Sunday, February 2, 1840

1840

February

Sunday 2

8 1/4

2 1/2

: Her cousin came this morning – Ann came to me and lay on my bed twenty-five minutes.

Breakfast about 9 3/4 – At church a minute or 2 after 11 just [as the] service had begun (reading the Lord’s prayer).  Mr. Camidge preached, I suppose, 1/2 hour + (but as last Sunday forgot to look at my watch) from Micah VII 18, 19, 20.

Home for 1/4 hour.  Had Mrs. Howard – The Russian girl wishing her to ask if we intended to take her afterwards or not – Said we should give the answer to the dame supérieure, – Mrs. Howard to sic try to find out the girl’s feeling on the subject – She had been crying terribly – whether this was from sorrow, mortification, or what sort of feeling –

Ann and I out at 1 20/.. – to Princess Tcherkaski – She was dressing, but would  receive us – We waited 5 or 6 minutes and staid about 20 – She very civil – Hoped we should meet again at St. Petersburg or somewhere, repeating her former phrase ‘Comme des bonnes connaissances.”  Sorry, as before, she had not made our acquaintance earlier –

Then to old Countess Panin – Left cards – Her daughter, Countess Wera, very ill of inflammation –

Received by Countess Alexandra Panin and sat perhaps 10 minutes or 1/4 hour – She gave us her own address here and in the country in Russian.  The courier would direct our letters if we could not do it in Russian – and gave me princess Oroussoff’s address –

Then to the Ocouloffs – Very kind and civil – Pressed us to stay dinner – They had been here this morning and left cards and their address in town and country, the latter on the road from here to Tula (not from here to St. Petersburg)

Saw Mr. Ocouloff’s cabinet d’Etude – Some, a few, good pictures – Nice comfortable study and sitting and sofa-sleeping room – Shewed his full dress coat as chambellan, covered with 1500/. worth of gold lace.  The coat complete costs 2300/., yet 2 of the grand chambellans costs 2800/.  His petit uniforme costs 500/. –

Madame Ocouloff said if Ann and I were presented, our dress would have a train and be à la Russe – 300/. – Needed not cost more –

Then saw carpets made at the fabrique established by Madame Ocouloff’s sister, Madame Statkovsky, at her campagne near Saratof – on the Penza road , and not far from there – An archine (or more ?) wide stairs carpet 5/. per archine – a large carpet 13 archines square she would ceder à l’instant même for 3000/. but not for less – Madame Ocouloff had said 2000/.  All this carpeting done by hand – by 20 jeunes filles – by bobbins, she said – How is that ? See into it at Saratof –

Our coachman nobody knew where – George said he was always to wait for – Madame Ocouloff’s coachman had just mounted the box and driven us to the gate, when our man came – Gave Madame Ocouloff’s man a 25 silver Kopek piece –

Then left cards chez les Fischer, and home at 3 1/2 or (if my silver watch is 2 1/2 hours too late) at 3 40/.. –

Ann told me monsieur was come a little last night enough this morning.  Said that we should not get off till Tuesday about 10 a.m. instead of, as we told everybody, just after midnight tomorrow –

Had just written so far now at 4 1/4 – Then in kind over the notes Princess dictated and writing to Hawkins Wrote note to Mr. Hawkins about the pots of ointment for Madame Apraxin –

Partly dressed – Dinner at 6 – Finished my toilette –

Ann and I out at 7 1/2 – Meant to have gone by the Porte rouge to leave my note dated today but written yesterday (vide other end of the book) to ask Mr. Alexander Richter to come between 9 and 10 tomorrow – but too late – Gave the note to George to be left as we returned or, as it turned out, to go very early (before 8) tomorrow morning –

5 or 6 minutes at Mr. Fischer’s, a long table of persons playing a round game.  Mrs. Fischer got up and came with us into her salon – Mr. Fischer came – Well we had gone, though poisoned with tobacco, and Princess Olga smelt us, and questioned us about it on our going in –

There at 7 50/.. – Some time before Princess Radzivill came – She was writing.  Very good, though said she had been calculating her marche route, and was stupid – Dictated note of thanks for the courier to be written on our return  – How good she is !

We staid till 10 – She asked us to go tomorrow evening, for she does not set off till 11 a.m. on Tuesday – Best to take leave tonight – Travelling would be insupportable if one had often the pain of parting like this – She said at last – One should always part gaily; for it was a better augure of meeting again – I told her I was glad of having seen Boulgakeff.  I knew now to whom we were indebted for our Courier – Boulgakeff would go à 4 pattes pour elle – She said she did not know this.  I said she could oblige him in some way or other – She did not know this – No one, said I, knows it better than you do – It was not for princess Olga but for you that he gave the Courier – She (Princess Radzivill) has behaved beautifully – She has helped us without letting us find it out – Nor should I have dreamed the truth about the Courier had I not seen Boulgakeff chez elle – His manner not hers, told the truth – She had more heart – more high mindedness – more deep delicacy of feeling than a man like him can comprehend – She had always reminded me of poor Sibbella – I cannot describe even to myself my feeling of sadness on parting with her – It would be terrible if such feelings could recur often –

Home at 10 1/4 – Tea till 11 – Wrote the last 29 lines till now 11 1/2 p.m.  Fine day –

Then till 1 1/4 calculating tables for Princess Radzivill of the expense of her 4 horses per station from here to St. Petersburg – This and writing the short explanation etc. took me till after two –

  

WYAS Finding Numbers SH:7/ML/E/23/0193 and SH:7/ML/E/23/0194