" The high and unbiased character of English judicial proceedings
was then little known in Scotland, and the extension of them to that
country was one of the most valuable advantages which it gained by the
Union. But this was a blessing which the Lord Keeper, who had lived
under another system, could not have the means of foreseeing. In the
loss of his political consequence, he anticipated the loss of his
lawsuit. Meanwhile, every report which reached him served to render
the success of the Marquis's intrigues the more probable, and the Lord
Keeper began to think it indispensable that he should look round for
some kind of protection against the coming storm. The timidity of his
temper induced him to adopt measures of compromise and conciliation. The
affair of the wild bull, properly managed, might, he thought, be made
to facilitate a personal communication and reconciliation betwixt the
Master and himself. He would then learn, if possible, what his own ideas
were of the extent of his rights, and the means of enforcing them; and
perhaps matters might be brought to a compromise, where one party was
wealthy and the other so very poor.
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