Death of De la Beaute. By George Muirhead. 103 



wish presented itself in the following manner : — " About 

 this time" says that author — "Cockburn of Langton in the 

 Merse, having died, left as guardians to his son, while under 

 age, Cockburn of Clarkington in Lothian, and Ohirnside of 

 Nisbet in Merse, thus passing over his brother William, who 

 had married David's sister, the widow of Swinton, who being an 

 irritable man was offended at such exclusion, as contrary to the 

 custom of the country, which conferred that office on the nearest 

 relation. He therefore, being assisted by the brothers of David, 

 who then lived with their widowed mother at Polwart in the 

 neighbourhood, besieged the castle of Langton which the 

 guardians had seized on. This appeared to De la Bastie, who 

 then happened to be holding a court at Kelso, to be an improper 

 act, and one which tended to diminish his authority ; he there- 

 fore sent letters to David requiring him to come to him. David 

 refused to go, unless he received a passport to enable him to 

 return when he pleased ; De la Bastie hesitated not ; he sent an 

 ample passport, and as he was about to proceed to Dunbar, he 

 recommended that he should meet him on his journey on the 

 following day : so it was ; he had scarcely left the town a mile 

 or two when Wedderburn met him. He was courteously 

 received, and the first salutations were apparently peaceable and 

 friendly ; by degrees they touched upon this disturbance. De 

 la Bastie recommended that as a relation, he should withdraw 

 his brothers from the undertaking, which was one that set a bad 

 example, and not to bo endured : that if they thought William 

 had been treated unjustly, they should refer it to the laws, for 

 by them and not by force they must act ; through them a way 

 was open to justice. David in reply eagerly cleared himself, 

 and declared that he had nothing to do with the matter; that 

 William indeed had sustained an injury in being deprived of 

 the management of the estate of his nephew, a minor, contrary to 

 the custom of the country ; he asserted that this had taken place 

 not so much from the will of the father, which had become un- 

 steady through the effect of disease, as from a trick of the 

 guardians ; all this was however nothing to him ; neither William 

 nor his brothers were under his control ; if they acted otherwise 

 than was proper, let them be called and answer for it themselves. 

 This irritated De la Bastie. who insisted that it was all his doing, 

 as they would do whatever he commanded. He (Wedderburn) 

 on the contrary alleged that they were their own masters, that 



