which is now certified by Charles Thomson. I have room left only to assure you and Mrs. B. that you are still very affectionately remembered by

Your friend, Eben. Hazard.

HAZARD TO BELKNAP.

Philadelphia, January 29, 1783.

My Dear Sir, — I shewed your letter about a certain doctrine to the father of my Telemachus. He returned it with the following hastily scrawled on the cover: "G. C. wishes his affectionate sympathy for Mr. B. may be conveyed in the channel of the next letter to that gentleman for his philanthropy respecting the doctrine. Certainly as the love of God pervades the human soul, so will the desire of universal happiness (tho' late) possess the same. Have you ever mentioned Dr. Sproat's objection to the doctrine, viz., the word which expresses eternal misery being the same with that used by the angel, who swore by Him who liveth for ever and ever?

"General Lee * died in the second story of a tavern, after a few days' illness, in some degree his own physician and but badly attended, except by two faithful dogs, who frequently attempted in vain to awaken their dead master. They laid themselves 'down by his corpse for a considerable time, so long that it became necessary for new masters to remove them. He lies buried in Christ's Church yard. No stone marks his bed. Indeed, those who saw his open grave can scarcely mark ,the site, as it is continually trodden by persons going into and coming out of church. Behold the honour of the great!" Thus far the Doctor.

I can add but little of my own. I send you some newspapers. The enclosed extracts from records of this State may furnish you with some hints. When you have done with them, return them to

Your friend, Eben. Hazard.

BELKNAP TO HAZARD.

Feb. 7,1783.

My Dear Sir, — Yours of 1st January has relieved my mind of an anxiety respecting a letter I wrote in December, which I was afraid had miscarried. Yours having lain somewhere too long was the occasion- of my apprehension.

You have before now got another of mine on the subject of printing my History, in addition to which I have nothing further to say, but that I have heard that my foreign letters are on their way to Amsterdam; and I have despatched duplicates, so that I am bound in honour not to confine my views to an American edition till I hear from Europe. However, I shall be glad to learn what are the best terms I can have here, and get things in readiness against the proper time.

We have nothing here worthy your notice in the way of news or politics since I wrote last. My family are well, and Mrs. B. desires a particular remembrance.

Your sincere and obliged friend, J. B.

P. S. Your President Dickinson shines in his defence. There are some strokes in it which could come only from a masterly hand.

HAZARD TO BELKNAP.

Philadelphia, February 12,1783.

My Dear Sir, — Though I take a large half-sheet, it is more for the sake of enclosing the papers than because I have time or materials for a long letter; and, indeed, was not yours of the 8th ult. of such a nature as to require an immediate answer, I should postpone it 'til next post. I send you the "Prison Ship." The author of it is now a clerk in my office. He has wrote several other things, such as the Voyage to Boston, Rivington's Reflections, Hugh Gaines's Life, &c. As to peace, I think it more than probable that hostilities have ceased in Europe, and that before spring the quiet of the world will be undisturbed. Your political situation is really curious: I shall be glad to hear how you get out of it. The information from Bennington fully justifies the suspicions which many people have entertained respecting Vermont, and I think will produce serious consequences.

I do think graceless priests the greatest rascals in the world; and nothing shews in a stronger light the importance and necessity of education than the vile tricks with which some of them have played [upon] the ignorant. It appears to me that your conjectures about the population of America may with propriety be prefixed to your History in the manner you propose; that is, merely as congectures. Any person who could find fault with that must be as fond of squabbling as Oswald's writers. As to printing, I would by all means advise you to have nothing to do with it at present If you print now, you must pay the war price for every thing, and you cannot have any prospect of parting with your edition before peace takes place (which must be very soon), so that you will run a great risque of losing not only your time and labour, but money too. For this reason, I think it will be best to wait awhile, and see whether we have peace or not before you begin. I like the idea of printing in numbers, because that by that method you may collect money to pay for part of the work, while the remainder is in hand; and another very material circumstance is that by that means you will avoid the expence of binding, which will be very heavy. From a rough calculation, I think the binding, if well done (i.e. the books lettered and filleted), will amount to near, if not double, the paper and print. Octavo is a good size, but four hundred pages will make it too thick a volume. For this reason, were there no other, I would reject the English letter; but it will make the work look heavy, and, if you will consult the ladies, they will tell you of how much importance a good appearance is. If you divide the profits with a printer, it will be necessary to take a bond from him in a pretty large penalty, conditioned that he shall not print, or suffer to be printed, any more copies than the number you agree for. The reason of this caution is, that the most expensive part of printing is the composing, or setting the types, the cost of which will be as much for one sheet as for ten thousand printed from the same types when once composed. Now, suppose you print in partnership one thousand copies: we will say (for example) the expence of composing is £1,000; of course you must pay £500 of it, or 20s. a copy. The printer pays nominally the same; but, if he prints five hundred copies extraordinary, on his own account, he consequently reduces his expence for composing to 10s. a copy, because he pays no more for composing one thousand than you do for five hundred, and therefore he can undersell you, and get rid of his books, and yours will be left on hand. Now for the questions: —

1. Two dollars would not be too much now, but it would in case of peace, even if the books are bound.

2. Two dollars and a half, bound, ditto, ditto.

3. It would not be unreasonable to expect half the profits for your authorship, the printer finding paperj nor, I think,

4. Two-thirds, you finding paper.

5. Cannot answer as to Aitken.

6. I think an edition of one thousand copies will be enough.

7. Cannot tell the price of land transportation j but, in case of peace, this will be unnecessary, water carriage being safe and much, cheaper.

Now, my dear sir, let me tell you that I am anxious for your reputation, which will be connected with the appearance as well as the contents of the History; and, for this reason, and this only, I do not like the thoughts of its being printed in New England, for I do not recollect that I ever saw a book printed there x which was well done. Bather than yours should be "bitched" (as a man said a tune was, when the clerk made a mistake in setting it), I will make you an offer. Dr. Gordon talks of coming here in the spring: send me your MS. (fit for the press) by him, and I will undertake to get it printed, and will correct the press. You shall have the whole profits of the sales, without being charged any commissions for my trouble, or interest for my money. I shall expect that the expences of paper, printing, and stitching will be repaid out of the earliest sales; and that I may take the liberty of making the edition elegant, if I can do it without extraordinary expence.

I have been so engaged about the History that I have trespassed upon the time allotted to other business, and must abruptly bid you adieu.

Eben. Hazard.