Philip Doddridge, Northampton, to [David] Wilson, at Mr. Balfour’s, Bookseller, Edinburgh, 5 May 1747.

Northampton May 5. 1747

Dear Sir

         I will make no Apology to you for double passage not certainly knowing but Sir Harry Monro might be out of Town or by some accident delay the packet among so many as I am obliged to send by his Hand. You see I have verified your Proposals I have taken great Liberties with them but they are such as I judged absolutely necessary. You will easily perceive ye Importance of some of these Corrections especially that of the Second paragraph wch [?] being Grammar it being printed whose Esteem instead of ^his^ [?] wch might here in England especially prejudice ye Design. You’ll please therefore to call on as many as possible of the proposals already published & to give out new ones according to ye manner of those I here send. You will observe that in the last page the two clauses of the Second Section marked ‡ are o be transposed. You will not [?] hope to get new proposals delivered according to this corrected copy before ye General Assembly breaks up & additional Expence is a Trifle in a Case like this.

         I have been at work several Hours since I recd yours in the morning & Commentary on Peter. In 100 pages I have noted more than [?] Errors many of wch [?] or great confound ye Senses I will send you quickly a sheet of these corrections but if I could find any certain way of conveying my Copy to you I should accomplish my Design wh greater Ease. You’ll examine these very exactly & correct yours by them & will let me know whether they are really useful to you. As for what you propose of marking the [Scoticisms?] it is impossible I shd do that without an accurate Review of the whole. I think it ye most incorrect Book I ever saw but find in its excellent Contents an equivalent for ye Time I spend upon it. Pray let me know in your next when you would begin to print off & how fast you expect to go on that I may, if on the whole you judge it necessary to use my Assistance in this Affair, how to adjust the Quantity to be prepared before our Vacation when I shall propose a Journey as usual.

         I wrote to you in a great hurry. I beg that you wd [?] by Complimt to Lady T. Gardiner whom I congratulate on her Recovery to such a Degree as Health & earnestly pray it may be perfected. Please also to [?] on Mrs Kennedy in Cannon Gate & enquire whether my immediate anr to ye Favour of her Letter was received & also on ye Earl of Leven wh my Complimts wh Inquiring after his Lordship’s Health – that of ye Countess & ye Family. Excuse my Troubling you thus I spend some of ye Time I shd spend in writing to these Friends in [?] your Services Mr Robertson [?] his Services

                     I am

                                 Dear Sir

                                             your faithful humble Servt

                                                         P. Doddridge

I wd advise you to add ye Names of some London Booksellers & likewise one at each of our Universities if you have any correspondents there. Get proposals sent to New England & …

Please do tell Mr Balfour wh my Complimts that if he thinks the Publication of a ^4th Edit. of ^ Col. Gardiner’s Sermon in ye Form that may fit the Memoirs before ye Assembly breaks up will be of any Service that has my consent to it provided none be sent into England.

Address: To Mr Wilson | at Mr Balfours Bookseller | in Edinburgh | North [?]

Postmark: 6 MA

Text: Literary and Historical Manuscripts, Philip Doddridge Letters, MA 22760, The Morgan Library, New York.  The above letter is not mentioned in Geoffrey Nuttall's Calendar of the Correspondence of Philip Doddridge (1977) or Nuttall's Philip Doddridge: Additional Letters (2001).