ake in his second edition, of whose appearance the
translator had manifestly not heard. Smith thereupon wrote Strahan the
following letter, asking him to send a copy of the second edition to
Draebye:--

DEAR SIR--I think it is predestined that I shall never write
to you except to ask some favour of you or to put you to
some trouble. This letter is not to depart from the style of
all the rest. I am a subscriber for Watt's Copying Machine.
The price is six guineas for the machine and five shillings
for the packing-box; I should be glad too he would send me a
ream of the copying paper, together with all the other
specimens of ink, etc., which commonly accompany the
machine. For payment of this to Mr. Woodmason, the seller,
whose printed letter I have enclosed, you will herewith
receive a bill of eight Guineas payable at sight. If, after
paying for all these, there should be any remnant, there is
a tailour in Craven Street, one Heddington, an acquaintance
of James M'Pherson, to whom I owe some shillings, I believe
under ten, certainly under twenty; pay him what I owe. He is
a very honest man, and will ask no more than is due. Before
I left London I had sent several times for his account, but
he always put it off.

I had almost forgot I was the author of the inquiry
concerning the Wealth of Nations, but some time ago I
received a letter from a friend in Denmark telling me that
it had been translated into Danish by one Mr. Dreby,
secretary to a new erected board of trade and Economy in
that Kingdom. My correspondent, Mr. Holt, who is an assessor
of that Board, desires me, in the name of Mr. Dreby, to know
what alterations I propose to make in a second Edition. The
shortest answer to this is to send them the second edition.
I propose, therefore, by this Post to desire Mr. Cadell to
send three copies of the second Edition, handsomely bound
and gilt, to Mr. Anker, Consul-General of Denmark, who is an
old acquaintance--one for himself and the other two to be by
him transmitted to Mr. Holt and Mr. Dreby. At our final
settlement I shall debit myself with these three Books. I
suspect I am now almost your only customer for my own book.
Let me know, however, how matters go on in this respect.

After begging your pardon a thousand times for having so