One is tempted to speculate as to what form his greater extravagance
during the second half of his time took, but on this point the book is
silent.
The apprenticeship ended in the early part of 1703, but John apparently
stayed on in the same business for several years afterwards at a weekly
wage of £5. That this did not constitute his entire income is clear from
a page of his diary, which records: 'Father rec^d of Jos. Atkins for my
rent Dew at Lady Day 1701, 16_l._ 13_s._ 00_d._ taxes being Deducted';
and again, after more references to Jos. Atkins: 'Rec^d of my tenant in
all 64_l._ 17_s._ being 2 years rent due att Michaelmas 1703.'
We do not find any references either in the diary or the accounts to the
time when the young man began to think of taking to himself a wife, but
his income at the high value of money in those days would now be quite
sufficiently large to enable him to do so, and some time within the next
three years he wooed and won his bride. Of the nature of that wooing one
would gladly learn a little more, for even with the help of a decided
love-letter written to his mistress within six months of their marriage
we cannot divine much. How this letter (probably only one amongst many
of a like nature) ever fell again into the hands of its original writer,
to be placed by him in the pocket of the little account-book, we are
unable to say; but there it is, yellow and stained with age, and worn
with much folding and refolding. It is written on the thin, rough, large
square note-paper of the period, sealed with a monogram and elaborately
addressed on the back:
For Mrs. Lydia Durrant att
Mr. Henry Woodgate's in
Goudhurst
Kent
By Stone Crouch Bag
The letter is so short and so quaint that I transcribe the whole.
I gladly embrace y^s first opportunity to tell you dearest M^{dm}
y^t I arrived Safe in towne y^s evening with a great deal of ease
both to my horse & self; The Roads I found much better than by way
of Tunbridge & Weather Thanks be to God pretty favourable, My
greatest trouble was to think y^e nearer I was to my journeys End,
y^t I was still y^e farther from y^r Dear Self. Do me so much
Justice M^{dm} as to believe y^t it is impossible for me to have
any interest or concern nearer my heart then you & I am sorry so
great a truth and pure cannot be expressed in other Words then such
as sometimes are forced to serve y^e profane use of Complements. I
wish it were any way in my power & I hope it will 'ere long, to
shew y^e true affection I have for you & I value myself upon y^e
opportunity I promise myself of shortly kissing y^r hand. I have
not mett with father as yett but trust I shall tomorrow morning.
Y^r letters to Hackney shall be delivered with care and speed. I
beg M^{rs} Woodgate's acceptance of y^e oranges designed her y^s
week by Caryer, I shall rejoice to hear y^e little one is come safe
to towne & Aunt in a way of recovery but above all to hear of y^r
good health w^{ch} will be an infinite joy. If you did believe or
could Imagine how great a refreshment a letter from you would
afford me at this melancholy distance you would not faile to write
by the first post, & y^e hopes I conceive you will do so support me
under y^e misfortune of y^r absence. It is late so adding my humble
service to Unkle's & M^r Paris's family with a thousand thanks
shall extend this no farther than y^e subscribing myself with a
most sincere and hearty affection
M^{dm} y^r most humble admirer
JOHN PAYNE.
March 12^{th} 170-5/6 Fetter Lane.
'My greatest trouble was to think the nearer I was to my journeys End,
that I was still the farther from your Dear Self'--that is a very
prettily turned sentence, and yet with a ring about it which sounds
straight from the heart. Throughout the whole letter, indeed, there is a
delightful simplicity and homeliness which even the stilted phraseology
of the period cannot quite spoil, and which tempts us to think that when
the 'melancholy distance' (of some thirty miles) no longer kept the
lovers apart, John may possibly have greeted his lady just a little more
warmly than with that respectful touch of her hand which was all that
epistolary conventions allowed him to propose to himself. At any rate
his suit prospered, for in the middle of his pocket-book we come across
two pages of diary pure and simple which show us that just five months
after his letter the wished-for opportunity of showing his 'true
affection' was granted by his marriage with Mistress Lydia Durrant in
September of the same year. Immediately following this record of his
entrance 'into y^e holy state of Matrimony, Sept. 4, 1706,' we have the
beginning of his household accounts. On the credit side they run as
follows:
Rec^d Sept. 27^{th}, 1706-- £ _s._ _d._
4 weeks money from Shop 20 00 0
5 weeks do. Nov. 2^d 25 0 0
Rec^{d.} Fa[ther] pr. Bro^{r.} Woodford 20 0 0
Rec^{d.} Brother Woodford more than layed out 2 11 0
Nov. 16. 2 weeks' money 10 00 0
-- 23. 1 week's money 5 0 0
Dec. 7. 2 weeks' money 10 0 0
Jan. 18. 6 weeks' money 30 00 0
Jan. 25. 1 week's money 5 00 0
--------
127 11 0
The debit side is evidently headed by expenses in connection with the
wedding, and it would appear that, when John had brought his wife to
town, the young couple finished the furnishing of their house together.
Sept^r 29, 1706. £ _s._ _d._
P^d for hatt 1 11 00
Other small things 0 10 00
Mantle pr. glass 2 10 00
Wife 2 10 --
Charges of journey 6 9 00
P^d Father for house 6 15 00
P^d for Chaires 4 8 00
2 Kill^s Beere 0 10 00
Wife for house 2 6 00
Self for Pockett 1 00 00
Glasses 12_s._ 6_d._, Table 8_s._ 1 00 06
Chest of Drawers & Do. 3 16 00
Nov. 18^{th}.
Wife for house 2 00 00
Linen 5 6 00
Shoes 9_s._, house 2_l._ 2 9 00
Knives 30_s._ 1 10 00
Months Rent, Board, & Serv^{ts} wages to Mich^{ms} 9 17 6
P^d wife for house 2 00 00
Linen for Ditto 3 00 6
Butt^r, Cheese, & Bacon 1 12 6
W. Clark, Upholster 10 12 6
W. Litchfeilds Bill 5 2 00
House 6 weeks 12 00 00
P^d for Plate & Spoons 12 5 6
P^d Cheesemonger, S^t Martins 2 0 0
House 2_l._, Handk. & Muz. 31_s._ 3 11 00
--------
106 12 00
On the next page we have a reference to Sarah's wages, which were £2,
3s., but as no dates are given we are unable to decide whether this
represents three or six months' hire.
We now begin to notice that besides 'wife for house,' there is another
entry of 'wife for self,' which occurs pretty often, 'wife' receiving
from two to three pounds at once, and finally she receives five pounds
for her 'occassions,' a mysterious allusion which is perhaps explained
by a reference later on to 'Parson and Clark, 13_s._ 3_d._,' and 'Cradle
and Baskitt, 11_s._ 6_d._' Turning to the 'Diary,' we have the simple
record of the birth, and sad to say the death, of his first child:
My Dear first child was born y^e 23^{rd} of June, 1707, about 10 in
y^e forenoon.
Christened by y^e name of Eliz. y^e 25 of y^e same month, & dyed
y^e 19^{th} of July following about 11 at night, & lyes in y^e
vault in S^t Voster's, Lond^n.
With the birth of the child the household expenses increase, and we find
in addition to 'House 2_l._' further expenses, which are noted down as
'extraordinary,' but soon cease to be looked upon as anything but
ordinary.
The household seems to have been kept up on a fairly large scale, for we
have mention of a 'Kate' and a 'Betsy' who also receive wages as well as
'Sarah'; but it is evident from the other side of the page that the
wife's father lived with the young people and kept his own manservant,
paying them for board two sums of £47, 10s. within the twelve months.
Items for wine and beer are very common, one brewer's bill for six
months being ten pounds! It is difficult to guess what became of the
money allowed for 'House,' since the master paid servants' wages, and
bills for wine, beer, coals, groceries, house-linen, butcher,
butter-man, and taxes! His wife's allowance also was very liberal, and
at various times he pays for the following items besides: 'For Wife's
Scarf, 2_l._ 10_s._ 0_d._; Wife's Callico, 1_l._ 7_s._; Wife's Silk,
6_l._ 10_s._ 00_d._; Wife, for tippet, 4_l._ 6_s._ 00_d._'; in fact,
according to his own showing, he appears to have given his wife ample
means of providing both for the house and herself, and then to have paid
all her bills as well!
Under date October 1708, we come across evidence of the arrival of
another child to replace the one too soon lost. This time 'Parson and
Clark' head the list, receiving 13s. 3d.; 'Gossiping money' comes to
£1. 2s. 6d.; 'Coates for child, 1_l._ 1_s._ 6_d._'; 'Midwife and Nurse,
3_l._ 4_s._ 6_d._,' and the Diary says:
My second child John was born Oct^r 13^{th}, 1708, & was baptised
y^e Sabbath Day following by W. Benj^n. Ibbatt.
There is still another record of the birth of a daughter, who, like the
first, lived but a few days.
My daughter Ann was born Nov^r y^e 12^{th}, 1709, & Dyed y^e
19^{th} Ditto.
After this the regular accounts stop, as does also the Diary, but from
stray notes scattered through the book there would appear to have been
born yet another daughter who survived infancy, but whose health must
have given cause for anxiety. Thus in February 1716, we read: 'P^d Nurse
Patch fifteen Pounds twelve shillings in full for nursing and boarding
my Daughter to the 20^{th} of this Instant February.' And again, in
February 1720, the child and nurse were evidently sent on a long visit
to Huntingdon to Grandmother Payne: 'P^d Mother Feb^{ry} y^e 16^{th},
17-20/1, Thirty seaven Pounds fourteen shillings & 6_d._ in full for
Butter, Interest, Child, and Maide's board and wages and all acc^{ts}.'
After November 1709 there are no more regular house-accounts, and the
little book is used principally for jotting down moneys received and
larger sums paid out to his mother and sisters. The shop also ceases to
be mentioned, and we have numerous entries of rents paid by tenants in
Huntingdon;--indeed it would seem that soon after the death of his
wife's father, which occurred in June 1709, John Payne left London and
went down to manage his estates in Huntingdon, where he seems to have
been in possession of about £1000 per annum in landed property, chiefly
consisting of small farms let to tenants at from £20 to £50 per annum.
Out of this property, however, he has to pay quarterly dividends to his
mother and sister Anna, though their income, like that of most widows
and unmarried daughters of the time, was very small and could form no
great burden on the estate. At what period John Payne again left his
country house to mix once more in London business life, whether he was
personally connected with the bank or only lent his money and his name,
or whether indeed he ever was one of the founders or left that honour to
his son John, is all a matter of conjecture; yet one closes the quaint
little old book with feelings of regret, and would fain follow its owner
a little further. The last date is 1726, when he must still have been a
comparatively young man.
* * * * *
The publication of this little article had the pleasant result of
enabling the writer to restore the Pocket-Book to a descendant of the
original owner. Further notes on some of the persons mentioned will be
found in a 'Sequel' contributed by Mr. John Orlebar Payne to the next
number (that for April 1889) of 'Longman's Magazine.'