lády Jane and her husband Sir John Stewart, mother and father to the defendant Mr. Douglas, and the feveral steps they took preceding his birth. According to this narrative, which appears to be tolerably accurate and impartial, lady Jane, when The was forty-eight years of age, married a gentleman of fainily, John Stewart, Efq; who afterwards became Sir John Stewart, of Grandtully. Our readers, perhaps, may not be displeased at being made acquainted with a few anecdotes concerning this gentleman, which may be looked upon as fupplementary to the work before us, but ought to have no small weight in a proof which is no more than circumftantial.

Sir John, when very young, was an officer in the Swedish army; and, till the time of his elder brother's death, his friends and acquaintances always gave him the appellation of colonel. Even when the hand of poverty afflicted kim, he was generous and good-natur'd to a fault. His profufion brought hith into neceflities, which were often encreased by the goodness of his heart; witness the friendship he fhewed to Theodore, king of Corfica, who was his fellow-fufferer in the King's-Bench prifon, while Sir John supplied his neceffities with the money which lady Jane procured, by felling or pawning her cloaths. His diftreffes, as is too often the cafe, brought him into habits of intemperance, which was attended by a diffipation that, in his old age, almost obliterated his circumftantial remembrance of past events; so that it is amazing he was fo pointed, and anfwered fo diftinctly, during the long examination he underwent in this caufe. That he was fometimes mistaken muft be admitted; but it must be granted, at the fame time, that it appears from the evidence he gase, he always rectified, or endeavoured to rectify upon recollection, any mistake he committed; which we think is a proof of candour, as it fhews he did not come prepared with a preconcerted evidence. We muft add to this, that at the time he underwent thofe examinations, he was in the fixty-fifth or fixty-fixth year of his age.

Diffipation was not the only misfortune that contributed to Sir John's excentricity. He had fo violent a paffion for gaming,, and was fo delicate with regard to debts of honour, that half an hour after receiving a fum of money, no man could venture to pronounce whether a fix-pence of it was his own, or in his pocket. This failing was well known to all who knew him, and accounts for many appearances that are animadverted upon in the fpeeches before us. Having faid thus much by way of introduction to the introductory part of this work, we fhall lay before our readers the author's detail of the hiftory of K 24

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this extraordinary pair, from their marriage to the death of lady Jane.

"The warmest friends of lady Jane could not approve of this ftep, as Mr. Stewart was a younger brother, had neither eftate nor profeflion, and could not pretend to maintain her fuitable to her high rank. They were therefore justly afraid, that this step of her marriage, inftead of reconciling her brother, the duke, to her, (for at this time there was a quarrel betwixt them) it would have the direct contrary effect. Lady Jane herself too seems to have been apprehensive of this, and always gave that as a reason for her trying fo long to conceal the marriage betwixt her and Mr. Stewart.

"A few days after the marriage, which happened at Edinburgh, lady Jane fet out for England, accompanied by Mrs. Hewit (who attended her in the quality of a companion) with her two maid fervants, Isabel Walker and Effy Caw. At Huntingtoun in England, they were met by Mr. Stewart, from whence they went to Harwich, where they embarked for Holland, and took up their refidence at the Hague, where they ftaid from the beginning of September, to the end of December 1746. From the Hague they went to Utrecht, where they refided till April 1747. During the whole time of their stay in Holland, the marriage was kept a fecret.. Lady Jane's bad state of health, was the reafon given by her for her going abroad, as on that account, travelling and mineral waters were become neceflary for her. It appears from the proof in this cause, that foon after their arrival at the Hague, they had made application to the British minister there to obtain for lady Jane a pafs to go to the waters of Bourbon in France; but that having been refused them, they after having fraid at Utrecht, as formerly mentioned, fet out for Aix-la-Chapelle, where they arrived upon the 26th April 1747. When arrived at Aix-laChapelle, they took up their lodgings in the house of one Madame Tewis, where they continued to lodge till the 10th of Auguft that year that they went to Spaw: there they staid about a fortnight, when they again returned to Aix-la-Chapelle, and lodged in the houfe of Madame Champeniois from this. houfe they returned again to their lodgings at Madame Tewis's, where they ftaid till the 5th January 1748. On that day they again changed their lodgings, and went to the houfe of Madame Scholl, where they remained till the end of March, and then they removed to the houfe of Madame Gilleffen, where they continued to stay till they quitted Aix-la-Chapelle the 21ft May 1748.

"It was at Aix-la-Chapelle, and some time in the month of March 1748, that the marriage which formerly had been kept

fecret, was communicated to feveral perfons; and the reason given for this by Mrs. Hewit, and by others of the witneffes, was, lady Jane's advanced pregnancy, which could not be longer concealed. At this time it appears from the proof, that lady Jane and Mr. Stewart had determined to leave Aixla-Chapelle, giving as their reafon the expensiveness of the place, by the resort of foreigners of all nations on account of the approaching congrefs, but, according to the argument of the plaintiffs, they left Aix-la-Chapelle on account of its not being a large enough place to execute the plan of impofture; and that they had by this time fixed upon their journey to Pa- : ris, as being the propereft place to perpetrate the crime of procuring false children. For this purpose the plaintiffs fet forth, that they gave many falfe accounts of the place they intended to go to after they should leave Aix-la-Chapelle, as well as many various pretences for their leaving that place. Amongst these the principal were, the want of the free exercise of the proteftant religion; the expenfivenefs of the place; the want of the proper affiftance for her delivery, and the defire to conceal her marriage; all which, according to the plea of the plaintiffs, are now proved falfe, though given as reasons at different times and to different perfons, for this unfeasonable journey from Aix-la-Chapelle. However this be, it is certain, that lady Jane and Mr. Stewart did, after providing themselves with a letter of credit upon a banker in Paris for 1978 livres, fet out from Aix-la-Chapelle upon the 21st May 1748, and arrived at Liege the fame day, attended by Mrs. Hewit and the two maid fervants, Ifabel Walker, and Effy Caw; and that they here left a man fervant, who durft not enter France, on account of his being a deferter from the army. They continued at Liege from the zift till the 24th or 25th of that month, when they fet out for Sedan in the ftage coach, and arrived there upon the evening of the third day after their de parture from Liege. At Sedan they ftopt from the 27th of May till the 5th of June; and on that day they set out from Sedan for Reims, likewife in the common ftage coach, and arrived there after a journey of three days, upon the evening of the 7th of June. Upon their arrival at Reims, they took up their lodging in the house of one Mr. Hibert, which lodging, was procured to them by Mr. Andrieux, wine-merchant there, to whom they had been recommended from Aix-la-Chapelle, by one Mr. Florentine.

"At Reims they continued till the 2d of July, upon which day lady Jane, Mr. Stewart, and Mrs. Hewit, fet out for Paris in the public voiture or ftage coach, leaving behind them their two maid fervants, Ifabel Walker, and Effy Caw; and upon

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the evening of the 4th July they arrived in Paris, and took up their quarters at an inn called Hotel-Chaalons, kept by one Godfroy.

"Having thus far stated the facts upon which much proof has been brought by the refpective parties, I fhall not draw any inferences whatever from them, but proceed to give you the defenders account of what happened to lady Jane and Mr. Stewart, and of the circumstances of his birth, as they ftand related by Mr. Stewart and Mrs. Hewit, who were both examined again and again in this great caufe. The fubftance of their teftimonies is as follows: That after remaining two or three days in the Hotel-Chaalons, they went to another house kept by a woman called La Brun, who let lodgings; and that in this house lady Jane was brought to bed on the 10th July of the defendant and his twin brother: that afterwards finding it neceffary to leave this house, they did, about the 19th or 20th July, take lodgings in the Hotel d'Anjou, kept by one Michelle, where they remained till they left Paris about the 3d or 4th of Auguft. That from Paris they went to the village of Dammartine for the benefit of fresh air; and that lady Jane having recovered ftrength, they fet out for Reims upon the 14th Auguft: that the defendant being a strong healthy child, they brought him along with them to Reims, where he was publicly baptized in regular form: that the other twin having come into the world in a weak and fickly condition, he was left at nurse in the neighbourhood of Paris, under the infpection of Pierre la Marre, the man-midwife, who thought it neceffary, as foon as he was born, to baptize or ondoye him, according to form practised in the like cafes by the midwives and accoucheurs of France: that while at Reims lady Jane became again with child, and mifcarried: that having remained at Reinis from Auguft 1748, till November 1749, they in the beginning of that month fet out again for Paris to bring their youngest child Sholto from the nurse who had the care of him ; and having accordingly returned from Reims with that other child, they left that city on the 29th November, on their way to England, and arrived in London about the end of December 1749: that fome time after their arrival in England, the youngest child, who was only ondoyed by the man-midwife, was formally baptized by a clergyman, in prefence of the countefs of Wigtoun and others. Both the children were presented by them to their friends, and invariably treated by them as the real iffue of lady Jane Douglas." This is the account which is given by the, defendant, of the circumstances attending his birth, and of the conduct of his parents before and after the delivery, till the time of their arrival in Britain. Upon her

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return to her own country, lady Jane found herself involved in the greatest difficulty and diftrefs. The pension of 300l. fterling per annum, which had been formerly paid her by her brcther the Duke, was withdrawn in July 1749. Mr. Stewart was funk in debt, profecuted by his creditors, and thrown into jail. In this deftitute condition there was application made for lady Jane to his late majefty, who was graciously pleased to bestow on her a penfion of 300l. per annum. However, lady Jane and Mr. Stewart ftill continued in very deplorable circumftances; in fo much, that when lady Jane lived at Chelsea with her children, fhe was at different times reduced to the neceffity of felling her cloaths and other trifling effects for the fupport of her family and her husband Mr. Stewart, who was then living within the rules of the King's-Bench prison in Southwark. At this time, letters appear to have past betwixt them every day, a very great number of which have been preferved. In these letters, there is the most lively picture of their diftrefs at the time, as well as the strongest affection and folicitude for their children, which they always fpeak of as being the 1 only comforts they had left.

"In 1752, lady Jane made a journey with her children to Scotland, the principal defign of which seems to have been, to endeavour a reconciliation with her brother the duke or Douglas, and to learn from him the particulars of the charge exhibited against her, which she had heard by report, was her attemping to impofe upon his family by falfe children; the accordingly repaired to Douglas Caftle with her children, but was refufed admittance to her brother the Duke. It appears by letters which lady Jane wrote foon after this to her brother, that the disappointment of not being allowed to fee him, had thrown her into the deepest affliction; in so much, that, as she herfeff expreffes it in one of her letters to the duke, it was impoffible for her to live any time with a load of fuch exquif.te grief.

Lady Jane fome time after this returned to London, leaving her children at Edinburgh under the inspection of Isabel Walker, formerly mentioned, and recommended to the care of fome friends..

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"In May 1753: Sholto the youngest twin died of a fever, an event which feems to have thrown lady Jane into the deepest melancholy, and which, as the faid, was the cause of her death. Lady Jane came from London to Edinburgh foon after the death of her youngest boy in a very decayed state of health, when it appears fhe made one other vain effort to be admitted to the presence of her brother the duke. In November that year, this unfortunate lady died at Edinburgh in a moft wretch