218 ANDREW HERON AND HIS KINSFOLK. 
John Vining, and went into business with his cousin, John 
Vining Reade, in Portsmouth.’ Andrew Heron in the dis- 
position of his property passed over this grandchild, as he, 
John V. Heron, was amply provided for by his maternal grand- 
father, the rich old merchant of Portsmouth. The second son 
of the Captain was Dr Andrew Heron, “a physician of 
London.” It was to this grandson that the Bargally estate 
was to come should Captain P. Heron predecease his father. 
At the time of Andrew Heron’s death the situation was 
as follows :—His eldest son, with whom he had quarrelled, 
had died, leaving an only daughter. His second son was 
also dead: while the third was with his regiment in Canada. 
His wife also was dead. What had become of his other chil- 
dren does not now concern us in telling the story of the great 
litigation. All persons therefore who knew, or might have 
known, anything about Andrew Heron’s money difficulties 
and the loans from his nephew were either dead or far 
removed. This gave the astute Patrick II. of Kirrouchtree 
the opportunity he had so long looked and patiently waited 
for. Without more to do he took over to his own use Bar- 
eally and his uncle’s effects, and remained in undisputed pos- 
session for twelve years.’ No doubt after such a lengthy period 
of time he flattered himself that no trouble was likely to arise 
from his cousin’s sons, who lived in Portsmouth or London. 
But there appears to have been a lurking suspicion in the mind 
of John Vining Heron that things were not quite straight, 
and at the subsequent trial he stated that he recalled a letter 
of his father’s, Captain Patrick Heron, asking him to look 
after the estate when his grandfather died, *‘ for he would 
find it worth his while.’’ Why he waited twelve years to do 
that he did not explain, nor does it seem very probable that 
the Captain ever wrote in this strain, as he must have known 
that Andrew of Bargally had expressly left John Vining out 
of his will. As heir at law, John V. Heron had come into 
possession of certain papers after his father’s death about 
1748, and thus discovered at least some of the transactions 
between his grandfather and his cousin at Kirrouchtree. This 
appears to have been enough for him, and he commenced an 
action against his cousin of Kirrouchtree to recover Bargally 
