Autograph letter signed : London, to Joseph Banks, 1784 October 24.

Reporting on John Sheldon's balloon flight (probably the ascent with Jean-Pierre Blanchard on October 16, 1874): "Sheldon's aerial voyage has turned out as you expected, foolish enough, or rather absolutely good for nothing. The barometer they took up was I am told a wretched old patched tool of Adams's making, but good or bad, neither of the gentlemen seem to have cast an eye upon it during either of the voyages; nay they outdid [Vincent] Lunardi himself, not having made one observation even of the thermometer"; discussing the balloon flights of the Roberts brothers: "No account of the last voyage of the Roberts seems yet to have been published; but I have seen a letter from M. de Morveau [possibly Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau] in which he enumerates, as the only curious circumstances of that experiment, the length of the trajet, the time they were able to keep floating, & that they were able to land, sans de perdition du gas: whether this last circumstance means that they descended by the use of the oars, & by any other contrivance, does not appear in the letter"; discussing a pamphlet on an unspecified topic and whether it should be signed by the author or published anonymously: "Garthshore yesterday shewed me your letter on the subject of the pamphlet, and to me nothing can be stronger or more convincing than your reasons for putting to it the author's name, but I find that the author himself still demurs & assigns many reasons on his part, all of which, between ourselves, turn upon that sneaking Presbyterian spirit of which so few of the Sectaries, from the force of early impressions, are able to divert themselves. Garthshore has asked the opinion of Sir Geo. Baker & Dr. Saunders, who incline to the anonymous side; the spirit of a trade, however dignified with the title of a profession, producing in them the same turn of mind. With Garthshore's consent I asked yesterday Mr. Cavendish's advice in the matter; who answered at once and decisively that the only way to make it produce any useful effect was for the author to sign his name to it"; telling Banks that he is meeting with the author on Tuesday and hopes to "answer all his objections"; adding news about Joseph Priestley in a postscript: "Priestley thinking he has fallen upon a remarkably cheap method of procuring infl. air, by passing steam through iron filings on Lavoisier's principle, has made choice of Magellan for the vehicle of this information"; moderating his criticism of Sheldon in a second postscript: "I have just seen Sheldon, who talks more collectedly than usual. They did try to observe their barometer, but it was broke & had air mixed with the [symbol for mercury]. Their thermometer was mislaid, so that they could not find it till Sheldon got out."