Saturday 16 November 1839
Very fine morning Fahrenheit 63 1/2 on my table and Reaumur -5 1/2 = Fahrenheit 20 now at 9 1/2 a.m. - breakfast in about an hour or less
Ann said vocabulary and read French, Karamsin volume 1, as usual - out at 11 to the boulevard - Ann took 2 turns with me in 40 minutes and then returned home - I took 3 more turns in 50 minutes - i.e. walked 1 1/2 hour and home a minute or 2 after the half past 12 - quite warm with my walk - sun out - very fine delightful morning - people (the gentry) beginning to arrive as I came away tho' in general the fashionable walking hour seems 2 after
Ann not well this morning - pain in her neck - dressed - and had written the last six lines at 1 10/60 - we or I must try sledging if this fine weather continues - then musing then took up St. James's Chronicle of 1 August last
Vide St. James's Chronicle 1 August 1839 page 3 column 1 vide favourable observations on Authors of France by Achilles Albites, B.A. and B.L. of the university of Paris, London Whittaker and co. company general outline of the animal Kingdom, and manual of comparative anatomy, By Thomas Rymer Jones, F.Z.S. part vi London Van Voorst.
Bell's history of British Reptiles. Part iii. London Van Voorst. the toad 'highly useful perfectly harmless, inoffensive, and even timid'. The wood cuts in this n.b. by Vasey 'of marvellous beauty'
Yarrell's British Birds. Part xiii. London Van Voorst. - Vide chapter on rooks. they consume thousands of destructive grubs of the common cock-chaffer, wire-worms, larvæ of the harry-long-legs. early in the morning go to meadows and eat the worms and slugs the moisture of that period induces to crawl forth. Later in the day go to newly ploughed ground for insects &c. there exposed, or again visit pastures - accused of pulling grass up by the roots, - an error - 'In searching for grubs which are concealed in the earth, and supported by eating the roots of the grass, the rook pulls at the blade of grass with its bill, and when he grass comes up readily, the bird knows that there are under it insects which have destroyed its roots, and in this way detects them; but if the blade of grass is firm the rook goes to another part of the ground. In a field where grubs are very abundant, the rooks scatter the grass everywhere, so as to give the appearance of having rooted it up while they have only exposed the depradations of the insects by which the roots have been destroyed'
Vide page 2 column 2 news from Colonel Shiel dated from Erzeroom, that the Anglo-Indian army entered Candahar on the 1st April - most favourably received - and the army was to proceed forthwith to Cabool which it expected to reach in 22 days - Dost Mohammed was reported to have sent his family to Bokhara
Till 5 1/4 wrote the above - talked to Ann read over the St. James's Chronicles of Thursday 1, Saturday 3, and Tuesday 6 August last - the Chartists and company seem disagreeable and stirring - the Bank of England seems to have borrowed £2,000,000 of the Bank of France to help it out of its drain of bullion by the great importations of foreign corn - bad wet weather in England - the shield of the Thames tunnel is now within 15 feet of the Middlesex side - ground between them ever before? 4 feet length of tunnel lately done per week - the Duke of Newcastle dismissed from the Lord lieutenancy of Nottingham in the end of April - respecting the Lord Chancellor wishing to appoint 2 magistrates not approved by the Duke whose letter to the Lord Chancellor, Cottenham was certainly indiscreet, as for himself afterwards allows in his letter to Lord John Russell acknowledging the receipt of Lord John Russell's letter with Her Majesty's having no further need of his services as Lord Lieutenant and custos Rotulorum of the city of Nottingham
Had just written so far now at 5 25/60 went down to Princess Radzivill about 5 40/60 for 25 minutes - she is better today - her sister Princess Gortchakoff and the daughter Countess Pouchkine had dined with her - she goes on Monday from here to her mother Princess Oroussoff
Dinner at 6 5/60 - to near 7 - then the hair dresser for Ann and myself
Well I am as glad our princess is going I wished I had not gone there this evening for tho she is always ladylike I believe I was not wanted at least I felt this and was gauche and mortified as before - enough of all this take care of such intimacies in future I will not show my sense of this but take a quiet useful lesson
Off to Countess Goudovitch at 9 - she drove off from the door just before, at the moment that, we reached it - a mistake of mine that she invited us for this evening - returned - back at 9 10/60 - tea - sat talking and then reading St. James's Chronicle (24 August debates) till 1 1/2 - Mr. Francis Baring Chancellor of the Exchequer Mr. Spring Rice 'pitchforked' into the peerage - parliament prorogued about 24 August - the Queen's intended Prince Albert Francis 2nd son of the reigning Duke of Saxe Cobourg Saalfield 3 months and 2 days younger than herself born 26 August 1819
Very fine day - had just written the last 14 lines at 1 55/60 tonight
Comments
Post a Comment