Volume 1

The Farington diary / edited by James Greig.

  • Joseph Farington
Date:
[1922?-1928]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Farington diary / edited by James Greig. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    1793 Burke and Mirabeau July 28.— -Woodmason has been disappointed in Ireland. The pictures which were painted for him for an Irish edition of Shakespeare have not been understood, or relished, by the people of Dublin. The work is stopped at present, and probably will not be revived. It is supposed he will lose about £3,000 by the speculation. . . . When Lord Thurlow proposed to build a house at Norwood, near Dulwich, he told Holland, the architect, he did not mean to exceed £6,000. Holland, by management and Lord Thurlow’s inattention, increased the plan so as to make up the whole charge about £18,000— the building into the bargain ill executed. An arbitration was settled, and George Dance and Samuel Wyatt determined that Holland should refund to Lord Thurlow £—— (the sum is not given). August 8.—About 55,000 pipes of port wine were imported into England last year (1792). The greatest quantity ever known. The Port Houses are not responsible for wine when shipped ; it then becomes the care of those merchants who have ordered the wine. September 15.—Called on Lawrence [R.A.]. ... Sir Gilbert Eliott [afterwards Lord Minto], told Lawrence that he was at school or an Academy with the celebrated Mirabeau. Sir Gilbert introduced him when he visited England to Mr. Burke. It was very singular to see Mirabeau and Burke in controversy. Mirabeau could speak little English, Burke French imperfectly. Yet these celebrated men argued with as much earnestness and continuation as if they had been speaking a language common to both. Mirabeau was astonished at the eloquence and force with which Burke expressed his meaning, though he could only do it by uniting words of different languages. While Mirabeau was in England Sir Gilbert was often called upon to get him out of scrapes, into which his irregularities had forced him. Sir Gilbert lost 4 or 500 pounds by him. October 5.—Storace [the famous composer] sold the Song called Captivity to Dali, the music seller, at the corner of Holles-street and Cavendish-square, for £50, and in 6 weeks Dali sold 2,600 of them for 1 shilling apiece. The Captivity of the Queen of France, the subject. [See later entries.]