sweeping the whole street in front of the house. Every thing is kept in complete order & you can see them in constant movement with a large bunch of keys in their hand. It certainly is very comfortable, but an education so well begun at school ought not to be so early lost.
10 Church. Very fine weather. Mr Turton had left Gertrude for us with the Luxtons, we took him back Amy Herbert. The Miss Woods walked home with us from church. Last evening after dark we saw a party of National Guards returning down the river in boats from some excursion. One large boat was entirely illuminated to look like a temple & all the boats as they approached at the town let off fire works which had a striking & beautiful effect coming in appearance straight out of the water. The fire of guns, resounding amongst the mountains, added to the effect. The cause of all this I am sorry for. Some triumph of the republican party at Frankfurt.
11 It was a rainy morning, or otherwise I intended to consult a Dr about Robert, who is languid, drooping & out of health, with frequent touches of rheumatism in his hip & leg. I have made him a complete covering of flannel, but the weather being so exceedingly hot, prevents his wearing it all. Today the morning is more chilly.
12 I never go out. The rest are all in a bustle from morning till night & I sit at work & amuse myself. The music master was here 3 hours. Robert in bed. He is quite below par & begins the movement of the muscles of the face.
13 What should we say in England for the baker’s son, the landlord of an hotel at Wiesbaden bringing his wife to call on us, a wedding visit, married last Sunday. His sisters are our housemaids & yet there seems no impropriety in it. They are perfectly well dressed & well behaved & seem to consider it a mark of respect rather than otherwise. He is a very quiet decent young man, she is taller than he is & a good tempered pretty girl. He is the eldest son of the woman, Müller who keeps this house & has been here for a long time since the old man died. He has throughly done up the garden. He has been a waiter at Inns in England & France & speaks the language of each very well. Thursday they say is the day for weddings, but for some reason they were married on Sunday. Friday is unlucky.
14 What a confusion have we been in all day. Aurélie brought me word from school, that the English dentist who comes once a year was arrived & I immediately went down to see if Laura wd be persuaded to have one of those teeth which stick out & disfigure her so much extracted. After much crying she consented & it came out without any trouble. Emily had one stopped & poor Aurélie also, but she has been almost raving with pain ever since. Miss Faller also had one stopped. It is very curious to see the manners of the Germans, so exactly what Miss Bremer represents. A young girl who has been staying at Miss Kempf’s is gone today & all are in tears, such kissing, hugging, patting, stroking, they do really seem very affectionate to each other, but their character is proud & touchy I think. Mlle de Graemberg called. She is a mixture of German & French, rather queer too. We are invited to tea at Miss Kempf’s tomorrow.
15 Took tea at Miss Kempf’s. It is very curious & amusing to see the different habit of different people & countries. The Germans resemble what I sd think the English were in the time of Sir Charles Grandison, the young ladies notable & very submissive to the elder. I seemed to know every person from the excellent description given in Miss Bremer. There was a Madame Schneide & her daughters there, a Miss Leonard upon whom we are going to call, so there are two regular German acquaintances. Emily, Fanny, Clara & Laura were there already having been at the geography lesson. Aurélie, Robert & I went at 7. Annie had got off owing partly to inclination, partly to mistakes. Miss Faller came & another young lady to take off our shawls & shoes. We then went into the drawing room where all the ladies were sitting knitting round the table, the sofa being reserved for me as the stranger. The younger people were all round another table. After being formally introduced I was seated & we talked for a little while. Miss Kempf then took my hand & led me to the next room where two tables were laid for tea. There were table cloths. Miss Kempf poured out tea & past the milk & sugar round. There were black & white bread, German plum cake, another large cake, rusks, grapes, apples, honey (a rarity), butter etc. I had Miss Leonard placed by me because she speaks a little English. All were extremely sociable & seemed to enjoy themselves much, laughing, eating, kissing, holding hands etc. The girls have all the appearance of great innocence from this habit of fondling each other & really they appear very good. Miss Faller & another young lady waited at tea. They regularly had little waiters & took the cups backwards & forwards exactly like servants, the elder ladies receiving their attentions quite as matters of right, but with kind looks, pattings, strokings etc. When every one seemed tired of bread & butter, Miss Faller changed the plates & cakes & fruit were eaten. I had to take every thing. At last the younger party cleared off into the drawing room & Miss Kempf proposed reading aloud. Presently to my horror I heard Clara playing Beethoven’s Sonata, a thing of no execution & which she has not finished. All the pupils were collected to hear her, Miss Kempf having puffed her playing to the whole of Heidelberg. They must have been sadly disappointed. How provoking are children! Miss Schmidt then played & sang, she has a fine tenor voice. After this Fanny played, then Miss Faller sang & immediately all but the elder ones went to the large class room to dance. We all remained & Miss Kempf read some German poetry very finely, I looked at prints. We then went to see the dancing & all joined excepting a few. We returned at ten, much pleased. Our Miss Faller & her sister are the least agreeable of the young people, they have a haughty disagreeable look.
16 Very fine. Paid 2 visits. Very warmly received. We shall see if they are returned. Curious to see Mlle Leonard come up from down stairs & taking the key out of her pocket, let us in to the house, hair in papilottes. Garden goes out of the back windows, 3 stories high, house built in the mountain, very large. Madame Schmidt’s house like an Italian villa. Very pretty nice girls, genteel, pretty & very affectionate.
17 Church. Walked home with the Miss Wood’s. M. & Mlle de Graemberg called. Girls went with Miss Woods to the Protestant German church after dinner. Evening as usual.
18 Letter from Mlle Elisa to announce the total ruin of M. LaChevardiere. After befriending every one, he is friendless, at least no one comes forward to help him. I have written to say I shall be happy to see Madame LaChevardiere & Mlle Lespinasse if they will visit me here or Mlle Elisa. At tea a letter arrived from Anne Barkley to our great surprise & pleasure saying she wishes to come & join us here for the winter. Her present house is up on the 13th October & she seems quite resolved to come here. I think it wd be an excellent plan & shall write to tell her so.
19 All occupied in talking & thinking of Anne’s visit. Wrote to her, hope nothing will prevent her putting her plan in execution. What a day of bustle & excitement was yesterday. Ring lost & found. News of our friend’s ruin, Anne’s arrival. Another letter from Mlle Elisa. No fresh hopes. Wrote again to her.
20 Met Mrs Parish at Miss Wood’s. She is I imagine the No. 1 of Heidelberg. She has a splendid voice & sings like a Professor. It is delightful to hear her but she is not an amiable woman. When Fanny had played a piece of Thalberg’s really very well, she made no remark but to ask who was the composer. Clara played the Andante, Mrs Parish watched her scrupulously & when she had finished she said “She has a good deal of force with her left hand” & then addressing her told her not to play any more Thalbergs but to confine herself wholly to the classic composers & particularly Beethoven. She sang nearly the whole evening & Miss Smith her governess accompanied her. She is a very vulgar violent English woman who pays great court to her employers, dances vehemently, talks loud, laughs & makes herself the first object. The Miss Woods were as nervous as possible at having such a party. Poor Miss Elizabeth played the guitar & sang, sitting behind every one & trembling like a martyr. Mrs Parish fairly laughed the whole time & when finished she took the guitar out of her hand & began to sing herself. How much wd her charming talent be enhanced in value were she humble & considerate to those less highly gifted than herself. Her daughters a little younger than Clara & Laura are exceedingly shy. Altogether I have no pleasing opinion of our new acquaintance, she said she was very happy to make my acquaintance & hoped to see me. I shall not hurry myself.
21st Miss Woods both ill. They expect little Master Parish to tea & have asked us to take him off their hands. He whipped Robert playing at horses so much that he almost cried. Robert came to fetch some more playthings & whilst he was gone, a servant came for the child & fetched him away. I hope this will not cause a coolness, I was expecting him to tea & had prepared for it.
22 Mrs & the Miss Schmidts called. They are very nice people. Their house is much too large for them. They want to let Anne have 2 rooms & us to move to some apartments near them. They have wished to leave Heidelberg since the untimely death of the father but they say Miss Kempf has been so kind & attentive to them that they do not like to leave her. I never knew a woman so generally well spoken of. She has many pupils on charity & she actually loses by her school. Madame Schmidt came up the hill on a donkey. Her husband died last year from an accident. He was ordered to take much exercise & was chopping wood, the hatchet slipped & cut his knee, he died in 4 days!
23 Fine, exquisitely fine weather. 2 German young ladies to tea.
24 Church. The girls went to afternoon service with the Miss Woods at the German Protestant church. Mlle de Graemberg & her sisters called. They all took a quiet walk. The evening as usual, only dear Robert was in bed with his medicine all day. Letter from Miss Elisa. They do not accept my invitation. Very unsettled state is the country in.
25th Sept Miss Faller was obliged to sleep at Miss Kempf’s owing to the number of disorderly persons about the mountain. She returned early. I found chocolate & a particular sort of cake for breakfast. In Germany every one partakes of these on a Birth day & this is my 46th, forty six years have I past in this world, how shall I account for them in the next. God grant me grace to pass the remainder of my existence here better. I was despatched with Robert after breakfast to order cakes for the evening. When I returned, Emily, Aurélie & I went to call on Miss Kempf & the Schmidt’s to ask them for the evening & also on a Mrs Picford about a house she had sent about, tho’ I have no intention of moving. After this we called on Mrs Parish & finding her out, returned in time for dinner. After dinner I was obliged to sit in my room reading Gertrude whilst the finishing touches were put to the drawing room. At length 21 little crackers were let off & the drum beat by Robert & I was conducted into the drawing room which I found really beautifully ornamented with garlands & wreaths of flowers. An enormous garland of oak & ivy leaves intermixed with fine dahlias over each window & in the front one a round one & in the middle an M in moss & everlastings. These were principally the work of the Baby as I call her. She is very good natured & tho’ I pretended not to know it, she was here nearly all Saturday. Our Miss Faller also & her sister helped. They made one of those exquisite little garlands of forget me nots in a plate. My presents were set out on a table under the garlands & consisted of a splendid yellow marble column from Rome, a general contribution. My favourite rouge antique candlestick & jasper smelling bottle from dear Aurélie, an elegant portfolio with a drawing of Heidelberg castle by herself from dear Emily, a general contribution of beautiful flowers in pots & each a sweet little garden pot with a plant in it. Annie dear child gave me the censer I had so much wished for in Rome, Clara a flower vase & each had done me a drawing, not so well as usual but equally dear & treasured by me. Miss Faller was kind enough to give me a very pretty collar & cuff of her own crochet work. I was a long time before I could find out all the dear donors & now I have omitted my nice pretty warm slippers from Aurélie & a pretty little note & wreath in German style. Miss Faller also made me one of these little German identities. Dear little Robert had paid his share towards the column & also gave me a pretty little flower pot. Clara a flower vase. Laura a larger one. They are very pretty & peculiar to this place. We had just ended this pleasant examination & put out cakes when Mrs Parish & her little boy arrived! What for? to apologise for not being at home when I called in the morning. Strange for the lady we thought so stiff. She admired the room & I said had I found her at home in the morning I sd have asked some of her young people to come in the evening. She caught at the idea, accepted the invitation for herself, Miss Smith & all & set off as quickly as possible to fetch them! Leaving the little boy till the evening, Robert being out walking with the Miss Woods, we had to amuse him till he came home & then he went to see Robert dress. He had once more his short pantaloons & looked so very pretty, dear little fellow. At seven our company began to arrive. We had 4 tables for tea! What a bustle. At last arrived Mrs Parish, her two daughters & Miss Smith all very beautifully dressed & quite pleased. Would any one have expected this? I am sure I was astonished but every one sat & drank, talked & laughed & enjoyed themselves. The fatigue of the hill was no longer attended to. That good kind Miss Kempf looked the very picture of good nature & obligingness. It is a blessing when talents & experience are joined to amiable manners & character. The inspection of my presents & many of our lovely purchases in Italy amused the whole company untill was taken away & whilst Mrs Parish & Miss Smith were still lavishing praises on crystals & marbles, Aurélie & Miss Kempf had established a very clever game, which the latter supported in German & amused greatly. We then had another in forfeits, the last forfeit being for the Miss Schneides to sing a song led naturally to music, one of them has a splendid tenor voice. Mrs Parish complimented her much as well as Miss Faller & herself she did her utmost to please by singing numbers of songs. She evidently likes admiration much. She has a splendid voice & sings admirably. We must put up with her rather abrupt rude manner for the sake of the advantages of her society. Aurélie finds her very odd, she never speaks to her, but neither does she to the girls & to me she is very queer. In the course of the evening I came by myself into the drawing room & abruptly said a thing had just come into her head which was that it wd be a very good thing for them to go to her once a week & read German. Of course I expressed due pleasure. It is in fact an admirable thing for them. Altho’ she asked if Mlle Hubert wd like it also, I cannot say I felt sure of her manner. The evening past off most gaily, finishing with dancing & all seemed delighted. As soon as they were all gone, the Miss Woods & us were glad to sit down & eat something. So ended my Birth day.
26 Went after breakfast with Aurélie about her loan to M. LaChevardiere. Much trouble & delay & stupidity put my things to rights. Put my drawings into their pretty new abode. I am quite charmed with my presents.
27 Lots of visitors, no letter from Anne, it is very strange. Letters from Elisabeth Winstanley & Amelia Perkins. Mr Perkins has taken another house in London near Hyde Park! Does not this seem odd, when they thought that his head required country air. It is certainly a more airy situation & I hope less expensive. Elisabeth’s letter has been at Heidelberg nearly 3 weeks, so there may be a letter from Anne lying there. If I do not hear today, I shall write again. Great consternation about the disturbances in the country. Weinheim is in a state of siege, the college I was wanting to put Robert to broken up & the Professors with their pupils come to Heidelberg for protection! There are 15.000 soldiers coming to be quartered here & at Weinheim, every householder will have his share. M. de Graemberg says he expects 5 or 6. They receive 18 kreutzers a day for each & spend 4 or 5 guldens, it is woeful! I persuaded Aurélie & Fanny to go & call on the Parishes & return a handkerchief they had left. It was a pleasant task with the impressions her manners had made. However they went & came back much amused, the distant manner was shyness of Miss Hubert because Mrs Parish does not speak French much better than me & is ashamed to expose her ignorance. She therefore brought round in as quiet a way as possible how much she wished to be able to speak correctly, said she was taking lessons of a Swiss, but she was so anxious to know if she spoke properly, as she disliked a bad pronounciation so much. Upon this hint Aurélie relaxed & offered to be of any service she could. Thursday evening is fixed in every week for them all to go there & read German. Mrs Parish is from the north of Germany & speaks very beautifully. Instead of Aurélie not being invited as she thought, it appears she is the principal attraction.
· Hyde Park – 1 Upper Harley Street
28 They walked to see the clergyman who lectures at Mlle Kempf’s & who had asked them so often. His wife is a true German housekeeper. He has a little girl about 3 years old & another of 12 who goes to Mlle Kempf’s, 2 boys at the Lycée. He strongly urges my sending Robert there. He has a splendid collection of books & maps & wants very much to give a course of lectures on astronomy here. In the evening after sending a note to decline going to Mrs Parishes on account of the rain, they went & were delighted with their reception & entertainment . They all read in turn & felt as if at once led on a step by Mrs Parishes beautiful pronounciation & good way of correcting. Next Thursday it is to be half French & half German.
29 Stove being put into drawing room, great mess. I wrote to Jane & Anne. Aurélie sent her bond to Paris. Katerina gone. Carolina come.
30 Aurélie, Robert & I went the first thing after breakfast with Carolina to market. Bought every thing cheap & good but after we parted with the amiable Carolina thinking we had managed so cleverly, she bought as much more by herself. These cooks are distracting & where has she put the potatoes? I shall go wild about kreutzers!
1st October Yesterday I received a letter from M. LaChevardiere. He writes very well but very despondingly about politics. Church. A grand fête giving the colours to the National Guard. On Friday a large body of Prussian troops arrived to be quartered here some say for the winter. What a tax upon the inhabitants, every one seems to have 1 or more. I hope & trust we shall remain peaceable.
2nd Went to see the Lyceum school, do not take a fancy to sending Robert to any school here. Aurélie took him & Clara to call at the Parishes. Very well received, it is agreed that each other Thursday the reading should be in French. Mr Reyfeldt drank tea with us & played duets with Fanny & Clara all the evening. Miss Woods here, very queer they are, they seem annoyed with every thing & are generally in tears, so different from what they used to be. The soldiers make the town very gay, they are always moving about. I hope they will also render it safe.
3rd We had 3 of Miss Kempf’s young ladies to tea. They eat, drank, worked, danced & enjoyed themselves. The Miss Wood’s also were in good spirits. I went with Emily to market. The fog continued all day but it was not cold. They all went sketching in the castle. On Monday morning I told every one that there wd be a letter from Miss Wood in the course of the day, as I had dreamed a long history about her. At tea a letter came from her. Aurélie has been expecting one for months, is this merely a coincidence.
4 The sun seems to be breaking through the fog. We had a very fine day. Mrs Parish sent her little boy to play with Robert from 3 to 7. He was just tolerable all day, by my going up & down the garden & others also to watch them. At 6 we called them in to tea but no inducement wd force or persuade him to come in, he mounted the wood stack & set every one at defiance. He was dirty & his Mamma had told him he was to be sent for home to tea. Aurélie promised him that if he wd only come in, she wd play at soldiers with him in the drawing room. No, nothing wd do & at last he escaped & ran home. I was very frightened, because it was quite dusk. I sent a man after him & Aurélie & Emily went also. Mrs Parish scarcely thanked them, but patting her darling’s head said he was dirty & did not like to go in to tea. She sent a servant back with them however. Am I such a foolishly fond mother as this! I trust not quite so bad. I only hope she will not favour us with his company often. She says she rules him by a mother’s love, it acts in a wrong way I fear. I took a £100 from Zimmern, the whole of my letter. Madame Leonhard called with her little quaint daughter.
5th From the German lesson to dinner settling accounts. From dinner to tea making purchases of frocks etc & seeing Dr for Fanny. He seems a sensible clever man, has only attended to her eyes at present. Aurélie had 2 letters, one from M. LaChevardiere & the other from her two sisters. They went to Mrs Parishes. Even with a man & woman & lantern they felt it lonely & dark coming home.
6th The weather continues like summer.
7th Mr & Mrs Wright & their two daughters called, very nice English people, looking throughly quiet & comfortable & happy. First musical party at Mrs Parishes, introduced to several nice people. What lots of visiting! how contrary to my usual habits.
8th Truly thankful for the comparative quiet of Sunday. Stayed the sacrament. Mlle de Graemberg called as she always does on Sunday, invited us to meet the Wright’s on Tuesday evening. Every evening engaged almost!
9 The fog whit morning does not seem to clear off so much as usual. I almost think we are really now going to have rain. No, it again turned out fine. Miss Smith & the 2 Miss Parishes came to the French lesson, the former enjoyed it greatly & is most anxious to improve. The girls are not far enough advanced. I went with Emily to the town immediately after the lesson & returned to tea. Mr Reyfeldt came to play duets with Fanny & Clara. The Miss Wood’s are quite cheerful again. Miss Smith has made peace by asking them to the reading on Wednesday.
10th Called on Mrs Wright, Madame Dahmen & Madame Winkelmeir. Drank tea at Mr de Graemberg’s. We met the Wrights & went with the Woods. We were all received first & stood about the room for some time. Then we sat round 2 tables & the servant brought tea ready poured out. The girls handed round cakes incessantly & white & brown bread & butter. When this was ended games were proposed & very soon dancing. During the whole evening different sorts of cakes, tarts & grapes were brought in. The Wrights are very sociable & agreeable.
11th Went to Mlle Kempf to speak about Miss Faller. She is going to arrange for their all going to her for grammar & proposes my keeping Miss F. at a small salary for conversation merely. They were prevented going to Mrs Parishes by the rain.
12 Miss Faller & Robert again in trouble. She can do nothing with him & seems quite contented with herself. The child has bestowed a hundred times more pains on her English, than she on his German. When on account of his health I limitted his lesson to one hour, I asked her to employ the other hour in walking etc, talking, but this she almost entirely neglects & never takes the smallest pains with him or any thing else but her embroidery. I fancy she concludes that her presence will dispence German around her, for all she seems to do is to sit with her chin buried in her neck embroidering presents for her friends & Oh how she eats! They went to see Mrs Parishes & I to bed to avoid Miss Faller’s society. Clara stayed at home to entertain her. Wrote to M A Witherby & Mr Perkins to request him to send me my banker’s book & another letter of credit by Anne.
13 Took Robert & placed him at Mr Erhard’s school so now Miss F has nothing to do but eat, drink, sew & sleep. I hope she will thrive. At tea received 3 letters from Anne, the oldest ought to have been here a month ago & the next 3 weeks, both the latest to say she is not coming. She had given notice to her landlord & servants, but was frightened & annoyed by exaggeration & other things, some acquaintance at Canterbury. We are all exceedingly disappointed.
14 Put letters into the post to Anne & Mr Perkins. What an infamous shame it is to allow the post to be so mismanaged. What serious annoyances might this cause.
15 First day of the Fair. We must see it tomorrow.
16 The Fair is to us very amusing, but those who are accustomed to Frankfurt & other large towns, despise it. The whole of one place or square is filled with streets of booths & there are the principal articles of traffic from various places to be sold very cheap, shoes from Mayence & Darmstadt, gloves from the Tyroll. The Tyrolese men are very handsome & a fine costume. Stays from some where else, furs, trinkets, flannels, knicknacks of all sorts, baskets & a place where every one eats hot gauffres, besides iron & tin ware, crockery, glass, earthenware. Mr Schmezer drank tea with us, he is one of those extraordinarily gifted persons who are more rare in England than elsewhere. He is as ugly almost as a man can be, but one forgets it entirely in the variety of his talents. Not a subject is there upon which he is not well informed & his singing is charming. He professes not to play, but he does so very delightfully. He amused us for an hour with a succession of songs, psalms, Swiss ranz des vaches, German tragedy etc.
17 Took a lesson in pastry from Miss Wood. Mr Wright called. Rain cleared off in the afternoon & I went with & fetched Robert from school & took him to the Fair.
18 We went a regular visit to the Fair & bought books & lots of trinkets. They are so cheap that it is worth buying them for the sake of the stones which are very beautiful & serve as specimens of onyx, agate, cornelian, jasper et. Aurélie received a letter from her mother. M. Odiot is not talking of going to Paris. He makes himself very happy living in the country on the most economical plan, attending to his land & farming & passing his evenings with his wife & mother in law. What a difference from his life in Paris. M. LaChevardiere is going to leave his apartments & is seeking small ones.
19 The weather is not cold but wet today. The stoves I find very comfortable. I dreamed so much of Jane & such very unpleasant dreams that I expect a letter from her today. My expectations were not realized.
20 Again to the Fair. Prussian troops gone. Nassan troops come.
21 Dreadful accounts from Vienna.
22 Church. Letter of credit. Walked to the Wolf’s glen. Mr Turton called & Miss Faller.
23 I think last night was the first frosty one. Letter from Anne Barkley.
24 Letters from Mr Perkins, Anne Barkley, E & W Shaw & this evening one from Jane, for which I am truly thankful. Went to the castle with M. de Graemberg. Miss Smith & the Miss Parishes called. Went to Zimmern & got £100.
25 The usual worry which every one may expect who engages in any way with a Lady to teach or do any thing for you. Let all who read this take warning & whenever they hear “She has been brought up quite like a lady, she does not want any thing, she has never been brought up to get her own bread”, then be sure she is exactly what you do not want. Be sure she will consider it a favour & a grievance to eat/drink your food, sleep in your bed, receive your money & do as little as possible for you. Added to which in most cases you will find that when people boast of being ladies they are generally vulgar & illiberal. All this is exemplified in our present German friend.
26 Fine mild mornings. I wrote yesterday to Sophy Trevor, Jane & Anne Barkley. Did not go out today excepting to gather flowers in the garden, it is mild & lovely as spring, soft & balmy air.
· Sophia Trevor (1811-1882) lived in Bridgwater, daughter of John William Trevor (half brother of Martha’s mother Frances Barkley née Trevor)
27 The same gentle weather. Robert so good & improving in every thing. Miss Smith called, we had chat about Mr Rehfeldt. We agree in opinion.
28 I went twice to the Fair. There are many curious little things to be bought there. Past last evening at the Wrights, they are very polite & kind.
29 Church. Obliged to come out. Stove heated. Walked in the afternoon to see the sun set from the Riesenstein. Very lovely it is walking through the richly tinted forest & looking down to the wide spreading plain bounded by the mountains of the Vosges looking so blue & misty, so promising of loveliness. Then the Neckar running from the opening in the mountains, at the mouth of which stands Heidelberg, crossing the plain towards Manheim & then here & there glimpses of the Rhine flowing so beautifully on. It is a splendid place most surely & very rich too & plentiful & cheap but of course inferior to Italy.
30th Fair again but it goes tomorrow. No fires for the last fortnight, it is so very fine & warm.
31 Mr de Graemberg & Mr Wright called. Annie & I got wet through in our morning health-walk as Robert calls it. Miss Smith came to tea to study participles. Miss Woods came in for the last time, having for 2 months come every evening to read German & please themselves. They have just said “Good night” without the smallest reference to having received any civility or kindness tho’ they have had much of both. Human nature is indeed a selfish nature, let us not notice the faults of others excepting to mend our own. I asked Miss Wood to write & let us know of their safe arrival, to which she replied with her usual grunt & shrug “I won’t promise when, for I shall have so much to do when I get back”. How foolish of these two women with hardly a friend in the world to behave thus. I really intended asking them to stop with us if ever we had a house in England.
1st November It is better to make friends wherever & whenever we can, the most significant person in the world is our fellow creature & as such entitled to our consideration. The Miss Woods did wrong in not behaving properly to us & in shewing so much selfishness & jealousy they defeated their own views of self advantage & had the unpleasant feeling of seeing that their departure caused us no sorrow. I am disappointed in them. They walked off in a pouring rain. Miss Faller & Miss Kempf’s friend called. I was very poorly in the forenoon & obliged to go to bed.
2 In bed all day, with violent head ache & rheumatism.
3 Up again today. Miss de Graemberg & Miss Wright called.
4 They took their second lesson of German of Hërr something I know not the name, but he has a quiet amiable & pleasant face & looks very steady. He bears an excellent character & teaches well. Miss Smith & the Miss Parishes came as usual to the French lesson. Mr Parish called in the middle. He thinks we are quiet safe here, tho’ politics do not clear much. He is a very gentlemanly man & very polite, but German domestic life does not appear very agreeable. Men always out, women at home housekeeping, working & they say gossiping. Mr Parish did not once make his appearance the last reading evening. They sent to ask if he wd come up to tea but he said No & they sent his tea to him.
5 I did not go to church. I am not well. We had a heavy shower of snow at 7 this morning, it laid for a few hours. It is chilly & damp, but I do not suffer from cold. We keep the thermometer generally at 62 or 64 in the drawing room & with the door open I feel the dining room warm enough.
6 Kept rather in an uncertainty by Miss Faller not being able to go owing to the bad weather. A little snow again today. Ther in up stair rooms 4 Reaumur. We keep the drawing room at 64 Farenheit.
7 Miss Faller not again prevented going. We had 3 of Miss Kempf’s young ladies to teach fancy works for Xmas, the whole school is busy about them. Each makes a list of such things as she should like & then her schoolfellows work them. They are very clever at fancy work. We moved to our new rooms. I keep my own bedroom, Aurélie & Robert sleep in Miss Wood’s inside the drawing room, our things look beautiful in the new room on a nice green covered table.
8 Wrights called. They wish to go to Miss Kempf’s for the lecture. One day seems only more busy than the other. After breakfast I went to the town, returned at 11, worked till 1, dinner, work. Wrights called. Mr Rehfeldt’s lesson. German lesson after tea. Very fine.
9 Overcast morning, cold & foggy. Wrote to Jane & Anne. Edward’s [Perkins, Jane’s son] wedding day. About 9 o’clock it turned out very fine & we had a splendid day. I was very poorly at night.
10 Fine. I am very poorly, sore throat, pain in limbs etc.
11 Nothing prevents Miss Smith coming to take her lesson. Harriet & Cecilia Parish came also & tried to do it also, did not bring their work as usual. George came & played with Robert. Mr Rehfeldt’s lesson in the morning. German master in the evening.
12 I felt truly thankful to be able to go to our dear little church & receive the sacrament, well may it be called the most comfortable sacrament, I feel it so. God grant I may not be deceived in my impressions. Miss Kempf appears a most active & charitable person. Notwithstanding all her teaching & many occupations, she sits & works for the poor with her pupils. She was telling Aurélie of a poor old man 113 years old whom she very often has to dine with her. He is almost blind & the first time he heard her voice, it recalled some early impression & affected him so much that he was almost overcome. He begged to kiss the hands of the person to whom the voice belonged, he went down on his knees & when the next time he went to her house she was ill, he cried & lamented that he did not hear the same loved voice. He goes once a year to see the Grand Duke who allows him 24 kreutzers a day about 8d & he represented once so warmly Miss Kempf’s kindness, that the Grand Duke wrote to her to thank her. One evening a week at school is devoted to working for the poor & all the school fines go to charity. The appearance of this country covered as it now is with snow is remarkably beautiful. The light in our rooms is almost dazzling, for the opposite mountains being quite white, reflects an amazing brilliancy on our rooms. The river looks almost black as it runs thro’ the valley, every thing else being so white. The town too looks very pretty & curious, especially during these fine moon light nights, rendering the snow so brilliant. Robert got the little sledge out yesterday, when the snow is hard frozen it must be very pleasant sport to slide down the hill on it. Miss Bakers & their father in law Capt Pittman called yesterday or the day before.
13 Wrights drank tea here. No means of having any one to meet them. Mr Schmezer fell down & hurt himself badly in the snow.
14 Thaw. Snow melting rapidly. They all went as usual to Mrs Parish excepting Clara & Laura to the great disappointment of the 2 girls, who in seeing the others exclaimed “Oh there’s no one come”. However she seized on Emily & ran with her to the swing, where she contrived to almost finish her unfortunate black silk frock, of Naples memory, Persico to wit. What scenes we have witnessed in that street!
15 A continued thaw, but patches of snow still lie about & the high parts of the mountains are covered. Tonight Miss Kempf & two or three particular friends went to be present at the betrothal of Miss Schmidt. The ceremony consists in the gentleman giving the lady a ring & taking her round the room to salute her family. After which the happy couple stand in the middle & drink a glass of champagne followed by cheers. After this public betrothal it is rather awkward if the match goes off.
16 Fanny & I called at the Pittmans, Bakers & Wrights. Found him asleep on the sofa, his daughter Lucy reading. Mrs Wright & her eldest daughter come in, she seems to manage every thing. They told me that because Mr Wright had come up here in his travelling cap, he was to be punished by not coming again for a fortnight.
17 Every morning out of a north window about 8 o’clock the ther is 1 above 0, 7 in the room next the drawing room & in my room 4 Reaumur. Today it has been bleak & dark all day, cloudy but no rain or snow. Ther risen to 3 R. Poor Mlle Kempf is very ill, she had a spitting of blood this morning, attempted to get up, but was too weak. I fear she is in a bad state of health. What a loss wd she be! One of her pupils who is even more warmly attached to her than the rest is greatly distressed they say. Robert takes messages to the Wrights. Today he has been twice & took a list of the hours for literature & geography for Mrs Wright who calls Aurélie her patroness & Emily her guardian angel. They sent a work woman to us just now who brought their violent compliments. The other evening Carolina said it rained right furiously. Letter from Sophy Trevor, she describes the sudden death of her father [John William Trevor 1774-1848] a few weeks back & her Uncle Charles 2 years ago [Charles Trevor 1777-1846]. Mr F Trevor is married & is at Dawlish [John & Charles’ brother, Rev Frederick Trevor 1776-1862 m. 1846 Amelia Bluett]. She gives me all the family details & describes the country about Bridgewater or a few miles from it as very beautiful. I must turn my thoughts to some place in England. How her letter recalls my dear & ever beloved & lamented mother to my thoughts. What a craving desire I have to talk to her of all that has happened since we met.
Aurélie brought a curious story this evening from Miss Kempf’s. Her under teacher a very mild amiable girl, was betrothed to a young man about 2 years ago & upon the point of being married, one night she dreamed that she was in a cemetery & saw a tombstone with the name of her affianced husband, his age & time of death. She rose much disturbed by this sad dream. That day she received a letter to say he was dangerously ill & shortly after he died & left the poor girl heart broken & desirous only of following him. She became under teacher at Miss Kempf’s & has attached herself to her with most affectionate ardour. It appears that a few weeks ago Miss Kempf related to them all a dream she had had. She saw in her dream her own tomb, beside that she has raised the memory of her predecessor, she read her name & the date of her death in the year 184-, the last figure was obliterated. Since this time she has been remarkably cheerful but has frequently declared her conviction that she shall die in 184- before 1850. One day she had several of her young people in her room, amongst the rest this poor affectionate bereaved girl, and joked & laughed so much that the girl came out quite broken hearted, saying she was certain the dream wd come true & today that Miss Kempf is so ill, her misery & anxiety are quite pitiable.
18th Mr Rehfeldt arrived today. He seemed very serious & in the middle of the lesson told them the cause. Last evening about 5 o’clock he was at the museum with Dr Salis the physician, a man rushed in to say that the Dr was wanted as a man was murdered. They instantly proceeded to the spot & found an old librarian or antiquary murdered having 5 stabs of a dagger, 3 in his chest, 2 in his stomach. A soldier saw & seized the murderer as he was escaping muffled up in his cloak. He instantly plunged his dagger into the soldier’s breast making a fearful wound 3 inches deep, but as it has escaped the vital organs, he is expected to recover. After this, others pursued & secured the wretched man, who then succeeded in inflicting 2 mortal wounds in his own breast of which he died in a few minutes. His only words were that Blum was an honourable man (the republican who has just been shot) & a request to be laid on his side & not asked any questions, as he knew the vital parts his dagger had entered & that he must soon die. He had been a student at the University & was studying medicine, was a very fine handsome young man & it is supposed he had quarrelled with the old man about politic’s or books. He was in the habit of buying the students books & cheating greatly. This story appears almost too horrible to be true but unfortunately it past close to us & Mr Rehfeldt was an eyewitness to all its horrors. Perhaps we may hear something more certain as to the cause of the horrid act, whose only extenuating circumstance is the hope that the murder of an old man was unpremeditated, the attempt to kill the soldier self defence & the final suicide desperation. Perhaps that wretched young man rose yesterday morning, free from bad intention & looking forward to life & its pursuits, had he been told that before night he should have been a corpse, a double murderer & a suicide. What an aweful event. Perhaps a mere fit of ungovernable passion caused this enormous crime. Let all who hear it beware of giving way to the slightest feeling of passion. We are alas! to apt to think of great crimes as far removed from ourselves, but here the perpetrator is a young man in our own station of life, who a few hours ago probably had no more idea of becoming such a criminal than we have now. Let us all then watch & pray without ceasing. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Miss Smith & the girls came to the French lesson. Mr Rehfeldt had gone to them last night after witnessing the horrible scene. He looked & seemed very ill today & no wonder. He said he cd never bear to see an insect killed & never thought to see two human beings die murdered & another almost mortally wounded, all in the course of half an hour. If any of us had recorded all the crimes, all the sorrows, all the misery they had witnessed or known of in their life, what a list it wd be! God preserve us. Miss Kempf is better.
19th Ill in bed all day with a cold, very dull, very sorry not to go to church. Mr Wright has been to see the murdered & murderer laid out side by side! What an aweful lesson. We do not hear many more particulars only that the deed was done in the unhappy man’s own shop & as there were two daggers in the student’s possession there are great fears entertained that the act was premeditated. It appears that the murdered man was only 35 or 40 years old, he had such an instinctive dread of arms of any sort that he got off from being a National Guard to avoid the necessity of wearing them. He knocked at his window whilst being murdered which caused the soldier to go in, but too late alas! This evening there was a procession of torches to honour the memory of Robert Blum. It had a strange & aweful effect. Hundreds of students & respectable men carried torches accompanied I think by all the inhabitants of Heidelberg. The long procession started from the Museum Platz, wound through the streets, up to the castle where there were speeches & then the whole past through our village down to the town again. Our rooms were quite light & full of the smell of the torches. An injudicious act of aggravation was this shooting of Robert Blum.
20th A very fine morning. My cold very bad. Up at 20 minutes past 6. Miss Kempf & Mr Schmezer continue too ill to give their lectures. It is a pity the Wrights began & as to ourselves, I shall have to pay a month for nothing. We have visitors most days & I am doing fancy work, rather out of place & character certainly.
21 Wrights called, their girls went with ours to Mrs Parishes reading party. Our party went before dinner to see Mr de Graemberg’s gallery, he is just recovered from a very severe fall he had off a ladder.
22 The weather is very cold. Ther out of a north window at 8 in the morning generally 3 or 4 above 0 R. but the girls heat our rooms too much with the stove, very often it is 70 Farenheit. What can have become of Marianne Witherby? No tidings of her for months, if her letters had not often miscarried I sd be seriously alarmed.
23 Wrights & Pittman’s called. Clara, Laura & Robert went to their second dancing lesson. Warmer towards evening.
24 Mild rain, trying to make up an evening party but it totally failed & we enjoyed an excellent tea upon the provisions prepared for our visitors. The weather was indeed most horrible.
25 Miss Smith came to insist on some of them going this evening to Mrs Parishes, so we put off the German master & Emily & Fanny went. They met the Miss Wrights, the Winkelmeirs & Mr Turton.
26 The beginning & middle of this month was very severe for the time of year, snow lying 6 or 8 inches deep, but really very slight frosts. We all went to church in the morning, after dinner all but Laura & me went to the German Protestant service & then they walked to the cemetery. In the evening we had service, a sermon & the children’s writings, marks etc. Mlle de Graemberg called.
27 Nothing to record but a visit to the town to buy frocks for Emily & Fanny. Cooks coming to be hired & the Miss Wrights calling. Weather the same overcast dull.
28 Weather brighter & dryer but very mild. Miss Kempf continues in bed. Mr Schmezer has given his lecture at last. He was very tired after it. They are gone to Mrs Parishes. The Miss Wrights go with them which is very agreeable as they are sociable girls. They are to read the Merchant of Venice. I am really quite anxious about Robert’s going alone to school. The boys ill use him so in the streets, I think the people here are the vilest set I have ever lived amongst. They are more than semi barbarous. I think it scarcely safe for Clara & Laura to go backwards & forwards to school.
29 Excitement about Cavaignac in Paris.
30 Went to a concert. 3 good quartetts. Lucy & Amelia Wright came to tea & went with us. Weather very mild.
December 1st Rainy warm morning. Mr Schmetzer & the Wrights to tea. He sang & read. He is very clever.
2 Aurélie, Emily, Fanny & I went to a ball at the Schmidts. It was given for the purpose of introducing the youngest daughter’s intended. He is an officer, old enough for her father. Old ladies all in one room to tea, young people in the next, old gentlemen in a third. After the long ceremony of tea we went up stairs (an old lady chaperoning me) to a play. Pretty little scene & well acted. Miss Schmidt looked lovely in a costume almost Swiss. We then went down & the dancing began, whirl, whirl, whirl. Then every one had a plate given them at a table & great dishes of venison, ham, tongue & veal were very welcome. Still young people separate. No reserve between the lovers, the little girl throws herself about & hangs upon him as she does with girls. Dancing again, cakes, cotillion beau to walk home with us, very late. Ladies are not expected to leave off dancing with a gentleman till he pleases.
3 Church. A walk with Mr Wright & his daughters.
4 Mr Wright took Robert out for a walk. Very fine.
5th Dear Emily & Annie started at 8 in a carriage with Miss Buhler for Spires [Speyer]. They did not like saying goodbye, but I trust a little change will not hurt them. I went Xmas box buying with Aurélie. In the mean time the Wrights called & took Fanny out walking, the son Edmund arrived before they were out of bed! They have not seen him for 5 years. He is very merry & good tempered. We drank tea at the Wrights & read part of Hamlet. I took Emily’s part.
6th So busy with one thing & the other, we are driven to death.
7 Very warm & fine. I am copying a pattern out of a book. Miss Kempf lent Aurélie with drawings from Pompei.
8 Party at the de Graemberg’s. Rather slow.
9 Grand Ball at home. Parishes, Mr Turton, Wrights, Pittman’s, Bakers, de Graembergs, Schmetzers, Miss Kempf’s girls etc. 34 in number. It was really fun to see Miss Smith, Mr Turton & Mrs Wright dancing a Scotch reel & then Mr Turton with Mrs Parish, Mr & Mrs Wright etc dancing the Sir Roger de Coverly. We had the man who attends at church to wait at tea etc & with the assistance of our company we made very well. Many a small party in England wd have gone off well with such singers as Mrs Parish, Miss Baker, Miss Faller & Mr Schmezer. We had plenty of good cakes, marengo, wine & water & every one was highly pleased. We moved Aurélie & Robert’s beds & made their room a nice drawing room.
10 Church not open when we arrived. Went to the Wright’s & with them to church. Fine day, young ones walked with Wrights & in the evening they came here & took us to see the castle by moon light which is splendid & a very curious echo from the ruins. Even in Italy the moon could scarcely be more brilliant. Orion looked glorious rising behind the amphitheatre of mountains.
11 Tried to do accounts & work in the morning, after dinner went shopping with Aurélie. Drank tea at the Wrights & went together to the concert. Aurélie remained at home alone, the first time since she was at Mrs Buck’s. M. & Mme. Malibran’s concert was very stupid, music which I do not admire, scrawling, scrambling kind.
12 Shopping. Fanny took a long walk with the Wrights & Bakers, dined with the former. They are now at Miss Kempfs, where I called today. Thank God tomorrow I hope to see my dear girls back, I by no means like their being at Spires any longer.
13 Saw Aurélie & Miss Faller, Clara & Robert off to Spires at 8 o’clock. What people are the Germans! I called yesterday morning to ask Miss Faller to go today. Miss Kempf said she wd be very happy. In the afternoon she said herself that it unsettled her to go for a few hours & Miss Kempf said she was delicate & the drive wd do her harm but if she thought of going she wd send up in the evening. No message came, so we got Clara, Laura & Robert ready to go. When just as they were starting Miss Faller arrived prepared to go. Poor Laura stayed which I know to her was a great vexation. Just now I had occasion to speak to the cook about the expenses when the widow Müller sent by her youngest daughter to say she was very vexed we did not trust her & that she should have a book & put every thing down every day & she wished we wd see what came up. So I must not complain of the robbing of an infamous cook without having the whole Müller tribe on me. Let no one say a word against Italian servants cheating in comparison with Germans. They do so no doubt, but you are perfectly at liberty to scold & insist on better treatment, whereas here the cheating is far greater & more bare faced, whilst the pride & pretension to honesty are exorbitant in the extreme.
The dear party from Spires did not arrive until past 8 long & I began to be very fidgetty. However they were all well & in high spirits. Emily & Annie full of talk about their visit & all the oddities there. It amused me Miss Faller’s English master giving her her lesson before Emily & Fanny not knowing they were English & teach her to say wery not very, -leven not eleven & all the other vulgarisms of common English people. They have brought home beautiful works, how curious that persons so common in their ways sd have so much taste. I heard Emily & Fanny talking half the night.
14 Fine day again cold but no frost. Emily & Annie busy unpacking & then they are going to pay visits. They called on Wrights, Parishes & Miss de Graemberg. Old Mr Wright went to the latter with them & came home with them. We drank tea at the Wrights. Miss Smith, Harriet & Louisa called in the afternoon. The weather is by no means so agreeable as it has been. It is thick, raw & cold tho’ not so low a temperature.
15th Thick, disagreeable morning. Up in good time. Robert’s music before school. We went to the Parishes in the evening & met the Wrights & many others. It was a musical party, good singing. Mr Parish in the room almost all the evening & very polite to the English.
16 Music & German lessons. Miss Smith called but cd not take her French lesson. Went to Miss Kempf’s to tea, met the Wrights there, a singing mistress who sang very finely, but not pleasingly. Sir Roger de Coverly exciting the anxious curiosity of the pupils. I played it, all danced it with infinite glee.
17 Church. Aurélie one of her vile migraines again, I am grieved to see them coming back so frequently. We form a large cavaleach coming from church, nearly the whole congregation accompany us to the gate. Mrs Wright came & sat the afternoon with us, whilst the young ones all went walking with Mr Wright. So warm I had the window open all the morning.
18 Being up very early, Emily, Fanny & I started for Manheim to buy books, by the 9 o’clock train. Laura also went. The station is in every respect as good as a first rate English one, every convenience. The second class carriages too are as good in all respects as English 1st class. We soon steamed across the flat country to Manheim. There are now of course no crops on the ground, but quantities of hop sticks shew whence the beer so favorite comes from & great quantities of tobacco grow here. Manheim is a fine town. Low houses, wide streets all straight & at right angles with each other, no names but only alphabetical, thus the shoemaker’s address is C1.No. 5. Mr Turtons L2.No. 5. The castle has indeed been a most splendid building, resembling Hampton Court but as large or larger than Versailles. The fine gardens behind it run along the Rhine, which here is a noble & clear stream, looking so calm & tranquil. The bridge of boats passes over it here. It was very pretty to see the market women with their clean white handkerchiefs over their heads & baskets going home loaded with provisions from market & toys for their children from the Fair which is now being held. One woman who shewed us the way, was very civil, she had 3 children & had come only for toys & gingerbread for them. The peasants are all exceedingly well & warmly clothed. The front of the castle forms one end of the “Wide Street” which is both wide & long & terminates by a fine suspension bridge over the Neckar which here flows into the Rhine. This fine town is deserted, dull & the shops full of old dusty goods. This arises from the absence of the English who before the troubles resided here in numbers but who left last spring. We are now satisfied that we can shop much better in Heidelberg.
We got back at ½ past 3 & met the Wrights coming to meet us. I left them all at Miss Kempfs for the literature & came home & dressed for Madame Dahmens. Mr Wright & his son called, we dined & Aurélie, Fanny, Emily & I went to Madame Dahmen’s. 2 young men & Mrs Parish to meet us, the hall full of clothes from the wash, the men servants, the staircase, the mistress knitting stockings, Shakespeare, Macbeth! Our turning out at ¼ past 9. The young students walking home with us. All this needs only to be mentioned to recall vividly its horrors!
19 Went in to see the town before dinner & at 3 o’clock commenced Mr Schmetzer’s lectures on astronomy. He made a very eloquent address to begin & then explained some of the elements of the science. All were greatly pleased. The Parishes & Wrights were here 16 in all. They all went afterwards to the geography lesson at Miss Kempf’s & we had a quiet evening at home!
20 Fine morning. Ther 1 below 0. Fanny & I went shopping. These new Xmas boxes take all one’s time & all one’s money. At 6 o’clock we went to the Wright’s, in order to be there the first & have our tea before any one else came. They had 2 tables, set out in our way & we had a very good tea & sandwiches. The other people then began to arrive, every one seemed desirous of being pleased & the evening was very gay, lots of dancing, singing etc & the whole wound up by God save the Queen. Mr Turton brought his 2 sons & 2 nephews. They came home with us & slept in Miss Faller’s room. We got to bed by 12 o’clock.
21 Thermometer 5 below 0. High piercing wind. Boys charmed with their night’s adventure, 2 in a German bed, falling out & knocking over a piece of furniture which stood by the bedside. After breakfast the 5 boys went to the Wrights & all had a tremendous scramble up the mountain. Wrights, Bakers, Turtons & Shaws. Aurélie & I went as usual on an excursion amongst the shops.
22 Ther 3 below 0 R. The river presents a curious appearance. The sides are frozen, the current still runs but consists of floating masses of ice. All the fountains are boarded & done up with straw & now completely surrounded by ice & icicles. I took a walk alone along the opposite side of the river. Met the two Mr Wrights coming from Capt Pittman. Mr Turton good old man sent his son from Manheim today to tell Mr Edmund Wright that the navigation on the Rhine is stopped owing to the large masses of ice. So the young man has to start tomorrow morning, losing his passage back which he had paid & with an uncertainty of arriving in London in time to sail with his friends for Adelaide. Mr Turton has very kindly sent him his great military cloak to travel in. He is I believe a truly good Christian, encouraging by his example, rather than chilling by his austerity. Example is indeed always better than precept. Thankful to be at home this evening.
23 Ther in Aurélie’s room 2½ above 0, in my room 0, out of north window 4 below 0. Owing to thinking that he went at 4 o’clock, I missed seeing young Wright before he went. I got to their house a few minutes after he went & found them in sad distress. No wonder, for is it almost like death. Perhaps all things considered it is as well I did not see him. I was twice in the town, buying Xmas boxes.
24 Ther 5 below 0, 3 above in north room, 1 above in mine. Church, accompanied as usual to the gate by all the congregation, even Capt Pittman joins the party. When we got home there were 2 little notes & 2 little boxes on the table from Harriett & Cecilia Parish containing 2 very handsome painted china brooches of Heidelberg. After dinner Aurélie & I took the three younger ones to thank them & give their own Xmas boxes. They made us go in to see their Xmas tree & Mrs Parish sang us some parts of the Messiah. I did not admire her Comfort ye. I too well remember Catalani & Mrs Salmon. Emily & Annie took a walk with the Wrights. Fanny staid to nurse her cold. After prayers & tea, we all went down to see that good person Miss Kempf’s Xmas tree. The Wrights were there before us. It was beautiful & interesting sight. The large school room had tables all round & 7 large Xmas trees illuminated at short distances on them. Wax candles between & the whole tables covered with white table cloths & spread with presents. Up on side entirely it was covered with Miss Kempf’s presents to her pupils. Across the end was the presents from the parents & home friends. Half way down the other side those from the pupils to each other, the other half plates of gingerbread, walnuts & apples. At the other end a larger & handsomer tree on a table covered with presents from the pupils & friends to Miss Kempf. The girls had subscribed to give her a box of 12 silver knives, besides which there were not many handsome presents. Aurélie, Clara & Laura’s lamp stands worked on perforated board were the prettiest works. Emily, Fanny & Annie gave her a pretty spoon for passing the tea through. As soon as the door was opened all rushed in & then followed a general hunt for presents, every one being marked, but amongst such hundreds it was 2 hours before all were found. I had a very pretty knitted cap, worked by Miss Kempf. Aurélie & the girls each a book of best German poetry, Clara a painting in a frame of the school house, Laura a basket, Robert a ruler. The girls gave Clara & Laura a book of poetry. Silk dresses, muslins, shawls, rugs, books, boxes, cushions, caps, bonnets, socks & every sort of article were there & pieces of silk for waistcoats etc for the Professors, cravats, wine. A fine deer was laid in front of Miss Kempf’s table. Silver knives, spoons, table cloths, in fact I cannot enumerate all the different things. After all were appropriated & admired, we went & took wine, cake & sandwiches in the drawing room & returned home. Some of the friends of the scholars were there.
25th The 46th Xmas day I have seen, alas! to how little purpose. Church, sacrament. Called & saw little Parishes presents. Came home & arranged our own after dinner. They were not ready till 5 o’clock. The whole evening past in looking at them & talking about them. Wrights came up to tea. Aurélie gave me a sweet little set of shelves in the German blue covered with tiny flower pots & figures, a very handsome agate book weight, a diary, 2 knife rests & 2 black headed pins. Emily a beautiful bell rope in rings. Fanny a lovely crochet purse. Annie a splendid card case, all worked in beads. I say splendid more especially for I cannot imagine how she made it so quickly. Clara & Laura & Robert a blotting book worked by the 2 former. Thank you all over & over again.
26 A slight fall of snow rendering it very slippery. Ther 2 below out, 5 above in. Set all the presents out. Attempting to settle in to work. Miss Smith past the afternoon here & went down with them in the evening to the French reading at the Parishes. They returned a little after ten.
27 New cook came yesterday. Annie, Laura & I went with her today to market. Nothing is materially dearer. On our return Miss de Graemberg called & her sisters. I despatched a detachment with her to call on Pittman’s. Miss de Graemberg has taken leave. The snow is falling & she thinks we shall be blocked up for a month. Ther 1 below 0 out of doors, 4 above in. Never was such a strange sight as to see the dozens of boys darting down our hill right down into the town on their little sledges. Robert got quite expert before the evening. They go as swiftly as lightning, it is not without danger!
28 Ther 1 above 0. Snow thawing, wind blowing. Very disagreeable day, no sledging for poor Robert. At 3 in the afternoon the glass had risen to 3 above freezing point. At 10 at night it had fallen 1½ below. It is astonishing how much colder it felt all day whilst thawing than it did during a much lower temperature clear & dry. Mr de Graemberg brought his sons & their friend to see us. Miss Faller called. Emily had a letter from Elisa Faller yesterday to say she is going to Mulhausen as governess to a little French girl & thence she hopes to get to Paris & to England. I wrote to Anne Barkley.
29 Again a lovely splendid clear sunny frost. 3 below 0. Capt Pittman called after a walk in the castle gardens, in raptures with the weather. He is a well informed agreeable man. Wrights called in the afternoon. In the afternoon the ther remained at 3 below 0, but at 10 at night it had risen to 1½ below.
30 Ther 1½ below 0. Ground covered with snow & sky looking full of it. Whilst I was dressing by lamp light, the boys began sledging down the hill. Ther freezing point all day & at 10 at night 2 below. Clear sky. We have had a little snow all day at times. A busy day with music, astronomy & German lessons.
31 Church. Ther 5½ below 0. The whole congregation came up with to our door, even Mr Turton & Capt Pittman. All the young people took a walk after dinner. In the evening we had prayers, reading, counting marks etc. All night there was a tremendous confusion, men firing guns, singing, shouting, calling etc. I thought my windows wd have been broken, they let off their guns so near. All this was by way of finishing the old & beginning the new year, well. I received a long letter from Jane. Both she & Aurélie have written other long ones which must have been lost here I think, as they are sure they were put in in England. Aurélie sat up till after 12 writing some miles of conduct for Clara & Laura. Most excellent ones they are & worthy of being followed by all. She came & wished me a happy New Year which I trust God will permit us all to enjoy & improve. It is aweful to look back & see how fast the last year has past, alas! how little good have we done in it!
[CONTINUED IN JOURNAL FOUR PART 3 – Heidelberg 1 January 1849]
Travel Journal 4 Part 3: Heidelberg 1st January 1849 – 30th July 1849 Dresden
8 in group, Martha and 6 children, Emily, Fanny, Annie, Clara, Laura, Robert (age 9/10), Miss Aurélie Hubert de Fonteny 1813-1907 (French companion/governess). Anne Barkley (Martha’s sister in law), her daughter Annie (age 10) & servant Field joined them in Heidelberg & went with them to Brussels and remained there while the others went on to Dresden. Transcribed and typed by Madeleine Symes 2017 with her notes in italics & in square brackets, mostly capitals removed, places/people/things of interest in bold. Martha’s spelling. Pencil marks, underlining and lines down sides of pages on original journal.
1849
1st January
Another year has commenced. Already 10 hours of it are swallowed up, never to be recalled. Time passes, each moment carries us nearer our end. Oh let us try & improve every moment.
Thermometer at 8 o’clock 7 below 0, clear & brilliant frost. Called at Miss Kempf’s & saluted by a dozen “Happy New Years”, whoever is quick enough to say this first is entitled to a cake. The girls opened the drawing room door quite gently & made me cry it out in German, thereby winning a cake of Miss Kempf who rose to kiss & embrace me. A letter from Edmund Shaw. Lucy & Amelia Wright came at 3 to read German. Pittman’s & Bakers called, invited us for Thursday evening. Mr & Mrs Wright to tea. We made lollipop & drank punch. How admirable was the appearance of the frost on the dining room window with a brilliant moon on it.
2nd Thermometer this morning at 8 o’clock 11 below 0 R. which is 8 above 0 Farenheit. Sponges, towels etc frozen in my room. Impossible to see out of the windows. Water in vessels freezing. All the morning occupied in accounts & paying allowances. Weather splendid.
3rd Mr Schmezer in walking home last night at about midnight, became so numbed with cold, that he thought his hands & feet were frozen, they were perfectly white & dead. So bad, that he was forced to return & sleep in the town, being afraid to go on walking against the wind. The thermometer was 15 below 0. Here at 8 the morning it was 10. It was & is now at 10 at night 7 below 0, but the wind having been high they say the cold has been much more severe today than yesterday. Robert is gone to Manheim with Miss Smith to return tomorrow. He went in great glee with his little bag, it is the first time he has slept from under my roof, since we left England.
4 Cold not so severe, but a dense fog. Snow on the ground. Robert returns form Manheim before noon. Stayed the remainder of the day to keep George Parishe’s birth day & came home at 8 in the evening full of his adventures & enjoyments, which he recounted as he sat on Emily’s lap, his feet on Aurélie’s knees being rubbed & warmed & the whole family assembled round the stove to listen. These are the scenes which never leave the memory even through old age. He seems delighted with his visit. The Rhine is almost frozen. He walked all about Manheim, went to the opera, slid, played at all sorts of games & was very happy. Lucy & Amelia came to the German reading.
5 Letters from Paris. All well. How funny to see Robert put his broken slate under him & sledge down to school. Really I can never look at the boys darting down the hill in this odd manner without laughing. The rest went down with flannel etc round their shoes & alpenstocks. Laura had a tumble at starting. Mr Bigne called. He proves a clever genteel young man & like all foreigners has that sort of self possession which enables them to be at once in company at their ease & themselves. He assisted Emily in making her solar system.
6 Ther mounted to 1 below 0 since an hour when I got up. Coming out clear & fine. The sight of the lovely sky & sun fills my heart with love to God & spite of age, ailments etc makes me feel an overflow of gratitude & life. The ther sank to 5 before night. Almost all our party came to the astronomy, the slipperiness makes no difference in our visitors. Saturday is always a busy day. Lessons for every hour. Clara, Laura & Robert went to Miss Kempf’s ball at 5. Aurélie, Emily & Annie left 7 to see it. Such an affair, such a mixture! The potatoe salad in a huge bowl & hunches of black bread the repast of the youngest, a little better for the others. I think they will all remember the odious vulgarity of this party without my mentioning it.
7 Ther down at 8. Very fine & bright but slippery, I dared not go to church, scarcely any one escapes a fall. All the congregation came up from church with them, Mr Turton, Mr Wright, Mr Baker & Lucy & Amelia. After dinner they all came up again & took the girls out walking or rather sliding & falling, for they got to a spot when no one cd keep their footing! & all fell repeatedly in fact were unable to rise. Mr Baker had spikes on his shoes, which enabled him to assist the others. Mr Wright had a sad fall. Clara hurt her face. Cold very great.
8th Ther 7 below 0. Windows frozen & the cold severe. An unclouded sky & very fine weather, but so slippery I cannot venture out. They went to Capt Pittman’s to a party & did not return untill ½ past 11. Not a very favourable account of students.
9th Heavy fall of snow. Old Mrs Wright came up to enquire if they got safely home & Lucy & Amelia came through the snow to the reading. They all went down to Miss Kempf’s for geography but he cd not come, it was too bad even for him. They persisted in wishing to go on to Mrs Parishe’s for the German reading but fortunately Mr Wright & Miss Kempf had sense enough to prevent them. Such a snow storm might have rendered it unsafe to come back.
10 Mr Rehfeldt’s music lesson. Astronomy at the Wright’s. German in the evening. Aurélie in bed, weak & poorly, I at work, Robert a cold. Heavy snow fall. Sledges general all over the town. They are a sort of car without wheels. The man drives from behind. The people sit comfortably inside & there are all sorts of different figure heads, horses ornamented with feathers, bells etc. Ther at night 0.
11 Thermometer 3 above 0! Such a thaw, such quantities of snow to melt & there have been such repeated frosts & thaws that there are regular tiers of ice over the roads. Down our hill they are cutting the ice away with pick axes. Is the winter past? What a vile blood thirsty set are these Germans. Our butcher’s man was in a beer house drinking the other night & had a quarrel with 2 men. Finding things coming to extremities he ran home, they overtook him & the door being locked stabbed him 5 times. He has been despaired of, but today there are hopes that he will recover. The men are in prison. Clara & Laura came early from school with a message from Aurélie that they were to dress & be ready to go with her as Miss Kempf had asked them to a large literacy party. Elise did their hair & they went. It was a large party of the best society in Heidelberg, about 8 of the best readers sat around a table & about 30 ladies & gentlemen sat round the room, every lady knitting. They first had tea handed round by a man servant, then they read for 2 hours a very beautiful poem King Reny’s daughter. After which they had a handsome & abundant supper, soup in cups, fish, venison, salads, pattés & in fact every thing nice, to conclude a capital bowl of punch.
12 Yesterday’s thaw has only made matters worse. When I got up this morning the ground or rather the half melted ice was covered with a thin snow & the thermometer was fallen below 0. In an hour after it had fallen 2 more degrees of Reaumur & by 12 o’clock it was 5 below 0, where it still remains, with snow falling. Notwithstanding all this Miss Puchelt came to pay us a visit, Capt Pittman & Mr Wright & now they are all gone to the literature, then 2 hours to read at the Wright’s & then return to Miss Kempf’s to geography. Robert is sliding & sledging untill quite dark, when he is coming in to his music. Letters from Paris. The Segur party talking confidently of starting for Buchaud in March. Curious conversation with Mr Wright, about his son, but it is out of the question. One ought never however to slight or disregard the affection of a good man tho’ circumstances may render its return impossible or at least very unlikely & apparently undesirable. Adelaide however appears a rising colony & has a fine climate!!
13 Emily lost her two rings yesterday & has been fretting & uncomfortable ever since & no wonder. One was a little emerald half hoop which I gave 5 guineas for just before my marriage. The other was a small diamond, one of a cluster of 5 belonging to her poor father, who apportioned one to each of his five girls. They must have been stolen, but by whom of course it is quite impossible to guess. In demoralized Italy, poor abused, but lovely Italy every door & window & drawer & box was open night & day & from the time we entered the country to the time we left it nearly two years, we never lost a pin’s value. Here in educated enlightened honest Germany we have lost many things, a pair of new cuffs, a silk umbrella & these rings have certainly been stolen from my room. We have just had 16 at the lecture on astronomy. How wonderful & interesting it appears. They tell me of all the astonishing discoveries afterwards & they fill one with awe & admiration. Amongst others it has been discovered that there is no real heat in the sun but its rays have the property of extracting the heat from the earth & earthy bodies. This will account for what I have always considered so strange that the sun’s heat as I called it pierced glass, which fire or real heat does not. It is easy to imagine that the rays of light piercing through the glass window produces the heat which we thought it conveyed to us. It is now ascertained to a certainty that our sun with its numerous planets is moving in an orbit round a centre which is thought to be in the Pleides. The extent is so wonderful, that it will take 18 millions of years to accomplish our rotation! Our world with the moon circulating round it wd go inside the sun! The attraction must be so much more powerful on the sun than on our world that a man if man there is, must be 24 times larger & more powerful than us. The moon is spoken of as so well known that every mountain & hill is named & measured even those 50 feet high! & regular plans & drawings are made of its surface. The mountains on Venus are measured 7 times higher than the highest on the earth. There can be neither air or fire in the moon. A ray of light travels from the sun to us in 8 minutes & it wd take 12 thousand years from the farthest star which has been discovered! How wonderful that man should be permitted by dint of study & the highest exercise of his talents to catch these glimpses into the immensity of God’s universe. Does it not raise the thoughts & give higher & sublimer ideas of the Divinity. True it humbles us to the dust, but at the same time it shews us that God is so infinitely powerful & good that it is scarcely wonderful for him to care for us. Surely it is less wonderful that so great a being should support us miserable dependants on his will, than that he sd create, rule & support even the universe we are able to conceive. I suppose that all we see is nothing. In fact I imagine that the universe is like eternity, endless & I have an idea that if we cd see far enough we should discover that the real centre of all, is that which to us is inconceivable, not to be thought of without wonder & awe & admiration and love & ardent desire to see & to be with The Great Cause Himself. How can we sin against him, what must we in our best estate appear in his sight & what when we rebel against him, miserable atoms! & so ungrateful! for can we not fancy that God wd be pleased if he saw us doing right & improving the intellects & powers he has given us & yet we hesitate not at every instant to disappoint him (if we dare use such a word).
13 “Thaw towards night, but a heavy snow storm in the day. Capt Pittman called in the morning & even Mrs Parish came in the snow to the astronomy which she finds extremely interesting. It related to Venus & Mars. The mountains in the former are 7 times as high as our highest. Mr Rehfeldt in the morning & Mr Schottler in the evening renders this a most busy day, though called a holiday.”
· This paragraph was also dated 13.
14th A far too rapid a thaw. Our hill is like a torrent & they are cutting the ice with pickaxes & sending large pieces rolling down in the red torrent. They have gone to church at the risk of accident with alpenstocks. It is really dangerous, for a wonder no one returned from church & we were all day alone. Ther 5 above 0. River awefully swollen, large masses of ice tearing down, high wind.
15th Ther 5 above 0. The wind has dried one part of the hill, river quite a sight. Lucy & Amelia to reading. Miss Baker’s came too late, sat with Emily & me. Drank tea at the Wrights. Finished Hamlet. I cannot say I like reading Shakespeare. I am fidgetty & old & it annoys me to be seated on the sofa to read like a school girl. People of the house behaved very ill to Mr Wright, have let their apartments, they must leave in February.
16th Fine morning. Emily is very unwell with a sort of influenza. Aurélie continues extremely nervous & weak, faint & poorly. Robert’s head is very bad & Clara’s. I consulted the Dr about Robert & Aurélie. Drs are useful instruments in the hand but in consulting them we ought to pray that God may use them as means his blessing is what is required. I called on Miss Puchelt & Mrs Pittman & did a variety of commissions. I had the greatest difficulty in walking & was forced to go to bed early on account of the excessive fatigue I suffered.
17 Fine morning. Ther 6 above 0. Aurélie & Robert both in bed. A short visit from Mr Wright. He thinks the Pittman’s are not warm towards them, cannot imagine what is the matter. A busy day with us. They went down to the Wrights for the astronomy lesson, but Mr Schmezer did not come. George past the day here.
18 Quite a warm day, had the window open almost all the morning & no fire. Aurélie & Robert still in bed. Clara up to dinner. Miss Smith, Harriett & Cecilia past the afternoon here, brought lots of books for the invalids. They are very warm hearted.
19 Ther 8 R. Clara & Robert in bed. Aurélie up. Mr Wright, Mr Parish, Mr Turton, Mrs Pittman called. I called on Mrs Wright. They are much annoyed at being turned out of their apartments. We are such favorites with all the people here, that all sorts of jealousies are beginning. Mr Parish will not fix a day for his party because some of our party are ill & he tells us we are the people they most want. Miss de Graemberg is offended with the Wrights because they are more with us than with her. The Wrights are affronted with the Bakers because they are cool to them & warm to us. We take no part in these little affairs but are much obliged to all I trust for their good opinion. Mr Wright had giddiness in his head today.
20 Clara is very poorly, complains much of her head & chest & has a bad cough. Miss Smith & Harriett came to enquire about her. The latter was inconsolable because I wd not allow her to go & sit by Clara. Mr Wright called, asked Fanny a question which she answered in the negative. Miss Faller & Babetchin called. Towards afternoon I got uneasy about dear Clara & sent for Dr Pickford. He suggests measles for there was a young man at Miss Kempf’s ball, who had a bad cold which the next day turned to measles. A little girl who saw him the day of the ball has taken it. It is proved that the most contagious time is just before the rash appears. Since the Dr is gone I find rash coming out on the arm & hardly feel a doubt of the dear girl having the measles. I have shut all the doors except the one into the dining room, lighted the stove, moved the bed, closed the window curtains & I pray to God that she & the others may get through it well. She is very ill tonight decidedly. Ther 7 above 0.
21 Measles decidedly out today. She is very faint & ill but the rash coming out, I consider all chance of danger (humanly speaking) over. Cecilia Parish has it out upon her also this morning. Miss Smith was here before church & took Annie & Laura with her. All our friends are extremely attentive & considerate.
22 Clara much better this morning. Yesterday & last night the perspirations were cold but today she is comfortably warm. Her eyes are light, her voice cheerful & I have every reason to thank God for her having had the measles lightly. The Dr called today, tried to hook himself on to me, because I have a bad cold, but I was too wise to be so caught. I have certainly no fancy for Drs. Weather dull, cloudy, chilly & wholly uninteresting. Ther generally 7 or 8 R.
23rd I was in bed all day with this nasty cold. Clara almost well, taking broth & chicken, being read to & reading, in fact arrived at the pleasurable part of an illness. All our friends are most uncommonly kind & attentive, coming, lending etc. Aurélie tho’ exceedingly unwell went with Emily & Fanny to the reading party at the Leonard’s. They were very unwilling to give it up, as it is a most improving thing & one likely to be continued.
24th All our friends & acquaintances call every day. I am still in bed with my cold. Clara continues to improve. Dr called & said she might get up tomorrow. I received my letter of credit. Robert took his first lesson of music from his new master 15k an hour 5d!
25th I am up & about today. Clara on the sofa, Aurélie a migraine, Robert to school. Wrights, Bakers reading. Emily making solar systems. Laura sneezing! Mr Wright in a mess all the morning. A certain person with a high name called on him to ask if he remembered his having said that certain other gentlemen had behaved unlike gentlemen in giving what is called cat’s music to a lodging house keeper. I never heard of the circumstance & only hope there is no ill feeling towards any one. Young ladies ought certainly to be very careful even when actuated by right & proper feelings in behaving politely to gentlemen, flirting is odious, but they must be courteous & gentle to all.
26th A regular cleaning of the drawing room, a regular succession of visitors & a regular bustle. All the afternoon they were at lectures & I sitting trying to hear Mr Parish, Mrs Pittman, Mr & Mrs Wright.
27th Laura’s appearance of cold which I have considered measles has almost quite disappeared. We have splendid weather, not a cloud & are today reaping the fruits of yesterday’s discomfort in a drawing room without dust. Took £100 from Zimmern 1194 flo, this time the exchange being bad, I lose 6 florins. Before our lecture party had dispersed, Mr Turton arrived & asking for Miss You bear he produced a bottle of Muriatic acid & administered a dose to her, after which he gave me, Mrs Wright & Emily a saline draught each & made me a present of a little measure for the acid & soda. What a good kind old man he is!
28th Fanny feels poorly. Clara in bed from prudence, quite well. Harriett Parish has been in bed trying to have measles for 2 days but is quite well. They went to see her & Cecilia before church. Mr Wright came back from church with them & all accompanied them to the gate, even Mr Parish. After dinner Mrs Wright, Lucy & Amelia came & sat with us & also Capt Pittman. Edmund Wright sailed on 22nd. We hear a good deal about him. He seems not yet to have forgotten Heidelberg. We have many invitations to go to Adelaide. I am sure if I had sons as John [Barkley, Martha’s brother] has I sd immediately be off. Mr Wright’s eldest son started without any thing. He gave him credit for a certain time but not one penny did he ever draw. Another son went out at 15, another for Ceylon & afterwards to Adelaide at 17, Edmund & another at 19 years of age. All are doing well & much respected. I had a letter from Anne yesterday with the news of her being quite decided to come here in April, just as we shall be leaving. We must stay & see her at any event, if we do not remain. How strange it seems, that all the time we have been on the Continent she should have been in England & now that we are returning, she is coming.
· Edmund Wright 1824-1888 became a well known architect in Adelaide & Mayor.
29th I have written to Anne & I trust we may be able to pass some time together even if I do not decide on remaining a year longer. I went out after dinner to buy Annie’s present, but my cold is bad & headache violent. Robert takes his music lesson every day, the young student who teaches him seems attentive & I hope strict. He is a young man recommended by Miss Kempf. Some lady gives him lodging & firing. He attends the University gratis, but has to find his own clothes & food & often goes without a dinner.
30th Fanny’s cold is bad & I persuaded her to go to bed again when she was getting up, but nothing seems to come out. I give her lime flower tea. We all sat quietly during the morning, Mr Wright called after dinner. Aurélie went shopping & to her lessons at Miss Kempf. Robert to school, Clara to sleep, me to commence my work, Emily & Annie to write. Laura to sit with Cecilia & is come home with a violent headache, of which Fanny complains this afternoon. The snow fell & attempted to remain all the morning, after which we had a thick fog & now it is cloudy & cold. Ther 2½.
31st The 19th Birthday dear Annie has seen. Fanny & Laura in bed, Clara up in the forenoon. Nothing but nursing, yet Elisa made a flaming plum pudding & a cake for tea in a shape having a hole in the centre in which stood a flower pot with a piramid of moss & everlastings, a little wax candle at the top & as many round the dish as she is years old, intermixed with tiny bouquets. It was very brilliant & pretty. I gave her a mousline de laine frock. Aurélie a very pretty taper case. Emily a writing case. Fanny a workbox blue. Clara an almanach. Laura a crochet. Robert pens, penholder & pen wiper. Fanny continues to have a cold, watering eyes, pain in her back etc. Laura in bed with headache, pain in her back etc. Surely it must be measles.
February 1st Ther ½ above 0. Snow falling, lying, melting, fog, wind, in fact bad weather of every sort. Fanny better but I cannot induce myself to think it will not turn to measles & have persuaded her to remain one day more in bed. Laura’s head being better, she attempted to get up but felt so poorly she was forced to go to bed again & I think the rest is decidedly coming out on her face today. She is very warm & in bed taking lime flower tea. Dr called & cd not pronounce it decidedly measles.
2nd Today I feel persuaded that Laura has the measles. The Dr pronounces it certain & says she is having it very lightly & will not have any more rash out. He gives her no medicine. Robert has a little sore throat & cold. Fanny is imprudently up, but feels weak & giddy. The frost has returned. It is 1½ above 0. Snow lying in unbeaten spots & on the mountains. Wrights & Mr de Graemberg called. Aurélie asked many questions about his daughter, he replies rather vaguely.
3rd A lovely bright, clear, sunny day. Ther 5 below 0! When I first saw Laura she said she was better, but the rash has been encreasing violently all day & she is suffering very sadly from severe pain in her back & legs, as well as from great heat & irritation. Her face & eyes are much swollen & almost purple with irruption, her eyes are half closed & she moans constantly. The Dr & Mrs Wright both declare Fanny has it in her, she is very giddy, weak & looks dull & thick. We have moved her bed into Clara & Laura’s room, so that with the bed made on the sofa for the one who nurses there are 4 beds in the room. Aurélie, Emily & Annie take it by turns to remain all night. They will not allow me to take my turn which shows me that I am becoming one of the useless ones of the world. However I do all I can during the day. Harriett Parish is in the same stage of the disorder as Laura. Mr Turton came & gave us all saline draughts & brought me all the apparatus for them. He is a complete Dr. The Wrights came up to the astronomy & all the party who were up sat in their circle, with the toil before them, but no Mr Schmetzer came. There is a report that there has been fighting in Paris again & Buonaparte gone. Laura got very ill towards night, much pain in her back & stomach. Emily was with her all night, she had not any sleep &
4th in the morning I found her so very ill that I sent Elise for Dr Pickford. He was out & Aurélie started off to try & find him. Laura’s fever was high, her face swollen & almost purple, her eyes closed & her pain so great that she cried continually. Good Mr Turton come up before church with his pockets full of fine oranges from Mr Parish & a medical book of his own, for us to study measles. He mixed some orange juice & made it into a saline & gave Laura which eased her for a short time. He also gave Fanny one in bed, he is so kind & friendly we quite feel grateful to him, but Laura only obtained a short relief. Poor Aurélie no sooner came home without success than I sent her off again for any Dr she cd find. Laura’s sufferings were distressing to witness. At last the Dr came & ordered caster oil & injections. We were in the middle of this when the Wrights came back with Annie & Robert from church. Mrs Wright came in & helped. At last by God’s blessing we relieved the poor child & in a few hours she was comparatively easy, tho’ she remained exceedingly restless & burning hot. Aurélie was with her all night, she had no rest untill 4 in the morning, when she dosed a little.
5th Thank God Laura is much better this morning, tho’ still very very red, her forehead is beginning to clear & the irruption is much stronger on her arms, body & legs. Her face is not nearly so swollen, her eyes are open & tho’ red & watery are more bright. She talks & has taken a little gruel. I confess I began to be very much alarmed yesterday, but had I done what Mr Turton advised on Saturday given her caster oil, she wd have been spared much pain & risk. About 4 o’clock Mr Turton arrived in a great state of excitement, he was so afraid the saline draught might be thought to have done her harm, he cd not sleep all night & the first thing in the morning came from Manheim to see for himself. Poor good old man, tears were in his eyes & the perspiration ran down his face when he came in. I was so vexed & grieved he sd have been so uneasy & had so much trouble, for the innocent draught he gave her was the only thing that had brought the least moisture on her skin. I took him in to see her & in his rough way he threw a parcel with sugar candy on her bed & said “There, I brought that for you, its worth coming from Manheim to see you looking so much better”. He staid to dinner with us & I trust felt quite convinced that we had no thought of his having done harm. Capt Pittman, Mr Wright, Lucy & Amelia all came. Emily & Annie went to the literature & Lucy & Amelia came back with them, to hear the last report. Laura going on most favourably, her head & throat are bad & the irruption still very strong, but how thankful ought we to be that she is so much better. Fanny continues heavy giddy & with a head ache. Capt Pittman says Paris is in a most critical state, tho’ for the moment quiet. They talk of Germany being again in commotion & that with spring every thing will recommence. My deafness encreases so much that I do not hear any conversation even tho’ addressed to myself. It makes me nervous in society. However I thank God for being as well as I am & for surrounding me with those who are so kind & able.
6th As usual we had visitors from 10 or 11 till 1. Capt Pittman, Mr Wright, Mr Rehfeldt. Lucy & Amelia after dinner. Laura does not yet get any appetite, but she lies still & appears easy, the irruption is going in, she has much cough, sore throat, headache & hoarseness. Clara does not get on, she has a great deal of phlegm, cough, hoarseness, a little tenderness on her chest & is weak. She rises after breakfast & goes to bed between 7 & 8. Her great dread is that after crowing over Harriett & Cecilia & being up whilst they are kept in bed, she should at last get behind them. Fanny I do really think is better, but far from strong or in her usual health. This evening Elise is beginning to complain, her being taken ill will involve great trouble & vexation. Emily & Annie continue well. Aurélie so so. Me ditto ditto, horrified at so much loss of time for the German, music etc & rather achy & queer. Robert has a violent headache & looks heavy & dull. He is gone to bed & has had tilleul. Yesterday Annie had a letter from M.A. Witherby who seems pretty well & E. Winstanley who gives a good deal of news. Mrs Neilson is dead, she had a long illness. The family seem much as usual.
7th After all my forebodings last night every one seems better today, excepting Aurélie who was obliged to go away from breakfast. She was however well enough to go to her lesson at 11 & again at 3 & then shopping with Emily, Annie & Robert. I took a walk in the castle gardens, as I felt my head stupefied with the heat of the rooms. I believe all my family are salamanders. No degree of heat is sufficient for them, if they continue to keep the stoves going at this rate I must live in my bed room. Laura much better, rash nearly gone, but no appetite yet. Clara not over & above well. Fanny getting better without measles. The castle looks so cold & dull, so very different from the ruins in Italy which tho’ solitary & deserted, never have that unhappy miserable look which things have in these climates. There are always lovely blooming flowers to enliven them & the pure sky & warm sun make them dry, glowing & grand in their decay. Here this castle looks degraded, at least at this season, for at other times of the year the tints are very fine even here. I went hoping to see the sun set but cd not watch it from the end of the terrace, as there were lots of students lounging about.
8 Going on well with the measles. Clara is I hope getting stronger.
9 Went to the Wrights & Parishes. The former were just in the agonies of expecting a quarrel with their infamous landlady. Aurélie & I carried some little flower stands to their new house which I like very much.
10 Mr Schmezer did not give the astronomy again. He seems falling off very much & only gives 40 minutes. Mr Turton came loaded with pills, syrup etc & gave us each a saline. He talks of bringing his family here for change of air this spring instead of Weinheim.
11 In bed with pain & headache. Read part of the Confessions of St Augustine, very forcible & very fine. I cannot divest myself of the idea that I have the same work to perform as he, the salvation of my soul & if he only secured heaven, what will become of me!
12 Laura has not yet left her bed, she recovers slowly & has bad head aches. Clara is rapidly improving. Wrights & Bakers came to reading. Fanny might go out if the weather was fine & milder. I wrote to Anne Barkley. Letter M.A. Winstanley.
13 Walked to the town. Market good & cheap. Fire last night in the town. Large house burned, the appearance was very fine. Dr Pickford has ordered Robert a little blister kept open over his heart, 2 warm baths a week, powders & cessation from learning. This is sad. God grant that no serious desease of the heart has taken place. Put a blister on Robert’s heart.
14 St Valentine’s day, cloudy, foggy, misty, raw, cold. Emily received a letter from Amelia. She speaks of John leaving Melton & going to some cheap part of Scotland. Why does he not go with his family, boys & all. The great advantages appear to render it most advisable.
15 Fanny ill in bed. I do not know what she has. I do not think it is measles. Wrights & Bakers to reading. Miss Smith came up. All went into the sick rooms. What a joke against me that Mr Parish came in great form to invite us to a grand ball given by the gentlemen or students of Heidelberg & I considering it a public ball hesitated & gave no answer, but asked if the Wrights & Bakers wd go, not knowing whether or not they had been invited.
16 Alas! we have to go to a ball at Miss Kempf’s tonight & they are out now searching for ball frocks for Monday, how provoking! when we are out of spirits & out of sorts altogether. Fanny is ill in bed. Robert quite out of health, poor fellow his blister annoys him sadly & he is gone to bed, there to read & amuse himself to his heart’s content. Capt Pittman & Mr Wright sat here the whole time they were out & in the afternoon Mrs Wright & Dr Pickford. His opinion of Robert is that he must be under treatment for the next 4 years & have his blister open for months. He pronounces his case to be inflamation of the heart! caused by his two rheumatic fevers! A ball at Miss Kempf extremely unpleasant & annoying, one of the greatest trials I ever had to go in such a state of mind. Wrights then together the whole evening. Left in in the middle of supper.
17th Out from breakfast to dinner seeking a bath for Robert. Bought a nice wooden one for 4 guldens. Late for dinner. Mr Wright had been sitting with Emily, giving vent to the feelings excited by last evening. Mrs Wright very ill with cold on her chest. After dinner scarcely time to put on my gown before Mr Wright & Lucy came, then Mrs Parish. Then Mr Turton & Mr Schottler. Arnold to try ball frocks! Then warm bath Robert. Tea. Then looking at Fanny. I think I see the measles plainly coming out. Made a great effort, moved her & her bed into the sick room, thank God she is there. I only pray that the irruption may at last come out freely. She is extremely low & weak or certainly very ill. God protect us through all this great anxiety.
18 Fanny this morning had not so much irruption, had past a restless night & was very poorly. She lies quiet still & quiet, her eyes & face swollen. She has not eaten any thing for 5 days. Aurélie & Emily went at 10 o’clock to see Cecilia & take her her birth day present & then they went to church. Annie joined them there & I intended to leave Fanny for ½ an hour & go to the sacrament, so after reading the prayers with Robert & giving the medicines etc I set off, but meeting the Dr half way was forced to return with him. He ordered Fanny a mustard poultice on her chest but will not pronounce it measles, tho’ she has a great deal of rash on her face. She continues extremely ill. Mrs Parish called after dinner, the 2 Bakers & Mr Turton. He went in to see Fanny, thinks her very ill but hopes the rash coming out will relieve the distressing oppression on her chest. The pain in her back is very violent. The mustard poultices have the effect of relieving the breathing. We have reason to be truly grateful to our friends, who are all most kind & attentive. Mr Turton begs me to write, or else he will come over. He presses me to send for him or for any thing we want. All our friends go to see Robert who looks better & enjoys his treatment greatly. Lucy & Amelia came before tea & sat some time. They are really like our own family. Lucy had tears in her eyes when she talked of going to the ball tomorrow without us. Fanny’s breath is very bad tonight again & she is very ill. The rash appears on her chest, hands & arms. It must be measles. Dr Pickford’s suggestion is, that she was infected by Clara one month ago! that it was not strong enough to come out, has made her so ill ever since, till Laura’s infection coming on that, has brought the desease to perfection. God protect her & carry her safe through it, but she is very ill now.
19 Fanny has been extremely ill all today. The irruption is most violent. Her eyes & face are swollen & almost purple. Her breath is short & she suffers great pain in her chest & back. All day she laid quite stiff, suffering with the utmost patience, never complaining at the necessary miseries of heat, perspiration, hot bottles & flannels etc. Dr Pickford paid his 2nd visit at 7 & found her going on well, but after that she became restless, in great pain, agitated & altogether so ill that at 11 we were forced to send for the Dr who was met by Müller & came very quickly. He prescribed a new medicine which relieved the pain but she had a wretched wandering suffering night. We stayed with her till 1 & Aurélie sat up with her the remainder of the night. The Müllers were very civil & pressed us to go to the ball, promising that Madame Müller & Mina wd take care of Fanny. This of course we refused, because she was far too ill for us to think of going to a ball, but I am glad they had the civility to propose it.
20 Fanny though still very ill, is better. Her eyes are open, she speaks more & is certainly over the crisis. There is very little diminution in the irruption. All our friends have been up. The ball was very gay & contrary to their fate at Miss Kempf’s, Lucy & Amelia danced very dance. They went with the Parishes, who were very kind & attentive. Laura is up today & lying on the sofa. She is weak but going on well. She fell on a chair at first when she tried to walk across the room. It is strange that ill as she is & has been she has had but little fever. The rash was as great in the mouth & throat as on the face.
21 Great improvement in Fanny. Emily obliged to sit with her foot on a chair & have her corn poulticed. I wrote to Jane. Emily to Miss Faller. No astronomy. No German.
22 Annie poorly. Towards afternoon she got out of bed to put her hair tidy, expecting measles, she fainted & when her colour returned it brought with it eruption. We moved her into the sick room & let Clara sleep in hers with a fire in my room. Clara not being able to leave the warm rooms & Emily being in bed with her corn, Aurélie & I were the only ones in the drawing room after Robert went to bed. He was up all day today, but his spirits are so boisterous, he keeps me in a constant fright. The Dr wishes him to be quite quiet. Every thing which causes a quicker circulation does harm. Miss Kempf rudely told Aurélie that our girls took the measles going up & down the hill in all weathers, to which she replied “How then did the Miss Parishes take it?”. We never so much as thought of saying any thing about getting the measles at her ball. Some one must have made mischief about it.
23rd Miss Smith here early in the morning about her soldier. Mr Parish asked her to paint a British Officer, he wants one made in sugar & put upon a cake for young Barness Birth day. Emily has done it for her. She came up again for it in the afternoon, brought Robert a game & played with him. Henrietta is with him all day.
23 Weather getting fine & milder. Mr Turton came yesterday, enjoyed some pancakes, beer & saline draught. Brought soda & acid & lots of sugar candy etc for the invalids. Mr Wright & Amelia & Capt Pittman before dinner. Annie fully out, has some fever but does not appear ill, sleeps much. Mr Reyfeldt called in the afternoon.
24 The weather gets milder, but is generally overcast & dull. Annie is very full of rash & very poorly, has fever & great perspiration. Fanny gets on gradually, reads & knits a little. Laura goes about the two rooms, works, reads, copies music, draws a little. Clara goes into all the warm rooms, not outside the door, she makes herself very useful & attentive. Mary Baker brought her book of drawings to shew us. She draws & colours very well & her brother is quite an artist.
25 Rainy morning. Only Aurélie to go to church & she scarcely able. Robert has Sunday books & is in bed. Mary & Sarah Baker walked with Aurélie from church. How very kind people are. Mr Turton, Mr Wright & Amelia.
26 Lovely fresh, mild, bright day. Robert out in the garden, his pulse is rather slower. Aurélie another migraine. The rest getting on. I went to the town & executed commissions.
27 Splendid day, distant hills blue & misty. I greatly enjoyed an hour’s walk with Aurélie & hope soon to see dear Clara out. I long for Emily’s corn to allow her to take air & exercise for she does not look well. Fearing they were injured we opened today the blue box containing Etruscans, bronzes etc & were delighted with the elegant forms which struck us perhaps less in Italy where all else is lovely. Here they appear more exquisite than ever. Fanny has begun to eat a small piece of meat. Annie has begun to read & to eat thick milk & bread & milk. Clara & Laura are quite well, began practising again. Mr Wright & Capt Pittman before dinner. Mrs Parish, Miss Smith & Amelia after dinner. Letters yesterday from E Shaw, Anne Barkley & Miss Elisa sending Emily’s corn ointment. Dear Robert out & running about.
28 Today he is in bed with plenty of work & books. His bath at 5. All the measles party getting better. I went with Aurélie to look at apartments for Anne. I cannot think what will be best for her to do. My senses seem to have evaporated during the illness. Really my head is in such a state I appear to myself & doubtless to others more stupid than an owl. Called on Mrs Parish & the Wrights, met the Pittmans there. Walked part of the way home with them.
March 1st
We had not one visitor today excepting Dr Pickford. He orders Aurélie iron baths. Robert’s pulse he finds lower. The rest going on well. Mr Wright in bed with a cold & Mrs Wright also.
2nd Emily went after breakfast to see the Wrights, the first time she has been out, on account of her corn. In the afternoon she & I went to call on Mrs Pittman & to buy a straw bonnet. We were both dreadfully tired & only got home to tea. The weather is rather dull, but milder gradually. We have not as yet any easterly winds.
3rd Before dinner I went with Aurélie for her to have a warm iron bath. God grant they may do her good. After dinner I took Clara & Laura a walk on the Wolfsbrunnen road. I thank God that they have once more breathed the fresh air of heaven. When I returned from the bath, Capt Pittman & the Wrights were here & in the afternoon Mrs Parish. Fanny is wonderfully stronger today & has walked to the drawing room door with the help of chairs & tables. Annie is hoping to be up tomorrow. Robert was up & out with us in high spirits. Yesterday I had a long letter from Jane. She urges me to go for next winter to Italy or the South of France. I have answered her today.
4 Lovely walk up the mountains over our village. Frightened whilst sitting to rest & enjoy the view, by hearing the trampling of soldiers feet. They past us & had been exercising. Mr Turton, Capt Pittman, Bakers returned with us from church & afterwards Wrights called. I went to church with Emily & Robert. Annie got up for first time. Aurélie in bed but I hope a little better. Splendid weather.
5th Not a cloud to be seen & tho’ the atmosphere wants the exquisite clearness of Italy, yet it is lovely & the views superb. Went to the town with Clara & Laura, leaving Aurélie at school. On our return we found Harriett & Cecilia & Miss Smith here. No words can describe the joy of the meeting between them & Clara & Laura, such embracings, such kissings, such talking! It was really quite a pleasure to see them.
6th Aurélie & Emily went & took a warm bath. Fanny is not gaining strength very rapidly, Annie is. Clara & Laura took a walk with their friends. I took my book & walked to a seat on the Wolfsbrunnen road, whence I watched the sunset. As I approached a turn in the road I was quite charmed with the blue of the mist over the woods up the valley, it appeared almost like water through the trees & beyond & above the hills were violet coloured. What a wonderful & delightful thing is the return of spring. What will it be when the redeemed see the resurrection to immortal life, after the winter of death! I hope it is not wrong to admire nature as I do. Surely it cannot be so, as I always feel that God is all in all. To descend to the petty concerns of earth, Mr Schmezer seems surly & unwilling to continue his lessons, Miss Kempf is polite to the Wrights but not to us. I firmly believe they all have expected much more out of us. I believe no one thinks of English paying only what they are asked. If it depended on me I sd give up very thing connected with that set if I were them. Certainly we must very unconsciously done something to offend the whole coterie. I am sorry that when Anne comes she should find all the advantages we have told of, gone by.
7 Went to the town with Aurélie, left her at school, went to the Wrights & Parishes. Mr W. came back with me till I met Aurélie. We returned to dinner & directly after I took Clara & Laura & our books up the mountain & enjoyed the spectacular view & delicious sun & air. When I returned I found the Pittmans & Bakers here, then the Wrights came, then Robert’s bath, tea, Mr Schottler & I wrote 2 letters, one to E. Shaw, the other to Anne.
8 What a change, who wd believe that a few hours cd transform what was so beaming, smiling, glorious, into such dull, grey, dirty, misty looking a view. Such is human life & the heart of man with or without the glorious sun of righteousness, uncheered by his rays how bleak, how cold, how dead, how hopeless & desolate we feel. One ray of divine light throws joy & loveliness over the whole prospect at once of life & eternity. May God give us all this blessed sun shine.
9th Snow covering every thing. It melted during the day. Mr Wright & Capt Pittman called. Emily & Aurélie out the whole afternoon attending 3 lectures. Fanny got up today, she is still weak.
10th A heavy snow storm, every thing covered several inches deep. It melted in the sun, but now at night it remains frozen in the garden & even in the shady parts of the opposite mountain. Dr Pickford called, we had a long consultation with him & he gave it as his decided opinion that I ought to take Robert for the next 4 or 5 years to Italy & that it wd also be very beneficial to Fanny. After he was gone I determined to take Dr Chelins’s opinion also. Therefore after dinner, Emily, Robert & I went & called on Dr Pickford & asked him if he had any objection to go with us. He said “No by no means, only this afternoon I cannot. I can quite understand why you wish for another opinion & will consult with any one you like. There can be no difference of opinion as to the case, but there may as to the treatment”. He then advised me to go at once which I did & after waiting nearly an hour saw Dr Chelins. The instant I told him that Dr Pickford was treating the case he seemed resolved not to pay any attention to it. He did not ask the dear child a single question. At my request he for form sake put his ear for an instant to his side, said he supposed he was quite well & wd not listen to treatment or any thing else. I said “You gave it as your opinion that he had a heart complaint”. “Oh no he has not”. “Will you not listen to the pulsation”. “I have & it is all right”. “But Dr Pickford says he has at this moment inflammation of the heart”. “Oh no”. “Then you consider him quite well”. “Oh yes”. “But his heart beats very violently”. “Oh perhaps that is the nervous movement of his body”. “But Dr Pickford thinks a mild climate necessary”. “Heidelberg is a very good air”. All this time he never spoke or looked at Robert & never asked us to sit down. He took his seat & scribbled off a prescription for a powder, merely to get his fee. I bowed & walked out of the room. A pretty specimen of a German Dr! What a bustle. He must either have told a falsehood in saying he had a heart complaint before, or by his present neglect he must run the risk of the dear child being neglected. If he had the desease a month ago, it is very strange it sd be cured now all of a sudden.
11th A bad migraine of Aurélie & a cold of Clara’s requiring mustard poultice etc kept me from church. Emily & Robert only went as it was too cold to allow of Laura going. Mrs Pittman & her daughters, her husband, Mr Wright & his daughters & Harry Turton came back with them. The Wrights & Turtons sat here a long time in the afternoon. Mr Turton’s curate having had a living presented to him, cannot stay in Mr Turton’s which obliges him to return to England immediately after Easter. I am sure he will be a sad loss. His truly peaceable Christian character does more good in maintaining & promoting the same feeling in others, than many more shining qualities. He proposed meeting Anne when she lands & taking her to the rail road. Mr Wright offered to go to Manheim to fetch her & it is agreed we shall wait at the Wrights for every train on the day Anne is expected. Perhaps after all she has by this time changed her plan & will not come at all!
12 Directly after breakfast out shopping with Emily & after dinner had a visit from Mr Parish about Dr Chelins, whom he says is the kindest most courteous & liberal man in the world. If so! the world is at a lower ebb than I thought. He wished to speak to him about Robert, but I declined & he has very kindly proposed to go with me to Dr Magelin or some such name. I suppose I shall end by offending every one, I fully expect it.
13th Aurélie’s 36th Birth day. Past very happily at home, giving presents, talking of plans, dress etc. Second astronomy lesson since I paid. The last lesson was upon the planet Saturn & the (to us) extraordinary appearance the ring must present to the inhabitants of the planet & the planet to the inhabitants of the ring. To the latter the body of the planet must occupy a quarter of their horizon. Today’s lesson was on Uranus & Neptune. Dear Robert’s excitement about Elise’s secrets for the birthday was most extraordinary & his perfect agony lest she should see the illuminated cake & cream at tea. The 36 little wax candles pleased him amazingly. On the latter were a lion & a rabbit guarding a crown.
14th Very busy about new muslin’s at Zimmern’s. He has some very nice ones. Bought myself one & Elise a print gown. Met Dr Pickford. He is to go to Professor Nägele tomorrow with Robert.
15th Our first occupation this morning was with Fanny’s 21st Birth day! My second child has attained her majority! What cause I have for thankfulness to God, at two of my children having arrived at what are considered years of discretion, with characters which tho’ not faultless are yet as much so as a mother could dare to hope. God give them grace to correct all that is amiss, to improve that which is good & to plant those good habits & feelings which may be wanting. I trust that God in is goodness will allow me if not this year yet early in the next to return to our country & then establish ourselves as a happy & useful family. After the presents were given & approved, muslin frocks were chosen. Mr Wright called. We had dinner, then Aurélie went with Dr Pickford to consult Professor Nägele about Robert. I went to meet them & was cheered by his report that the Dr did not consider the dear child had any decided complaint of the heart. His opinion was that he is delicate, must not be pressed with lessons, must be kept from excitement & that one year in Italy or any warm climate wd quite save him from tendency to heart desease. Now my business is to act as I conscientiously think best. God enlighten my heart to do so. Aurélie found Dr Nägele a most kind old man & likes him much. We went out shopping & returning found Lucy & Amelia still here. Elise had prepared an illumination as usual for tea & she gave Fanny amongst our presents an album, very fine & smart indeed, besides a rose tree & the Müllers gave her a beautiful hyacinth, myrtle & musk plant, the plants they gave Aurélie on her birth day not being so fine. They gave her today a very nice hyacinth.
16th Heavy snow. Yesterday it was bright & fine & the snow quite hard. Today it is snowing afresh. We are expecting a box from Paris, with a Birth day present for Aurélie & patterns of fashions. I had a letter from Packham yesterday saying he has just aired all the things & finds them as safe as when we left. He has not received his money for 3 quarters. Mrs Maberly offers to pay it.
17th At home all day, weather not so cold, but dull & dark & disagreeable. Mary, Lucy & Amelia came to read. Dr Pickford called. He is evidently unshaken in his opinion of dear Robert. He says that the great object is to avoid another attack of rheumatic fever, which having been the original cause of his present symptoms, would be very bad as a repetition. Here then is a constant source of care & anxiety. Italy is not likely to be in a state for people to reside in next winter. God knows what my plans will be. It is very strange that Anne does not write. I know not what to think of it. Politics seem exceedingly bad. Numbers of persons have gone to Frankfurt to be present at the decision on Monday. If the King of Prussia accepts the Empire a war with Russia & Austria is expected. If he refuses, a general & terrible revolution all over Germany is they say inevitable. Time alone can prove what is to be the issue.
18th Mr Turton here before church with bitters for Aurélie. I shall give them also to Emily. He is really so kind, that we feel quite grateful to him. After church went to see poor old Mrs Wright who looks very ill. Mrs Pittman, Mary, Sarah, Lucy & Amelia walked home with Emily. M. de Graemberg called. Annie took a little walk & did not feel at all tired.
19th Dull chilly weather. Laura wrote to M.A. Witherby, I to Anne Barkley & Jane. Received a letter from M.A. Winstanley. Emily & I called on Mrs Pittman. Fanny went out for a few minutes.
20 Fanny went out again for a little longer but she is weak & requires time. I received a letter from Anne, no change of plan, she intends to start on 26th & hopes to be here on 29th. I trust & hope the weather will be favourable & her journey prosperous. I have engaged the upper rooms for a week & shall ask Mr Parish if he can allow her to leave her large packages at his house untill we can arrange our plans. The 4th astronomy lesson took place here. Very interesting about comets.
21st Capt Pittman & Mr Wright before diner, Wrights & Bakers afterwards to reading. Box arrived from Paris containing a pretty white silk bonnet for Aurélie, a habit shirt & pair of cuffs, a ribbon for the neck & 2 caps! A ribbon each for the girls & lots of patterns for all.
22nd Cold weather still. Morning not quite so clear, but it seems brightening.
23rd Fine morning, very cold. I have a bad face ache & am in bed feeling very poorly.
24th In bed, letter from Anne, Annie threatened with measles!
25th In bed still, weak, headache, poorly altogether. Another letter from Anne. Annie has the measles, so there is another disappointment, shall we ever meet? I shall feel very anxious to know that the dear child is doing well. How anxious must Anne be to see her only child ill & she a widow!
26th In bed, wrote Anne.
27th I am up but feel exceedingly weak & poorly, heart beating & head throbbing & my whole frame in a tremor. Auréie slept the whole day without the power of stirring or waking. She had a letter from Sockhart Neilson. I had a very long one from Jane. She has most kindly consulted 3 medical men about dear Robert, who all agree without knowing each others opinion in the necessity of perfect quiet, easy occupation, medical treatment & warm climate! I think this has quite decided me to remain another year & please God pass next winter if possible in Italy or South of France. The English doctors speak highly of those of Heidelberg. Emily had a letter from Miss Faller.
28th Towards the afternoon the weather became bright & mild & I really hope we are going now to enjoy better & warmer weather. German reading. Mr Schottler. I have written a long letter to Mary Barkley.
29th The morning bright & cold. Bakers & Wrights to tea. Mary drew two beautiful little figures to go with the Pompeii lamps, sang delightfully, her brother accompanying her on the violin. Letter from Anne. Annie much better, intending to start on the 10th. Mr Cornish going to be married. Almonds in bloom.
30 Fanny to the Wrights for the astronomy, very hysterical. Mr W. walked back with her. Capt Pittman took Robert a walk. No fires!
31 Mr Turton called. Fanny went on the donkey, Wrights, Bakers etc walking. Delicious spring weather.
1st April A heavenly morning. We read the morning service, then they went to the German church & Fanny, Robert & walked in the gardens till dinner, again after dinner & then to church.
2nd Lovely day. Went in the gardens all the morning. Sketching. Robert delighted to have poor Price to carry the basket, stools etc. Took eggs & bread. After dinner went to see Madame Leonard. Mrs Wright came. Mr Wright has carried his point & Fanny is to go & stay there a few days for change of air! She is beginning her music lessons again.
3rd Rain. Clouds envelope us, all is dreary & desolate looking. Robert best in bed, fortunately he thinks so too & remains quietly. Fanny’s visit impossible today.
4th Girls up to reading, Fanny returned with them. I was obliged hardly to say good bye to her, for I saw she was on the point of getting hysterical & I was afraid her reluctance to go wd be noticed. Dr Pickford examined my ears & told me what I knew before that my deafness is nervous & that I have a sort of rheumatic gout causing the swelling of finger joints, pain in great toe etc. He has prescribed drops for my ears, mixture to take, oil to rub in & in three days he is coming to see what effect is produced on those complaints which 10 years have accumulated & anxiety & grief caused. He finds dear Robert’s pulse slower. Letters from Paris.
5th Very fine morning. Went to see if I cd sign my certificate but it was a holy day. The whole morning shopping & calling on Mrs Pittman. Came home for dinner. Took Clara, Laura & Robert on the mountain till nearly 5. Was so tired I laid down on the sofa & fell fast asleep. They did not wake me till past 6 & before I was dressed Mr Wright brought Annie home & waited & took Aurélie & me to tea there, where we past the evening in the usual kill time way. When I am in society, I always wonder what people are gathered together to do. It appears to me so difficult to make the time pass decently & to judge by myself one is so glad to get home as soon as possible & yet fresh engagements are made even whilst one is yawning & tired with ennui. Every one is in great expectation of Anne & every one has favoured her with commissions. Really how kind are the Wrights, there is poor Lucy sleeping on a little uncomfortable sofa, both girls dressing in the dining room & all sorts of annoyance for the pleasure of having Fanny with them. Mary Baker has done Aurélie such a sweet little group of figures.
6 Good Friday. I heard an excellent plain sermon from Mr Turton, the first I have ever been able to hear, it is strange if the oil in once using has done good. I went in the afternoon to see Fanny.
7th A letter before breakfast from Anne. Dear little Annie is doing well, has been out & they think of starting on Wednesday 11th & being here this day week. God grant success to the undertaking. Church, tea, Pittmans.
8 Easter Sunday. Again I heard the sermon. This is an especial blessing & comfort, God grant I may profit by it. My deafness begins to make me feel very awkward & dull particularly in society, but if I can hear at church I will most willingly put with being deaf elsewhere.
9 Wrote to Mr Perkins & put the letter in myself. Aurélie took Annie, Clara & Laura to a confirmation & heard a very beautiful sermon on the occasion. The Wrights & Fanny were there, I met them going. The latter looks very nice.
10 I remained in bed to cure my boil. It poured with rain, but yet to our great surprise the Turtons arrived. The 2 youngest boys were very happy here with Robert, Mrs & Mr Turton, her sister Mrs Smith & her little girl at the Parishes, 2 elder boys at Wrights, Nurse, baby & Mary also at Parishes, twins at Mrs Vansittart’s, altogether 14. Came in an Omnibus. Rain all day. Emily & Aurélie went to see Mr Turton & the rest at Parishes & Wrights. Rain nearly all day, they came back to tea at 5 & the boys left us a little after 6. What a party of pleasure! Mr Parish went to Frankfürt with George! Rather curious!!
11th Up at 6. Cut out night shirt for Robert (made him one entirely. Yesterday in bed besides reading & other work). Prayers, breakfast, now writing ¼ to 9. Wretched day for poor Anne to leave England.
12th Rose at 6. Dull bad weather. Aurélie & Emily took tea at Mr Wrights.
13th Fine morning. Annie & I were just starting to arrange a party for this evening, when I received a letter from Anne saying she was to start on Tuesday & be here as today, so we left the home party to get ready & set off to spread the news & postpone the party. At ½ past 11 we went to the station, but no Anne. Mr Turton & Mr Graham Smith came over by it, to walk over the mountains. The rest went to the other trains but all ended in disappointment. I went & sat on my favorite seat on the mountain & was sorry not to stop & see the sun set. Dined at 7 & went early & disappointed to bed.
14 At 7 Aurélie, Emily, Clara & Laura went off to the station & to my astonishment, at about 8 o’clock Annie came running to me to say that a carriage had arrived with luggage & shortly after we had at last the great pleasure of seeing Anne, Annie & Field walking up with our party. At first I found Annie altered, but Anne not. Field is a stout, middle aged woman, instead of a slim younger one. All our friends came in the afternoon to be introduced & Miss Smith, Harriett & Cecilia to tea & pass the afternoon. We had however some chat with Anne after they were gone & Robert is charmed with Annie.
15th Rainy & cold. Church. Mr Turton, Mrs Pittman, Capt Pittman, Mary, Mr Parish came up with us & Mrs Parish has been since. I think we are settled to go to Dresden.
16th Fine morning, but very cold & towards evening bleak & gloomy. Anne & Annie well. Great deal of cogitation, pros & cons about Dresden. With every feeling of thanks for the kindness of English friends it is exactly contrary to our wishes to have our time taken up with English society, to the now total exclusion of German. We are expecting to see Miss Faller for a short visit but alas! are already engaged on Wednesday evening to the Parishes to meet all our English friends. People are so anxious to keep us here & yet drive us away by depriving us of the advantage of German society, conversation or even the time to study alone.
17 Weather not settled. Miss Faller arrived before tea yesterday & my letter of credit. Aurélie is with Annie & Robert at lessons. Fanny is hearing Miss Faller read English. Emily & Annie are gone to the town. Laura practising. Clara doing tableau. We have if it pleases God the prospect of employing time most profitably & most delightfully. Mr Schottler.
18 Party at the Parishes, juggler, dancing, singing, ices & Mr Parish in his full glory amongst his beloved English.
19 Fine day but cold. Anne delighted with Mr Schottler & Mr Reyfeldt’s playing. He accompanied Mrs Parish & Mary Baker beautifully. Mr Schottler is to come to Annie every day for an hour & an extra evening a week to us to read German.
20th Astronomy, Mr Schmezer quite polite & attentive. I am persuaded that a good deal of mischief has been done when I have not been present & at the Wrights. That stupid old man going to sleep & making the young ones laugh, upset every thing, in fact those poor dear Wrights have annoyed us sadly & done away with all advantages of the German. I am horrified now & know not what to do, for they talk of going with us every where & yet I will go no where with them. Even Italy now is talked of, Oh fancy Italy with Mr Wright’s fair lady. I was just established with Fanny & Mr Schottler when Mr & Mrs Turton arrived. I was obliged to take them through the bedroom to the dining room, for I cd not disturb the astronomy which will I trust now go on steadily. Mr Reyfeldt in the evening.
21 This morning I have made the following arrangements. I am to stop here during the month of May, the Müllers are to write to Miss Wood & ask if they will put off coming untill the 1st August in which case I will stay June & July. For May, June & July I am to pay 95 fl a month. They are to clean the apartments & have promised to make all smooth. Anne is to pay 9 fl a week & have the 4 rooms together. Thus I hope we may go on comfortably, I will try & keep Miss Faller as long as possible, she keeps up German conversation & is quiet & inoffensive. No sooner was this arrangement made than they set about whitewashing ceilings so we are turned into the dining room. Robert was obliged to get up, he slept in Emily’s bed, she in his in the dining room, Aurélie in hers in the dining room. A sad muddle, but I hope we shall reap the advantage.
22 Church. German church after dinner & then a walk up to the old castle & round the new to shew Anne. She is delighted & Annie declares she is at the height of human happiness. Weather cold but it did not rain.
23 Violent rain & on the tops of the mountains snow. Wretched weather cold as winter & apparently bad for every thing. Rooms being cleaning & we undergoing the horrors of being all turned into the dining room.
24 Weather finer. I went into the town with Annie & paid bills of which there appear not to be an end. Dear Robert got up in the middle of the day, but I think his pulse beats very quickly tonight. I shall be thankful when there is no more bustle, tho’ he does not feel it & has been peculiarly quiet. I was moralizing on a little plant in the window this evening at tea. The sun was setting & the little leaves seemed stretching themselves towards it, just as the soul turns to & delights in the sun of righteousness. Laura let the blind fall suddenly & snap’t one of its 2 leaves off, thus ending its life & my moral. Mr Schmetzer seems quite civil again, is regular & gives interesting lectures.
25th A busy at any rate if not a well spent day, occupied till 11 in house affairs & putting to rights, then took Clara, Laura & Annie a walk. Came up round the castle, met & walked with Capt Pittman & Mary. Dined. Went with Aurélie to call on Pittmans & Mrs Wright, found the latter looking miserably ill. Came home in time for Robert’s bath. Tea & now writing. Worked & read in the evening.
26th A very fine morning, the drawing room & bedroom finished, dining room in progress, hoping to get more comfortable. I wish I cd see my family in good health, what a blessing would that be. We shall be anxious to know Miss Wood’s decision. It will be most vexatious to have to leave just as all is settled & arranged, house, servants, masters.
Second German reading lesson. Music etc. Very fine day, not being able to get out before, I took a turn in the castle gardens, after tea saw the sun set & enjoyed the exquisite perfume of the finest blossoms. The mountain sides are covered with flowers, nothing can be more beautiful. There are some young flourishing fruit trees, blooming in the most youthful luxuriance around the old broken tower & one splendid tree covered with blossom looks so beautiful growing on a green & almost perpendicular slope.
27th Emily, Anne & Miss Faller gone sketching. I go presently with Annie, Clara & Laura. We enjoyed 2 hours on the mountain. Fanny, Annie & Robert joined us. Coming home to dinner met Emily & Miss Faller returning from the gardens where they had been drawing accompanied by Mrs Pittman, Mr Wright & Mr Baker. The afternoon 3 lectures, dressing & then a most insupportably stupid evening at the Parishes. Harriett & Cecilia played with accompaniment for the first time in company, which wd have been very interesting, but no other thing was proposed or done all the evening & we came away literally weary with stupidity. As we were coming home we stopped to hear the nightingales repeatedly & they all said they never heard them so beautifully, quite close & exceedingly clear, perfect & loud, but not a sound cd I hear. This shows how deaf I am & it is worse since dear Robert’s story.
28th A delightful morning again. Anne, Emily & Miss Faller gone sketching. Aurélie with Annie & Robert. I writing. Annie & Laura preparing German. Clara practising. Fanny on a donkey riding about the mountains. I went at 11 with Clara & Laura. Annie & Robert came to us, we were forced to take refuge in the cavern during a splendid thunder storm. It was very fine. Fanny got wet through & did not join us but came home. The rest of the day at home. Weather cloudy.
29th Before church good kind Mr Turton came to take leave! He is obliged to go to England about his living. He gave me a volume of Bradley’s Sermons. May they do me good. Church. Coming out we were surrounded & informed by all our English friends that the King of Prussia is marching on Frankfürt. Mr Wright with great seriousness assured me he wd not leave us here, but wd stay to take care of us! All of them appeared in a great commotion. Vienna is in danger & every thing seems in a fresh fermentation. I have no fear but feel glad not to have decided on going farther into Germany. All accompanied us home, young Baker has his commission in the 2nd. They do not even know where the regiment is! After dinner I went with Fanny on the mountain, Robert with Field & Annie in the gardens, the rest to the German church & afterwards to join us. We took a splendid walk & came home to tea laden with cowslips, stars of Bethlehem & perrywinkles. More & more enraptured with this country. Tea, prayers, bed.
30 A lovely morning. Fanny gone on her donkey. Anne & Emily going to draw, also Clara & Miss Faller. I go afterwards with Laura.
May 1st Either the climate here must be very different or the season peculiarly fine for in England I remember the May day children cd seldom get a flower to decorate their garlands & now the early spring flowers are really beginning to decline. The anemones if not fading are certainly arrived at full maturity & we seldom see cowslip buds any longer. The hedges are full of gooseberries just set. They say these wild ones are not good, the profusion is wonderful. Strawberries are blooming & the mountains covered with ragged robins, stars of Bethlehem etc. Comparatively speaking there are few daisies & buttercups here & no primroses. Nothing can be more beautiful that the blossoms of the fruit trees & every day makes a visible difference in the green covering of the mountains & plain. The weather is not altogether settled or genial, but still very enjoyable & no rain. There seems a storehouse in the east, which sends up dark threatening chilly clouds every day. The political panic has subsided & our old gentlemen talk of their coffee & how many cups they drink morning & evening, instead of Europe agitation. Frankfürt is not besieged. Berlin is not in flames, the Hungarians have not taken Vienna, in fact it is not necessary at this moment to put Mr Wrights chivalrous courage to the proof (Nota Bene he offered to stay here as long as I did).
2nd Went at 8 to the town with Aurélie & Fanny. Market looked so pretty, it is a lovely town this Heidelberg, with its glorious overhanging hills covered with luxuriant fruit trees & other verdure. It was too hot to go out any more in the day but with all their large windows open, the balcony & the view of town & mountains beyond, one might as well fancy oneself sitting in a summer house. It must be even better than being out of doors in such heat. This evening in the garden after sunset it was most magnificent.
3rd Poor old Mr Wright came up at his usual hour. He looks half afraid of breaking in on our occupations. It is really hard not to indulge his chatting propensities a little, but fortunately for us, the girls Bakers & Wrights are becoming very intimate & affectionate together, which will I trust take them off us. The weather splendid & in every respect like summer. Asparagus first time, radishes, lettuces & all sorts of salads common in the market, a small dish of asparagus 12k. At home all day & in the evening at 9 o’clock went to the castle gardens, a more solemn, lovely & splendid scene cannot be imagined than this fine ruin at moonlight. The tall & graceful trees, the mountains so dark & grand, the arches, terraces, town below, river winding away into the plain, the noise of its waters, the nightingales, the bridge, the plants, the stars, the delicacy of the light foliage & blossoms, the delicious perfume of flowers & fruit blossoms, the deep woods half revealed in the soft light, the dark recesses, all combine to render the scene truly grand & touching. I scarcely know which part is more grand but I think from the end terrace the appearance on the whole is finest. As we came out of the first arch, it was very beautiful, the moon shining through the arch & upon the foliage beyond, the arch itself dark.
5th Up at 5, down with Annie at market at 6. Prayers at 7. Breakfast at ¼ after. Poor Aurélie a nervous attack. Washing Robert. Doing accounts. Putting to rights. Accounts. Journal. House affairs till ¼ past 9 & now to the rest of the business of the day. Worked. Walked with Fanny & Laura. Found beds of lilies of the valley. Robert had his bath. Tea. Mr Schottler chat & bed. Fête in the castle gardens the first Sunday in May. Cat’s music at 2 of the Professor’s who hold objectionable political opinions. Miss Faller came in in consternation about some news of Speyer having proclaimed a Republic (wrong) & seperated from Bavaria, talks of her father losing his situation but no doubt it will all end in a shrug & Nien.
6 Glorious morning. Did not get up till ½ past 6 & breakfast at 8. Aurélie I am sorry to say in bed with a migraine. Anne, Emily, Annie, Clara & Laura went to the German church, then we had prayers at home. Dinner. Reading. Church. Tea. Reading. Bed. A little tame canary bird flew into Annie’s window.
7th Overcast but very warm. Went with Fanny sketching, came through the gardens, found Lucy & Amelia with Emily & Anne sketching. Fanny & Annie went to the bath. Aurélie still in bed with migraine. Drive to town with Clara, Laura & Robert. Bought cage for canary. Anne & Emily drawing one of the lovely little towers on the castle terrace. A very fine thunder storm. No letter from Miss Wood so that I know not whether we can stay beyond the end of this month.
8th Elise brings word that the town is unquiet. Annie hears shoutings which Fanny declares is dogs barking. The National Guards are all obliged to go & swear allegiance to the Grand Duke in case of any war or disturbance. This seems an odd story. Mr Schottler has sent to say he cannot give the lessons today. It appears to be quite true there has been a serious revolution in Dresden. Every day brings some fresh acts which are generally contradicted the next. The drums are beating & band playing, also the clouds pouring vast quantities of rain to quench their ardour. What we can see of the mountains looks greener & more luxuriant than ever. Annie & I went at 6 this morning to market. It was hardly begun, but before we left the flowers, eggs, vegetables etc were quite a sight. They sell all sorts of flowers, leaves for teas of different kinds. Every thing is good & cheap. Butter not quite so cheap as usual 21 kreutzers. Eggs newly laid 5 for less than 1d¼, imagine in England 4 new laid eggs for 1d. I have just gone the length of getting the telescope to see what the National Guards are about in the rain. Best go home.
10th Laura & I went at ½ past 6 to market & after dinner Robert & I walked with the whole party nearly to the Wolfsbrunnen. They are all gone to tea at Mr Schmezer’s. It is fine but cold. Dr Pickford called, he says Robert is better but must continue his treatment & certainly go very little up & down hill. He advised my going where there are no hills! Only this morning I agreed with Mina to stay here untill the middle of July! I hope it is for the best & that we shall not suffer from revolutions but the state of things in Germany is getting awefully bad, worse every day. Dresden has been in a shocking state for many days. Theatre & other buildings burnt. Many of the finest paintings in the Gallery pierced with shot. Berlin is in a most precarious state. Speyer baricaded. Stuttgart in disorder, all the towns on the Rhine up. Rail roads broken. Russians coming to assist Austria against the Hungarians. Other powers erecting themselves against this. All seems uncertainty, confusion & discontent. They came home with Mr Wright & Mr Schmetzer, the latter in a state of perfect horror at the aweful state of affairs. I even begin to think we are hardly safe here.
11th Fine lovely morning. Nature goes on harmoniously, why are men so turbulent & hateful. French ill received & repulsed at Rome. Mr Rehfeldt to play duets in the evening.
12th Dr Pickford called. Fanny consulted him. Aurélie to discontinue steel baths till warm weather. Politics getting really alarming on all sides. Austrians & Neapolitans marching on Rome. French hope to get in before they arrive, but in attempting it they have suffered great losses, 500 men they say out of whom are 39 officers hors de combat. Violent agitation in the French Chambres. Bridge at Manheim broken to prevent troops going to Landau. Ministers at Frankfürt resigned. Talk of England interfering to prevent Russia coming to the aid of Austria & of England sending money underhand thro’ Constantinople to the Hungarians. My poor head will not contain more, I know not who are for or against the other. The numbers of different kings, emperors, princes, ministers, constitutions, republics form a confused mass in my head. I cannot comprehend who I ought to think right or wrong. Emily in bed with a cold, but Oh! her excitement about politics, it is really amusing to see her with the atlas, great book, newspaper, squatted up in bed, candle in one hand reading, talking, conjecturing! Every person who comes in tells us some different story. Speyer baricaded. People in open revolution. Miss Faller receives a letter from her father & carries it unopened in her hand all through a long walk! Emily in perfect dismay & abhorrence at such phlegm as she styles it.
13 Church at ¼ past 10. I hear Mr Stapleton very well. Bustle as usual coming out which I dislike excessively. I went to see Mrs Wright who is not well & hoped to avoid the regular troop up the hill, but Mrs Pittman, her daughter & sons for the eldest is arrived unexpectedly came with Aurélie, Emily & Annie & the children, whilst I & the rest were at the Wrights. I staid only a short time & then Lucy & Amelia came home with us. Poor Capt Pittman is laid up with the strain he gave his bad leg in falling the other day. Much excitement about politics, confusion said to be expected. We strolled on the mountains & admired the loveliness of this beautiful place & wondered at the people. At night after prayers the drums began beating & the National Guard to assemble. We were at the windows & some of the party excited till nearly 12 o’clock. Various reports met us, the Prussians were arrived & the people were fighting them to prevent their entrance. All sorts of things were reported & believed for the moment, in the middle of which I went to sleep &
14th did not awake till 5 this morning when I got up & found the drums still beating & National Guards assembling. The fact is I suppose that they wish to be prepared in case of need. Miss Faller slept at Miss Kempf’s on Saturday night & did not return till after church on Sunday. She had had a letter from her father giving a curious account of the state of Speyer. Her mother is sadly frightened, her brother being one of the Guard Mobile. They have all their property packed up & many persons have already left the town. Anne & Fanny are gone to the Douane to enquire about the harp. Came back with news that the National Guards are stationed at the rail road terminus to prevent troops entering. The town in much confusion & we see from our windows the market place full, guns occasionally firing, drums beating. Canonading has been heard from Carlsruhe & it is said that troops have been ordered into that town & resisted. The fact is that the King of Prussia is trying to garrison every town & keep all in order, which however desirable, is certainly unjust after refusing to be their Emperor. For my part I do not see that the Heidelberg people wd or cd do any thing if they were left to themselves, but the attempt to quarter troops on them will exasperate them no doubt. Miss Faller now gone out to collect news. Annie & I went to see what was going on at the rail road, where there was certainly a formidable array of dirty little girls of nine or ten years old with still dirtier babies & children of two or three dragging, calling or crying after them. There were also lots of women more than men & some National Guards who wd all certainly have been routed by 6 Prussians in a minute. The Grand Duke has fled. His son is wounded. Carlsruhe has a provisionsal Government. All in the regular order of events in the present day. The manner in which the French troops have been treated in Rome will I fear cause trouble. They say 500 are killed & wounded. The newspapers are very interesting. Emily in her glory. Mr Wright called, poor gentleman he is not much engrossed with politics. Mr Rehfeldt very kindly called to tell us not to go out for fear of disturbances in the street. Lucy & Amelia came up & went in to the old town with us.
15 Town quiet. Annie & I in the town by 6. Very poor dull market. Every thing suffers by this miserable state of affairs. The poor fair people have their booths here, but do not venture to open them. They say the fair is put off till next week. Mrs Pittman & her daughters called. Capt Pittman still confined to his bed with his leg & they want to start tomorrow week as their son must join his regiment on 30th June in Dublin. Mr Wright called. Mrs Parish, Miss Smith & the girls brought some prints of the two latter as a present to Clara & Laura. I do not think them very striking likenesses. Alarm at 11 at night. Prussians said to be coming, great bustle at the station. It was a curious & somewhat startling sight to see every window lighted up at the sound of the drums & certainly in ten minutes every man out fully armed & every woman on the alert. Anne went to bed tired & out of spirits & slept thro’ every thing. I also went to bed & to sleep, but was roused & up every 10 minutes by some fresh account. At last they all came to tell me the house was on fire. It is astonishing I was not more alarmed, but really I am now so accustomed to these excitements, that I am not very easily startled. It was only the poor bakers lighting their oven at one in the morning.
16 Trouble about Field. She is quite discontented & wishes to return to England. Aurélie actually saw a barricade! Two or three waggons with harrows upon them! Storm bell rang & before night we had 10 000 armed peasants in the town. It was I confess rather formidable to see them coming in 100 or 200 at a time armed with forks, clubs, guns etc. The Baden troops also arrived, strange! every one of them deserters from their Sovereign. Strange too that I cannot feel frightened. We had visits from the 2 young Baker’s, Mr Wright & his daughters, Mr Parish & Mr Stapleton, all amused looking through our telescopes at the parties of peasants coming. We had just sat down to tea when Miss Smith, Harriett & Cecilia rushed in, saying they are going off in the morning, the Pittmans also & numbers of others. We kept them to tea, then hurried them off & set to work packing. Aurélie & Anne went with Müller to see Zimmern who had refused Mr Wright money. He put us off by saying he wd give an answer tomorrow. They went on to the Pittman’s & found it all true. We packed till ½ past 10 & then slept soundly & undisturbed.
17 Wet morning, packed till dinner time. After that Wrights & Bakers came up. Poor Mrs Pittman looks excited & harassed. I pray to God to shew me how to act rightly in this puzzling question. I think there is rather more alarm than is necessary, but yet truth obliges me to acknowledge that we are in a town in open revolt & that the King’s troops are daily expected to come & bring them into order. Also that the Republicans are resolved to resist & that the place is half full of rebel troops. Emily, Fanny, Annie & I went to say good bye to Mrs Parish. She is very vexed at going away. An old Professor & his wife were sitting with them & he said that their leaving was most unnecessary & timorous & quite contrary to his opinion. We met Mr de Graemberg, he said there was not any cause at all for alarm. Mr Rehfeldt the same. We called on the Wrights & found her in a state of almost distraction, walking about, Mr Wright scolding & asserting that the reports were all exaggerated & that there was no danger. I never saw any person more excited. We came home & past the evening in a sort of unsettled state. Fanny practising, Aurélie & Emily packing, Annie at work, Miss Faller wandering, Anne & Clara playing a duet, me going about attempting to work. A great procession by torch light. Bed & for me sound sleep.
18 Wrote to Mr Perkins & Jane, asked for a credit of £50. Out with Emily from breakfast to dinner. Paid bills & took leave of Pittmans & Parishes. It is strange to see them go off & the town in a state of revolution & yet to feel no alarm. One person says go, another entreats us to stay. Mr Parish began talking of there not being danger & of his going with his wife & family for the waters, of his leaving his house in statuo quo as a proof he feared nothing. He offered me money if I was in want but he is a most inconsistent man. Today he was dressed all in light drapery, hat & all, the former lined with green silk, a sword by his side & walking away to the Diligence with all his family following most unwillingly. There were tears shed at parting both with Wrights & us & Pittman’s. After all I must say that we have received many attentions & kindnesses all the winter & thro’ the sickness. Just now 8 in the evening the Wrights have sent us a letter just received from Mrs Turton, she has left this morning, prays that Mr Wright may be off in time as she hears that Heidelberg is to be fearfully stormed, God knows how soon! These are her words, her whole letter very alarming. I know not what to do. Dr Pickford had just told me that he only advised those to go who were frightened & he thought that to stay wd have killed Mrs Pittman & Mrs Wright. I am sure I know not what to do or what to decide on. Anne says she will do as I do. No one will give an opinion excepting to laugh at fear. I have none, but I see that a great responsibility is thrown on me. Lucy & Amelia came up in the afternoon to say that their father had resolved to go to Bonn tomorrow.
19 After breakfast went & took leave of Wrights. They are warm hearted people & we were very sorry to part. I think Lucy the most estimable of the whole. Came home through the town. I think it less excited than yesterday. About 150 men in blouses were exercising before the Wright’s house. There appeared to be an excellent market. Anne went about her harp to the Director of the Post. His account of the state of affairs is reasonable. He says he must stay, but if he had not any duty to perform he sd go. He has sent his daughter away. It seems that everyone goes who can. He says if he was me he sd go & that if the people are defeated there is no telling whether they may or may not plunder, that the troops must & assuredly will come to put them down & some sort of conflict will infallibly take place. He thinks that being all ladies we stand a better chance than if we had a man with us who might be suspected of taking part in the affray. All seem to think the soldiers cannot be here for some days, but in fact no one knows any thing of their movements. After dinner Emily, Aurélie & Laura went to see the Wrights off & staid with them 2 or 3 hours. They were very sorry indeed to part with the girls. Whilst they were gone Mr Baker & Mr Coombe called. The former returned from Manheim today, his family met with no inconvenience, every thing is quiet excepting the troops & guards going about in the same silly way as here. Poor Mr Rehfeldt is very unhappy. He is losing all his pupils & has nothing to live on. If the troops arrive he fears being ordered to fight, therefore has his passport & intends starting the instant he sees reason to fear this & if he is prevented from leaving in the regular way, will escape over the mountains & cross the frontier. Mr Baker is come here to wait for letters he says. Mr Coombe the terrible one, reminds me much of Mr Creswell & appears to me only to be one of those numerous young men who are wild & thoughtless & extravagant at College & who may perhaps afterwards turn out decent members of society. He told me that he & his friends had entered into a compact to come up to us the instant any alarm took place. They are alarmed & are determined to defend us! I thanked him, but hoped we sd not want them. I trust we shall not. Mr Schottler looks very downcast this evening. Anarchy is commencing & I firmly believe that before the King of Prussia has the trouble of coming to subdue them, these silly Republicans will ruin themselves & their cause. They were so exulting at taking 16 cannons, whereas it proves they have only secured two, which were left in their way as decoy, whilst the troops quietly marched off with the others. They go on a secret expedition & beat the drums to march to. A poor fat old Professor whose greatest feat in the walking way was to saunter along the side of the river to Weinheim, was forced to set off at double quick march for some distant place, the consequence was he soon fell down half dead & was left on the road where he was afterwards found almost expiring, put into a carriage & brought back & put to bed where he remained 2 days. They commit all sorts of blunders & absurdities, but I think they are getting somewhat tired for I have not heard half so much drumming today & the town is infinitely more quiet.
20 Went to church as usual. Mr Stapleton was not arrived. We stood half an hour talking with Lady Barnes who seems to be exactly in my state of mind. She cannot persuade herself to be frightened, yet wishes not to act imprudently. At last Mr Stapleton came. The rail is broken between Weinheim and Frankfürt. There is assuredly danger of having our retreat cut off. When Mrs Turton wanted to leave Manheim her eldest daughters were staying with him in the country, the rail was broken & the only means he had of conveying them to her was in a waggon. He himself was arrested & examined the other day as he was walking across the country. Two National Guards took him in charge & as he cd not speak German he misunderstood their signs & thinking they wanted him to go into a house & drink with them, he gave them ½ a florin, thanked them & walked off. They followed him & at last made him comprehend that he must go to the guard house & be examined. Fortunately he had a letter with him, which satisfied them. Robert came home from church with Baker & Coombe very grand. We took a walk as church was over very early. Miss Faller past the evening at Miss Kempf’s & came home in an excited state saying that the Prussians were somewhere not far off & the post down the Rhine stopped. I do not believe it at all.
21 Went after breakfast with Annie to the town, troops being mustered & the high street, market place, University place in full confusion. The fair, the soldiers, the peasants, the market women besides the usual population make the noise & bustle intolerable. Wrote to the Wrights & Pittman’s. Went with Fanny all the afternoon for her to take sketches of the castle & of our pretty little corner. The others all went sketching up the valley towards Seigelhousen. Emily improves immensely in her drawing & begins to get a free use of her brush with sepia & even colours. Aurélie came to tea having had an alarm at Miss Kempf’s of the Prussians being on their march from Frankfürt. We were all startled especially as Miss Kempf talked of going to Neckarstein which is just out of Baden. Aurélie started to hear what we cd at the rail road. All was perfectly quiet there, no disturbances at Manheim, no rails broken, no excitement of any sort. Came home, read letters from M. LaChevardiere & Misses Elisa & Pelagie. Went to bed, exhausted.
22 All quiet. Went to the market & Fair & then remained 4 hours in the castle for Emily to sketch. Poor Price stayed all the time with us. I have been asleep since dinner, being very much tired. They are all gone either sketching or bathing. Robert going & tea with Annie. Reasonable people think & believe the Prussians are really & truly on the frontier & troops from here are daily marched in that direction, but I observe often remarks which correspond with my opinion all along, viz that the fate of other towns will decide this & that the Prussians will never come here at all as enemies. A long visit from Mr Baker, he is evidently determined to stay here for some time. Ought I or ought I not to go. Anne’s harp in suspence, her disappointment. I am in a great state of doubt & anxiety when I view the thing as it is & not as it appears.
23 All quiet. I feel disposed to forget that there is any thing the matter. A large body of horse soldiers went towards Weinheim today. They say that the day before yesterday 10.000 troops left. Many go every day. All the people are so polite to us & congratulate us on staying. Mr Baker & Mr Rehfeldt took tea with us. Everyone seems to get more & more confident. A dreadful accident took place today. One of the soldiers quartered at a baker’s shop was playing with one of the little boys who asked him to fire his gun off. The soldier did so for the amusement of the child of whom he was very fond & after playing some time put his unloaded gun in a corner & went to dinner. In the mean time the father of the child came in & put his loaded gun in the same place. After dinner the child got playing with the soldier again & again asked him to fire off his gun. The soldier took as he thought his empty gun, pointed it at the child, fired it & shot him. The poor little fellow died 4 hours after. The soldier they say is out of his mind, threatening to destroy himself if they do not tell him that the child is not dead. The father of course is the one most to blame & is also dreadfully distressed.
24 Very warm but not quite settled weather. Letters yesterday from Wrights, Parishes & Mary Barkley. No alarms today, every one beginning to say what I have all along said, that perhaps the Prussians will never come at all, it will be negociated etc. The talk of going & of danger, of packing, hiding in cellars, flying up the valley, cannonading, bombarding etc seems gradually to die away. Anne received a letter from Mrs Nugent. Every thing quite quiet.
26 Went with Annie at 6 to market, every thing so lovely & fresh, such an abundant market! I went to the Fair after breakfast & before dinner out again all over the castle gardens.
27 Church & sacrament. Mr Stapleton seemed alarmed, but I did not wait to join any one coming from church. Splendid day, very hot. Took a walk after tea. Enjoyed a splendid sunset of the Friezenway in going & lovely moonlight coming back down the Reisenstein.
28 Glorious Italian day. Our drawing room is charming, the windows are so enormous opening from top to bottom of the wall on to the balcony. We seem to be living in the open air. Letter of credit for £50 on Zimmern in a letter from Mr Perkins. He takes a melancholly, but I fear too true a view of the affairs of Europe. I also had a long letter from Jane addressed to me at Miss Kempf’s. She proposes our going to Lisbon to winter for Robert. They seem to consider Germany very unsafe & Italy wholly out of the question. God knows which I ought to decide on & I trust he will direct me to do what is right. It appears to me as if the judgement of the Almighty was falling on these highly favoured but most ungrateful nations. Perhaps the time for their repentance is past. They have had the Gospel & every earthly blessing offered to them. They have rejected in effect the one & unthankfully & carelessly received the latter & now it may be that the cup of wrath is to be poured out upon them & Europe may no more see prosperity & peace. Mr Perkins thinks that France is the grand point of safety or danger & in France the socialists are daily gaining ground, while Government & order are losing power. God preserve us all & make us purify our own hearts that so at least we may come out of the fire. Aurélie & Emily went to call on Lady Barnes. Miss Faller, Annie & I went to meet them. We returned about ½ past 8. Fanny & Anne had been drawing. Glorious summer weather.
29th A perfectly cloudless day. There can scarcely be any thing more truly magnificent than country & weather just now. Lady & Miss Barnes called quite early in the morning, very pleasant & friendly, the latter a most gentle pretty & clever girl. At 4 o’clock in the afternoon the ther stood at 84 in Aurélie’s room. At 6 we had a tremendous storm. A perfect whirlwind preceded it, which blew the dust over the plain & up the valley & across the river in a very curious way. Numbers of troops coming & going, more excitement.
30th Cloudy morning. Ther 72 in the drawing room with the doors & windows all open. They say 5 000 troops have left this morning for Worms where it is said they are now fighting. The steamers to Mayence now are stopped & if we go, we must have much difficulty in travelling with so many persons & so much luggage. It becomes now almost a question whether it is worse to go or to stay. God protect us if there is danger, I am so afraid that my confidence may only be a sort of presumptuous folly & ignorance. Day has turned out fine. Anne’s harp is arrived, tuned & ready to be played on tonight. Will it have to be repacked & sent back. Anne played all her old favorites on the harp in the evening & gave Fanny her first lesson.
31st I was up a little before six & on going to the drawing room window, saw numbers of waggons coming from Weinheim laden with soldiers & volunteers. There had been an engagement or rather a flight at Weinheim & these were the poor creatures getting back. 2 were quartered here. We spoke to one & he said they had 800 who had fled before 10.000 Hessians. I believe the Badois had crossed the frontier & had been taken in an ambush. I settled with Mina to take the apartments only by the week in future. At about 10 Mr Rehfeldt came up in a great flurry & seemed astonished that we were not the same. He had been in charge of Mrs Mitchell’s house, had been up all night & had had 39 men from this battle to quarter, horses & men almost dead with fatigue. As soon as he was gone, Emily, Aurélie & I set off for the station to speak to Mr Eberlin. From him we found that the rail to Basle is perfect. He says if he was free he wd rather be out of Heidelberg but more on account of unpleasantness than from actual danger. Zimmern gave me £10 on my letter & is in high spirits because he thinks the Hessians will soon settle the matter. Dr Pickford is serious. After dinner Mr Baker called. A sudden thought occurred to me that I had not my letter of credit & for some time I had the pleasing idea of having lost it. Mr Baker ran off to Zimmern for it & found it there, also brought me my 20 guldens which Zimmern had not been able to give me this morning. I was forced to ask Mr Baker to take tea & Mr Rehfeldt came at six to give us what farther information he could. After tea we saw 9 large boats full of armed men arrive & land on the other side, crowds of persons rushing to meet them. Cannon posted on the bridge etc. Got rid of poor Mr Rehfeldt. Mr Schottler arrived for the lesson! Emily, Annie, Clara & I took Mr Baker & walked in the castle gardens, returned & did not get him off till nearly 11. Went to bed dreadfully tired with such an exciting day. The town presented a curious sight. Cannon in the University platz, the same at the station. Trains filled with soldiers. Nothing but preparations for war & defence. Upon reviewing the whole agitation of the day however I think it amounts to this, that the Baden people trespassed into Hesse, that the Hessians surprised & drove them back with slight loss & that this sudden retreat & sight of tired men & horses agitated & encreased the panic, but the Hessians I believe are still in their own country & the regular attack is not begun. I had a poor miserable volunteer quartered on me for the night, who was delighted to go away with a gulden. What a state of things & how harassing is this constant hesitation as to going or staying. In the mean time the weather is exquisite, very hot, like the height of summer & nature looking more & more lovely as she approaches maturity. Robert is very good & not at all excitable.
1st June A brilliant lovely morning. Drums beating & the poor burghers obliged to turn out on guard again at 6. They will be dead of fatigue before the enemy arrives. Poor things, they think they must be doing something & so fag themselves to death, hunting for the Hessians & Prussians when they are in their own territories. Aurélie went with Clara & Laura to the town & Miss Kempf’s. The University square presented a curious appearance spread with straw for the soldiers to sleep on, arms piled up & cannons ranged side by side. In coming up they called on Miss Kempf who had had a disturbed night nursing her soldiers etc. She told Aurélie the whole affair which was that these Badenese want to fraternize with the Hessians, who instead of returning the offered hand called them traitors to their Sovereign & fired on them. Some were killed & wounded & all fled here. It is said that these men had 7000 & the Hessians 2500. Mr Willis who had gone to fish at Weinheim, could not return, but saw the whole engagement from a hill near. He came home last night. There is they say a general council today. The troops have declared they have not any regular officers & that they are dragged about & tired to death, without having any honour. They ask for their old officers & declare they will not march a step more. Every one augurs well from this, it cannot last long in this manner. The people will be ruined if they have to feed these vast numbers of men. There are about 8.000 in Heidelberg & everyone of any property has 30 or 40. Mrs Mitchell has about 30, Krausman 16, Zimmern 42, Müllers 5 & so on. Mr Rehfeldt & Mr Baker both called this morning. The latter brought me my passport for Belgium or Switzerland & he joined us & stood by Emily’s side 2 hours whilst she sketched. Tonight there are drums beating, but the town seems very quiet. It is exceedingly hot. Ther 82 all day hanging between the two great drawing room windows facing the north. I find the heat infinitely more unsupportable than in Italy, where the houses & blinds & arcades protect one from the sun’s rays. Yesterday we had a fine specimen of the sang froid of German. Miss Faller sat at the table translating or copying whilst about 2.000 soldiers were pouring into the town across the bridge from the action & we were all out in the balcony with the telescope watching them. This is a degree worse than Anne’s coolness for it is not her country & country people. The other day there was an article in one of the papers here saying that Madame Victoria had been shot, but unfortunately the bold attempt had failed. When mentioning this impertinence to two German young ladies, with indignation, they said Why! do you really like your Queen? The German paper today is headed thus “All communication by letters or otherwise being stopped between here & Frankfürt. Our readers must excuse our giving any intelligence”.
2 Passed today free from political agitation tho’ Mr Schottler is still groaning. Thermometer in the drawing room all day 86! Mrs Hammond better.
3 Excessively fine, very hot, cloudless sky. Quiet town. Not up till ½ past 6. Went to church at ¼ past 10. Lady & Miss Barnes, Mr Baker & ourselves met at the door, no Mr Stapleton. We went in & waited, but at last Schneider came & whispered to me that the only conveyance which traversed that road was just gone! No one knew when it wd return. We all returned here & talked over our affairs whether to stop or go. Mr Baker had been at Manheim on Saturday. It is full of soldiers but very quiet, talking then of the Hessians being beyond Weinheim & a battle expected. Miss Faller’s brother came to fetch her, saying it wd be unsafe if delayed. He had a passport for leaving Speyer, a permission to pass with a lady & to return with two. Very very hot & fine. We feel the heat here most severely & are obliged to have all the doors open. Ther 84.
4th Mr Rehfeldt called about 10, asked if I was afraid the first thing & when I was out of the room told Fanny in confidence (ridiculous) that we ought to be ready at a moment’s notice. Aurélie says Miss Kempf entreats us if we go at all, to go today or early tomorrow morning. Dr Chelins! sent his compliments to me & said he thought I ought to leave for a few days. What shall I do!
5 At 6 this morning I saw the first waggon with wounded men arriving from Weinheim, followed by men, soldiers, artillery etc. The fight has been in the night. We are packing. 9 o’clock. Troops going up & down mountains. Now Annie with telescope sees firing. God grant they may not resist. Preparing cellar. Robert quite composed. ½ past 12. I have just discovered a cloud of dust along a road from Weinheim & with the telescope can see arms glittering in the sun. Numbers of troops are coming from Weinheim in carts & on foot. Mr Baker is just gone, to try & get to Manheim to enquire about affairs & to return to tea, he has taken Emily’s watch to have a glass put into it. I hope we shall not be obliged to retreat. Mr Rehfeldt is just gone to enquire the news. Lady Barnes came to apologize for her daughter’s not coming to pass the day with us owing to her not being very well. They had heard nothing of the alarm. Mr Schottler stayed dinner with us, advises us to go. Large body of cavalry from Weinheim round here & out again. A calm. Aurélie & Anne gone for box & carriages. The whole day & evening past in looking through the telescope. Packing, sending & receiving messages, visitors etc. Mr Baker here all the morning & to tea untill 11. He walked with Anne, Emily, Clara & Annie to the Reisenstein. They were too late to see down the plain, but it was lovely. Mr Rehfeldt proposed to accompany us. Hints about Mr Schottler from himself & Miss Kempf. Mr Baker very attentive. Mr Rehfeldt here 3 times. Aurélie a bad sick migraine. Robert very good & happy with his knapsack. Dr Pickford, Miss Kempf, Dr Chelins & many others say stay, others go. God direct me where & how & when.
6 Up at ½ past 2. Breakfast at 6. Debating, finishing packages, doubting, hoping, watching (what appears to me) a large army leave the town. I sleep as I write. Aurélie in bed, faint & one of her worst migraines. Mr Rehfeldt & Mr Baker almost constantly here. The latter sent me a note at about 4 o’clock to say that he had just heard there was a boat left Manheim this morning & another to leave tomorrow at 5 o’clock & that it was also practicable to get to Mayence through Worms by carriage. Upon this intelligence accompanied by the offer of Mr Baker’s company & assistance I put it to the vote Basle or Mayence. Every one but Emily said Basle & I wrote Mr Baker that we sd start for Basle in the morning. Mr Rehfeldt arrived. I said nothing not wishing for his company also. Mr Baker arrived, the subject was again discussed & having 2 hours clear we determined on all starting for Manheim tonight. Mr Rehfeldt instantly took leave, not saying a word of where he was going. We endeavoured to get our luggage down to the station, but it being the time of the funeral of those killed in the engagement with the Hessians, it was long before we cd get either cart, horse or man. At last we were off. Part went on first to take leave of Miss Kempf & as Robert & I arrived at the Shulargy we meet them returning. Too late for the train. Mr Schottler was with us, we waited to get the luggage stowed away at the station & returned to our poor old beds, weary & hot & exhausted. One good resulted from this return, the recovery of one of Anne’s trunks from a corner of the cellar, where they had all been stowed away the day before.
7 I was up before daybreak & not in the best temper. My tooth brush was lost. Elise had to be scolded. A horrible bustle to be endured & then all were once more en route for the station. Last evening as we descended our hill, all the poor people were out, shaking our hands, wishing us good bye, begging us not to leave them & promising us safety. This morning they were all yet in bed. All was still but all was lovely. We were in good time at the station. We had a prosperous journey to Manheim but then the boat was gone. Another we were assured started at 4. Hope revived, we packed our 35 packages on an Omnibus & in a carriage & started for the Hotel de l’Europe. An uncommonly unprepossessing red haired waiter met us at the door & sneered at the idea of another boat. We were shown into a large room with a spacious balcony overlooking the Rhine & hoping that the names of Turton, Pittman & Stapylton might elicite some energy & civility I asked for the landlord. He speaks English & was as supercilious as is usual in that language. The only comfort I got from him was, that it was the Fête Dieu, all the shops shut up & no boat even tomorrow! My misery encreased, so did the appearance of a storm. Poor Mr Baker went off to enquire, brought back no better news. Aurélie & Anne went to the town, determined that a boat did go. I despatched those of the girls who had not seen the castle with Mr Baker to take a look at it & sat down in despair watching the river & the clouds. At last a large drop of rain roused me, quickly succeeded by many more, till at last a violent thunder storm inundated the balcony & roads. Well, I sat down in the room & went to sleep assuring myself that at any rate the numerous absentees wd take shelter some where. I roused & went to the back window, hoping not to see any one, when as if my presence had summoned them, there appeared Anne & Aurélie, with Anne’s friend from Constanz & an umbrella, but wet through. Off with stockings & shoes, open carpet bags, hunt for dry things, sent the wet ones to have their soles burnt up by drying quickly & again indulge a hope that at least the other party will not involve themselves in the same state. Vain hope! here they are! wet through, with smiling faces thinking they have done a clever thing. Despair! but however there is no time to indulge rage or indignation, no boat goes till Saturday & all 12 sit around in a circle. The red haired sneering waiter is called & with 22 eyes upon me I am forced to talk to him of the price of the hotel etc. This being one of the things which I positively cannot bear, I was forced to retreat to the passage where I found Field sitting in a resigned state. Aurélie joined me. We found it wd be very expensive to stop 2 days at the hotel besides the exceeding stupidity of Manheim, so we agreed for an Omnibus! (Oh fatal decision) to take us to Mayence. I was assured it was quite an easy & usual affair & not a hill all the way. So in an evil hour it was arranged to proceed. The waiter seeing my name on the luggage gave me a letter from Mr Rehfeldt. He had like us been too late for the over night train, but had come post to Manheim & had started by the boat! It is an ill wind that blows no one any good. By our mishap we had at any event avoided the unpleasant necessity of travelling with Mr Rehfeldt! poor man, not that I have any bad opinion of him. Now behold the Omnibus loaded! Will it ever maintain its equilibrum to turn out of the sweep. Instantly Emily proposes my walking across the bridge of boats & mounting the Omnibus at the other side. My temper had been calmed by poor Aurélie & Emily wading through the wet into the town a second time to fetch me some cakes. Poor dears how my conscience smote me for having caused them this trouble, they had however the comfort of seeing me in a better disposition. Here comes the Omnibus at a foot’s pace across the bridge. 4 fine horses. We mount. I last clinging to the door, grasping, gasping, how it sways, how the smallest unevenness in the road seems to make it overbalance, on we go. The road is straight & level & after a few miles my terror subsides in a slight degree, but still I feel certain that the slightest difficulty occurring & we are lost. We arrived at some town & were not permitted to pass for a long time, I should think an hour, without examining our passports & getting one for the coachman, a respectable man spoke in French to Aurélie & said they had heard cannonading all the morning in the direction of Weinheim. A nice old woman came out & spoke to us, she belongs to Heidelberg but dares not go back. She told us in a whisper that the Free bands had gone round that morning for money & when it was refused they had taken it by force. Pleasant!
We dined at Worms. They went to see the cathedral. The coachman hurried us off, for if we did not arrive in Mayence before 10 we should not be admitted, but now we have to pass through a badly paved narrow & rather hilly village. The poor horses have no breaching & there they go sliding on their haunches, swaying & slipping about. I make my exit & am thankful that even an Omnibus was invented, out of which a poor wretch may escape at the back! From this time I suffered really agonies of fear. The great weight & overloading of the Omnibus rendered it truly frightful. Aurélie walked with me & at times the others got out also. My fatigue & other annoyances were extreme. At last serious fears were entertained about our getting to Mayence in time. The road skirts the river, every instant I expect to be in & every hill presented real danger because the horses cd not maintain the weight pressing upon them. Long after 10 at night we arrived at an outer & temporary gate of Mayence. The sentinels will not admit us, but upon the arrival of an officer & great discussion the gate was opened, but far from over were our difficulties. The road was torn up by artillery. It was very dangerous to proceed. We walked for an hour & now are obliged to leave the level road which is entirely torn up & turn up a long & steep hill. The moon shone brightly, we brushed the leaves of the overhanging trees, on we went, mile after mile. How can the poor good horses bear this dreadful extra fatigue.
8th About 12 o’clock we arrived at the real gate of the town but no entrance cd be made! The soldiers were as civil as men cd be, but cd not transgress their duty. Aurélie, Emily & Mr Baker got out to talk & persuade. They sat on the posts, one civil sentinel brought us a huge jug of water, we were almost choked with thirst, but still there we sat for an hour, listening to the calls of the distant sentinels from post to post. As I sat I saw plainly that through the gate the streets must descend rapidly into the town & I was morally convinced that no power cd prevent an accident if we attempted to go down, but I had made myself so troublesome all day, that I seemed now in a sort of desperation to abide our fate. Under the dark gate way we had nearly upset. Aurélie entreated me to get out, but no, I was stupefied. Fanny & Annie say they both saw the danger, the horses had no longer any power. Mr Baker was smoking his cegar standing on the step behind. Suddenly a general press came from the farther end. All voices exclaimed get out. Aurélie opened the door, knocked Mr Baker down, jumped out, I after her & then pulled out all the rest. The Omnibus was up on a high step, against the houses, the two wheel horses were down & every instant threatened to crush them by the Omnibus falling over, it seemed as if the slightest touch wd make it go. Numbers of heads were out of the windows & in a minute the doors of the house we had gone against were thrown open to us. A young student, who had jumped out of bed at the sound of our wheels & had seen from the immense weight of our vehicle that an accident was inevitable, dressed himself in haste & came to us with lights. The people of the house soon joined us & surely never was greater kindness & attention shown. The horses were not killed or much hurt. They rose & the coachman started off to get assistance from the hotel. I can not describe the fear which pervaded us as we saw the poor weary beasts standing asleep & seeing that if they moved only to rest their poor weary limbs, they might alter the position of the carriage & cause it to turn over or run down the hill to their destruction. We posted the children & girls previous to this up the steps of a door, Anne, Aurélie & I in front & Mr Baker as an advanced guard. It was not very pleasant to see 3 or 4 drunken men pass & loiter about. After this we all went into the shop of our hospitable friends, who lighted lamps & got us water. I was so nervous about the horses, I cd not stop within hearing & so walked up a street & came to a church & church yard. A grating into the burial ground hastened my return, soon after which the coachman returned with a man from the hotel & then can we ever forget the efforts we made to induce him to unload the vehicle before moving it. Threats & promises were alike unavailing & at last after the poor horses again falling in their efforts to release it, it was got off & at the risk of it, the horses, our baggage & his own life, it arrived at the bottom of the hill, 5 men hanging on behind to try & stop it. We walked of course to the hotel & got into bed by day light, weary in the extreme. I was awake at my usual early hour & ready to get up, but going to sleep again, I slept till every one else was up & Aurélie & Anne had seen the baggage on the wharf. I shall never forget the refreshment of some coffee for breakfast, after which we were just in time to go on board the steamer & in two hours landed at St Goar, which we found uninteresting & dull in the extreme, cold, cheerless, perched on the edge of the noble but unchanging Rhine. Mountains, castles, waters, clouds all the same monotonous colour & then the excessively ugly vineyards! how unlike the picturesque loveliness of Heidelberg. I have agreed to stay here a week! at 4 francs day for grown persons, 3 children & servant. But how foolish of me to listen to the accounts of beauties which are too insignificant to please, instead of the real advantages of the place Miss Kempf recommended to Aurélie & which she urged me to try. It was near Wiesbaden & thence I cd have taken them all to see Frankfürt, Wiesbaden etc, consulted a Dr for Robert & signed my certificate. How foolishly have I acted!
9th Difficulties about bed rooms. Mr Baker still with us. Walked, pretty sketches. Lots of troops arriving but little news stirring.
10th Mr Baker gone to Cologne & Bonn. I in bed. Very very dull.
11th Mr Baker returned, having been all night en route. Wrights well & anxious for us to go there. I did not go out. Felt very ill & cold. Scarcely remember to have been more out of sorts.
12th Went sketching with Emily, Clara, Fanny & Laura. Rather finer but very cold & damp. I have induced Robert to remain in bed to keep out of draughts & damps. This afternoon I have stayed with him & written to Jane to say I am returning to England. My difficulties however are many, first of all about dear Robert, then Anne, then sea side, then house hunting, not seeing Germany, not going to Paris etc.
13th After breakfast crossed the Rhine & went up the Swiss valley to sketch. The farther part of the valley is very pretty, you almost lose sight of these incessant vineyards & the woods & rocks are really picturesque. I read two beautiful sermons whilst they drew & I hope I may profit by them & moderate my desires for what I in my folly imagine to be advantageous for my family & myself. It may not be sinful to take advantage of the blessings God places in our way, but to fret when one loses comforts & delights & to desire some fancied good so very ardently as to lose the enjoyment of what God allows us to possess, is assuredly to commit sin. Nothing can be more aweful than the judgement of God in giving them their desire, in allowing them to eat in peace for a whole month & yet this very indulgence was to prove their destruction. Oh God is it so with us? How many blessings so I possess, which having coveted too ardently, may prove curses instead of blessings. Oh spare me good Lord. Spare me & be not angry with me for ever.
14th Mr Baker gone to Frankfürt. Nothing else of importance. Packing, very fine day. Did not go out.
15th Went down in a pouring rain to Cologne. I stopped at Bonn with Emily, Fanny & Annie to see the Wrights. Dined at table d’hôte with them. Very kind & affectionate. Started at 5 by rail road & got to Cologne at 6. Found Aurélie looking for us to see the cathedral. It is very fine, pure Gothic, but my love of sights is smothered in anxiety & doubt. Emily was ill in the night & I prevented them in consequence going by the early train to Aix la Chapelle.
16th Rain. All day going by rail to Brussels. Difficulty in getting rooms at Hotel de la Regence etc. Glad to be housed any where. There have been cases of cholera here & we had a panic tonight & resolved to start in the morning for Ostend.
17 A day of horrible doubt & worry. Letters from Jane & Paris. The former urges me in the strongest possible terms to remain a while at Brussels, the latter have every hope that Paris is getting rid of cholera & Red Republicans. Anne consulted a Dr about Annie. He says there have been cases of Cholerin in the lower parts of the town but not one in these quarters.
18th Went out to see apartments. They are cheap & good. Shopping, doubting, hoping, despairing, deciding, hesitating. At present I am sitting awaiting the return of all the elders, whether they are gone with a view to shopping or house hunting I really do not know. We remained out till 9 at night. There is now but one hope here. I have expressed my determination not to remain in Brussels at a high rent & great expense equal to what I had as the best situation in Paris in the best season, here out of the season, with fears of cholera, no sea air, or any other advantage. As long as I thought I cd do it tolerably cheaply it was to be thought of, but really when I see that I must take a large house 3 guineas at the very least a week & have difficulties innumerable about servants, management etc I think it is exceedingly unwise of me to enter into it at all. We are now to wait for an answer at 8 tomorrow morning about two sets of apartments in the same house, but which will I fear be far more expensive than I like. Aurélie dreadfully ill with migraine.
19 At 6 o’clock I heard a knock at my door & was astonished to see Aurélie dressed & ready to go out in pursuit of fresh quarters. She has had her breakfast & is out in the rain! I have strong thoughts of the baker’s. However I have taken at last a place on the Place de Louvain out of the Rue Royale. It is small but clean & respectable & offering many advantages. I am to pay 213 fcs a month for 6 rooms & the use of a dining room for meals, 6 beds, cook, housemaid, kitchen, firing, servant’s food, every thing included. This is even cheaper than Heidelberg since the summer rent began, £2.3 a week for rent, wages & board of 2 servants, linen, plate, firing. Had our luggage removed to the apartment. Troublesome not to tell us our luggage wd not pass the gates without one of us. Anne has taken an apartment in the Rue Royale for 3 months with the option of leaving at 1. It is a large house on the Paris plan. Many different apartments, very severe regulations, which tho’ tiresome yet secure order & regularity, for instance no one is to play on a musical instrument after ½ past 9. No one must have in wood or coals excepting before 9 on Friday mornings. We have more liberty & cheapness but less comfort. There have been several cases of cholera, more in this part of the town, which is completely elevated from the rest. Very dry, very airy, very open. Robert has a cold. We are exceedingly careful of him.
20th I have a cold. Both Robert & I have had our breakfast in bed. Anne & Fanny have been & are looking out for pianos & books. Aurélie, Emily, Clara & Laura for books etc. Annie is reading to Robert. Weather is fine & not very hot. Anne & Fanny have been to the market, every thing most abundant & cheap. Large bundle of asparagus 5d, butter 7d, eggs 25 for 10d. Meat a little cheaper than Paris & bread also. Piano 12 fcs a month. My stay at this hotel 4 days has cost me 186 fcs besides servants 20 fcs. About 4 o’clock we came to our new apartments & found our hostess very civil & quite ready for us. Really the place is infinitely better than I expected. I have a very nice little room, Emily & Fanny next me in a very nice one. Drawing room very pretty. Dining room down stairs. Above us Aurélie, Annie, Clara & Laura have 3 rooms. Robert is worst off. Anne is very dull, did not find her apartments ready, clean or cheerful.
21 Went out shopping. Met Mr Baker. After he had left us at St Goar he went to Frankfürt for his passport, was too late, had not patience to wait, came back expecting not to find us gone. Slept at St Goar, found himself short of money & was obliged to wait for it 3 days at Aix la Chapelle! Arrived here this morning. Sent off a commission as in every other place to find us, but met us himself. At Cologne he was taken to the hotel & told we were at home. Behold we were gone! Here he was taken to some distant part of the town & to a sort of beer shop not being able to describe our name & abode.
22nd Mr Baker shopping with us, he is worse than any lady & stops at every shop window. Stayed with us till dinner & then again till 11 at night. He sits drawing all day. Anne very dull & ill reconciled to Brussels. I care little for it all day, but am very dull in the fine evenings. I had a letter today from Jane, delighted at my staying here urging my remaining & when I go to London advises my settling near them.
23rd Out with Annie shopping. The flower market is beautiful. Our drawing room already looks sweetly pretty with some of our ornaments & plenty of flowers.
24 Went to church twice. At 9 in the morning there is no sermon & few persons, at ½ past 2 in the afternoon there is a sermon & more people. A kind of show place with a very unpleasant clergyman. I do not hear a word of the sermon, but what matters it, ought not our minds to be so engrossed by our own prayers as not to think of the manner etc of the clergyman & place. I am so sorry to find my mind still so very ill regulated.
25th Fine weather ever since we have been here, neither cold nor very hot. I was out with Emily shopping this morning & met Anne & Annie for a minute. Mr Baker sits & draws here the whole afternoon & evening. He is very young which offers some excuse for his paying such constant visits. I must say it is exceedingly annoying.
26th Out with Annie this morning. Yesterday Aurélie, Emily & Robert went to the Chamber to hear the debates, very very stupid. Mr Baker brought us yesterday the news of Heidelberg to Manheim being in the hands of the Prussians. The insurgents had taken refuge up the Neckar. A quantity of cannons had been posted about the castle & the vicinity, no doubt in our garden. How I long for it & its lovely view & sweet fresh air. I am trying not to grumble but it depresses my spirits sadly to live amongst streets & houses & never see the open country. Poor Aurélie has a very severe cold & headache. Anne called after dinner & after tea took C. L. & R. a walk. Mr Baker sat as usual till nearly eleven drawing & talking, enjoying himself in the most easy way. All very delightful if he was a son or nephew.
27 Fine weather as usual. I know not how to describe the sadness I feel at being absent from nature during this summer. God grant me more patience in such things. At my age etc one ought to care only about one thing. Mr Baker took leave & is going to England tonight. He brought his guns to shew us. I am sure he past any thing but a pleasant 2 hours before he had resolution to say the words Good bye. Anne was here in the afternoon & evening. She likes her German master. He gives her & Annie a lesson of 1½ hour for 1½ fc. She has not a music master yet.
28th Cloudy & warm. Going to consult Dr Coley about Robert. His opinion is very favourable. He thinks he detects a slight fault in the action of the valves of his heart, but whatever it has been it is declining & will be eradicated. He does not like a warm climate, as he thinks it relaxing without insuring freedom from chills inducing rheumatism. He recommends me even in the cold easterly winds to let him go out every day, only to wrap him up immensely. He has ordered him a course of steel preceded by 3 doses of Calomel & Jallap. His first words after he had examined him & he had left the room were “You must keep him under your own roof”. He says he must not study or be excited in any way. Of course my mind is greatly relieved.
29th Dear Robert has taken his first powder & is in bed. God grant it may do him good. Having given Clara & Laura 5 fcs each, Aurélie, Annie & I went out with them to spend it. They have each a very pretty collar with 4 rows of valenciennes & two pairs of plain cuffs.
30th Rain in the morning, fine afternoon. Went with Clara to buy different things, fetch parasol etc. Did as much in an hour as generally in 4 or 5.
July 1st Sacrament in the morning. There was only the communion service. Those who did not know this went away after the Gospel was finished. There is no place to kneel therefore the clergymen administer the sacred elements to the partakers, who are ranged in the first pews & round the altar. It was very well arranged & impressive. Emily & I went to see Anne before dinner, after having read all of us the morning service & a sermon. After dinner went to church. Anne & Annie drank tea with us.
2nd Emily & I went to the post & got a letter for Clara & Laura from Harriett & Cecilia. Went to the flower market & fruit market, did sundry little commissions. Went into the fine cathedral, architecture lovely, how delightful it is to see the open churches. I always feel as if they were a refuge & home for all.
3rd Robert took his third powder, cool weather.
4 All have bad colds. All are ill & out of spirits. Dr Coley called, he is a regular leech.
5 Went to the Ambassador’s & signed my certificate. I can gain no certain intelligence about cholera. I have a bad cough & am poorly & low spirited.
6 Very fine, very hot. Reports of cholera not being so intense & yet whenever I have asked I have been told it does not exist. Workwoman of lace merchant dead, her sister frightened to finish the work she had in hand. It is aweful at Anvers & Mons & at Ostend they say it is bad.
7 Especially hot. Cholera I fear is bad tho’ people are so deceitful they will not say the truth. I hear the most contradictory reports. It is always sure to be better when I ask, tho’ I ask 2 or 3 times a day & am told that it was bad a few days ago. I had a letter yesterday from Jane consoling me with a detail of the dearness of every thing in England. The railroads bring all the Devonshire milk & butter to London & leave the country scantily & dearly supplied. Jane’s bills are £10 a week! Washing without servants £2.10! & yet she thinks it wd be best for me to live in London! I am almost tempted to say God forbid tho’ that I know is wrong, one ought to be resigned to every thing, even to white walls instead of mountains & trees & rivers & plains & flowers & air! Today received a letter from Mary Baker with a little drawing which I hope did not cost much postage, for I like it but little. She seems about as well pleased with London, as we with Brussels. The heat tonight is great & yet we are obliged to shut all the windows at sunset & almost choke for want of air all the evening, as the air is said to be bad for cholera!
8th Church in the morning. We had an aweful scene. The poor clergyman was taken ill during the litany. He appeared dreadfully pale & began by hesitating, then stopping, then going from one prayer to another & apparently losing his senses. After some time a general move was made & a clergyman who was amongst the congregation went to the vestry, put on a gown & took the gentleman’s place, who altho’ evidently very bad & nearly senseless cd not be persuaded to move till he saw another to fulfill his office. The gentleman who thus suddenly took the duty on himself was so flurried that for a short time I thought he also wd be obliged to go. He cd not collect himself far enough to substitute Queen Victoria for King Leopold & therefore we prayed for him instead of her, but after a while he became better & read very well. We were told that the clergyman was better. The heat being excessive I wd not allow any one to return to church in the afternoon. I hope it was not wrong in me. Anne & Annie went to the other church which is nearer. They took tea with us.
9th Received my letter of credit & wrote in reply to Mr Perkins. This is the last time I shall have money in this way. The postage is so short I can write a check & have the reply in 2 days from here. Thank God the weather is cooler tho’ still the ther has been 80 all day in the rooms.
10 Much cooler, still very fine. I have begun to keep a seperate purse & allowance for Robert of £8 year, he knows all about & it will perhaps induce him to see the value of money & be careful. At one end I have placed a tenth for charity.
11 Letters from Miss Faller giving a most dreadful account of the military doings in Baden. She says we must never for a moment regret having left, tho’ Miss Kempf has remained, it has been by a miracle. Miss Faller says they know not what has become of Mr Schottler or Mr Rehfeldt. That every body who cd go did. That she herself thinks she shall never recover the terror & that her family will soon be ruined for they have no salary & have numbers of soldiers to maintain. The Prussians she says have committed great cruelties wherever they have entered as victors. Many persons she knew have died from hardships after having been taken prisoners & families have been forced to leave their house to the soldiers quartered on them rather than submit to their ill treatment. Her father went to try & save his son from going to attack the Prussians & all the Free bands pointed their guns at him & threatened to shoot him dead in an instant, if he attempted to get him off. They have only been able to hear from Heidelberg for a few days & know but little, as people cannot & dare not write. She wishes she cd only get out of the country as she is most miserable. Had I remained I should perhaps have had 20 or 30 men to have paid for & nursed etc so there is nothing to regret, I must have left.
12th My dear Robert’s Birth day. I gave him “A Voice from Waterloo”, a portfolio & an Indian rubber ball. Aurélie books, eau de cologne, forget me nots & a pocket comb. Emily a paint box & knife. Fanny battledore & shuttlecock & prayer book newly bound. Annie soldier’s cap, sword, cartridge box, ball. Clara & Laura Gulliver’s Travels. Anne a book, Annie a book, Field a Teetotum. Annie Barkley was with him from after dinner & they were very happy but he is evidently not so well as he was. There is some oppression some where which keeps him down, tho’ he has wonderful spirits, yet one sees that they wear him. Dr Pickford’s treatment suited him best. Anne was here also the whole afternoon & evening, read German for hours. I was twice out in the morning. Aurélie took Robert & Annie out after tea & Emily & I took Anne home in the evening.
13 The weather is very magnificent tho’ there is not a cloud in the sky, yet there is a pleasant air & it is only from 4 to 6 that we feel inconvenience from heat. Letter from Wright’s this evening. It has put me upon making plans & I really see no reason why we sd not go to Dresden.
14th Consulted & told Anne about it. She longs to go also, but cannot at this moment. Very hot.
15th They went to German church in the morning. Robert read the service to us. In the afternoon went to Mr Drury’s church, better than the other. Anne & Annie took tea with us. She has a very bad cold & went home early. I went also early to bed. Asthma!
16 Went sight seeing! What a Gallery of pictures! I did not see one even pretty. Very hot. Ordered carriage for Waterloo tomorrow.
17 They all went to Waterloo excepting me & I wrote from 6 in the morning to ½ past 12, took a cup of coffee at eleven, went to see Anne at ½ past 12. She has a very bad cold. They were delighted with their excursion. Brought back flowers, balls etc. Robert is quite “au fait” at it all. They returned at 1. We dined. Robert went to bed at 3 & slept till the next morning. He is not so well as he was at Heidelberg. Madame Noël called in the afternoon, she is a very fine lady.
18 They all went to the library, Anne & Annie as well to see manuscripts, all excepting Laura, Robert & I, who went to the park & out into the country to play at ball! Poor child he was so pleased to be a little at liberty.
19 Very heavy & frequent showers. Emily & I got wet through. There is a great difficulty about luggage being examined & I am afraid of letting it go without me, for fear they should open & destroy the things. Received a letter from Mr Perkins saying he has paid in my 5 Chancery quarter’s dividends. Also one from Packham with a good account of my things & asking to come to Brussles to be with us in the winter. He mistook me but of course wd be equally glad to go to Paris.
20 Anne sent us a letter she had received from Mr Schottler enclosing 2 from Babetchin for Aurélie & Clara. Extremely interesting & showing that from the very day of our departure they were in hourly fear & danger. The storm we experienced at Manheim they also had & say it was the harbinger of one of another sort, the scenes of agitation, fighting, dying & wounded, barricading windows, quartering soldiers, nursing sick, typhus fever raging - all are sad. One Sunday night 18 000 were quartered on the town. Churches & all full. They saw one of the battles from the Reisenstein & there was also a fight on the bridge & just opposite our house, beyond Madle Dahmur’s, at one moment it was almost certain that plunder wd begin, but mercifully the bands of desperate men who were beginning to were restrained. Now all is quiet in the hands of the Prussians, beer houses shut at 9 o’clock & every thing orderly, but they say so many families are ruined that for years great distress must exist. They entreat us to go back & are very affectionate. I am very glad they have written & they wish to write again.
21st Inauguration of the King, saw him & the Queen & their 3 children pass to the cathedral in state. A violent storm of thunder & lightning burst forth just as they were going, which the people were talking of as inauspicious & the first time since their coming to the throne that they had had a cloud on the day, but wd it not be wiser to consider it as a blessed omen to stop the cholera, for it has been noticed that there has not been a storm here this year & a want of electricity is supposed to create cholera. Let us then thank God for this, instead of repining. At this moment the sun has burst forth. The royal family are at home again.
22 Prayers at home in the morning, then they went to the French Protestant service & after dinner we all went to church. Anne & Annie drank tea with us as usual. She is very dull.
23 We of course were much engaged packing, getting passports etc. Anne came to tea & we parted very dull & extremely uncomfortable.
24 Up at 4. Had breakfast ½ past 5. Parted very quietly with Miss Rubens. We have been well off & comfortable with her. Had two nice little carriages to the station where we took tickets for Annie, Robert & myself to Cologne, the rest to Aix-la-Chapelle, but when we got there it rained, so they all went on with us. We were not at all afraid of travelling at night, for there is really no fatigue in rail road travelling. We therefore determined on going straight on, instead of sleeping at Cologne where the people & Inns are odious. We therefore merely dined there & at ten o’clock seated ourselves in an easy good carriage. Robert was charmed to see the lights & preparations for a night journey & was much amused at the man who past along the outside with a lantern attached to him in front, looking into every carriage every 5 or 10 minutes. This must be a great protection in case of travelling with strangers. Robert soon laid down along the spring cushion, with his sword hung over his head & all the rest of his armour properly disposed of. Here the dear boy slept all night without waking once at the various stoppages. We all slept well tho’ of course constantly waking. There is some thing very agreeable in going on so safely all night. In fact rail roads are great favorites of mine.
25th At seven o’clock Wednesday morning we arrived at our place for breakfast. We had coffee, hot rolls & good butter. It was rather a bustle at this place Minden. We took our places now on to Magdeburg. Dined at Brunswick which seems a very nice town, fine station, very very civil people, excellent beef stakes & potatoes. Hanover too seems a splendid place. At Brunswick Station the Duke was seeing off a general from the army at Rastadt. Curious enough, they heard at one of the stations in the night, that the place was taken & so it proves to be. We went on through Hanover & Brunswick, both very fine flourishing places, at the latter we dined. Nothing can be better arranged, there every thing is. Plenty of time allowed & very frequent stoppages. We got to Leipsig at 9 & were glad to go to bed, tho’ not so tired as might have been expected.
26 Walked about Leipsig & left it at ½ past 12. Arrived at ½ past 3 at Dresden & walked to Croeber’s Hotel which was full. They took us to another, that full also, then we at last found apartments on the 4th floor at the Rheinischer Hof where we were most comfortable & cheap. We went out the same evening & saw many apartments but only this one we have to suit.
27 Went with Croeber house hunting, took this one. Splendid apartments for £1.16s a week, got a cook & housemaid & were settled very shortly.
28 Came into new apartments. The cook is not good or agreeable.
29th Went twice to church, very few persons there. Mr Lindsay not returned. Walked to the cemetery & stood round dear Charles’s tomb. I remember my joy at his birth & how very dearly I loved him. We were long playfellows & tho’ his unhappy temper so full of suspicion & so violent caused much unhappiness, yet I am rejoiced to think I ever lived at peace with him. God rest his soul.
30th Visited the Gallery. It is indeed splendid. The windows are still partly closed with mattrasses. No very fine painting was damaged, but the Prussians were stationed in the Gallery! & the insurgents in the Stadt Room opposite. The latter was so injured it is almost entirely rebuilt, the former is covered with bullet holes. The damage in the town is incredible. Wherever you turn the houses are either patched or rebuilt or still full of holes, the beautiful gable ends shattered. The Opera House a complete ruin & many houses burnt.
[last two pages have a pressed leaf stalk of Camphor Isola Bella, and a Leaf of Sugar Cane Isola Bella 29 May 1848]
Last Travel Journal 5: 31.7.1849-5.4.1850
Dresden, Prague, Dresden, Berlin, Paris, England (Martha & Fanny), Paris
8 in group, Martha and 6 children, Emily, Fanny, Annie, Clara, Laura, Robert (age 10), Miss Aurélie Hubert de Fonteny 1813-1907 (French companion/governess). Anne Barkley (Martha’s sister-in-law), her daughter Annie (age 10/11) & servant Field joined them in Dresden on 20 September 1849. They left Anne, Annie & Field in Berlin when they went to Cöln & on to Paris on 7 October. Transcribed and typed by Madeleine Symes 2017 with her notes in italics & in square brackets, mostly capitals removed, places/people/things of interest in bold. Martha’s spelling. Pencil marks, underlining and lines down sides of pages on original journal.
31st July 1849 Dresden
I began my last book on the 29th March 1848 with speculations as to what wd be the result of the turbulent times we were then witnessing at Rome & reading & hearing of in so many other places. 16 months have since elapsed & revolutions, disturbances, discontent, misrule etc have distracted every part of Europe, without I believe effecting any benefit to any nation or individual but God knows best. He may be bringing good out of evil & generations to come may reap the fruits of the seed now sown in bitterness & bloodshed. England thank God is still at peace, the Queen is now gone to unhappy Ireland on a visit. God prosper it & turn it to a good account. Every town in Italy, in Germany I might almost say Europe has been in a flame. Rome after driving her idol Pio IX from the throne &proclaiming a republic, has been besieged, bombarded & finally taken by the French, who having just done themselves the honour of driving away their own King & reducing their fine country to a republic, marched an army to Rome to re-establish their Monarch & destroy their republic, strange inconsistency! such tyrants to others, such boasters of freedom, liberty, fraternity, equallity etc. Venice is still bombarded by the Austrians. Radetsky has regained Milan. The hero Charles Albert! is fallen into complete contempt. The Hungarians are threatening the Austrians. The Russians trying to gain a footing by assisting the latter. Sicily reconquered & the King of Naples protecting Pio IX who is I hope enjoying the lovely Gaeta. Prussia putting down revolutions by the dozen, Belgium quiet & stupid. France or rather Paris apparently gay & successful, but the smooth surface sadly thin & transparent. Denmark & Holstein still contending & all over the world a talk of poverty, discontent & want of confidence. Thus begins my present journal. We ourselves not enjoying Dresden. We have been today at the Gallery. Aurélie fainted nearly, there was a violent thunder storm & we were some time getting a carriage. Dear Robert went to school or rather to play with Hërr Dzondi’s children as it is holiday time. I shall be delighted if he is well enough to continue when the boys return. Cook odious, makes my bills higher than any where else & yet certainly this is the cheapest place we have been in.
August 1st They are quite charmed with their German master, who gave them their first lesson today.
2nd First lesson of painting master, who brought the very ugliest things for them to copy I ever saw. Letter from Anne.
3 I had a fright yesterday, hearing that the Dzondi’s youngest child had still marks of small pox. Robert is in bed with a rash, but it is only a sort of heat rash. Went to the Gallery for the 3rd time. Madame Dzondi called. She assures me it is ten weeks since her baby had the small pox & six since he has been bathed every day & the other children with him. Cholera begins to be spoken of.
4 Little Dzondi came to tea. I was ill. Weather cold, windy, but not rainy. Master came to give lessons in pastelle, a pretty style I particularly wished them to learn. Letters from Mr Cornish, E Shaw, Harriet Shaw & M A Winstanley.
5 In bed all day. Head ache. So sorry not to receive the sacrament as the others did. Robert was delighted after church to see Mr Baker & his friend Capt Fisher. They called, but did not stop long, as I was not up.
6. Robert went to take his friends to see the Gallery, acted the part of Cicerone well & took them all over Dresden, interpreting for them every where. Mr Baker called. He is expecting his family very anxiously & is very pleased at the idea of their taking apartments in this house.
7 Went directly after breakfast to market. The cook cheats so I am forced to buy the meat. They all went to see the engravings at the Zwinger. Mr Baker & Capt Fisher sat with me a long time. The German master to tea.
8 Market, astonished at the cheapness of every thing. Robert went to school tho’ he has constant headaches. Emily was ill in bed all day, but up in the evening. Young men sat till 10 o’clock! My eyes open as to the object of their attraction.
9 Letter from Anne. Pastelle master came to say he did not wish to give any more lessons. He must be mad. Robert went to the Armoury with the young men & my party went in the afternoon. I walked to the Grosser Garten, a complete specimen of German enjoyment, numbers & numbers of persons sitting eating ices, drinking coffee etc under the trees, ladies knitting, chatting & enjoying themselves under the fine trees. It is a very pretty place, quite open to the corn fields & pretty home view.
10 Rain. My bills preposterously high. I gave the cook warning. Emily, Annie, Clara & I went to the Gallery. Mr Baker & Capt Fisher met & accompanied us. Left them going to the rail road, both are unusually anxious for the arrival of their friends. I went to see the ruins of the Zwinger. What havoc has been made!
11 Just sitting down to dinner. Letter & enclosure. I answered it. We have had a most uncomfortable day.
13 Exceedingly hot. Went twice to church. Very uneasy. Came home alone. Mr Lindsay & Mr Smith called. Little Dzondis came. Before church a young gentleman was announced & in walked Mr Rehfeldt. He is here with his parents for a few days or else he starts for Heidelberg tomorrow morning. We have sent what I owed at Heidelberg & some presents to Miss Kempf, Miss Faller, Miss Ammon & the Parishes. My £50 has arrived. Robert went to see the young men, delighted to see Capt Fisher’s cornet-à-piston on the table. They were out, but he joined them in the garden & walked with them, could not persuade them to come in.
14th Letters from Wrights, Pittmans have staid a week longer at Bonn, as they were enjoying themselves very much together. They are now on their road here & expected tomorrow. I wrote to tell Mr Baker & he called about it in the afternoon. We had a very long interview. The Wrights are going to Belgium.
15th Shopping & marketting, then working, dining, writing & expecting Pittmans. Mr Rehfeldt has just been here, he has been into Saxon Switzerland & is charmed & is now gone to Heidelberg. The Pittmans have not made their appearance. Aurélie, Annie, Clara & Laura went in the evening shopping, but the shops here are closed between 7 & 8 o’clock. Emily, Fanny & I walked to the Grosser Garten. The country outside Dresden is very homely & pleases us much. The weather is glorious, but I cannot boast of our agreeable feelings. Letters from Jeronyme to Emily, Fanny & Robert, speaking of Paris as quite quiet.
16 Weather very splendid. Aurélie has a migraine & Robert a cold. I went out with Clara to market & to the music shop. In the afternoon as I was sitting in my usual place writing Robert’s book, Aurélie ushered in Capt & Mrs Pittman & Sarah. They had arrived the day before! by the last train. Curious interview. My mind greatly relieved, they seem not to have the slightest wish to be in the same house. Their plans are not fixed, at least one party spoke of staying here the winter, the other of 3 weeks! Mary did not come having a violent cold. Very friendly & I can well understand their reasons. It seems that tho’ the son has been hourly expecting them here & in ignorance of their movements, they had secured apartments at the Hotel de Wein. They look well, but as usual not very genteel, excepting Capt Pittman who I like very much. Letters from Annie, Anne & Mal. Hubert. In the evening we walked to Moreau’s tomb. It is about 1½ mile from us across the fields, on an elevated ground, with a fine view of Dresden etc & the country, which is very pretty indeed & faintly resembles Florence. We had a glimpse of the mountains of Saxon Switzerland. They have fine irregular outlines & their lovely grey blue soft distance delighted us & made us long to be amongst them. Dresden certainly possesses every requisite for comfort & eligibility.
· [Note by Rosemary Symes: General Jean Victor Moreau 1763-1813, a General in Napoleon’s army. Because Napoleon considered him a rival he was banished & went to Austria. In 1813 he was invited by the Russian Emperor Alexander to join the Allied armies against France. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Dresden, dying after the amputation of both legs. The monument was erected by Tsar Alexander & his body sent to St Petersburg].
17th Aurélie has taken Annie, Clara & Laura to the Gallery. I am intending to go & call on the Pittmans but have hopes that the rain which is now coming down in torrents may prevent us. There is a close heat accompanying it which is truly oppressive. I am surprised that so much corn is still unripe & Capt Pittman says there is hardly any cut between here & Leipsig. We did not go out, the others met Capt Pittman. Capt Fisher called today to say good bye. He is going tomorrow morning to Berlin, thence through Hamburgh to England. He did not say whether Mr Baker was going also. Robert gone to tea with his friend Walter Langton opposite. They appear a very genteel family. Hërr Püchell drank tea here after Aurélie’s lesson & is now giving the general lesson.
18 Emily, Fanny, Clara & I went to market & to call on Pittmans. Met Mr Baker & Capt Fisher taking a walk for the latter to see Dresden for the last time. Found the Pittmans at home, very cordial, Mary crazy about drawing. Aurélie & I went to look for books for Robert & met Capt Pittman.
19 Church twice. I am delighted to be able to hear the sermons. Capt Pittman & Mr Baker were there but not the ladies. Mr Baker walked home with us. Capt Pittman followed us, he met an old friend at the church door & had a chat with him about Dresden, which he says is very unhealthy. This I think has determined them not to winter here. After afternoon church Aurélie, Emily & Fanny went to see how Mary was & I with my party went for a walk! against my will, but as the least of 2 evils. Robert is so happy with his friend. They went together between churches to call on Mr Lindsay & Mr Baker.
20 Joined the Pittmans at the Gallery. They were all much pleased but of course Mary is the one who delights most in those things. She was in raptures & went with us afterwards to the picture shop, but she is very delicate & her mother was anxious to get her home. Walter Langton drank tea here & the 2 boys enjoyed themselves greatly. He is a very nice genteel boy & I am delighted that dear Robert sd have a companion, but it spoils his German & yet I do not know for they only talk away from school & then Robert wd not be with Germans. Walter appears to speak German as English, but he has been 4 years here settled, so no wonder.
21 Quite cool in the morning, fine day. Mary & Sarah Baker called in the morning. They all dislike Dresden & find it dreary & desolate. After dinner I took Emily to go with the Pittmans to the Green Vaults. Laura went to walk with me. The whole of the Pittmans & Bakers went & I took a prisoner to make purchases safely! Emily was escorted home by the two girls & their brother but they did not come in. The chief treasures of the Green Vaults have been removed to a place safety.
22 An exceptionally hot day. The Dome has a remarkably fine appearance, the atmosphere being misty & hot. Painting & drawing all the morning. After dinner Emily, Laura & I went to the Gallery, the china manufactory, the terrace where a beautiful band was playing & the post where there were no letters for us. Mr Baker called & took Robert out & gave him a set of armour. We met the family, Mrs Pittman seems poorly & all longing to leave Dresden.
23rd Letter from the Parishes & Miss Smith. Mr Parish has fitted up the church very handsomely, Mrs Parish is quite well & having her music parties as usual. She is the only gay person in poor Heidelberg. Nevertheless there are marriages in agitation. After dinner Emily, Fanny, Laura & I went to meet the Pittman’s at the Zwinger to see the armoury, Fanny & I went to the Gallery, the picture shop, the post. Walter Langton drank tea with Robert. My plans are unsettled. Saxon Switzerland put off till Anne comes, is lost. The days will be short, mornings & evenings cold & weather probably bad. To go now is to disappoint her & possibly ourselves into greater difficulties. Whichever way I look there appear to me to be gathering clouds. I trust we may escape their bursting over us. Let this be as it will, the horizon is not clear & a cloudy one will always more or less affect both health & spirits. I have not had a letter from Jane for six weeks, John 2 years I sd think, tho’ Mary has written occasionally. Beyond my own circle, I believe few have less to attach them to the world. I do not think there is one person else who wd shed a tear for me. It is strange how very little one can ever know of oneself, for I try hard to detect my faults & certainly do not spare myself, still I have not yet quite discovered the cause of my brother & sister, nay, my whole family appearing to have so little affection for me, or rather I sd say, having always been so over ready to condemn my motives. I certainly never interfere with them, never should think of taking them to task for their actions, why then sd they do so to me. I fancy it arises from the excessive weakness of my character which inspires them with the idea that I am incapable of deciding judiciously. I am quite ready to own myself deserving of every thing, but what they see of my conduct one wd think is not so very bad & motives they cannot judge of. Other people come abroad, many educate their children here, but I do not imagine they lose the friendship of their family for that reason. I will now go to bed, read one of my nice sermons & try to resign myself to the ways of this world, hoping & praying for mercy in the next. How beautiful is the hope that God who knows all the wickedness of our hearts should be more merciful to us, than our fellow creatures who really know only fair outward actions.
24th Aurélie & Emily went to see the Pittmans & found them preparing to leave tomorrow morning. The longer one lives the more one sees of the ways of the world, I was going to say its vanity & selfishness, but let me not judge.
25th Twenty five years ago I became a mother & I bless God that 23 years of my first born’s life have past virtuously & humanly speaking innocently. She has had one great sorrow, one great loss. If she lives she must expect many more in the next 23 years of her life, which will include the most active & responsible ones probably. God grant her strength to bear them properly. After her presents were given, we got carriages & went to Tharand, dined under the trees at a “Restauration” in the German fashion & past the rest of the day in the beautiful woods on the mountains. There is one part called the “Holy Halls” celebrated for its noble trees which exclude the sky & form splendid aisles & arches. The road from Dresden to Tharand lies chiefly through a coal district, is consequently very dirty. Dear Robert carried his knapsack & a large parcel full of provisions. Poor fellow! not guessing his purpose I had nearly prevented him bringing them & it was such a delight to him to bring forth beer, water, bread & butter, meat, books, pen & ink etc. In our absence the Langtons called & brought Emily a bouquet for her birthday. Mr Baker also left his card.
26th Church in the morning. Walked home with Langtons & Mr Baker. Letters from Wrights who are at Brussels. Mr Lindsay called.
27 Returned Miss Learmonth’s visit. Went with Emily & Annie for Clara’s presents, met Mr Baker, he returned with us & sat an hour & a half with me.
28 Letters from Miss Faller. She wishes poor thing to go to America & first to Paris, strange if such a very useless person should succeed in going abroad. She is really good, but not in the smallest degree calculated to make her way. She says every one is striving to get to America which is already overstocked, dear as England & suffering horribly from cholera! I cannot help thinking that the world is arriving at some great crisis. This dreadful cholera spreading in all directions, the destruction of potatoes in so many places by the desease which for 5 years has continued to attack them & now some other insect is said to be devouring the corn, beetroot & potatoes. Then these aweful revolutions, these new opinions & expectations of men all over globe, which, however they may be just in many instances, yet do not seem based on any increase of religious feeling, all seems to present danger, difficulty & struggle.
29th Dear Clara’s 17th Birth Day. I do think that I may indulge a hope that since her last birth day she has improved in many things & lost none of her good qualities. She appears to me as amiable, as kind, as industrious & as innocent as ever, but when she reads this she must ask her own heart if the source is pure. God & herself are the only judges of this. Her fellow mortals can only see the outside, tho’ they may be permitted to hope that the tree is known by its fruits. She will understand me when I say that altho’ we had so much reason to thank God for preserving her to us untill this day, yet the welfare of another most beloved & valued member of our little community made the day less easy than it might have been & here I may add without fear of disclosing secrets, that the conduct of that one did her the greatest credit & has raised her highly in the estimation & endeared her to the hearts of us all. We went to a concert in honour of Göthe. The music was very fine, such as one may expect in Germany, a very full orchestra both vocal & instrumental, every instrument & voice in perfect harmony. The whole party returned to tea. Walter is such a funny boy, he makes us all laugh, some people however rather fret at his familiarity. It was droll enough his rushing to Annie in the middle of tea declaring “You are most beautiful”. Aurélie resigned her lesson with Mr Puchell & asked him to read from Göthe what was sung at the concert. In Germany where German music is being played, every individual seems to enjoy it & appropriate it. Each person seems to have a pride in the composer.
30th A very rainy morning made us arrange our plans for a quiet day at home & tho’ the sun is now shining brightly & the weather charming no one seems disposed to alter the plan. They have practised, drawn in pastelle, painted & read all the morning, Fanny & Annie are still continuing. We get beautiful copies here & every one is improving very much. Today I have begun Robert as day-boarder at school. I thought it wd be a great help to his German. He is to go at 8 & return at 8 taking lunch, dinner, something at 5 & tea at 7. I pay 5 Thallers for this & 5 for his schooling. He gets from 12 to 2 & 5 to 8 extra besides the half holidays. He already has made much progress. He came home at past 8, very delighted & full of a new game “La maison du petit homme”.
31st The last morning of August is as cold as September, how curious it is the changes of the season, how regularly they come round. Went to the post & found letters from Jane & Mlle Pelagie. The former is a Grandmamma! Edward’s wife was confined the day before she wrote, she & her little girl are doing well. It is unfortunately our not having been to the post for the last few days, as Mlle Pelagie’s letter has been there 3 days & required an immediate answer, as Mlle Jeronyme had found a very nice cheap furnished apartment for us which they think too eligible to lose & yet very likely to be taken. God grant that I may decide rightly if I take it. The cholera has rather increased again in Paris. In London Jane says it is most fearful. She had just heard of the death of Key the great surgeon [Charles Aston Key, surgeon 1793-1849]. 14 of the most eminent physicians attended his case, but without success. Jane say that the London physicians declare they are perfectly without resources or light in the treatment of this aweful plague, certainly one of the most fearful signs of the times, a warning no doubt from heaven, may we view it as such. The weather has been splendid since ten o’clock & now there is a glorious moon light.
1st September Letter from Anne Barkley. I am so very sorry to think she should not be with us here all this time, where she would have spent less & had many more advantages & comforts & pleasures. Mr Baker sat 2½ hours with me & Emily.
2 Church twice & sacrament. It is very respectfully & well administered here. Mr Lindsay had another clergyman to assist him & the gentleman we call the Young Clergyman received it also. It is quite like an English country church. Mr Lindsay preached an excellent plain sermon on the sin of staying away. May it have reached all hearts present. There was a very curious young man at church, morning & afternoon. He turned round during half the service & looked into either our or the Langton’s pew. He stretched, he rubbed his face, he hid it between his hands, stretching his arms in every direction, yet he repeated every response very loudly. He flung himself on his knees on the floor of the pew & in the creeds he bowed profoundly & markedly to the altar, not only when the bread & wine were on it, but also in the afternoon & not only when the creeds were repeated, but also when he past the altar to go out & when he reached the church door did he make reverent obeisances. I never saw such a thing in a Protestant place of worship. We were sitting in the balcony when the moon rose one third eclipsed. It was a splendid evening & we watched the whole progress of the eclipse.
3rd Out with Annie before & after dinner about an album for her to write her favorite poetry in. Emily, Annie & Clara are gone to walk & take tea with the Langton’s. Robert is going to tea. They walked first, then looked at drawings etc till 8 o’clock, tea like supper & lots of young lads joined them from the theatre.
4th Fanny’s cold is very bad. Emily & I were up with her nearly all night, she had a most severe attack of ear ache.
5 This very splendid warm weather continues. It was so very fine that altho’ we had not thought of going out, yet at 3 o’clock Emily, Annie, Laura & I went for a walk. We could not pass the Gallery but spend 3 quarters of an hour looking at those exquisite paintings. The Madonna, the Moneta, Ruisdael’s landscapes, Rubens sons. Several by Deidrilcht. Jacob & the Angel. Raphael Mengs. Some amongst the Italian school. A Virgin & child by Garofalo, the child sleeping, his mother kneeling beside him, an angel guarding him & his dream represented above, 3 fine groups of angels exhibiting the instruments of his passion. There is a head of some saint in Correggio’s painting of the Assumption in the same room with the Madonna which is sublime & reminds me of Perugino. There are some lovely things by Palma Vecchio & a fine collection of the works of Paul Veronese. For the first time I discovered in my wisdom that what I took for his surname is Verona. He is really Paulo Calliargli di Veronese. This I know is all wrong spelt. In this respect as I grow older, I remind myself very much of dear GMamma, I have the strangest confusion in my brain about spelling. Mr Baker overtook us & accompanied us.
6th Not a cloud in the sky, very hot & yet a fine air. Fanny up, but very weak, forced to keep her own room. After dinner I went with Aurélie to choose the German books to be bought with her Xmas box money & after that I went with Annie, Clara & Laura to the cemetery. It was pretty & cheerful to see many women & children watering the gay flowers over the graves & as I sat on the tomb stone next to dear Charles with my feet touching where his poor head lies, I thought of the many many happy hours we had past together, when both were young & gay. The hours, the days we have rambled about the fields & gardens at Sunbury. There are lilacs growing around his grave, but not so lovely as those under which we used to play & from whose flowers we used to make chains, alas! God rest his soul & save mine. He was 6 years younger than me. I remember the night he was born. Oh what joy to me! I remember the little bed he used to sleep in, he has a harder one now. He was such a lovely boy! Dear GMamma used to make all his cloths herself & so well he looked in them. Jane too was so fond & proud of him, how she used to shew him off. How smooth she used to make his hair. I think I see him now, with his brown Holland pinafore & his beautiful face & now how changed! Here in a foreign land his remains are to be untill the trumpet shall sound on the Judgement Day.
· English church services in Dresden at German Protestant chapel of ease, Johannes Strasse. Rev Samuel Lindsey appointed 1842. Burials were at the Protestant Cemetery.
7 Weather not quite so settled. Emily & Clara went & fetched 2 paintings to copy from the Langtons. I did not go out all day, the others went to the Gallery. Letter from Miss Witherby. A large meeting of physicians to consult concerning the cholera in London, declared that after six hours consultation they all professed themselves perfectly ignorant of the cause, nature, seat, treatment of the desease.
8 Yesterday I thought the fine weather was gone, but today it is lovely again. They are gone to the Jew’s synagogue. Wonderful nation! when will the times of the gentiles be fulfilled? Mr Baker called & sat an hour.
9 In bed nursing a very little sore place on my foot. Fine day. Books from Miss Learmonth, delightful. Robert had a military salute from the Emperor of Austria & a nod from one of the young Saxon Princes. I am happy that he has the feeling of a gentleman & has sufficient respect to himself as well as to high authorities as to make him always take off his hat to royal persons. It shews a sad want of good breeding not to do so & puts one very much in a low scale.
10 Aurélie & Annie went out to try & learn what they cd of the royal movements, as they are all crazy to see the Emperor [young Franz Joseph, married Elizabeth of Bavaria in 1854], King of Prussia [Frederick William IV], King of Saxony & their families who are now all here together at Pillnitz. A marriage is talked of between the young Emperor & one of these princesses but the meeting is disputed, the Emperor gone & no chance of seeing them together at present. Received my letter of credit for £200, all in order & by return of post. They went to the Gallery, Mr Puchell all the evening.
11 High wind & but for the dust it wd be most delightful. Aurélie, Clara & Laura gone to see what the Fair is like. In the afternoon the Pittmans called. They returned last night & were in high glee like children with their tour to Prague, Vienna & Saxon Switzerland. They said that they had not had one drawback to their enjoyment from the moment they left Dresden till their return to it. What a curious state of feeling must exist between a mother & her eldest son, if she can enjoy herself so very unreservedly on the eve of parting with him probably for life.
12 Very fine morning, showers in the day, fine afternoon. Robert gone with the young Langton’s somewhere. He came from school to dinner, but as he was to start again in half an hour, Aurélie washed & dressed him, Emily & Fanny fed him & did his hair & so we got him off in time. Dear child he enjoys himself I am sure. His school boys are formed into an army, he is one of the corporals. Aurélie bought him 3 swords yesterday.
13 Heavy rainy morning, chilly & every appearance of approaching autumn, but at 9 o’clock it broke out fine. Aurélie & Annie went to look for books. Emily & I to call on the Pittman’s. Mr Baker was with them greatly pleased at a present of glass they had brought him from Prague. He walked home with us.
14 Capt Pittman, Mary & Sarah called to say a final “Good bye”. Perhaps we shall never meet again in this world. Poor Capt Pittman gets lamer, but he is in excellent spirits & talks of next year’s travels as securely as if he was in health & after all what greater security has the youngest, the strongest, the healthiest, he may well outlive many who seem now to have many years to come of their lives. They go to Berlin this afternoon. I am sorry to see it raining, for really they seem so capable of enjoyment it appears a pity to disappoint them. Fanny & I took a walk this morning from ½ past 7 to 9 & did many things. What facility, what resource, what cheapness!
15 Weather gets more autumnal & the trees more tinted. Up at 6. Prayers, reading & breakfast till 8. Working & sundries till ½ past 8. Working for Fanny, new sleeves to her pink muslin & seeing them all off to the Japanese Palace untill 11. Putting to rights till ½ past 11. Now writing, wrote till a little after one, when they returned very tired from the Japanese Palace. There were letters waiting from Lucy Wright & Mlle Jeronyme. She has not taken the apartments for us, she thinks however that they will suit. After dinner Mr Baker came & sat till tea! I worked, the rest painted & drew. After tea worked & read till past 10.
16 Church twice. An extempore sermon in the afternoon from a very eccentric person. Went afterwards to the Catholic church. Splendid music & the altar piece is a very fine painting, the church altogether is exceedingly grand. Mr Baker walked home from church with us both morning & afternoon & having sent his transparencies for us to see, he came in to look at them in our window! They are very lovely indeed, especially Marguerite. We joined the Langton’s coming from morning service. Aurélie cd not come. Robert & Walter lost her prayer book coming home, laid them down on the grass whilst they jumped over a paling & forgot them! We have admonished them.
17 Aurélie & Annie went out shopping! Letter from Anne, she is coming on Thursday. How delighted will she be to see herself once more in Germany. I have written to ask Packham about coming to Paris for the winter. Went out before tea with Emily, Clara & Laura, fell in love with one of those elegant little iron night lamps which cost about 2s/6d & look so lovely with the pretty transparencies. Came home late for tea. Robert in bed all day feverish & head ache. How the dear boy is petted!
18th Raining, looks settled too. I want much to go out about flowers for dear Charles’s tomb & to enquire about the conveyance to Prague. I am trying to persuade them to let me stop here with Robert instead of going there. Wrote to Paris. Bought Annie a beautiful little smelling bottle & flower vase in white & silver for her French prize, Robert some drum toys – so pleased. Cemetery Aurélie.
19 Rainy morning & very cold. Fine in the afternoon. Cemetery with Annie & flowers.
20 Aurélie & I started the instant after breakfast to meet Anne by the first train, waited till past 10 & she did not come, rested ourselves in the garden of the Japanese Palace & returned home. Immediately after dinner started again with Aurélie, Emily & Fanny. Went first about transparencies & then to the station, joined there by Mr Baker who returned this morning from Berlin. He found it very fine. Anne arrived at 4, dreadfully affected. Cd not get a carriage, but just opposite the house Charles had taken, she & I got into one. This completely upset her. We drove to the Hamburgh Haus, Croeber not at home, he & his wife at Schandau. The waiter shewed us up & opened the very door where Charles died. Anne almost screamed with agony & went up another story, but in vain she attempted to go into the room over theirs. At last Croeber’s sister came & I persuaded Anne to tell her that she found it impossible to remain there. The sister took it kindly & understood her feelings & I brought Anne home with me. The walking party soon arrived & then Aurélie asked Anne if she wd not like at once to go to the cemetery. This was what she wanted, but dared not propose. I went with her. A sad scene but after a time she became composed & we sat till dusk on his grave. She was pleased about the flowers. When we arrived at home we found Aurélie & Fanny gone to see for apartments, the ones above us were let! what a pity! They returned having taken rooms at the Rheinischer Hof & Aurélie & I after tea went there with them. Coming back we shall not easily forget taking the Droscky. I really do not think in all my fatigues I ever was so tired as tonight.
21 Went to Anne at 10. Annie & I left her writing & went shopping. Anne to dinner & afterwards she, Aurélie, Annie Barkley & Emily went to the Gallery. Clara, Laura & I walked. The rest to tea.
22 Aurélie & I went out after breakfast. Met Mr Baker, asked him to tea. Went after dinner in two parties to the Green Vaults, fine collection of all sorts of curiosities. Panoramas of Florence, Vesuvius & Naples, Rome, Munick, Bologna, Frankfurt, Over & Pesth [Obuda & Pest, now Budapest], badly done, but recalled most vividly those glorious places which really are more like home to me than others. I fancied I was walking in Florence. The others went to the Jew’s Synagogue. Robert & I only got home in time for tea. Mr Baker had brought all his purchases. They are very pretty, lovely glass. He staid till nearly eleven. He is quite resolved on taking leave in Paris!
23 Did not go to morning service. I have a severe cold. They came in very dull. Anne was much distressed. Mr Lindsay preached a sermon on Christian resignation & several times used the line she has put on dear Charles’s tomb “Thy will not mine be done”. The prayer for cholera was used today. God grant it may have been heard on high. I went in the afternoon. Mr Baker walked home with me. Anne & Emily went to the cemetery, Aurélie & the rest to the Antonstadt for a walk. Robert came home with Walter. We have probably been to this dear little church for the last time. Our recollections of Dresden will be ever interesting. Strange it is! how, in passing through this life, friends, scenes, events, occur, pass, but leave a recollection behind. Anne & Annie dined & took tea here.
24 The weather is exquisite. Italy itself does not present more heavenly days than are now bestowed on us. It is very happy for poor Anne, who is much out of spirits.
25 My 47th Birthday. We took breakfast at 8 & directly afterwards went to the drawing room which I found beautifully decorated with wreaths & flowers. At the door hung 2 hearts one in flowers representing the whole family, one in ivy that of Aurélie with a forget me not wreath. A lovely crown of flowers was in the centre of the table & under it a lovely vase in Dresden china given me by Emily, Fanny & Annie. Aurélie gave me a glass of Bohemian glass, a sweet little iron box with that exquisite group of two Arabs on horseback chasing each other, a bust of Shakespeare, a card with forget me not on it, an exceedingly pretty pastel drawing. Emily & Fanny each a painting. Annie a lovely transparency of the three Marys & a very pretty pastel. Clara & Laura a handsome large white smelling bottle. Clara a red little glass, Laura a glass stiletto. Robert a pen wiper with a lovely bronze horse, 2 silk winders & an oil painting! Marie a silk winder & a pretty flower pot. Anne a crochet pin cushion. Annie Barkley 2 silk winders. Before dinner I went & bought Anne a Stammbuch. She & Annie dined with us, the latter having a cold went home at 5. I had a very happy day. No clouds disturbed the pleasure of being with those who constitute the happiness & comfort of my life. I only fear that I possess too many blessings & that I think too much of them. I like my presents so much that I cannot scold at my orders being disobeyed. However I may as well take this opportunity of recommending more economy in future. I have begun a book in which I put lists of all the Birthday & Xmas presents.
26 Went out twice. So many preparations to be made!
27 Aurélie & I out till dinner time settling about passports for her & Robert by the Diligence. We had no idea so many ceremonies had to be gone through. Mr Forbes the English Minister of Legation told us that the English are so unpopular in Bohemia that every precaution ought to be taken. Mr Lindsay called. Anne was at our house. Emily & I called on Miss Learmonth, not at home. Went to bed all of us most dreadfully tired.
28 I was up at 3. Had breakfast at 5 & started at ½ past 5 in a drizzling rain! leaving Aurélie going to sleep till 8 or 9, Robert fast asleep. Marie very civil & grateful for her presents etc. Cook did not appear, what a difference! We arrived in 2 carriages at the steamer before Anne & went immediately below. The weather looked horribly bad, drifting clouds thick cold rain. We started punctually at 6. A very pretty little steamer, nicely fitted up, a kind of raised sofa at one end of the main cabin & most comfortable seats all round covered with tiger skins in imitation. Every one prognosticated bad weather. Nevertheless it soon began to clear up & we went on deck. It was very chilly, but the Italian stewards gave us seats by the boiler & we kept warm. They even sketched. The scenery became very pretty as we went on, much more romantic & broken than the Rhine. Trees lovely, autumnal tints, glorious beeches & birches so graceful & the pine forests formed such lovely contrast. Pillnitz is a nice old summer palace close to the river’s side [Elbe]. The Konigstein a very picturesque fortress on a perpendicular rock. It was sad to look at the windows of the tower where some state prisoners are now confined for life! excluded from earth & sky they say, I hope it is not so. Were I a King I cd not enjoy either if I knew I had deprived my fellow creatures of the light of day & the pure breath of God’s air. The Lilienstein is the finest rock I think. We were almost famished at 1 o’clock when dinner was announced. It was a capital one. Soup excellent, boiled beef & a good sauce, pickles etc veal & French beans, peas, delicious mutton, cabbages & spinach, stewed apples, plums etc fine puddings, desert etc. At the frontier of Saxony & Bohemia our luggage was strictly examined. The banks of the river continued finely wooded & mountainous tho’ not quite so high. Pretty groups of cows, goats & peasants, let us remember the little unsociable calf. As it got dusk we went below. The French family disappeared. In the morning we found them comfortably deposited in the side cabin, the gentleman rather in an awkward situation opposite a certain door. Every one took coffee, or beef stakes or ham or something & at last all resigned themselves to sleep excepting Mr Perkins, an Englishman, who read & wrote. Anne, Clara & walked for some little time on the deck, admiring the moon & stars, the mountains & the river. We then went below, but no one slept much. An old gentleman & lady with 2 old maid daughters & a young man & little child, had a lap dog which at every motion gave a bark & effectually disturbed the sleep we had. Up to this time however every thing had gone well. It is curious that on board these steamers, the steward is English or Italian, the manager or Captain the same & there are more of those languages spoken than of German.
29th At one in the morning we arrived at the place of disembarkation & here began troubles. A general rush took place to insure seats in the expected carriages. The weather was splendid but cold. We got to the place where the said carriages were after they were full & notwithstanding both English & Italian abused & almost forced, no one of course wd stir, why sd they! After dreadful vociferation we were left by the road side on a most desolate heath with only a German gentleman, his two little boys & a lad. The Italian steward & English manager started off for carriages & after waiting for about an hour with the two Annies seated on the carpet bags & us standing round them to keep them warm, we returned on board the steamer & were just comfortably seated when we were told that the carriages were there. Off we set once more across the plank on to the shore & into the shady lane, very pretty at moonlight, but not appearing very safe at such an hour. Emily, Annie, Laura & I got into the smaller carriage which was a post one, the others into a kind of Diligence & we set off. All went well excepting that the cold was intense. We cd not sleep for it, it seemed to penetrate our bones. The little horn of the post, so constantly being blown, disturbed our attempted slumbers also & it was so cold that the man never sat more than ten minutes at a time on his box, he ran by the side. Once or twice I opened my eyes & not seeing him on the box, imagined we were left to the sagacity of the horses. The moon had a splendid appearance as it set, reflected in some water. After it had disappeared we enjoyed light from the brilliant stars & planets. We past sometimes several market women wheeling their goods to some market town. At last a more than usually long blowing of the horn announced our arrival at the ferry. It was a very curious scene. Several market women waited to go over with us. There was just light enough to shew the outline of the dark woods amongst which the river was winding & every star was distinctly reflected in the river as we so silently glided across. I think we must have been 8 or 10 minutes going over & not very safe going down the steep bank into the boat & up on the other side without any light. The horses are however so used to it, that the danger is less.
About ½ past 4 we arrived at the post, in a thick white fog, having lost sight of the other since the ferry. We changed carriages & went on again to Prague. Just before sun rise I caught sight of that most splendid city. We were on a wide heath & began to descend rapidly. What a glorious sight! Violet, purple, pink, red. An uninterrupted view of the sun rise on one side, on the other the magnificent city & its many domes & spires & all around finely wooded country & mountains of most picturesque forms. Annie told me she saw the rest of the party’s carriage coming, so I was easy about them. When we stopped however at the city gate, behold it was the Dresden Diligence with Aurélie & Robert! Extraordinary coincidence! After all our delays, mistakes etc that we should have arrived at the same moment. We went to the Blue Star where we had engaged rooms, but they were gone & we had to go to the Hotel d’Angleterre. We were shewn into a splendid salon & had hardly ordered breakfast before Anne & the rest arrived. We had lots to tell of our various adventures, had an excellent breakfast, tea, coffee, rolls, butter & 2 sorts of cold meat & went out at 20 minutes to 8 seeing the town! but what words can describe it! No sooner past the fine old gate way, which seperates the old & new towns, than we were enraptured, the buildings, gateways, gable ends, churches, palaces, bridges, mountains & foliage. It reminded us forcibly of Italy & much Italian is spoken, tho’ Bohemian is the language, called I believe Check & sounding very soft & pretty. The names are very peculiar & elegant. We went up to the cathedral & castle, high & steep but commanding such a view as to reward us for almost any amount of fatigue. The weather had we chosen it cd not have been more favourable, a clear brilliant sun making the autumn tints most glorious & a fine breeze to keep us alive. I left them to go thro’ the palace & strolled to the bridge where Aurélie soon joined me & we walked home, taking a glance at the glass shops! How difficult is it to believe any thing one does not see. Mrs Pittman told me there was very little to be seen of this beautiful manufacture but that there was here & there a little shabby window with perhaps an old glass bottle in the window & then if we went in, the people wd show us into a back room where there were some pretty glass things. What a description of the splendid shops we now are visiting, elegantly set out, lined with plate glass reflecting on every side the most beautiful specimens of Bohemian glass. We all met at the famous dinner & shall ever remember the waiter, he seemed overpowered with the honour & pleasure of waiting on us & we saw numbers of heads & eyes watching us. What a dinner, how served, how cooked! a King might have praised it. Soup, fish, 3 or four different meats beautifully cooked with all sorts of vegetables, mushrooms, ham etc, roast, pudding very fine, stewed fruits, desert. We had hardly any patience to wait till it was over & then went to the glass shops till 8 in the evening! They are even more beautiful when lighted by gass. Mrs Pittmans little old houses & back rooms! they also told us nothing was spoken but Check, whereas English, Italian, French etc are all common. We only saw one English person during our stay. Came home to tea & bed.
30 Breakfast at 9. Prayers. A walk. Dinner same in excellence tho’ varied. I remained at home all the afternoon. They all went to the Jew’s synagogue & burings ground & other places of worship. I remained reading till dusk & then went to the window. It became quite dark. I found I was locked in, cd not find a bell, cd not light a lucifer, was a prison in the dark till they came to my rescue. We had tea & prayers & went to bed.
1st October Alas! the glass shops again. I have provided from their Xmas boxes for all & Birth day gifts for 4, but what lots of money! tho’ the articles are very cheap. I bought a beautiful pink cup for Annie Barkley of this shape [small drawing] with a snake twisting round the stem. Really nothing can exceed the elegance of the things & now the pleasure of Prague is past. We had a very exorbitant bill from the hotel, tho’ the greatest attention, civility & comfort, waiter & chamber maid kissing our hands etc. We set off in two carriages at 8 o’clock & at one in the morning arrived at the river side, having been promised to go on board the steamer & remain until morning. The coachman declared they knew nothing of this arrangement & that we must go to the hotel. The fact is that the people at the Bureau in Prague had utterly deceived us & we were forced to go to the hotel, take a room & lie & sit as well as we could
[2nd October] untill 6 in the morning, when we at last got on board the steamer which was lying close at hand, but which we were prevented going to in order to favour the hotel. This steamer was very inferior to the one going up. I was ill & exhausted & laid down & slept till dinner. After that went on deck. Arrived at Schandau at 5. Trouble with the poor glass, duty, unpacking it, cross, ill, feverish in body & mind. Took apartments at the smallest hotel, very very cheap & civil. I went to bed, disquieted with myself for having allowed circumstances to ruffle & annoy me, spoiling the comfort & pleasure of every one & doing myself much harm. I trust Robert will not be injured or any one else by the fatigue & risk of this journey. Schandau seems a lovely quiet spot, where I wish I was going to remain a month, I dread the idea of bustle & towns. How calm it is here, the river gliding along so gently, the wooded mountains rising so majestically opposite. The little flower & kitchen gardens sloping down to the water’s edge are all so pleasant, so loveable!
3rd After dreams & tossings all night I awoke in a better mind & all is well again, excepting that my ill temper has added to the load of sins I have daily & hourly to repent of. Anne, Aurélie, Emily, Annie & Clara are gone to the baster. Fanny & Laura to Schandau. Field & Annie walking. Robert & I in our respective beds, each I fancy equally thankful for rest. I have written my journal in bed & am now expecting Fanny & Laura from their walk. The day has turned out fine, contrary to all appearances & hopes even, for this morning it seemed hopeless. I shall never forget the relief of this peace at Schandau. From my bed I see the masts & sails as they glide past, coming out so beautifully from the dark pine forests which climb up the opposite mountains. I rose at 3 & at 5 we entered the steamer for Dresden. It was quite dark when we took them all up from their excursions to the baster etc. Fanny & I felt nervous as we saw the little boat which contained them coming as it were straight under the steamer. They were enchanted with the Saxon Switzerland & declare that even in Switzerland they never saw finer rocks. We arrived at Dresden about 9. Walked to the Rheinischer Hof & found beds there.
4th I went after breakfast with Anne to the cemetery & took probably my final adieu to poor Charles’s tomb. We then joined the others at the Gallery, walked once more through it, returned to dinner & started directly after for Berlin. At first the country is very pretty but towards dusk we entered the sandy dessert which surrounds that city & for 5 hours more past through an unvaried plain, excepting here & there a wood of pines. It was dark, but yet should we have seen whether there were villages, hills, fields, no, all is sand. At 10 we arrived & taking 2 carriages went to Meinharts Hotel in the Unter den Linden. Too dear, took very dirty apartments at the Rheinischer Hof. The city struck us as large & grand. We went to bed sick with the detestable smell.
5 After breakfast Aurélie, Fanny, Clara & Laura went out sight seeing with a guide. Annie & I went shopping, Anne house hunting, Annie & Field walking. At 1 when I came in I found Emily still in bed with her violent cold & Anne lying down disgusted & sick & unable to do more. Apartments are dear & every place infested by this odious stench. Past of the rest of the day in going about. Aurélie & her party saw many apartments but none suitable. Mr Smith, Anne’s friend, called whilst we were at tea. She was too ill to see him.
6 I was up early & had an opportunity of watching the cleansing process of drains with large wooden ladles which scoop out very handily the thick & throw it in round pools on the road where it dries & is eventually swept away. This is done more than once a day apparently. Nothing can equal the excessive nastiness of the open drains which traverse both sides of the wide streets. From every house runs a drain covered with a board to convey the filth into the main canal where it is necessary to sweep & move the liquid dirt, for the streets are so perfectly level that otherwise it wd remain still. The planks laid down at the corner of every street to pass over this canal & to see all sorts of dirt exposed stagnating, floating or thrown on the street today is truly disgusting. The Brandenburg Gate is very elegant, the Unter den Linden is spacious & large, the palaces etc at one end splendid, but more than this I do not admire in the external city, very long straight streets, low uninteresting houses, very wide roads, some very fine shops, but not very tempting. Aurélie, Fanny, Annie, Clara, Laura & Robert went to Pottsdam after going to the transparency manufactory. Anne, Emily & I went to the Gallery. It is superb, the building is something in resemblance of the Vatican, of course far inferior but very splendid. After dinner Anne went about many arrangements & Emily & I went to Mr Dröry’s, what a miserable situation! Black sand, a long bare wall outside the town, lots of stagnant water, a cottage sort of house with a square of sand for a garden. Mr Drory has quite lost the sight of one eye. They have 18 children! the eldest 27, the youngest 7 weeks! Mrs Drory a good family woman has been pretty. She went with me to poor Arthur’s grave, I was never more shocked. In a large vault in the cemetery are rows of coffins & in the first row is Arthur’s, just near it a young child of Mr Drory. A new coffin had just been placed there. I cd not command my feelings sufficiently to stay, but hurried back to the carriage in which I had left Emily. Mrs Drory gave me many melancholly details of poor Arthur’s death & above all she seems thankful for his having advised her never to go again to the theatre on Sunday. She promised him she wd not & now she wd do any thing rather than go. It appears that he suffered but little. Mrs Drory sat up with him the last 5 nights. At last he said he wd not take any more medicine. Mrs Drory begged him to do so, he said “Do you think I shall get well”. After this he took his medicine & immediately saying “Good bye", he threw his arms round her neck & died, with his head on her bosom. She speaks most highly of him, his untimely fate caused great sympathy & his remains were followed to their sad resting place by many of their friends. After all this I was miserably dispirited, but went with Emily who wanted to buy iron things. We then returned & went to the station with our luggage & at last got safely to Pottsdam, where we found the rest established at the Inn. We had tea & went to bed.
· Arthur Perkins 1827-1842 died Brandenburg, Prussia – 3rd son of Jane & Charles Perkins
7 Went to the Protestant church, 3 of the young princes were there & the church was crowded with military. We afterwards Emily, Fanny & I took a carriage & drove round to look at the outside of the palaces & gardens which overspread the whole vicinity. The New Palace is magnificent, Sans Souci with the mill close by splendid. We dined at 2 & then went to see the Marble Palace. We met Princes & Princesses in every direction. Waited till dusk to see the King. All but Emily saw him. In the morning we saw the coffins of Frederick the Great & his father. At ten at night we started by rail for Cöln. Anne came with us to the station. Can we ever forget the rush & the rain?
8 Prosperous journey to Cöln where we arrived in the rain & found a ball going on in the hotel.
9 In spite of a dreadful cough, Emily went early in the morning with Aurélie & all but Fanny, Robert & me to Aix la Chapelle. We took a look at the very fine cathedral & then started & took them up at Aix. Very little difficulty with the luggage at Verviers. Cholera so very bad all over Belgium that we resolved to sleep at Brussels in the Hotel de la Regence & come on straight to Paris.
10 After a great struggle for Aurélie to get the luggage from Miss Rubens & all taken to station, weighed etc, we finally started for Paris, where we arrived about ½ past 6. Aurélie & Emily staid to see luggage examined, paid 33 francs duty for glass! which next morning we found half broken. We all came on to 9 Rue Runfort, Miss Elisa out. Drove to apartments, found they were not taken, went to M. LaChevardiere, Fanny & Annie went up. Delight & surprise & kindness. He came with us & brought us to 28 Rue de la Ville l’Eveque where there were apartments taken for us for a month. They were not ready, but the people were civil & put us into lower rooms for the night. Miss Pelagie & Miss Elisa came & M. LaChevardiere stayed till 10. We had a good dinner & went to bed.
· Rue Runfort was probably Rue Rumford, as in the first travel journal. It was a lane in the 8th named after the Count of Rumford. It was demolished in 1854 with the creation of Boulevard Malesherbes.
11 Moved into upper rooms. All day in tremendous bustle.
12 Stays & dresses, glass half broken.
13 Bustle encreases. Arranged to pay the cook down stairs 100 fcs a week for feeding us. Friends very kind.
14 Church much improved & much quieter. Aurélie to dine at M. LaChevardiere’s. Constant bad weather.
15 Took dear Robert to M. Cerise. He agreed exactly with Dr Pickford.
16 M. Cerise came to examine him in bed. Thinks the present desease improving, but warm climate good. Emily is great distress. M. Hubert called. His English face looks quite naturel.
17 Writing to Jane on the sad subject & Anne from whom we had a letter yesterday, settled in Dresden.
18 Wrote again to Jane giving her my address. We see our friends often & very kind they all are but we are sadly anxious & know not how to reconcile our duty & our wishes.
19 Mr Baker arrived on Tuesday last & has been with us ever since almost constantly. Today we went with him to take his place for Marseilles. He is forced to go by the Diligence as the Malle Poste will not take his luggage. He will thus be 3½ days in the Diligence. Called on Madame de Ségur. They are very polite. I wrote to Mr Touheim, Edmund Shaw & John & Mary.
20 At last we have a femme de chambre, as stupid as if she was not French. Weather very fine, but unnaturally warm. Mr Baker wanted us to go to the opera. Letters from Lucy Wright & Jane. Called on Madame LaChevardiere. Walked with Mr Baker. Palais Royale, fright about steamer.
21 Church. Mr Baker both times & all the evening. Aurélie at M. LaChevardiere.
22 A regular last day with Mr Baker, shopping etc. He took leave of us in the evening or rather night, at 12 o’clock nearly. M. LaChevardiere & M. Hypolite both here in the evening. Shall we ever see Mr Baker again! He is gone for 7 years!
23 Aurélie, Clara, Laura & I went out for various commissions at 11 o’clock & did not come in till 5! How wonderful to be able to walk so long!
24 M. Cerise called, finds the affection less each time. I went out with Clara in the afternoon. No letters from England. M. LaChevardiere & Miss Elisa came in the evening. Miss Pelagie & Jeronyme came to Italian reading for 2 hours.
25 Letters from Miss Smith & Harriett & Cecilia, congratulations upon a new brother-in-law, condolences about going out to India! The Bakers tell them that we all looked miserable in Dresden & Robert excited! In the afternoon I read a letter from Jane, enclosing Dr Evan’s opinion, after reading which I determined to consult Dr Chomel & sent for M. LaChevardiere who came & wrote a note for us to him. Miss Elisa past the evening here. Dreadful uncertainty & anxiety.
26 At ½ past 8 this morning arrived Dr Chomel. He carefully examined dear Robert & agrees exactly as to the nature of the desease, but has thrown us more than ever into doubt, by saying that a warm climate unless for life, wd be unfavourable. The constitution once accustomed to warmth, wd be more liable to disorder whenever again exposed to cold. I have written to Jane & think of going to London. Miss Jeronyme came to reading & staid dinner & the evening. Miss Pelagie & Miss Blanche came for a visit. M. LaChevardiere was here at 8 in the morning to meet the Dr & again to talk over the affair this evening. The weather continues warm & damp & today there has been violent rain. Letter from Edmund Shaw.
27 Weather the same this morning. I am thinking of various projects, writing to Mr Hammond, going to England etc. M. LaChevardiere took Robert again to Dr Chomel & obtained a written opinion of his case, but nothing can persuade the Dr to say it is good for him to be in a warm climate. Robert delighted with him in his military dress. We took him to him at the Corps de Guard & then went to visit Madame Hypolite & Madame Trianon. In the evening Fanny & I went to Madame LaChevardiere & Aurélie, Emily, Clara & Annie went to Miss Elisa at the Louvre. Letters from Mr Baker & John.
28 Church in the morning & afterwards a letter from Jane, begging me not to decide on going over, till she sees Dr Evans. I have answered her & sent her Dr Chomel’s written opinion. When all this will end, God alone knows, I only wish to be more patient & quiet about every thing & leave events in the hand of God.
29 A really fine clear morning, rather colder, bright & sunny. Miss Pelagie & Miss Blanche came to lunch & Italian reading. Madame de Ségur called & took her daughter away, she is in very delicate health, consumption feared. Warm climate suggested. I took Robert his walk.
30 Letter from Jane & Dr Evans. Firm in the opinion of warm climate. Much anxiety & wretchedness. I really do not feel any longer capable of conversing on the subject. Madame Hubert arrived. The Trianons came & stopped tea, made me very late in going to see her. I take Robert every day to the Champs Elysées. He is much amused there with all the games etc which are constantly going on. He enjoys life at any event.
31 Another month finished. Will the end of the next find me more calmness of mind! M. Cerise called. He advises me with respect to climate to go where providence has appointed me. I wish I cd see distinctly where & to what providence does appoint me & yet how very merciful it is that we are ignorant of his ways, which tho’ ways of mercy are sometimes strewn with thorns. M. LaChevardiere in the evening. I walked for 4 hours in the morning & 3 in the afternoon.
November 1st Called the saddest month in the year. Bad beginnings have often good endings. Poor dear Laura, her 16th year was not happily begun. She was 15 years old yesterday. For I am writing on the 2nd. We had Madame Hubert to dinner. It was also her birthday. Miss Pelagie, Miss Elisa, M. & Mme. Colart & M. LaChevardiere in the evening. It was a sad day for me for I have formed a resolution full of anxiety. God prosper it. At any event whatever takes place in the temporal concerns of my family, may it please heaven to fit their souls for a happier world. The weather is cold & foggy in the early morning. M. LaChevardiere & M. Hypolite came in the evening.
· Robert had attended M. Colart’s Cours in Paris
3rd Letter from Amelia, congratulating us on going to Italy for the winter, saying how delighted she should be to go & how glad we shall be to have sacrificed our own wishes to the good of another, what just praise. We have indeed reason to feel satisfied with the sacrifices we have made & no doubt we shall feel the benefit. Went to the Louvre. Saw the Venus de something. She is very fine & I like her the better for not looking like a Venus, but more like Modesty or Charity.
4 Church & sacrament. In the evening a conversation which has once more made me hesitate.
5 Out all the morning making enquiries about journey. God knows how I ought to act. Letters from Mrs Pittman & Mary Baker, very kind & candid. They I mean my party all went to the Assyrian Museum to see the collection of antiquities from Nineveh before they are open to the public. In their absence Madame Odiot unexpectedly walked in. She had not been so well & M. Odiot had taken fright & brought her to Paris. She talked of going to the “Spectacle”& being out “pas mal” but she is very unaffected & handsome than ever, being thinner. In the evening M. Hypolite, M. LaChevardiere & Miss Elisa, what a lecture!
6 All but Fanny & I are gone to St Germain to see it & the atmospheric rail road & the Telegraph with M. Hypolite. Fanny is not well. She & I have been mending glass ever since they went. They were delighted with St Germain, Malmaison, atmospheric rail road, Telegraph etc. Robert lost his hoarseness with the country air.
7 Out almost all day, enquiring & doing no good. Air very fine near the Barriere de l’Etoile. M. LaChevardiere the evening. He brought Emily a beautiful present of a book of bas reliefs. Robert’s 1st sitting. Called on Madame Odiot. She gave Aurélie a splendid glass for eau sucré & a silver gilt spoon. Called on Miss Pelagie & Madame de Ségur, presented to him, a gentlemanly man. We then called on Madame Colart, conversation about Paris, he evidently leans to a warm climate. Fanny in bed for the second day with her cold, Emily a bad head ache, such heads! I took Robert immediately after breakfast to Miss Elisa for his second sitting. He is very proud of having his likeness taken. He is sitting at the corner of the table leaning his elbows on it & his head on his hand.
9 I was very unwell & in bed till 3 o’clock, when I was obliged to get up on account of expecting visitors. M. & Mme. de Ségur came in the evening after M. Hypolite was gone. Had M. Cerise to see Fanny. Robert went for the 3rd time to sit for his portrait.
10 Still poorly, nervous to a degree of misery. Received a letter from Fanny Perkins saying that her father had had an alarming attack of blood to the head, had been cupped, blistered etc & was now better tho’ weak. His intellects as yet are quite perfect. Jane was very ill when Fanny closed her letter, a dreadful attack of bowel complaint & Charles’ baby is dead, happily for it, but to the sorrow of its parents. A very dismal letter altogether. Both Jane & Mr Perkins sent a message to me that if my own judgement was not at variance with the Drs I might stay, but on no account to do so contrary to my judgement. I know not where my judgement is, for I am as stupid as an owl & whatever I do is wrong. Therefore I think it best to abide by the judgement of others who have more sense & more reason than myself. At any rate whatever I do will not deprive dear Robert of God’s providence & so let it rest. I went to see the portrait, it will be very pretty & like. Aurélie went with Emily & Annie to tea at M. La Chevardiere’s & he & Miss Elisa returned here to tea, the latter in high spirits.
11 Fanny still very poorly in bed, M. Cerise to see her. I went to morning church. Miss Jeronyme came & sat with Fanny. That vile bat broke my favorite iron lamp, having already broken my steel pin cushion, so that really iron & steel will not stand when belonging to me. There is such a dense fog, that it is scarcely possible to get along. Aurélie attempted to go out, but cd not find her way across the Place de la Madelaine, everyone one was turning round & round unable to pursue their right road. The coachmen call out as they go along & there are lights put on the ground.
12 The usual succession of walking, visits, bustle & discussions about going or not going.
13 At last I think it is well understood that I stop. God preserve those who depend on him. Mme. Hubert, Miss Elisa & Miss Jeronyme dined here. M. La C. in the evening. I went out twice. Very giddy & legs trembling so I cd hardly get on at first. Dear Robert, how he enjoys walking about Paris, the swans in the Thuilleries, a boy sailing a little boat, then the shops in the Rue Rivoli, not a minute elapses without Ma Ma stay a minute, look here etc. Madame Odiot called, she is very poorly. Whist with Mme. Hubert!
14 Very fine. All but Fanny, Laura & me started in 2 carriages at 9 for the Sainte Chapelle. What joking & laughter about the wrong dentist. He succeeded in persuading them of his identity sufficiently to have 3 of their mouths to attend to.
15 M. Cerise & M. Cazenave. Their prescriptions are evidently imitations of sea air & sea water, exceedingly expensive, troublesome & disagreeable. However, every one to his taste. I should like air & bathing better in the Mediteraneum than in vapour baths, taking filthy syrup etc.
16 Out twice. Madame Odiot is very kind. She calls every day nearly for Robert to go with her to the Bois de Bologne. She was very poorly today, had had a nervous fever all night, her spirits are dreadfully low. Aurélie met M. LaChevardiere at the dentist’s with Clara & Robert. The former most courageously had her lower front tooth out, tho’ she was forewarned that it wd be a very painful operation, 3 tugs were necessary. Robert had 3 teeth out & behaved like a man. I walked to the beautiful Barriere de l’Etoile with Emily & Laura. In the evening Miss Pelagie called & while she was here M. LaChevardiere came & brought me three lovely casts of medals. After he was gone M. de Ségur came to fetch Miss Pelagie. He is a very clever man & his knowledge universal. It is rare to have two such clever men to come & visit you in so quiet a way. They are very different in their attainments. M. de Ségur has been every where, knows every thing by experience, speaks Italian, Arabian etc. M. LaChevardiere has read of every thing & by having good taste, good memory, tact etc is equally conversant with all the subjects on which it is agreeable to converse, but he has never travelled excepting a little to Spain & he speaks only his own language. He is exceedingly prejudiced, no doubt in matters of men, taste & in things he has seen he is correct, but no one who has not had positive experience & demonstration ought to be certain & dogmatic, because his opinion can only be formed on the authors he has read & the persons he has conversed with & who does not know how opinions & sentiments & impressions differ according to disposition, taste, feeling etc. M. de Ségur I sd fancy is more a man of the world & of judgement, M. LaChevardiere a man of taste & feeling, above all which he has a heart alive to every kindly sentiment & ready at all times to sacrifice time & thought to his fellow creatures.
17 To the Barriere & beyond & home again, one hour & a half. Attempted to sit down quietly for the rest of the day, but did hardly any thing.
18 A thanksgiving & collection for the cessation of cholera. Rainy afternoon. Miss Elisa called. Aurélie dined at M. LaChevardiere’s. Talk of politic’s. England displeased at Lord Normanby’s receiving Mrs Howard. President’s Mistress!!!!
19th As I was arranging with the master of the house to stop, Aurélie told me Robert complained more of rheumatism. I went to speak to M. Cerise. He was out. A great renewal of Italian & Spanish ideas. God preserve us in the right way.
20 M. Cerise called. He says rheumatic pains are no proof that rheumatic fever is approaching. A part went to the Louvre . I did not go out.
21 Our new bonne, Lucie’s sister seems respectable, but they persecute her down stairs. I fancy that class of persons in Paris go as low in the scale of morality as is possible to conceive. The whole system appears vicious & every opportunity offered for pursuing evil courses. The weather is so monstrous, that we almost require lights all day. Fanny, Robert & I walked. Aurélie all day occupied with getting in wood & going to a famous mantua maker with her sister Madame Odiot. She was more disgusted with the finery of the one, than the cold & coarseness of her morning occupation. M. La C. & Miss Elisa in the evening. Bought a new lamp.
22nd Dry, cold, windy, foggy, dark weather. One can scarcely believe that the sun is so brilliantly shining on the oranges at Sorrento, that the olive trees are waving in the soft air & the clear green sea rippling over the rocks. However there are blessings & pleasures every where if we are not too ungrateful to find them out. For instance, this warm room with its dark red velvet furniture & paper, a bright fire & my capital new lamp, a good cup of tea, work etc are pleasant contrasts to the dirty foggy atmosphere out of doors. Aurélie & Emily went to the Chambre today. M. LaChevardiere walked with them & by dint of perseverance & one passport got them in & they heard a continuation of the stormy debate of yesterday, Peter Buonaparte son of Jerome of Florence, blustering & vociferating if possible louder than the rest. I walked to the Bazaar along the Boulevard with Annie, Clara, Laura & Robert & called on Madame Hubert. Fanny began painting once more. Emily lost her lovely cameo brooch.
23rd I went with Aurélie & Miss Elisa after breakfast about a cap & made myself more silly than the fashion, by being disgusted with it. Came home at 11 for Robert’s lessons. After lunch went out with Emily & Robert to the Barriere de l’Etoile, he delighted with the sculptures. Found Mme. Odiot waiting for him, she has promised him a pony to ride. They meet M. Gustave who says it has had a fall & he cannot have it. M. LaChevardiere in the evening. Sent for some wadding to wrap up my throat. I am stiff with rheumatism.
24th Rain all day, mild out of doors but cold & cheerless in. Aurélie went with Annie to the Assembly, but today it was not interesting, no quarrelling. Emily & Fanny went to Mme. LaChevardiere who gave us some lovely flowers from the country. I am debating about going to Mme. Colart’s this evening. I did not go, nor to church next day, but still I kept up. On Monday however I was obliged to remain in bed & have been here ever since. M. Cerise in attendance. I cross, rheumatic fever, head ache, cold.
28th It is now Wednesday, another week getting on & nothing done. I had resolved to be so industrious this week. All the world petting Robert, M. Odiot talking of buying a pony for him. Each person tries to be kinder to him than the other. The party at M. Colart’s was very select, St Germain set, work & tea! ladies covered with lace, lottery. Long letter on Sunday from Jane talking of leaving England, consulting about travelling. It will be hard work not to envy them if they go.
29 Up today. Emily & Annie went with Miss Elisa to buy flowers for the opera, Aurélie being ill. We were in hopes when we saw 6 o’clock approach that M. Hypolite had not the box for tonight, but just as we were going to dinner he arrived & worse & worse he had a cold & cd not stop with them tho’ he offered to take them. Poor Aurélie was so bad she cd scarcely move but yet was resolved to go, however she wrote to her sister to ask her to go, which fortunately she did & what a dressing! Emily, Fanny, Annie & Clara! went with Miss Elisa. M. Hypolite took them & M. LaChevardiere joined them there & saw them home. I went to bed but not to sleep for I read. Aurélie went to bed but suffered much. Louise sat up in Aurélie’s morning room for them, but they were home before 12. They looked very very nice. Emily & Annie in the white muslins they bought for Mr Parish’s ball at Heidelberg. Fanny her light silk, Clara hers & a lace berthe. She looked very well & enjoyed it much, but I am thankful to see that they do not like theatres. I was so sorry that Aurélie cd not go & see Clara’s pleasure & indeed all of them, only Clara was quite the first time & their’s the second!
30 Aurélie in bed, regular migraine. Fanny ditto regular cold. I all over rheumatism. Weather enough to do any mischief which frost, rain, cold, fog etc can do. Mme. LaChevardiere ill with a cold. Emily went to see her.
1st December I went out for the first time. Hired Isabey’s oil painting.
2nd Received a very unsatisfactory letter from Packham. He did not take home what I hoped.
3rd Hunting all day, unavailingly. Wrote to Mr Perkins. Fear I must go to England. Very anxious.
4 M. Cerise called. Robert sat for his portrait. I went to see it. Dreadful weather as usual. Long letter from Fanny Perkins. They want to start in February.
5 Wrote to Fanny Perkins. Black mud below, but a little less thick above. A gleam of sun shine through the clouds & mists. The Queen Dowager died on Sunday 2nd December universally respected & beloved [Queen Adelaide, wife of William IV]. I received a letter from Edward Perkins saying his father is not in London, to account for my not receiving his answer to my letter. It is very delightful to see how affectionately Edward feels towards his father, but he seems to take the matter even more seriously than the others.
6 No letters. My mind is continually harassed by anxiety about these papers. I called yesterday on old Madame de Ségur, Miss Wynn (who is gone) & Madame Colart, not that I was inclined to visit but was forced to do it. This evening we are going to the Ségur’s to tea. Robert has been there for several hours talking Italian with M. de Ségur. We past a tolerably pleasant evening at M. de Ségur’s. M. & Mme. Odiot came & Miss Blanche played, ladies worked, wretched tea & cake à la Elise.
7 Letter from Mr Perkins which has relieved my mind finding he does not view my loss seriously. I took a long walk searching after presents for Wrights with Annie, Emily & Robert. Miss Elisa & M. La Ch. in the evening.
8 Started after breakfast to take Fanny to see portrait, then walked about shopping with Aurélie till lunch & then again till dinner. When we came in, found M. Hypolite had been here & offered us again a box at the opera, so they are all dressed excepting Annie & went. She & Robert & I are now at tea thankful not to have been farther implicated in the bustle. Letter from Anne Barkley.
9 We were twice at church & found the mourning for the Queen Dowager so very general that the girls have determined on buying black silks at once, in other respects they are provided. It was not from disrespect but poverty that they did not buy them before, it takes all their next quarter. M. Chamier did not allude to the death of Queen Adelaide nor did the other gentlemen who preached in the morning. I think this a great fault in our clergy, not to apply local circumstances. Flattery to the great, political allusions etc ought no doubt to be banished from the pulpit, but abundance of instructive & touching matter might be brought forward on the death of a woman so unpretending, so liberal, so kind, so useful & so perfectly unoffending as Queen Adelaide.
10 Out purchasing mourning with Emily, Fanny & Annie till lunch. I was already in black as I always am, I only had a bonnet to buy. Today is the anniversary of the President’s election & he did not dare celebrate it publicly, so he is sculking through it, like a poor thing as he is. We went to a pig nig as Mme. Hubert calls it at her house. M. La C., M. Hubert, his wife & little girls were there & Mr Crow. Creams, ices, bons bons, maccaroons, cakes & punch.
11 Busy ordering mourning. The sun seems resolved to hide itself, or rather the clouds are determined to hide it. Party at M. Odiot’s, lottery, a very good way of amusing young people. About 20 people there. A young lady & young gentleman brought into society together to try if they take a fancy. M. Gustave grown quite a beau, very good looking, very smart & well dressed, very non-chalent, very comme il-faut, very all that is necessary for a fine gentleman. Letter from Jane, more questions.
12 At home all day at work, mending, making, trimming, netting. Wrote to Jane. Letter M.A. Winstanley about nothing.
13 I went out to look for presents with Aurélie after breakfast for the Wrights. Came home only to lunch. Went out again to call on Madame Jourdain, Mme. de Segur, Miss Pelagie & Madame Trianon & buy presents with Emily, Fanny & Robert, but it is too much. I must not walk so much. The weather today is piercingly cold & black pavement dry, no frost. They all went to the Sciences Naturelles, the first lesson very interesting.
14 Today the pavement is oozing again, that detestable sort of grease, no frost, no snow. It is odd that the severity which has commenced elsewhere has not yet reached this part of Europe. I am thankful not to be forced to go out today.
15 Not out. Never was there scarcely known so sudden a change from cold to heat & such an immense evaporation of damp not only on the streets inches deep in mud, but also the courts & lower parts of the houses are all as if freshly washed. The water stands in pools. Twice today has our concierge wiped up the water in the passages at the street door, but still there are literally pools of water. I never saw any thing like it even in England. The thermometer is 60 out of doors. It affects every one greatly & there is much illness.
16 Church twice. Great heat, same damp continues, no rain, but the mud is dreadful. I took calomel tonight & Emily had her long desired leech on her tooth.
17 All day dreadfully with my dose. Emily painting, Aurélie, Fanny & Robert out. He sat the last time for his portrait. Annie wrote to Amelia Wright. I am really much interested about them, warm hearted people there cannot be. Fine lovely wind & sun.
18 How nearly is the year finished! Madame Hubert & Miss Elisa dined here. Mme. Odiot came in the evening looking more lovely than ever. She is certainly the most beautiful woman I ever saw.
19th Went out again. Rain & very very muddy but the air soft & pleasant. Ther 68 in the drawing room this evening, fine out & very little wind all day.
20th Still abominably muddy. Fetched them from the “Sciences Naturelles”. Went round by the Rue de la Paix & began my Xmas purchases. Left Annie with Jeronyme & Robert with Mlle Blanche. It is droll how my child is unlike me, he loves society, I detest it. Wrote to Anne & Annie.
21st Dry & a little frosty, very cold. Walked a great deal, busy, preparing for lottery & Xmas tree. Letters to Anne, M A Witherby, Barclays & Mary Baker. Mme. Odiot called.
22nd Very cold, slight frost. Lots of shopping for Xmas. No letters. Quite anxious about the Wrights. Miss Pelagie, Mme. de Ségur & Mlle Blanche called.
23 Church. Walked with Robert. Aurélie came back ill from afternoon church. I went to fetch them. Very cold, hard frost. Wrote to Mr Wright. Very uneasy at not hearing from any of them.
24th After being out all the morning making purchases, Robert cut his finger badly & we had to go off to M. Cerise. Waited for him 2½ hours. He strapped it up & says it will heal with injury to him. Aurélie is to take steel.
25th Church, sacrament. A walk for Robert. Mme. Hubert, Miss Pelagie, Miss Elisa & Jeronyme to dinner. Famous turkey & plum pudding. Mme. Odiot & M. LaChevardiere came in the evening. They all seemed to enjoy themselves very much.
26 At last a letter from the Wrights. They are even more affectionate than ever. Mr Wright & Mrs Wright too most anxious for us to go out, such a climate for Robert! & so it wd be indeed. Frost appears to be breaking.
27 Very disagreeable weather. Annie has finished her new black silk & my transparency by upsetting the lamp & breaking & destroying every thing. Such are habits! habits of idleness & carelessness. It was too much trouble to take a candle from one room to another, so she went in the dark & caused my serious displeasure. I am distressed to see the years rolling on & no improvement in those habits of care, thought & capability which render the details of life happy & who does not know, that upon details hang life itself.
28 Snowing & freezing but not severely. The darkness is so great that it is with difficulty we can see to do any thing without lights. Ten o’clock in the morning & forced to draw back the curtains in order to do any thing in writing & working, if English weather is worse than this!
29 They went yesterday to the wedding & were delighted with the quiet solemnity of the ceremony, he being protestant they were married lastly by the protestant minister, first at the Mairie, secondly by the Catholic who wd scarcely perform the ceremony & who have disgusted very dreadfully by their intolerance in almost refusing the necessary forms of marriage, because the husband is protestant. Madame Trianon told the priest that her daughter had stipulated that her children sd be brought up as Protestants, but seeing the intolerance of the Catholics, she was sure at present she wd bring up her children at Catholics. All my party came home charmed. M. LaChevardiere found the minister too cold, extraordinary! tho’ so kind & moral a man, he openly avows that he belongs to no religion at all. I went out quite late in the afternoon to see the little shops on the Boulevards & was very pleased. It is a fair the whole way along from the end of the Rue de la Paix to I know not where. All kinds & sorts of things & the characteristic feature is, many many men with trays, baskets or stands with some new little article, calling out their article & its present purpose & price, 3 sous, 10 sous, 15 sous, 20 sous, 25 sous au choix. One man has numbers of dancing dolls, another ink stands, another little whips, balls, trumpets, penholders. The prettiest things are now alabaster inkstands 5 sous! biscuit china baskets with wreaths of flowers, shelves, work tables, little secretaires, looking glasses etc. We are very busy preparing for the Xmas tree.
30th Did not go out. Weather dreadfully slippery, thawing, freezing, snowing etc.
31st All day employed about our tree. Aurélie out making purchases & visits. Laura & I in the morning & Emily & I in the afternoon hunting out little presents, bon bons, cakes, gold & silver paper, ribbon etc & all the others hanging tapers, bon bons etc & setting out presents. We were a party of 27 in the evening, the bride & bridegroom included. Aurélie had presents for every one & I for the unmarried people & my own party. Then Mme. Odiot & others put presents to go on the table. We had it in Fanny’s room. The yellow silk curtains hid the beds in the alcove & it made a very pretty drawing room, the dining room table in the middle with the tree on it, which reached nearly to the ceiling. It was really a beautiful sight & the clapping of hands & universal joy were very amusing, then such hunting for presents, no sort of backwardness in taking them, in fact all did not reach their destination. We had also very nice refreshments handed round & punch concluded it. M. de Ségur sent his man to wait, very stupid! The marrons glacés & the quarters of oranges glacés were delicious.
1st January 1850
Our party were just gone when we heard 12 strike & congratulated each other on entering another year. May it be a happy one & may the end of it see us making a Xmas tree for our poor & rich neighbours in England. We were very tired & went to bed certainly shortly after the New Year had arrived. In the day I walked with Fanny, Annie & Clara to see the Boulevards. There is not an inch vacant from shops or rather stalls of all sorts, which are really very curious & pretty. Aurélie out all day paying visits to her family, she being youngest is expected to call on every one & now she is gone to meet her mother & sisters at Madame Odiot’s.
2nd Snow being carried away. M. Hypolite came & also sent bon bons. Cards. Visits etc.
3 Frosty, dry. Mme. Hubert came, all gone to Sciences Naturelles.
4th Four days of the New Year gone. What sins are already added to the others I have been in this world.
5th Letters from Harriet & Cecilia Parish gave us all great pleasure. I sd feel great regret if Clara & Laura were to lose their affection. They write perfectly poetical letters. M. LaChevardiere cd scarcely restrain his ridicule at the idea of my finding any thing interesting in the description of so common a theme as winter from the pen of a little girl, but nevertheless I do, for the German expressions as translated to me are full of sentiment of home feeling & truth & beauty & I admire Harriet’s simple account of her view & feelings as she sits at her window writing to Clara, more than the sophisticated phrases of some hacknied poet who has never really enjoyed beauty excepting from hearsay. Mme. Hubert & Miss Elisa came in the evening.
6th Aurélie dined at M. LaChevardiere’s to partake of a plum pudding she made yesterday. The weather being horrible, snow, rain, cloud, wind, dirt, I wd not let Robert go out. I stopped & read with him in the morning, Aurélie in the evening. Much reading.
7 A gleam of sun shine almost to make me astonished, it is so rare! Letter from Amelia Wright.
8 We went last evening to pass it with the LaChevardiere’s. How handsome the old blind lady is! with her white hair parted on her fair pale forehead. He was so hoarse, he cd not speak, but what pains he took to give us tea, coffee, gallettes, macaroons, marrons glacés & to shew us all his prints. Miss Elisa is very dull. Poor Jeronyme always lady like, but one sees how she suffers. Altogether it make one sad to see them & when we gt home, I had a fit of spasmodic asthma & Aurélie some attack of nervousness. I am well today, but she very poorly. I took Annie, Laura & Robert a good long walk. Weather dry, cold & clear. In the Champs Elysées the snow is still frozen on the ground.
9 Recommenced the good practise of a health walk (as Robert calls it) after breakfast. We walked up as far as the Jardin d’Hiver & down to the Obelisk, round the Rue Royale, home in less than an hour.
10th Aurélie being ill, I managed the Cours. Called on Mme. de Ségur & Mme. Trianon, left Robert at the former’s. Mlle Blanche made a little sketch of him, exactly like. Sharp frost, slippery in places. Clara got a whole presidence & Laura 2 halves, the first they have had.
11 Clara a half presidence. I went to meet them coming from the Cours & called on Madame Hubert. She has a swollen leg, which if I had I sd say I had the dropsy, but it is not considered so here. It is much swollen & pits.
12 Frost continues. I took Robert to slide on the basons in the Thuilleries. There are many persons there & some good skaters.
13 My head continuing to turn giddy several times a day. Aurélie persuaded me stay from church in the morning. I only went in the afternoon.
14 Walked to hire a painting for Fanny in the morning & to the Thuilleries in the afternoon. Robert took his first lesson in skating, 2 fcs an hour. Frost continues. I suppose it is what is called a severe winter. It is dry, but always cloudy.
15th The weather was extremely severe this day, heavy snow, frost. The streets appear in a dreadful state, I pity the poor horses. Miss Elisa came for a couple of hours in the evening & M. La C. read till past eleven.
16 Snowing, raining, thawing & freezing alternately. They say Paris is very full & apartments scarce. Had we not secured these at 250 fcs a month, M. Onchet says he sd not let them for less than 4 or 500.
17 A full day. They go at 12 to the Cours & stay some of them till 5. Emily went to Miss Elisa & stayed with her for some hours doing a pastel head which Mme. Odiot has lent. I went to fetch them, taking Louise’s arm for it is all snow & ice. Robert went to the Cours & to the Ségur’s. Mlle Blanche tried to take another sketch of him but did not succeed so well. Miss Elisa came to dinner to eat pork.
18 Frost broke up. It is very curious to see the streets of Paris piled on each side with huge heaps of snow, the middle like a sandy lane with powdered snow. Long trains of carts loaded with frozen snow, taking it to throw into the Seine. There are continual notices in the papers & streets for people to clear the gutters in front of their houses, as the city authorities have not hands enough to do it. The streets are full of men & women with all sorts of utensils, hatchets, spades, hoes etc breaking the thick ice, which has formed as soon as broken. The streets are almost dangerous for carriages, the space in the middle only wide enough in some places for 2 carriages to pass. The coachmen call out when coming to a corner or smack their whips, for there is no noise of the wheels. One hears from morning to night the breaking of the ice in the streets, but now it thaws so fast that they have much ado to keep the water from actually overflowing the footways. The accounts from Italy speak of severe frost there. The Arno at Florence frozen! & in the south of France fears for the oranges & olives!
19 What will be the consequence of this rapid thaw. The sun is actually casting the shade of my pen on the book as I write. The first we have seen this year.
20 I prophecy that the frost will return. There is an appearance of the pavement drying. Went twice to church.
21 Thermometer 1 below 0, all dry & hard again. I went to Berville’s with Fanny & then to the Thuilleries where I gave Robert his second skating lesson. He got on much better today & cd go at least a dozen steps alone. Many Trees of Liberty are cut down & three magic words Liberté, Equalité, Fraternité scratched & disfigured in some places. Today too is the anniversary of Louis 16 death or rather murder. Does not this speak volumes as to the change is public opinion! God grant that order, quiet & prosperity may be established in this country. Emily is at Mme. Hubert’s doing the pastelle head. (Yesterday) I received a letter from Mr Baker at Madras. He has sent a work box for me from Ceylon & will not be offended if I give it to someone on a Birth day! Letter from Edmund Shaw. Mrs Hammond cannot I sd think last very long. She is too ill to see even Edmund & does not speak.
· Edmund Shaw was Anna Hammond’s brother
· Note by Rosemary Symes: So called Trees of Liberty were planted in 1792 to commemorate the Revolution.
22nd Took Robert skating, he can do it alone a little. Frost continues.
23rd Robert today skated quite nicely & I sd not wonder if it is his last lesson this year, for this morning when we took him to the Tuilleries a lovely white frost made the trees look graceful & beautiful to the last degree. As we walked under them they showered down upon us the most exquisitely formed little particles, some like daggers, other like feathers etc. Aurélie & Emily ill, obliged to send at night for M. Cerise to the former. Annie sat up with her, very ill, violent spasms & sickness.
24 Miss Elisa, Miss Pelagie, Mme. Hubert & Mme. Jourdain here. Miss Pelagie helped to nurse for some hours & then Miss Elisa came. Aurélie is at present asleep & better. Emily is in great pain in her head, face, tooth & all over. Fanny is gone with Clara, Laura & Robert to the Cours. Annie has been asleep in my bed but is now up & fresh again. My prognostics were right, it thaws today & is very disagreeable. Clara brought home 2 presidences.
25 I went with Laura to take Robert to his skating. The sun was nearly out & it felt warm & springish. The ice being so thick still holds & Robert took another lesson. He really can do pretty well now & can turn on his skates, but his ankles are very weak. M. Cerise came at 10 at night. Magnetism. I went with Clara & Laura to the Cours. Clara got 1½ presidences. She is clever & very industrious, so persevering I like to see that.
26 Violent thaw & rain, mild out of doors. Poor Emily suffers much with her tooth & is generally very ill. Poor Aurélie too is the same. Mme. Hubert sits with her all day & works for her. Mme. Jourdain is with her now also.
27 Church twice. Emily & Aurélie both up. The latter at dinner. Her mother dined here, much delighted, talking of going to England!
28 Walked a great deal, Laura & Robert in the morning, Fanny in the afternoon. Skating over I fancy for 1850, tho’ owing to the great thickening of ice, there were some men skating & sliding on the large basin still. Robert consoled for the loss of the skating by going to the pastry cook’s. The invalids are getting on slowly, obliged to lie late in bed & rest & sleep in the day.
29 Out twice, morning with Clara & evening with Aurélie & Robert. Forced to take a carriage. Rain. Received letters from Wrights at Plymouth. The ship had not come round & I think it as likely as not that now they will have to wait some time for an easterly wind, as it is quite a thaw. Bought Bradshaw for England!
30 Went to the Cours after lunch with Clara & Laura & in the morning walked with Clara & Robert. Aurélie & Emily are better, but not strong. Calomel & rhubarb each today.
31 Dear Annie’s 20th Birth Day. God bless & keep her. My third girl out of her teens, it is aweful & yet how grateful I ought to be that I am spared to see my children growing up & one after the other becoming capable of guiding themselves. After the Cours of Sciences Naturelles I took Fanny, Annie & Robert to the Jardin des Plants, which strange to say we found a sea of mud & were glad to drive back to the streets which were quite dry. Jeronyme dined with us. We had the long talked of goose. M. La Chevardiere continues poorly with his long neglected cold.
February 1st This month has commenced very mildly & will no doubt act up to its name of February fill Dike. Perhaps in it I shall see England. If Jane talks of leaving before March, I must see them before they go in England. I have much to do. After arranging my accounts & settling myself rather more comfortably even than usual, just as I was going through the dining room, Emily & Annie called out “a letter, a letter from Caffarys I think” & so it was, from John wishing to see my Letters of Administration to enable them to receive a Bonus now due on poor dear Robert’s Life Policy which I assigned to Mr Caffary & he to his children. My determination was soon taken & Aurélie en route for information & commissions. All of us set to work packing, for I resolved to lose no time in going to England. Poor Mme. Hubert called & quite won my heart by her natural look of dismay when she heard I was going. She went off at the same time as Aurélie. Miss Pelagie came & was equally surprised. Mme. de Ségur & Miss Blanche, Jeronyme, Miss Elisa & M. LaChevardiere all came & poor dear old Mme. Hubert came the last thing in the evening to say good bye. I shall always remember that evening. Aurélie so busy with the tea. Poor Emily smothering her disappointment at not going. Every one sympathising & thinking of one thing. Harmony renders even sorrow & vexation sweet. Poor M. LaChevardiere is very unwell with his cough & chest. At last we got to bed. Slept from 12 to 2½ & at ¼ to 4 I got up & finished, all my senses put into my head to think of. Breakfast at 6. Sandwiches, chocolate, poor half recovered invalids getting up & forgetting their weakness & illness & every thing in sorrow at my sudden departure. Emily & Fanny had a long struggle which sd go, but really dear Emily was not well enough.
· Patrick John Caffary, widower with daughters Caroline & Iphigenia & son John Charles. Robert Grant Shaw had been his business partner at Shaw & Caffary. Court case Caffary v Caffary between Patrick John Caffary & his children in 1843 re inheritance. His father was John Michael Caffary will proved 28.3.1828 PROB 11/1737/417, rope manufacturer in Portugal. His mother was Efigenia Maria Caffary, became Baroness de Faro on her 2nd marriage in 1831, will proved 24.8.1841 PROB 11/1950/24, Robert Grant Shaw was an executor in the event of Patrick John Caffary’s death, she lived in Clapton on death.
At a quarter before 7 Fanny & I started accompanied to the rail road by Aurélie & Annie. How much we all suffered! & yet these scenes are what proves affection. We were very early & it was painful to wait expecting the summons to part. At last we agreed it was better to end our misery so we exchanged the last kisses & seperated. Aurélie & Annie looked dreadfully pale, I trust they got well home. Fanny & I were soon installed in a capital first class carriage & a long chaufrette completed its comfort. Soon after we started we went to sleep, for we were worn out with want of rest & anxiety & regret. We awoke at ½ past 9 with horrid stomach aches, head aches, sickness etc. Tried some of Aurélie’s chocolate & a sandwich. Went to sleep again. We had one gentleman in the carriage but he soon got out. A mizzling rain, high wind, every thing flooded, dreary, grey, desolate, cheerless. Drove up exactly opposite the door at Amiens we wished to go into. As we approached the coast the inland waters & sands were being blown tremendously in waves. When near Boulogne several sailor men got into the train, one into our carriage. He soon made us aware that he an agent for the steamer that was to start when we arrived. He took our passport, saw after our luggage & took us a carriage. We drove up to the quay. There was the Princess Clementine, but fingers were held up & shaken. What I had prophesied & feared was true, the weather was too bad to cross. There was no help for, no one to blame. We drove to the Hotel Albion, took a room with 2 white beds & a little round table which wd delight Laura, ordered our dinner & sallied forth for fresh information. It had ceased raining & we got to the end of the pier. A boat lay wrecked close by & we were told that several vessels had come ashore. We returned, dined, wrote to our dearly loved friends in Paris & went to bed refusing to stand by the boat which was to go at one in the morning, the fog having cleared off. I thought it was too hazardous & to have arrived at 4 on Sunday morning at Folkestone was very unpleasant. When Fanny began her first curl paper, I was getting into bed, positively when she twisted it I was asleep! but I awoke often & my thoughts were at Paris. How I loved to be there!
3 Got up at ½ past 8. Coffee & bread & butter. Went out, found the steamer was to go at ½ past 2. Went to church, very eccentric preacher. Determined at all hazards not to travel on Sunday. Weather very fine. Walked to the end of the pier, boat starting. Went to church again & again walked to the pier head & saw the steamer from London come in in a high sea & another go out & many fishing vessels. How they pitched & tossed & rolled! I shall not object to less wind & sea tomorrow. We came in at 6. Wrote a note to Jane, put it into the post & are now writing after a good dinner, Fanny to Paris, I for them to read my journal. They gave me strict charge to keep it up, so here it is for you my dearest ones.
4 Up at 8 longing to go over. The sooner we are there, the sooner we shall get back. Walked up to the old town & then bought tongue & bread. Paid our bill, went to the end of the pier. Fanny sketched & at ¼ past 2 got on board the Princess Clementine. Altho’ we had an excellent passage I sometimes had a panic at going so much on one side. At ½ past 3 I distinctly saw the English shores. The 2 coasts had exactly the same appearance & seemed as if the sea had rushed between & torn them asunder. May they ever remain at peace each with the other. At 5 we landed at Folkestone. The same little man who had attended us on Saturday at Boulogne found us out & took us to the custom house close by. A lady told us we had done wrong to give the agent the keys, we should have all our things ransacked etc. However by patiently waiting we had our trunks certainly examined but in no way injured & not a sixpence to pay excepting 2/6 to the agent. At 6 we got into the train & before 10 were in a little lattice windowed hotel close to the station at Redhill, great convenience, but how strange England appears! a land of little things, baby houses & yet such a powerful & grand country. The great bed being made, curtains drawn, silence of the people, composure, but very civil, they certainly are not nearly so independant as in other countries. Slept well tho’ exceedingly nervous & longing to be in Paris at home. The nearer we approached Cuckfield the more I was persuaded my papers were left in Paris & lost!
5 Up at 5, started at 7 without any breakfast. Lump in throat, certain of not finding my papers, anxiety & interest in passing all the old spots. Country about Reigate very pretty but too many houses about. Balcombe very pretty. Heart beating worse & worse. Stopped at Hayward’s Heath! Ordered Fly. No one recognised as all new faces but one boy. At the turnpike saw old Betts working in Mr Peel’s grounds. Drove up to his yard gate but cd not find Packham. Drove straight, dear little cottage just the same excepting a little green house at the end, tree still flourishing, so pretty. I longed to go in. Elisa came out, knew us directly, we ran in. Mrs Packham & her washerwoman at breakfast, delight, surprise, welcome. Asked about papers. “It ain’t of course Marm that that I always keep under my bed & wd have saved if a fire had come”. “Bring that one”. I open it. Marriage settlements at top, all other papers at bottom, thank God! I scrawl the happy news to my beloved ones in Paris & then eat in thankfulness the good breakfast of fried bacon & eggs the old woman has prepared for me. They deserve the utmost credit, every thing is as nice & nicer than when we left, unprepared as they were, yet all was right. Dear Aurélie’s canary which she brought me alive & well in the pretty cage, the old hen dead but preserved. After breakfast we went up stairs & made Mrs Packham’s bedroom our dressing room. Packham arrived & his speechless joy quite affected us. In fact we rather appear here in the light of angels, God knows how very unworthily. We made ourselves tidy & went to the vicarage, what a welcome! No help for it, sleep there we must. Mr Maberly especially & then to see children who were babies when we left, grown up now. Before lunch we took a little turn up the town. Dear Gmamma’s house looks indeed like a baby house. After a good lunch Mr Maberly took Fanny in his father’s carriage to see the new church at Slaugham & I went & sat in my favorite chimney corner, with Mrs Packham opposite, to write to those dear ones at Paris whom I so long to see. A good dinner, children drest in low bodies etc to desert, a comfortable chatty evening & to bed at ten. Thank God for all his many mercies to me & mine & make me worthy of them.
6 Breakfast after prayers & then Fanny & I went to Packhams & had one case of books & another of linen undone, both in perfect order, no smell even of damp. Had I paid hundreds to have my things take care of, I cd not have had them in better state. It is vain to attempt a description of the gratitude & love I met with from all the poor people & the kindly welcome from Byasses, Wallers etc. Old Mr Byass was despatched to see me at lunch at the vicarage. All are hunting for a house for me & doing all they can to get me back to the neighbourhood. We left for the station & started by railroad at ¼ past 2. Got soon into London smoke & was really surprised at my own disappointment in London. Of course the size is one thing & the riches, but each little street looks low & insignificant, nothing noble or imposing. I wonder foreigners are so disposed to find even Regent Street so grand, it is nothing after Paris. I went first to Edmund’s [Edmund Shaw, Robert Grant Shaw’s brother]. He was at Calthrope, she at home & received me with real joy & friendliness. William [William Morrice Shaw b.1825 elder son of Edmund Shaw] is improved & much resembles poor dear Robert. I did not stay long, but proceeded here, [the Perkins’ house at 6 Gloucester Gardens, Bayswater] where we arrived at 6. I came up stairs & met dear Mr Perkins, his warm reception of us both left no doubt of his pleasure at seeing us. Jane too I took by surprise. She was very glad to see us & so were all the girls, our brains will be turned with all their questions. Jane looks even worse & older than her husband. All the girls pale & thin & Herbie [Herbert Perkins, youngest child b.1840] no brighter or better than Robert. Dinner & evening past in answering questions about travelling.
7 Went to see the Caffary’s. Did not know me at first, all the usual palaver. One wd suppose they cd scarcely be happy a moment without us. Called on Mrs J Morice. [widow of John Morice died 1835, she was Mary Valentina O’Neill born Portugal 1790-1865]. She looks very old & far from comfortable living with Charles who is a fool, tho’ married to a nice girl [her son Charles Walter Morice 1824-1885 m. Sophia Levien, whose 2xgt grandchildren were Edward & James Fox actors]. The evening was past in admiration of purchases & presents. Before lunch I went to see Edward’s wife, he [Edward Moseley Perkins 1821-1871 the Perkins’ 2nd son,] came to see me before breakfast. I gave his wife [Octavia Perkins née Shuter] a Diomed’s bracelet, knife etc, Jane & all the rest brooches etc. They seem all delighted. Edward & his wife & her sister dined here.
8 Went with Jane to London streets & enquired for houses. Ordered an advertisement to be put in etc but must wait several days for the answers. Jewellery horribly dear. Mr & Mrs Algernon dined here. She is as nice as ever, long arguments with him. Mr Baker’s box arrived & created a great sensation! it is very large & handsome.
9 Fanny & I with Dow looked over all the plate & then we went to call on the Rogers’s [Dr Colin Rogers & 3rd wife Maria, Martha’s sister-in-law, Robert Grant Shaw’s sister]. He cd not remember who I was, she fatter than ever. Catherine [Mary Ann Catherine b.1832, Dr Roger’s daughter by his 2nd wife Mary Ann Wimbolt] paints worse than any thing I ever saw. Dined at Edmund’s. He was like the rest, really most happy to see us. Such friendly kind heartedness is very comfortable. He promises me a renewal of Stilton cheeses. I tell him he owes me 5. Fanny had a chat in German with John Hammond [John George Hammond b.1833 son of Anna & Henry Hammond]. Edmund Shaw is really a very nice youth [b.1829 younger son of Edmund Shaw]. He wears spectacles & looks like a Dr. Mrs McIntosh dined there [Catherine McIntosh, widow of Robert McIntosh]. William lives with her [William Morrice Shaw is her cousin]. She is a friendly Scotch woman & invited me to her house. Wants me to publish my journal!
10 Church, very fine day, very curious to see such lots of English together. How it happens I know not, but there is something about almost all English people that makes one laugh. The gentlemen look so self satisfied, so glowing, so shining, in such apple pie order & withal they have such awkward gauche manners. The ladies are so proper & they all hold their hands crossed in the same manner & lean back & try to shew all the world how much they are at their ease. Just as we sat down to dinner a young man came into the room & shook hands with Fanny. I was surprised, but it proves to be John Barkley [John Trevor Barkley 1825-1882, 2nd son of Martha’s brother John Charles Barkley], a pair of dark whiskers alter him from what he was & I find him the facsimile of his father. Others think him more like poor Charles. Edward, his wife & her sister came in in the evening coming from church. They have cold dinner on Sunday & go to an evening service. She is so good looking in all senses, so quiet, so homely & they seem so happy. Tomorrow is their ball. Lots of talk about Heidelberg, lots of discussions. I know not how all will go with them. I fear the want of luxury if not actual comfort will sadly annoy them & most of all Jane.
11 All the morning from breakfast nearly to lunch writing to John, Heidelberg, house agents etc. No news of any thing like a house. Pouring with rain. Mr Perkins went to the city, but came back early. Was much amused at having a chat with me. Says he does not now quite understand how I can have managed to do so much with so little money. He took my banker’s book to be made up & is I think anxious to see how much remains. At 10 at night we went to Edward’s ball. Certainly I am less than ever in my element in those places. Fanny danced a good deal. There was a very nice supper & Mr Perkins, Fanny & I came home at 2. It is very droll to see the people one remembers thin grown fat, black hair turned white etc. The men all appear to me to look very ugly & common & vulgar. Charles & his wife were there [the Perkins’ eldest son Charles Frederick Perkins 1820-1882 m. Mary née Griffith]. She is like a simple German, very tall & plain.
12 Dreadful head ache. After breakfast came to my room & was unable to go down again. They had dinner & evening company. Caffary’s sang & played, finished with dancing. When they had all gone Jane came up to see me at one in the morning & gave me a icamony pill.
13 Down to breakfast. Pill does me good but prevents my going to church this Ash Wednesday. Salt fish lunch & dinner, we none of us eat much else & some of them almost entirely fasted. No news from the agent about houses. Arranged my trinkets & plate which used to be in use at Cuckfield all in the great plate chest, excepting that which Jane has made me leave out for Dow to clean & of which he has a list, the silver salver amongst others.
14 Heavy rain all day. Did not start, being anxious to wait for the answers to my advertisement. Pogham came but I do not think he has done much good. I intend starting tomorrow morning for Bath! Trust in God to find a suitable home for myself & all my dear family circle. How I wish dear Emily was here & yet Fanny I am sure enjoys herself enough & as to her uncle [Mr Perkins] he is never tired of hearing her descriptions. For hours together they sit & talk & look at Murray & Keller, he had for 3 hours after breakfast then left the room in a hurry, returned as soon as possible & said “Now I am going at it again. Fanny is a capital girl & describes so clearly. I am nearly out of commission & so have a little time.”
15 Woke at 5, got up, felt poorly, half drest, laid down again. Breakfast at 7, started at ½ past. Teddy & Dow saw us off. What strange feelings as I past through all the places I know so well. First Hanwell & the country about Sunbury, Windsor, Reading. Then the rail road keeps more to the north & I knew but little till we came to Chippenham. Then through Box Hill & then a few minutes & we were in Bath. We got into an Omnibus & came to the White Hart. There I cd only wait to see a bedroom & darted out up Union Street, Bond Street, Milsom Street to our dear old Princes Buildings. There is a bow thrown out from Uncle John’s [Captain John Barkley 1749-1822] little parlour which is now a fur shop & our street door is the shop door, the street door is at the side. I cannot describe my feelings as I looked up at the old windows which appeared all so familiar. I cd have declared I was a girl again & going home. The W.C. poor Uncle built at the back when he became too infirm to go up the garden. The old garden wall, our stable & the livery stables. Bartleet’s [Bartlett’s] Buildings. Eves’s gone. The Rooms, the Circus, a hatchment up at Mrs Hopkins’, she died last week! Brook [Brock] Street, Crescent, Marlborough Buildings, Western [Weston] Road. Came back. [27 years ago! - heading on page]. Went to a pastry cook’s in Brook Street. The woman told me all about every one I knew, even Captain Barkley she knew. Went down Gay Street, George Street, it almost made my heart beat to pass Miss Sharp’s. Now we went to every agent in Bath & have several houses, but all must be done tomorrow. The Park is splendid. We walked through to Weston & went to look at Manor Lodge, a vile wet cottage next to the Leir’s, which they have bought merely to save its being a nuisance. I went to call & was shewn into what was the dining room. A middle aged woman in mourning stood before me & proved to be Anne, one of the children. Helen was in bed. She has been lying in a wretched state for a year, spine complaint. She insisted on seeing me. Looks like a ghost but speaks with more spirit than Anne who was always rather a poor thing. They were very anxious for me to get a house near. I arrived back in Bath late 6 o’clock, had tea & cold boiled beef. Have written & am now going to bed to sleep near poor old Uncle who lies in the Abbey church just opposite! I never felt any thing like my present feelings.
16 I slept well from fatigue & was up early & out before breakfast to speak to agents, but no business commences before 10 o’clock, so we went in a Fly to see Rose Mount Lyncombe, a sweet place very suitable but north aspect, lovely view right into Bath & on to the opposite hills. There is something not unlike Florence here. Our Fly landed us & our bag at the station & then walked to Union Street & Bond Street to give up the keys of 2 small houses we looked at in Prior Park road. At ½ past 11 we were at Box & saw the Elizabethan house called Middlehill, belonging to Mr Mant. It wd certainly do for us & is exceedingly pretty. The drawing room going out into a greenhouse, dining room very pretty but small, breakfast room, excellent kitchens & offices. Stable, coach house, yard, poultry house. 5 bedrooms on the first floor & 3 above, yet they are so situated that I know not if I cd make them communicate or answer for us all. The front faces the south. There are not any windows north. The garden is very pretty, sloping all ways. Pig sties, poultry house, kitchen garden & shrubberies. Stable & coach house. Coals 15s a ton. Meat 6d a lb. 7 minutes by rail & ¾ of an hour by road to Bath. Masters come out for same money. Excellent water. House quite dry tho’ empty all the winter. Rent £70. Taxes 15. Fixtures not to be paid for. Mrs Mant gave us a glass of wine, biscuits & home made bread & butter. Promised to stock my poultry yard. Her own hen house has a fire place in it, so that by lighting a fire every night the hens are warm & lay all the winter. They have already a brood of chickens. From Box we came straight to Keynsham but I determined not to live there because the cholera was bad & the houses are far from the church. There is a lovely place there for £80 a year. We had a long time to wait & then came on to Bristol, where I determined to come straight to Exeter in preference to stopping Sunday at Clifton, where there is more chance of my taking a house, where hotels are very dear & where I had better be on a week day. Accordingly we took a cup of tea at the station & waited for the train. A widow lady & her daughter were going for a short time to Torquay to avoid the east winds of spring. They had their carriage, horses & coachman & came from Montgomeryshire. The daughter was not young but I fancy very delicate. The old lady was very friendly & chatty & evidently of a good family. Her name Mytton. She was rather amused comparing notes with us. She stopped to sleep at Taunton. It seemed odd to me to pass Bridgewater, but there were reasons for my not going there. We arrived at Exeter at ½ past 10 at night & took a Fly to the Clarence Hotel, Cathedral Yard.
17 Went twice to the splendid cathedral service. In the afternoon it was so crowded there was not even standing room, we sat on the stones outside the chancel. Not a shop in the place is open, not a carriage moving, hardly a sound heard. In the afternoon however a great many persons were walking in the High Street & we went & sat in the castle garden or rather in Northern Hay. Fine views, nice seats, but far very far inferior to Bath. Soil is red almost as at Heidelberg & trees splendid, even leafless as they now are. We had tea & cold beef at 6 & have been writing ever since. Exeter is an exceedingly nice town, I am sorry I shall not see the market open, the days being Tuesday & Friday. It is a fine market place. The waiter tells me that butter is 11d, very fine coals 23 & 27 shillings! There are none here & he says they get the Newcastle cheaper than the Bath coal. We noticed the difference as soon as we saw the fire here.
18 Took our place in the Mail for Bideford & then went to see the house Prospect Place. Shall we ever forget the sorrow of the civil coachman who took us to Prospect Terrace instead of Prospect Place, which is on another side of Exeter. We saw two up in this direction, both too small & I did not make any farther effort, because the air here is so entirely disapproved of for rheumatism even by the inhabitants. At 2 we started for Bideford & really considering all things, I was not much terrified, tho’ I was aware that there were some tremendous hills during the latter stage, tho’ it was dark. The New Inn seems comfortable & now we go to bed.
19 Up early & on the look out, but the place disappoints me. I do not take to it. Went to the agent who sent a boy with us to shew us Glenburnie, the Retreat & Northam House. Met a gentleman on the road to whom the boy gave a note, this proved to be Mr Chanter to whom the 2 first houses belong. He turned his horse & came back with us. The first is far too large, the Retreat wd do, but I certainly do not admire the situation or think it dry. To be sure, the river is salt water, yet there is too much water all about. Mr Chanter orders his gig & I mount it with him. The same horse has run away with him a day or two before & cut his knee & lamed him. He has it tied up still. Off we go, in country fashion, through ruts up & down, dash, I clinging. Fanny left to walk with Miss Chanter, a niceish girl who has a spine complaint from hunting & dancing too much. She has a riding horse & drives a phaeton with 2 little ponies. Imagine poor me driven to see fine points of view up lanes & across commons, horse pulled up & Mr Chanter pointing out the different spots, Lundy Isle, the Burrows, the coast of Wales etc. It is very fine & bold & wild, but the country & villages do not look like home. When we got back to Northam House we found it locked & impossible to get in. Mr Chanter sent a boy off to Bideford for the keys & then took Fanny to Appledore in his gig. His daughter stayed with me & shewed me the church yard. There is one corner reserved for the poor creatures found drowned on the Burrows. She showed me a tombstone with a curious inscription recording the baptism of a person as well as the birth & death & on the end saying that those who die in infancy baptized are surely saved. I fancy from what she says there has been much excitement about the controversy concerning baptism. She said “The Bishop of Exeter is every thing he ought not to be”. When her father returned with Fanny she got in to the gig & Fanny stayed with me. We got some bread & buns but at last were tired & returned to Bideford. Here we were again overtaken by Mr Chanter just as we were going to Woollacott the real agent for Northam House. I was by this time too exhausted to go back. So Mr Chanter drove Fanny up again & at last she saw Northam House which proves exactly what we want, only the whole premises being enclosed in a high stone wall it is very dull. Nevertheless, one minute takes one to the view of all the coast, a splendid panorama & most assuredly the air is splendid. I was exceedingly nervous & miserable tonight, haring that the road from Barnstaple to Tiverton is frightfully hilly, 21 terrific hills in 12 miles! No room in the Plymouth Mail in which we intended going to Barnstaple, so we had tea, fire out. I went to bed, poor Fanny sat up in the bed room doing her hair & writing to Paris.
20 I dreamed & groaned & sighed & fretted all night, but yet got more courage & resolved to go back to Exeter by the Mail, every one says Barnstaple is detestable. We started at ½ past 8 & never spoke to our fellow passengers till near Exeter, when I found that one of them knew every place, every situation I cd mention. Her father has taken a house for 6 months at Bideford which they are most anxious to leave as they find it most uninteresting & ugly & bad medical advice. This puts me off Northam House, which I was really beginning to think wd do. The Mail put us down at the station. We went & bought some buns & started at 3 for Bath where we arrived about ½ past 6 & started off with the utmost impatience for the post office, where thank God we found dear kind affectionate letters from Paris, which have a little restored my courage. It is dreadful to be seperated in this way, I feel as if I cd fly to see them all.
21 I was in a fright after I got to bed last night, being very sick & having twinges, but thank God a little brandy quite restored me & today I am well. What a day of wandering & fatigue we have had, all the morning going about Bath, up hill & down dale, agents etc. I had a chair for an hour. Every place is built upon what was wild country is now rows of smart houses & villas. I cannot say it is an improvement. There are no single houses. We bought some Oliver’s biscuits, a little tongue very good & a 1d loaf, this kept us till tea time at Glocester. Having done all we cd at Bath we determined on going to Bristol. Arrived there, we took a Fly to Clifton, walked up that dreadful Park Street & then went to all the agents, but not even one house did they know of. Mr Grairy has promised to enquire. The scenery of the rocks is splendid but the finery & show of the place detestable. Crescents, squares, streets, terraces etc cover the Downs, there is now only one little part clear whence the view is superb, but I dislike the place excessively & finding there was no hope & being greatly dissuaded from going to Cardiff we tore back to the station & came to Glocester on our way to Cheltenham. What a relief to be installed for an hour in a 1st class rail carriage after being houseless wanderers all day in strange places! Glocester appears a delightful clean nice place from what we saw of it coming to the Inn, where we have a snug little parlour, good tea & have been writing to Jane, Mrs Mant & preparing tomorrow’s despatches to our beloved correspondents in Paris.
22 For several hours after breakfast we exerted ourselves in very way to get a house, even drove in a Fly to the Robin Hood Hill where there were 2 or 3 poor cottages, in vain we tried to create houses where there were none. We applied to auctioneers, haberdashers, fishmongers, stationers etc, all seemed equally obliging & active, but alas! without effect & at 2 o’clock we resolved on going down to Stroud, where we had heard of some places. Arrived there, a man took us to Humphreys the auctioneer. He was talking with a smart young man who offered to shew us the way to a house which he thought wd suit us. We set off & after walking up hill out of the town a mile & a quarter we turned into a pretty sweep to a very pretty old house, but no one was at home! in vain we knocked back & front, all was fast closed. I was really in despair & declaring my inability to return without resting I sat myself down on a pretty seat on the lawn under a lovely spreading tree. Fanny sat on a roller to sketch the house & Mr Edwards our conductor after many apologies left us. Before long I spied up the hill over my head a lady talking to a man at work. They soon perceived me & the lady came running down the hill through the fields & was soon before me, an old lady of 75 Mrs Lutton, the owner of Stringer’s Court Rodborough. I was pleased & surprised with the interior, a very good hall, large as a room, out of which are dining & drawing rooms, the latter 20 by 17, an excellent kitchen with range, oven, boiler, steamer, soft water brought into a cistern. Large pantry with capital dressers, drawers, shelves in great abundance, larder, cellars etc. 1st floor, a large lobby like a room, 3 very large handsome bed rooms, 2 small in one of which is a very good bath with apparatus for hot & cold water. Water closet excellent. 2nd floor, 3 large attics & 1 small. I was quite astonished at the size & goodness of this place. The garden is extremely pretty, lovely sloping lawns, pretty pond & fountain, fine spreading trees sweeping the ground, a summer house with coloured glass windows, a sun dial. Coach house & stable. Brew house, lock up larder & salting house. Room over. 2 pews in church close by. Excellent clergyman living close by. Rent including fixtures £45! The objections are that Stroud is not a very large place & there may not be all the advantages we wish. There are cloth manufactories there & large coal wharfs. The cottage is very retired. The dining room on the ground, both sitting rooms very low. Some of these objections are less than they appear, for instance Glos’ter, Cheltenham & Bath are all near by rail & of course their advantages more or less available. The enormous expense of bringing my furniture is very formidable. I returned to Stroud & slept at the George Inn.
23 Directly after breakfast went to see Mrs Lutton’s cottage again, like it better even than yesterday, not an appearance of damp in any part above or below. The ground is so sloping all round that every part of the garden & fine orchard appear dry, the air delicious. I am to have an answer to some particulars & then give her my decision. For myself I like it better than any thing or place I have seen, but whether all may think it good enough & gay enough I know not. We left Stroud at ½ past 2 & came back to Stonehouse, when we walked 3 miles to see Eastington Lodge, a very good house, very genteel & handsome looking, good gardens, shrubberies etc. The old woman says all for £60 but I do not believe it. We walked 3 miles back to station where we found there was not a waiting room & the train not coming for 2 hours! We made the best of it, the clerk allowed us to sit in his office, where there was a fire & lights. At ½ past 7 we started for Cheltenham. We arrived at ½ past 8 about & here we are installed very comfortably having had our tea, dinner we never have, but we buy meat & bread & eat it any where.
24th We were not washed & dressed untill 10 o’clock. Went to church & then took a walk out of the town to look at the country which is very pretty, that is to say from the wide roads with clean path ways & hedges & palings on each side you look at beautiful hills & from them this place I sd think looks well, but Cheltenham is a sort of place I cannot endure. Promenades, spas, every thing for show, balls, concerts, fêtes, arrivals & departures, festive meetings, fashion, spirit, gaiety, in fact the existence of the place depends on keeping up all sorts of dissipation. The papers & periodicals are full of it, all sorts of programmes for public amusements etc. After our walk we went to afternoon church, both times a charity sermon. I heard little in the afternoon, nothing in the morning. Fortunately Fanny made me computed in time to put something into the plate. How I long to pull down all the old pews, with their high sides & fusty linings full of flees, taking up just twice the room they ought. Today in church all the aisles were full of persons even standing & the steps to the galleries full of persons sitting on them, 3 in a row, whilst the pews are each like little rooms. Certainly this church wd comfortably accommodate twice the number of people, if filled with benches instead of pews, but then that would be puzyitish I suppose, so to prove what good Protestants we are, we exclude our people from attending our church services. This wd not be so bad if there cd be or were frequent services, but where (as in most places) there are only services morning & afternoon on Sundays, none in the week day, it appears to me incomprehensible how in a country like England such a bad arrangement sd continue. What is the use of preaching about going to church, being religious, staunch to your profession etc & yet no sufficient church accommodation is provided. Another great error seems to be in having the morning service, just one hour before midday! The prayers are suited for the commencement of the day & of every day too & yet it is puzyisme to read them excepting at 11 o’clock in the day on Sundays. The fact is I fancy, that those who first protested against the horrible errors of popery never intended to be so very lax as are at present the general practises of our church & it wd be well if without mischief we cd creep back to the early ritual of our reformed services. It is however an up hill journey & ought to be managed very gently tho’ firmly. Mr Maberly has daily morning & afternoon service at Cuckfield to which no one goes, but he & his curate do their duty, that is all they can do. God in his own time will do the rest. I hope if we reside in a place where this good practice exists we shall support it with our example. We have written to Paris to soften our sorrow at being away from those dear ones, by writing to them all our thoughts & actions, but it is not a very sufficient substitute & we must therefore go to bed & try to dream of them, which I generally do.
25 Went to Sevenhampton & found an excellent old manor house the very epitome of all that is nice in that style, but 7 miles from even a reel of cotton (plenty in my pen), utterly out of the question to live in the middle of sporting fields. Returned just in time to start for Birmingham, had the lovely Malvern hills on our left all the way almost. Had to wait an hour & breathe as well as we cd at Birmingham & then came on to Leamington, which at a glance I saw was rather more disagreeable than Cheltenham. Good town & shops, coals 16s cheap, bread as dear as in London. Slept at the Bath Hotel.
26 Wondered & wandered & were extremely out of spirits & perplexed. I do not know which of us is most uncomfortable. After worrying after a dozen agents & hearing of nothing eligible, took a Fly & drove to Warwick intending to sleep there. Heart failed, resolved to return to station & go to Glos’ter Gardens. Hearts failed again, resolved to sleep at Kenilworth. Took our tickets & got out there. Fine castle but flat country, more disappointed here in Warwickshire than any where else. Very bad tea, very bad chops, very bad head, very bad spirits, very bad humour. Have written very bad letters, very bad of me to worry those poor things in Paris. I only wish we cd be there with them.
27 Had a long uncomfortable morning, wandering about Kenilworth etc till the afternoon train. Had a very easy journey & arrived in London & at Jane’s at 9 o’clock. Had tea, wine & sandwiches & went to bed. Mr Perkins returns tomorrow.
28 Dense fog. Mr Perkins arrived to dinner. What delight to be in a comfortable home again. How I do long to be in my own dear circle in Paris.
[March] 1st Church. Afternoon called on Mrs Algernon! & went shopping. How the cabs annoy & alarm me.
2 Letter & plan about Middlehill. After consulting Mr Perkins (Jane was too busy) I made Fanny pack the bag & set off at 2 for Box. Jane & Mr P., Fanny [Perkins, b.1817 eldest daughter] & Meley [Amelia Perkins, b.1825] saw us off. We arrived at 7, went to Station Inn. Sent the plan to Mr Mant, wanted us to go to sleep, declined. Wet beds, no coals, slept on the floor!
3rd Rose from our sleeping place as early as possible, had breakfast without milk. Went to Middlehill, it is being entirely painted, the drawing room papered also. It looks very nice & very pretty. Mrs Mant came for us to go to church, walked with them. Rector preaches extempore, curate looks stern. Church very old & pretty & full of poor persons chiefly men. Went back to a good hot lunch, then to Middlehill. Looked over the house. Mrs Wiltshire arrived & her daughter, delight & kind reception. Hoisted me off to her house, introduced me to her husband. He looks 20 years old than she does. She is still very handsome & like Fanny Ness. Fine house, very complete & the very epitome of an English gentleman’s seat. Mrs Ness lives with her. Mrs Oakly is a widow with 10.000 a year! very charitable. Mrs W. walked back with me to the house, went all over it, cd not find any damp. Fanny scamped off to order our boy down to the Mant’s, where we were scarcely in time for dinner. Famous dinner, talked, went to bed.
· The Wiltshires owned Shockerwick House, Bathford, built by Walter Wiltshire c1750. Gainsborough gifted paintings to the family. Princess Victoria (later Queen) and her mother visited in 1830 from Bath. 1841 Census-John Wiltshire age 55 (b.c.1787), Frances Wiltshire 40 (b.c.1800), a younger daughter Laura Wiltshire 11. Jane Ness 65. 1851 Census-John Wiltshire 63 D.Lieut. County of Somerset, Frances 65 (incorrect age), Laura Ann 21, Jane Ness 70 mother-in-law. Frances Ness of Box as a minor m. 1820 John Wiltshire. Frances died in 1860, John died 1866, Laura Ann died 1871, graves at St Swithun, Bathford.
4th After breakfast went to Middlehill, very well pleased. Famous under ground drainage, garden stocked. Started off at 12 to get to Jane’s by dinner, determined I think to take the house. Arrived before dinner, found every one very glad to see us.
5th Agreement from Mr Mant. £80 a year, he to keep outside, me inside in repair. I may leave in 7 years, he may turn me out at 14 year’s end. I went to Chancery Lane with Mr Perkins & after I came back sent off letters to Paris & Box. Signed agreement. Am now very cold writing in my room without a fire.
6 Church. Went out with Henrietta [Perkins b.1828, 3rd daughter]. Came back & wrote to Paris with the news of my determination to go there on Monday next. How delighted they will be & I also! Caroline & Iphigenia [Daughters of Patrick John Caffary & his 1st wife Mary Salome Caffary née O’Neill d.1845] came to pass the evening. I am not greatly astonished at their music, tho’ it is certainly very clever.
7 At room all day, wrote a great many letters. John Caffary called. He is altered of course, but yet there is the same face. No letters from Paris. I am sure they are all dreadfully dull about my not going back but I trust my letter today will reassure them. Jane is now to the opinion that I ought to go to Cuckfield & send my furniture. How absend it is of people to vary so & expect one to abide by all their different opinions. Mrs Mant has written to offer to take charge of my furniture.
· John Charles Caffary – son of Patrick John Caffary
8 Church & after lunch Dolly, Fanny & I went to the Soho Bazaar to buy little odds & ends for Paris. It looks just the same as when dear Aunt [Budgen] used to take us there. I cd fancy her carriage & servants were waiting for us when we came out. We walked to it, all about it & nearly back again. Just took a cab at the far end of Oxford Street. Whist as usual in the evening.
9 Quite settled that we go to Paris on Tuesday. No boat on Monday from London & it is a saving of £2.2 to go from London instead of Folkestone. I do not know whether we shall be in time for the 9 o’clock train. I have written to them on no account to expect us as we sd arrive about 4 in the morning! However, I shall certainly go straight on if we get to shore in time & how delighted will they be even to be awoke at that early hour by us after 6 weeks’ absense! Dolly & Fanny went with Joney to the National Gallery, it was shut! I went with Fanny Perkins to the Pantheon, to Bond Street about cheese for Paris & to Poland Street about passport. The office is removed, it is now in King William Street City! Day after day we have these searching fogs. Letters from Mr Maberly, Miss Witherby & Helen Steele.
10 Whilst dressing heard an alarm of mumps. Jane came in to our room & told us that Fanny & Edith [Perkins b.1835, youngest daughter] were both attacked, Herbie a sore throat. Fanny Shaw got up & fainted! Of course I gave up all hopes at once of Paris! However she got up again afterwards & was up all day, feeling constant pain in her glands but no swelling. I was very poorly all day & did not go to afternoon church but sat asleep in my own room, as did Fanny. Dolly & Jane in the drawing room. Very fine & cold.
11 Weather clear, east wind. Fanny & Katy very ill. My Fanny up & well. God preserve us from taking this vile complaint to Paris. Packing!
12 Up very early, started at 8. Jane, Teddy, Fanny & I for the London Bridge wharf where we embarked for Boulogne. Jane & Teddy left us just before we started & we were preparing to enjoy the view of the river in anticipation of soon rejoining our dear party in Paris, when I happily was instrumental in saving a wretched young French woman from suicide. She attempted to throw herself overboard. I was first at her side & the steward. We dragged her back, she was outside the ropes. The story is too bad & distressing to write about. She was a source of anxiety the whole day, untill at 10½ at night we left her at the Douane in charge of the police. We slept at our old hotel in Boulogne. All my stockings kept at the custom house tho’ they were marked. I did not undress, we got our trunks so late.
13 Up very early, went to see if the custom house was open. No. I wd not wait for it, knowing how uneasy they wd all be in Paris & how anxious I was to get to them. We arrived at about 3, found 2 of our dear party waiting for us, Aurélie & Emily, what joy! Paris seems much excited on account of the elections. The streets were so crowded we cd scarcely drive thro’. Found the rest at home with colds, but looking very nice & well. I was quite charmed with all. Painting, music, so much done I was quite astonished.
14 I was in bed all day with my cold. All our friends came to see us & we had of course talking enough.
15 Went to see Miss Elisa & a few minutes to the Cours.
16 Was out several hours seeking for furniture. Delighted with M. Coignet as a painting master.
17 Church. Cold still bad, do not let Robert out.
18 Out getting dress. M. Herchet wants to know if we intend leaving the 10th. M. de Couppey excellent music lesson.
19 M. Cerise. M. Coignet. Aurélie ill, lying down. Snow, rain, cold & I am very nervous. Visits in the afternoon.
20 Shopping. Cold very bad. Boulevards very gay & amusing.
21 Emily’s bracelet & pin ordered.
22 In bed all day, asthma, cough. Like Bunyan’s “Come & Welcome” very much. Fanny in bed, Aurélie ought to be. Robert with M. LaChevardiere.
23 M. Coignet. I got up. Aurélie obliged to lie down, very bad all the colds. Snow, hail, rain, wind. Cold & occasional peeps of the sun. Blanche came to paint.
24 Aurélie regularly ill in bed, her Mamma & sister Pelagie nursing her. Fanny up but only fit for bed, sleeping in her chair & then rousing up to talk. Louise took them to church in the morning. Jeronyme in the afternoon. I am scarcely able to keep going.
25 I despair of these colds getting any better during this dreadfully bitter weather. We have frequent & heavy snow showers & sun shine between, very dangerous. I was up at 12 o’clock last night to pray for prosperity in temporal & spiritual things in our house at Middlehill. God preserve us in health & virtue in it. God grant us the light of his Holy Spirit in it.
26 Aurélie was dreadfully ill last night. M. Cerise happily gave her something to allay her distressing sickness. By the midday post today I received a letter from Edmund Shaw announcing the death (so the long expected) of Mrs Hammond. She died on Saturday morning quite sensible, after a few hours of severe suffering. She has been ill for 2 years I think. Our invalids are better today, Fanny rather the worst of the two. Very kind letters from M A Witherby & the Winstanley’s.
· Anna Hammond, Martha’s sister-in-law, was buried 28.3.1850 All Saints Edmonton.
27 Things look a little brighter for us this morning. Fanny is sitting looking over M. Coignet, Aurélie talking of getting up & of going out in Mme. Odiot’s carriage. Snow still lying, where exposed to the south it half melts & altogether there is a terrible mess.
· Laura Robertson née Shaw saw Mme. Odiot again in Paris on 9.12.1885 when Laura went to Paris with her daughters Jessie & Norah on their way to wintering at Menton on the Riviera. Laura wrote in her diary “I recalled many parts that I have not seen for more than 30 years.”…“We walked in the morning & took a course after déjeuner to see Mme. Odiot. After all these years I recalled her pleasant, amiable face. A handsome old lady (& she was so beautiful) over 80. Very active but she never goes out. Still paints wonderfully well. Her servant Marie showed us the way to Mme. de Ségur’s. We found her in but poorly.” Laura saw Mme. Odiot in Paris on 5 further visits while wintering & travelling in Europe, in May 1890, December 1892, May 1893, April 1895, April 1896.
28, 29, 30, 31 A succession not worth repetition.
1st April to 5th Ditto, ditto. The weather changed with the month, warm & showery.
[END OF LAST TRAVEL JOURNAL]
Clara’s papers in the British Library records that on 16 April 1850 they left Paris for Box, Wiltshire
Clara’s drawing of Middlehill, Box in Robert Barkley Shaw’s album from Herbert Winstanley
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Martha’s diaries & notebooks and Clara’s diaries, sketch books & correspondence (F 197/16-40) are in British Library Younghusband papers - Asia, Pacific & Africa collections, Private Papers (European Manuscripts) reference MSS Eur F 197/…
Some of Martha’s in British Library:
F 197/15 Martha’s short informal will
1839-1842 F 197/2 Journal 9.3.1839-5.9.1842. Frances Barkley very ill with asthmatic attack. Birth & christening of Robert Barkley Shaw. Death of Robert Grant Shaw. Typed by Madeleine Symes 2018.
1845-1846 F 197/3 Journal 9.12.1845-25.8.1846. Start of Martha & family travels with Aurélie. Typed by Madeleine Symes 2017.
1846-1847 F 197/4 Notes of European currency rates
1853 F 197/5 Martha, Annie, Clara in Paris March/April, photos taken. Aurélie at Box.
1854 F 197/6 Robert at Marlborough College. 11 March 1854 left Box for Bath. 24 July 1854 moved into Manor Cottage, Freshford until 1864. They called on the Younghusbands in Freshford. 1861 census Aurélie with Martha. Emily, Fanny, Clara & Laura married at Freshford church.
1855 F 197/7
1856 F 197/8 Clara married, left for India; Robert to Paris
1857 F 197/9
1864 F 197/10 April, left Freshford, took apartments with Annie & Aurélie in Weston-super-Mare. November -Lease at Holbrook House £3.3s, December - Moving expenses £8.16s.7d
Journal Middlehill October 1850-Freshford 10 January 1859 – miscellaneous; Box This Parish as it is & This Parish as it ought to be, Fanny & Robert’s illness, M. LaChevardiere’s death, Queen Victoria, Dress & mixing in society, Faith & good works, Vulgarity
Martha at Weston-super-Mare
1.11.1864-1.6.1867 1 Ellenborough Park, Holbrook-house Mrs Shaw, Miss Shaw, Mdlle Hubert de Fonteny
15.6.1867 10 Ellenborough Crescent, Mrs Shaw, Miss Shaw, Mdlle Hubert de Fonteny
1.8.1867 Martha died age 64 (born 25.9.1802) at 10 Ellenborough Crescent, buried 7.8.1867 in Weston-super-Mare cemetery between Milton Road & Bristol Road Lower, grave number Tc 1474, “Sacred to the memory of our mother Martha”. Photo of tomb in Clara’s album F 197/36. Isaiah 40:29 inscription along one side “He giveth power to the faint, and to them that hath no might he increaseth strength”.
Summary of Martha’s family & Aurélie below.
Carte de visite, British Library F 197/645 album of Martha’s family and friends – although not named as Martha, this could be her. The photo space before this was named Mrs Shaw with the photo removed.
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Emily Shaw 25.8.1826-15.10.1892 m. Freshford 31.8.1854 Robert Pridham Hicks, surgeon, ex-Madras Medical Service
Frances Martha Shaw “Fanny” 15.3.1828-17.1.1893 m. Freshford 26.9.1854 Rev Frederick Augustus Baker, vicar of Godmanstone (he was curate at Corsham, near Box in 1851)
Anna Shaw “Annie” 31.1.1830-8.1.1905 m. Bath 18.7.1869 General Robert Romer Younghusband (brother of Clara’s husband) as his second wife
Clara Jane Shaw 29.8.1832-29.1.1891 m. Freshford 21.2.1856 Colonel John William Younghusband & lived in Dharamsala after marriage & returned on 8.5.1876 to Portsea on retirement
Laura Shaw 1.11.1834-10.4.1914 m. Freshford 12.5.1857 George John Robertson, solicitor in Bath, in 1863 Mant, Maule & Robertson, 1888 Maule & Robertson & was 30 years Registrar of Bath County Court. Laura & George lived in Bath. Laura wrote 4 diaries from 1885-1897 about her 9 journeys of several months at a time, 7 wintering on the Riviera with 6 at Menton & 1 at Nice, returning via places she had visited as a child with Martha & 2 journeys in the summer to Paris/Dieppe & Spa, Belgium. Laura took her daughter Norah, son Arthy solicitor in Bath joined part of the time on all the journeys, George 3 times, daughters Amy & Jessie once. Laura referred to Aurélie Hubert de Fonteny as “Bear”.
Robert Barkley Shaw 12.7.1839-15.6.1879, Marlborough College 1853-55 to train for the Royal Academy Woolwich (he had rheumatic fever in 1855 when he passed the examination for the head of the Modern School, so he had to forego an army career due to ill health) & Trinity College Cambridge, adm. pens. 15.11.1858, matric. Michs. 1859. [Clara’s album, ‘entered Trinity College in 1856 for nearly two years’]. In 1861 he went to Kangra, Himalayas, managed a tea plantation in a joint venture with John Younghusband & built a house “Easthome”. After Martha died, Robert planned an expedition to explore & open up a new trade link to sell his tea to the ruler of Kashgar & he & his team of local men set off in April 1868 from Murree via Leh, Ladakh. A good Persian scholar, he became the first Englishman to visit Yarkand and Kashgar & was received by the ruler, returning to Murree in August 1869. Gifts from his hosts of fine robes, boots and hats, are in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. A Common Pheasant ssp Phasianus colchicus shawii (D.G. Elliott 1870), distribution W.Tarim Basin (Xinjiang) W.China, was named after him. He wrote about his expedition in 1871 “Visits to High Tartary, Yarkand and Kashgar” illustrated with some of his sketches. He was awarded the Royal Geographical Society Patron’s Gold Medal in 1872. 1870-7 British Joint Commissioner & Political Agent CSI at Leh. March 1878 appointed British Resident in Mandalay, Burma & died there on 15.6.1879 age 39 buried at the English Cemetery. Clara’s leather album in memory of Robert in British Library F 197/36, she called Aurélie a dear friend.
Aurélie Hubert de Fonteny 13.3.1813 Nantes-23.12.1907 Bath, friend of Martha since before 1839
Carte de visite in British Library F 197/645.
18.9.1851 Bath Chronicle Advert: German & French tuition at 10 Axford Buildings Bath, Fräulein Henkel’s residence, Cours de français et le literature par Mlle. Hubert de Fonteny de Paris, Elève et Professeur de M. Colart. They will continue to attend ladies’ schools & to give private lessons, as before.
1.1.1852 For ladies exclusively, French reading & conversational meetings, at Fräulein Henkel’s, 10 Axford Buildings Bath & Mdlle Hubert de Fonteny.
5.2.1852 Mons. Durable’s French reading & conservational meetings, French master at Grosvenor College & Mdlle Hubert de Fonteny, attended by many of the highest families in Bath & neighbourhood
The Ladies College, 27 Circus, Bath, established 1860
7.1.1869 Advert: The duties of this College will in the future be carried out by Miss Cannon superintendent & Mdlle Hubert de Fonteny, who is so well known in Bath, as an able & accomplished instructress, French, literature 4 gns every Wednesday
1.4.1869 Advert: Miss Cannon retired as superintendent & Aurélie became Principal
26.1.1871 Advert with Hon Sec. G J Robertson Esq, Avonside, Bath
22.4.1880 Advert “The College is designed to provide, for the daughters of Gentlemen only, a high class education at a moderate cost. The course of instruction is adequate for the preparation of pupils for the Women’s examination of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and for the Matriculation Examination of the London University. The Lady Principal, a member of the Church of England, receives a limited number of boarders”.
1.8.1889 Prizegiving day & retirement of Aurélie as Principal, given a purse of 65gns.
23.12.1907 Aurélie died age 94 at Somerset Cottage, 2 Prior Park Road, Widcombe, Bath & was buried in Bath Abbey cemetery 2NN5. Mourners included Mr & Mrs A G S Robertson (Laura’s son, Arthur), Mrs Welch (Laura’s daughter Jessie), Rev Oswald Younghusband who helped officiate (son of Martha’s daughter Annie), flowers from Mrs George J Robertson (Laura was the last surviving child of Martha) & Miss Robertson (Laura’s daughter Norah).
Photo of Martha Shaw taken in Paris, possibly in 1853, annotated by Clara, original is in Clara’s memorial album of Robert Barkley Shaw in the British Library F 197/36. Martha had also put an original inside her own 1856 Souvenir Album with no inscription except “Anne” on back, possibly intended for her sister-in-law Anne Barkley.