1914-15.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 385 



there, some personal touches and references to localities are 

 omitted, and these, whilst of less moment to the general 

 reader, are of sufficient local interest to justify printing 

 here a literal transcript. By the graciousness of His 

 Majesty the late King Edward VII, I was granted the 

 privilege of a transcript of the whole MS. which is now in 

 the Library at Windsor, and am allowed to reproduce it. 



[Dr. Arthur to the Duke of Mar.] 



[1716, before October 17.] — " May it please your Grace 

 Its the inseparable Fate of every one concerned in mis- 

 adventures to bear a share of the dishonour however he 

 acquitts himself. Tho' mine have been of such an unhappy 

 nature that they strike at the two prime qualitys wherein 

 one can be of use in any enterprize his Conduct and 

 Courage the heavyest imputations that can fall upon a 

 Character, yet I had too many Vouchers not to be proof 

 against them had I been able to bear the thought of being 

 consider'd to have had a guiltjr pairt in the King's mis- 

 fortunes, 1 the only causes of all my sorrows and anjr im- 



1 Here we have Arthur defending himself against the accusation 

 of betrayer of the plot. On a later page he returns to this when 

 describing his parting from his wife (see p. 397). The historians have 

 always made an effective use of the episode so gratifying to the instinct 

 of " cherchez la femme." That the plot was betrayed from within the 

 body of conspirators is attested by so good an authority as Baron Clerk, 

 whose close relationship to Lord Ormiston, the receiver of the betraying 

 communication, as well as to Dr. Arthur, is shown in the pedigree table 

 at p. 381 In his Memoirs, p. 94, Baron Clerk says : — 



" One publick incident I cannot but remember here, because some of 

 my particular Friends were so unhappy as to be concerned in it, this 

 was in September 1715, just after Mar came to Scotland and had begun 

 the Rebellion, to surprise the Castle of Edin. 



"As the appointed time drew near for accomplishing this enterprise, 

 I belive some of the intended conquerors began to discover their want 

 of adequet courage, and therefor, to prevent it, made a secret intimation 

 of it to the justice clerk, then Lord Ormistone, he immediately gave 

 notice of it to the Depute Governour, who ordered most of his Garrisone 

 to go the round of the Castle Wall. This precaution hapned precisely 

 in time, for just as the Garisone came to that part of the Wall which 

 was to be scaled they found the above Serjeant Ainsley fixing the 

 Laders. He was immediately apprehended, and on the firing of a 

 musket the Heroes below dispersed themselves. Most of them on this 

 discovery fled the country, and the Serjeant was shortly after hanged at 

 the place where he was taken." 



This does not implicate Dr. Arthur directly, and as his brother 

 Thomas Arthur was in the conspiracy, was married, and his wife knew 

 of his Jacobite associations (see p. 390), it may have been, if the betrayer 



