Oh, but I am tired! If it were not that I had made my diary a duty I should not open it to-night. We had a lovely walk. Lucy, after a while, was in gay spirits, owing, I think, to some dear cows who came nosing towards us in a field close to the lighthouse, and frightened the wits out of us. I believe we forgot everything except, of course, personal fear, and it seemed to wipe the slate clean and give us a fresh start. We had a capital “severe tea” at Robin Hood’s Bay in a sweet little old-fashioned inn, with a bow-window right over the seaweed-covered rocks of the strand. I believe we should have shocked the “New Woman” with our appetites. Men are more tolerant, bless them! Then we walked home with some, or rather many, stoppages to rest, and with our hearts full of a constant dread of wild bulls. Lucy was really tired, and we intended to creep off to bed as soon as we could. The young curate came in, however, and Mrs. Westenra asked him to stay for supper. Lucy and I had both a fight for it with the dusty miller; I know it was a hard fight on my part, and I am quite heroic. I think that some day the bishops must get together and see about breeding up a new class of curates, who don’t take supper, no matter how they may be pressed to, and who will know when girls are tired. Lucy is asleep and breathing softly. She has more colour in her cheeks than usual, and looks, oh, so sweet. If Mr. Holmwood fell in love with her seeing her only in the drawing-room, I wonder what he would say if he saw her now. Some of the “New Women” writers will some day start an idea that men and women should be allowed to see each other asleep before proposing or accepting. But I suppose the New Woman won’t condescend in future to accept; she will do the proposing herself. And a nice job she will make of it, too! There’s some consolation in that. I am so happy to-night, because dear Lucy seems better. I really believe she has turned the corner, and that we are over her troubles with dreaming. I should be quite happy if I only knew if Jonathan.... God bless and keep him.
Apologies for this late post. I forgot to add this section and only noticed it today.
According to various sites on the web, Mina's severe tea is nothing more than High Tea with a lot more substantial food to eat than just cake. If you want to reenact the scene, Robin Hood's Bay is a popular tourist site filled with inns offering High Tea.
One popular choice is Victoria Hotel.
You can see more about Robin Hood's Bay
HERE at the town's tourist site. It seems they are quite proud of their victorian style and hold a Christmas Victorian fair every year. Read about it
HERE.
Mina's notes about couples watching each other sleep before marriage! I wonder if she understood that her "New Women" writers probably meant more than just sleep. It seems our Mina is very modern, sensible and practical. I so wish she had a bigger impact as a character. She is only now gaining popularity, taking her place with Harker, Seward, Van Helsing and Dracula. Up until recently many adaptations gave her characterization to Lucy! Horrible. A Victorian heroine who thought men and women should sleep together before marriage completely erased from her own story until now!
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