Belvidera 6th Decr. 1774.
My Dearest Life, Since my aravil here 1 wrote you 14th
June and 7th Aug! last to both which I shall partly refer you. I now rite you with a shaking hand and a feeling heart to enqair of your and my Dr. Infants welfare, this being the return of the day of the year on which I was obliged to leave you and my Dr. Infants early in the morning which day will be ever remembred by me with tears untill it shall please God to grant us all a happy meeting again. I trust in the mercies of a good God this will find you and my Dr. Infants in perfect health as I am and have been ever since I came here, for neither the heat in summer nor what I have as yet felt of the cold in winter gives me the least uneasiness I thank God for it. About 20 days ago I only laid aside my summer dress, and put on a suit of new Claret Coulerd Duffle neatly mounted but no lyning in the Coat only faced in the breasts. I wrote you in my first letter, that I was designed Please God to prepare a way for you and my Infants in this Country ; And I begg youll give me your thoughts fully upon it, in your first letter after receipt of this with respect to your moving here. If you do your method must be thus ; Take your Passage to Leith, from thence go to Glasgow and from that to Greenock where you will ship for this country. But this you are not to attemp untill I have your thoughts upon it and I send you a recomendation to a Mercht. in Glasgow and cash to bear your expences. I have as yet only ten scollars One of which is both Deaff and Dumb and his Father pays me ten shilling per Quarter for him he has been now five Mos. with [me] and I have brought him tolerably well and understands it so far, that he can write mostly for anything he wants and understands the value of every figure and can work single addition a little, he is about fourteen years of age.[1] Another of them is a young man a house Carpenter who attends me every night with candle light and every Sunday that I don't go to Church for which he pays me fourty shillings a year. He is Carpenter for a gentleman who lives two miles from me and has Thirty pound a year, free bedd and board.
The Colls Children comes on pretty well, the Eldest is now reading verry distinctly in the Psalter according to the Church of England and the other two boys ready to enter into it ; the Coll. and his Lady being ex- treamly well satisfied w! my Conduct in every respect ; On 31st Jully last Mrs. Daingerfield was delivd. of a fourth son who is now my nameson. I am now verry impatient to hear from you and I [beg] of you not to slip a Packqut without writting me. Accord to the directions I formerly sent you which I shall again repeat in this for fear of my former letters being miscarried which I hope not ; The next time [I] write you I hope to be able to make you a small remittance.
- ↑ The entries under March 18 and May 20, 1775, seem to indicate that the experiperiment did not proceed beyond the date of this letter.
