Many thanks to Clarissa Parkinson and Frances T for participating in our August challenge, producing some excellent results! Across the four pages deciphered as part of this decoding challenge, the Decoders have identified two further pages from Sydney Smith’s ‘I would not live always’ and two pages from an unknown source.
You can download the full text and a line-by-line transcript at the bottom of this page. We’d also be grateful for your thoughts on the unknown source transcribed below.
Unidentified text from pages 28, 26, 24, 22, 20, 18, and 16
- 28.1 Now it seems to have been the custom of
- 28.2 the society not to require proof of age
- 28.3 of such a member but to demand it
- 28.4 thereafter when he does claim to become
- 28.5 an annuitant. It is to be remarked however
- 28.6 that the form requires the member to state his age
- 28.7 next birthday and the choice of amount
- 28.8 of his quarterly payment. ____ ____ ____ ____
- 28.9 ____ ____ ____ ____ and at the time of the ____
- 28.10 his age, just as it would be if
- 28.11 he were assuring his life. ____ ____ ____ ____
- 28.12 form declared himself to be 46 years
- 28.13 old. When ____ ____ ____ ages, he
- 28.14 does not remark that he is to state
- 28.15 his age next birthday and he states his
- 28.16 age last birthday. Consequently, he states
- 28.17 age when he is about midway between 2
- 26.1 birthdays. He goes on making his quarterly
- 26.2 payments for about 2 ____ ____ that time
- 26.3 he has become of an age and of a state
- 26.4 of health when he can declare himself superannuated
- 26.5 ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ the society’s funds.
- 26.6 ____ he makes that declaration but, observing
- 26.7 this mistake in his age between what was his
- 26.8 last birthday and what was his next, he
- 26.9 calls the attention of the secretary to that
- 26.10 error, expresses his hope that it is not
- 26.11 a great one and declares his readiness to pay
- 26.12 the difference during the whole term his
- 26.13 membership has lasted. That is, supposing his payment
- 26.14 to have been of £1 per year, £2 or
- 26.15 £3, he expresses his intention to pay the
- 26.16 whole deficit/deficiency for the whole term
- 26.17 He adds however that ____ there is no deficit
- 24.1 For at the time he became a member there was
- 24.2 no difference. Be this as it may,
- 24.3 he ____ as I have said. In
- 24.4 reply to this, he ____ a ____ and personal
- 24.5 letter from the secretary calling his attention
- 24.6 to a clause that a new member agrees
- 24.7 that any attempt at fraud or
- 24.8 mis-statement shall invalidate his whole
- 24.9 contract with the institution and shall involve a
- 24.10 loss on his part of the whole
- 24.11 of the payments. Now I think there can
- 24.12 be no doubt/debate that these orders protect?
- 24.13 ____ ____ against fraud, but fraud and mistake
- 24.14 are two different things and apart from the
- 24.15 ____ of the person who is ____ ____ ,
- 24.16 can we not distinguish between the two?
- 22.1 It is not a very ____ and ____ decision
- 22.2 to ____ ____ ____ very simply? an ____
- 22.3 as six months and six years. No man
- 22.4 or woman can make a difference
- 22.5 of six or a dozen years in his or
- 22.6 her age but any individual or ____
- 22.7 required to fill up a complicated document
- 22.8 may make a mistake between the expression
- 22.9 “next birthday” and “last birthday”, and besides it is
- 22.10 the custom for persons to count their
- 22.11 age from their last birthday. And however?
- 22.12 much I am very ____ to say a
- 22.13 ____ ____ ____ it appears to me that the consideration
- 22.14 of a little ____ inconvenience? ____ .
- 22.15 ____ consider the question and the decision of the ____
- 22.16 must not be complied with ____ refuse the
- 20.1 annuity and offer to return the money.
- 20.2 Now my accusation is that in the ____
- 20.3 of the society ____ together for the benefit
- 20.4 of the ____ ____ ____ ____ in common such a
- 20.5 method of proceeding is not to be ____ .
- 20.6 Figures are very ____ things, but over the
- 20.7 course of a case like this ____ ____
- 20.8 does come into play. It cannot ____ for
- 20.9 ____ ____ ____ ____ that any ____ was
- 20.10 intended in this case it cannot be
- 20.11 contended that the society has suffered.
- 20.12 It may be contended that great inconvenience
- 20.13 would arise from the lax method of stating
- 20.14 age in the ____ of applicants and that it is
- 20.15 ___ly terrible to ____ each and every one
- 20.16 but the committee have the remedy and can
- 18.1 demand proof of age and prevent the
- 18.2 possibility of such a case as this.
- 18.3 Let them ____ ____ that rules are the
- 18.4 ____ ____ but let them be ____ ____ ____
- 18.5 to proceed by their own declared principles.
- 18.6 These principles are as I have
- 18.7 said an advantage of the ____ ____ and the
- 18.8 ____ of their loss . ____ ____ ____ ____
- 18.9 ____ world the law ____ ____ any advantage
- 18.10 from ____ or, as it is called, “shadow/shared
- 18.11 portions “. Let the matter be decided by
- 18.12 ____ ____ . And do let one who
- 18.13 put ____ ____ ways forward as
- 18.14 ____ trusts put ____ ways forward as
- 18.15 ____ decent ____ ____ who have quite
- 18.16 sufficient to do with their ____ money
- 16.1 to invest in a society which has no
- 16.2 just commitment to liberality and wisdom