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I had an exceeding good passage to the Lemmer.
It was but between 5 & 6 the next morning when I
we got there. I met in the vessel with an officer in
the dutch service and a young Phisician who both spoke
french. They were going to Groeningen too, and they found
a carriage with 4 horses who were returning there. We
3 engaged it for 3 gelders 5 Stivers a piece. We had a
pleasant journey but though we set out at 8 o'Clock we
could not get to we were obliged to stop that night at
a small village about 6 miles from Groeningen.
We went on again the next morning Saturday and got in
by 8 o Clock. Here I staid all Saturday understanding
that at 8 o Clock the next morning the Treksciut would
set off for Nieuschantz where I should find the Post Waggon.
The greatest part of the morning I spent in combing out
my hair that I might be more comfortable in the
dismal journey which every body seemed to tell me I
was going to take. In the afternoon I walked about
the Town and wrote a little. This place is at present
so unhealthy that the deaths here have been for these
2 or 3 months past in proportion of 3 to 1 to what
they used to be. All the account I could get of the
sickness which rages is that it is a fever. It was
Kermes time here also and among the booths were
2 or 3 filled with elegant toys & trinkets chiefly of
english manufacture. I saw a new premum mobile
here applied to a small carriage which a boy of
about 12 years old was driving about. It was an old he-
goat and the animal appeared very tractable. Nobody
seemed to regard it as anything extraordinary and upon
enquiry I found it was not an uncommon amusement.
The Bourgois here mount guard as well as the soldiers
but do not do the duty of Centinels. They are divided
into 18 Companies who relieve each other, each consisting
of 100 men. I saw them relieve guard but never did
a ragged regiment at the Westminster Play act so
miserable a figure some could scarcely crawl
and their number instead of 100 did not consist of
above thirty owing to the present sickness.
I dined at the inn in company with 4 or 5 men to
whom I did not attempt to speak & a word as I had
no expectation of making myself understood.
one I had of them however attracted my attention
as having little or no use of one of his eyes and
a curl to his wig which seemed to give him the
appearance of one more cunning than honest.
It is necessary I should tell you that I had my light
blue coat on which has mother-of-pearl buttons to it.
In the evening the when I was writing the waiter who
could speak a little french brought me a message from
this man in whose company I had dined, beginning
with apologies but asking if I had a spare button of
the sort of those on my coat, as he was excedingly pleased
with the pattern. The opinion I had formed of the man
prevented my at first being disposed to attend to his
message so I answered at first with a plain negative,
however thinking afterwards that the man would not
eat me and as I was aware of what I thought his
disposition I might as well be a little more civil.
I called back the waiter and told him that if the
gentleman would take the trouble to come to me I might
perhaps put him in a way of procuring such buttons
though I had no spare one for a pattern.
in a few minutes in comes my gentleman and
when he perceived I talked Engli was an English
man he began talking english to me, and made
such kind of apologies for the liberty he had taken
as altered my opinion of him much for the better.
I made him a drawing of the button but told him at the
same time there were some much handsomer and that
I had some myself. He then described to me some which
he had himself with stones in them. Now I thought
him a Tayor or a button Merchant. He let drop
that he lived at Embden and after having got his
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Identifier: | JB/538/391/001"JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 538. |
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1779-10-12 |
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538 |
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391 |
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001 |
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Correspondence |
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Samuel Bentham |
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