It is always pleasanter to dine by artificial light.
Mrs. ------'s dinner was a good one, and Mr. ------'s wines were very
good. I had Mrs. ------ on one side, and another lady on the other
side. . . . .
After dinner there were two card-parties formed in the dining-room, at
one of which there was a game of Vingt-et-un, and at the other a game of
whist, at which Mrs. ------ and I lost several shillings to a Mrs. Halton
and Mr. Gaskell. . . . . After finishing our games at cards, Mrs. Halton
drove off in a pony-chaise to her own house; the other ladies retired,
and the gentlemen sat down to chat awhile over the hall fire,
occasionally sipping a glass of wine-and-water, and finally we all went
off to our rooms. It was past twelve o'clock when I composed myself to
sleep, and I could not have slept long, when a tremendous clap of thunder
woke me just in time to see a vivid flash of lightning. I saw no ghosts,
though Mrs. ------ tells me there is one, which makes a disturbance,
unless religious services are regularly kept up in the Chapel.
In the morning, before breakfast, we had prayers, read by Mr. ------, in
the oak dining-room, all the servants coming in, and everybody kneeling
down. I should like to know how much true religious feeling is indicated
by this regular observance of religious rites in English families. In
America, if people kneel down to pray, it is pretty certain that they
feel a genuine interest in the matter, and their daily life is supposed
to be in accordance with their devotions.
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