J«06.J certain Points of ScoHish Ilil-ciy 



publirtiing it; and, if it fliould be np- 

 id'uvcd, zi^ti liiiii t lie" writer's naiiif. Be- 



127 



fidiuii'^' Tuuii fciilible that I lie lilt ire was 

 too keen and ciMiijiicbeiilive to be luiio- 

 tiuiicd by tlie pnjx ocutioa winch I liad 

 iuct'ivcd, and atrui J that it luii'lit tend to 

 fxcite umtinv iii the !ej;iinfiiij I wrote 

 io tliat tViciid biniCclf to ^ct back tVoia 

 the piibhther of iho i\.lii?>,ii/.ine tlic letter 

 liibfcribed " Orq;or Muc \al>." Tiiat 

 k'lter did not appear cithL-r in tiic Jvlfiifa- 

 •/.me for May or in th::t for .1iii;c; and 

 ulien, after uiiintfcrveiition (if mure than 

 two niontiis from the time that 1 liad 

 countcruianded the puhlicalioii, I re- 

 cei\ed from Sir John Mac-( ircL'or J.lur- 

 i-ay a letter dated Aii;:ull the '^Uth, a(k- 

 lag nie whether I wastlie uulhur of a let- 

 ter replete wkUjhiniliti/, wliirli had ap- "atioii 

 ])eareii m fuwe i.emdon Magazhie, u'^ainll 

 the olhceis of th.e Clan-Alpine reiriinent, 

 butwhichhedeclaridlluulie had not fecn, 

 1 felt mvfelf autliori/ed to iiiy lliat I was 

 not. 'i'lic letter fiibfcribed " Gregor 

 jMac Nab," thou;;!! i-epletc with pointed 

 ridicule, contains, T apprehend, im/cu!- 

 rilili/ ; and I coiiid not, at any rate, en- 

 tertauia chndit but that tlie h'tter wjitteu 

 by me had been fupprelfed in confe- 

 uucnce of my pofitive iiiiunction; whilll 

 I knew that others iiail threatened to 

 publifli fotni'thing abont the Cliui-.\lpine 

 reo;iment cf a very dilfercnt purpitrt. 



Thcfe facrs were proved by tlie mod 

 incoiitrcfvenible evidence, to the cntiic 

 conviction of Sir Jolm ^ilac-Greiior Mur- 

 ray hinifeLt"; iind to him, as well as to 

 I-ord WoodUoufelce, ?>ir. William Er- 

 ll>lne, advocate, and Mr. Macfarquhar, 

 •writer to tlie figuet, I appeal for thetrutli 

 of every one of them. 



The offeiifiAC letter, liowcver, having 

 been publilhed,not,withftandini; the means 

 vliich I had taken, as I thought, fuccefa- 

 fiilly, to fupprcfs it*, I beg lea\ e to afk 

 any man of candour what line of conduCl 



* 1 mult here acquit my friend, as well as 

 the publilhtr of the Maeazhie, ot all blame, 

 •wKicli thole not acquainted with tlie particu- 

 lars of the Cife may be inclined to put upon 

 them. My triend was ablcnC from London, 

 and did not receive my letter till it was to» 

 l^Lte to get bad: the manufcript ; and I have 

 been aiTured, that by a combination of very 

 fingular ckcumftances, which would Iiave 

 mi.lcd any man, the publilTicr was induced 

 to believe, that " Gregor Mac Nab" was no 

 fliElitioui fijnatuic. He ihould, however, 

 liavc flicvvn the m.-inufcript, as foon as he re- 

 c«ivfd it, to the gentlemen to wlioni he was 

 dirC(3cJ to ihcwit by the fnort noieut the bot- 

 tom of the page ; but even for that negligence 

 I am. acquainted with Ills apology, and adout 

 iii valiaitj. 



remained for me to purfue, diffurpnl from 

 that which 1 acfaaily pui(u(id.' JMr. 

 Lain;; is luiliaken when he fuppofc-s, tor 

 he cannot haicbeeu told, tliut the nsa- 

 iiulVript was produced a^iainlt me ia a 

 court ofjujiicL. 1 received mdeod a faiu- 

 motis; but no ad ion was carried oa 

 •aiiuiiiii me, l)ecaul'c L aokno-.vieJ'j:id iqt 

 (jiicnce, and by uiy <,-oaiif(;l — .jow Loiii 

 WooJlioul'clee-^'.iered to make for it 

 «ny ap.ilo'^y, that Sir JJiii M.ic-fJregor 

 Murray, who conceived liiiafeif injured, 

 ihoulJ dictate. Perhaps Mr. i.aiiv; 

 thuik.i that it would h r.e ooen more hi>- 

 nourable, and more conhlieiit witli mo- 

 rality, to perfili in attemptins;!; to juHiff 

 a fatirical eifulion, which, ihoui^h prompt- 

 ed at iirli.by what I felt as virtuous iiidrg 

 I hud loai been fenlible w»s oji 

 maiiv accoimts wrouii. It fo, I tlrank 

 God that \\ii iiotioua and iniae, as well of 

 honour and morality as of fouic other 

 thiuL'.'-, are very diVercnt. I aui a man, 

 and fubjett to the failini;* <sf huiiiauity : 

 1 am u Ciirillian, and when I eiT, I willl 

 to repent of my errors a^ld to atone ft>r 

 them ; if Mr. Lain^ imaj;ir-e that he lia» 

 never erred, as I have no wiili to -atone 

 fur his eriors, I do not envy iiis fell-coin- 

 placcncy. 



But the apolosy, or, as ]N'b-.T^i'.i^ call* 

 it, the recantation was IcjmiliatiiJg ! i 

 admit tbat it was more bn;uiliatlno ihaa 

 gcnerotity, perhaps, ou the one hand, 

 would h-^ve demaudcd, ')r than pride, on 

 the otlier, would willingly have grauted : 

 but when the party whivii couceivcd it- 

 fclf injured had given a folema proiiiife, 

 that no man ihouhl be made stcquainteJ 

 with the itaine of tho apologill, e.vcept 

 the friend to whole care the apology was 

 •to be tranhnitted*, would there have bee* 

 honour, virtue, religion, or common leule, 

 in going to law about the tuins of mv 

 apology, when I was m},-1elf fenlible that 

 fo:ne apology was due ? Let me declur* 

 too, and I tio it lolemnly in the prefence 

 of him who knov\s the fccrets of iUl 

 hearts, that, as this is the only inffance 



• Sir John Mac-Grei;or Murray gave the ' 

 promife, and as he is a man of honour, I have 

 not a doubt hut he has religioufly obfervcJ it. 

 Nay, I am pcrfuaded, by all tliat I kiiowor . 

 have heard of him, that he will be more in-; 

 dignant, as he certainly has caufe to be, at . 

 Mr. Laing's conduit o:i the prcfcnt o-cafwa ; 

 than even I am. I feel it therefore a duty , 

 which I owe to him, to declare thus pub- -. 

 lic:ly, that Mr. Lain',', as he informe^d the 

 Archdeiconof Staftbrd, derived his iuformi- 

 tion from no man of the name of Mac-Gre- 

 gor ; and that he a.'"ter wards Conf^fTcd, that, with 

 refpeft to fome particulars, he had mifaiiier- j 

 fteoi liii infuriucr, 



pro'iucei 



