in Philadelphia having received a temporary answer to the foregoing, your communications will therefore in future be directed to this place — James [undecipherable] R.A. L^t Col^l. T. Darbach or the Commanding Officer Machilimackinnack Accountants Office August 23^d 1799 Sir In the Quarter Master Generals account, presented to this Office attention is directed as a payment to [undecipherable] Felker for his services at the Post of Machilimackinnack as a mason for three hundred & thirty days due to be employed previous to the 21 day of September 1799, at 2 dollars per day amounting to the sum of five hundred sixty Dollars. Before the admission of this account it is necessary that I should be informed by you if this man was employed by your direction, & what service, & whether I believe belonging to the line of the Army & when his services commenced and any other observations you may please to make to enable me to judge of the propriety of admitting the charge; it appears the man could not write his name, there being a mark annexed to the note without any certificate being with it that services were necessarily performed — Sam^l [undecipherable] M.S. Samuel Hodgdon Esq^r late Q^r M^r for Q^r M^b August 23^d 1799 Sir In reply to your letter of the 21 Instant I have to observe that it is a universal office with me to expedite the settlement of all accounts which may be rendered to this office and which I flatter myself I might have