Crawford[154] were tho’ some people imagine D[rumelzier] will come home upon account of his Lady’s death,[155] they give it out here that Mr. Hay is very well. I wrote a letter two weeks ago to L[ord] Marshall a Copy of which with the Motives that induced me to write you shall have first occasion but the bearer being ready to sett out putts a stop to my doing of it at present.--I am, Yours, etc. The ship not sailing as soon as I was made believe I took the opportunity of writing Mr. Edgar the reason of my writting to L[ord] Marshall I shall here subjoin with a Copy of the Letter I wrote his Lordship. [Sidenote: Murray to Edgar] SIR,--When Mr. Smith and I happened to be frequently together at London he took reason to complain of the letter my L[ord] Semple had wrote to L[ord] Marshall and particularly of that paragraph where my L[ord] hints that possibly the Scots folks were offended with my L[ord] Marshall not taking sufficient notice of them in proportion to the regard they had shown him he insisted greatly an invincible attachment his Lordship had for the King.... _The rest of this page not legible._ Upon this I thought I should be greatly to blame if I lost any opportunity that occurred to better his Majesty’s affairs by endeavouring to reconceal and unite his friends so that as I imagine his Lordship authorised Mr. Smith to talk upon a suspicion that there might be some grounds for what L[ord] Semple advanced and thereby to reconceal himself to his countrymen I was resolved as we say to putt a Thorne in his foot as he knows I am instituted by the King’s friends here and would not advance anything contrary to their Sentiments. You will be surprised I should write this to you in so closs a Cypher.... _The rest of this page not legible._ After reflecting upon what you had been so good as to inform me off I could not fail to write the enclosed as I have all the reason in the World to believe you my friend, so I take the liberty to beg that after perusal in case you find it not too assuming and in a stile sufficiently respectly you will be so good as take the trouble to deliver it with an appology.... [_Not legible._] (_Signed_) J. BROUN.[156] [Sidenote: Murray to Earl Marischal[157]]