Letter from Robert Burns to John Mitchel, 1790

Sir,
I shall not fail to wait on Capt.n
Riddel tonight. - I wish & pray that
the goddess of justice herself would appear
tomorrow among our Hon’ble Gentleman,
merely to give them a word in their ^ear that,
"Mercy to the Thief, is Injustice to the Honest
"Man" -- For my part, I have galloped
over my ten parishes these four days, until
this moment that I am just alighted, or
rather, that my poor jackass skeleton of a
horse has let me down; for the miserable
devil has been on his ^knees half a score of times
on his knees within the last twenty
miles, telling me in his own way -
"Behold, am not I thy faithful jade of a
"horse, on which thou hast ridden these
"many years!!! " In short, Sir, I

I have broke my horse's wind, & almost
broke my own neck, besides some injuries
in a part that shall be nameless, owing
to a hard-hearted stone of a saddle; & I
find that every Offender has so many
Great Men to espouse his cause, that
I shall not be surprised if I am committed
to the strong Hold of the Law tomorrow
for insolence to the dear friends of
the Gentlemen of the Country. -
I have the honour to be,
Sir, your obliged & obedient humble


Rob.t Burns