Hall, Hugh. Letter book : manuscript, 1716-1718. MS Am 1042. Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

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Backt all with Pretentions that he had Recomended Severall who had proved very Dis-Ingenious to their Employers, so that his Re: :comendations were of little Effect; all this I patiently heard, and Answered him with Silence, strictly Adhering to Your Charge of not Petitioning one Favour of him.

As to his Notice of me while at his House, I shall only say in a word, he has tried my Temper a thousand waies, but I thank God, he never once found me Ruffled; which has been a very peculiar {Satisfaction} to my Aunt, who Acquainted me, she had since brought him to an Acknowledgement of my Handsom, & Genteel deportment, & that he thinks I meritt my Character.

Now, from your description I have been very nice in my Obser =vation; from which I do Adventure to say, he is ye send Effigies of Your Prophesy, & I defie ye world more Correctly to Anatomize him both Soul & Body.

I know not how I have Spun my Thoughts to such a length on this Empty Subject, & it is more Amazing, that I am yet able to write a Fresh Comment on ye same Theme, but Yours now Offers it self, & Commands an Answer.

The Bills of Exchange you sent, am thankfull have no Occasi= =on, for, having got ye first set all Accepted, thô Mr Newport kept me in Suspense of Mr Newtons above a Fortnights Notation. I am Glad You sent those Pillar ps:s of Eight, they having lately risen to 5 {shillings} /5 1/4 {pence} for which I sold those few I brought with me; but I cant (by my Arithmetick) make them Surmount fifty nine pounds odd money with You; which is Six pounds Short of Your Charge.

The perticulars For Your self, Mother & my Sisters, shall in a little time Furnish You with, & I hope from ye Sale of ye Citron Water; tho' I must freely Acquaint You, from ye vast Quantity Continually Imported, many sell at Eight shillings a bottle; & others Complain they cant Sell a Single bottle in a Month; — but notwithstanding these Discouragements, I shall use my Utmost Endeavours to get it of, if not for Money, in a way of Barter; In my next its probable I shall be able to give You a better Acct.

I have lately been with Mr Corderoy (Mr L—s secretary who

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who has give me ye Neet proceeds of ye Cocoa You sent for {Charles} use (but which my Unkle {Benjamin} converted to his own, as I find Cre -dited in Mr L—s acct with him) for which I Referr You below. I am promised also a {per}ticular Acct what of ye Citron Water is Sold, what my Unkle made use of, & what Remains, all which my next shall Inform You in.

I find my Unkle {Benjamin} has at last understood You, & Complied wth your former Offers; & also yt he thinks himself Honest above all ye World. I perceive by my Aunt she is Six Guineas in advance for Charles his maintenance, & that Mr L...s has not Received any thing from any of those You mention. — — I am persuaded it is now high time to draw to a Conclusion, which is, that I think my self very happy in Endeavouring in ye highest Degree to Answer the Character I now Assume of being

Your Dutifull Son

Hugh Hall

To Hugh Hall {Esquire} {Merchant} in Barbados }

London July 16th. 1717

Sir

It is now again my good Fortune to be Excluded the Stride of Colossus, & no Longer to be in danger of Submarine Moun= :tains, where ye Eccho's of ye Ominous Pitteril Resound, & ye Carbosants are Capering most high before poor Mortalls tost from Pillow to Post, Cooing out their Fearful Apprehensions of an Elementary Change.

But not to sate You with an Allegorical Harangue, or Squibs of Fancy, which are generally ye Crackings of a Supercilious Witt, & the Amusements Young Travellers Regale their Acquaintance wth to be deemed great Proficients in Politeness.

To be plain then I am at length Dismiss'd the Confines of a Wooden World, & freed the Fatigues ye Subjects of Neptune Un=dergo; by a sure footing in that part of Terra firma commonly called London; & distinguished by most as ye Control of Trade, & Me=t ro

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Metropolis of ye Known World; but I think in stricter Pro: :prioty ye Christian Babel; for Noise and Nonsense reign Ala: :moda (here) the first Regular Step to to Wisdom is to Comence a Courtier.

Upon my first Arrival here, I address'd my Friends, who Caress'd me in the most Affectionate Manner; but to my great Surprise, had scarce Dined or Supp'd with any of them, but out came a Harangue upon ye Whiggs or Tories, ye former Painting ye Latter with a Compound of Jewism, Mahometanism, & Infidelity, & just a Shade of Christianity; the other as Char :itably disposed to ye Former, asserting they were hatch't by the Crafty Inovations of Lucifer, ye Pope & Daniel DeFoe.

Now you must Observe ye least Syntax in between Whigg & Tory Woemen, who without Rhime or Reason will Rail in ye highest Invectives, & tho' both are Ignorant of ye Principles of either Party (as I frequently have found) yet they will lash one Another with ye most Cutting Sarcasms till their Ill nature is nigh Exhausted, then turning upon their Heels (neither of them Converted) wonder at the Incorrigible Obstinancy of each other. In those fiery Contests I have often been Moderator, & to the best of my judgement have always decided their Polemicks in ye highest favours to both Parties, yet after all my Reasoning ye Whigg avers it morally Impossible for the other to Escape ye Chronicle of Rebells to all succeding Generations; & his Antagonist lays these two last years, down as ye Epocha of ye Infidel World.

Now those unhappy differences I have at last found are not so much from a Principle of Conscience, as from their Distinc: :tions in Drapery; for the Tailors Choice of a Colour, well Ap: :proved of by those of his own a Kidney, is Sufficient to doom ye Person it is Chosen for, not only a Man of Sound sense, & Distinction but of true Religion.

Another Remark I have made is that ye Female Furies of both Parties have lately made great Proficiencey in the two Liberal Sciences of Astronomy & Geomiotry & their Problems are

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are Exactly Adapted to their Distinctions. The Tories of ye first Rank place their Patches in Parabolick, others Elliptick, & the Adorers of Ptolomey in Circular Orbs, & meaner Sort offer at ye Constellations, which very oppositely Answers their Character of high flyers - The Whiggish or Low Church Ladies have such Profound Knowledge in Geometry that all ye Diagrams in Euclid are Exactly delineated in their faces, & they can as easily describe an Octadrum in a given Cube, or acquaint you the Pro: portion ye Cone has to ye Cylinder of ye same Base & height; as to bisect a Right line, or raise a Perpendicular.

I Intended now further to Amuse You with several very plea= sant observations I have made on ye Town Beau's; then to have descanted on ye Customs & Constitutions of ye Any-thingarians of this Age; & after a Sketch of news, to have Closed all wth a Generous Proposal for setling a good Correspondence with you in Merchantile Affairs. But I shall Wave all, till you oblige me with a Sconce of your Revolutions, since I left ye Place, how at present your King & Parliament agree, & who of the Younkers of our Station stand fairest for Advancement; which Favours are high Instances of that Friendship You always Express'd to

Dear Sir

Your most Devoted, Humble Servant

{Hugh} Hall {Junior}

To Mr Bonning Wentworth {Merchant} In Boston }

London July 16th 1717

Sir

It is now some Considerable time, since I left Your place, so I assume you have had Intimations not only of my Welfare at Barbados, but of ye Course or Profesion of life I have now Entred into, & ye Reasons of my Complyance therewth; as also of my late Arrival in London, & ye views I am prosecuting here. - I am very Sensible of ye Surprise this Occasion

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And that since there was so long an Interval of Strangeness, I should at length Address You is what You are Giving for a Reason of; scarce thinking I am Master of so much good Nature as to Race out all Resentment.

I perceive my Grandmother is very Uneasy at the Intricacies ye Estate is Involved, in, so that it is my Resolutions now its in my own power, very Speedily to take up ye Execution, & put it in good Repair; In ye Interim, desire you would Quarterly (according to Your former Promises) discharge Your Rent to my Grandmother, & her Re= =ceipt shall Acquit You of my Demands.

I should not so pressingly have Urged Your Payment to her, was not her dependance so much upon ye Honesty & Integrity of her Tenants, whom You know were apt (before I came away) to Close with all Evasives; & ready to Disanul the Articles of their Contract, by the Specious Pretence of my making a Second demand; thô at ye same time, it is what my Principles never dictated, nor if they had, is it Justifiable by Law, & so Consequently Impracticable. – I shall Add nothing further than to Assure You, your Compliance with these my Desires will be a very particular Satisfaction to him, who is in all due Regards,

Your most Devoted Humble {Servant}

{Hugh} Hall {Junior}

To Mr. G. Brownel In Boston }

London July 16th 1717

Sir

It has been my Misfortune to be disappointed ye Opportunity I promised my self (from Your kind Invitation) of ta= =king a Glass with You before Your departure, by Your sudden Start for Ireland, which has not only deprived me of so Unexpected a Favour, but rendered me Incapable of Improving ye Propitious hints You gave of Settling a future Correspondence.

I perceive Mr. Allen has Informed You what Views I am Prosecu= =ting, in Relation to Guinea Consignments, & what Rational Assu=