Letter from Secondat [Jean Baptiste, Baron Secondat de Montesquieu], Bordeaux, France, to [Martin Folkes] Thanks Folkes for the hydrostatic balance he sent, which Madame Geoffrin says Folkes gives as a gift. For this kindness and Folkes' friendship Montesquieu is very grateful. He fears that the political situation will not be resolved for a long time and hopes that it will not make their correspondence difficult. Page two contains some numerical calculations. 31 March 1744