ing referred to the year '45, the chief of the Campbells,
sitting as Justice-General upon the bench, thus addressed the
unfortunate Stewart before him: "If you had been successful in that
rebellion, you might have been giving the law where you have now
received the judgment of it; we, who are this day your judges, might
have been tried before one of your mock courts of judicature; and then
you might have been satiated with the blood of any name or clan to which
you had an aversion."

"This is to let the cat out of the bag, indeed," thought I. And that was
the general impression. It was extraordinary how the young advocate lads
took hold and made a mock of this speech, and how scarce a meal passed
but what some one would get in the words: "And then you might have been
satiated." Many songs were made in that time for the hour's diversion,
and are near all forgot. I remember one began:

What do ye want the bluid of, bluid of?
Is it a name, or is it a clan,
Or is it an aefauld Hielandman,
That ye want the bluid of, bluid of?

Another went to my old favourite air, _The House of Airlie_, and began
thus:

It fell on a day when Argyle was on the bench,
That they served him a Stewart for his denner.

And one of the verses ran:

Then up and spak the Duke, and flyted on his cook,
I regaird it as a sensible aspersion,
That I would sup ava', an' satiate my maw,
With the bluid of ony clan of my aversion.

James was as fairly murdered as though the Duke had got a fowling-piece
and stalked him. So much of course I knew: but others knew not so much,
and were more affected by the items of scandal that came to light in the
progress of the cause. One of the chief was certainly this sally of the
justice's. It was run hard by another of a juryman, who had struck into
the midst of Colstoun's speech for the defence with a "Pray, sir, cut it
short, we are quite weary," which seemed the very excess of impudence
and simplicity. But some of my new lawyer friends were still more
staggered with an innovation that had disgraced and even vitiated the
proceedings. One witness was never called. His name, indeed, was
printed, where it may still be seen on the fourth page of the list:
"James Drummond, _alias_ Macgregor, _alias_ James More, late tenant in
Inveronachile"; and his precognition had been taken, as the manner is,
in writing. He had remembered or invented (God help him) matter which
wa