his superior in many respects. I hope this will find Mrs. Hazard on the recovery: please to give Mrs. B.'s respects and mine to her. I hope I may see her, and kiss your little image. Adieu, my dear sir, and believe me your devoted friend, Jere. Belknap.

Pray is not Murray in Philadelphia? and what estimation is he in?

What will be the difference in the expence between the original 400 pages and the additional ones which are necessary to complete the Appendix?

HAZARD TO BELKNAP.

Philadelphia, July 5,1784.

Dear Sir, — Having received no letter from you by last post, I have only to enclose you another sheet of the Appendix, which has deceived us a second time. The variety of writing it contains renders it impossible to form any thing like an accurate calculation; and, notwithstanding the allowances we have made, we find there will be two sheets after this now sent, for part of which more paper will be wanted. You see we shall considerably exceed 400 pages, but I hope your profit will not be lessened by it, as we shall charge non-subscribers a higher price.

If you have any subscription money on hand, I wish you could contrive to send it on, as Mr. A. is very much pressed in consequence of heavy losses, by the Bible and otherwise. It will not be long now before the book will be ready for subscribers, and then we shall doubtless have large receipts of cash; but it has taken so much more time to print it than was at first thought to be necessary, and he has consequently been obliged to advance so much more money to journeymen, that he will be much straitened by that time, unless we can contrive to help him.

The new paper, called the American Herald, has already sickened its proprietors, who have concluded to discontinue it, though only five numbers have been published.

We have had a very capital bankruptcy here: one Sluyter, a Dutchman of no property, found means to get credit to a very large amount, and has failed (some say for £160,000) to the ruin of several others. I expect this is only the beginning of sorrows, and that this week will reveal more distressing secrets.

Respects to Mrs. B. Josey is well: so is the family of Your friend, Eben. Hazard.

HAZARD TO BELKNAP.

Philadelphia, July 10,1784.

Dear Sir, — By last post I told you I had received no letter from you by the preceding; but I recollect I was mistaken, owing to yours of June 19, from Boston, coming by the Tuesday's instead of the Saturday's post. I am sorry to find that our friend Aitken's edition of Blair does not sell well. It is curious to hear the opinions of people about literary performances. Interest sways the judgment in this as in other cases: we can expect candour only from the unbiassed. Mr. Haslett# very probably dislikes Blair because he is a Christian, which I am told H. is not. He informed you truly when he said he did not know me; and if by knowing is meant any thing more than being able to distinguish my external form from that of any other man, or being acquainted with my character (as I know him), he probably never will know me: for I can have no pleasure or satisfaction in the company of a man who wishes to deprive me of my only foundation of hope for eternity. I have been informed, and that by his friends, that he is a Socinian. He came to this city about a year ago, and was advised by a friend who knew his principles to teach a school; but the man's zeal for abusing our common Saviour was so great that he would preach. He was supported by a few, who liked the plan well enough; but at length found that denying the divinity of Christ was a very expensive article of faith (if you will allow the expression), and left the anti-christian in the lurch. He then proposed keeping a school, and requested permission to use the name of the gentleman whose advice upon this head was formerly rejected. Permission was given, but the gentleman told him it was now too late: had he taught a school at first, he would have succeeded in getting a decent living; but he had publicly disseminated his principles, which the generality of people here held in abhorrence, and very few, if any, parents would commit their children to his care. This information I had from the gentleman who gave him the advice. Since that I have heard nothing of Haslett but what your letter contains.

Democracy operates at Boston just as it does in other places: it would be a good form of government, could virtue be preserved immaculate, and property be always equally distributed; but in our present circumstances it is monstrum horrendurn, informe, ingens, and would make sad havoc amongst us, was it not controlled by the sovereign power of the Universal Monarch.

This day yours of June 28th came to hand, with a table of errata: it gave me great pleasure to find that so few, and those so trifling, had escaped. We were at a loss for the table; for, though you had pointed out some errors, we supposed we were not informed of all. To print a partial table would not do, and we could not keep the workmen . waiting and the press idle for a few more when the last sheet was composed: we therefore concluded to go on without it, and, should any thing material be amiss, to print a table separately and paste it in the book. We were proceeding upon this plan, and had got about half through the printing of the last sheet, when your letter arrived. I immediately carried it to Mr. A., who directed it to be composed, and the printing stopped till it was done. It will be inserted in the unfinished ones, but not in the others, as it is not worth while to print a table for the others only: they will therefore appear according to the modern fashion, without any table of errata at all. Those with tables we shall send to the eastward, where the errors will be most likely to be discovered: the rest to places where nobody will know but Gorton and Penhallon are right, and will care little about either. The remark about the cake could not be inserted without spoiling the appearance of the page; and as it only tends to prove that the Indians exercise "savage cruelties" (which everybody knows), and contains something extremely shocking, I have taken the liberty of omitting it, which I hope you will not disapprove of on reflection. I have but this moment discovered that what Mr. A. and I both read a cake is a babe: it is well we did not print it, for, if we had, a second table of errata would be wanted; and perhaps it might occasion a second edition of "The Art of Printing Incorrectly," with additions! I dislike the last sheet of your Appendix, because it contains some trifling things, such as Hogkins's Letters and Hutchins's Petition; but we could not help inserting them, as we had got beyond the dates of more important papers, and had nothing else to fill a vacancy in the sheet.

You have taken one step towards fixing upon a time when we may hope to see you here, which I consider as a good omen. Least I should forget it hereafter, I tell you now that I live in Arch Street, between 4th and 5th streets, and nearly opposite the Church Burial-ground Gate.

I send with this the remainder of the Appendix, and the original MSS. which you desired might be returned. Having done with printing, we are now going to binding, and shall take the earliest opportunity of forwarding your books.

Our little boy is very unwell: I fear dangerously so; and his mother is not a little deranged by her anxiety on his account. Remember me to Mrs. Belknap.

I am, dear sir, yours very sincerely,

Ebek. Hazard.

BELKNAP TO HAZARD.

[dover, May 19, 1783].*

Do you ever see the N. Hampshire paper? In that of May 10th there is an Address, &c, which is part of a sermon which I preached to my people, exciting them to attend to the Constitution. Some gentlemen at Portsmouth heard of it, and would have it printed. If I can get one of the papers before I close my letter, I will send it. It had a good effect here, and we got 108 votes in consequence of it; whereas, at a former meeting, we could get but 25.f

The Metropolitan never gave me any account of the letters you mention; but you said something about them, and I should be glad to know what they are, but am not eager to pry.

I wish Congress would take up the affair of literary property, and recommend to the States the enacting of