elonged to her said former
husband, as also wore silver knee-buckles, and had two dozen silver
buttons upon a double-breasted vest, made of stript lutstring: That he
frequently had about him a folding penknife, that had a brown
tortoise-shell handle, and a plate upon the end of it, on which was cut
a naked boy, or some such device, with which he often sealed his
letters: That one day when he was dressing some hooks while the
deponent was by, she observed that he was cutting his hat with his
penknife, and she went towards him, and asked him what he meant by
cutting his hat? To which he answered, that he was cutting his name
upon it: To which the deponent replied, she could not see what he could
mean by putting his name upon a thing of no value, and pulled it out of
his hand in a jocular way, but he followed her, and took the hat from
her, and she observed that the A. was then cut out in the hat; and
after he got it, she saw him cut out the letter D., which he did in a
hurry, and which the deponent believed was occasioned by the toying
that was between them concerning this matter, for when she observed it,
she said to him you have made a pretty sort of work of it, by having
misplaced the letters: To which he answered, that it was her fault,
having caused him do it in a hurry. And the hat now upon the table, and
which is lying in the clerk's hands, and referred to in the indictment,
being shown to her, Depones, That to the best of her judgment and
belief, that is the hat above mentioned: Depones, That she never has
seen neither the said Serjeant, the gold purse, or silver purse, above
mentioned, nor the buckles for his shoes and knees, watch, or penknife,
since he marched from his quarters with the party at the time at which
he is supposed to have been murdered: Depones, That on Thursday, being
the day immediately preceding Michaelmas, being the twenty-eighth of
September, one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, her husband went
out very early in the morning from Dubrach, and that four men of the
party under his command soon after followed him, in order to meet the
patrol from Glenshye, and in the afternoon before four o'clock, the
four men returned to Dubrach, and acquainted the deponent that they had
seen and heard him fire a shot, as they believed, at Tarmatans, but
that he did not join company with them: That at the place appointed
they met with a corporal and a party from Glenshee, and then retired
home: Depones, Th