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1600

P. S. Prays your Lordship hold me excused for my unseemly letter, which is not so well written as mister were; for I durst not let any writers ken of it, but took two sundry idle days to do it myself. I will never forget the good sport that Mr. Alexander, your Lordship's brother, told me of a nobleman of Padua. It comes so oft to my memory; and, indeed, it is aparastur* to this purpose we have in hand.

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Your Lordship's own sworn and bunden man, to obey and serve with effold and ever ready service, to his utter power, to his life's end, RESTALRIG.

LETTER V.

Right Honourable, my hearty duty remembered, ye know I told you at our last meeting in the Canongate, that Mr. Alexander, my Lord of Gowrie's bro ther, had spoken with me anent the matter of ou conclusion; and, for my own part, I shall not be hind most. And, sinsyne, I got a letter from his Lord ship's self for that same purpose; and, upon the re ceipt thereof, understanding his Lordship's fran ness and forwardness in it, God knows if my hea. was not lifted ten stages. I posted this same bear to your Lordship, to whom you may concredit: your heart in that as well as I: for, and it were n very soul, I durst make him messenger thereof, have such experience of his truth in many otl things. He is a silly old glied carle, but wonderl nest; and, as he has reported to me his Lordshi

Apropos.

own answer, I think all matters shall be concluded 1600 at my house of Fastcastle; for I and Mr. Alexander Ruthven concluded, that ye should come with him and his Lordship, and only another man with you, being but only four in company, intill one of the great fishing-boats, be sea, to my house, where ye shall land als safely as on Leith shore, and the house, against your Lordship's coming, to be quiet; and, when you are about half a mile from shore, as it were passing by the house, to gar set forth a waff *. But, for God's sake, let neither any knowledge come to my Lord, my brother's ears, nor yet to Mr. W. R. my Lord's old pedagogue; for my brother is kittle† to shoe behind, and dare not enterprise for fear; and the other will disswade us from our purpose with reasons of religion, which I can never abide. I think there is none of a noble heart, or carries a stomach worth a penny, but they would be content, and glad to see an contented revenge of Greysteil's death; and the sooner the better his Lordship be quick; and bid Mr. Alexander remember on the sport he told me of Padua; for I think with myself that the cogitation on that should stimulate your Lordship. And, for God's cause, use all your courses cum discretione. Fail not, Sir, to send back again this letter, for Mr. Alexander learned me that fashion, that I may see it destroyed myself. So, till your coming, ever commits you heartily to Christ's holy protection.‡

From Gunn's Green, the last day of July, 1600.

*Cause hang out a flag.

† Ticklish.

The subscription is torn away from the last letter.

1600

If these letters are genuine, the controversy re. specting Gowry's conspiracy is ended. I shall now state the proof of their authenticity. On the substance of these letters, or what is called the internal evidence, I shall make few remarks.

There are certain passages in these letters which express such a strength, and originality of feature, as indicate the author to have been a character strongly marked; and give reason to believe that the person who composed them was not writing under a fictitious signature. In one of them Logan observes,

your Lordship desires in your letter that I crave my 'Lord, my brother's mind, anent this matter; I ut'terly disassent from that, that he should ever be an counsellor thereto, for in good faith he will never help his friend, nor hurt his foe.' In another, he adds, for God's sake let neither any knowledge 'come to my Lord, my brother's ears, nor yet to

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Mr. W. R. my Lord's old Pedagogue; for my bro'ther is kittle* to shoe behind, and dare not enterprise for fear; the other will disswade us from our purpose, with reasons of religion which I can never abide.' The following passage in letter 1st, in my opinion, confirms its originality: When ye have 'read, send this back again with the bearer, that I may see it burn't myself.' This precaution, which it was extremely natural for a person to suggest, who was writing on so dangerous a subject, yet which might in the issue be neglected, would have been the most absurd paragraph that could be invented by one

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*Ticklish, in allusion to a horse that kicks and winces while he is shoed.

who was fabricating letters applicable to a period 1600 long previous to that on which they were to be produced.

To come, then, to the extrinsic or positive evidence of these letters, it must be remembered, that a testimony of a very singular nature and force has already been produced, and that Sprott who gave it sealed it with his blood. The following proof is also given of the authenticity of these letters: Mr. Alexander Watson, minister of Coldingham, deposed, That on his conscience, he believed the five letters produced, to be written by the late Robert Logan of Restalrig, with his own hand, not only because the character resembled perfectly his hand-write every way, but also agreed with the fashion of spelling, which the deponent remembered in sundry specialities which he stated in his evidence. And, in confirmation of this, he produced three letters holograph of Restalrig, to show their conformity with the letters produced.

Mr. Alexander Smith, minister of Chirnside, de. posed, That he was well acquainted with the late Logan of Restalrig, and also with his hand-write, having been preceptor to his children for many years. He swore that he firmly believed these five letters, and every word of them, to be the proper hand-write of the Laird of Restalrig, both on account of the resemblance of character, and of the peculiarity of Restalrig's spelling, which was different from the mode commonly used, in many particulars, as specified at length by the preceding witness.

1600

Sir John Arnot,* Provost of Edinburgh, deposed, that he was well acquainted with Restalrig's hand of write, having seen many of his writings, and received various letters from him. He deposed, that, having considered the five letters produced by the Lord Advocate, he, on his conscience, believed the whole of them to be written by Restalrig, because the character agreed every way with the shape of Restalrig's hand-write, and also the spelling in many particulars, in which Restalrig differed from other men's form of writing. And, in confirmation of this, he produced four deeds, all of the proper handwriting of Restalrig, agreeing perfectly in spelling and character with the missives produced.

The Sheriff-clerk of Berwickshire, the Minister at Aytoun, and two other witnesses, confirm the preceding evidence,

A sentence similar to that passed upon Gowry was pronounced upon Restalrig; a sentence, in one respect, as illegal as it was severe; for the treason laws only admitted of trial after death against the heirs of such persons as were known in their lifetime to have committed treason, as Dr. Robertson excellently argues. The statute, however, was not violated in any other particular, for the summons against Restalrig's heirs was executed within three years after

* Sir John Arnot was appointed treasurer-depute of Scotland about the year 1604. The General Register still shows the great estate he possessed in the counties of Edinburgh, Fife, Berwick, and Orkney.

+ Robertson's Hist. of Scotland, vol. II. p. 260.

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