Passing by without further circumstantiality the matters of business, I ought, nevertheless, to notice that I narrowly escaped a tough lawsuit with the Albany Land Company, owing to the double dealing of John Waft, and it required some dexterity to get the matter amicably settled—in the end, however, settled it was; and by the time Mr. Hoskins was able to stir about again, the construction of the buildings for manufacturing the salt was actively undertaking. In the mean time the bailie had disappeared; he was never seen at Judiville from the day of our return from the lake; and it was reported, that in the expedition he had caught a severe cold, which made it doubtful if he would be able to weather the winter. It was on the day of Mr. Herbert's funeral that I first heard of his illness; but thinking it was only a cold by which he was affected, I paid no particular attention to the news.

When my tribulations began to subside, after the establishment of my brother in the bank, and I had leisure again to look about me, I missed the bodie, and heard with unfeigned concern that he was still far from being well. In fact, I never had thought there was much more the matter with him than shame for the way he had acted in the disposal of his discovery of the spring; and as the question respecting it between me and the company was adjusted, my wrath did not burn against him always, so that I would have been glad to have seen him on the old free terms of banter, give and take, in which we had so long lived.