Diary of Rev Edward Stevens

Visited Sunday School. My cold is still bad.

Nursing myself.

Nursing myself.

Visited School, Mrs Pearce, Miss Dix. Arranged for obtaining supply of new and revised edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern for Choir and to sell to members of congregation. Divine Service this evening. Renewed my cold.

Sore throat. Received note from Maclean saying he had passed “Smalls” at first attempt. His Latin prose was so good that he was excused College lectures in that subject for great part of the term and the examiners complimented him on his “books”.

Sore throat, insomnia. Bell got doctor to send me a draught, which did me some good.

Stephen Hands called and paid his rent £65 to Michaelmas last.

Better, having slept well last night, thanks to the doctor’s draught, but did not go out all day.

Got through services pretty comfortably.

Received supply of Hymns A&M, the proprietors having made grant of £1.10. and publishers a discount of 20%.

Divine Service this evening. Charles Legge’s wife came and asked me to bury his brother’s child in churchyard. She died today aged 2 yrs of measles. The father (Lively) has lived in Banbury some years ?past? as coachman to Mr C Gillett whose service he left because Mr G had appointed a bailiff or steward or foreman to look after his outdoor servants etc and he (Lively) having been accustomed to receive his orders directly from his master refused to take them from anyone else. He then got another situation for a time but has lost that for some reason or other. He has a large family and talks of coming back to Sibford to live by doing thatching!! I told his sister that I was not desirous of hurting his feelings by refusing to bury his child, but that our churchyard was getting so full that I was very unwilling to allow graves to any but parishioners, and that she must give him to understand that it was a special favour which must not be taken as a precedent.

Mr. Paynes, photographer of Coventry, to whom I had lent the Schoolroom for the purpose, gave a lecture there tonight on the Zulu War, illustrated with dissolving views – photographic. It was all very well done and there was a full room. He told Elley that he had done better here than in any other place with but one exception.