The manuscripts of His Grace the Duke of ... - Electric Scotland

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and in private things my heart is not mor dear to me, and if
euer I hav any occatione, your lordship shal find hou much I
think my self bound and obliged to you, and hou unseperable
I shal be to your interest and that of your family . . .
Postscript —I hav all the tools I can find in the mater to fish
intelligence, and I assure your lordship, shal not conceal uhat
I finde. Orbistone has done all he could at this time, and is to go
to your lordship immediately after Douchal's tryall, as he tells me.
Glasgow, 22 Ocr. : [16] 84.
245. Thes days are so truble some, and the nights so short,
all I hav not being abov 7 hours free of the most trublesome
business, that I am at last lyke to sitt up ; that is, my body plays
the jade to my inclinatione ; so, in short, I am not uell, being
forced to speak for seuerall hours together. All our affairs go
uell, and we hav still some smatterings of opositione, uhilst
things are doing, but that is so soon oueruled that it's not uorthe
the while to tell it. This day our affairs go uell, for in the first
place, all the smale heritors of Stirling hav signed the Bond and
Test, and ther nomber is mor then 500 ; the delinquents of that
shire for irregularity hav all bund them selves for the future to
liv orderly and to keip ther paroash churches. The absents,
becaus it is a generall head, are not yet ordered, tho' I kno
hou it uill be. But it uill be time when it's ordered to lett your
lordship kno. All who hav refused the Bond and Test are not
300 of all, and I am confident, befor our persutes be ouer, they
uill not be one hundreth.
We ar nou wpon processes, that being our last uork,
save leaving the absents by Comissione to be persued, and
ther fynes levied. In our processes ue hav good luck,
for this day has secured the King Maxuell of Pollok's esteat by
sentence, at least uhat the King pleases of it ; not by sentence,
for that our instructions barred, much to the prejudice of our
procedor ; but in a process ue found the lybell relevant and prouen,
and according to our instructions, hav continoued the nomination
of the punishment to Edinburgh, that ue may consult uith the
Councell. Ue had mor difficulty hou to manage Douchal's process,
it being criminall ; but ue got it uell by keiping our intentions
most secret, for I neuer told any but my Lord Justice
Clerk ; so they, not knouing but ue uer immediately to proceed,
wer contented to doe any thing. So he has confessed all judicially,
and we hav continoued the dyet to the third Monday of November
at Edinburgh. This had many difficulty s in it by reason of
our instructions, but all's as it ought to be, secure to a title.
This afternoon Craigends, old and yong, and 13 heritors smal
and great mor, are brought into the King's mercy as to ther fortunes,
or hav refused the oath of aledgeance, and are to be
banished. Non of all who hav refused both Bond and Test
are lyke to escape our libells and the interrogators we put
but interrogateing hear is a particular art, not to be learned
any uher els.