My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

6 MY LIFEit, he apparently thought it quite hopeless to beginto practise as a solicitor, and being entirely devoid ofbusiness habits, allowed himself to be persuaded intoundertaking one of the most risky of literary speculations,the starting a new illustrated magazine, devotedapparently to art, antiquities, and general literature.After a very few numbers were issued the wholething came to grief, partly, it was said, by thedefalcations of a manager or book-keeper, whoappropriated the money advanced by my father topay for work and materials, and partly, no doubt,from the affair being in the hands of persons withoutthe necessary business experience and literary capacitya success.to make itThe result was that my father had to bear almostthe whole loss, and this considerably reduced hisalready too scanty income. Whether he made anyother efforts to earn money I do not know, but hecontinued to live in Marylebone till 1816, a daughterEmma having been born there in that year ; but soonafter he appears to have removed to St. George's,Southwark, in which parish my brother John wasborn in 1818. Shortly afterwards his affairs musthave been getting worse, and he determined to movewith his family of six children to some place whereliving was as cheap as possible ; and, probably fromhaving introductions to some residents there, fixedupon Usk, in Monmouthshire, where a sufficientlyroomy cottage with a large garden was obtained, andwhere I was born on January 8, 1823.In the year 1828 my mother's step-mother, Mrs.Rebecca Greenell, died at Hertford, and I presumeit was in consequence of this event that the familyleft Usk in that year, and lived at Hertford forthe next nine or ten years, removing to Hoddesdon