University of Virginia Library

CLXVI. George Thorpe. A Letter to Mr. John Ferrar
May 15, 1621

Sr I thanke you for your kinde letters and doe wth all my hart wishe that
the succese of your busines here were answerable to your vertuous entend-
mement and great cost and doe hope yt god will soe blesse or future labors
as to make them answerable to your good beginninges wee haue this yeare
comaunded all the people here to sett vines wch att first they were verie
vnwillinge but are nowe better p̱swaded of it and haue p̱formed it cheare-
fully I haue sett for the Colledge nere tenn thousand and for my self
three thousand or Silke-worme-seede is all perished att sea except a verie
small quantie sent mee by the Supplie of Bristoll by an unknowne frende
whom I would * * * §gladly§ thanke if I did knowe because it is
all wee haue yt came to life and I hope it will doe verie well I intende
god willinge to saue them all for seed beinge not aboue v or vj C, the
Countrey wilbe generally in great distreas for all manner of apparell
against winter many men wantinge already where wth to couer theire
seruauntℯ nakednes I beseeche you therefore bee mindfull of vs [1b] in
that kinde, there is one thinge more that if you doe not giue vs speedy
remeady in will vndoe vs all and that is the want of lynes to sweat or
tobacco on of wch I wrote to you by the Temperance and doe nowe againe
remember because the Crope of this yeare do will as it were vtterly per-
ishe wth out that supplie, The people here are driven to sift theire meale
in siffters made of leather burned full of holes with a hote Iron wch is soe
wide that the bar * * * and all of §the§ maies goes through wch I
am * * * p̱swaded makℯ theire bread ve * * * vnhoulsome
and is a great §cause§ of theire fluxes, I woulde intreat you therefore
that some heare siues and s * * * ches maie bee sent for a triall.

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You shall receaue by this Shipp a Run[d]lett of earth of twoe sortℯ wch I
think doth hold alume or Coporis I praie you lett there bee triall made
of it I found it as I travailed to see the Countrey Soe remaininge