1781-6-

Saturday June 1781

A friend of mine D r Schwedianer has some notion I

understand of putting people in his country to express hither the fossil

Alkali from thence where it can be had cheap, now at a time that

the price of that from Spain which is what we used to have is

enhanced greatly by the war. In this view he is endeavouring to come

at the prices that are given here by the manufacturers who make use of it.

The soap-boilers I understand are the principal: it being better for their

purpose than the vegetable: it makes the soap harder it is said. But

he knows no soapboilers in town; not I neither. Now I happen to recollect

that there is a person of that business who lives either at Chatham or at

Rochester: I believe at Chatham. I forget his name; but I remember well

that by M r Guy's means I hired a horse of him

to wait upon M rs D. M iss Guy and poor M rs Wise the

summer before she died to Coxheath: M rs D. I am

sure remembers it very well. I remember seeing some of his vats when

I called there with M r Guy to talk about the

horse. Now who is it that will go for me and examine and X

examine this honest man, and ask him what he gives for his fossil

alkali (upon the supposition that he uses any) or what it is that people in

general give for nobody wants to pry into the secrets of his particular

dealings) give for it these hard times. It will do him no harm

to