Strangely indeed, Sir Patrick was also in a bitter feud with the Cunningharnes, an ancient family connected with the Hous.touns by frequent intermarriage. Lady Houstoun, herself, was the former Janet Cunninghame. Blood flowed in several encounters. At one time, a servant of the Cunningharnes was killed and at another, two sons. Sir Patrick and a number of his relatives were tried for murder in 1589. The old baron was convicted, but the sentence was never carried out. The courts of those days were weak and it is recorded by Campbell that the Houstouns had powerful allies, extending well into the royal family. He writes:

"Besides his own means of resistance, Houstoun was supported in his feuds by more than one great power in the realm of Scotland, and among the Scottish lords, none espoused the cause of this bold chief with greater warmth than Stewart, Earl of Lennox, father of the ill-fated Darnley, and grandsire of King James the Sixth.

"From his close relation with the sovereign, this peer (Lennox) exercised a most powerful influence in the kingdom and we may well believe that he was not slow in screening the chief of a family which had for ages been in close alliance with his own— which had adhered to his fortunes through weal and woe—and which when need demanded sent forth to his battles a goodly band of retainers to swell the ranks of the Lennox vassals."

Campbell adds: "When the turbulence of civil wars had ceased and feudal contests of the Scottish barons no longer resulted in bloodshed and slaughter, the friendship which of old had subsisted between the families of Lennox and Houstoun was not discontinued." 1

In between family feuds, Sir Patrick was involved in a plan by some of the nobility to avenge the murder of Darnley, husband of Queen Mary and father of James VI. In a letter to John Maxwell about 1570, he advised Maxwell of a plan to "pursue and take vengeance on the murderer of the late king (Darnley) and to obtain possession of the prince (James VI) to secure his safety." 1 He requested Maxwell to be ready on 24-hour notice to join the nobles with his household, tenants and servants.

This episode was part of the continuing struggle of some of

1 Campbell, p. 47. William Fraser, Memoirs of the Maxwells of Pollock (Edinburgh, 1863), Vol. ii, p. 187. 33