Cameronian days and the Darien adventure of which, under the title
of _Heathercat_, he only lived to write the first few introductory
chapters (see vol. xxi. p. 177, of this edition).

_6th December 1893._

"_October 25, 1685._--At Privy Council, George Murray, Lieutenant of the
King's Guard, and others, did, on the 21st of September last, obtain a
clandestine order of Privy Council to apprehend the person of Janet
Pringle, daughter to the late Clifton, and she having retired out of the
way upon information, he got an order against Andrew Pringle, her uncle,
to produce her.... But she having married Andrew Pringle, her uncle's
son (to disappoint all their designs of selling her), a boy of thirteen
years old." But my boy is to be fourteen, so I extract no
further.--FOUNTAINHALL, i. 320.

"_May 6, 1685._--Wappus Pringle of Clifton was still alive after all,
and in prison for debt, and transacts with Lieutenant Murray, giving
security for 7000 marks."--i. 372.

No, it seems to have been _her_ brother who had succeeded.

MY DEAR CHARLES.--The above is my story, and I wonder if any light can
be thrown on it. I prefer the girl's father dead; and the question is,
How in that case could Lieutenant George Murray get his order to
"apprehend" and his power to "sell" her in marriage?

Or--might Lieutenant G. be her tutor, and she fugitive to the Pringles,
and on the discovery of her whereabouts hastily married?

A good legal note on these points is very ardently desired by me; it
will be the corner-stone of my novel.

This is for--I am quite wrong to tell you--for you will tell others--and
nothing will teach you that all my schemes are in the air, and vanish
and reappear again like shapes in the clouds--it is for _Heathercat_:
whereof the first volume will be called _The Killing Time_, and I
believe I have authorities ample for that. But the second volume is to
be called (I believe) _Darien_, and for that I want, I fear, a good deal
of truck:--

_Darien Papers_,
_Carstairs Papers_,
_Marchmont Papers_,
_Jerviswoode Correspondence_,

I hope may do me. Some sort of general history of the Darien affair (if
there is a decent one, which I misdoubt), it would also be well to
have--the one with most details, if possible. It is singular how obscure
to me this decade of Scots history remains, 1690-1700--a deuce of a want
of light and grouping to it! However, I believe I shall be mostly out of
Scotland in m