He became afterwards
bankrupt, and in consequence of that misfortune the lady's papers
passed into other hands, and it was only a few days since I traced and
recovered them. Without these documents of evidence, it would have
been imprudent for her to have preferred her complaint, favoured as
Lord Dalgarno is by powerful friends."
"Ye are saucy to say sae," said the king; "I ken what ye mean weel
eneugh--ye think Steenie wad hae putten the weight of his foot into
the scales of justice, and garr'd them whomle the bucket--ye forget,
Geordie, wha it is whose hand uphaulds them. And ye do poor Steenie
the mair wrang, for he confessed it ance before us and our privy
council, that Dalgarno would have put the quean aff on him, the puir
simple bairn, making him trow that she was a light-o'-love; in whilk
mind he remained assured even when he parted from her, albeit Steenie
might hae weel thought ane of thae cattle wadna hae resisted the like
of him."
"The Lady Hermione," said George Heriot, "has always done the utmost
justice to the conduct of the duke, who, although strongly possessed
with prejudice against her character, yet scorned to avail himself of
her distress, and on the contrary supplied her with the means of
extricating herself from her difficulties."
"It was e'en like himsell--blessings on his bonny face!" said the
king; "and I believed this lady's tale the mair readily, my Lord
Huntinglen, that she spake nae ill of Steenie--and to make a lang tale
short, my lord, it is the opinion of our council and ourself, as weel
as of Baby Charles and Steenie, that your son maun amend his wrong by
wedding this lady, or undergo such disgrace and discountenance as we
can bestow.
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