also with the reasonable charges of the distresses & sales & its hereby declared that in all rates & assessments each hundred Acres is to be rated & assessed alike so that none is to pay more nor less than another.

It is declared that nothing in these Articles shall be constructed to extend farther than the defence & support of the right of the subscribers under the said letters patent agt all persons who claim or defend by titles opposite to that right & no disputes between persons claiming the sa letters patent are within the meaning hereof

In all meetings each subscriber to have one vote for each 800 Acres & these The articles in force as to all suits that shall be commenced within five years unless sixty six votes or more agree & then to continue as further shall be agreed.

I have here in Closed the Warrant under yo seal of the Government as you May see to your selfe or deputy I have ye last Week Ben at New York and ye gentle Men Concerned there for ye Equvelent Lands desire you with out faile forth with to come or send your deputy to Mark out and distinguish the lots to Each person according to draft and Release at lest those Lots against Newfairfield for Mr Harrison hath been persuading some persons to enter on some part of ye Lands thereby Leases under him and In case we should sufer them to be quiet there it May Cost us Trouble and Charge to Remove them and therefore Its Thought best to prevent there Carreing on any Improvts there under him by pulling down cuting up & I have some Money in My hands Which ye Gentlemen Concerned in New York have sent up to answer y charges and if any thing be wanting the West Chester people will supply us with it who ever Coms I will Meet them at Ridgfield and assist them In Caring on ye afair:

yt: there is one thing Which give uneasiness to y Ridgfield people and yt is thay find as they say that with In y Bounds of there Release there is wanting of y⚫ quaintity of Lands mentioned in the Release the Sum of Eight hundred acres but how that Matter is I cant tel But Mr Burt y Bearer here of Can Give a Better acc of the Thing than I can I pray you to Look In to the Thing and Least Justice be done them by giving directions to set up a Line between y Ten Miles Released to Ridgfield and y⚫ upper lands so yt thay May have y⚫ Quantity Mentioned In y⚫ Releases to them yt I Rejoyce that I have Lately had y pleasure to here of y⚫ welfaire of your selfe and family; and Now Tel you yt Both My selfe and Mine are by the divine goodness In good helth all tho one of My Children Laboreth under y⚫ paine of a Brocken Bone St I am with due Regards Your very Humble

I have had no letter from you since yt I had after you had notice of your dear mothers death Dated Sept. 23, 1731 I have another of yours to your brother dated in october yr after and since another to your brother in law Mr James Christie in all ym you manefest your filial affection and concern for me in my lonesome condition in my old age, whereof I desire to be verie sensible and to bless god for, I doubt not of your sympathie w me & of your prayers for me, I am daily more & more sensible of the loss of my dear & affectionat wife & do frequently dream of her you have great reason to bless the Lord for the continuance of that conjugal affection yt

between you & dear Allie, and that the Lord was graciously pleased to restore her to her health to you and your children when he was threatning to remove her from you I have not been a little anxious about you and your familie because I have not heard from you this season, I was longing for some time to hear from you and expected to have the satisfaction of it, when I found several times news papers from London, that ther wer ships from New York come to England, after all Mr Scott (I think a nephew St Patrick Scott) came last week to this countrie from New York, he sent word to me yt he was come & yt he was desirous to see me, Last monday upon notice of this I and your brother (who was then with me) went to Ancrum in hopes to have seen him ther, but befor we reacht it, he was gone for Edinburgh, and by him I send this it was verie satisfying to me to hear from those y he conversed with wt yt when he left New York you and your familie wer in health-I apprehend yt you have not known of his coming to Scottland els no doubt you would have written by him, qt maybe the cause you have not written to me Last Spring I cannot conjecture

According to your desire I wrote to the Marques of Lothian to recommend you to your new governour Coll: Cosbie, when he came down Last april as commissioner to the grall assembly of this church, he told me yt you wer strongly recommended to him by my Lord Ilay, & I think he said also by ye duke of Argyle wt his desire, & also got Coll: Cosbies ladie friend [who is sister to the Earle of Hallyfax] to recommend you & yt they said you might be verie usefull to the Coll: he being a stranger to the affairs & people of New York & yt in particular one Mr. Hill comptroller who wer to see ym & his lady take shiping was ingaged to put ym in minde of you when he was to part with him, So yt you see the Marques hath done all in his power in your behalfe, he told me also y1 you had written to himself.

as to my own case & condition Last winter I fell into some verie great faintish fitts, one night at church it was in November, 7th day before I had been at the prespytie, & came home to Oxnam & came home wt Mr

Kirleloun [?] in a fair moonlight night in my ordinary health but about seven of the clock at night was suddenly siezed wt a coldnes in my stomack, went to my chamber & called for some of the drops of conpound lavender, but before the Servt maid came up I fainted away & fell doun on ye floor & was surprized when I came to myselfe to find my selfe upon the floor, I was all in a cold sweat & was readie to starve for cold before and after I went to bed then I mist my dear wife, I have not fallen into the like since, anyr night after I fell under such difficulties of breathing in a hot sweat yt I apprehended I was dying, I went to bed & it wore off, in Aprile Last I went to assist Mr Noble at his communion, I stayed there all Saturday night, but slept litle yt night, on ye lords day I thought my selfe as well as ordinarly I used to be, I heard the active sermon did partake & served two tables w1out intermission & after yt I was I thought well, but suddenly in the text I was seized wt a faintish fitt which made me leave it & go to Mr Noble cause it was verie severe which continued long & made me apprehensive I was dying, & when I found it begin to abate I took my horse & came home fearing I might dye ther, & then I took up a resolution to go to no comunicat hereafter but where I might come home at night to my bed before that I thought I had recovered more strength of bodie, than ever I expected in this world, but since yt time, I have not had yt strength & freedome from faintishness & oppression of spirit as befor, yet in the begining of June Last I advertised to celebrat the Lords Supper here & the Lord was graciously pleased to carry me through the whole work incumbent on me, not only wth bodyly strength but I hope inward & spiritual strength on y Monday before dinner I was not a litle affected wt ye remembrance of my dear wife whom I then mist & considerd I had never during my whole ministry a communion or Mondays dinner w'out her, my son & his wife were with me my Ladie Cranstoun was pleased to come and dine wt us, & told me yt she resolved to do it, tho I had not invited her, since June in my apprehension I grow weaker in my bodie & sometimes almost whole weeks I am under oppression

of my spirit which is discouraging yet alwise after sermon yt I preach my self I have most spirit and ease, for which I desire to bless ye Lord, I may wonder yt the Lord continues me so long in the Land of ye living, when he is taking others of the ministry as Mr McClay, last September Mr Sandilands Mr Miller & Mr Grierson all late ministers of Edinburgh and Mr Douglas late minister at [illegible.] Mr Telfair a young man late minister at Hawick & Mr Armstrong at Castletoun all within this last year & pray much for me yt I may be carryd through y last part of my life w❜out spot & in the future to the glorie and edification of y people I had almost forgot to acquaint you wt the death of Mr Thos. Boston amongst others I had a letter from Mr Stirling one of the Ministers of Glasgow wherein he signifys to me, yt I am the oldest Minister in this church in ye exercise of the ministerial function, Mr Turnbull minister at Tinninghame in east Lothian, & M2 Robisone (who wer both in the same class with me at the Colledge) have diminished ther ministry which I am loth to do so long as I am in any capactie for my ministerial work yet I am affraid (if I live till [No]vember) of being alone and dying when non with me but servants & my asistant for your brother cannot leave y parish except it be now & then in ye winter & it may happen to be such weather then yt he cannot come to me w'out hazard of his life yet I desire to resist these fears & to commit my selfe to the disposal of a gracious holy & wise God who hitherto hath dealt well with me, & I hope will do so to the end, his mercy never faileth

Your brother & his wife were with me since later end of May till the week, he indeed went doun to pray, in his own church, as my helper went for him now in the summer time, I have two of their children still wt me Alex' & Cadwallader both pleasant children & diverting to me Sandie reads the new testament well, & can repeat the whole lesson catechism & some petitions. James would fain have me to direct & come & stay wt them at Whitsome, but this I cannot think of as long as I am in a capacitie for preaching I am also desirous yt my bodie may ly in y grave near to your mothers (tho ther he no