Series 1 > Journals of Sir John Lauder, Lord Fountainhall, with his observations on public affairs and other memoranda, 1665-1676

INTRODUCTION
xv
my leaving it on the Monday. If you could make it convenient to
grant me an audience on either of the days I have mentioned, viz.,
on Saturday, or Sunday, the 1st or 2nd of June, you would very
much oblige me, and it will be a further favor if you will have a
note lying for me at Mrs. President Blair’s, or at my Agent, Mr.
Macbean’s, 11 Charlotte Square, stating the precise time when
you can most conveniently receive me, that I may not be so
unfortunate as to call on you unseasonably. With the highest
respect, and with very great regard, I have the honor to be,
dear sir, very truly yours, Thos. Dick Lauder.’
To this Sir Walter replied :—
f My dear Sir,—I am sorry you could for a moment think that
in printing rather than publishing Lord Fountainhall’s Notes or
rather Mr. Milne’s, for that honest gentleman had taken the
superfluous trouble to write the whole book anew, I meant to
interfere with your valuable and extensive projected work. I
mentioned in the advertisement that you were engaged in writing
the life of Lord Fountainhall, and therefore declined saying any¬
thing on the subject, and I must add that I always conceived it
was his life you meant to publish and not his works. I am very
happy you entertain the latter intention, for a great deal of
historical matter exists in the manuscript copy of the collection
of decisions which has been omitted by the publishers, whose
object was only to collect the law reports and who appear in the
latter volume entirely to have disregarded all other information.
There is also somewhere in the Advocates’ Library, but now mis¬
laid, a very curious letter of Lord Fountainhall on the Revolution,
and so very many other remains of his that I would fain hope your
work will suffer nothing by my anticipation, which I assure you
would never have taken place had I conceived those Notes fell
within your plan. The fact was that the letter on the Revolution
was mislaid and the little Ma[nuscript] having disappeared also,
though it was afterwards recovered, it seemed to me worth while
to have it put in a printed shape for the sake of preservation, and
as only one hundred copies were printed, I hope it will rather
excite than gratify curiosity on the subject of Lord Fountainhall.
I expected to see you before I should have thought of publishing
the Letter on the Revolution, and hoped to whet your almost
blunted purpose about doing that and some other things yourself.
I think a selection from the Decisions just on the contrary principle
which was naturally enough adopted by the former publishers.