January 11. Freda's birthday. (Full description of really nice selection of presents, several brothers and sisters clubbing together. Later on that year, intense rivalry between diarist and Freda over P. Shaw Jeffreys who Caroline fancied, as did Freda - but Freda was clearly no match for Caroline! Then comes what for me is the most evocative and nostalgic entry in the whole diary - founded on those marvelous volumes of Little Folks of that period which I used to read as a child during the First World War when there were no new books, and old ones hard to come by. Much more so then on the lighter Victorian novels of the same period, somehow. I can not only see it all, but feel and live it all - and in this respect I cannot help thinking that in its small way this diary is worthy to be mentioned modestly on a par with several other Victorian girls' diaries.)
January 12. (It was snowing so hard they had to miss the Barnaditon's dance at the hall of that name.) Great disappointment as one may imagine.
Jan. 13. The sky was very eagerly scanned on getting up as it was the Trapmann's dance in the evening. It was still snowing hard but left off in the afternoon. We were all very busy cleaning out for our dance, and washing the drawing room floor with milkfor the dancing. The boys made a snow man in the garden and put on it one of Father's oldest hats. The snow was very thick, but Father and Tyler both thought we might venture to Cavendish Hall. My delight was great. We started about eight. The roads were not so bad as we thought they should be. We arrived at theTrapmann's in very good time. Mrs. T. looked handsomer than ever. Miss Grant was very jolly. Louis and Arthur handsome but much to xxx to ask me to dance which I think was very rude, as they are coming to our dance tomorrow. However, I survived it. I had the first dance with Charlie. He asked me to dance as soon as he got there. He is always so jolly. We sat out another valse later on, on the second flight of stairs. He was sitting with his arm around my waist, when Mrs. Horsford came out of the bedroom opposite where she had been having her dress mended. In an instant we were sitting as properly as could be, talking about the jolly dancing floor. When she had gone and we had resumed our affectionate position a maid must needs go across the landing. When she had vanished he once more put his arm around my waist, drawing me head down on to his shoulder and gave me a long kiss on my cheek. He did so twice. It was very sweet, and it was what he had been wanting to do for a long time. It's very nice to be kissed. I danced twice with dear old Lancelot and nearly had a spill. I danced again with Charlie but we behaved very properly then. We got home about a quarter past three.
(I am not certain at the moment who Charlie was, except he lived locally, and in passing Henry Bull had a small farm at Lavenham, and clearly did at least supervise his farming. Very social, much in demand for shooting parties on which Harry, when at home, always went; but no question of neglecting any parochial duties although fairly frequent swaps of parish on Sundays with the Pentlow Bulls and other clergymen.)
Floor cloths were a popular alternative to carpets during this period. These painted canvas rugs had a protective finish which could be cleaned and renewed by wetting them with a milk-soaked cloth and then rubbing with a dry cloth to a sheen. A waxed flannel "renders them slippery," warns The New Female Instructor of 1834. While a carpet would have provided too much friction for easy dancing, too slippery a floor surface could present the opposite problem. -Pat Cody