The KiRKOs. 227 



dcli\cred up the bond and assignation, and apprehended 

 John Cannon of Barlochan, son and heir of the debtor, and 

 kept liiiii under restraint until he compounded with him and 

 j,n-anled bond for 600 merks ; and that on the petitioners 

 suiui,"- for payment of 800 merks, the debtor answered that 

 ho could not pay until the bond for 600 merks and the 

 orig-inai bond of resignation were retired. Accordingly, the 

 petitioners prayed for reco\ ery of the document, which had 

 been consigned in the hands of the clerks of Exchequer, and 

 the Lords granted warrant for delivery to Kirko.^'' 



On the 28th of December, 1675, ^^^ Harry Knox, mini- 

 ster of Dunscorc, and his family were " strangely surprysed 

 with the violent assault of six men in armes, one quherof 

 keeped the horses of the rest, another guarded the nixt 

 neighbour's door to the minister's house with a bcndit pistoll 

 and dagger, vowing the death of the first person should 

 offer to mutter or come out of doores, and a thrid having 

 after the same maner guarded the minister's door, the uther 

 thrie entered the same, luo of them ha\eing their hair tyed 

 up beneath their bonnetts and their faces blacked with ink 

 or such lyk matter, and the thrid followed, being under no 

 disguise, each of them haveing pistolls at their hands about 

 liirie quarters long, and a thrid a broad sword ; and the said 

 thrie armed persons, haveing come the lenth of the minister's 

 fyr syd where he wes then standing-, without urging any 

 quarrell, fell violently upon his head with the broad syd of 

 their dra.wn daggers and naked sword, frequently calling him 

 l)ase dog, damned rascall, and foule murtherer ; and the 

 minister's wyfe leaping betuixt them and her husband and 

 clasping her bare armes about his head to keep off the 

 blowes, yet they did not putt a stop to their barbarous in- 

 humanity, bot cruelie continowed the doubleing of their 

 blowes upon the poor woman's bare armes, albeit it wes 

 often told them that she wes within thrie monethes of child 

 birth. And the saids persons haveing after the said maner 



27 RFC, 3rd Ser.. iv., pp. 7, 8. This was a favourite expedient 

 of Bellenden's. See note 21 above, and lil'C.. 3rd Ser.. iii.. pp. 

 2-57-8, 682. where we find that it had been employed in 1670 in the 

 case of Alexander Kirko of Auchinfute. 



