My
dear Sir, WoWoe is me for good Lady Gask!
&and well did she deserve all the great &and
good Things that could be said of her.
Her good Deeds go before &and follow
after her; &and I doubt not of her being
received into the Mansions of Bliss,
&and there to wait in the Society of the
Faithful departed, in the joyful &and
comfortable Expectation of an happy
Resurrection to eternal Glory &and Happi-
ness. Alas! alas! the Faithful are mi-
nished fast away, at a time too when
they can be ill spared; for God knows,
there is but small, or rather no, Appear-
ance of their Places being filled with
equal Honour &and Benefit in the present
Generation, which stands greatly in
need of such illustrious &and edifying
Examples. All I shall add more on 2016 (2016)
the present Occasion, is, Requiescat in
Pace! It happens unluckily that her wor-
thy Son &and his Lady should [] be absent
on this melancholy Occasion; but God’s
Will be done, &and all for the best. You men-
tioned sending her Ladyship a Copy (for
a Cordial) of a certain Paper, to cheer
her Spirits after the Loss of her ex-
cellent Sister, who has left behind her
the grateful &and sweet Odor of an excel-
lent Character, &and a rare Example of
Piety &and Virtue. For her too let us
heartily join in Requiescat ——.

And here now I send you, Sir, a Curio-
sity, admirable in its Kind, which will
make your Heart leap for Joy, being,
I have Reason to believe, the first
that is come to Britain; but say not a
Word from what Quarter you had it.
You will please to shewshow it to my
Sister, who I reckon is now in EdrEdinburgh. I
received a Letter from her just before
she left Dumfries, &and wrote one my-
self, which would get to the same
Place just after she left it. But, to
resume the high &and the more im-
portant Subject again of the Por-
trait; I cannot quit it without in-
dulging the Vanity of telling you,
it was sent me by the express Or-
der of my most respectable Friend
Himself, who, at the same time, was
so gracious as to say, he has more
for me if I desire them: which, in
due time, &and consistent with Safety, 2017 (2017)
(God willing) shall be done. This
&and half a Dozen more came in a Let-
ter yesterday by the ordinary Post.
Pray, let me know by the Return of
the Post, if the InclosedEnclosed comes safe
to hand.

I don’t imagine, there will be any
real Prosecution commenced agtagainst
the Printer of the South Briton.
It appears to me to be only a Piece
of mere Bluster. It would ^be meddl-
ing with edged Tools, &and the Minister
is more prudent than to encourage
officious &and indiscreet Zeal. Pray, give
my kind Love to my Sister, when you see
her, &and tell her, now we have seen the
young Lady, our Nephew’s Bride, we
like her very much. She seems to be
a sweet temper’dtempered, sensible, prudent
young Person. She is near as tall as her
Husband, slender, genteel, &and of an
elegant Form. She has been two or
three times at Prayers with us, since
they came from the Country, &and I would
hope, if all proper Means were used,
she may still be brought nearer to us.
I made your Compliments to the
Bridegroom, &and he returns his, &and Thanks
to yourself &and good Mrs Forbes.
We join as usual in kind ComplimtsCompliments &and
every good Wish to you &and yours, &and I am,
Dear Sir, Yours ever faithfully