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French had the option several times of fighting: that Hardy virtually offer'd battle, by forbearing
to crowd sail, and by chasing back their frigates when sent forward to watch
him. This Poli had from the Venetian Ambassador & a Marquis Caraccioli who
were on board several ships of the fleet not many days ago. Wilson also heard
to the same effect from a Mr Leycester a Nabob whom he dined with him at
St Paul's on Wednesday & who came that morning from Portsmouth where he
had been on board the fleet & conversed with numbers of the Officers. All the
Officers and men are in the highest spirits, and are satisfied it is impossible the
French ships can stand against our 3 deckers, which have all 8 guns each
in addition to the ordinary compliment of 90, besides carronades on the maintops.
These Governor Johnston spoke slightingly of to Lind when first he saw them,
but has since adopted them. This invention is peculiar to us, and then on board
the Duke there is Sr Ch. Douglas's invention (which he shew'd Sam) for firing any
number of guns at once at the word of command by means of locks. We have likewise now provided
ourselves with a quantity of 3 cornerd canisters used by the French with
great success for tearing rigging to pieces. The French crews consisting chiefly
of landmen will be terribly sea-sick with the surges of the Biscay. This our
people say (and you may imagine from experience) must make a prodigious
difference in our favour.
I find from Lind that my brother's 2d & 3d letters have has been forwarded
to you in due course: one last Saturday, and the other the Saturday before.
I was in hopes to have had them it back to take with me to Mr Davies's. I hope
you were not altogether baulked in the "feast" you expected from them it. There
are now 3 Dutch mails due: the last I hope will bring us another letter.
Sardam my Brother is well aware of, and will make it one of his principal
objects.
"Petri des graces" — "pétri" means "made up of". Pétrir is literally "to make
dough for bread.
I have had the benefit of a horse at Wilson's; I shall have again at Davies's.
I have almost written my eyes out as well as my Paper. They are so much inflamed
that I must give over sooner than I should have done otherwise but I know what will cure them.
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Identifier: | JB/538/382/002 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 538.
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1779-09-23 |
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538 |
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382 |
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002 |
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Correspondence |
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Jeremy Bentham |
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