[Journal 1831]

Tuesday. August 23 [1831]

Rose at 7 1/2.  Bathed below Borthwen. breakfasted 8 1/2.  About 9 Mrs Chaloner & W. Martin went off, on their road to Bangor, they intend sleeping at Tan.Y.Bwlch, they went by Dolmelynlynn^a.  Miss Sutton (Mrs C's sister) could not agree with them so she went by Harlech.  From 10 till a little after 1, we had a lecture at Whitleys.  We then went & called at Borthwen, & saw Mrs R. Miss Sturt & Miss Ricketts: afterwards had a good^b walk on the hills behind the town to a place called Bwlch Llan, whence a splendid view of the Cader, the river &c.  Dined at 4 1/4 on cold mutton & apple tart.  R played Billiards & sat with Read till 8 1/2.  H read the paper, & read from 6 till 7 1/2, when he saw Darwin who had just arrived^c.  H & Beadon then beat up the river in the Otter^d, but were disappointed of the moon on account of some clouds.  Beadon & Read drank tea with us at 9.  R went to bed 10 1/2.  H 11 1/4.  Another splendid day.

* * *

Read & Gundry went out to sea in the Otter, & shot 20 gulls.

^a We advised W. Martin to go & see the waterfalls.

^b For the first time we carried poles with spikes in them & found them very useful.

^c He had walked from Festiniog we hope he will stay till 1st Seper.

^d We were to have made up 4 for the Swift, but Read & R. declined.

Wednesday. August. 24. [1831]

R rose at 6 1/4. H 1/4 7.  Both Whitley as usual.  Breakfasted 1/4 9.  Read &c till 2 1/4, when we strolled out. H on the hill above the town with Darwin and Whitley, rain came on, got rather wet & a fall: sat awhile with Darwin at the Cors.y.gedol, & afterwards read the paper at Read's, came home at 5 1/4 & read a little till dinner at 1/4 6 on hashed mutton & cold apple tart.  R called on the Miss Orreds, & walked out with them, but got wet, brought an invite to tea, which we accepted & gave them the pleasure of our company^a from 7 1/2 till 11, we had a slight walk on the Dolgelley, & went to bed 11 1/2.  A windy day & rain all the afternoon.  R. played 2 games at chess, lost, 1, won the other.

* * *

Mrs Ricketts fulfilled her promise by sending a note with her comp^ts, enclosing the receipt for a Gateaux.á.la.madeleine, & nectar, a pretty liquor, in great vogue at Nannau.

Read went out with J. Roberts & R. Jones in the cutter, to Port Madoc.

^a they gave us a great deal of news in the way of ghost stories, to which they seemed particularly inclined.

Thursday. August. 25 [1831]

R rose 6 1/4.  H 1/4 7.  Both Whitley as usual.  Breakfasted 1/4 9.  Read all morning.  R went out at 1 1/2.  H stayed in, in consequence of a strain, & saw Miss Ricketts ride by on "The Pet".  R walked with the Miss Orreds on the Harlech road & came home about 5, when H strolled to the Inn, conversed Miss Sturt & Miss Ricketts.  Dined 6 1/4, having waited for Darwinx, who had gone to Cwm Bychan with Mr & Mrs Owen^a, we gave him a quarter of an hour, but he arrived just as we finished, & put an end to a duck w^h, with some mutton chops, mushrooms, & apple pudding, had formed our repast.  R drank tea with the Miss Orreds & went to bed 1/4 11.   H had some leeches^b on, & went to bed 11 1/2.  A windy day, but tolerably fine.

* * *

The following will serve as a specimen of Mrs Jones's English.  She told me that one of her lodgers, a lady in a delicate state of health, heard the smell of our mushrooms cooking, & was seized with a great longing for some.

^a He returned highly pleased with Cwm Bychan, and Mrs Owen's [illeg] .

^b For a strain.

Friday. August. 26 [1831]

R rose at 6 1/2. H at 7.  Both Whitley as usual, H rather late. Breakfasted 1/4 9. Read &c. R went out at 1 1/2, & strolled about, H took a slight stroll about 4: met Mrs Ricketts & Miss Sturt walking & Miss R. riding.  Darwin dined with us at 6 on a leg of mutton, stewed cucumber, & plum tart which set our teeth on edge considerably.  Darwin & R discussed a bottle of Port afterwards & soon after 8, we walked up to Beadon's, (heard the Pearson family singing at their window) where we drank tea, & came home about 10.  R went to bed 10 1/2 & H after a little reading at 11 1/2.   A windy day, with rain all the afternoon^a.

* * * 

Whitley set off this morning to Bala, nobody knowing why.

^a Rained all night, & a deal of wind.

Saturday. August. 27 [1831]

Rose at 8 1/2, breakfasted (Darwin with us) at 9 1/2.  Beadon brought us the paper afterwards; Darwin, he, & R, had a long converse on politics, in which Beadon was a good deal beat.  About 11 went to Whitleys, & got an examination paper, Darwin & R had a game at Billiards; then strolled to the pierhead where they with Mr Johns agreed to ascend Cader, it was then cloudy, but clearing gradually, the Carnarvonshire hills were very clear: a storm coming over stopped them & they staid at our room till 1 1/2^a when they started agreeing to return to dinner at 7 1/2.  They got a little way over the river, when they again turned back, the weather being worse: they played billiards till 4 oclock, when Darwin, Beadon, & H, strolled on the Sand Hills, & found some fungus, of a peculiar sort, which much pleased Darwin.  Afterwards walked towards Borthwen, & at 6 1/4, dined, having waited for R, who never came till 7 1/4, having walked out with the Miss Orreds at 4^b:  we had some hashed mutton, stewed cucumber, & apple tart, after the discussion of w^h, Darwin & H strolled on the Harlech sands, met Mr Pearson  & Co, had some tea at the Cors.y.gedol, where H left Darwin at 10, & saw Read who had just returned from Port Madoc, where he had been [illeg] since Wednesday.  Beadon who had dined at Borthwen, dropped in about 11; & R returned from the Miss Orreds, where he drank tea, at 11 1/2.  Went to bed 1/4 12.  A very rainy morning wh gradually cleared till a fine afternoon.

* * *

^a and eat their sandwiches prepared for the walk.

Mr Johns started about 5 (we heard) to go up Cader by himself, & not knowing the way the least.

^b to Llanaber where the ladies sketched.

R. played 4 games at chess with Miss Falkner, & won 3.

Sunday. August. 28 [1831]

Rose at 8.  Darwin & Read breakfasted with us at 9 1/4.  Darwin Late.  R answered paper of yesterday, & H 1//4 12 went to church, after w^h strolled with Mr Ricketts & family towards his house, & went into the stable: went to the Inn & found Darwin, Read & R, at luncheon.  Saw Darwin & R start in a boat up the river on their way to Mallwydd^a, Darwin to meet Aber.ys.twith coach tomorrow, & R to keep him company & return in the morning.  Read the paper, & dined with the other men at the Inn at 4.  Soles, boiled, rabbit, roast beef, plum pudding: strolled with Read about 6 on the Harlech & Dolgelley roads, met the Miss Orreds among others.  Had a fire & tea at our room at 8.  Read went away 9 1/4.  Read &c, & went to bed 12 1/4.  Rather fine in the morning, but clouded over again, & very windy.

* * *

Mr Johns returned about 7 this morning, having slept out of doors, on the rocks.

^a 22 miles from here, 12 beyond Dolgelley, on the Shrewsbury road.

Monday. August. 29 [1831]

Rose at 7 1/2.  Breakfasted 1/4 9.  Went to Reads &c.  Read started on his road home to go in a boat up the river & thence to Corwen^a.  Went to Whitley^b at 12.  {R returned at 1 1/2.  The walk from Dolgelley to Dinas Mowddy is wild, & the vale about 6 miles from the former place particularly striking.  Mallwydd is a small village with a good Inn, where Darwin and R arrived soon after 8, had some tea, & went to bed.  In the morning they started 8 1/2, on their different routes, Darwin towards Shrewsbury & R back here:  he was passed by Mr Ricketts & family in his phaeton near Llanelltydd, they had been to a house near Dolgelley to dine & sleep.}  Whitley & H had a sail in the Mary, with J. Roberts & got wet, & R having dressed, played billiards.  Read the papers & H walked on the Dolgelley road, meeting Mrs & Miss Ricketts riding.  Dined at 6 on a mutton pie, bad in many^c respects, mushrooms & a bread & butter pudding:  About 7 1/2, walked up to the Miss Orreds where we drank tea & stayed till 10 1/4^d. R beat Miss Falkner 1 game at chess.  NB. we had a note from Mr Pearson this morning asking us to take our coffee with him tonight, a pleasure we declined.  R went to bed 1/4 11.  H at 1/4 12.  A windy disagreeable day with rain occasionally.

* * *

^a He intended to be at home by Thursday Seper 1st.

^b Whitley returned about 10 last night, having left this place on Friday, slept at Corwen, got to Liverpool Saturday, transacted some business, slept there; & left at 8, Sunday morning, & by dint of coaches, running, cars, & phaetons, arrived here as above stated, the distance there is 94 miles.

^c very particularly impregnated with onion.

^d Miss Orred was not visible, not being well.