The Diary of Nathaniel Bryceson (Part 5)

[Ruskie]

It makes their relationship all the more odd to me.  I could have understood it if there was more ermmm wicked tricks going on...but why on earth was she seeing him?  And he ended up marrying someone one a lot closer in age, so what was it about Ann Fox?

Maybe they just liked eachother.  I think he was pretty hot and she fancied him. She was pretty and petite and they both liked prints. 

I was thinking about the fact that Nathaniel doesn't mention any friendships with people of his own age. There are some young people who just get on better with people who are older. He's spent his life with his older relatives, mixed with their friends and formed friendships with them. He may not have gone to school (possilby was tutored?) which is where most children would make friends. He doens't hang about on the streets with young riff raff. He has no siblings ... and appears to be genuinely interested in and have an affinity for older people. His interests also aren't the interests that a young person has (even I imagine in 1846). He appears to have an old head on his shoulders. I can kind of understand him.

I think Nathaniel must have been a gentleman. He was obviously interested in 'going further', but Ann wasn't, so .... they didn't ... and haven't ... yet! 

[Colin Cruddace]

Today's entry is very strange.

Nursery maid at Wharf left her situation.  Mother went to a doctor’s in Gower Place and was so fatigued and ill that she was obliged to be brought home in a cab and was expected to die on the road.  Bought penknife - pearl handle and three blades - Victoria Road, Pimlico.

I get the impression that NB is not very close to his mother and has no feelings about what happens to her.  I haven't got round to going through the start of the saga but I have read the diary so far...

I reckon that NB was a bit unfamiliar with life and wasn't aware that some women have a hairy chest  

Colin

[karenlee]

Aha... a new pen knife to replace the one he broke the other day.  Now he can go on graffiti-ing bits of old London town for us.

Not sure how he felt about his Mum to be honest.  I wonder if she was somewhat distant with him, as would have been proper for the time - or because of the circumstances of his birth - and therefore he was not that attached to her as a child might be today.

I find it a bit difficult to understand these people really, as they were so different in some ways and yet so familiar in others. 

I reckon that NB was a bit unfamiliar with life and wasn't aware that some women have a hairy chest  

There are quite early records of French women waxing, perhaps the English thought it a waste of a good candle or two...

[waiteohman]

Ruskie that Henry Shepherd is District 9, page 10 and is on his own. I don't think he comes up searching by name.

Linda

[Ruskie]

I was thinking about today's diary entry - and yesterdays. It does seem odd the way Nat writes about something sad (as in his mother's illness today) and the next sentence is so upbeat. I've come to the conclusion that he may not sit down in the evening and write the day's events in one go. Perhaps he writes one thing, then returns later to add something else and so on. But he doesn't start a new paragraph so it reads oddly. Maybe this is why the entries sometimes seem a bit disjointed.

He doesn't seem to be very close to his mother. But he is her 20 year old son - isn't that normal? 

Thanks Linda - I was hoping there might be someone with Henry Shepard who may be Mary ... 

[Ruskie]

Mother went to a doctor’s in Gower Place and was so fatigued and ill that she was obliged to be brought home in a cab and was expected to die on the road.

Poor Mary would have had to walk about a mile from the doctor's in Gower Place, home to Richmond Buildings .... 

[waiteohman]

I was hoping there might be someone with Henry Shepard who may be Mary ... 

Maybe Mary & Nat had a short stay and were not included in census.

There is a George Ridsdale, G.P. at 1 Gower Place in the 1846 London Medical Directory
http://www.rootschat.com/links/09fa/

[Ruskie]

I was hoping there might be someone with Henry Shepard who may be Mary ... 

Maybe Mary & Nat had a short stay and were not included in census.

There is a George Ridsdale, G.P. at 1 Gower Place in the 1846 London Medical Directory
http://www.rootschat.com/links/09fa/

Um, yes, perhaps ... 

Interesting finding George Ridsdale GP. That might be him.  Does it mean that the family weren't too poor if Mary could afford all this medical treatment?

[karenlee]

I can't see George.. I must be doing something wrong...