Free Mozart: A Life in Letters: A Life in Letters by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Page A

Austin-Friars. London
.
    At the end of this week we are going to Tunbridge Wells, about 30 English miles from here, which the mail coach can cover in 3 or 4 hours as an English mile is no more than a German quarter of an hour. It’s a health resort and lies in a corner between east and south, where many of the nobility assemble in July and August, when no one who has time and money remains in London. If you write to me at the above address, I shall be sure to receive your letter as these gentlemen invariably know where I am. Meanwhile, I hope that you will have received 2 letters from me, namely, one dated – I believe – 28 or 29 May and the other 8 or 9 June. But I must now give you a small taste of the price of things in London. The lodgings that I have are too small for us and consist of 3 small rooms, one of which, like the second, is slightly larger, whereas the 3rd is not even as big as the closet in our rooms in Salzburg. For these we are paying 12 shillings a week. Now you know that 21 shillings is a guinea. If we had not known that we were in any case going to the country, we would have changed it straightaway: we must have rooms for at least 18 shillings or a guinea a week because only people of quality come to visit us and because a couple of harpsichords take up a lot of space and at present we can accommodate only one with difficulty; and because the location and size of the lodgings in such a populous city, where there is so much steam, smoke, dust and fog, contribute greatly to the preservation of one’s health. For a one-manual harpsichord one pays ⅓ a guinea a month: with 2 manuals a guinea. The cheapest wine is from Florence at 2 shillings a
buttelia
: these are wicker bottles like the ones from Monte Pulciano: so that, if my wife and I both drink and if we pour some out for the children diluted with water, as water on its own is no good, one can easily get through a bottle a day. That makes 60 shillings a month just on wine. To begin with, we wanted to get used to beer, but both I and my wife soon noticed that it was very harmful to our health, and so we had to abandon it. Lunch, which is at 3 o’clock, costs 4 shillings. We thought we could manage on 3 shillings and tried 4 different caterers, but it wasn’t possible. In the evening we can’t get a plain soup for less than 8 pence and can’t get a little potted veal for under a shilling. A chicken costs 2 shillings. I’ve already told you that 12
pence equals a shilling
. Notto mention sugar, tea, milk, bread etc., coal – wood isn’t used – and candles and night lights: for instead of oil people burn homemade candles that have a wooden wick. Nor shall I speak of the powder, pomade etc. and the many other minor household expenses: still less shall I speak of clothes and the weekly
laundry bill
which, by the time you’ve added the silk stockings, is no small item. – –If you tot all this up – and I’m sure I’ve not included everything – you’ll find that our expenses are astonishing. And to this you have to add the unavoidable expense of entertaining ourselves, for as soon as the weather is fine, you have to walk or drive out of the city and enjoy the fresh air if you want to remain healthy. You then see many 100s of people walking to and fro in St James’s Park or in Green Park or in Hyde Park. If you want to go to Chelsea, Ranelagh, Mary-le-Bone or Vauxhall, that’s another guinea; and no matter how thrifty you may be, you can always reckon on 3 guineas a month for such expenses. I’m not including the cabs and
carosses de remise
as I need them less frequently than in Paris, first, because the pavements are good, while the roads are wretched, so that people would rather walk than run the risk of breaking a couple of ribs; and, secondly, I’m living in a part of Westminster; in other words, I’m close to the aristocracy. But we often have to take a coach. A cab costs a shilling or even 15 or 18 pence for a single short