140 OLD ANI) NEW EDINBURGH. [Restalrig.
a Negro,? published at Paisley so lately as 1841.
Peter was a livery servant in Edinburgh at the
time. Learning that the valet was one of Lady
Ramsay?s, Macrae came to town next day to explain,
and met Sir George in the street. The latter,
laughing, said that the man, being his lady?s footman,
prevented him being concerned in the matter.
Macrae, still anxious to apologise to Lady
Ramsay, proceeded in quest of her to her house
in St. Andrew Square, but found her sitting for her
dropped, or Merry discharged ; but Ramsay seemed
disinclined to move in the matter, and a long and
eventually angry correspondence on the subject
ensued, and is given at length in the Scots and other
Edinburgh magazines of the day j till, in the end,
at Bayle?s Tavern a hostile meeting was proposed by
Captain Amory, a friend of Macrae?s, and pretty
rough epithets were exchanged.
Duly attended by seconds, the parties met at
Ward?s Inn, on the borders of Musselburgh Links,
HAWKHILL.
portrait in the studio of the then young artist,
Henry Raeburn; before him, it is said that he
impulsively went on his knee when asking pardon
for having chastised her servant, and then the
matter seemed to end with Macrae ; but it was not
so. Soon after he received an anonymous letter,
stating that there was a strong feeling against him
among the Knights of the Shoulder-Knot ; one
hundred and seven had resolved to have revenge
upon him for the insult he had put upon their fraternity;
while James Merry, the valet, whose
bruises had been declared slight by Dr. Benjamin
Bell, instituted legal proceedings against him.
Exasperated by all this, Macrae wrote to Sir
George, insisting that the prosecution should be
on the 14th of -4pril. Sir George Ramsay was
accompanied by Sir William Maxwell, Macrae by
Captains Amory and Haig. Benjamin Bell, the
surgeon, was also one of the party, which had
separate rooms. A compromise seemed impossible
-as Sir George would not turn off the valet, arid
Macrae would not apologise-they walked to the
beach, and took their places in the usual manner,
fourteen paces apart. On the word being given,
both fired at the same moment. Sir George took
a steady aim at Macrae, whose coat collar was
grazed by the bullet.
Macrae afterwards solemnly asserted that he
meant to have fired in the air ; but, on finding Sir
George intent on slaying him, he altered his reso
