You thoroughly understand by our general letters the state of things here, which indeed is very pitiful; especially the want of shipping, and not seeing means of providing it; though, in addition, there is great want of money for other needful things. Mr. Pickering, you know before this, will not defray a penny here; though Robert Cushman reckoned upon I know not how many hundred pounds from him, and I know not whom else. But it seems strange that we should be asked to take the risk of his and his partners’ enterprise,—and yet Mr. Weston writes to him that he has drawn upon him for £100 more. There is some mystery in this, as indeed there seems to be in the whole affair. Besides this, those who were to pay in such of their money as is yet in arrears, refuse to do it till they see shipping provided, or steps taken for its provision. Indeed, I think there is not a man here who would pay anything, if he had his money in his purse again. We depended on Mr. Weston alone, and upon such means as he would procure; and when we had in hand another project with the Dutchmen, we broke it off at his instance and upon the conditions propounded by him shortly after. He had our interests sincerely at heart, I know; but he has not fulfilled his pledges thus far. That he ought first to have put in his money is the opinion of many; but that I can well excuse, he being a merchant, and having uses for it in the meantime to his benefit; whereas, others, if it had been in their hands, would have expended it. But that he should not have had shipping ready before this, or at least definite provision for it, duly made known to us, cannot in my conscience be excused. I have heard that when he has been urged about the business, he has put it off and referred it to others; or would go to George Morton and enquire news of him about things, as if he himself had scarcely been even an accessory to it. Whether some of his friends have failed him, and so he is not able to go through with things; or whether he fears it will be ready too soon and so increase the charge of shipping; or whether he thought by holding back to put us in straits, thinking that thereby Mr. Brewer and Mr. Pickering would be induced to do more; or what other mystery is in it, we know not. But certain we are that the arrangements made do not accord with the requirements. Mr. Weston makes himself merry with our endeavours to buy a ship; but we have done nothing about this without good reason, nor about anything else that I know of, except two. The one is that we employed Robert Cushman, who though a good man and of special ability in his way is known to be most unfit to deal for others, because of his singularity and too great indifference to the circumstances,—for, as a matter of fact, we have had nothing from him but terms and suggestions. The other is that we have relied too much by implicit