Good point Silkie....so let me 'splain a bit further... crossed writing was an attempt to save money on postage in England, when the cost depended on how many sheets of paper were sent in a letter,etc. People would write, filling up a side of a page THEN turn the page 90 degrees and write some more on top of the first bit...actually quite easy to read...
The stuff I have been reading says it was quite common in the late 18th century, around the AWI...so I was wondering when did it start to be commonplace and if there were any examples of it from the GAoP time frame..
Mickey thanks...very interesting stuff...