E[lisha] Bates letter to Thomas Rotch, Mount Pleasant, 6mo 2nd 1823

              Mountpleasant 6 mo 2nd 1823
Esteemed Friend
             I would be glad to get a pattern for
an over coat for one of my young men, 
of cloth of decent quality but not the finest.
Bottle Green or London Brown would be preferreed. I should
also like to get cloth or casimere for a pr of panta-
loons & waistcoat for myself. Brown or drab
would answer, & I should prefer good quality.
These thou mayest send me if an opportu-
nity should offer in the course of this month.
They might be brought from Salem if they
could be there in the course of next week.
It may not be improper to mention that I
informed John I Wells of the agreement we
made respecting thy settling the balance due
him from me for a keg of ink. My
letter was some months after thy return
from the east. He informed me that the
subject was not mentioned when thou wast
there, and as he had become an agent
in procuring Subscribers the state of
our a/c had materially changed. He
therefore informed me that our a/c would
better remain between ourselves.
    John has been an active friend of the
Moral Advocate and has procured more
subscribers than any other individual.
    A number of my subscribers within your
Quarters have requested the privilege of
paying there. Whether they have some