James Augustus St John never achieved financial security or riches from his literary out put and Oliver St.John found one reason for his poverty. Oliver St John notes: ‘James Augustus St John ‘admits to having invested disastrously in the railway and the failure of a relative for whom I became security’: this probably refers to Horace’s bankruptcies.[2]

It seems that James Augustus St John had been member of the provisional committee for a share flotation. This flotation intended to raise money for the building of a railway line. An advertisement on the front page of 'The Times,' promoting the speculation, mentions St John's name. The date of the 

advertisement is Saturday, October 25, 1845, and his address is given as 9, North Bank, Regent’s Park.

“GREENWICH and BLACKWALL RAILWAYS Extension to Gravesend: the river line (Provisonallly Registered, persuant of the 7th and 8th Vct,c110) Capital £700,000, in 28,000 shares of £25 each, Deposit £2 12s d Per share.”[3]

(North Bank, Regent's Park refers, I think, to an area just North of the Regent's canal. It seems that, in the 1840.s both George Elliott and Mary Shelley lived in houses on North Bank. will try and follow this up, but does anybody have any notes on this address?)