Accordingly, the conspirators invited the unsuspecting
Melville to a hunting party in the forest of Garvock; where, having a
fire kindled, and a cauldron of water boiling on it, they rushed to
the spot, stripped the sheriff naked, and threw him headlong into
the boiling vessel: after which, on pretence of fulfilling the royal
mandate, each swallowed a spoonful of the broth. After this cannibal
feast, Barclay, to screen himself from the vengeance of the king,
built this fortress, which before the invention of gunpowder must have
been impregnable. Some of the conspirators were afterwards pardoned.
One of the pardons is said to be still in existence; and the reason
assigned for granting it is, that the conspirator was within the tenth
degree of kin to Macduff, thane of Fife.
CHARLES STUART.
* * * * *
USE OF HORSE-CHESTNUTS.
(_For the Mirror_.)
These nuts are much used in France and in Switzerland, in whitening
not only of hemp and flax, but also of silk and wool. They contain a
soapy juice, fit for washing of linens and stuffs, for milling of caps
and stockings, &c., and for fulling of stuffs and cloths.
Twenty nuts are sufficient for five quarts of water. They must be first
peeled, which can be done by children, then rasped or dried, and ground
in a malt-mill, or any other common steel mill.
Pages:
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44