The Daily Diaries of Hester Lynch Piozzi             17

"very sick," "toothache all night," "I am dead lame." Occasionally
in order to get some sleep she took laudanum (the i8th century's
aspirin). And she once ironically wrote: "I begin to think now
that I shall see out this tedious year 1816. I think I shall." Actually
she had more than four more years to live.

Generally her comments merely described what she did and
whom she saw, but occasionally she could not resist inserting what
somebody else said. Once she noted, "a droll Irish Lady laughed
at us for regretting her, & said surely at 74 years old, one may take
leave without an Apology." And Mrs. Piozzi clearly showed how
she felt. Here are some samples: "Dinner at the Lutwiches—grand
but dull," "I went but could not shine at all," "Sate at home sullen,
& pouted for want of a Letter," "Visited every body—found no
Body but Mrs. Glover and Mrs. George Mathcw," "Went visiting
and spitting Cards all Morning in a Chair." Her occasional bore¬
dom when in Wales showed: "No Newspapers, & no Company;
no Books and no Conversation. Sun never shines." Once she noted:
"a dull .Morning—read old Chambers' Dictionary—could not bear
to write or work—or any thing."

Once in a while she would jot down some of her purchases, such
as current jelly, slops, and bath water. She even wondered if she
was being too social. When Sir James Fellowes suggested as much,
she noted: "I begin to be of his Mind—That I do see too much
Company—they half distract me."

Even though most of the names which are mentioned mean
nothing to us today, occasionally some are familiar. On July 13,
1816, she noted: "Madame D'Arblay & her Son came in the Eve¬
ning, extremely agreeable both." Another rime there was, "iMa-
dame D'Arblay sends every day." And once "saw a whole race of
Burneys."

Despite all the trivia, reading Mrs. Piozzi's daily diaries can be
fun. Moreover, for scholars interested in life at Bath in the second
decade of the nineteenth century the experience can be very use¬
ful. In their own way these diaries have a genuine historical value.