and desired the deponent to say
nothing of that matter, and that he would be a brother to him, and give
him every thing he stood in need of, and particularly would help him to
stock a farm when he took one; and the time of deponing, the deponent
exhibited a paper, which is marked on the back by the Lord Examiner,
the deponent averring he cannot write: And depones, That the said paper
was put in his hands by the said Duncan Clerk, who at the time told him
it was a premium of twenty pounds Scots to hold his tongue of what he
knew of Serjeant Davies: Depones, That while the deponent was in the
panel Duncan Clerk's service, and about Lammas seventeen hundred and
fifty-one, he showed to the deponent a long green silk purse, and that
he showed also to the deponent the contents which were in it, _viz._
sixteen guineas in gold, and some silver: And being interrogate what
was the occasion of showing this purse and money to the deponent,
Depones, it was one of two which he does not remember, either he had
come from Aberdeen with money, which he had got for his wool, or was
going to Badenoch to buy sheep: Depones, That he saw upon the finger of
Elizabeth Downie, the panel Duncan Clerk's wife, a yellow ring, which
she told him was gold, with a plate on the outside of it, in the form
of a seal, and that he saw it on her finger six or eight weeks before
her marriage; and that after her marriage, she having one day taken it
off her finger, he saw upon the inside of it a stamp, but what that
stamp is he does not know. And being interrogate, Depones, That he had
a suspicion that this ring was Serjeant Davies's ring, having heard it
reported in the country that Serjeant Davies had such a ring upon his
finger when he was murdered, but does not remember his having told his
suspicion to any body; and being further interrogate, depones, That
since the panel Duncan's imprisonment, the deponent was solicited by
Donald Clerk, the panel Duncan's brother, to conceal what he knew when
he came to give evidence; but this was after his having first solicited
the deponent to leave the country, that he might not give evidence, and
upon the deponent's saying he offered him nothing to leave the country
with; but then it was that Donald proposed his not giving true
evidence, adding, that of every penny Donald was worth, the deponent
should have the half; and being interrogate, at the desire of the Jury,
if ever he had asked payment of the twenty pounds con