After breakfast the two men went away. The person who wants to hire the shop, his name is Streton, about 22 years of age, and I conject never in this trade nor any other, one who has seen most parts of England and read a great deal and is extremely gay; but I believe he is in reality a very indifferent scholar; though to do him justice, I believe him to have a fine genius and an extensive capacity to attain to learning, had he but an opportunity. I doubt he has drawn in some of the Romanish principles by being intimate with a Jesuit.
The proposals I made him were that after my mother and I had taken about 14 days to consult of it, I would inform him which of the shops we were fixed on to part with, but be it which it would, I would part with it on no other terms but by his taking the goods all at prime cost, and all the fixtures, and the money to be paid down. We dined on some batter pancakes.
In the afternoon Mr Rice and Mr Trench sent for me down to Jones’s, where I stayed an hour and a half. Spent 2d but did not drink once. Joseph Fuller sat with us some time in the evening, as did Thomas Davy, to whom I read 4 of The Monitors or British Freeholder, which I think to be a very good paper if we consider it as a political composition. My wife at church in the morning. This day received of Mr Thomas Smith a receipt for £1O from Messrs Margesson and Collison, which is for the money I gave him the 8th instant.