134 ALEXANDER GORDON, THE ANTIQUARY. 



Dr. Laing has recovered from ]Sricliors "Literary Anecdotes" tlie 

 following letter addressed, in 1726, to Joseph Ames, who ultimately 

 became Gordon's succe.ssor as Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries 

 of London. Ames had, in all probability, been engaged in canvassing 

 for subscribers to the Itinerary ; in which case, if the poor Antiquary 

 had discharged his tailor's bill, and otherwise expended on his behalf 

 £26 10s. out of the expected profits, one can understand his reason- 

 able desire to stay any further demands for such service till he saw 

 what he should have for himself: 



" To Joseph Ames. Tuesday, 21st June, 1726. Sir,— I received 

 your letter of Monday, in which yoii desire me to meet you at the 

 Quaker's, which I cannot, by reason of a prior engagement with 

 Mr. Mackay and others ; nor do I know well what you mean by 

 insistmg on my promises, seeing, I think whatever I promised I 

 have faithfully fulfilled, in a manner sufficient to any services I 

 have had of you, which if you are not content, nor willing of a 

 continuation of friendship, if you have a mind that justice shall 

 decide the matter, let me know, that my attorney may appear, 

 wherever you think proper to let me know, in a friendly manner, 

 ■and if required, shall have sufficient bail ready, till a judge decide 

 our difference. For my part, I thought by this time, on receipt of 

 your clothes, you had been perfectly satisfied ; and that the value of 

 L.26, 10s. is reward for all you have done me. I think you go a 

 very strange way to work in gaining friends and people's esteem, bjA 

 such unreasonable pretensions, when you know with what difficulty 

 I can get the. two ends of my book's expense to meet. I did not 

 expect this at your hand. Had you been easy till I had seen what- 

 profit I may have if any, or how my matters stand, I still would 

 have exerted myself on your account, as I have already done, which 

 is all from, Sir, your most humble servant, Alexander Gordon." 

 *'P.S. — With the evening tide I go for Richmond to Sir Andrew 

 Fountain, th'en to Twitnam, with Brigadier Bisset's books, next to 

 Hampton Court, about a particular afiair; so when I return I shall 

 be very willing to lay the affiiir before Mr Colvill and Mr Richardson, 

 your two friends ; and I hope thereby exonerate myself and conduct 

 in any affiiir betwixt you and me." 



Sir Andrew Fountain, to whom he refers in this postsci-ipt, was, I 

 imagine, the author of " JSTumismata Anglo-Saxonica et Anglo-Danica 

 breviter illustrata," a learned folio, published at Oxford in 1704, 



