Medford Historical Society Papers, Volume 16.

[p. 27] that you are continuing your experiments & that you are pleas'd with the result—I hope eer this you have prov'd its efficacy in Grain & that you will immediately inform me of your success, it would be best when you write to forward the letters by some passenger as they will be more secure if the French should take the vessel, which it seems they continue to do when ever they can find them we are very anxious to hear the arrival of our Commissioners in France & expect they will be able to make an amicable settlement with that Nation—

I have nothing new to write you—The Negociation at Lisle it is said is postpon'd for Ten days for to give the parties an oppertunity of consulting further with their particular Governments, & to give time for a Spanish & Dutch Commissioner to be added to them It is as much impossible to form an opinion respecting the prospect of peace here as in America—

My business remains much in the situation as when I last wrote you, the patent is nearly compleated & I am now ready to prove my assertion, but I find the distilleries are all stop'd until October as their Cisterns are above ground they do not pretend to ferment in hot weather—you cannot conceive the difficulty there is in getting a sight of their works, they are jealous of every body,

I am to be introduc'd to a Man of good Character this week whom I intend shall be interested with me, if I can make an agreement with him for I am convinc'd it will be more advantageous to me to give a person who I can depend on a concern then to manage it myself, every thing depends on the first start. I am therefore very cautious, if I can possibly get it agoing I shall do very well I am confident, my patience is almost exhausted, I am very much afraid that I shall not be able to sail for America until next Spring, until I can get my business so arrang'd as to leave it with some friend here, which is my present plan, however it is impossible for me to determine at present—I inclos'd you a plan of a new invented worm, by Mr. Atlee who is the Genn that I expect to make some experiments with—he had a patent for the improvement. I have not had an oppertunity of conversing with any distiller on its utility—I have been told that the Stills us'd here are very large, that there is one about four Miles up the River that holds Twenty Thousand Gallons, I have not seen it therefore cannot answer for the truth of the [story]

Johnny Bull is fond of telling great Stories of his Country & a proper allowance must be made for his way

Mr Gore & Mr Hall desire their best respects

Yours affectionately

F Hall

In this we note the slowness of the trans-Atlantic communication in those days, and the care taken for the