Saturday, December 24, 1831

1831 December

Saturday 24

7 50/..

1 25/..

Fine morning, rather frostyish as yesterday, F 56° at 8 in my room and 38° at 8 3/4 in the balcony – Breakfast at 9 10/.. – Had just done when Miss Hobart came about 9 3/4 – Started talking – Came upstairs at 10 25/.. Out at 1 40/.. Walked to the 3 mile stone on the London road – reading my little German Grammar as I went, but not in returning.  Met (in returning), near Mr. North’s, the 3 ladies Scott – Lady Ann very gracious.  Stopt talking a minute or two.

Home at 12 35/.. – Out with Miss H- at 1 10/.. – Walked a little way towards the castle – Then returned and sauntered on the sands, or rather shingle, the water almost at high mark – Then up and down the parade, and came in at 2 20/..

Staid downstairs looking over the paper and Miss H- made me some orangeade – Laughed and said what expense of postage I should put her to by and by – Agreed I might safely venture on £5 (five pounds) a year  – and she to me to be unlimited –

Came upstairs at 3 5/.. – Wrote the above of today – From 3 25/.. to 4 20/.., read from page 412 (appendix) to 459, end of volume 2, Memoirs of Lavallette (–  vide journal p. 317 . . ) Buy these memoirs in Paris – 

From 4 20/.. to 6 3/4, making extract from Lavallette’s Memoirs, volume 2, and from volume iv., Gibbon – Then dressed – Dinner at 7 1/4 in an hour, for staid in the dining room to see the box Lady Stuart had sent us as a Christmas box, containing mince-pies, plum-cakes, a fowl and a duck, and 2 pots of blanc mange, and gloves, and a book, and a brooch and pair of earrings (very pretty opaline shells, prettily set in gold) that Lady Northland had sent Miss H-  by Mr. Stuart (Charles) from Italy – A very little music – Coffee at 8 3/4 – Sat talking –

Very good friends.  She said she did not dislike, but liked sentiment in others, if none was expected from herself, but perhaps she had more than she shewed.  Said I never complained of the want of that, it was only tenderness to people’s feelings I wanted, and only complained of crossness.  She said she had not been so often, tho three times too often, and the tears seemed starting. I said we deserved more credit for getting the better of a fault than if we had never had the fault at all. I said that after all, I had not done anything very heinous. She then said, very kindly and properly, I did in the streets.  My manner of looking at her there was the worst. I said she had never told me of that before. I had no idea of it, but I thought I knew what she meant. Mr. Lawton had told me of that.  Nothing could be more beautiful than the way in which I took it, and we really getting more solid good friends than ever—

From 10 1/4 to 11 1/2 read aloud from page 55 to 91, end of chapter 27, volume v., Gibbon – Talked a good [while] over it but all relative to the subject –

Came upstairs at 11 3/4 and to my room almost immediately – Wrote the whole of this page so far – Very fine day – F 60 1/2° in my room now at 12 5/.. and 40 1/2° in the balcony at 1 –

vide top of p. 329.

Thus nearly right again this evening? About one month from our grand misunderstanding.

 WYAS Finding Number  SH:7/ML/E/14/0168