38 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
“Mr. Macrae’s friend, Mr. Amory, called at Sir George’s house in the
evening, and delivered the following letter :-
(6 6 Marionville, Tuesday.
“ ‘ SIR-I must now once more insist on your servant being turned off ; and
have in consequence sent my friend, Mr. Amory, to know your final determination.
In case you refuse to comply with what I have demanded of you, he will
inform you of the opinion I entertain of your conduct. I am, sir, your humble
servant, ‘‘ ‘ JAS. MACRAE.’
Addressed as before.
“The following narrative, with the above letters, were delivered by Sir
George Ramsay, on Tuesday night, to his friend, to be made public, in case
any accident should happen the next morning, and is in his own handwriting :-
‘( Upon Sir George’s reading the above letter, he told Mr, Amory that no
good reason had been assigned to him for turning off his servant ; and, unless
that should be made appear, he certainly would not do so. Upon which Mr,
Amory informed Sir George, that the message he was to deliver to him was,
that Mr. Macrae looked upon him not as a gentleman, but, the contrary, as a
scoundrel. Upon this Sir George said farther conversation was unnecessary
with him; all that remained was to agree about a place of meeting; and he
begged Mr. Amory to appoint a coffee-house to meet him at, rather than come
to his own house. Sir George met Mr. Amory at Bayle’s at nine, and received
the following message :-
“ Sir George Ramsay met Mr. Amory at Bayle’s at the hour of nine, when
he was informed by Mr. Amory, that Mr. Macrae desired Sir George to meet
him at Ward‘s, Musselburgh, at the hour of twelve the following day,
Wednesday the 14th.
“Mr. Amory followed Sir George after he had left Bayle’s, and informed
him that Mr. Macrae considered Sir George as the challenger ; that he, Mr.
Amory, had made a mistake in fixing the place ; and that, upon consideration,
he thought Sir George ought to have done so. Sir George answered, that it
had nothing to do with the main point at present, the time and place were
fixed.
‘( That evening, Mr. Macrae, understanding that high words had passed
betwixt Sir George and Mr. Amory, applied to another gentleman to attend
him the next day ; this he declined as a second ; but, at Mr. Macrae’s request,
agreed to go with him to Musselburgh, in order, if possible, to accommodate
matters.
“ Wednesday the 14th.-On the parties meeting at Musselburgh, Mr. Macrae
offered, if Sir George would dismiss his servant, he, Mr. Macrae, would then
fully apologise for the expression and the message delivered by his friend to
Sir George. This Sir George would not agree to; nor did his friend advise
him to do so.
This message is in Mr. Amory’s handwriting.