12. John Collinge, 1s.; P. O'Brien, 2s. 0 3 0 Adv. to Mr. Elves 0 1 0 13. Adv. to Mrs. Cooper, for wages 6 0 0 Housekeeping 0 17 10 Ribbon for stole 0 5 2 Parcel, 8s. 2d.; postage, 3s. 8d. 0 11 10 Washing, 4s. 9d.; Mr. Elves, 8d. 0 5 5 To this may be added, that on the credit side he puts his instalments from the Bishop, and every single penny he gets in the shape of offerings, seat-rents, alms, &c., &c. There have also remained, between some of the leaves of this account-book, a few little slips of paper, on which he pencilled whatever he paid or received when away from home, so as to be able to note it down when he came back. It {247} may be well to remark that the extract given above cannot be taken as an average of his expenditure, as December is a month when bills come in thicker than in other months of the year. It will be remembered that this mode of managing his household affairs, was the result of the trial Father Spencer made of the vows of religion in his secular state, which has been alluded to in a former chapter. {248} CHAPTER VIII. Association Of Prayers For The Conversion Of England. It was in the year 1838 that he began the great work to which his life and energies were afterwards devoted--the moving of the Catholics everywhere to pray conjointly for the conversion of England. Before this time he and a few of his friends prayed privately, said or heard masses for this intention, and encouraged one another by letters and conversations to perseverance in so holy a practice. Now he went to work on a larger scale. How this change in the working of his zeal was brought about will be best seen from a letter he wrote to Dr. Briggs in November, 1838. Before, however, quoting it, it may be well to remark that the cause of his going to France with Mr. Phillipps was that he was breaking down in health, hard-worked by two laborious missions, for which he had no assistant since Mr. Martyn's death, and that his doctor advised change of air and rest. Here is the letter:-- "London, Nov. 5, 1838.