Dear Sir

Moses has done about 45 arms & 12 tombs & views in your & my books.¹ I mean to have many more; but will not suffer him to proceed in yours till I hear farther from you. it is also his request to know whether you would chuse a Large paper copy of the journey to London. they being his perquisite. He has made many additions to the first volume of my welsh Tour, & wishes to know whether it would be agreable to you to have them done so that you may paste them on the margin of your copy. I have only to receive your commands & they shall be immediately executed.

We hear the distant roll of political thunder: without any great hopes of being bettered: & we are happily in too low a situation to be hurt by it. I dread the bolt which may fall on our northern coast; & which I fear can scarcely be prevented as we are so out-fleeted.²

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Editorial notes

a. Mention in this letter of extra-illustrating The journey from Chester to London and A tour in Wales 1770 [1773] (1778) can be placed alongside references in nos. 1015, 1016, 1018 and 1026 (dated between 29 January 1782 and 6 July 1783). This suggests a date during either 1782 or 1783 (but cf. 1034, n. 3).

1. The fact that illustrations of both arms and tombs are a feature of Pennant's extra-illustrated A tour in Wales makes it likely that he is referring here to work carried out on his own and Bull's copies of this tour.
2. Fears about the vulnerability of the British coast were common during the years of the American War of Independence. See, for example, Leeds Intelligencer, 17 September 1782, which reports that 'Russia has offered Great Britain her whole naval force, if an invasion should be attempted by her enemies during the absence of her fleets.' The 'political thunder' to which Pennant refers may relate to early negotiations for peace between Britain and the United States of America, begun at Paris in April 1782 but not concluded until 3 September 1783.
3. A round stamp is incomplete and illegible.
4. In Pennant's hand, in ink.

i. Top of first page, in pencil.
ii. The question mark is possibly in ink.