Very little sleep ― Carnival noises ―: not that there is any thing of a Carnival. Rose at 9. Fine. ― To Church: ― very good sermon from Mr. Thomas. ― Pouring rain, & came home wet. G.K. awful cross about “[το φυλακο τουτο]”1 ― & “[ο ασχημος καιρος].”2 Poor fellow. ― I, meanwhile, had outlined a large canvass of Beirut, ― &, thinking things over, almost concluded on going to England in April, or May. ― ―― Talk with G.K. thereon. At 4 called on P.W. ― & on the Macbeans, where I growled a few. ― ― Then dressed & to the Reynolds’. ― They say there were at most 5 carriages in the Corso yesterday, & no people on the palchi. ― Rockets in various places ― as signals in case of row ― with F. sentinels over them. ― At dinner were P.W. John Gibson, who is much aged, but talks less, ― & Newton. Dinner very particularly good: & pleasant also ― until N. & Miss Y. became alquanto3 violent on various subjects. N. is surely not judicious in publicly anathematizing all Greeks as he does ― (& he only knows those of the Islands under Turkey ―!) ― the rather that an Antivari servant understood all he said. ― I talked as much as I could ― [και επεια και πολυ […]]4

Came away all at 10½. Damp, raw, hideous cold…

J. Gibson said he came to Rome in October    1817.
Williams ―                                                                  1827
Edw.d Lear ――――――――― November    1837

[Transcribed by Marco Graziosi from Houghton Library, Harvard University, MS Eng. 797.3.]

  1. This end in prison (GT). [↩]
  2. The bad weather (GT). [↩]
  3. Quite. [↩]
  4. Onward, and very [unreadable] (GT). [↩]