many persons of rank and quality were drowned,
and among the rest Hyde, his brother-in-law, he was very careful to save
several of his dogs and priests; for these two species of favorites are
coupled together by some writers. It has likewise been asserted, that
the barge might safely have held more persons, and that some who swam
to it were thrust off, and even their hands cut, in order to disengage
them. But every action of every eminent person, during this period is so
liable to be misinterpreted and misrepresented by faction, that we ought
to be very cautious in passing judgment on too slight evidence. It
is remarkable, that the sailors on board the ship, though they felt
themselves sinking, and saw inevitable death before their eyes, yet, as
soon as they observed the duke to be in safety, gave a loud shout, in
testimony of their joy and satisfaction.

The duke, during his abode in Scotland, had behaved with great civility
towards the gentry and nobility; and by his courtly demeanor had much
won upon their affections: but his treatment of the enthusiasts was
still somewhat rigorous; and in many instances he appeared to be a man
of a severe, if not an unrelenting temper. It is even asserted, that
he sometimes assisted at the torture of criminals, and looked on with
tranquillity, as if he were considering some curious experiment.[*] He
left the authority in the hands of the earl of Aberdeen, chancellor, and
the earl of Queensberry, treasurer: a very arbitrary spirit appeared in
their administration.

* Burnet, vol. i. p. 583. Wodrow, vol. ii. p. 169. This last
author, who is much the better authority, mentions only one
instance, that of Spreul, which seems to have been an
extraordinary one.

A gentleman of the name of Weir was tried, because he had kept company
with one who had been in rebellion; though that person had never been
marked out by process or proclamation. The inferences upon which Weir
was condemned, (for a prosecution by the government and a condemnation
were in Scotland the same thing,) hung upon each other after the
following manner. No man, it was supposed, could have been in a
rebellion without being exposed to suspicion in the neighborhood: if
the neighborhood had suspected him, it was to be presumed that each
individual had likewise heard of the grounds of suspicion: every man was
bound to declare to the government his suspicion against every man,
and to avoid the company of