' He resumed his seat and refused again to rise.
Evan Maccombich looked at him with great earnestness, and, rising up,
seemed anxious to speak; but the confusion of the court, and the
perplexity arising from thinking in a language different from that in
which he was to express himself, kept him silent. There was a murmur of
compassion among the spectators, from the idea that the poor fellow
intended to plead the influence of his superior as an excuse for his
crime. The Judge commanded silence, and encouraged Evan to proceed. 'I
was only ganging to say, my lord,' said Evan, in what he meant to be an
insinuating manner, 'that if your excellent honour and the honourable
Court would let Vich Ian Vohr go free just this once, and let him gae
back to France, and no to trouble King George's government again, that
ony six o' the very best of his clan will be willing to be justified in
his stead; and if you'll just let me gae down to Glennaquoich, I'll fetch
them up to ye mysell, to head or hang, and you may begin wi' me the very
first man.'
Notwithstanding the solemnity of the occasion, a sort of laugh was heard
in the court at the extraordinary nature of the proposal.
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