[From Atholl Papers - AP X73-14]

[Letter from Mr Baron Maule to Duke of Atholl 14 April 1759]

London 14 April 1759

My Lord Duke

I have ye honour of your Graces letter of ye 2d wt ye papers therein inclosed, wch I wtout loss of time communicated to our friend, & who had next day an opportunity of conversing wt your other friend, to whom your Grace had wrote upon ye same subject, & they both agreed that as well of such a letter, as is fit for your Grace to write, should be sent to you, which the moment I get I shall forward to you wtout loss of time, ye holidays at present may perhaps retard it a few days, especially as we are going to ye countrey, where we may chance to soujourn till Wednesday, but I hope it will be readie by yt time. It is proposed to be wrote to ye chief man himself, for reasons that your two friends thought relevant, but youll judge better of it, when you receive it

Mr Forrester will be a very proper person in case any commnnings are to be upon ye subject & so my landlord thinks, for wch reason I have hinted it to him.

In a former letter I wrote to your Grace, in answer to one wherein you did me the honour to ask my opinion about one Mr Wood who was applying to you to succeed Governor Cochrane I believe I was in some mistake as to ye person, & thought it was one Wood who married Lady Dundonalds daughter; if it is not yt Wood, it may perhaps be another of ye same name viz Capt John Wood who I understand is solliciting ye office, & if so I know him a little; but not so well as to recommend him upon my own knowledge, but I hear an extreme good character of him, & I had a letter t'other day from Mr Ross McKze desiring I would mention him to your Grace, wch I could not refuse but your Grace will have better opportunities of informing yourself about him in Scotland than any intelligence I can give you of him at this distance.

I have been interrupted twenty times since I satt down to this letter, & now I have not time to read it over, as ye call is to ye coach, so adeui

The mysterious friends are possibly Lord Mansfield and the Duke of Argyll - both of whom the Duke's successor acknowledges helped