Series 5 > Miscellany [of the Scottish History Society] XIII

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MISCELLANY XIII
his oath, the bond & Backbond was burned by the Duke of
Lawderdale in presence of the Lord Yester (who then observed that
Haltons name was filled up in the blank of the Backbond) and Sir
Geofrge] Lokart & others.
After the first adjumment of the third session of Parliament in
which the Duke of Lawderdale was Comis[sione]r in Decemb[er]
1674 [1673] the Earle of Tweeddale went to London with the Duke of
Hamilton to vindicat himself from the misrepresentations he knew had
been made of him to the King. When he came the length of Berwick
he found his letters from his sone (who had gone to London some
weeks befor in order to the selling of ane interest he had by his Lady
from her mother and Grandmother,1 which the Duke of Lawderdale
had keept possession of and lifted the rents at least for three terms
though he had not the least pretence of Interest so to do,2& whereof
he did also keep up all the writings untill the seall was perfitted to
have frustrat the bargain if possible) were intercepted & sent back to
be showen to his Ma[jes]tie as if some great design or plot had been to
be discovered therby because he had made use of white ink & ane
wafer3 least [i.e. lest] the Duke of Lawderdale should break them up
as he had two year befor broke up letters of the Earle of Tweeddales
& his Ladys going to France to Drumelliar4 to leam what had become
of the Countess of Lawderdales Jewells, which letters he had the
confidence to own the breaking up of and show them to the Earle,
saying he had the Kings warrant therfor, being then his
Commis[sione]r. But in these letters of the L[or]d Yesters there being
only found some expressions concerning the Duke of Lauderdale,
Halton begged them of the King that he might show them to the Duke,
as he did to provoke him the more against his goodson. Upon the
1 Lauderdale’s deceased wife had owned houses in London, including the one in
Highgate where she and Lauderdale had lived before their breakup. Lauderdale
turned them over to the Yesters in September 1672, after illegally collecting nine
months’ rent, neglecting repairs, and digging up the best fruit trees on the Highgate
property to embellish Ham House. Yester was in the process of selling the other
properties, in Aldersgate, which he did in 1674. NLS, MS 14547, fos. 145-6, 196-7.
2 The italicized phrase is in the margin of the draft, in Tweeddale’s hand. Yester had
suggested a longer addition, adding ‘kept up the writs much longer so that the L.Y.
could not enter into possession for above a year after his goodmother died, which
was of great prejudice to him’. Tweeddale evidently decided this was unnecessary.
NLS, MS 3134, no. 120.
3 A copying error: ‘cyfer’ in the original.
4 Drumelzier’s letters to Yester in the wake of Lady Lauderdale’s death are in NLS,
MS 14414, fos. 1-17.