Saturday Oct. 1st.
Pheasant shooting of course,[1]—& two brace & a half, & a hare, sent down to be packed up for London: & that is not of course; but very “good sport”. I hope Bro will give me a brace for Mr. Boyd. By the bye, I had dreamt of going to see him today; but Mrs. Biddulph woke me, by asking Henrietta to dine with her,—& Henrietta will want the carriage.
After all Henrietta wants no such thing. She is to go in the other, with Bro & Sam—& Bummy A & I, I believe, are going out to drive. B proposed it herself. Perhaps we shall go to the Wyche; perhaps I shall go .. but I wont go to sleep again. Bummy wrote a note to Papa today, & she has been telling me its object—namely to enquire about Papa’s plans & circumstances, in order to ascertain whether or not she may be free to return to the north & receive Charlotte[2]. She says that if Papa’s circumstances remain as they were, she will not on any account leave us, even to receive Charlotte. Dearest Bummy!— I told her that Charlotte has the first claim upon her—but I could not say it without tears in my eyes. I do not wish her to sacrifice any pleasure, much less so great a one, to our comfort—but I could not relinquish that comfort, the comfort of her society—, without pain.
What will Papa’s answer be?— MY hope of any change of circumstance, is very very faint indeed!— Bummy’s seems to be strong!—
I have finished Dr. Clarke’s Discourse. It is very clever: but as all metaphysical discourses on scriptural subjects, must be,—seeking only to convince the human reason, it is unconvincing. At least this is true of one or two material parts, where even I have detected fallacies. Dr. Card’s sermon on the Athanasian creed,[3] is bound up in the same volume; & I have read it. How could Mr. Boyd praise it, as he has done!— “Impressive eloquence”! unimpressive verbosity!— “Convincing reasoning”! No reasoning at all! “An ardent zeal for truth”!—An excessive dogmatism in prejudice!— There is my commentary, on Mr. Boyd’s!— I shall tell Mr. Boyd that the only passage which I like very much, is the one which speaks in his praise!—[4] And that is the truth!--
Well: we have been to Malvern—& I have seen Mr. Boyd!— It was a most lovely evening. The air was too good for mere human beings to breathe!— We left our carriage at the Wyche, & walked along that lovely walk to the ash: and then Bummy said “Let us turn down this way”, turning down my way. We walked & walked nearer & nearer Ruby Cottage, until I began to suspect something. Thro’ the gate!— The something was developped! How pleased I was! Bummy told me that I might stay with Mr. Boyd, half an hour. How pleased I was!— Stayed for a few moments with Miss Bordman & Mrs. Boyd: & then up to Mr. Boyd! The room so dark, that I could scarcely see him: & I so unexpected, that I had to speak twice before he recognized me. He reproached me for coming for so short a time. “I wd. rather that you did not come at all than come so late; if this visit is to stand for a longer one”. But he seemed satisfied when I promised to visit him again, long measure, on Monday. He gave me something to do, in hunting the Septuagint, by the help of Cruden, for the words election[,] foreknowledge &c: and I am to take my Septuagint & notes on white paper, to him.[5] Suppose he were to ask me to leave the former at Ruby Cottage—with all my marginal annotations! I hope not! Mrs. Boyd told me that she was to have written to me tonight, if I had not gone: (Quœre—was Mr. Boyd to dictate?): and Mr. Boyd told me that he wished me to spend two or three days with him. I told him that it all depended on Papa’s answer to Bummy’s application, which answer might arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday. I am pleased at his inviting me; & wish—how I wish—that I could go to him!— But as a presentiment once said to me, no more! I soon said good bye, & went back to meet my party. Mrs. Boyd gave me Mr. Biscoe’s letter, to read: to be sent back tomorrow.
Nearly dark when we got home. B, A, & I, three’d it, very comfortably. I lay on the sofa, tired; & B read Lord Brougham[6] & Ld. Londonderry’s war & treaty of peace.[7] Sorry they made the latter. The flashing of swords is sometimes agreable, … to lookers-on.
1. This was the opening day of the season.
2. Charlotte Butler (1787–1834), Bummy’s younger sister.
3. Dr. Henry Card, The Uses of the Athanasian Creed Explained and Vindicated (Worcester, 1825).
4. H.S.B. was nowhere mentioned by name in Dr. Card’s Sermon, but presumably was the “learned friend” referred to in Note F on p. 41, in connection with a Greek manuscript in the Vatican.
5. Alexander Cruden, A Complete Concordance to the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament (London, 1738). The several references given under “Election,” “Foreknow,” and “Foreknowledge” are all in the New Testament, not the Septuagint.
6. Henry Brougham (1778–1868), 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, was Lord Chancellor 1830–34. Although he was a prolific political writer, it seems likely that Bummy was reading from The Times of 30 September, which summarized his speeches in the House of Lords the previous day (on Reform, inter alia).
7. Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, Narrative of the War in Germany and France, in 1813 and 1814 (London, 1830).
