I have long letters from my friends at home, giving me a detailed account of the death of my excellent and best of friends: the duke of York sat by his bedside for half an hour the day before he died, and, Somerville says, was extremely affected. Sir James, (Craig,) on the contrary, rallied from the pleasure he experienced from this condescending kindness. Sir James had a codicil written fair for his signature, the chief object of which was to add a legacy for a female cousin whom he did not know to be in existence, and to direct the sale of the priory and freehold, which cost 12,000 guineas, to enable the payment of the legacies: this instrument, not having been executed, will lead to what he most deprecated and wished to avoid, a lawsuit. The heirs at law will possess the freehold; and Wilkie, who, besides £6,000, is left the two houses in London, furniture, &c, as residuary legatee, will be stripped of the whole that is not given by special bequest, to make up the legacies: he will however, I believe, have at least £10,000 left--very ample payment for his services. Sir George has announced his intention of recommending Battersby to be lieutenant-colonel of the Glengary corps, and ordered him to take the command of the recruits assembled at Three Rivers. Your major of brigade[50] will be recommended to succeed to his majority in the king's regiment. _Major-Gencral Brock to Sir George Prevost_. YORK, May 16, 1812. I have this day been honored with your excellency's confidential communication, dated the 30th ultimo. I have long since thought that nothing but the public voice restrained the United States government from commencing direct hostilities; and it is but reasonable to expect that they will seek every opportunity to influence the minds of the people against England, in order to bring them the more readily into their measures. It will be my study to guard against every event that can give them any just cause of complaint; but the proximity of the two countries will in all probability produce collisions which, however accidentally brought about, will be represented as so many acts of aggression. It would not surprise me if their first attempt to excite irritation were the seizing of the islands in the channel, to which both countries lay claim: such was represented to Sir James Craig on a former occasion to be their intention.