knowing circumstances and I felt it very much and if Alex was at home I would have at once remonstrated with him on this head for I am well awair of his doing the same in Australia. Alex is at Patnec shearing and I wrote to him about this and how much it greived and astonished me to have found this out. I told him to look at home instead of looking to a parcel of usless idle trash etc etc. Alex is a very good busness man in many ways but always hides any thing he does from those who have all their heart interested in him and depending on his good management but yesterday McDonald came back from inland and said he was going to see Alex and that he had 170 sheep he was going to send here and sent his brother for them to be taken care of by Alex for him or keep as his own till the amount would be paid. If that is so matters are not so bad as I first took them to be as his plate or horse would be but of very little value to us. A Mr Smith came here the other day and commenced talking about horses and Alexander sold him the colt Havelock for £80 cash, a very good price for he told me before he was going to sell it to Mr Fitzgerald for £40. Now I have no more busness to transact I will say a little on family matters. I saw by your letter that you have an addition to your household in Miss Muddie. I suspected that to be the case. Poor John has a severe task to perform to keep all that family.