| Description | Letters from Alexander Gordon in Madeira to his brother James Gordon of Letterfourie, firstly copy letter sent by ship hoping to slip round the French privateer in port, the privateer has taken two ships since he last wrote, ‘Please to tell Mr Yule … that I have found out a strange piece of Villany Intended by one Campbell passenger with Captain Dewar … in regard to some goods Mr Yule had shipd by said Vessell consigned to Mr John Scotland of Antigua, nothing less than his endeavouring to appropriate them for his own purposes’, low stocks of wheat and flour, and no flax left, no herring as yet, 6 September 1761; secondly letter written in haste to catch a Dutch vessel, shipping movements, wine sent by the Hawke and James to advise the customers, convoy under the Intrepid man of war sailing for Virginia then on to Halifax, financial arrangements, local prices, asking for flax, the vintage looks plentiful and good, asking for good locks as a gang of thieves is picking and relocking current ones, ‘our House Sellar door wants to be secured, Toby I’m afraid has found means to Play tricks with it for he gets every now and then drunk, and I’m afraid the distemper may have taken such a root that its incurable, This I impute to the black wench whom I’m determined to get rid of at all events as soon as possible’, asking for iron hoops, 11 October 1761 |