“Yours of
September
3rd came safe to hand; and
I would now inform you, that if
Mr. Oliver and
Mr. Pemberton understood, that those small Circumstances which I
men‐
‐tioned as being untrue, in your Letter to
Mr. Mauduit,
were the only, or chief objections I had against that
Letter,
they were much mistaken. I heard the Letter but one read,
And did not
think I was thereby well qualified to point out
the things which seemed at first
view, either asserted or plainly
suggested therein, which were very unfriendly both to my
character, and to the design which
Mr. Whitaker was gone upon:
Nor did I think it would have been
modest in me, after such
strong assertions, as they repeatedly made “that there was not
a word, nor suggestion
therein, unfavourable to any Cha‐
‐racter, or to
Mr. Whitakers design,” to contradict them without
a further
Examination of what was written; but I assure
you, Sirs, that had I not apprehended there were things, both
untrue,
and unfriendly to
Mr. Whitaker’s,
Mr. Occom’s and my
own characters, and also to
Mr. Whitakers design; I should not
have so earnestly desired a copy of it. And I now assure you, sirs,
that I apprehend there is not one material Article narrated
in that Letter that is true, excepting that
Mr. Occom was a Mohegan,
which I never yet heard denied, and which
I had long before
your said letter, published in my narrative, 1700 Copies of
which
(If I mistake not) were printed at
Boston, and sent into all your
Country round about you.
And if you will please to favour me with a Copy of it, and I dont make it appear that there is not
one material Article in that letter that does not contain gross falsehood I will freely confess I did not understand it when it was read to me. — And if I dont find
such things expressed
or
or at least plainly intimated in it, as both Friends, and Enemies
in
England, reasonably
understood to be unfriendly, and design‐
edly conveyed by it, I will faithfully inform them of their
mistake, and
cheerfully do what I can to retrieve the —
Injury which your characters sustain
by their misunder‐
‐standing your letter.
As to what you say “this day came to your
Knowledge viz. my attempting to take
James
Dean away from you etc.
by promising to take him into my school etc.
I answer. By word and letter from
Boston. I was
repeat‐
‐edly informed that
James Dean
designed to leave your
service, being dissatisfied that you refused to give
him such an Education as you had encouraged
him
to expect, and sent his desire to me to take him, to which
I made no reply
at all. After some Time the
Rev.
Mr.Hopkins wrote me at
Deans desire that I would take
him, — in answer to which I let
him know I would
do nothing to get him out of your hands — but
in case
he should be discharged from you I should be willing to
take him, and treat him, as I did the rest of my english
scholars — and that what I wrote might be no inducement
to his leaving you; I
wrote that I should expect Bonds
for his entering upon and pursuing the business
proposed, which I had heard, you had offered, and he
had refused, and which I should not have mentioned
if it had
not been for the Reason I have given.
After this I saw
Mr.
Moseley your missionary, and
discoursed with him about it (but not as a Confident
or counselor in any plot against you, but as I should
have discoursed with you yourselves, if I had been fa‐
‐voured with
the same opportunity) I told him I should
be glad to have the young man, if he left
you, but
told him I had no disposition to undermine you, or
defeat you of his
service, or to do anything that could
be thought underhanded, or not fair, and above board;
and
to this purpose
Mr.
Moseley said repeatedly in my house,
last week, before sufficient witnesses, that he had told you.
I
I never saw
Mr. Dean, nor his Father that I know of in my Life.
and I dont remember to have discoursed with any but
those two
Gentlemen on the affair. where then you got that
Knowledge of my
doings in this Matter, I cant conceive. I think it must be from
somebody who had no Knowledge of it himself.
I could no doubt have taken him out of your hands, by
speaking the
word, at any Time after you sent him into your
service, 'til that very day on which that
fact viz. that I
had
been attempting to get him out of your hands, came
to your Knowledge; and nothing
ever prevented my doing
it, but the consideration that it would disoblige you. —
As to my not drawing with you in this Affair, the
Complaint is now,
having never heard it 'til I was
last at
Boston, from
Mr. Oliver, not as his own, but as
what he had from others —
And am now so far from
being conscious of the Justice of the Charge, that I
really
believe it may be found on search, to lie on the other side.
But it would be with the greatest reluctance, If I should
ever be constrained to
[illegible][guess: make] up what has been said and
done on
your side, which I could understand
[illegible][guess: in a] other light, and which have been concealed on
purpose
that no difference might appear between us. And I do
assure you, sirs, I have the greatest Reluctance to
a controversy with you, Gentlemen, whom I love, and
honour, and especially, as there are some of your number,
particularly
Mr. Oliver, and
Mr. Cushing, of whom I never
think, but with the kindest
sentiments of gratitude
for the past expressions of their friendship towards the
Important Cause I have been pursuing. And I
believe
I shall ever be disposed to acknolwedge the same, in
the fullest and strongest Terms, whatever prejudices,
or ill opinions they may conceive
of me.
I am so far from being fond of controversy, that notwithstanding the reports of great Injury done me, and the
Cause, by your letter, I had determined not to trouble my head about it, but
leave the Issue and consequence of it with the great
Governor
Governor of the Universe; nor should I have taken pains to hear
the letter, had not
Mr. Oliver, by his letter of
July
6,
without any motion of mine, kindly invited me to
hear it, that I might be convinced there was nothing
contained
in it unfavourable, either to Characters, or
Mr. Whitakers design. And I dont determine to this
Day, but that,
Friends and Enemies at home, and
particularly
the
venerable Society to whom it
was wrote, have all mistaken the true
Import,
Aim, design, and Tendency of that Letter, and
if so, I should be glad
for your sakes that it might
appear. as I am sincerely
Much Honoured
Sirs,