I recd your letter returning the order of Shepherd which will compel us immediately to bring suit against him. we do not think it would be proper for us acting as executors to charge the debts due to the estate which would be the effect of assigning the whole of the debt to you and receiving from you a security for the excess. Indeed there are somany difficulties in the way of the arrangement we had proposed that I fear we shal<l> at last be forced to the disagreable task of bringing suits and paying the creditor legatees as fast as we receive the money.

     The neglect of the purchasers to send in their mortg<a>ges, the refusal of one of the legatees to receive an assigment and the prospect of the sale to Col. Lee being either done away or refused or disputed all tend to embarrass us more than we expected to be[.] I have again writte<n> for the mortgages and when recd we will make an other effort to accomodate all the parties the refusing legatee who is a guardian may possibly by that time be out of our way by the full age of his ward and I hope soon to know on what ground the sale to Col. Lee will stand, Should we be compelled to a resal<e> of the land there will be a loss of several thousand dol<lars> to be deducted from the aggeggate amount of sales I am dr sir &c. &c.