Chessington, October 1780

Chesington Thursday Morning [21 September 1780]. Your clever, goodhumour’d, comical letter demands my acknowledgment — & tho’ I have but a short time allowed me to write, & shall see you next Saturday, I must scratch away something, as you don’t seem to grudge postage, & encourage me to write to you — ‘Thank you for liking me’ — To tell you the truth I should have sent you 3 pages of joyful exclamations the moment dear Jemm’s ¹ Letter was received by us, ² had I not been repressed by consideration for your Pin Money, w^ch I thought might possibly run short — Charming excellent News it is indeed! — The sight of his hand made us half mad with Joy after so long & alarming a suspence as we had undergone — & his letter has here given the utmost satisfaction — My dear Father is inclined to forgive him for not having written before in behalf of the Captain’s having desired that he would not ³ — so tho’ between you & I and the Post, as our friend Kitterina ⁴ says, I think he moight have wrote before, I think we may as well take his excuses in part, & represent them in the most favourable light to the world at large. — We are here in great hopes of seeing him to day or tomorrow! — Surely surely they cannot be much longer on their passage from the Orkneys. ⁵ —