[Extract]
(No. 25)

My Lord,  I have the honour to transmit your Lordship a Paper of Intelligence of the Machinations and Projects of these People, which I have obtained since my last Letter to your Lordship No. 24: The Authority should be good, but I must wait some favourable Opportunity to inform Your Lordship from whence and by what Means the Intelligence has been obtained. The Circumstance of the Eight Field Pieces at Salem led us into a Mistake, for supposing them to be brass Guns brought in from Holland or some of the foreign Islands, which Report had also given Reason to suspect; a Detachment of two hundred Men under Lieut Colonel [Alexander] Leslie was sent privately off by Water to seize them; the Places theywere said to be concealed in were strictly searched, but no Artillery could be found. And we have since discovered that they had been only some old Ship Guns which had been carried away from Salem some time ago. The people assembled in great Numbers with Threats and abuse, but the Colonel pursued his Orders, and returned to Marblehead where he had first disembarked his Detachment. . . .