"He also wishes that some attention had been paid to the threat that Mr. Uville received from Teague's so-called friend, so as to ascertain whether it came direct from him, which he thought would have some weight in court. I shall attend to give evidence at the Assize with Mr. Edwards. I shall anxiously await a reply to my last. How does Harvey's business get on?
"My respects to Mr. Day, and shall be very glad to find him recovering his health as fast as I am. A crust of bread and clear air are far preferable to luxuries enveloped in clouds of smoke and heaps of filth.
"Your obedient servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
"P.S.—I hear that Teague is still in London, and that his furniture is removed to his friend's house, to save it from the hands of surrounding evil spirits."
Trevithick showed no undue amount of discontent on discovering that Uville had led him into pecuniary difficulties, and even his tendency to interfere in engineering matters was not hastily resented.
In December, 1813, while in London, arranging for a vessel to convey the engines to Lima, and also to secure written agreements with Uville, who expected to leave England in a week or two, the going into the documents made known many weak points, one of them being shortness of money. The expected week or two had lengthened out to three months, and Uville was still in London, and Capt. Thomas Trevarthen and Bull were to be there, ready to start, about the middle of March, 1814. Four large boilers, in pieces, were to go for the pumping engines, to be put together in the mines; and Trevithick strongly recommended the sending a third man, to take general charge of the practical work, which Mr. Uville thought he himself could manage.
Page and Day were lawyers, who drew up very long documents. Money to pay expenses was raised by the sale of shares in a company formed by Uville without sufficient authority, and Page was to go to the mines to look after his own and the English shareholders' interests; between them Uville was arrested, apparently for some trifle.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, March 15th, 1814.
"Mr. Uville,