#ALentry: 10 feb 1834

[iredreamer]

Anne Lister’s diaries archive

For anyone who’s interested in seeing and reading (or at least trying to read) the actual Anne Lister’s diaries, the Huddersfield University and the West Yorkshire Archive Service have all her diaries (and other notes and papers). The quality is not always the best (some scans aren’t in HD) and Anne’s handwriting is really really bad at times (I absolutely can’t make out her plain hand)... You can find the Anne Lister’s collection > here & here

^ 5th of January 1834 and 6th of January 1834 (SH:7/ML/E/16/308)

I tried to decode some of the passages just for fun, a couple from 1832 (when Anne was courting Ann Walker), one from 1834 (the day of their reunion) and one from 1838 (their fourth anniversary).

^ October 3, 1832 > Lay awake an hour & a half thinking of Miss Walker. I really do get more & more in love with her not perhaps heightened by the having to wait her answer for the next six months – she has really behaved judiciously for I believe she likes me. (SH:7/ML/E/15/0125)

^ October 13, 1832 > Miss W– looked with a long face on my talking of going – in fact it is plain she likes me. She said what confidence she felt attached to me. I talked of the continent in a style of observation, amusing & rather exciting she lay down & I leaned over her kissing her as usual. After tea got more affectionate but on gently putting my hand up her petticoats she whispered “Don’t” & I desisted – she said I don’t know how she had suffered from it the other night – had not got the better of it yet – she was very tender there – I talked soothingly & affectionately, said how gentle I would be, expressed my anxiety for her health & she said she would go with me to York this month – she always sleeps with Catharine Rawson – goes to her (?) I joked & wanted her to come to me on Monday – “No, not then, it would not do” it would be better when we went to York – to sleep at Tadcaster going & returning. “Oh, oh” thought I, then we must get off – I must get my ordeal over (?) & let her try me & see whether I can make her happy enough or not. (SH:7/ML/E/15/0132)

^ January 6, 1834 > At twelve last night felt her on the amoroso. She thought me asleep and I pretended to be so till my fondness seemed to awake me. Pressed and partly grubblied and held her near me but had on my drawers – in fact I had as much a kiss as possible without absolute contact.(SH:7/ML/E/16/308)

^ February 10, 1838 > Plum pudding today - it struck me it was the tenth - the fourth anniversary of my connection, union (?) with A-. She had remembered to order the pudding yet to me made no allusion to the day. The thing struck me – how odd – said I to myself. (SH:7/ML/E/21/0040)

The code used by Anne (if you wanna decode bits of the diaries)

EDIT: if you’re having trouble navigating the archives.

[iredreamer]

Hi I wonder if AL and AW celebrate their anniversaries throughout their marriage? I read they had plum pudding the first year and got the impression it became a tradition. By the way, enjoy your insights and perspective on Gentleman Jack and AL/AW. Thanks for the wonderful inputs.

hey :) yes! they did celebrate their anniversary! apparently they considered the 10th of February as the date of their anniversary because it was the day (10th of February 1834) they decided to commit to each other (they exchange rings the 27th of February and then take the sacrament together the 30th of March).

Okay so, starting from 1834, let’s see what Anne Lister writes the 10th of February of every year! I’ve decoded the coded parts, if she writes about their anniversary not in code it will not be included here (unless the transcript for that day is in some of the books I read) because I don’t understand her plain hand, not one bit, so I can’t transcribe it (she also wrote in heavily abbreviated English so...impossible for me to understand it like 90% of the time). In any case, I’m gonna link the diary page (if you want to try and read her plain hand to see if she says something more about the anniversary) and I’m gonna link the source/sources when the diary entry is from a publication/book.

February 10, 1834 > Better make up her mind at once, or what could I do? She [Ann Walker] agreed & It was understood that she was to consider herself as having nobody to please & being under no authority but mine – to make her will right directly, & on returning from France & on my aunt’s death, then to add a codicil leaving me a life estate in all she could & I would do the same to her. Well then is it really settled or not? I am easy about it & shall prepare for either way. (Margin: Settled with Miss W-?) [SH:7/ML/E/16/0168]

February 10, 1835 > A- and I had excellent plum pudding today in commemoration of the first anniversary of being together so comfortably and so happily – may we live to enjoy many more such anniversaries! [Gentleman Jack: The Real Anne Lister & Moving Between Worlds] [This is not written in code as you can see here SH:7/ML/E/17/0161]

February 10, 1836 > I think A- out sorts at the day – at its being the anniversary of our being together – she can hardly perhaps own to herself that she repents but she has a queer temper & perhaps fancies herself under restraint – my maxim is neither to confide in nor consult her – do the best I can & leave the rest to providence. [SH:7/ML/E/18/0174]

On February 10, 1837 Ann Walker gifted Anne Lister a silver pencil for their anniversary [Moving Between Worlds]. All I can make out from her diary is: “Asleep in my easy chair – A- gave (?) me a silver pencil (???)” and no more lol [SH:7/ML/E/20/0021]

February 10, 1838 > Plum pudding today – it struck me it was the tenth – the fourth anniversary of my connection, union (?) with A-. She had remembered to order the pudding yet to me made no allusion to the day. The thing struck me – how odd – said I to myself – it was only as I came in from my walk that I congratulated myself on her being away (???) an incubus taken off me what temper she has – yet the plum pudding softened me. As I came upstairs I told Oddy to met us – have plum pudding tomorrow & A- shall have a bottle of malmsey madeira of which she is very fond. [SH:7/ML/E/21/0040]

February 10, 1839 > Plum pudding (???) in commemoration of the 5th anniversary of my (???) [I guess it’s something like “of my union with A-” or “of my and A-”, something like that SH:7/ML/E/22/0121 anyway, the point is that they had plum pudding to celebrate] 

There are no coded passages for February 10, 1840 (just one at the beginning but it has nothing to do with Ann Walker or their anniversary) and I can’t make out Anne Lister plain hand at all here, these are the pages of the diary: SH:7/ML/E/24/0009 - SH:7/ML/E/24/0010 - SH:7/ML/E/24/0011.

Well, I guess, this is it? So yeah they usually celebrated their anniversary with plum pudding, it seems it was their tradition! :)

[iredreamer]

Hey ho! Your blog is awesome that really feed our obsessions with GJ, i wanna ask something that really made me wonder. About the Backgammon was Ann do always Thrash Anne like she always do or AL was just pretending to lose in order to please her wife? Thanks!

hey :) thank you so much! I’m happy you enjoy my blog and I’m happy that we’re all obsessed with this show

It seems that Anne Lister was not very good at board games lol, and yes, Ann Walker was very good at backgammon, it was one thing she did better than Anne Lister. Jill Liddington says (in Female Fortune) that Ann Walker seems to have introduced backgammon into Shibden.

Wednesday 10, September 1834 > With my aunt (much better tonight) 25 minutes till 10 10/’’ – before this, after dinner & coffee, had played backgammon with A–, leaving off after several hits, she 1 hit a head. [Female Fortune]

Tuesday 28, February 1837 > Fr[om] 9 to 10 play[e]d backgam[mo]n – A–’s th[ou]ght – [we?] play[e]d 3 hits and she won them all. [SH:7/ML/E/20/0027]

It seems something they usually did in the evenings. I’m sure there are more entries like these :)