Tuesday, May 12, 1840

1840

May

Tuesday 12

7 1/2

11

Very fine morning. Réaumur 12 1/2° at 7 1/2 a.m.  Breakfast at 9 – Had put on my pelisse – Took it off again – Starved in it without the white upper petticoat underneath it as at home – Put on my merinos – Breakfast soon over – At accounts, etc., till now, 11 25/..

George not come in with the passports – till now 3 25/..

Wrote my letter (6 lines) to Mr. Parker at top of page 3 of Ann’s letter to Mr. Adam, and copied it – and wrote out accounts and long settling long talk with the master of the house to prove 30 days at 2 1/2 = 75/. silver and that 24 wax lights at 1 abasse or 20 silver kopeks + 1 abasse over = 5/. – and that, having paid 100/. assignats in account, and in giving 5/. assignats now, = 30/. + 50/. = 80/. Silver.  He wanted 32 days – Then said the agreement was made in assignats = 10/. per day – No! He came into my reckoning at last, and agreed to take charge of all we left behind – He said all the English came to his house – I smiled – that they wanted great dinners and a great many things – I smiled and said I knew all about it – I can imagine his fleecing them

Then long settling with George writing out his bills – And paid Domna 3 months wages and nourriture wages 40/. nourriture 30/. = 70/. or 20/ silver per month – Paid George for her 60/. in silver (one ruble pieces) –

Pother about leaving her behind – Must authorize someone to take care of her – At last I understood, that having a foreign passport, we might get off and leave her and George too in the lurch! – This is the plain English of it – Potheration – Said I would write nothing – I would arrange in another manner –

Compliments and begged to see Mr. Braïko or to know at what hour he could see me – George returned before 3 – Il se reposait après diner – therefore, no answer – The passports would be ready in 1 1/2 hour ! (I think to leave the Persian passport with Mr. Braïko – It will be ready when we come back ) – What a pother – en a de quoi mourir de formalités en Russie – If Mr. Braïko, instead of promising the Persian passport sans difficulté – sans mot dire, except that if I did not use it must give it back to him – had explained the matter, or if Mr. Besoc, or anyone had explained the thing, all this pother (useless) might have been avoided –

The master of the house, too, says we cannot send letters today, and that foreign letters do not go by the Extra post – Go by the heavy post! Nonsense – and quite contrary to the reasonable thing Mr. Tolstoy told me, that strangers had a right to send and pay for their letters on any day – What useless pother, even about our letters –

’Tis now 3 40/.. – Now talk with Ann, crying, all wrong.  If I would but give her back her promise and care not what became of her, she would.  I treat her as if she was under my care. I said, if she would but cheer up and try to enjoy herself now it was all I asked.  I would do nothing now.  When we got home, then let all be talked over – She says it is well for me to talk, for I can leave her whenever I like and get out of the way.  But, said I quietly, when do I or have I left her.  I have never a moment.  She is always there at my elbow.  Terrible.

Dinner now at 4 20/..

Then did up the few books to be left, taking only Dubois’s Caucasus and the Russian grammar and 2 volumes of dictionary and the 3 maps of Russian Caucasus and Asia –

’Tis now 5 40/.., time to decide to stay here all night – I should have done so 2 hours ago knowing or supposing how it would be, but Ann thought if I ordered the carriage to be packed, we should get off – Packing does not bring passports –

Mr. Braïko came about 6 or after –very civil.  The podorojna not being made for returning as well as going to Baku, might be detained there – They could not grant podorojnas there – This should be arranged – Mr. Braïko only could grant podorojnas for military men and couriers – Mr. Besoc the man to whom we must apply – Sent George with compliments and to ask him to come –

Mr. Braïko said if I would write merely that I left my femme de chambre till my return, and that the chef de police did not need trouble himself about her passport, he (Braïko) would speak to the chef de police himself and all would be right – Wrote and gave him as under, according to his dictation.             

 ‘En partant pour quelques semaines, je vous
prie, monsieur, de vouloir bien dire au chef
de la police qu’il ne
s’inquiète pas par rapport au passeport de ma
femme de chambre qui je laisse ici jusqu’

à mon retour – Tiflis, Mardi 30 Avril/12 Mai 1840

 Offered to leave the passports with him – No! quite right.  Had best mention to the chef de police what I left here for them and not.  Otherwise the master of the house, the Jew Salomon, would be answerable for them – Might say they were stolen etc. etc. Could not answer for anybody in that way – Said Mr. Chevostoff had offered to take care of them – But far off – No proper carriage and horses to be had to take them – Mr. Braïko very civilly offered to take them saying he was quite near and would send a little chariot for them in 1/2 hour –

The podorojna charge is 1/2 silver kopeks per horse per verst –

George brought word that Mr. Besoc was not at home – To write to him for podorojnas and Mr. Braïko would send it to the Commandant of Baku – but should probably be obliged to have a new one and pay again 2nd time for going and also for returning – But right to go with post horses – The Germans horriblement chers; and we should have to go petite journeés – The heat commencing and we should find it very disagreeable – Here in Georgia can only grant podorojnas here; for in fact, the horses only for Couriers and military men – But in Russia in every town could have a podorojna –

He went to the poste aux lettres (close to here) and inquired if my letters could go – Yes! Send them in 1 1/2 hour – Very busy just now – Extra post arrived from Moscow – Could be paid from here to England – Very much obliged to Mr. Braïko –

Talked.  Ann right again.  ’Tis well for the moment

Mr. Braïko’s man came for the things.  Had put the books, all but the little English dictionary (now to be taken) in our largest little basket, with inventory of them written on whity brown paper outside – And wrote also and stuck on the basket list of the 4 items sent – e.g. 1 portmanteau (my larger Russian portmanteau), 1 Caisse (the deal capbox), 1 Casserole, 1 panier – It was 1 of Mr. de Braïko’s servants (his valet, said George), therefore gave him 3/50 –

Then Ann warmed up tea – Sat over it till uneasy about the letters – George gone out – Called the master of the house, and gave him the 6 letters, mine to Mrs. Lawton, Lawton Hall, etc. etc. Vide page 10 bis – and to ‘Mr. Mackean Yorkshire District Bank, Halifax, Yorkshire, England’ and to La Princesse Radziwill, Grand Mankoi Street, Maison Miller à Petersbourg, and my letter to Mr. Parker in Ann’s to Mr. Adam, and Ann’s 3 letters to her Sister and aunt and Mr. Adam. 

Then at 9 35/..., had written all but the first 3 1/2 lines of last page and so far of this –

While Mr. Braïko was here, sent off the Cossack to order the post horses to be here at 5 a.m. tomorrow and gave him the money to pay for the 25 versts, 5 horses at 2 silver kopeks per horse per verst = 2/50 silver – Ils arriverent à 7 heures du matin –

Very fine day – Very fine, beautiful evening – Longed for a walk, but have not had time –

WYAS Finding Numbers SH:7/ML/E/24/0101 and SH:7/ML/E/24/0102