many of the Inhabitants being ill of that Distemper when the

Assembly should have met The Burgesses for the most part
declined giving their Attendance wherefore after proroguing
the House from Day to Day till the 28^th I then complied with
the Request of the Speaker & those few who were in Town &
by the Advice of your Ldp's Council farther prorogued them
to the 10^th of next Month when we may perhaps be pretty
free from the Disease which is very much dreaded by the
People in this Country (principally on Account of their Estates
consisting in Slaves & Servants) & in the mean time the Gentⁿ
who live in & around the Towns wherein the Troops are quar-
tered furnish them with Houses, Beds, Fire Wood &c by Sub-
scription in hopes of being reimbursed by the Assembly, &
the Soldiers are victualed by Persons whom the Victualing
Contractors have engaged for that Purpose. A few Days ago
I received a Letter from the Earl of Loudoun (who is now at
Boston) wherein he is pleased to tell me that he expects to see
Governor Dinwiddie & myself at Phil^a the 17^th Inst. I know
not what His Ldp proposes by desiring our Attendance but I
presume Governor Dinwiddie will call on me some Day next
week & I shall then proceed to obey His Ldp's Commands.
It is more than probable that I shall be able from Phil^a to
advise your Ldp of the Result of our Meeting, but if no Oppor-
tunity of Dispatching a Lett^r thence should offer I shall trans-
mit Letters by a Vessel of Col^o Lloyds which with one from
this Place is to sail the End of this Month or the Beginning of
next, I shall charge the Captains of both these Vessels with some