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206
CATRIONA.

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 Coulston'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: