[ Burney / Early Diary ]
Frances Burney (1752 - 1840), who is more commonly known as Fanny Burney, and is also known by her married name, Madame D'Arblay, was an English novelist, poet, and playwright, particularly known for her comic, satiric novels. She kept detailed journals throughout her life, and when these journals were published after her death they included a fair amount of additional material, such as letters to Burney from her friends and family. It is in one of these — not in Burney's journal itself — that we find a mention (only one) of Newfoundland dogs. (Though Burney herself owned dogs, there is no indication she ever owned a New
Text: The Early Diary of Frances Burney 1768 - 1778, with a selection from her correspondence, and from the journals of her sisters Susan and Charlotte Burney. Ed. Annie Raine Ellis. 2 vol. London: George Bell, 1889.
The letter is from Burney's beloved half-sister Maria Rishton in a letter to Burney dated 25 April 1773 and written while Maria Rishton and her husband were vacationing in the seaside town of Teignmouth, in Devonshire (in southwest England).
We have a brace of beautiful Spaniels and a remarkable fine pomeranian dog R [Martin Rishton, her husband] gave a great deal of money for at Bath to please me — we have great diversion with them they all take the water and are our Constant Companions — we intend getting a very large Newfoundland dog before we leave this place. (I:204)
Burney's half-sister and her husband did indeed acquire a Newfoundland. Visiting Maria and Martin Rishton a few months later, Burney notes the following in a journal entry dated May 3, 1773:
The rest of our family consists of four dogs who are prodigious favourites. Two of them are spaniels, Vigo and Trump; the third is a Newfoundland dog, excellent for diving, who always goes with Mr. Rishton to swim or bathe; he is named Tingmouth. . . ." I: 223)
"Tingmouth" was the name of the town in which Maria and her husband were staying; it is more correctly spelled "Teignmouth."
Burney mentions her half-sister's dog one more time in her journal when describing a trip that Burney, Maria and her husband Martin and their dogs, along with some friends made to the seashore where the Teign river flows into the sea. They crossed the river in a ferry in order to take in the view from a near-by hill, but things go poorly when they take the ferry back:
The dogs have always swum across, and they jump'd into the water as usual; but the tide was very high, and we were obliged to go a quarter of a mile about before we could land. Mr. Rishton hallowed to the dogs, and whistled all the way to encourage them, however, the current was so strong at the point where we landed that they could not stem it. Mrs. Western, R., and myself walked home and left the gentlemen to watch the dogs. Tingmouth, the Newfoundland dog, after a hard struggle, by his excellent swimming, at length got safe on shore. Trump, who is a very cunning brute, found out a shorter cut, and arrived safe. His fellow spaniel, Vigo, they could see nothing of. Mr. Rishton went after him, but he did not appear all night — and the next morning we found that he was drowned! (I: 239)