Wilton Lodge
                               5th. January 1805

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My Dear Sister,
      If I tell You that
when your Letter arrived this Morning
, I was actually meditating the
fabrication of one to You, You will have
the sauciness not to believe me. Therefore
nothing more shall be written on that
Subject. Your Letter is written with
so much Spirit, that I am convinced
of your having regained your health.
You must not expect anything entertaining
in return, for my thoughts
have been occupied & harrassed with
Bonds, Bills, & Mortgages ever since
last September, when two Irish Gentry
came over from Dublin to settle the
Claims against me, on account of the
ruinous nineteen Years Lawsuit. After
many Pro's & Con's, between my Law Agent
& these Vagabonds, I have compromised
matters with Mrs- Evans, for the
enormous Sum of four thousand
Guineas, in full of all her demands
on me for Property of her Sisters which
came into my hands, Interest on it, and
Costs of Suit. They insisted on my paying
down £2000 instantly, & took my Bond

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payable in September 1806, for the remaining
£2200. I was fortunate enough to procure
the immediate loan of £2000, and so got
quit of the Harpies, for the present. But,
as a day of reckoning with all my Creditors
must arrive, it became necessary for Me
to consider, by what means, I could
satisfy all their cravings, and none has
occurred but the Sale of this Place, and
that has been determined on. My intention
has been notified in the Newspapers, and
I go to Edinburgh on Monday, to settle
all the necessary Arrangements for
the Sale. You know, I have been kept
with my Nose to the Earth by pinching
poverty, all my Life. The step I am
now about to take, will, I trust, clear off
all my Incumbrances, personal & hereditary
, or will nearly do so. My personal
Engagements are about £9500 (including
the Irish 4000 Guineas, & £2000 borrowed
from the Trustees of my
Marriage Settlement to complete the
purchase of this Place). My entailed Debt
is now reduced to £2448. Wilton Lodge
has cost me £6000, and it is considered
that it will bring me now from
Ten thousand Guineas, to £12,000. I do
not allow myself to be sanguine, and
shall therefore not count on more
than the 10,000 Guineas which will

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pay off all my personal obligations, and
leave £1000 in my pocket. If, however,
£12,000 should be obtained, it will make
me more independent. No man alive
abhors being in debt more than I do,
and to find myself once free from it,
will be to arrive at great felicity indeed.
You may naturally suppose, that
the Resolution of quitting a Residence
where we have lived happily & comfortably
for upwards of fifteen Years
was not fixed on without feeling a few
pangs. But, Maria & I are both convinced
that the measure is proper, and will
eventually be advantageous to Us all.
      Having stated all this to You,
it is but fair that You should be informed
, that the Leases, of my Entailed Property
in Selkirkshire, expire at Whitsunday
1807. That Estate is now let at £748 per
Annum, and will certainly double its Rent.
Two of those farms, now let, the one at £200,
and the other at £80, I have already been
offered £540 for. My plan is, when the
new Leases are let, to appropriate a Sum
annually out of the increased Rent, for
the purpose of paying off the £2448, still
remaining for my Grandfathers debts,
so that I may transmit it clear to
my Son. When I got the Estate, it was
under £500 per Annum & was answerable for
nearly £6000 of my Grandfathers iniquities.

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By taking advantage of the Act of Parliament
for redeeming the Land Tax, I
reduced that Debt to what it is now; &
purchased the Land Tax, by selling a
detached farm of £130 per Annum for 4000 Guineas
. If Wilton Lodge produces £12000, that
will enable me to pay both my personal,
& my Grandfathers debt, without waiting
for the arrangement I propose for the
payment of the latter, unless it should be
deemed more expedient to purchase a
House for my family in Edinburgh.
      As I did not go to Parliament
last Session, I think of attending
my duty some part of the ensuing Session
, but cannot fix the time, till I have
arranged my other matters.
      My daughter Mary accompanies
me to Edinburgh. She is going, for
a few weeks, on a visit to Lady Anne
Stuart, daughter to Lord Moray, where
she will have an opportunity of going
about a little under the care of Lady
Grace Douglas, elder Sister to Lady Anne.
      I am glad the Fox Hounds
are sent off. I hate the name of them,
ever since I read the barbarous Story,
in the Newspaper, of their having been
permitted to devour a Fox, which after
having given excellent sport, had returned
& taken shelter in your Court
Yard, from where it had been turned out

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in the Morning. Had I been present,
I would have endeavoured to have saved
poor Reynards life, perhaps, at the
risk of my own.
      I never saw Garrick, nor
shall I attempt to see the Young Roscius
in London, not wishing to be squeezed
or trampled to death. You was fortunate
in not meeting with Lady Aldborough.
Every body speaks well of Mrs Holman, & I
am grateful for her recollection of Me.
I wish her brother would get himself
quietly hanged before he becomes Earl
      of Selkirk. Archibald Cathcart informed
      me of his Yorkshire Living, which
      is somewhere near Ferrybridge. He
      is not a bad Man, though I hate
      Dragoon Parsons.
      Give my best Love to Mr.
Dickenson (in spite of the Fox), and to Louisa.
Maria joins me in wishing every
thing good to You & Yours. Remember
me to my Countrywoman. Ever My Dear
Sister, Your faithful friend and
                             Affectionate Brother
                                                         Napier

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Hawick, Fifth January 1805

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      Mrs- Dickenson
        Leighton House
             Leighton Buzzard
                             Bedfordshire
Napier.