Manuscripts and Special Collections
Ne C 1839 : Letter from Morpheus Landlowper, Edinburgh [Scotland], to Henry Pelham; 10 Dec. 1746.
Ammunition was the shadow but Ammunition alone alias Gunpowder
was the Substance of the Embassy; and a G-l is highly to be
commended for putting a good Face upon things. Then Arms and
Ammunition being arrived the Lord be praised. There is nothing
wanting now methought to extirpate the H-l-d-rs root and
Branch. But softly what shall we do with this additional supply
of Arms every Man has a Firelock already and no Man can use
two and they are troublesome to carry along. O its an easy Matter
that, says the G-l, we'll leave the Arms here at Creif and bring
them back with us to Sterling on our return. No Man could
oppose a Motion of that kind since the Arms being in our Rear
were safe from the H-l-d-rs and since it was certain we were
to come the same Road back again. Besides if the H-l-d-rs
should get behind is, as Supposition impossible to happen, what
would the arms signify to them When we had the Ammunition
along with us and it was far better that they should have them
than that our Blunder of forgetting Gunpowder should be discover'd
which must be the Case if Arms were sent immediately back. But
so it happened methought in the Sequel that the H-l-d-rs got
behind us and were very thankfull for the Arms tho without the
Ammunition.
When we had got full two days march beyond Creif, id as
7 or 8 Miles for as we had nothing to fear and little to gain it was
neddless to harrass the Men with longer Marches than 3 or 4 Miles
p[er] Diem by which Means we had Leisure enough to make
Discoveries, pass Jokes and lay Wages, at this time it was that
Jack laid a Wager of a Guinea with Tom th[a]t he would shoot
nearer to the Mark with a single Bullet than he would do. The
Money methought was stak'd in my hand. Out to the Feild
we went and clapt a peice of white paper for a Mark upon a
Tree. But alas when the Combatants were going to charge, the
Bullets being too large would not fit the Muzells of their Musketts,
other Bullets were try'd but all in Vain. In short it came out
that there was not a single Bullet in the whole Army th[a]t would
enter their Musketts upon which a general Order was issued for
every Man at his Leisure hours (which were not a few) to trim
his Bullets with his Knife and such as had no Knives were
ordered to do it with their Teeth, And this Accident methought
was what afterwards gave rise to the false and calumnious
