“I went to the Tech & finished the carbuncle pendant, which was much admired. Dorothea came over a.d. to look at furniture for the Saratoga. I wish they wd change the name of it, but they won’t. Tom & I were raking out the garret later, & found the story of Edward, which had been lost for years. Mrs Hayden came to see me […] & we discussed the Bible & the 10 Commandments. She affirmed that there was no difference between them & Christ’s teaching, & that “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God…& thy neighbours as thyself” was one of them, till I showed them to her. She objects greatly to nuns.”
NLI Call Number: MS, 3582/35
NLI Catalogue Link can be found here
Date Range of Diary: 29th October 1918 – 11th September 1919
WEEK 75: 14th – 20th April 1919
Monday 14th. – Aunt Maggie had breakfast with me again. I went to the Tech & finished the brooch & began a carbuncle pendant, & then
(140)
went on to meet Aunt Maggie in town & buy frocks for Louis. We tried at Carroll’s, & she took everything to the door for light & said it was poor material, but finally got some white silk & cashmere ones out for D. to choose from. We went to Robertson’s then & she bought a gown for Susan Byron in her usual bargaining style, & I went back alone & got a nice blue poplin frock at Mrs Lindsay’s. Dorothea & Tom came to dinner as their kitchen was being whitewashed, and after dinner Aunt H. and Aunt M. came in & we presented the frocks. Then I went back to the Tech & in the evening Tom came & we went through Papa’s big chest in the garret and found lots of lay figure clothes & legs & arms & head & boxes of clay heads etc, & pennies we had given him to buy things with,
(141)
wrapped in explanatory notes, and lots of things. Miss Bowman was not too argumentative all this time, though she did sometimes say remarkable things.
Tuesday 15 April. – I breakfasted at Suirview this morning, and met D. and Aunt Maggie in town later on to buy me & the latter hats. Aunt M. got one at Mrs Carroll’s – navy georgette with little flowers, of 30/. to her great horror, but D. backed up the price & told her she wouldn’t get a nice hat for less. D. is not a good shopping companion for anyone that wants to be economical. Then we went to Robertson’s & I got a nice wide nigger-brown straw, 23/-. It was a great help to have them with me. D. told me that Tom has got the Saratoga hotel at Woodstown, which was to let, for £15 a year.
(142)
So now a lot of our furniture can go out there. Katie, Muriel Horne & I went to Tráit Mór a.d. to visit Bessie & her baby. B. met us outside the station & took us down to the sea till it began to rain, when we went back to Easton. The baby is twice as big as Louis, in breadth at least; plump & healthy looking but not so lively or strong in the back as he is, though Bessie says she never saw such a bright little baby, & she has lots of dark brown hair & fine dark brows & lashes, but is not pretty & doesn’t look as if she ever would be. She has round staring eyes, rather prominent like Millicent’s, & a sort of likeness to Ruth M’Kee. Having said that I need not add that there is a touch of vulgarity about her face. She is not half so nice a baby as Bessie shd have. We had tea, & Mrs Hill put Muriel to sleep with great
[Superscript: Miss Wilson was there.]
(143)
power, and we went out again up the Donesaile walk & sat in the grass beside it. Bessie told us a rather nice ghost story about a sick man whose dead wife used to knock at the door every night & come in & talk to him, & the nurses, though she saw & heard nothing but the knock, got so frightened she left the case. We had to go back to meet the 5 train, which Dorothea was coming out by. She has ½ an hour or so to look at Muriel & then we all went back by the 6 train. D. thought much as I did about Muriel, but of course was impressed by finding her so much bigger than Louis. I wish Bessie wouldn’t call her husband “my man”. I went to C. na mb. in the evening, it was all about the Aonach which is to be on the 1st of May. A Miss Malone is sec. now instead of May New.
(144)
Aunt M. went that evening.
Wednesday 11. – I went to the Tech & finished the carbuncle pendant, which was much admired. Dorothea came over a.d. to look at furniture for the Saratoga. I wish they wd change the name of it, but they won’t. Tom & I were raking out the garret later, & found the story of Edward, which had been lost for years. Mrs Hayden came to see me about 7 6.15 & had tea with me & we discussed the Bible & the 10 Commandments. She affirmed that there was no difference between them & Christ’s teaching, & that “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God…& thy neighbours as thyself” was one of them, till I showed them to her. She objects greatly to nuns. Owing to something she said I said I couldn’t think how Catholic women stand being always under the “spiritual
(145)
direction of men, & she said they are brought to think them so entirely different from other men. But any man can become a priest. Club committee in the evening.
Friday 18th. – I slept at St Declan’s to get a bath, but there was no water so I had to put it off till the next night.
Saturday 19. – I attempted to carry through Louis’s toilet, but he began to cry when I was washing his head, & nearly had a fit with rage in his bath, partly because of me & partly because he had just been put in a basket to be weighed, & thought it was his bath & felt cheated. He only weighed 9 lbs. D. is giving him Allenbury now & I hope it will put some flesh on him. I was busy all this time turning out drawers & cupboards & throwing away all I could. Miss B. left this day. I went to tea at the Bells’,
(146)
their garden has lovely bits in it; Janie’s rock garden is a dream. She & I sat on a seat down at the end of the garden for a long time, & it was quite warm; real spring at last. She has been studying Pelmanism & praises it highly. She evidently misses Charlotte more than any of them. We had a gorgeous supper, & I resisted potted herrings, & Fred talked about his motor tour in Wicklow. Louisa does embroidery practically all the time, edges to sideboard clothes etc, & Anna seems to take a great interest in it too. I slept at St Declan’s again.
Easter Sunday 20 April. – I had another shot at bathing Louis, letting D. undress him this time, & he was quite good & didn’t mind a bit, only goggling at me all the time with great absorption. I went to High Mass, but was late & had to stand at the door all the time. So had Dr White
(147)
but it was worth while. I dined at St Declan’s afterwards. Tom toned the photos he took of the parlour & drawingroom at home, and they are very good.
Featured Image: The Saratoga, Woodstown, Co. Waterford. (1905) (National Library of Ireland, P_WP_0507).