Dear Sir.

From Daniel Horsmanden.

N. YORK Novemb the 11th 1734.

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You are happy who live in Retirem & I'm glad of it Resentmts are carryed to that Length here that all Charity & Humanity are laid aside! I have within these few days felt Another Instance of the Severity of party Rage in Print by a Book said to be printed at Boston wherein are contained V: Dam's Articles of Complaint The Councils Lre to the D. of Newcastle & Remarks & Observations by way of Reply whereby Reference is made to an Affidavit of my very good Friend Confidant & Trustee Rich Ashfield To prove the Arcle relating to my being in Necessitous Circumstances, Which Affidavit as I have Since been informed was made & sent home with those Arcles this time 12 month, tho it has been a Secret to me & my friends til the appearance of this Extraordinary formance wch has been disperssed with great Industry. The fidiousness of so base an Action the Deponent himself has been so Conscious of as possitively to Deny the fact to my Friend Capt Long, tho' I am confidently Assured fm good hands, that tis true: & what swades me of the Reality of it is; Tht 2 days before the publication of this famous #formance I reced a Lre fm Ashfield, Threatning me That if I did not pay the money he was Trustee for within 24 hours he wo proceed to the Sale of my Books Goods & cwch I had Convey'd to him for the Security of: To informe you by what means this Debt arose wod be a Story too long for a Lre tho' but one Instance of those many Severe Strokes of fortune wch I have Laboured under but in short all the money which remain'd in my power I had ordered into the hands of 2 Brothers Tobacco mercht in England Between 4 & 500£ And this money being p according to Order Abot this time 2 year I drew for between 3 & 400£ But as my Ill Stars wod have it, They failed before my Bills come to England & they were all protested, For securing whereof I was put under the

necessity before hinted: But this is not the only Calamity I Labour under for the inveterate Malice of my Voluntary Enimys here, as I'm Inform'd take indefatigable pains in Tradeing & Villifying my Character in marking me out as a son unsafe to Converse with, as if I were a Spy & a Betrayer of Confidence (of wch Mr Mathews may informe you more) in order to bring me upon a Level wth ymselves

This Scandalous & Villainous Treatmt has made the Gov' Senceible, that I have not been, the son he Suspected me to be from those good Offices I have endeavoured to do to these who are become my proposed Enimys, And has therefore Engagd himself to pay a consble part of the Debt And has in the most Solemn manner Assured my frd whom I prevaild with to Sollicit this matter with him. That whatever Lands I can get Intelligence of woh may be for my pose likely to Sell & raise money upon he will Grant them to me if tis 6 8 or 10,000£ I am Bsuaded of your Friendship & good Inclination & Intention to Serve me. Yourself & Mr Mathews are the only Fd weh I can hope for any Service of this kind from. I am sencible That whatever you may be so good as to Comunicate in Psuance of this Request may probably be what he & you might most reasonably have design'd to have found Some Account in yourselves woh by applying to my urgent occasions you may so far preclude yourselves of y Benifit Nevertheless if you Shod be so generous & friendly to Serve me in this Instant I hope you are

suaded of my Disposition, tho' f A Short acquaintance, not to be ungratefull, but that I shall hereafter evince my Sincerity, in making all the Returnes that may be in my power to Show That I am unfeignedly

to apprehend but upon cons" you may unfold the mistery

My hble Service to M" Colden & all the Good Family.

Mr Mathews Spent the Evening with me last Night, when we cod not fail to remember yourself, & family in Our Cups; he told me he had an Opportunity of writing to you, by a Safe hand, who was to Sett out abot noon, accordingly I wrote a Lre of Grievancey wch as I delivered to his Sister, as I was hurrying to Council, She told me her Brother had this morning reced Lres fm you & one enclosed for me, woh he had in his pocket: & at my Returne, I accordingly reced it: this furnishes me with further occasion of Setting pen to paper not only in answer to yours, but to observe something wch for want of time in the morning I was Obliged to omit: I am glad to hear that our worthy friend Mr Perry is well, But am exceedingly Surprized, That he has not your Lre wch Inclosed in 2 pacquets I sent by way of Boston in Janry (ie a Duplicate in one) The Surveyor Gen1 Mr Peagrum actually recvd them, & Dispatcht 'em from thence in 2 Ships what almost Confirms me in my fears, is the not having one word of Intelligence of them from Mr Perry Mr Watts or one Line from His Grace by the Ships lately arriv'd; nor with respect to my 3 Lres to Watts sent by Ships from hence that Sailed in June, July & Augt in every one of wch I gave Mr Watts Suff hints of the Scheme

& the Signification desired preparotory to the Communicating the Same; All my hopes remain in Smith who is not yet arriv'd, by whom I wrote more ticularly, & gave the pacquet into his own hands, woh he promised to Deliver himself for Mr Watts at the Sun fire Coffee house woh is near his Walks, by the Exchange: If I don't hear by him I shall imagine The Devil himself has been engag'd for the Disappointm*: The postscript of yours gave me great Consolation as to the Value of the Land Collins is Surveying (as I hope) but not a word fTM him.

You pretty well know my Sentiments, as to y Equivalent that the Ld are not worth my Clyents Strugling for; But if they differ in opinion & sist; I do think your Grant must for many Reasons be destroyed, & that it might & probably woa be Defeated; if the English Grant was out of the Case, and tho' (as some use the phrase) I am paid for thinking I think I must Declare so, if I were not: my Reasons at present must be to myself but hereafter Phaps you may have 'em at large; I know of no Decrees before hand nor wod I: you will know them soon enough before they are put in Execution; If they shod Decline at home Your associates may Phaps be easie for some time.

In the morning, I gave you Some Specimens, with respect to party Rage by woh I am a consble sufferer & with Respect to my Circumstances Unless providence is pleas'd to throw Some unforeseen assistance in my way to enable me to get entirely out of their clutches, I can expect nothing humane fm them; I shall ever Remember your kind proposall at Our parting with respect to the 6000 Collins has the Survey for But in my present Anguish of mind I did in the morning entreat your further kind assistance weh may in strictness be thought bearing too hard upon your good Nature: But if you Should think so I yet flatter myself from your Fdship & Candour that you will excuse it from the urgency of my Affairs at this Juncture: As to any thing further of News nothing occurs to me at present in this Distraction of thought: But that there is little (or I may say no) Hopes of Old Morris's being Restored Therefore nothing remains for

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him but to doe what Little Mischief more may be in his

I am now quite out of all hopes as well as patience. For The Beaver is arriv'd & not one Line from my Friend Watts Mr Perry or his Grace. It is very Strange & Surprizing being fully suaded That had they reced any of my Leres either those sent in Janry via Boston or the Several Lres I wrote this Summer I should have had answers fm some of them: Tom. Smith assures me he delivd my Pacquet I intrusted him with for Mr Watts at the Sun Fire Insurance Office of wch he is a Director & suant to his own Orders were to be left there, tho' Smith indeed Did not See him Sure it is next to impossible, that they should be Intercepted in England; tis beyond my apprehention to conceive what should be the meaning of this! If you can any ways account for it I beg you will Communicate your thoughts abot it: There is a Ship Sails to morrow & I will make one attempt more by giving Sufft hints necessary for the pose: I shod be glad to know if you have reced any Lres concerning those matters by the Beaver, Phaps you have been wrote to and that maybe Sufficient, wch I wish may be the Case