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

MY RELATIVES AND ANCESTORS 7in 1837 or 1838, where my father died in 1843.These last fifteen years of his life were a period ofgreat trouble and anxiety, his affairs becoming moreand more involved, till at last the family becamealmost wholly dependent on my mother's smallmarriage settlement of less than a hundred a year,supplemented by his taking a few pupils and bya small salary which he received as librarian to asubscription library.During the latter part of the time we lived atHertford his troubles were great. He appears tohave allowed a solicitor and friend whom he trustedto realize what remained of his property and investit in ground-rents which would bring in a largerincome, and at the same time be perfectly secure.For a few years the income from this property wasduly paid him, then it was partially and afterwardswholly stopped. It appeared that the solicitor washimself engaged in a large building speculation inLondon, which was certain to be ultimately of greatvalue, but which he had not capital enough to complete.He therefore had to raise money, and did soby using funds entrusted to him for other purposes,among them my father's small capital. But, unfortunately,other creditors pressed upon him, and he wasobliged to sacrifice the whole of the building estate atalmost a nominal price. Out of the wreck of thesolicitor's fortune my father obtained a small portionof the money due, with promises to pay all at somefuture time. Among the property thus lost weresome legacies from my mother's relations to herchildren, and the whole affair got into the hands ofthe lawyers, from whom small amounts were periodicallyreceived which helped to provide us with barenecessaries.