Sunday, October 18, 1835 (Partial Entry)

1835

October

Sunday 18

7

11 50/..

No kiss.

Fine but rather foggy and F 55° at 8 a.m., at which hour, breakfast – Ann off to the school at 8 20/.. –

Had Martha Booth, who brought me a letter from Mariana 1 1/2 page, wondering why I had not written to her.  Martha’s flippant assurance of manner annoyed me – She said what Mrs. Watson had said of her was not true – And yet she, Martha, owned that she had done as Watson said, but that she had no intention etc. etc..  She said nobody in the kitchen liked Mrs. Watson.  The cook was leaving on her account.  In fact, Martha seems quite satisfied with herself –

I said she had disappointed me.  I only hoped her own way would answer better for her than mine would have done – Her flippant manner of telling me that she had let Mrs. Lawton have all her own way about getting her a place was more than I expected –

I told her I was sorry she had done anything to make her leave Mrs. Lawton on any pretence – That even her letter to her father about coming home for a month seemed a plotting concern and that such little ways did not suit me – She seemed, however, so satisfied with herself that I shortly wished her good morning and never asked her to come here, or expressed any wish or thought of seeing her again –

From 8 50/.. for an hour with my father and lastly talking to Marian – Said little about Martha but that she seemed very well satisfied with herself and that I did not much like her manner – Marian advised me not to take Charlotte – I said very probably I should not take her – Marian said they had all of them their father’s queer temper – Thought nobody equal to them, and if fault found with them, might even almost put themselves away from mortification and annoyance – Marian is perhaps right – I had best think of this and let Charlotte do for herself – I half wish I had not taken George – but let him fend for himself elsewhere –

Marian advised me not to let Northgate hotel to Carr – Independent of his disreputable character, he is too violent a party-man – Better have some clever person from London, a stranger to all parties and let Godley take its chance – I think the advice good –

Came upstairs and till 10 10/.. wrote the above of today, then wrote 1 1/2 p. page to Mariana before Ann returned about 11 – Some time talking to her, then till 12 1/2 finished my letter to  Mariana.  

Then till 1, read prayers to my aunt in 25 minutes, and sat talking 1/4 hour till 1 1/4 – She seems very poorly – Has complained for some days past of fluttering and the last 2 or 3 weeks of a lump in her throat that sometimes she can hardly swallow – She is always hoarse and seeming to have a bad cold in her head – In fact, she seems breaking fast –

At the school at 2 for 1/2 hour, so too late by 3 or 4 minutes at church, the service beginning at 2 1/2 instead of 3 first time this season – Mr. Wilkinson did all the duty – preached 16 minutes from Isaiah i.3.

50 minutes at Cliff hill and home at 5 1/2 – Ready for dinner in 20 minutes, and made the following extracts from my letter to M- –

Sorry I had 3 letters to thank her for – Should be better by and by ‘I have not had one moment to spare – I should have been thankful to have had it in my power to go over to Langton; but the thing was and is impossible – my aunt’s health is now such that I cannot leave her; I have ever since the 28th ultimo been tied down by the necessity of looking after my workmen, and ever since 3rd instante mense, I have been without Eugénie, who left me on that day (going to be married), not to return – Without some efficient person in her place, you know my utter helplessness as to toilette; so that were there no other let and hindrance, I am home-bound, till the vacancy in my domestic department is sufficiently well filled up’ –

Have got ‘a nice enough respectable, trustworthy person’ to sew and stay with us till we are suited ‘but she is not up to hair dressing etc. etc. requisite en visite or en route – we shall be in no hurry, but wait as patiently as we can, aware that such an one as we want, is not to be met with at every street corner –

Martha seems in very good spirits – I did not detain her long – I read her father such parts of your letter of the 12 instante mense as seemed admirably adapted to the occasion – He is very grateful to you for all your kindness to Martha, and so am I – I wish she had been more what you deserved and I intended – I told her she ought to be forever thankful to you, but that she must remember, she had no further claim upon you; and I hoped she would do well –’

If M- would rather have 2 or 3 hurried lines than wait for a longer letter from me, she has only to tell me so, and I will promise to comply – Difficult to say what I am so busy about – ’ I am driving drifts for water, sinking and repairing coalpits, making a farm yard at home, and a piece of rock (to keep up a mass of clay) that costs me more time and trouble and looking after them all the rest –

I shall think of you tomorrow – the mail passes about 1/2 past twelve at noon – you will observe the opening into my new road, and see large blocks of stone lying about for the intended Lodge – Perhaps some time you may feel inclined to come and see what I have been doing – But on this subject, I say nothing, quite sure that you are the best judge –

It is East Highcliffe that Mr. Ackers had taken, the nice little place there was a joke about my taking’ –

I hope all will go well in the minster yard – to the dissatisfaction of none of the parties (Duncan Milne to his mother’s great annoyance finding one of the Misses Bagshaw agreeable) –

I saw Percy the other day for a few minutes (on the 22nd ultimo – in York for 24 hours) and thought her looking so

WYAS Finding Number SH:7/ML/E/18/0114