Your letter by Capt. Prince came to my hands last Night—I was glad to learn by it that all are well.—the account given of the behaviour of the Scotchmen at Port Tobacco & Piscataway surpriz’d & vexed me—Why did they Imbark in the cause?—what do they say for themselves?—what does others say of them?—are they admitted into Company?—or kicked out of it?—what does their Countrymen urge in justification of them?—They are fertile in invention, and will offer excuses where excuses can be made.—I cannot say but I am curious to learn the reasons why men who had subscribed & bound themselves to each other & their Country, to stand forth in defence of it, should lay down their arms the first moment they were called upon. Although I never hear of the mill under the direction of Simpson without a degree of warmth & vexation at his extreme stupidity, yet, if you can spare money from other Purposes, I could wish to have it sent to him, that it may, if possible, be set a-going before the works get mixed and spoilt & my whole money perhaps totally lost—If I am really to loose Barron’s debt to me, it will be a pretty severe stroke upon the back of Adams, & the expence I am led into by that confounded fellow Simpson, and necessarily so in putting my Lands under the management of Cleveland.— Spinning should go forward with all possible despatch, as we shall have nothing else to depend upon if these disputes continue another year—I can hardly think that Lord Dunmore can act so low, & unmanly a part, as to think of siezing Mrs. Washington by way of revenge upon me; however, as I suppose she is, before this time gone over to Mr. Calvert’s, & will soon after returning go down to New Kent, she will be out of his reach for 2 or 3 Months to come, in which time matters may, & probably will take such a turn as to render her removal either absolutely necessary, or quite useless—I am nevertheless exceedingly thankful to the Gentlemen of Alexandria for their friendly attention to this point & desire you will if there is any sort of reason to suspect a thing of this kind, provide a kitchen for her in Alexandria, or some other place of safety for her and my Papers.—