New Spalding Club > Records of Invercauld MDXLVII - MDCCCXXVIII [1547- 1828]

420 RECORDS OF INVERCAULD.
that I might involve as few of those indevved with Compassion into my
misfortunes as possible and gratify as few of those on the other extream,
but things are gone too far to conceal any longer, and I leave it to you
or any reasonable man to Judge whether or not the following particulars
can afford or support reall or even any kind of Contentment. In the
first place I have now lost six years of what might have been the prime
of my life, then my Constitution is broke, my health and strength are
westing apace, I am daily contracting debt without knowing where or if
ever I will be able to repay it. I am banished from my native Countrie
and nearest relations where I might always have been of some service,
and I am dragging on an unactive unmeaning sort of life without having
it in my power to do good either to myself or others. If this be living
well I own myself greatly mistaken, and I wish those who think so no
greater punishment than to have a few months tryall of it with the same
notions of life that I have ; for in my Judgement it deserves no better
name than a miserable existance and a disagreeable murdering of time.
I could add some other things, full as little calculated for the above
purpose, but I believe you will think it unnecessary to bring more proofs.
I labour under many disadvantages at present, and one not of the least is
that I had occation of troubling and being obliged to so many of the
great folks, both when my life was att stake and att the time when I was
like to have been sent abroad that I cannot well have the assurance of
troubling them or even those who applied to them a third time, especially
as it is not easy to convince them that my condition is so bad as it really
happens to be ; besides, from the above expression of my living well and
standing in no need of money, I am apt to believe some of them think I
am supported in a way that I never had one shilling by as yett. Upon
the whole, as I know you are personally acquainted with some of those in
power ; if there are any of them with whom you can use the freedom as
to represent my case to them and can prevaill so far as to get any one of
weight to interest himself in my behalf, I will be extreamly obliged both
to him and you and shall ever retain a gratefull sense of the favour while
I live. All I humbly ask for is liberty, but if those at the helm can be
prevailed upon to order money for me att the same time to enable me to
pay off some of the most pressing of my debts which I have enevitably
contracted since I came here, you may believe it would still be the more
acceptable as there is nothing would give me greater pleasure than being
capable to do justice to others besides being out of the danger of under-
going another kind of imprisonment. I had almost forgot to tell you
that the last petition which was given in for me was delivered to ye D —
of N — e by my cusine, Mr. Farquharson of Invercauld, who is a person of
some consequence in his own Countrie and whose father did some
considerable pieces of Service to the government within these last few
years, particularly in giving possession of a Castle in Braemar, without