The Highland Lady In Ireland. Elizabeth Grant
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has a hope of doing better to take a situation where the women servants sleep on a shakedown in the kitchen, three together, bring all the water from the river, wash all the potatoes for man and beast, have low wages, meat but twice a week cut into rations in the parlour and sent out in portions. They would bear this well in a farmer’s house and be glad to get the place but when with this low degree in kitchen there is the utmost profusion in hall with great finery at times and grandeur of position, always they who practise such contradictions must be content with the refuse of the serving class who will besides never enter their shabby genteel precincts till squire of rank and honest yeoman have filled their households. How can the young people thus brought up be fit to mingle with the society their father’s wealth would admit them to.
25. Finished an excellent work on natural physiology, part of Chambers’ Course. Now that education has become rational we may expect to see people really wiser, better and oh how much happier, there could be no Mrs. Finnemors to torment us.
The Doctor was here in the morning to look after the Colonel, he shocked me with the history of the poor run over child. After the accident Mrs. Finnemor drove on to pay her visit as if nothing had happened, not waiting to see the Doctor nor calling on him nor on the child on her return. She left four shillings with the mother who watched her movements well and said to the Doctor it was very little like a lady not to have taken a little more trouble about the creature her own car had all but killed. She sent some rag and a loaf of bread and a message to the Doctor ‘to have her mind relieved’ but she has carefully avoided employing him to look after it, as carefully alluded to his Dispensary duties and though she earnestly asked of him what the family wanted to which he gravely replied ‘everything from a roof over their heads to food, fire and raiment’ there have been no results, these may come however, it is not the amount of recompense for an accident that can’t be repaired that I am thinking of, it is the feeling of pounds shillings and pence that runs through her character that is utterly despicable.
Dear Janey and Annie if such a misfortune had happened to us should we not have been daily by the bedside of that suffering child, seeing ourselves that its wants were supplied and seizing the opportunity to develop some ideas of good in the parents.
26. I went to church with the little girls, it was crammed. Mr. Moore preached, I did not like the sermon it might have been given at the Chapel at the cross by the Priest, too minute an account of the Crucifixion, painfully so, orthodox I suppose but not in unison with my interpretation of the mission of Jesus. The man and the sufferings of his body, not the divine doctrines he was inspired to teach.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 1. Miss Cooper and I walked down to see Peggy where we were annoyed by old Mrs. Quin with her noisy history of family quarrels and I took an odd sort of fainting fit and had to be brought home on the car, laid on the sofa for the rest of the evening and carried up to bed by the maids.
5. Hal really getting well which is lucky as I am like to be laid up for some time to come I fear. I had hoped by all the care I had been taking of myself with regard to diet and exercise that I might go on as other strong women do as usual without publishing my misfortunes to the world six months at least before they need know of them, but it seems all won’t do, a bad habit in these cases is not easily got over.
15. Such news, a letter from Jane, I am quite unfit to do more than mention it, she is going to be married to James Gibson Craig.
16. I could not sleep all night for the happy news of yesterday and am still too confused to think of any other subject or of that calmly. James has settled Mama is to live with them. Every body speaks so highly of him, for abilities, for worth, for business habits, and he will be very wealthy and well will they both employ their wealth.
20. Such a season, God help the poor for I am sure man can’t, potatoe crop a failure, corn malting in the stooks, no turf, misery.
21. Fine day. Tom Darker bought two pigs at Naas yesterday for feeding, our potatoes being too bad to keep over the winter, they were very dear as is all stock this year.
27. Bitter cold and dismal is the prospect before us, so early, so severe a winter, no fuel, no harvest, corn still out and malting, potato crop a failure, what will become of the improvident poor of this country, in the Poor House some must be driven to take refuge but it won’t contain a fourth part of the starving population and many will die rather than enter it and many, many a decent family will suffer bitterly and won’t complain. It is all very well for such as we are. We may get less rent and be obliged to forgo some luxuries, some pleasures but necessaries we can always command in plenty, the worst evil to us would be to have to give up a workman or two and so throw industrious creatures out of bread, it is all very miserable.
28. Hal off to Dublin for india rubber hunting boots and many other little necessaries. The Doctor came to shew us his thumb which he had dislocated the night before on his walk home from Mr. John Hornidge’s and set himself, they had dined at Mr. Lynch’s and I think from the lateness of the hour Baron de Robeck being there he may have been a little bewildered, he swears not, it was a stone and a bad shoe.
30. A letter from Jane or rather two one to the Colonel and one to me, so full of happiness, dear good worthy Jane, how differently does this most auspicious marriage affect me than did your first, when all was sad around us, no ray of comfort anywhere and worst of all that was hanging over us was your sacrifice of your self in your very prime of life and with all your superiority of mind with wit and spirits and beauty to so old and so cross and so queer looking a little shrivelled up mannie as that clever worthy Colonel Pennington. I shall never forget that ceremony, for I knew all it cost you. I shall never forget all I suffered when you drove in bridal pomp from a door that closed on as much mental misery as ever wedding brought. It was as you said the dawn of better days, the year more of struggle and hope again lightened my poor mother’s heart. My father’s India judgeship carried us all from poverty deeper than was ever suspected to the far distant land where we found kindness and comfort and happiness waiting for us.
Old Peggy came up to have a gossip with me, to tell of the great price she got for her pig and the joy with which she hears of her new lodger, in short she would be the happiest old woman in the country if the cock turkeys would but look as plump on the dish as the hens. The priests are quarrelling among themselves and some of the people are quarrelling with the priests and there is a growing desire privately among some of the people to possess themselves of Bibles, so in spite of disappointments and vexations I do think better times are at hand. I have had a great deal of plague these few days with old Mrs. Tyrrell and her landlord who is not behaving well to her, but with the help of Tom Darker we have got all settled.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5. Mr. Foster called to consult about the protestant poor on our church list, there are still eight on it, the farmers are objecting to the collection having the rates to pay besides. We agreed on speaking to Mr. Moore about each of the able and willing taking one of these poor creatures entirely for the small remnant of their days, as Miss Hall one, we one, Mr. Foster one etc. Also Tom Darker and I settled upon a plan for repairing the road to the bog next Spring. I am a very busy body I think, the Colonel may laugh and I may sometimes fail particularly where there are prejudices to fight against, still some good must sometimes be done and every little helps.
8. to 22. Sad gap in my journal, a whole fortnight this very day. Today I am writing at a table and find I am steadily regaining strength, though slowly and I attribute the whole to my frights on horseback, being at the time I began riding unfit for any agitation though I was not aware of this, so instead of expecting a little May flower I must, I suppose look for an April fool, the better suited of the two to an old goose as I must of course be called to be getting into such an absurd scrape at my age and after four years of rest. It is really ridiculous, and such a surprise besides.
23. Did rather much yesterday so do not feel so well to-day and am forced to keep the sofa. Peggy came up in great distress, her poultry house was broken into last night and my four fat turkies stolen, this sort of crime is very frequent this winter, fowl of all kind, turf, wearing apparel, even sheep, are stolen on all hands in this, which used to be reckoned a poor enough but honest country, misery is very rife, morals not taught, police idle.
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