Agreeableizing

1840 May Wednesday 6 8 1/4 12 20/.. Ann left the room to have Domna, luckily for me, and I changed my clotted chemise and had a good wash – Réaumur 10 3/4° at 9 and high whistling wind – Some rain in the night, and the Place rather muddy and dirty, but wind and sun will soon restore it to its dust, but à dire vrai, the dust has not incommodated us much yet – Breakfast over now at 10 1/2 – Then had George and 1 thing or other, till sat down to my letter to Mariana at 12 – Had General Orloff and Mr. Spaski, who went to the top of Ararat 5/17 August 1834 – They must have been here 1/2 hour and went away at 2 5/.. – Spaski’s account much clearer than that of the man who came with Mademoiselle Kotzebue, Obuvian , or some such name as pronounced – Spaski slept at the village of Atchury, and from there took 3 men, Jоганесъ Айвазовъ, 4/. Silver Rubles, Jелдаръ Гугазовъ, 4/. Silver Rubles, and Микердыч, 3/ Silver Rubles because he had the bœuf and only went as far as the...

1840 May Tuesday 5 8 5/.. 1 20/.. Have slept in my stays and chemise and drawers etc. and night shift over for cannot wash or do anything.   Obliged to wear one same chemise all the time of my cousin, and have the same mess as on leaving Moscow and at Ekiterinograd I think it was, etc. Ann might be glued to me   for I can neither at any time stir nor be without.   It is a miracle if I can escape even for a few minutes walk without her, and then she is in the dumps . Fine morning; Réaumur 12 1/4° now at 8 55/.. a.m.   Breakfast over at 10 25/.. – Then stood till 11 1/2 rubbing out pencil writing in my last little rough book – Several of the first pages rubbed out 2nd time – Dawdling over 1 thing or other till 12 – Out with Ann about 12 1/4 – Called and left our cards chez les Braïko – Then admitted, and sat about 1/4 hour with Madame and Mademoiselle Kotzebue – Then sat perhaps near 1/2 hour with Madame and Mademoiselle Golovin – Then Ann tired, and c...

1840 of Imérétie still living – at St. Petersburg – the Georgian blood pure – the Georgians had hardly intermarried even with the Armenians till of late and then only few instances of it – But the neighbouring countries much mixed with Georgian blood through the Georgian female slaves, – The Georgian an original language now spoken by about 350,000 persons – Mr. Besoc going on Saturday to the copper mines about 80 versts from here wide of the Baku road – They pay government (net I suppose) 500 Silver Rubles per annum, which Besoc reckoned = £100 – Said the revenues of this country might be doubled in a better case with good management, though he has hardly a moment to spare and does all his society duties in a visit once a week (evening parties) chez Madame Golovin (une Ange said Madame Besoc – in speaking of her), yet he has pride and pleasure in doing his duty to his emperor and country, even to the loss of health and life, and will continue at his post to the last moment tha...

1839 March Thursday 7 7 40/.. 12 3/4 Much snow on the ground.   Snowing hard and wind whistling at 7 40/.., and ever since till now, 8 35/.., at which hour, Fahrenheit 33 1/2° inside and 29 1/2° outside – Breakfast at 9 and sat reading alternately, Ann and I, from page 21 to 77, Volume 2, Murray’s Summer in the Pyrenees – His account of passing the Campbieil to Gèdre and his ascent of Mr. Perdu – I had read the first 21 pages of this volume before breakfast – Came upstairs at 10 10/.. – Had   Riley, the little tailor from the new bank, to measure George Wood for stable suit – To be done next week – Making 24/ or 25/. stuff (beaverteen) at 1/8 per yard – Then had Booth. Brought me back the Nelson-papers I gave into his charge yesterday – Nelson very much dissatisfied .   Would have his father over and remeasure today – Wanted Booth to meet them – Booth thought this unnecessary unless I particularly wished him to go – No! I think he did enough by going ...

1839 March Wednesday 6 8 5/.. Long while washing much cousin The ground covered thickishly with snow, and snowy morning from the time of my getting up to now, 9 1/4, at which hour, Fahrenheit 35 1/2° inside and 30 1/2° outside – Breakfast in 1/2 hour – Then with Robert the joiner – A few minutes with Ann – Had Booth – Gave him Nelson’s daybill with Booth’s own bill attached, and Mr. Harper’s measurements, and Mr. Harper’s bill of extras allowed, and Mr. Harper’s summary of the accounts, and balance due to Mr. Nelson on the whole – i.e., gave Booth 5 papers, desiring him to let Nelson copy them, but not to let the papers go out of his sight, and to bring all back safe to me – Told him also to collect the Northgate building plans and papers (Mallinson has some of them) and give all back to me – Told him Wilson, mason, might put a hundred yards cube of light (stony or soily) stuff from Wade Street chapel at the back Lodge gate, if he chose – Told Booth also to get ...

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 Garfo...

1839 March Monday 4 7 35/.. 12 1/4 Fine but dullish cold morning – Had Holt at 8 40/.. Came for note from Ann authorizing him to go down into Hinscliffe’s pit – Walked with him to Listerwick – He is sure the drum will not answer – Desired him to send Joseph Mann off for Garforth to come tomorrow to see it – Holt to meet him and then go to Low moor about it – But it now seems the cylinder will not be done of still a week or more ! 2 workmen from Low moor came over yesterday and told Joseph Mann so – Holt to inquire about this – Annoyed – Some while with Robert Mann and Jack Green and William Lord at the top terrace – Breakfast at 9 1/2 – With Robert the joiner and then with Ann, who had Booth, till came upstairs at 11 50/.. at which hour Fahrenheit 42° inside and 38° outside – Greenwood asks Ann 5 pence apiece for Oak guardposts 8 feet long and 4 1/2 pence for larch ditto – and Joshua Keighley thinks they can furnish the larch at 3 pence apiece – Ann to have larch...

1839 March Sunday 3 1839 7 35/.. 12 1/4 Very fine sunny morning.   Fahrenheit 48° inside and 56° outside in the sun at 8 3/4 a.m.   Breakfast at 9 1/4 in 1/2 hour – Then walked 1/2 hour with Ann in front of the house – Then looking about in the hall etc. in the house till 11 – From 11 to 12 50/.. (had Ann a few minutes), reading over what I read last night (from page 64 to 103) Wilkinson’s Manner and Customs of the Egyptians, Volume 1, and making notes – Then till 1 1/2 read forwards to page 127 and made notes – Off to church at 1 50/.. A few minutes at the school – Mr. Horsfall did all the duty – Preached 1/2 hour from Job XLII, 5 and 6 – Good sermon – 25 minutes at Cliff hill – Long enough for Mrs. Ann Walker looking and being much the same as last Sunday – Home at 4 55/.. – A little while with Ann – Then read and made notes from Wilkinson from   page 127/406 to page 155 – Dinner at 6 35/.. to after 8 – Ann read French in the dining room – Read th...

1839 March Saturday 2 8 12 3/4 Fine but rather dullish morning. Fahrenheit 45° inside at 9 and 2nd new thermometer from Roper’s;   44 outside at 9 10/.. and breakfast in about 1/2 hour – About in and out of the house – With Robert the joiner, till 11 – From then to 1, made notes and read up to page 65, Volume 1, Wilkinson’s Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians – Had looked into the volume yesterday and last night – Went out at 1 25/.. to Listerwick and ordered about a 3 foot head being built up against the Engine house so as to close in the boiler house to 6 feet of opening at the firing up end, George having just brought down an oak beam to carry the parpoint wall that is to make up the top part of the end, against my wood drying chamber over the boiler – Some time at Listerwick – Then to Sunwood quarry – Lee thinks the quarry will hardly pay for working – Then stood a little while at Lane Ends quarry – The baring a large one – Not yet done – Then b...

1839 March Friday 1 7 25/.. 12 40/.. Fine but dullish morning.   Fahrenheit 44° at 8 1/2 inside.   Read the last 10 pages and made some little notes and finished Volume 1 of ‘A Summer in the Pyrenees, by the honourable James Erskine Murray, 2nd Edition. In 2 volumes, Volume 1. London, John Macrone, St. James’ Square, 1837.’ ‘John Haddon, Castle Street, Finsbury’ Printer – Volume 1, pages 341. Volume 2, pages 312 Wednesday 30 January.   Returned Thursday 7 February.   Finished Friday 14 March. Fahrenheit 44° outside at 9 5/.. and breakfast till after after 10.   Then with the joiners – Booth here – With Ann while she had him in her sitting room, desiring to ask Greenwood his price for oak and for larch posts 8 feet long for guarding trees – Went out about 11 to Robert Mann and William Lord at the top walk of the terraces, barrowing off clay to make them for rubble – Stood talking to Robert till after 12.   He had seen Mr. Freeman’s steward...