Comments in refutation of pretensions advanced for the first time, and statements in a recent work "The Stirlings of Keir and their family papers"

50
COMMENTS ON KEIR PERFORMANCE,
In the character of her wardator, he treated her with the utmost rigour, detaining
her in tlie closest captivity ; and freely, as if he had been proprietor, disposed of
portions of her estate. He next caused a pretended marriage, which was after-
wards found null from the beginning, and dissolved by the Delegates of the Official
of St Andrews, to be celebrated between her and his son James. And though she
solenmly protested against this latter proceeding, and the whole of his unwarrant-
able conduct ; yet, whether from the turbulence of the period, or from other causes,
she never could obtain the smallest effectual redress.
Finally, after a struggle, and revoking a conveyance to the same effect, she was
induced to resign her heritage in favour of her pretended husband, by an instru-
ment of resignation, dated the 10th of December 1541.*
But immediately upon its execution, she expressly declared, in presence of the
Lords of Council and Session — and the declaration is formally engrossed in their
judicial acts recording the resignation — that a portion of that heritage, yielding a
yearly rent of eighty merks — no small sum in those days — had been reserved for
" THE BAIRNS OF UMQUHILE ROBERT STRIVELING, QUHILKIS ARE
IMMEDIATLIE TO SUCCEID TO ME, FALZEING OF AIRIS OF MY AWIN
BODY :"f certainly it will be allowed a fair and moderate bequest, in behalf of these
* " Anent our Soverane Lordis lettris purchest at
ye instance of Janet Striveling, heretar of the landis
and lordschip of Cadder, agains Johne Striveling of
ye Kere, knight, and James Striveling his sonne, That
quhare ye saide Johne, havand her marriage, and ye
dispositione of her warde landis, causit ane preteudit
matrimony to be maid betuix ye said James and her,
and sensyne ye saide Johnne hes halden, and as zit
haldis her in subjeotioue, and will nocht suffer her to
speik with hir f riendis, and hes compellit her to mak
diverse aiienatiouues and takkis of hir laudis and hir
heretage,"&c. — Vide App. No. 3; [audalso Addenda
to this Chapter, No. I.]
Decreet of Divorce, pronounced last day of Jan-
tiary 1541, in Register of the Decreets of the
Official of St Andrews, subjoined in the Appendix,
No. 7.
f Publick Declaration and Procuratory by Janet
Stirling Lady Calder, 10th December 1541. Acts
of the Lords of Council and Session, Lib. 17, fol.
46, inserted in the Appendix. [See also as to this
transaction, and the probability of her having been
here concussed, with relative suspicious incidents
and inferences, under No. II. of the Addenda to the
present Chapter.]
She was also, upon this occasion, prevailed upon
to acknowledge the Family of Keir as Chief of the
Stirlings ; a procedm'e which, under all the circum-
stances, it is believed will, at the present day, have
the effect rather of injurmg their supposed right to
that pre-eminence — thus so strangely gi-asped at —
than of assisting it.
To comprehend the true nature of the transac-
tion, it may be necessary to look " behind the
scenes," and some light may be derived from a
secret agreement, of a singular descriirtiou, that then
passed between Keir and a Thomas Bischop, his
servitor, once a village attorney, who aspired to be
a traitor and a foreign spy, and was at length, in
his old age, a trader at Yarmouth, and an adulterer
and burgess at Perth ; who did not scruple to avow
an act of adultery mth the Heiress, who was after-
wards bartered to him in marriage.
The deed is dated upon the 23d of February 1541,
and states, " That for the ' Help ' and ' LABonR ' of
Thomas Bischop, ' his SERVITOB, in soliciting and
FURTHERING the conveyance made by her (Janet) of
hir heritage' to Keir ; he, therefore, assigns to the
said Thomas a ' chalder of oats,' a ' tack of teind-
sheaves' (a considerable sum), the hand of the
heiress, stript of her estate, &c. — with the promise
of a pardon from the King (nowhere to be found on
record) ' for his ALLEGED lying with the said
Janet whilst she was Sir James's wife 1'" — App.
No. 9. [See again, as to this matter, No. II. of Ad-
denda, just referred to.]
With regard to this unfortunate lady, httle far-
ther is known, than that she followed her husband
to England, where she is believed to have died,
shortly after, without issue. — App. ihid.