House-hunting all the day with Lord B——.
Went again over the Hotel Monaco, and abandoned the
project of hiring it. Saw one house newly built
and freshly and beautifully decorated, which I like,
but Lord B—— does not think good
enough. It is in the Rue de Matignon. It
is so desirable to get into a mansion where every
thing is new and in good taste, which is the case
with the one in question, that I hope Lord B——
will be satisfied with this.
Sat an hour with General d’O——
who has been unwell. Never was there such a nurse
as his wife, and so he said. Illness almost loses
its irksomeness when the sick chamber is cheered by
one who is as kind as she is clever. Madame d’O——
is glad we have not taken the Hotel Monaco, for she
resided in it a long time when it was occupied by her
mother, and she thinks the sleeping-rooms are confined
and gloomy.
“After serious consideration and mature deliberation,”
we have finally decided on taking the house in the
Rue de Matignon. It will be beautiful when completed,
but nevertheless not to be compared to the Hotel Ney.
The salons de reception, are very good, and
the decorations are rich and handsome.
The large salon is separated from the lesser
by an immense plate of unsilvered glass, which admits
of the fireplaces in each room (they are vis-a-vis)
being seen, and has a very good effect. A door
on each side this large plate of glass opens into
the smaller salon. The portion of the
house allotted to me will, when completed, be like
fairy land. A salon, destined to contain
my buhl cabinets, porcelaine de Sevres, and
rare bijouterie, opens into a library by two
glass-doors, and in the pier which divides them is
a large mirror filling up the entire space.
In the library, that opens on a terrace, which is
to be covered with a berceau, and converted
into a garden, are two mirrors, vis-a-vis to
the two glass doors that communicate from the salon;
so that on entering this last, the effect produced
is exceedingly pretty. Another large mirror is
placed at the end of the library, and reflects the
terrace.
When my books and various treasures are arranged in
this suite I shall be very comfortably lodged.
My chambre a coucher, dressing-room, and boudoir,
are spacious, and beautifully decorated. All this
sounds well and looks well, too, yet we shall leave
the Rue de Bourbon with regret, and Lord B——
now laments that we did not secure it for a long term.
Drove in the Bois de Boulogne. A lovely day,
which produced a very exhilarating effect on my spirits.
I know not whether others experience the same pleasurable
sensations that I do on a fine day in spring, when
all nature is bursting into life, and the air and earth
look joyous. My feelings become more buoyant,
my step more elastic, and all that I love seem dearer
than before. I remember that even in childhood
I was peculiarly sensible to atmospheric influence,
and I find that as I grow old this susceptibility
does not diminish.
