From Thomas Waters Jr. to his brother Benjamin Waters (no date)

[Thomas Waters to his brother Benjamin]

[from a transcript]

Greenock. Wednesday

Dear Ben

I received your letter today and was very glad to hear of your commencing to make money for yourself for I think you are well competent to carry on Business on your own hook.  I see that you use Quakers to protect your interests as well as we at sea, though in a different shape and on the attractive principle while we use them as repellers.  I mean the bags of sawdust that you mentioned you have to ornament and fill your otherwise empty shelves, now we use or formerly it was the custom to use quakers in the shape of wooden guns painted like real ones which on the approach of a suspicious customer we run out of the ports so that the sight of such dangerous looking innocents might frighten the customer away.  Go on and prosper is my earnest wish for you  I need not tell you that honesty is the best policy for we were brought up so, though I think in my youthful days I did not follow it strictly. I am glad to hear Mary is with you and no doubt you will both be comfortable.  Some of these days I will come and see you and some of these days I shall expect to see you and Mary in America. I have sent the likeness of my eldest daughter and Amy home so you will probably see them, they were taken a few days before I left St John.  I am doing well though just now freights are lower and I shall not get by £200 as much as I should a month ago.  The Louise Jewett has beaten every vessel that left St John within a fortnight of her and I expect my own has won a wager as I have beaten the ship Montrose which vessel trip’t her anchor at the same moment that I did but did not arrive here till yesterday. Tell me if you can what profits you make or average and then I can form some idea of your doings, what stock you have and what it cost, whether credit or for cash, that is if it is not too much bother.  Hoping Mary and you are quite well.

I remain

 Your affectionate

     Brother Thomas