The Travels of Anadrasata Nearabhigan: Day 41
So here we are on Day 41. Adjustments to life in a different country and an improvement in her personal circumstances continue to dominate Anadrasata's life.
This piece runs to 1,762 words and I hope that you enjoy it.
Index page.
Twirsday, 22 Naisen, 1892 C.E.
Sulese, 9 Sajibu, 2157 T.M.L.
2 Tlanoluaoy, 25 Kiault, 6.11.2.1.8.2.17
Dear Journal,
Nais and I are working around the fact that I am not used to having someone help me dress. Of course I am used to having maids dust my room, and putting away laundered stockings and undergarments but I am not used to having someone layout my clothes and help me do up the hooks and tapes. We also experimented with several different hairstyles, and settled on a version of a style popular in the Confederation. Nais recommended that I consider getting some more hair pins and one or two sets of combs to expand the possibilities of what we can do with my hair. [I haven't had someone else to do my hair since - we moved into Mother's dower property. Ghenghain used to look after Sura and me - Anna already had her own maid. When we moved, Mother told me that I was too old to be looked after by the nursemaid anymore, so Ghenghain only looked after Sura after that. When Sura went to the University, Tallaig gave Ghenghain a pension and she went to live with her sister, and Mother hired a maid to attend Sura in her rooms but there was never enough in the household budget Mother gave me to employ a personal maid for me...]
Cousin Ghrus and Axolin were at breakfast when I arrived in the breakfast room, and both complimented me on my hair. Very encouraging. I tried another new food this morning - a marinated and fermented fish product, which may be an acquired taste. (I haven't decided yet whether or not I like it.) When I was asked my plans for the day after I've finished in the office this morning, I expressed my desire to visit the temple again, and then go to an embroidery shop. Both of my cousins were surprised by my desire to return to the temple so soon, but seemed much struck by my desire not to inadvertently commit a major religious offence. When I said that I thought I know just enough to get something really wrong, I think Matlal almost smiled.
The gentlemen had left and I was drinking my tea when Cousin Poktlilu sent me down a note to say that the dressmaker had sent around a note to say that my order was ready for the next round of fittings, and that some were ready for collection. She said that she proposed that we set out in the carriage directly after lunch. I sent a message back asking if we could add the Night Sorcerer's temple and an embroidery shop to our expedition. She sent a message back to agree and confirm.
I returned to my room to tidy myself up and gather my language study materials before going to the office parlor. I had reminded Matlal at breakfast of my desire to attempt to read a local newspaper, and her intercepted me with a copy of today's edition of a local paper - The Tlemutsiko Truthteller is the closest I can get to its name in Imperial. Mr Chicmacyeimetetlitecototl, and the clerks who were present last time I was there were present again, and while they transliterated Great-uncle's words, I attempted to read the newspaper.
I didn't have as much success as I had hoped. My first, and unexpected, problem is that the newspaper and my primer use completely different fonts for Coac-htl. The official's handwriting from my arrival is more like the glyphs in my primer then the text in the newspaper. My second issue with the paper is that they use far more whole word glyphs than I was expecting. Most of which are not in the vocabulary list in my primer. I finally managed to work my way through a column of short, tart articles about doings around town, two pieces on court matters, and something that I think was part of a gossiup column.
It was perhaps fortunate that there was very little in the way of Ghaistonyc uncovered today. I have started my own list of Coac-htl vocabulary that is not in my primer at the back of my copy book.
At lunch I sat between Mr Chicmacyeimetetlitecototl and Mr Nochehuatlyeionkisalistli. Most of our conversation was about styles of writing Coac-htl, both fonts and alphabetical as opposed to whole word glyphs. It seems that the current official style for official documents is for alphabetical glyphs because whole word glyphs can be obscure, while newspapers like to use whole word glyphs for place names and the concepts they commonly use because it reduces the column space it requires for each article. Individual usage varies.
Cousin Poktlilui, our personal maids, and myself did indeed set out in the carriage directly after lunch. When Cousin Poktlilui decides that she is going to do something, it happens. Our first stop was the temple of the Night Sorcerer. Cousin Poktlilui and her maid seemed apprehensive but seemed relieved by the reception we received from Youalitlahtolwelilstil. I certainly found him affable, if surprised at my return after my first visit. I think he almost laughed when I explained that I had drafted a design for the cloth I am planning to embroider and wanted to check that I wasn't about to produce an insult before I started work. He approved the cloth but went a bit quiet and still when I showed him the design I have drawn out. Then he pointed at the corner section where I have projected a face on creature from the side view, and asked where I had gotten that image from, so I showed him how I had created the image from the side vie2w. I also explained that I had gotten the side view from a school room book. He seemed happy with that and approved my proposed colour scheme of a pale mid blue, with the exception that the four round spots down each side of the creatures' backs should be a dark blue or even a pur0ple - apparently this is very important. I thanked him for his help. Before we left I asked if he had a simple pamphlet about Lord Iznuallatl that I could have or borrow, explaining that if I was under his patronage here in the Confederation, then I should know something about him. Youalitlahtolwelilstil agreed gravely, and gave me a printed and folded piece of paper that they give out in the clinic upstairs. We then made our farewells.
Our next stop was the dressmakers. The foundation garments, shifts, chemises, and the house gowns were all done. The house gowns just needed to have the length and the sleeve length doublechecked to make sure that I hadn't been doing anything strange when they measured me the other day. One visiting gown and one dining gown were also ready - I tried those on first to give more time for any needed adjustments before we left the shop.
The last stop of our outing was a shop selling embroidery threads and needles. They had an excellent colour range in cottons and silks, and given their stock and the amount of thread I needed, I chose my threads from their cottons, which needed needles because the thickness is different to anything else I have used.
When we got back to the house, I had to model everything for Great-aunt Giltreeada, who insisted that I wear the dining gown tonight. Then I carefully packed away my napkins and the matching tablecloth for now and started transferring the guardian creature design to the new cloth.
At dinner I was seated between Axolin and Miztli, both of whom, complimented me on my dining gown. I am rather pleased with it myself. It is green, in a shade I haven't seen at home, a silhouette similar to the fashionable outline at home, and two narrow front side panels to the skirt in a cream based fabric with green and red designs on it. The panels were the idea of Great-aunt's maid and I do think that she was completely right. Miztli was muttering something under his breath at one point and when Tehaneume asked him what he was saying, he told her that he was expanding the list of people who would not be allowed to importune her or I. I am flattered, I think, that he might think this necessary - it hasn't been before now.
After dinner, while we were having our kasoolht, I said something to the other ladies about never having seen this shade in a fabric at home. That turned into a discussion of dyes and fabrics, and their interactions, that was still going on when the gentlemen joined us. Some of the gentlemen seemed surprised that we were involved in what Mr Nochehuatlyeionkisalistli called a technical industrial discussion. [He did speak in Coac-htl so I may have slightly misunderstood the phrase.] Great-aunt pointed out that ladies in an Imperial household were expected to oversee the dyeing of existing garments for mourning clothes and so were expected to have a basic knowledge, at the least, of how to achieve those colours with fabrics common in the Empire.
I was saved from havi9ng to elaborate on Imperial mourning customs, which this household is not following, by the suggestion that various of us might entertain the whole with a small performance piece. Tehaneume, Cousin Poktlilui, Axolin, and Mr Nochehuatlyeionkisalistli sang individual pieces. Miztli juggled - he had five different objects in the air at once at one point, and I found his display to be very impressive. Cousin Ghrus and I performed recitations - his was a battle hymn written in commemoration of the Battle of Pochutla (famous here and pre-Imperial presence in these parts) and mine was "In praise of spring" by Aidailain, the Baroness dh'Mhaigh. The evening finished with a very amusing shadow play on one wall performed by Yeixi and Nahuitlan who made shapes with such skill and detail that it was hard to believe that they were using nothing except their hands.
Nais saw me changed into my night clothes, helped me brush out my hair. and put my dining gown away before she retired to her own quarters for the night. I know that I am not used to having a maid, and I do not wish to become spoilt, but I am very much enjoying having one. I hope that matters are as I believe they are and that I can continue to employ her.
Anadrasata Nearabhigan