Transcription

Letter No. 21 [April 1800]

...I am glad to hear that you and Peggy are got better. If you have any intention of bringing her over here see that you have her a good cook and to understand about makeing [sic] butter & cheese and managing milk. The plan followed here appears to me to be a very poor one and my wife being blind cannot alter it. We still have Mrs. Richardson and her daughter. They do as they please and we think ourselves well off with them. They are very handy about my wife. If you come over you ought to learn how to make malt then we might have ale, as we grow our own hopes [hops]. You will say what do we do with hops. Our woman makes yeast for our bread. By boiling a few hopes after straining them and adding to the licure [liquor] a little tricle [treacle] with a little leven left on purpose from the last baking they work up two or three quarts as you would do small bear [beer] and make fine yeast. We have as fine light bread as need to be made. If the bakers in Alnwick can fall in to this way of making yeast they would not be at such a loss as they often are...."