1822-05-17+Plans+for+a+safehouse

Editors note: this is not in James' journal.

I would like to plan a project to build a house in Ireland. Hopefully this will give Jack and I a chance to work undisturbed, relive us from the enduring costs of rent, and grant of some level of 'nativeness'. My suggestion would be to use the building as a place to sell drugs and other chemical products for medicinal use. We could, for example, supply the King's Consort with the drugs it needs. Jack has some experience in this business, and I hope to have the education to make sure we store the finest products available. Even Benjamin might be helpful for developing business contacts. Jack might have a better idea of this.

Having never built a building of any sort before, it would be good to lay out the plans in a detailed form to make sure that the concept is solid and that we won't end up with mismatched lengths. The overall size of the building will be 24 meters by 24 meters. The main floor will be one large room for the store front (16x12), and a storage area (8x12) where the pharmaceuticals are stored. In the other half of the main floor would be our living quarters: 2 rooms (6x6 each), a study (6x6), and the remainder will be a common area for cooking and eating. Doors exist between the store front and the storage area, the store front and the common area, and each room and the study all have doors to the common area as well. Each door will be 1 meter wide.

The building will also have several other features. First, a fireplace will come down between the two sides of the building; between the common area and the store front. It will be a meter wide as well. Second, the study will be shortened and one side of it will be fitted with a narrow stairway, hidden behind a secretly moving book case. The stairway will lead down to the basement, which will be a personal laboratory, designed to be excluded from the rest of the world. Here we can conduct our experiments in safety.

I should share these notes with Jack (Jacques?) soon and get his opinion on them. It is quite likely that they will need to be amended; perhaps significantly.

B.