XPost: alt.books.tom-clancy, alt.history.british, sci.military.naval 
 XPost: soc.history.medieval, soc.history.war.misc, us.military.army 
 From: bryn@GREMILNSfinhall.demon.co.uk 
  
 In message , Fred 
 J. McCall  writes 
 >"BillC"  wrote in 
 >news:DlJWe.11086$4P5.4925@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net: 
 > 
 > 
 > 
 >Hmmm, not much left of old Billy boy when you do that.... 
  
 SIR A. BOSWELL KILLED IN DUEL 
  
   Soon after the 'Beacon 
 was put down in Edinburgh, the Sentinel, another 
 newspaper of the same kind, and encouraged by the 
 general countenance of the same party, was set up in 
 Glasgow. James Stuart of Dunearn1 being defamed, 
 as he thought, in this new publication, instituted an 
 action of damages against its editors, two persons 
 called Alexander and Borthwick. Soon after this, 
 Borthwick intimated that if this action was abandoned, 
 he would disclose the authors of all the attacks 
 against Stuart, by giving up the original articles. 
 Stuart acceded to this arrangement, and went to 
 Glasgow for the documents. It was afterwards 
 pretended that Stuart had no right to receive the 
 papers as Borthwick had no right to give them, 
 having stolen them. This pretence was aided by the 
 Lord Advocate indicting Borthwick for the theft. 
 On examining the papers, Stuart was astonished to 
 find that the worst articles had been written by Sir 
 Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck, a relation, with 
 whom he had long been on good terms. Sir Alex- 
 ander had been aware of their impropriety, for they 
 were written in a disguised hand. Stuart returned to 
 Edinburgh, and awaited the arrival of Sir Alexander, 
 who was in London. As soon as Sir Alexander heard 
 of the delivery of the papers, his conscience seems to 
 have told him that he must be challenged by some- 
 body; because, before any challenge was given, he 
 wrote to a friend asking him to act as his second, and 
 proposing a trip to the Rhine " in the event of my 
 being the successful shot." Sir Alexander came to 
 Edinburgh in a few days; when he was waited upon 
 by the Earl of Rosslyn on behalf of Stuart. He avowed 
 himself responsible for the article, and declining to 
 apologise, a meeting was arranged. 
  
 Boswell and his accuser met near Auchtertool, in 
 Fife, on zznd March 1822. Stuart had never fired a 
 pistol but once or twice from the back of a horse in a 
 troop of yeomanry. He stopped at his beautiful 
 Hillside near Aberdour, and arranged some papers, 
 and subscribed a deed of settlement.   Boswell, who 
 was an expert shot, told his second, one Douglas,1 
 that he meant to fire in the air. He fell himself, how- 
 ever, at the first shot. Stuart told me that he was 
 never more thunderstruck than when on the smoke 
 clearing he saw his adversary sinking gently down. Sir 
 Alexander died at Balmuto two days later. ' 
 The trial of Stuart took place on loth June 1822. 
 No Scotch trial in my time excited such interest. If 
 the prosecutors were really anxious for a conviction, 
 their hopes vanished long before their own case was 
 closed. Beyond the admitted fact that Boswell had 
 fallen by his hand, there was not a single circumstance 
 that did not redound to Stuart's credit. His injuries, 
 his gentleness, his firmness, his sensibility, and the 
 necessity that he was under, according to the existing 
 law of society, of acting as he did, were all brought 
 out by irresistible evidence; while the excellence 
 of his general character was proved by many wit- 
 nesses, several of whom were purposely selected 
 from his political opponents. No verdict except the 
 acquittal that was almost instantly given, could have 
 followed. 
  
 1 An ardent Whig, Stuart (as related by Cockburn) incurred the enmity 
 of implacable foes, and in an evil hour took his revenge, mortally 
 wounding Sir Alexander Boswell (son of the biographer of Johnson) in a 
 duel. The 
 baronet's tragic end was a great shock to Sir Walter Scott, Boswell 
 having dined with him in Castle Street immediately after completing 
 arrangements for the duel. Indeed " the merriest tones of his voice were 
 ringing in his friend's ears" when the fatal intelligence was received. 
 Stuart was an 
 Edinburgh Writer to the Signet and resided at Kirkbraehead, a mansion 
 which stood on the site of Princes Street Station. In 1773, his father, 
 Charles Stuart of Dunearn, became minister of Cramond, but resigned 
 three years later on the ground that he could not find Scriptural 
 warrant for a national Church nor for Presbytery. He afterwards attached 
 himself to 
 an Anabaptist congregation, took the M.D. degree, and set up as a 
 practising physician in Edinburgh. 
 227 
 > 
  
  
 -- 
 Bryn 
  
 "I am not Roo," said Piglet loudly. 
  
 "I am Piglet!" 
  
 "Yes, dear, yes," said Kanga soothingly. 
  
 "And imitating Piglet's voice too! 
 So clever of him." 
  
  
  
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