Earls of Aboyne

12
there is a little love song, written probably to
his wife, which 'has the real ring aibout it: —
It's not thy beautie nor thy witt,
That did my heart obtaine;
For non of these could conquer yitt,
Either my 'breast or braine ;
And if you'll not prove kynd to me,
Yet true as heretofoire,
Your slave henceforth I'll scorne to be,
Nor doat upon you more !
I mean to love and not to dott,
I'll love for love againe :
And if ye say ye love me not,
I'll laugh at your disdaine !
If you'll be loving, I'll be kynd
And still I'll constant be;
And if the time doe change your mind
I'll change as soon as ye.
The Bail died in March 1681, after an honour-
able career. Had he lived three years more, he
would have seen his ward raised to the Dukedom
of Gordon. He was twice married. His first wife
was Margaret Irvine, daughter of the laird of
Drum. "Bonnie Peggy" Irvine, as she was called,
died suddenly in December 1662, leaving one
child, Lady Ann Gordon. The Countess (who
enjoyed that rank only two years) is the subject
of the well-known ballad "Lord Aboyne," which
tells of her dying through jealousy, which was
confirmed by a passing joke from her lord. Per-
haps they had had a tiff, as foreshadowed in the
verses I have quoted; but he repented — too late,
for
When he saw the letter sealed wi' black
He fell on his horse weepin' :
"If she be dead that I love best,
She has my heart a keepinV
He married secondly in August 1665, Lady Eliza-
beth Lyon, daughter of John, 2nd Earl of King-
horne, infefting her with an annuity of ,£400. A
curious echo of this marriage was heard nearly
thirty years after the 1st Earl's death, for in 1709
Mrs Lyon, widow of John Lyon of Muiresk, sued
John, 3rd Earl of Aboyne, in the Court of Session
for .payment of 3000 merks due under an obliga-
tion granted by his grandfather, the 1st Earl.
The defenders resisted payment on the ground
that in the obligation the words "3500 merks"
had been interlined and that the deed was con-
sequently null, but this defence was repelled on
flhe ground that it appeared from the deed other-