| Description | (Directed to the Hotel de Chaulnes, rue d'Enfer.)
My dear Son,
I have been uneasy for this week past at receiving no letter from you of a long time, but I was reliev'd in a certain degree upon my arival in town yesterday in finding at the Albion Mill a packet from you containing your Cash Account with your letter of the 30th of December.
Be assured, Matt, I never had any doubts of your truth, your integrity, or your honour, but I had doubts about your exactitude in keeping your Cash Account; however, you have now dispell'd them, which was right and proper for you to do and me to require. I have not yet looked over the particular bills, so that I have no remarks to make at present. My principal reason for requireing you to keep an accurate Cash Account is that you may acquire a habit that you will hereafter find to be a very important one-a habit that may (in its consequences) be the source of all the difference between a rich man and a bankrupt-a habit that either entitles a man to be intrusted with the disposition of money or disqualifys him from it, according to his observance of it.
I was summoned to attend the Lords of our Privy Council on the 8th instant, but I was prevented by Dr. Withering from risking my health; however, I am now pretty well and, with your sister, arived in town yesterday. I attended the Lords this morning and settled the leading points of the business I came upon to mutual satisfaction. I shall probably stay in town a fortnight longer and hope to hear from you oftener, as letters in general are not more than four days in coming from Paris.
I am ashamed I have not wrote to Mr. Manuel since I receiv'd the account he sent me of one quarter's expences. I beg he will not wait for any order from me to receive the money, but pray desire Mr. De Lessert to pay it to him. My late indisposition and the abscence of Mr. Watt (who is yet in Scotland) hath caused my letters and other business to accumelate so much that I have not had it in my power to be punctual; nevertheless, I will endeavour to write Mr. Manuel by the next post, and in the intrem I beg you present my compliments and excuses to him.
In respect to which of us is right or wrong, I assure you I did not mean to quibble with you about words or grammer; I only wish to put you upon your guard against writing carlessly, nothing being so disgracefull to a young man of education as incorrectness in writing.
Pray go to Mr. Droz and tell him that Belesarius never beg'd so hard for a halfpeny as I do, and write me by the return of the post when I may expect to receive one. I have written to him by this post, but he may perhaps be too busy to answer, and therefore I beg you would write.
I hope you wear an under wastcoat this cold weather to guard against the effects of cold, otherwise I am sure you will take cold in coming out of the playhouse or other warm rooms. Pray tell me if you have receiv'd the books I sent by Toney, and write to me without fail every week, it being now nea[rly] three weeks since the date of that I receiv'd yesterd[ay]. It would also afford me some pleasure to hear [what] branches of science you are persuing.
Present my respects to Mr. Guyot, and tell him Dr. Priestly [Priestley] and our Lunar Society find that Monsieur Le Voicier and other chymists are mistaken who have fancied that they made water by the deflagration of inflamable and dephlogisticated air. They have not; but they have thereby seperated the water that was combined with the two airs; for those airs being so made as to prevent all union of water with them will not yield any water upon explosion, but an acid is produced-which opens a new field, but which I must forbear to mention at present. I intended sending you a little book wrote upon phlogiston by Mr. Kirwin, but I forgot it when Toney call'd.
I beg you will present my best respects and thanks to Mr. and Mrs. De Lessert, also to Mademoiselle and the young gentlemen. Your sister is at Mr. Vere's, but desired I would send her love to you. Adieu, my dear Matt. I am your ever affectionate father,
M. Boulton
[Edited transcript.][Priestley] |