Saturday 9th August 1834

Up at 6 – breakfast at 9 – hired laquis de place at 5 francs a day – carriage for 20 francs – at 12 went out to shawl shop – bought black satin shawl for 80 francs, & dearest white one for 140 beautiful silks, particularly one of puce colored ground & gold pattern, back to Hotel for name of Banquier, eat poulet, then off to Bank – back with money to Hotel, then to Musée saw several Roman altars, tombs, & baths, well preserved & very nicely arranged – down stairs – above, a large stone gallery outside under windows which was about 12 feet broad – pictures not particularly good except 2 by Rubens, & a very large one of siege of Lisle [Lille], by Louis 14th & his army – present government wish to purchase this, but Institution will not part with it, unless for a considerable sum of money, 3 pieces of beautiful Mosaic work in excellent preservation one chariot race said the best in Europe – one piece was found 1676 in the vineyard of Hotel Cassère another chariot race found 1806 quai d’Enay [d’Ainay], rue de Passy. Minerals & birds & shells, only just beginning to arrange; a long room, with 6 arches – 5 cases in length made of walnut wood, very handsome, a crystal, said to be largest in Europe. [words crossed out] – among Roman relics saw head of Horse discovered in the Soane [Saône] February 5th 1766 – Taurobolic Altar, discovered 1705 near church of Fourvieres [Fourvière]. The Inscription presents memory of expiatory sacrifice of a bull – bought Plan of Lyons at a booksellers, at a print shop saw a selection of Oiseaux Etrangers, à Paris chez armande, Robin Editeur 12 Rue de Choiseul Lith[ographique] de Derebergue, rue de Faub[ourg] Montmartre 10. bought print of Grande Chartreuse – Went to the Botanic Garden. hardly worthy of the name of Garden, but a very nice shady promenade – To manufacture of velvet, saw the process – fixed into a frame, apparently like one for weaving worsted between the white threads is placed the silk – the above & below, between this silk, a shuttle with more silk upon it is passed three times under, a wire put under, to make the rows of silk more compact, & it is then cut by running over it, an instrument something like inside of a small lock, which has a very small sharp edge & this cuts the velvet – the piece we saw, under manufacture was a beautiful green 1 ½ ell wide, & to be 45 ells in length & before embroidered with gold (according to order) was to cost 250 francs or £10 english an ell – the order was from King of England & would be completed in 8 months – Evident & lamentable remains of recent disturbances which commenced 15th of April, some of house that were demolish [demolished], are just rebuilt, 500 military & 500 insurgents killed, insurgents used poisoned shot & ball, so that every soldier wounded, in least degree died – all quiet now, & trade recovering itself, ten thousand military still in Lyons – back at Hôtel to dinner 7.30 had Peaches – at dessert, to bed at 9 – Man brought Shawls & silks – discovered damage in black shawl – bed at 10 –

Courtesy of West Yorkshire Archive Service, Calderdale WYC:1525/7/1/5/1/24 & WYC:1525/7/1/5/1/25

[up at] 7 35/..

[to bed at] 1quiet night    cutting nails and preparing another linen for cousin – very fine morning Fahrenheit 72° at 9 a.m. very hot in the night – breakfast at 9 – out at 11 35/.. Adney and I with George and laquais de place (in landaulette and pair) – chez Paturlet /Paturle/ and Compagnie Place St. Pierre no. 1 buying shawl for Miss Walker of Cliff hill and for Marian – then at a print shop or 2, and home at 2 1/2 – Adney had cold fowl – out again at 3 20/.. – bought plan of Lyons – and at the musée from 4 20/.. to 5 – the silver shield found in the Rhone sold by the authorities of the city for a great price to government and gone to Paris – government wants the large picture, view of the taking of Lille by Louis 14 – but not to be sold unless for a large sum – the cabinet (a large, handsome noyer armoire) of 15,500 medals not to be seen but by express permission of the authorities of the city – 2 good pictures by Rubens, and 1 or 2 by the old Italian masters, otherwise nothing very particular – from 5 to 5 25/.. in the musée of natural history in the same building (old convent of dames de St. Pierre) – this musée has made great acquisitions this year and is being newly done up – the mineralogical part all yet to place in the handsome noyer armoires of 500 to 600 francs a pi[e]ce – very fine fossil fish from the county of Dorset, and several things from England – said I had chez Lafont mineralogiste on the quai but found him too dear – for a smallish specimen of iron from Chessy asked 6/. because the mine of this iron epuisé – asked 40/. for a quartz cristal very large and fine but not worth so much – from the musée de l’histoire naturelle to the bank of Veuve Guerin and Co. – got 1990/. for £75 exchange 25/20. did not not [get] out of the carriage – sent for someone to come to me – then to the Jardin des plantes – rather a nice pretty promenade for the people overlooking from the top part great part of the city – then to Léonard Drivon, an ingenious velvet-weaver, the inventor of the means of weaving velvet 1 1/2 aune wide – began 8 days ago and will finish in 8 months, 45 ells of this, vert éméraude, at 250/. l’aune for the king of England, to his salon with – much interested – the weft is divided into toile which forms the piece and poile which starts up thro the toile, is cut, and forms the nap or velvet – the battant (beam) weighs 150 pounds the poile is raised on a brass wire round with a small grove in it on one side, and the 2 other sides flat and brought to an edge opposite the round part – this grove is by a lean forward of the beam brought to the top, and a small tool runs along and cuts the poile and thus forms the velours or nap – it takes 6 1/2 ells of poile to make 1 ell of velvet – the man and his daughter (aetatis 16) have 50/. an ell for weaving and can weave an ell in a week – only invented the means of weaving velvet so wide, 5 years ago – was doing some for Charles X, but when he was déchu, his order was countermanded – he had his frames to knock up, and thus lost 4000 francs by the revolution – the négocians do not manufacture thus – the workmen find looms and house room and everything for so much an ell – Léonard has all the workmen in this building, under him – and he has one 1/2 and they the other of what is paid for weaving – setting a frame for a waistcoat piece of velours broché, costs 400/. or 500 francs so that in fact, the master workman does not gain enough – his wife upstairs (2 stories) with the people weaving these waistcoat pieces – she can earn 15/. a week having 9/. an ell for the piece she is doing – left Adney downstairs with Léonard, and went to see the waistcoat weaving – the frames (the mechanism at the top, to form the pattern) very complex – Léonard is employed by Monsieur Montera et Compagnie rue des Feuillans – he deals in all sorts of soierie – a great wholesale warehouse, but will sell by retail – cheaper than the retail shops – Adney and I will go and see – home again at 7 1/2 and dinner at 7 3/4 – Adney much better today – wrote all the above of today till 12 tonight – very fine day – very hot – I am now sitting in my dressing gown in a state of solution – Fahrenheit 72 1/2 at 11 1/4 p.m. Adney in bed by 10 1/2 p.m. –

Courtesy of West Yorkshire Archive Service, Calderdale SH:7/ML/E/17/0071