Monday 5th January 1835

No entry today.

[up at] 8 50/..

[to bed at] 11 3/4

very quiet good kiss last night.  very fine sunny morning – hard frost – Fahrenheit 35° now at 9 35/.. in my study at which hour went down to breakfast – sat over it above an hour – John Pearson came about (before) 11 and staid till 12 40/.. ostensibly to know if he should convenience me by giving up the Mytholm land on Wednesday and taking the valuation of tenant to pay the rent and receiving the overplus – said I was very much obliged to him but that as to draining or ploughing which he thought I should be glad to begin of immediately I did not mean to trouble myself about either and would rather he paid his rent to my father as usual, and left me to settle about the land when the time came that I should in fact leave this matter to Mr. Washington whom I thought he (Pearson), would understand better than he might understand me – that I had mentioned to Washington sometime ago that I did not want the skin pits and should not to take them in the valuation – Pearson seemed disappointed at this – said I had promised to take them – at least desired to have them valued – explained that I had certainly not promised to take them –had fancied Pearson and I should agree, and then would have paid him for all before his signing the lease, but should certainly not buy the pits when I had no use for them – it at last came out, Pearson wanted Dewhirst to have them – I then explained that I would have nothing to do with Mrs. Dewhirst nor with her son in his present circumstances but that if he married and Pearson thought him likely to be steady, and would help him, I had no objection to let him the buildings – Pearson knew he (Dewhirst) had offered £20 per annum for them but I said nothing about the amount of rent – said I would not have it on my conscience to make Dewhirst marry if he did not like it, but that I would not take him as a tenant so long as he continued unmarried – Pearson was at liberty to tell him this or not just, as he (Pearson) liked – Pearson said ‘they would help him’ and he believed him to be steady and wishful to do well, and that he would have married long since but his mother would not let him – Pearson at last (becoming very civil and hoping nothing disagreeable between us would be anymore thought of) talked of taking a field or 2 of me for summering – I said I was in no hurry about letting – this could be talked of by and by – he then thought one of his sons might be wanting a farm, and hoped I should make no objection – said merely no! I should make no objections to anyone who would be a good tenant and pay a fair rent but I could not afford to let under value – Pearson wished I would not let so dear – I explained and he owned people must pay for situation and that Mytholm was a very good situation – said I should never want a skinner at the old buildings and if I built new ones for the land it would do very well – then had Joseph Mann about coals for fire-light at night – said Holt had promised to come this afternoon – he (Mann) would inquire the price of iron rails and be back to meet Holt at 4 – with my father and Marian till 2 (from 1 40/.. to 2) explained what I had said to Pearson, with which both seem well satisfied – Marian hoped it would not be inconvenient to me not to be able to see my father 4 evenings per week! Because Thursdays always engaged (AB– [Abbott?] comes) and Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays should have Miss Sarah Inman for whom it was not good to be constantly at school (Miss Walkinson’s)! – said oh! no! no inconvenience to me – I never did make and never intended to make difficulties – I only hoped my father understood the thing – oh! yes! Marian said, she had explained it all to him – I then turned to him laughingly, and said, I found Marian was going to have so much  company I could not come to him Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays but Adney and I would be very glad if he would come in to us and we would have a good fire for him – then at 1 50/.. came upstairs to Adney – explained – told what Marian had said – Adney as much astonished as I was – we got out at 2 –down the walk along the Lower brea road thro’ the German House fields to Hopkin’s – the sister better –  thence to Hove edge to Mrs. Ann Lee’s to see her old oak bedstead – about 3 centuries old? her mother not inclined to sell it, but if she did sell it, I to have the 1st refusal – she gave no idea what she thought it worth – to ask (for me) the price of an old oak chair she knew of but not to mention my name – returned by Hove houses and Yewtrees wood lane – Passed Moseys (the joiner’s) his man said the hunters had found the 1st hare in a field close by (one of Macaulay’s) and only followed their game thro yew–trees wood – had not ranged or found anything there – this was mentioned incidentally – called at Barber’s (in Yew trees wood) in passing – Barber  not at home but his wife said he was at dinner when the hunters came and did not see them in the wood – then got into the new road at Hipperholme lane ends – home thro’ the walk at 5 – I went to talk to John about carting coals for the drift – thinks he can do it – then went to the drift – a good fire – had had 2 wheelbarrows of coal (i.e. not quite 2 corves) which will last 2 nights – John brings 8 corves at a time at 6d = 4/. + turnpikes 10d = 4/10 – Had had letter that waited my return from W .F. /William Ferguson/ Holroyde for the chairman of Mr. Wortley’s committee dated at the Talbot Inn to ask me to get John Bottomley to go down to give a plumper for Wortley as soon as possible in the morning – to go first to the magistrates office at Wards End – sent John Booth to John Bottomley’s to speak to him – he was not returned from Halifax – had had 2 letters one telling him to go to the Talbot the other telling him to go to the White Swan – she was going to Halifax to seek him and would send him here on his return home – no John Bottomley by 9, so sent George to inquire again about him, and to tell John Booth to be after him (John Bottomley) by 5 a.m. tomorrow and take care of his plumping for Wortley – came in a little before 6 – dinner at 6 25/.. – dessert – coffee – then Adney and I with my father and Marian 1/4 hour till came upstairs at 8 – wrote out today – with my aunt about 20 minutes or more till 10 10/.. – she pretty well –  Adney never well in very frosty weather, so not quite well today in spite of her walk which however did not tire her much – very fine day – hard frost – fire all day in the library stove so that Fahrenheit 40° in my study at 10 10/.. tonight –

[In margin:]

John Pearson for Dewhurst about Mytholm farm

Marian’s engagements

coals for the drift

Courtesy of West Yorkshire Archive Service, Calderdale SH:7/ML/E/17/0137 & SH:7/ML/E/17/0138