92 Echoes of the 18th Century. 



marriage. She so far accepted of his proposal as to tell her 

 brother she would marry him, and desired him to write to 

 Valleyford and acquaint her mother of it. Her brother argued 

 with lier against it, setting forth his bad state of health, it being 

 tliought he was dying in a consumption, and wasted to a skeleton. 

 But all was to no purpose. Lady Aberdeen came to town in the 

 greatest rage against it, just this day week, for it has been on the 

 carpet only a fortnight. Her mother said it would be a most 

 ridiculous marriage, the man's want of liealth, liis having a strict 

 entail on his estate which would not admit of anything for 

 younger ciiildren, his having been so long abroad made him 

 unknown to everybody, that she was well informed he was in 

 debt, that could he have raised £200 he would not have sought 

 her or anybody, but gone directly again to Nice to Gen. Paterson, 

 who is his relation, and in short abused her for thinking of it. 

 All this conversation passed before Lady Halkerton, who told 

 me Lady Harriott's answers. In the first place she told my 

 lady that he was a gentleman as good as themselves, that he had 

 £500 a year, and that if he could not give her £200 a year of 

 fortune she would be content with the interest of her own money, 

 which is £2000, which bears interest, and £500 my Lord is 

 obliged to give lier for wedding clothes. That it he could not 

 give a provision to younger children they would not be quality, 

 and so could work for their bread ; and if he was in a straight 

 for a little ready money she had £200 in her pocket, which she 

 had just got from Lord Aberdeen for byegone interest, and he 

 should liave that. As it is to be imagined, my Lady Aberdeen 

 was exceedingly angry with her. She left Lady Halkerton's, 

 went immediately on the Sunday to Valleyford, and tlie next 

 day to Prestonhall, and has not seen her daughter or desired to 

 see her since. In the meantime Lord Aberdeen arrives in town. 

 She told him the same she had told her mother. He went off 

 for London. In the meantime she wanted to employ lawyers to 

 look into Gordon's character and entails. My Lord Aberdeen 

 desired her, if she was for that, to employ his man Eraser, the 

 writer, so she took him and Mr Millar, the solicitor. Mr Gordon 

 took Mr Ferguson of Tilgour, and one Scot, a writer, so the 

 papers are lying before these gentlemen now. During the time 

 these transactions are going on her brother told her he had 

 heard she had liad a courtship with Mr Veitch, that had she 

 employed him to transact a marriage with him lie would have 



