On Tuesday, the missing body of the late Earl of
Crawford and Balcarres was discovered in the grounds of Dunecht, and not farther, it is said, than ten yards from the public road, nor above 500 yards from the great house itself. The body had been buried, with some care to preserve it from decay, having been wrapped in an oil-cloth, besides the shroud and coverlet in which it was originally embalmed, and a piece of oil-cloth having been placed at the bottom of the temporary grave. The place where it was found was discovered by the evidence of a ratcatcher, named Soutar, who declared that he had come across the party who disinterred and re-buried the body of the late Earl, in the course of a poaching expedition, and that he was made to swear to maintain secrecy, by the threat of death if he refused. It seems to be believed by the police that his story is strictly true, and that the budy has remained where he saw it placed ever since the month of May in last year. Soutar's story is that two of the party spoke with an Aberdeen- shire accent, and two with an English accent; which last asser- tion, if true, seems to suggest that the outrage may have been due to family enmity, and not to any hope of a bribe.
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