Adams Papers Digital Edition

Adams Family Correspondence, volume 4

Abigail Adams to Hugh Hill

John Thaxter to John Adams
Hugh Hill to Abigail Adams, 16 April 1782 Hill, Hugh AA Hugh Hill to Abigail Adams, 16 April 1782 Hill, Hugh Adams, Abigail
Hugh Hill to Abigail Adams
Madam April the 16th. 1782

Yours I reseved this morning and I asner you madam that twenty five Guines is the Costomry Pasage that is payd too or from uerap I apeled to Captn. Dixey that Comanded a ship of Mr. Treaseys in bilbao wher I was: You will ples to Draw me a set of bils at the present Discount Which is fiften pr cent and fored them to Captn. Job Prince: four Sets1 the Som is thirty Nin pounds at ten Dayes Sight2 now mor at present from your very homble Sert

Hugh Hill

My regards to Charls.

RC (Adams Papers); addressed: “Mrs. Adams in Branetree” (or “Branstree”); enclosed in AA to JA, 25 April, below. Text is printed in literal style.

1.

Thus in MS; the meaning is not clear.

 2.

In his letter of 10 April, above, Hill stated that the charge for CA's passage was £35. Now, contradicting himself, he accepts AA's information as given in the preceding letter that the usual fare is 25 guineas, and asks that amount. But he then further confuses matters by saying that if payment is to be made in bills of exchange, they will be discounted by 15 percent, and therefore AA should pay him £39. Neither £35 nor 25 guineas plus 15 percent add up to £39. A possible or at least partial explanation may be found below in AA's letter to JA, 25 April (in which the present letters were enclosed); see note 3 there.