BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 273
the nature of the ground, the foundations of many of them were exceedingly
deep. Janet's husband had fallen in the dark into one of the excavationswhich
had been either imperfectly railed in, or left unguarded-and from the
injuries sustained, he died almost immediately. Marshall patiently listened to
the tale, rendered doubly long by the agitated feelings of the narrator ; and, as
the last syllable faltered on her tongue, out burst the usual exclamation, but
with more than wonted emphasis-'' The b-s, I'll make them pay for your
gudeman ! "
No sooner said than done : away he hurried to the scene of the accident
inspected the state of the excavation-and having satisfied himself as to all the
circumstances of the case and the liability of the contractors, he instantly wrote
to them, demanding two hundred pounds as an indemnity to the bereaved widow.
No attention having been paid to his letter, he immediateIy raised an action
before the Supreme Court, concluding for heavy damages ; and, from the
active and determined manner in which he went about it, soon convinced his
opponents that he was in earnest. The defenders became alarmed at the consequences,
and were induced to wait upon Mr. Marshall with the view of
compounding the matter, by paying the original demand of two hundred pounds.
" Na, na, ye b-s !" was the lawyer's reply ; " that sum would have been
taken had ye come forward at first, like gentlemen, and settled wi' the puir
body ; but now (adding another oath) three times the sum '11 no stop the proceedings."
Finding Marshall inexorable, another, and yet another hundred
was offered-not even five hundred would satisfy the lawyer. Ultimately the
parties were glad to accede to his own terms ; and it is said he obtained, in
this way, upwards of seven hundred pounds as a solatium for the "lost gudeman
"-all of which he handed over to his client, who was thus probably made
more comfortable by the death of her husband than she had ever been during
his life.
In the winter season Mr. Marshall resided in Milne's Square, but in summer
he retired to Greenside House (his own property), situated in the Lover's Lane,
near Leith Walk, where he kept a capital saddle-horse; but for what
purpose it was impossible to divine, no man having ever seen him on horseback
(indeed it was generally supposed he could not ride), and he would allow no
one else, not even the stable-boy, to mount the animal. From this it may be
inferred that the horse was in high favour with its master. Well fed, and
well attended to, the only danger likely to have occurred from this luxurious
mode of life arose from the want of exercise. To obviate this, the discipline
adopted was truly worthy of the eccentric lawyer. Almost daily he had the
horse brought out to the field behind the house, where, letting him loose, he
would whip him off at full gallop ; and then, to increase the animal's speed and
ensure exercise enough, his dog (for he always kept a favourite dog) was usually
despatched in pursuit. Thus would Marshall enjoy, with manifest pride and
satisfaction, for nearly an hour at a time, the gambols of the two animals.
Having no near relatives to. whom he cared bequeathing his property, Mr.
2 N
