Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: prietors of Coals in those parts, as will give the most reasonable conditions to the Company for such quantities thereof as the Company shall have occasion for." [Extracted by Order of the said Court.] " Edinburgh, S5th March, 1697. " Reverend Sir—The Directors are now of the belief, that it is the Company's interest to have in their hands all the Lands which the Heritors can pretend to be any manner of way damnified by the Company's Works; since probably they can always have it tenanted to better advantage than the present yearly rent. Sir John Shaw would have you bring every thing to a readiness for signing upon the 9th or 10th day of next month, at which time he resolves positively to meet you at Glasgow, and questions not but he would help to bring all those gentlemen to reasonable terms. " I am, .Reverend Sir, " Your most humble Servant." " Edinburgh, 25th March, 1697. " Reverend Sir—You may remember, that thenaming of Sir John Shaw's Bay in the Order of Court was put in by Sir John Shaw's own direction, for a blind to the rest, in order to get the better bargain. I could wish I was to act your part in this matter; for Mr. Cragg told me, and some few others, that Sir John's Bay was a very little thing, and excellent ground, fit for the work, and wished the Company would fall upon a way to hedge it from him handsomely. He was once resolved to have spoke of it to Sir John openly before the Directors; but, upon second thoughts, considered Sir John as a man that loved his interest, and, being master of money, would not part readily with a thing on easy terms, if once he was possessed of an opinion of its goodness. So that, were I in your place, he should get leave to be in jest, but I would be in earnest for the Company; and when I had completed his jest, would ... --This text refers to the Paperback edition.