Tuesday, March 5, 1839

1839

March

Tuesday 5

7 40/..

2 1/2

Cousin came just after breakfast.

35 minutes with Ann before dressing – Finish, dullish, cold, wind-whistling morning.  Fahrenheit 37° inside and 33° outside at 9 a.m.  

Breakfast at 9 20/.. in 1/2 hour – Read a few pages and made a little note or 2 before breakfast –

Afterwards with Robert the joiner, ordering about door into John’s pantry to 2 feet 8 inches broad and 6 feet 3 inches high –

Robert Mann + 2 at the top terrace and set him to lengthen the temporary flags in front of the house –

Then had Booth – Charged him to see that Mark Hepworth understood that he was bringing the stuff from St. Anne’s Street Northgate by the cube yard –

The glazier (Firth’s man) here mending windows – Putting a new tap on the kitchen pipe and removing the once-intended housemaid’s closet (Littlefield reservoir) water pipe – To come again on Thursday to fix it in another place –

About 11 or afterwards, had Messers Holt and Garforth –

The latter had examined the drum of the Steam Engine – He said it will not do as it is – It wants the small shaft taking out, and making smaller so as to work easily in its place – And the thread at the end wants to be coarser so as to throw it in and out of gear quicker – Garforth would do all the above work, being all that is required, in 2 days, supposing the screw to be made which would take one day in making – That is, Garforth would do the whole in 3 days for the sum of two pounds –

Asked him how much he thought the Engine-business would cost more than it ought to have done – He answered £300 – I turned to Holt and said I laid that to him he ought not to have let it been so – He said , it was somebody else’s fault (Samuel Washington’s) not his (Holt’s) – He could not help it – I merely said , if I got off for £300, it was as little as I expected –

On talking the matter over, I said as Garforth would answer for setting the drum right in 3 days, I could wait that time longer – After waiting – (being delayed) 6 months, 3 days longer did not signify much and the Scotch engineer deserved no better from us than to let him fail again –

So Holt to leave the drum to its fate, and merely let the Lowmoor people know to fit up the boiler with the extra firing required so that that might be ready when the Cylinder arrived – Holt and Garforth and, if possible, Mr. Harper, to be here to see the Engine tried –

Holt said he never was in such a place in his life as Ann’s Hinscliffe –pit – a throwdown of 5? or 15? yards – Wondered how they got the coal –

1/2 acre of Hannah Walker’s coal to get – Would consider a few days about the value of the remainder of the coal Ann has to get – unlet – to stick up to the present price £200 to see what Hinscliffe really would give – But he would hardly give (Holt thought) so much as £150 per acre –

Mentioned to Holt Mark Hepworth’s having told me on Saturday that Speight of Scholes would come forward to prove that he had helped to get and measure the coal Hinscliffe’s father and Walsh and company stole from my uncle – Holt to take Mark Hepworth with him and go over to Speight, and inquire into the matter –

Thomas Pearson killed one of the pigs this morning – The horses ordered for 2 p.m. and came about that time – but I was with Robert the joiner in the tower cellar, cutting away part of the bottle crate opposite the door, and moving the lead pipe –

Dressed – Off with Ann in the carriage to Heath at (near) 3 – About an hour there – Went with Ann – She going there to see Mr. Wilkinson and tell him her wish to give up the Sunday Schools at midsummer –

Mr. Wilkinson not at home – gone to Huddersfield on the surrogate business, it being the 1st Tuesday in the month –

Miss Wilkinson and Mr. and Mrs. Fenton received us – The latter at the gate and turned back with us – Miss Wilkinson nervous and sorry at Ann’s giving up the schools, but much obliged and behaved very well, seeming very anxious to settle matters to the satisfaction of her father’s parishioners – Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, too, very civil etc. etc. but it struck me that he was neither sorry nor surprised at Ann’s giving up –

From incidental conversation, I should think Mr. Fenton a supporter at heart of the Oxford Tract men, and therefore not anti Roman Catholic – He maintained that there were no conversions – the Roman Catholics opened their purses to build chapels but the congregations were Irish – No conversions – Fenton had 300 or 400 in his late parish (Ilkley).  Never preached against them – No conversions there unless there was a farm to let or something of that kind – (Mr. Middleton the Squire there an influential Roman Catholic) – When I mentioned the tract-men, and asked what could be thought of them, Fenton made no answer – Suspicious silence!

I am heartily glad Ann has at last mustered up resolution to get rid of these schools in creditable time – before any hint, clerical or otherwise, that better management than hers might be attained –

From Heath to Mr. Parker’s – Had Parker in the carriage – Sundry little business of Ann’s; and I mentioned the Hinscliffe coal-trespass – Parker says we must file a bill in Chancery – Had heard of the Manns’ business with Mr. Freeman – Report says the Manns are worth a thousand pounds – Robert told me this morning Mr. Alexander had had a letter from Mr. Higham purporting that Freeman would let them off on paying £50 – If not, would proceed against them –

From Mr. Parker’s to Whitley’s – Ordered Wild’s map of Asia Minor – Then to Nicholsons, but did not get out of the carriage –

Home at 5 1/2 – Robert had lengthened out the flagged way in front of the house (with old causeway stones) to within 4 or 5 yards of the terrace wall – Ann and I walked there till after 6 – Then about in the house – Dressed – Dinner at 7 – Ann read French in the dining room – Coffee – Asleep – Read the newspaper till 10 – Then wrote all the above of today till now 11 1/2 p.m.

Finish, dullish day – Came upstairs at 11 50/.., at which hour, Fahrenheit 37 1/2° inside and 31° outside –

Above 1/2 hour with Ann – left her at 1 5/.. Then sewing up napkin for cousin till two and twenty five minutes –

WYAS Finding Number SH:7/ML/E/22/0134