Series 1 > Miscellany of the Scottish History Society (First volume)

450
MASTERTON PAPERS
such dates as the birth of ‘ my dochter Kathrin,’ or the death
of ‘Francis Paton,’ than such as Bothwell Brigg and the death
of the Archbishop. And it is precisely in this that its value lies,
for, while there are quaint touches which cannot fail to interest
the general reader, the large body of information of the former
class which it contains may, at any point, yield a fact or a
suggestion of importance to the specialist.
The careful abstention from expressions of personal senti¬
ment and the brevity of the references to contemporary political
events are in themselves suggestive at once of the social con¬
ditions of the period and of the character of Francis Masterton.
But other documents preserved along with the Remarques
appear worthy of publication as helping to illustrate both
these points even more directly. Among these are two in his
own hand entitled ‘ Adwise and memorandum to them that
succeds me in the Parkmilne,1 and ‘ A feu desyres to my wyfe
if it please God she survive me, wch I pray she may long doe
it,’ a prayer which was not granted, and a third, ‘ Lawes for
regulating the societie of husbandmen within the shyre of
Clacmannane.1
The first two papers embody Francis Masterton’s wishes as
regards the arrangements for his funeral and the distribution
of his estate, and convey to his wife and family sage advice for
the management of Parkmill, and for the conduct of their
affairs generally after his death. From the clean though worn
state of these papers they would appear to have been treated
with respect and frequently referred to by his successors. The
third paper contains the laws of a society proposed to be
formed, about the close of the seventeenth century, among the
husbandmen of the parishes of Clackmannan and Alloa—at
one place divided into three classes, ‘ the nobleman, (Lord
Mar), gentlemen, and farmers or husbandmen—who are to
subscribe to a fund for providing relief to honest labourers
within these parishes, but only to such as have been diligent
labourers and fallen back either by ill crops or by ‘ inlakeing