Wednesday, March 22, 1837

1837

March

Wednesday 22

8

1

No kiss

Ready in an hour  – Had Mr. Husband at 9 about iron work for the meer-end new clow – cast by Messers Bates – Mr. Husband said and unsaid, confusingly – Talked of drawing 5 feet deep of water – Raising the present banks 2 feet – Told him it was impossible – He said the present bank at the low end, Mawson said would sink 3 feet –

Breakfast at 9 1/4 to 10 – Fahrenheit 29° at 10 a.m., and thickish morning, as if more snow would fall – Out at 10 to 4 1/4 p.m., when came in, and was till 6 55/.. arranging my books in the drawing room –

Mrs. Parkinson came about 6 1/2 to borrow £10 – told Ann, who came to me about it, to tell her I was sorry so busy, had no time to see her, but had sent the money by Ann (I gave Ann the only £5 note I had, and Ann put down 5 sovereigns) –

Dinner at 7 – Coffee between 8 and 9,  and just looked into the paper – Very nice letter 3 pages and long ends from Lady Vere Cameron.

Lady Stuart has let her house to Lord Lothian from 24 April – Vere goes to her about the 4th of next month, and with her for a little while to the Lodge –

Goes to Achnacarry in July – If she gives me any commission to do in Paris, it will be to buy cheap books for furniture rather than use –

Vere in mourning for Mr. Cameron’s aunt, Lady Abercrombie, who died (at Edinburgh) on the 10th instante mense –

Lady Canning died rather suddenly – of influenza according to the report of Lady Stuart –

Out this morning, chiefly with Robert Mann +3.  In the afternoon +4, for Michael came back from cleaning out necessaries for me at Halifax for the sake of the manure –

With Ingham – objected that he was making the farmyard tower too small as set out by Mr. Harper, who probably mistook me in that respect.  Gave Ingham 2/. (he asked 1/6) for pulling up the bit of walling he had done wrong –

Had Booth planning about the coachhouse to be made at the low end of the quondam barn – The masons walled off the beer-cellar from the stairs going down into it – and set and partially walled up to the door frame into the coachhouse court necessary –

In the morning, Robert Mann and company levelling up about where the old laurels were, and getting out old footings of wall near the western laurel – Found a queer old ashler-stone (sandstone) water course – With iron grating at the end – Deep buried in the footing of the wall – As if it had been an inlet for water into a fish pond –

In the afternoon, Robert and company planted all we could well arrange together (a nice looking bunch) of the old laurels at the head of the little glen northwest of the pools – John Day carted soil for us to plant with from the intended back Lodge road – Threw the cart over – The bay horse in the shafts, but nothing the worse – Frank and his son carting dunghill manure out of the farmyard this morning to the dunghill heap under the trees towards Pearson Ing and Coalpit field – and Frank carting rag stone for Ingham this afternoon –

Fair in the morning – Perpetual snow – Showers from about 1 1/2 p.m. for the rest of the afternoon and evening –

Arranging my books in the drawing room from about 7 3/4 to 10 1/2 (except coffee a little before 9 in about 1/2 hour) – Wrote all the above of today till 10 55/.. –

Fahrenheit 29° at 10 1/2 p.m. –

WYAS Finding Number SH:7/ML/E/20/0037