| Description | (Directed to 6 Green Lettice Lane. On the same sheet are a few memoranda by M. R. Boulton concerning medals.)
Dear Father,
Your account of your ill state of health afflicts us much; I have long apprehended that your hurry and anxiety of mind would be productive of disagreable consequences to your health, and, thinking that perhaps Mr. Brown might afford you some assistance—if merely that of putting your thoughts in writing—I advised his going to town, as, indeed, his presence here could not be very material; but I was very sorry the step has not met with your concurrence. The rectitude of the intention must plead our excuse.
The inventory shall be taken so soon as the remaining 5 ton are struck.
With regard to the fitting up of the presses and alterations of the flys, the following resolutions were agreed upon by the Coining Committee: "That as you remark pieces so small as 144 would be better struck by other machines, and as the alteration of the flys for smaller ones would be both very expensive and require much time, whether it might not be advisable to try an experiment upon the form of curves, and so, by changing their curviture, make the press go through a smaller angle." In this case the present flys, without the balls, would be able to go from 60 to 70 per minute. By this means there would be no other alteration necessary except the layer-in, which would not be very material. In case of a future order we shall want a new millwright; James Walker is gone, and the new millwright from Wednesbury we were obliged to turn away. There were too many suspicious circumstances in his behavior for one to place any confidence in him. He forced open the door leading from the engine to Mint, to gain access to the presses, and there was found in his possession several specimens of the different money after that he had solemnly declared that he never had taken one, even through curiosity. These circumstances I thought sufficient to justify our conduct.
You mention in your letters that you still intend to continue the medals. It will therefore be necessary to procure a bronzer, for my applications here have met with no success. The gilding will also be much behind hand: Nelson promises to gild only few, and, indeed, with respect to quantity, he keeps his promise. The dies and the actual coining we could very well effect. There should be also some further explanation respecting the price, for Monnerons, in their letter of 19th March, speak of 10s. piece—now this cannot surely be 10 sols of France, which according to the exchanger is only 3 pence English; at this price there certainly cannot be any considerable profit. But this circumstance you may perhaps better illustrate.
There is at present nothing further, which I can recollect, necessary to mention to you. We all sincerly wish you better health, but none more so than your dutiful son,
Mattw. R. Boulton
[Memoranda by M. R. Boulton:]
d.
Medals Pact federati 14 gilt
Bronzed 3
Copper about double price of the money.
Gilt Serment du Roy 10d.
R
[Edited transcript.]
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