Where I can, I will provide quotes that prompted my questions.
After supper, firing off the pistol, that had been heavily charged above 3 weeks, out of my room window. The report was tremendous. It bounded out of my hand, forced itself thro' the window & broke the lead & 2 panes of glass. My hand felt stunned for some time.
How did people of Ms. Lister's social class learn to shoot? I was under the impression that both men and women learned to hunt and shoot, and that it was something of a social requirement. This quote gives me the impression that she's not well versed in the use of guns, and other quotes imply that she doesn't know how to reload her pistols. Would this level of knowledge be common amongst her peers, or is she disadvantaged due to her gender or general lack of wealth comparitively?
Miss Ann Paley seems a nice enough woman (girl) but lolls her arm over the chair back or sticks her elbow out with her hand akimbo in rather too masculine a manner...
Ms. Lister often calls other women masculine and her favorite descriptor of others seems to be "vulgar". Would others of this time period have seen masculinity in the simple way a woman holds her arms and hands? It seems fairly obvious that Anne was rather judgemental and snooty, was she more snooty than her contemporaries?
Speaking of the Staveleys (Mrs Staveley too), said no talent could make up for such bad manners. Bold, boisterous, & Mrs Staveley slatternly, strangely singular... Met her walking one day in the town with her hands under her petticoat & she pulled out two great muffins.
So this woman pulled two huge muffins out of her petticoats? Is this slang for something? Who would want to eat muffins that had been nestled so closely to a woman's (who Anne describes as "slatternly") nethers? I have to admit, this is absolutely my most pressing series of questions.
Staid luncheon (didn't eat anything)
Lister frequently appears at social gatherings, but does not eat at them. Would this have been perceived as rude or was it expected that women would eat less?
Mr Duffin & I walked to the theater...
Mr Duffin seems to take her out rather frequently. Would this not have been seen as courting behavior, despite the difference in age?
thought of her using a phallus to a friend
How common would dildos have been at this time in her social strata? What would they have been constructed of and how would they be procured?
Game basket from Lawton containing a fine hare...
Were gift baskets frequently exchanged amongst the gentry during this time period? She mentions them frequently.
The Greek account says his lordship [Byron] died 'about 11 o' clock in the evening, in a consequence of a rheumatic, inflammatory fever, which had lasted for ten days.' 37 min. guns (he was in his 37th year of his age) were ordered to be fired, by sunrise, on 20 April, from the batteries of Missolinghi.
Were 37 guns fired, were many guns fired over 37 minutes, and why were the Greeks so enamored with Byron despite his lack of military experience and bisexual proclivities?
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this.
I could at least answer the one about hunting and shooting. Yes, people of the upper class would often learn to hunt and shoot, if they had access to a place to hunt, which meant they knew someone who owned land, or owned it themselves. Even for well-off city dwellers, it was something to do, while visiting landed friends out in the country. The host might provide the guns and a guide. Often in England it would be hunting birds with fowlers ( shotguns) and involve tramping the fields hoping to scare doves, partridges, etc. into flight. Fishing could be the same- the host could provide rod and bait and a gillie ( a guide) who'd net the fish, clean them, serve you lunch.
It was more of a male pursuit, but definitely women also did it; we know this because of the surviving smaller hunting guns ( often mistakenly assumed to be for boys- but, few people would invest in a gun that would only be usable for a few years). Pistols, however, were not for hunting, but for defense. They were often bought in pairs, and often kept in cases with ammunition, cleaning tools, etc. They would also often be kept loaded, though ( for flintlocks) not primed- no powder in the pan. Why she came to be shooting a unfamiliar gun through the window- well, I haven't read her diaries. Some people would also "double-shot" them, so load two balls, or a ball with two pieces of buckshot on top. The recoil would then be quite heavy. And yes, cleaning and maintaining the gun often would be the task of the gamekeeper or another servant. Black powder fouling is stinky stuff, and corrosive, so things had to be taken apart, washed, cleaned and oiled. It's quite possible she wasn't the one who loaded the pistol. She is also not the last person who was startled enough by the noise to drop the gun!