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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Border Raids and Reivers, by Robert Borland
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Border Raids and Reivers
+
+Author: Robert Borland
+
+Release Date: April 16, 2010 [EBook #32005]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BORDER RAIDS AND REIVERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive.)
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+
+
+BORDER RAIDS AND REIVERS.
+
+
+
+
+  BORDER RAIDS
+  AND
+  REIVERS
+
+
+  BY
+  ROBERT BORLAND
+
+  _MINISTER OF YARROW_
+
+
+  DALBEATTIE: THOMAS FRASER.
+  MDCCCXCVIII.
+
+
+
+  PRINTED AT THE COURIER AND HERALD OFFICES,
+  DUMFRIES,
+  FOR
+  THOMAS FRASER, DALBEATTIE.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+PREFACE                                                           xv.
+
+
+I.
+
+THE AULD ENEMY.
+                                                                PAGE.
+
+Extent of Border reiving--Plunder and reprisal--All classes
+implicated--Double dose of original sin--Victims of an evil
+fate--Invasions--Threatened annexation of Scotland--Edward's
+twofold policy--Sacking of Berwick--Feeling of
+hostility produced--Edward visits Scone and carries off
+Scottish Sceptre and Crown--Douglas and Edward Bruce--
+Borderers animated by a spirit of revenge                        1-14
+
+
+II.
+
+PERCY'S PENNON.
+
+Battle of Otterburn--Chief combatants--How the encounter was
+brought about--Destruction of the Abbeys--Meeting of the
+Scots at Aberdeen--Scottish army assembles at Yetholm--
+Method of attack determined upon--Earl Douglas marches
+through Northumberland--Ravages Durham--Returns to
+Newcastle--Hotspur and Douglas--Otterburn--Preparations for
+battle--The English assault--The Douglas slain--Hotspur
+taken prisoner--Humanity of Borderers                           15-32
+
+
+III.
+
+POOR AND LAWLESS.
+
+Condition of Scotland--Ancient monasteries--Description of
+country by AEneas Sylvius--Ignorance of the people--Laws
+cannot be enforced--The Barons supreme--Law against
+harbouring thieves--Every man's hand against his neighbour--
+Pledges demanded--Banished north of the Forth--Scottish
+Borderers forbidden to marry daughters of "broken men"
+in England--No respect paid to the law--Execrable murders
+committed--Without religion--Hand-fasting                       33-54
+
+
+IV.
+
+RAIDS AND FORAYS.
+
+Invasions constantly occurring--Many lives sacrificed--How
+the reivers conducted their expeditions--Leslie's account--
+Tracked by bloodhounds--Froissart's description of
+Borderers--Invasion by Earl of Hertford--Raid by Sir Ralph
+Eure--Battle of Ancrum Moor--Lord Dacre's devastations--
+Borderers retaliate--Horrid cruelties practised--Raid of
+the Reidswire--Indignation of English Queen--Morton's
+concessions                                                     55-80
+
+
+V.
+
+WARDENS OF THE MARCHES.
+
+Generally officers of high rank--Scottish King limited in
+his choice--Wardens invested with arbitrary powers--Bonds
+of alliance--Of little or no value--Ignored when
+convenient--Wardens well remunerated--Duties pertaining to
+the office                                                      81-96
+
+
+VI.
+
+THE DAY OF TRUCE.
+
+Arrangements for dealing with offenders--Of a primitive
+character--Prisoners could not be detained in custody--Often
+took "leg-bail"--Day of Truce every month--Date and place
+made known by proclamation--The meeting of the Wardens--
+Regulations for conduct of business--Administering the
+oath--Three ways of trying cases--Bogus bills--Value of
+goods--Bills "fouled" or "cleared"--The hot-trod--
+Baughling--Lord Russell shot--Foster's explanations            97-115
+
+
+VII.
+
+THE DEADLY FEUD.
+
+Origin of the expression--Feuds of everyday occurrence--
+Occasioned by trifling circumstances--Inherited--Made the
+administration of the law difficult--Feud betwixt the Kers
+and Scotts--How occasioned--The Maxwells and Johnstones--A
+disastrous feud--Battle of Dryfe Sands--Murder of Johnstone--
+Lord Maxwell imprisoned--Returns to the Borders--Betrayed by
+Earl of Caithness--Beheaded in Edinburgh--Ker of Cessford
+slain--Pursuit of his murderers--How feuds staunched--Bonds
+of Assurance--Marriage--Pilgrimage--Assythment                116-135
+
+
+VIII.
+
+THE THIEVES DAUNTONED.
+
+The "Family Tree"--Man's first right--The King connives at
+Border reiving--The Wardens often indifferent--The King's
+visit to Dumfries--Tytler's account of what transpired--The
+Turnbulls of Rule Water punished--The Earl of Mar in
+Hawick--Lack of trees and halters--Queen Mary at Jedburgh--
+The Earl of Bothwell--John Elliot of Park--The Queen visits
+Hermitage--Struck down with fever--The suppression of
+Liddesdale--Buccleuch and Ferniherst--Mangerton destroyed--
+The whole district given to the flames--Geordie Bourne--
+Found guilty of March treason--Executed--Milder measures--
+The Tower of Netherby--Cary's success                         136-154
+
+
+IX.
+
+LIDDESDALE LIMMERS.
+
+Border keeps and peels--Description of them--Hermitage--
+Lord Soulis--Nine-stane-rig--Black Knight of Liddesdale--
+Ramsay of Dalhousie starved to death--Armstrongs and
+Elliots--Maitland's "Complaynt"--Took everything that
+came to hand--The clan system--Names of Border clans--
+To-names--Debateable land--The Scotch dyke--Cary's raid--
+Driven to bay                                                 155-180
+
+
+X.
+
+AFTER THE HUNTING.
+
+James V.--Border barons put in ward--Sets out for the
+Borders--Hunts in Meggat--Eighteen score of deer slain--
+Cockburn of Henderland--Border Widow's Lament--Adam Scott,
+"King of Thieves"--Johnie Armstrong--The loving letter--
+Basely betrayed--Pitscottie's account--Maxwell's
+complicity--Ballad--_Blackmeal_--Increase of Border
+lawlessness                                                   181-200
+
+
+XI.
+
+THE CORBIE'S NEST.
+
+General characteristics of Border reivers--Kinmount
+Willie--Descendant of laird of Gilnockie--Encouraged
+to commit depredations on English border--Present at
+March meeting at Dayholm--Captured by Salkeld on his way
+home--Imprisoned in Carlisle--Violation of Border law--The
+bold Buccleuch determines to effect his rescue--
+Arrangements made at a horse race at Langholm--Meeting at
+Tower of Morton--Marches on Carlisle--Breaks into the
+Castle--Carries off the prisoner--Relieves him of his
+irons--Names of principal assistants--Scrope indignant--
+Addresses the Privy Council--Buccleuch on his defence--
+Elizabeth demands his surrender--James complies               201-219
+
+
+XII.
+
+FLAGELLUM DEI.
+
+International complications--The Queen difficult to
+pacify--Her letter to James--Scrope invades Liddesdale--
+His conduct defended--Buccleuch retaliates--Invades
+Tynedale--Account of his depredations--_Flagellum Dei_--
+Supported by King and Council--Elizabeth peremptorily
+demands his surrender--Places himself as a prisoner in
+the hands of Sir William Bowes--The Governor of Berwick
+afraid to undertake his safe custody--Surrender of Sir
+Robert Ker--Lives with Sir Robert Cary on terms of
+intimacy and friendship--Buccleuch returns to Liddesdale--
+Adopts a new policy--Incurs the displeasure of the
+reivers--Inaugurates a new era in Border history--Appears
+before the Queen                                              220-236
+
+
+XIII.
+
+MINIONS OF THE MOON.
+
+The kindly feeling with which the more famous reivers
+regarded--Auld Wat of Harden--At the "Raid of Falkland"--
+The consequences of this episode--Carries off 300 oxen
+and kye, a horse and a nag, from Gilsland--Large demands
+on his hospitality--"Wat o' Harden's coo!"--The sow-backed
+hay stack--Destroys the town of Bellinghame--Marries Mary
+Scott of Dryhope--His son slain by one of the Scotts of
+Gilmanscleuch--The feast of spurs--Goes in pursuit of the
+Captain of Bewcastle--Revenge!--Willie Scott--His raid on
+Elibank--Taken prisoner--"Muckle-mou'd Meg"--Priest or
+hangman--A wise choice. "Jock o' the Syde"--Prisoner in
+Newcastle--Rescued by his friends--Pursued by the English--
+Make good their escape.--"Christie's Will"--Two delicate
+colts--Lord Traquair--Lord Durie kidnapped--Scott's account
+of the incident--Description of balladist--Christie's Will
+carries important papers to Charles I.--Entrapped at
+Carlisle on his return--Spurs his horse over parapet of
+bridge.--Willie of Westburnflat--Tried at Selkirk--Breaks
+in pieces the oaken chair--Threatens to clear the court--
+Dissuaded by his friends--Executed in due form of law--
+Armstrong's good-night                                        237-266
+
+
+XIV.
+
+UNDER THE BAN.
+
+State of the Borders--Decadence of Romanism--A strong hand
+needed--The Celtic Church--Its influence permanent--The
+Scots indifferent to fulminations of their spiritual
+superiors--Excommunicatio major--Excommunicatio minor--
+Monition of Cursing by Archbishop of Glasgow                  267-279
+
+
+XV.
+
+THE TRIUMPH OF LAW.
+
+"Broken men" drafted off to Belgic wars--Graemes banished to
+Ireland--Buccleuch invested with arbitrary powers--Thieves
+executed without ceremony--The Union of the Crowns--The
+effect highly beneficial--Firm hand laid on the ring-leaders
+of Border strife--New spirit infused into the
+administration--The name _Middleshires_ substituted for
+_Borders_--The law impartially administered--A happy era--
+Parochial system of education--Schools before the
+Reformation--Educational condition of the Borders--John
+Knox's scheme--Beneficial results--Teaching and influence of
+the Church--Religious state of the Borders--Decision of the
+Commission--Difficulties in the way--Thomas Boston--The
+unploughed field--Victory achieved                            280-298
+
+
+XVI.
+
+THE HARVEST OF PEACE.
+
+Great changes effected in habits and character of the
+people--Easily explained--"Broken men" expatriated--How
+reiving was regarded--Border ethics--Right to rob the
+English--Statistics of crime--The Tweed Act--A hard
+school--Grim and dour--Services rendered by Borderers--
+Great feature of Border life--Birthplace of poetry--The
+old ballads--A priceless inheritance--James Thomson, the
+author of "The Seasons"--Sir Walter Scott--Hogg--Leyden--
+Burns probably sprung from a Border stock--The name
+"Burness"--A Western Mecca--Rural population decreasing--
+Conclusion                                                    299-310
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+The object we have had in view in the following pages has been (1) to
+indicate briefly the causes which produced Border reiving; (2) to show the
+extent to which the system was ultimately developed; (3) to describe the
+means adopted by both Governments for its suppression; (4) to illustrate
+the way in which the _rugging and riving_--to use a well-known phrase--was
+carried on; (5) to explain how these abnormal conditions were in the end
+effectually removed; and (6) to set forth in brief outline some of the
+more prominent traits in the lives and characters of the men who were most
+closely identified with this extraordinary phase of Border life.
+
+We have to acknowledge our indebtedness for much of the information
+conveyed in the following pages to Scott's "Border Antiquities" and
+"Border Minstrelsy," Nicolson's "Leges Marchiarum," Pitcairn's "Criminal
+Trials," "Calendar of Border Papers" (recently published), "Cary's
+Memoirs"--Froissart, Godscroft, Pitscottie, Pinkerton--and host of other
+writers on Border themes.
+
+It is in no spirit of mock-modesty we acknowledge how inadequately the
+object we have had in view has been realised. The subject is so large and
+many-sided that we have found it difficult to compress within the compass
+of a single volume anything like an adequate outline of a theme which is
+at once so varied and interesting.
+
+In coming to the consideration of this subject, there is one fact which it
+is well the reader should carefully bear in mind, and that is, that from
+the peculiar circumstances in which Borderers were placed in early times,
+the only alternative they had was either to _starve or steal_. The
+recognition of this fact will at least awaken our sympathy, if it does not
+always command our approval, when we come to consider the lives and
+characters of the Border Reivers.
+
+
+
+
+I.
+
+THE AULD ENEMY.
+
+  "Near a Border frontier, in the time of war,
+  There's ne'er a man, but he's a freebooter."--SATCHELLS.
+
+
+There are few more remarkable phenomena in the political or social life of
+Scotland than what is familiarly known as "Border Reiving." In olden times
+it prevailed along the whole line of the Borders from Berwick to the
+Solway, embracing the counties of Berwick, Roxburgh, Selkirk, Peebles, and
+Dumfries. During a period of some three or four hundred years these
+districts were chiefly inhabited by hordes of moss-troopers, who made it
+the chief business of their lives to harry and despoil their English
+neighbours. On every convenient opportunity the Scottish reivers crossed
+the Border, and carried off whatever came readiest to hand--horses, cows,
+sheep, "insight and outsight," nothing coming amiss to them unless it was
+either too heavy or too hot. Those on the English side who were thus
+despoiled were not slow to retaliate, and generally succeeded, to some
+extent, in making good the losses they sustained. This system of plunder
+and reprisal ultimately attained an extraordinary development. All
+classes, from the Chief of the clan to the meanest serf over whom he
+ruled, were engaged in it. Indeed it must be frankly admitted that the
+most notorious thieves were often those who had least excuse for indulging
+in such nefarious practices--gentlemen in high position like the Scotts,
+Kers, Johnstones, and Maxwells, and who in many cases had been chosen by
+the Government to repress the reiving propensities of their clans and
+followers.
+
+Some who have made a superficial acquaintance with this remarkable phase
+of Border life have rushed to the conclusion that the great Border Chiefs,
+and those over whom they exercised a kind of patriarchal authority, must
+have been dowered with a "double dose of original sin." In proof of this
+it is pointed out that a widely different state of affairs prevailed in
+other parts of the country, for example in Fife, and the Lothians, and
+generally speaking, throughout the whole of the west of Scotland, and
+consequently the only way in which they can account for the singular
+condition of the Borders is by predicating an essentially lower moral
+type. We do not believe that this theory, plausible though it may appear,
+will bear a moment's serious consideration. No doubt among the "broken
+men" of the Debateable land, and in some parts of Liddesdale, you will
+find a considerable number of disreputable characters whose only law was
+the length of their own swords. But it is a mistake to suppose that such
+individuals represent the general type of the inhabitants of the
+Borderland. The very fact that these men had no Chief to represent them
+shows that they had, so to speak, fallen out of the ranks.
+
+The solution of this problem must be sought in another direction. It will
+be found by a careful study of the history of the country that Border
+reiving was, to a considerable extent, the result of a concatenation of
+circumstances over which the inhabitants of these districts had little or
+no control. They were the victims of an evil fate. It was not merely their
+proximity to the English Border which occasioned their misdeeds. It is an
+interesting and significant fact that, till near the close of the 13th
+century, the Border Counties were as law-abiding as any other part of the
+realm. Petty skirmishes were, no doubt, of frequent occurrence, as might
+be expected; but the deep rooted aversion to the English which
+characterises the subsequent period of Scottish history had hardly at that
+time any real existence. How the change was brought about will become
+apparent as we bring under review some salient facts in Scottish history
+which have a direct and immediate bearing on the question before us.
+
+It must be borne in mind that for a period of more than three hundred
+years Scotland was kept in a condition of political distraction by the
+insane desire on the part of the English Government to reduce it to a
+state of vassalage. When this policy was first determined on everything
+seemed favourable to its speedy realisation. When Alexander III., a wise
+and gracious King, under whose reign the country had greatly prospered,
+was accidentally killed when hunting in the neighbourhood of Kinghorn, the
+Crown reverted to his grand-daughter, the Maid of Norway, who was then a
+child of tender years. At this unfortunate juncture Edward I. of England
+resolved that the two countries should be united under one Sovereign; at
+least this was the object of his ambition. He was fully convinced that so
+long as Scotland maintained her political independence, England would have
+to reckon with a powerful adversary. If he could only succeed, by fair
+means or foul, in gaining Scotland over as a fief of England, then the
+country as a whole would enjoy the immunities and benefits naturally
+accruing to its position as an island. England would thus be in an
+immensely more advantageous position to resist foreign invasion, and its
+influence and power as an aggressive force would be indefinitely
+increased. The object aimed at was an exceedingly desirable one.
+Unfortunately it was a sane policy insanely pursued. Had the English King
+only been gifted with more self-restraint, had he but been prepared to
+wait patiently the natural development of events, and not to have struck
+the iron _before_ it was hot, he might have succeeded in gaining his end,
+a result which would have changed the whole complexion and current of
+Scottish history. Whether this would have been better or worse, more to
+our own advantage and the advantage of Great Britain, as a whole, is one
+of those points about which there may be considerable difference of
+opinion. Many have regretted that the Union of the Crowns was not effected
+in the 14th century rather than in the 17th, as such a consummation would
+have saved the country much, both of bloodshed and treasure. It may be so.
+It cannot be denied that from a purely material point of view it might
+have been better had Scotland gracefully complied with the wishes of
+Edward. But man cannot live by bread alone. There are higher and better
+things in the life of a people than mere material well-being, and in view
+of these it was well that Scotland maintained her independence. The record
+of her achievements, when contending against the most overwhelming odds,
+and the example of those heroic personalities, which mark the progress of
+her history, have been a perennial fountain of inspiration to the Scottish
+people, have made them what they are. While, therefore, there may be some
+cause for regret, on the ground of political expediency, that the union of
+the two countries was so late in being effected, yet on other and higher
+grounds there is just reason for thankfulness that things took the course
+they did. What would Scotland have been without its Wallace or Bruce? or
+what would it have been apart from the long and arduous struggle through
+which it was destined to pass ere it gained an assured and thoroughly
+independent political position? The long years of struggle and desolating
+warfare constitute an important factor in the social and intellectual
+evolution of the nation. The best qualities of the Scottish character and
+intellect were developed in the seething maelstrom of political strife and
+internecine war. It may be that "the course of Providence is also the
+orbit of wisdom."
+
+Edward in trying to bring Scotland under his sway pursued a two-fold
+policy. He endeavoured to prevent as far as possible all union among the
+most powerful Scottish barons. He arrayed their private and selfish
+ambition against the love of their country. He sowed dissension in their
+councils, and richly rewarded their treachery. Those who dared to oppose
+his well-laid schemes were treated with unmitigated severity. His success
+in this respect was complete. He had the satisfaction of seeing the
+country torn to pieces by contending factions. His way was now open for
+applying more drastic measures. He raised a powerful army and invaded
+Scotland. The town of Berwick was then an important centre of commerce,
+and he was determined at all hazards to make himself master of the city.
+"He despatched a large division, with orders to assault the town, choosing
+a line of march which concealed them from the citizens; and he commanded
+his fleet to enter the river at the same moment that the great body of the
+army, led by himself, were ready to storm. The Scottish army fiercely
+assaulted the ships, burnt three of them, and compelled the rest to
+retire; but they in their turn were driven back by the fury of the land
+attack. Edward himself, mounted on horseback, was the first who leaped the
+dyke; and the soldiers, animated by the example and presence of their
+King, carried everything before them. All the horrors of a rich and
+populous city, sacked by an inflamed soldiery, and a commander thirsting
+for vengeance, now succeeded. _Seventeen thousand persons_, without
+distinction of age or sex, were put to the sword; and for two days the
+city ran with blood like a river. The churches, to which the miserable
+inhabitants fled for sanctuary, were violated and defiled with blood,
+spoiled of their sacred ornaments, and turned into stables for the English
+cavalry."[1]
+
+This ruthless massacre produced a profound sensation all over the country,
+but more especially on the Borders, and had much to do in creating that
+bitter feeling of hostility with which the English were ever afterwards
+regarded. To harass and despoil them was looked upon almost as a sacred
+duty. This miserable butchery of the inoffensive lieges instantly led to
+reprisals. Under the Earls of Ross, Menteith, and Athole, the Scottish
+army crossed the English Border, and ravaged with merciless severity the
+districts of Redesdale and Tynedale. The monasteries of Lanercost and
+Hexham were given to the flames, towns and villages destroyed, and the
+surrounding country laid waste. The Scots returned laden with booty. But
+the success which had crowned their arms was of doubtful utility. It only
+served to fan the flame of vengeful ire in the breast of the English King,
+who now resolved on the complete subjugation of the country. He marched
+against Dunbar with an army of ten thousand foot, and a thousand heavy
+armed horse. The Scots opposed his progress with an army much superior in
+point of numbers, and occupying a position of great strategic importance
+on the heights above Spot. As the English army had necessarily to deploy
+in passing along the valley it was supposed that the ranks had somehow
+fallen into confusion. The Scots precipitately rushed upon the enemy, only
+to find, to their dismay, that the English army was under the most perfect
+discipline, and ready for the attack. After a short resistance the
+Scottish columns were thrown into inextricable confusion, and were routed
+with great slaughter, leaving ten thousand brave soldiers dead in the
+field. History has a strange knack of repeating itself. Three hundred and
+fifty years after, the Scottish covenanters committed a similar blunder at
+the same place when opposing the progress of Oliver Cromwell, and with an
+equally disastrous result. The progress of Edward now partook of the
+nature of a triumphal march. He threw his army upon Edinburgh, and in the
+course of eight days made himself master of the Castle. He then proceeded
+to Perth, where he received the submission of Baliol, who seemed anxious
+to rid himself of an office the duties of which he was constitutionally
+unfit to discharge. The King continued his march to Aberdeen, and from
+thence to Elgin, without resistance. The nobles hurried into his presence
+to tender their submission. With indecent haste they renounced the
+alliance with Bruce, and took the oath of fealty to the destroyer of their
+country's liberties. It was a dark and tragic hour in Scottish history.
+
+As Edward returned on his way to Berwick, where he proposed holding a
+Parliament, he visited Scone, and took with him the "famous and fatal
+stone" upon which for many ages the Scottish Kings had been crowned and
+anointed. "This, considered by the Scots as the national Palladium, along
+with the Scottish Sceptre and Crown, the English monarch placed in the
+Cathedral of Westminster as an offering to Edward the Confessor, and as a
+memorial of what he deemed his absolute conquest of Scotland, a conquest
+which, before a single year elapsed, was entirely wrested from him."[2]
+
+We must now pass rapidly over one of the most eventful and stirring
+periods of Scottish history, during which Wallace and Bruce, by almost
+superhuman efforts, succeeded in delivering the country from the
+domination and control of England. The battle of Bannockburn gave the
+final blow to the lofty pretensions of the English monarch. He began to
+realise that the conquest of Scotland was not to be effected so easily as
+he had at one time vainly thought. But unfortunately this splendid victory
+did not result in inaugurating a reign of peace and goodwill between the
+two countries. After all that the Scottish people had suffered at the
+hands of their enemies, it was impossible for them to remain quiescent.
+They were determined on revenge. Hence we find that in the early autumn of
+1314 Douglas and Edward Bruce were despatched across the eastern march,
+and ravaged with fire and sword the counties of Northumberland and Durham.
+They even penetrated into Yorkshire, plundered the town of Richmond, and
+drove away a large booty of cattle, and made many prisoners. The
+inhabitants of the north of England were paralysed with fear. Walsingham
+declares that a hundred Englishmen would not hesitate to fly from two or
+three Scottish soldiers, so grievously had their wonted courage deserted
+them.
+
+Another army of Scottish soldiers marched through Redesdale and Tynedale,
+"marking their progress by the black ashes of the towns and villages."
+
+In the spring of the following year this predatory mode of warfare was
+again resumed, and Northumberland and the principality of Durham ravaged.
+A great quantity of plunder was collected, and the inhabitants compelled
+to redeem their property by paying a high tribute. The army of Bruce
+seemed invincible, and the northern counties of England were made to pay
+dearly for the temerity of the king in venturing to challenge the
+patriotism and prowess of the Scottish people.
+
+These events produced a profound impression on the people as a whole,
+especially on the dwellers on the Scottish Border. The sacking of Berwick,
+and the indiscriminate slaughter of its inhabitants, whose only offence
+was that they refused to open their gates to the usurper, were not soon
+forgotten, and engendered in the Border mind an undying hatred of England.
+It is not to be wondered at that the inhabitants of the Scottish Border
+should seldom either think or speak of the English except as their "auld
+enemies." To despoil them became, if not a religious, at least a patriotic
+duty. These circumstances to which reference has been made, and others of
+a kindred nature, may account, in some degree at least, for the
+extraordinary fact that the Border mosstrooper never seems to have been
+ashamed of his calling. On the contrary he gloried in it. In his eyes it
+was honourable and worthy. The undaunted bearing of the Bold Buccleuch,
+for example, and his cavalier manner in dealing with the English wardens,
+showed how thoroughly he enjoyed the work in which he was engaged. Eure
+tells how, on one occasion, he sent his cousin, Henry Bowes, to confer
+with this famous freebooter on some question in dispute, but Buccleuch
+"scorned to speak with him, and gathered his forces; and if my said cousin
+had not wisely foreseen and taken time to have come away he had been
+stayed himself. Two several messages were sent from Buccleuch from out his
+company that were in the field, part to have stayed with him and those
+that were with him. Not long since some of his men having stolen in my
+March, my men following their trade were stayed of his officer of
+Hermitage, their horses taken and themselves escaped on foot."[3]
+
+The English warden had evidently considerable difficulty in accounting
+for Buccleuch's attitude, for we find in a letter written to Burghley a
+few days after this happened that he is disposed to attribute his enmity
+to England to his zeal for Romanism. "His secret friends," he says, "say
+he is a papist; his surest friends in court are papists about the Queen,
+and labour his grace with the King. He strengthened himself much of late,
+and secretly says he will not stir till some certainty of the Spaniards
+arrive. To England he is a secret enemy, mighty proud, publishing his
+descent to be from Angus, and laboureth to be created Earl, and claimeth
+his blood to be partly royal. His poverty is great, all which concurring
+with his pride and Spanish religion, I leave to your honourable wisdom to
+censure."
+
+This picture is certainly painted in strong colours. The one point in it
+which is really significant, however, is that Buccleuch was "a secret
+enemy to England." This may be said of nine-tenths of the Border reivers.
+It was not the mere love of plunder or mischief which impelled them to
+prosecute their calling. They were animated by a spirit of revenge. Times
+almost without number the armies of England had crossed the Border,
+burning villages and homesteads, destroying the crops, carrying off goods
+and cattle, leaving those whom they had thus ruthlessly despoiled to the
+tender mercies of an uncertain climate and an impoverished soil, from
+which even at the best they had difficulty in extracting a bare
+subsistence.
+
+The English were, comparatively speaking, rich and powerful. They could
+command great forces, against which it was in vain, in most cases, for the
+Scottish Borderers to contend. Hence when they were assailed they drove
+their cattle into the recesses of mountain or forest, burned or otherwise
+destroyed what they could not remove--so that the enemy might be enriched
+as little as possible--and betook themselves to some distant shelter,
+where they awaited the course of events. As soon as the enemy had
+withdrawn, they returned to their places of abode, which, though
+destroyed, were easily reconstructed--the work of rebuilding being done in
+a day or two--and then they set about recouping themselves for the losses
+they had sustained by making incursions on the English Border, and
+carrying off every thing they could lay their hands on. This system of
+plunder and reprisal went on merrily along the whole line of the Borders
+for many generations. All the great Border families were involved in it,
+and devoted themselves to the work with a zeal and enthusiasm which left
+nothing to be desired. They doubtless felt that in plundering the English
+they were not only enriching themselves, but promoting the interests of
+their country, and paying back a long standing and heavily accumulating
+debt.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+PERCY'S PENNON.
+
+  "It fell about the Lammas time
+    When Yeomen wonne their hay,
+  The doughty DOUGLAS 'gan to ride
+    In England to take a prey."
+
+                                   BATTLE OF OTTERBURN.
+
+
+The Battle of Otterburn, which took place in the autumn of 1388, is
+without question one of the most interesting episodes in Border history,
+and is especially significant as an illustration of the prowess and
+chivalry of the Border Chiefs. The chief combatants on the Scottish side
+were the Earls of Douglas, Moray, March, and Crawford, the Lord
+Montgomery, and Patrick Hepburn of Hales, and his son. On the English side
+were Sir Henry (Hotspur) and Sir Ralph Percy, sons of the Earl of
+Northumberland; the Seneschal of York, Sir Ralph Langley, Sir Matthew
+Redman, governor of Berwick, Sir Robert Ogle, Sir Thomas Grey, Sir Thomas
+Hatton, Sir John Felton, Sir John Lillburne, Sir William Walsingham, and
+many others, all good men and true. The circumstances which brought about
+this famous encounter are worth recalling, as they shed an interesting
+light on the history of the period, as well as on the manners and customs
+of the age. The Scots, with the aid of their French allies, under the
+command of Sir John de Vienne, had made frequent successful incursions
+upon the English Borders, ravaging with fire and sword considerable
+districts of the country, both to the east and west of the frontier. This
+naturally led to retaliating expeditions. At last the state of affairs
+became so desperate that the young King, Richard II., determined to invade
+Scotland, and mete out summary punishment on the depredators. An army of
+extraordinary power and splendour was assembled; and the King, attended by
+his uncles and all the principal nobles of the kingdom, set out for the
+Scottish Border. If he expected to reap a rich harvest of booty by this
+invasion of the Scottish kingdom he was doomed to bitter disappointment.
+As he passed through Liddesdale and Teviotdale at the head of his army he
+found that the country had been cleared of everything that could be
+conveniently carried off. The cattle had been driven into the forest and
+mountain fastnesses; all the goods and chattels had been secured in places
+of safety; nothing was left but the green crops, and these being trampled
+upon were rendered practically worthless. But most wonderful of all--he
+never could come within sight of the enemy! The whole region through which
+he passed was lonely and desolate as a wilderness. The reason of this was
+that the French and Scots forces had fallen back upon Berwick, the
+commander of the Scots army being unwilling to hazard the fate of the
+country by an encounter with such an overwhelmingly superior force. The
+French commander, De Vienne, was impatient, and bitterly disappointed at
+not being permitted to attack the invaders. The Earl of Douglas, in order
+to demonstrate the hopelessness of an encounter, conveyed him to a lofty
+eminence, commanding a mountain pass through which the English army was at
+that moment defiling, and where unseen themselves, they could see its
+imposing array. The Scottish leader pointed out the number and discipline
+of the men-at-arms, and the superiority of the equipments of the archers,
+and then asked the French Knight whether he could recommend the Scots to
+encounter such a numerous and completely accoutred army with a few
+ill-trained Highland bowmen, and their light-armed prickers mounted on
+little hackneys. He could not but admit the risk was too great. "But yet,"
+said he, "if you do not give the English battle they will destroy your
+country." "Let them do their worst," replied Douglas, "they will find but
+little to destroy. Our people have all retired into the mountains and
+forests, and have carried off their flocks and herds and household stuff
+along with them. We will surround them with a desert, and while they never
+see an enemy they shall never stir a bow-shot from their standards
+without being overpowered with an ambush. Let them come on at their
+pleasure, and when it comes to burning and spoiling you shall see which
+has the worst of it." "But what will you do with your army if you do not
+fight," said De Vienne; "and how will your people endure the distress and
+famine and plunder which must be the consequences of the invasion?" "You
+shall see that our army shall not be idle," was the reply; "and as for our
+Scottish people, they will endure pillage, and they will endure famine,
+and every other extremity of war, but they will not endure English
+masters."
+
+The wisdom of this course was proved by subsequent results. The English
+army by the time it reached Edinburgh had got into the most desperate
+straits owing to the scarcity of provisions. Multitudes perished from
+want, and to escape total destruction a retreat was ordered through those
+very districts "which their own merciless and short-sighted policy had
+rendered a blackened desert."
+
+There is one important fact brought before us in this connection which
+demands a passing notice. The Reformers have often been severely censured
+for the wholesale destruction of the ancient Abbeys so intimately
+associated with the "fair humanities" of the ritual and worship of the
+Church of Rome. The saying attributed to Knox, about pulling down the
+rookeries to prevent the crows building, has served as a convenient text
+for many a philippic on the iconoclastic spirit and tendency of
+Protestantism. But the truth is that Knox had as little sympathy with what
+he calls the "rascal multitude," which sometimes engaged in this kind of
+work, as any of those opposed to him. Our Abbeys for the most part owe
+their destruction not to Reforming zeal, but to Catholic England's
+cupidity and revenge. The beautiful Abbeys of Melrose, Dryburgh, and
+Newbattle were given to the flames by the English soldiers at this time,
+and the wanton destruction of these noble edifices created in the Scottish
+mind a feeling of deep and bitter hostility. Jedburgh, too, owes its
+destruction not to Scottish iconoclasm, but to English invasion. It was
+pillaged and partly burned by the Earl of Surrey in the year 1523, and its
+destruction was practically completed by the Earl of Hereford twenty-two
+years afterwards; so that, so far at least as the Border Abbeys are
+concerned, the charge so often preferred against the Reformers is a base
+and stupid calumny.
+
+It was this invasion of the English army which led the Scottish nobles to
+organise the expedition which may be said to have terminated so gloriously
+at Otterburn. "The Scots," says Godscroft, "irritated herewith boyled with
+desire and revenge, being at that time very flourishing with strong youth,
+and never better furnished with commanders." The barons did not think it
+politic, for various reasons, to take the King into their confidence. He
+was of an essentially pacific disposition, and moreover was well stricken
+in years, and it is almost certain, had the matter been laid before him,
+he would have opposed the movement to the utmost of his power. His sons,
+however, were prepared to give every encouragement and assistance, and the
+barons in order to allay suspicion, and especially to prevent the English
+getting to know their purposes and plans, assembled at a great feast in
+Aberdeen and took counsel together. But, as Froissart says, "Everything is
+known to them who are diligent in their inquiries." The English nobles
+sent spies to Aberdeen, who, appearing in the guise of heralds and
+minstrels, became familiar with the plans of the Scottish barons, and
+speedily carried the information back to their own country. When the
+Scottish army ultimately assembled at Yetholm, close to the English
+Border, the English lords were well informed on nearly every point on
+which information could be desired. Such a muster had not been seen, so it
+was said, for sixty years. "There were twelve hundred spears, and forty
+thousand other men and archers. These lords were well pleased on meeting
+with each other, and declared they would never return to their homes
+without making an inroad on England, and to such an effect as would be
+remembered for twenty years."[4]
+
+The English had arranged that, if the Scots entered the country through
+Cumberland and Carlisle, they would ride into Scotland by Berwick and
+Dunbar, for they said, theirs is an open country that can be entered
+anywhere, but ours is a country with strong and well fortified towns and
+castles. It was therefore important they should know what route the Scots
+had determined upon. To ascertain this they sent a spy to the Scots' camp
+that he might report to them not only their intentions, but their speeches
+and actions. The English squire who came on this errand had a singular and
+exciting experience. He tied his horse to a tree in the neighbourhood of
+the church, where the barons were assembled, and entered into the church,
+as a servant following his master. When he came out he went to get his
+horse, but to his consternation the animal had disappeared, "for a
+Scotsman (for they are all thieves) had stolen him."[5] He went away,
+saying nothing about his loss, a circumstance which at once excited
+suspicion. One who saw him remarked, "I have witnessed many wonderful
+things, but what I now see is equal to any; that man yonder has, I
+believe, lost his horse, and yet he makes no inquiries after it. On my
+troth, I doubt much if he belongs to us; let us go after him, and see
+whether I am right or not." He was immediately apprehended, brought back,
+and examined. He was told that if he tried to deceive them he would lose
+his head, but if he told the truth he would be kindly treated. Being in
+dread of his life, he divulged all he knew, and especially explained with
+minuteness of detail the plans which had been concocted by his compatriots
+for the invasion of Scotland. "When the Scottish lords heard what was said
+they were silent; but looked at each other."
+
+It was now resolved to divide the army into two sections; one section, and
+that much the larger of the two, to go into England through Cumberland,
+the other to proceed along the valley of the Tyne to Durham. The latter
+company, under the command of the Earl of Douglas, made a rapid march
+through Northumberland, keeping a "calm sough" all the way, but as soon as
+they got into the neighbourhood of Durham the fiends of war were let
+loose. The first intimation the garrison in Newcastle had that the enemy
+was within their gates, was the dense volumes of smoke which ascended from
+burning towns and homesteads. Having gathered together an immense quantity
+of booty, the Scots set out on their return journey, and crossing the Tyne
+assaulted Newcastle, filling the ditches with hay and faggots, hoping
+thereby to have drawn out the enemy to the open fields. But the English,
+being in doubt as to the real strength of the Scots' army, were afraid to
+challenge an encounter. But Sir Henry Percy, better known as _Hotspur_,
+being desirous to try his valour, offered to fight the Douglas in single
+combat. "They mounted on two faire steeds, and ran together with sharp
+ground spears at outrance; in which encounter the Earl Douglas bore Percie
+out of his saddle. But the English that were by did rescue him so that he
+could not come at himself, but he snatched away his spear with his guidon
+or wither; and waving it aloft, and shaking it, he cried aloud that he
+would carry it into Scotland as his spoil."[6] The account which Froissart
+gives of this notable encounter differs in some particulars from the
+foregoing. He says:--"The sons of the Earl of Northumberland, from their
+great courage, were always the first barriers, when many valiant deeds
+were done with lances hand to hand. The Earl of Douglas had a long
+conflict with Sir Henry Percy, and in it, by gallantry of arms, won his
+pennon, to the great vexation of Sir Henry and the other English." The
+Earl of Douglas said, "I will carry this token of your prowess with me to
+Scotland, and place it on the tower of my castle at Dalkeith that it may
+be seen from far." "By God, Earl of Douglas," replied Sir Henry, "you
+shall not even carry it out of Northumberland; be assured you shall never
+have the pennon to brag of." "You must come then," answered Earl Douglas,
+"this night and seek for it. I will fix your pennon before my tent, and
+shall see if you venture to take it away." As the balladist has vigorously
+put it--
+
+  He took a long spear in his hand,
+    Shod with the metal free,
+  And for to meet the Douglas there,
+    He rode right furiouslie.
+
+  But O how pale his lady look'd,
+    Frae aff the castle wa',
+  When down before the Scottish spear
+    She saw proud Percy fa'.
+
+  "Had we twa been upon the green,
+    And never an eye to see,
+  I wad hae had you, flesh and fell;[7]
+    But your sword sall gie wi' me."
+
+  "But gae ye up to Otterbourne,
+    And wait there dayis three;
+  And, if I come not ere three dayis end,
+    A fause knight ca' ye me."
+
+  "The Otterbourne's a bonnie burn;
+    'Tis pleasant there to be;
+  But there is nought at Otterbourne,
+    To feed my men and me.
+
+  "The deer rins wild on hill and dale,
+    The birds fly wild from tree to tree;
+  But there is neither bread nor kail,
+    To fend[8] my men and me.
+
+  "Yet I will stay at Otterbourne,
+    Where you shall welcome be;
+  And, if ye come not at three dayis end,
+    A fause lord I'll ca' thee."
+
+  "Thither will I come," proud Percy said,
+    "By the might of our Ladye!"
+  "There will I bide thee," said the Douglass,
+    "My troth I plight to thee."
+
+  They lighted high on Otterbourne,
+    Upon the bent sae brown;
+  They lighted high on Otterbourne,
+    And threw their pallions down.
+
+  And he that had a bonnie boy,
+    Sent out his horse to grass;
+  And he that had not a bonnie boy,
+    His ain servant he was.
+
+
+The Earl of Douglas having withdrawn his gallant troops to Otterburn, in
+the parish of Elsdon, some thirty-two miles from Newcastle, and within
+easy reach of the Scottish Border, was strongly urged to proceed towards
+Carlisle, in order to join the main body of the army; but he thought it
+best to stay there some three or four days at least, to "repell the
+Percy's bragging." To keep his soldiers from wearying, he set them to take
+some gentlemen's castles and houses that lay near, a work which was
+carried out with the greatest alacrity and goodwill. They also
+strengthened and fortified the camp where it was weak, and built huts of
+trees and branches. Their baggage and servants they placed at the entrance
+of a marsh, which lay near the Newcastle road; and driving their cattle
+into the marsh land, where they were comparatively safe, they waited the
+development of events.
+
+Nor were they long kept in suspense. The English having discovered that
+the Scottish army was comparatively small, resolved at once to risk an
+encounter. Sir Henry Percy, when he heard that the Scottish army did not
+consist of more than three thousand men, including all sorts, became
+frantically excited, and cried out--"To horse! to horse! for by the faith
+I owe to my God, and to my lord and father, I will seek to recover my
+pennon, and to beat up their quarters this night." He set out at once,
+accompanied by six hundred spears, of knights and squires, and upwards of
+eight thousand infantry, which he said would be more than enough to fight
+the Scots.
+
+If Providence is always on the side of the heaviest battalion, as Napoleon
+was wont to affirm, then the Scots on this occasion are in imminent danger
+of having "short shrift." But it has been found that the fortunes of war
+depend on a variety of circumstances that are frequently of more
+importance than the number of troops, either on the one side or the other.
+Discipline and valour, when combined with patriotism and pride-of-arms,
+have accomplished feats which the heaviest battalions are sometimes
+impotent to achieve. We by no means wish to imply that the English were
+deficient in these desirable qualities; far from it. They were splendidly
+led, and in the encounter displayed the most heroic qualities; but they
+were matched by a small body of men, of the most dauntless courage and
+invincible determination who were thoroughly inured to battle, and ever
+ready at the call of duty, to encounter the most powerful foes. The Scots
+were taken by surprise. Some were at supper, and others had gone to rest
+when the alarm was given that the English were approaching.
+
+  But up then spake a little page,
+    Before the peep of dawn--
+  "O waken ye, waken ye, my good lord,
+    For Percy's hard at hand."
+
+  "Ye lie, ye lie, ye liar loud!
+    Sae loud I hear ye lie;
+  For Percy had not men yestreen,
+    To dight my men and me.
+
+  "But I have dream'd a dreary dream,
+    Beyond the Isle of Sky;
+  I saw a dead man win a fight,
+    And I think that man was I."
+
+  He belted on his guid braid sword,
+    And to the field he ran;
+  But he forgot the helmit good,
+    That should have kept his brain.
+
+
+The battle now raged in earnest. A bright warm day had been followed by a
+clear still moonlight night. "The fight," says Godscroft, "was continued
+very hard as among noble men on both sides, who did esteem more of glory
+than life. Percy strove to repair the foil he got at Newcastle, and the
+Earl Douglas did as much labour to keep the honour he had won. So in
+unequal numbers, but both eager in mind, they continued fighting a great
+part of the night. At last a cloud covering the face of the moon, not
+being able to discern friend from foe, they took some respite for a while;
+but so soon as the cloud was gone, the English gave so hard a charge,
+that the Scots were put back in such sort, that the Douglas standard was
+in great peril to have been lost. This did so irritate him, that he
+himself in the one wing, and the two Hepburns (father and son) in the
+other, pressing through the ranks of their own men, and advancing to the
+place where the greatest peril appeared, renewed a hard conflict, and by
+giving and receiving many wounds, they restored their men into the place
+from whence they had been beaten, and continued the fight till the next
+day at noon."[9] Foremost, in the thick of the fray, was the dauntless
+Douglas, laying about him on every side with a mace of iron, which two
+ordinary men were not able to lift, "and making a lane round about
+wheresoever he went."
+
+  When Percy wi' the Douglas met
+    I wat he was fu' fain!
+  They swakked their swords till sair they swat,
+    And the blood ran down like rain.
+
+"Thus he advanced like another Hector, thinking to recover and conquer the
+field, from his own prowess, until he was met by three spears that were
+pointed at him: one struck him on the shoulder, another on the stomach,
+near the belly, and the third entered his thigh. He could never disengage
+himself from these spears, but was borne to the ground fighting
+desperately. From that moment he never rose again. Some of his knights and
+squires had followed him, but not all; for though the moon shone it was
+rather dark. The three English lances knew they had struck down some
+person of considerable rank, but never thought it was Earl Douglas: had
+they known it they would have been so rejoiced that their courage would
+have been redoubled, and the fortune of the day had consequently been
+determined to their side. The Scots were ignorant also of their loss till
+the battle was over, otherwise they would certainly, from despair, have
+been discomfited."[10]
+
+When at last the dying Douglas was discovered by his kinsman, James
+Lindsay and John and Walter Sinclair, and was asked how he fared, he
+replied, "I do well dying as my predecessors have done before; not on a
+bed of lingering sickness, but in the field. These things I require you as
+my last petitions; First, that ye keep my death close both from my own
+folk, and from the enemy; then that ye suffer not my standard to be lost,
+or cast down; and last that ye avenge my death, and bury me at Melrose
+with my father. If I could hope for these things, I should die with the
+greater contentment, for long since I heard a prophecy that a dead man
+should win a field, and I hope in God it shall be I."[11]
+
+  "My wound is deep; I fain would sleep,
+     Take thou the vanguard of the three,
+   And hide me by the bracken bush,
+    That grows on yonder lilye lee.
+
+  "O bury me by the bracken bush,
+     Beneath the blooming brier,
+   Let never living mortal ken,
+    A kindly Scot lies here."[12]
+
+Throwing a shroud over the prostrate body of the wounded and dying
+soldier, that the enemy might not discover who it was that had fallen,
+they raised the standard and shouted lustily "a Douglas! a Douglas!" and
+rushed with might and main upon the English host. Soon the English ranks
+began to waver, and when at last it was known that Hotspur had been taken
+prisoner by the Earl of Montgomery, "The enemy fled and turned their
+backs." According to Godscroft there were 1840 of the English slain, 1040
+taken prisoners, and 1000 wounded. The losses on the Scottish, according
+to the same historian, were comparatively trifling, amounting only to 100
+slain and 200 taken prisoners.
+
+  This deed was done at Otterbourne
+    About the breaking of the day,
+  Earl Douglas was buried at the bracken bush,
+    And the Percy led captive away.
+
+
+There are several incidents connected with this famous battle that are
+worthy of special notice, but one in particular demands a passing word.
+The Bishop of Durham, at the head of ten thousand men, appeared on the
+field almost immediately after the battle had ended. The Scots were
+greatly alarmed, and scarcely knew how, in the circumstances,--having so
+many prisoners and wounded to attend to,--they were to meet this
+formidable host. They fortified their camp, having only one pass by which
+it could be entered; made their prisoners swear that, whether rescued or
+not, they would remain their prisoners; and then they ordered their
+minstrels to play as merrily as possible. The Bishop of Durham had
+scarcely approached within a league of the Scots when they began to play
+such a concert that "it seemed as if all the devils in hell had come
+thither to join in the noise," so that those of the English who had never
+before heard such were much frightened. As he drew nearer, the noise
+became more terrific--"the hills redoubling the sound." The Bishop being
+impressed with the apparent strength of the camp, and not a little alarmed
+at the discordant piercing sounds which proceeded from it, thought it
+desirable to retreat as speedily as possible, as it appeared to him that
+there were greater chances of loss than gain. "He was affrighted with the
+sound of the horns."
+
+Thus ended one of the most notable battles on record. The flower of the
+chivalry of both nations took part in it, and never did men acquit
+themselves with greater credit. Indeed it is generally admitted that the
+valour displayed on both sides has rarely, if ever, been surpassed. But
+perhaps most notable of all was the kindness and consideration displayed
+towards those who had been wounded or taken prisoner. The former were
+tended with the greatest care; and as for the latter, the most of them
+were permitted to go back to their homes, after having given their word of
+honour that they would return when called upon. Not more than four hundred
+prisoners were carried into Scotland, and some of these were allowed to
+regain their liberty by naming their own ransom.
+
+Many severe accusations have been brought against Scotsmen, and especially
+Borderers, for their cruelty and inhumanity in time of war. It is perhaps
+possible to make good this indictment; but we do not believe that in
+regard to such matters the Scots were worse than their neighbours. And if
+they had great vices, they had also splendid virtues. They were brave,
+truthful, courteous, too ready perhaps to draw the sword on the slightest
+provocation, but as has been shown in the present instance, they were
+incapable of taking a mean advantage of a fallen foe. They loved fighting
+for its own sake, as well as for the sake of the "booty," but when the
+battle was over they cherished few resentments. The splendid qualities,
+physical and moral, so conspicuously brought to view in the battle of
+Otterburn cannot fail to suggest what a magnificent country Scotland might
+have become many centuries ago had she only been blessed with wise Kings
+and a strong Government.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+POOR AND LAWLESS.
+
+  "Mountainous and strange is the country,
+    And the people rough and savage."
+
+
+We have seen that the feeling of hatred to the English which prevailed on
+the Scottish Borders was due to some extent to the memory of the wrongs
+which the Borderers had suffered at the hands of their hereditary enemies.
+That this feeling had something to do with the existence and development
+of the reiving system, must be apparent to every student of history and of
+human nature. It was the most natural thing in the world that the dwellers
+on the Scottish Border should seek to retaliate; and as the forces at
+their command were seldom powerful enough to justify their engaging in
+open warfare, they resorted to the only other method of revenge which held
+out to them any hope of success.
+
+But while this aspect of the situation ought to be kept prominently in
+view, there are other factors of the problem which must not be overlooked.
+In the Middle Ages the district of country known as the Borders must have
+presented a very different appearance from what it does at the close of
+the 19th century. The Merse, which is now, for the most part, in a high
+state of cultivation, and capable of bearing the finest crops, was then in
+a comparatively poor condition, looked at from an agricultural point of
+view. The soil in many places was thin, poor, and marshy. Drainage was
+unknown, and the benefits accruing from the rotation of crops, and the
+system of feeding the soil with artificial manures, so familiar in these
+days of high farming, were then very inadequately appreciated. Perhaps an
+exception to this statement ought to be made in favour of the land held
+and cultivated by the great religious houses, such as Melrose, Jedburgh,
+and Kelso. The tenants on these lands enjoyed special privileges and
+immunities, and were thus able to prosecute their labour not only with
+more skill, but with a greater certainty of success. It is sometimes said
+that the monks knew where to pitch their camps; that they appropriated to
+their own use and benefit the fairest and richest parts of the country;
+but, as Lord Hailes very pertinently remarks, "When we examine the sites
+of ancient Monasteries, we are sometimes inclined to say with the vulgar,
+that the clergy in former times always chose the best of the land, and
+the most commodious habitations, but we do not advert, that religious
+houses were frequently erected on waste grounds, afterwards improved by
+the art and industry of the clergy, who alone had art and industry."[13]
+The land held by these houses was cultivated on more or less scientific
+principles. "Within the precincts of the wealthier abbeys," says Skelton,
+"an active industrial community was housed. The prescribed offices of the
+church were of course scrupulously observed: but the energies of the
+society were not exclusively occupied with, nor indeed mainly directed to,
+the performance of religious duties. The occupants of the monasteries wore
+the religious garb; but they were road-makers, farmers, merchants,
+lawyers, as well as priests.... The earliest roads in Scotland that
+deserved the name were made by the Monks and their dependents; and were
+intended to connect the religious houses as trading societies with the
+capital or nearest seaport. A decent public road is indispensable to an
+industrial community: and a considerable portion of the trade of the
+country was in the hands of the religious orders. The Monks of Melrose
+sent wool to the Netherlands; others trafficked in corn, in timber, in
+salmon.... Each community, each order, as was natural, had its
+characteristic likings and dislikings. One house turned out the best
+scholars and lawyers, another the finest wool and the sweetest mutton; one
+was famed for poetry and history, another for divinity or medicine."[14]
+It would therefore be nearer the truth to say that the monks made the
+districts in which they lived rich and fertile; than that they found them
+so, and took possession of them in consequence.
+
+But beyond the sphere of these monastic institutions, the state of matters
+from an agricultural point of view could hardly have been worse. This was
+mainly due to the fact that, so far as Berwickshire and some parts of
+Dumfriesshire are concerned, the tiller of the soil was never sure that he
+would have the privilege of reaping his harvest. By the time the grain was
+ready for the sickle an English army might invade the country and give the
+crops to the flames. This happened so frequently, and the feeling of
+insecurity thus became so great, that husbandry at times was all but
+abandoned. There can be no doubt that this was one prime factor in
+creating the poverty which was so long a marked and painful feature of the
+life of the Scottish Borders.
+
+On the other hand, there was a considerable extent of country, extending
+from Jedburgh to Canobie, which was practically unfit for cultivation. The
+Royal Forest of Ettrick was of great extent, and was reserved as a happy
+hunting ground for the Court and its minions. Along the banks of the
+Teviot and the Liddle, embracing a considerable portion of Roxburgh and
+Dumfries, the extent of land capable of cultivation was by no means great,
+even though it had been found practical, or politic, to put it under the
+ploughshare. This region is one of the most mountainous in the South of
+Scotland, and in ancient times abounded in quaking bogs and inaccessible
+morasses. This district naturally became the favourite haunt of the Border
+reiver. Here he could find ways and means either of securing his own
+cattle, or those he had "lifted," from the search of the enemy by driving
+them into some inaccessible retreat, the entrance to which it was
+difficult, if not impossible, for strangers to discover.
+
+Of the general condition of the country at this time a vivid picture has
+been given by AEneas Sylvius, one of the Piccolomini, afterwards Pius II.,
+who visited Scotland in the year 1413. He thus writes:--"Concerning
+Scotland he found these things worthy of repetition. It is an _island
+joined_ to England, stretching two hundred miles to the North, and about
+fifty broad: a cold country, fertile of few sorts of grain, and generally
+void of trees, but there is a sulphureous stone dug up which is used for
+firing. The towns are unwalled, the houses commonly built without lime,
+and in villages roofed with turf, while a cow's hide supplies the place of
+a door. The commonalty are poor and uneducated, have abundance of flesh
+and fish, but eat bread as a dainty. The men are small in stature, but
+bold; the women fair and comely, and prone to the pleasures of love,
+kisses being esteemed of less consequence than pressing the hand is in
+Italy. The wine is all imported; the horses are mostly small ambling nags,
+only a few being preserved entire for propagation; and neither curry-combs
+nor reins are used. From Scotland are imported into Flanders hides, wool,
+salt, fish, and pearls. _Nothing gives the Scots more pleasure than to
+hear the English dispraised._ The country is divided into two parts, the
+cultivated lowlands, and the region where agriculture is not used. The
+wild Scots have a different language, and sometimes eat the bark of trees.
+There are no wolves. Crows are new inhabitants, and therefore the tree in
+which they build becomes royal property. At the winter, when the author
+was there, the day did not exceed four hours."
+
+That there are several inaccuracies in this account goes without saying,
+but they are just such mistakes as a person making a hurried run through
+the country would very naturally commit. Wolves and crows were much more
+plentiful at that period than the inhabitants wished, as may be seen from
+various Acts of Parliament which were passed in order to promote their
+destruction. But the general description of the country here given agrees,
+in its main details, with other contemporary records, and presents a truly
+dismal picture of the poverty of the people.
+
+Even as late as the 16th century there were few well-formed roads, other
+than those already mentioned. There were no posts, either for letters or
+for travelling. Education was confined to the library of the Convent,
+where the sons of the barons were taught dialectic and grammar. Society
+consisted mainly of the agricultural class, who were half enslaved to the
+lords of the soil, and obliged to follow them in war. The people were
+fearfully rude and ignorant, much more so than the English--in this
+respect, indeed, contrasting unfavourably with almost any other European
+State. Few of them could either read or write; even the most powerful
+barons were often unable to sign their names. As might be expected in such
+a condition of society, the nobles exercised great oppression on the poor.
+The Government of the country was a mere faction of the nobility as
+against all the rest. It is said that when a man had a suit at law he felt
+he had no chance without using "influence." Was he to be tried for an
+offence, his friends considered themselves bound to muster in arms around
+the court to see that he got justice; that is, to get him off unpunished
+if they could. Men were accustomed to violence in all forms as to their
+daily bread. "The hail realm of Scotland was sae divided in factions that
+it was hard to get any peaceable man as he rode out the hie way, to
+profess himself openly, either to be a favourer to the King or Queen. All
+the people were castin sae lowss, and were become of sic dissolute minds
+and actions, that nane was in account but he that could either kill or
+reive his neighbours."[15]
+
+Such facts as these indicate in a remarkable way the extraordinary
+weakness of the executive government. It is abundantly evident that the
+Scottish Parliament was most exemplary in passing measures for the
+protection and amelioration of the people, but as Buchanan naively
+remarks, "There was ane Act of Parliament needed in Scotland, a decree to
+enforce the observance of the others." The King's writ did not run in many
+districts of the country. The unfortunate element in the situation was
+that it did not always coincide with the interests of the nobles to see
+that the decrees of the Estates were carried into effect; and as a general
+rule what did not happen to accord with their humour was set aside as of
+no moment. The consequence was that many Acts of Parliament, relating
+especially to the abnormal condition of the Borders, were no sooner passed
+than they were treated as practically obsolete. This accounts for the
+curious fact that we find the legislature returning again and again, at
+brief intervals, to the consideration of the same questions, and issuing
+orders which might as well never have been recorded. When the counsels of
+a nation are thus divided, and especially when those who are charged with
+the administration of the law pay no regard to it, in their own persons,
+it would be a marvel if lawlessness in its multifarious forms did not
+become the dominant characteristic of the great body of the people. That
+this was the result produced is painfully evident. The great barons were
+practically supreme within their own domains, for while the execution of
+the laws might nominally pertain to the Sovereign, the soldiers belonged
+to their Chiefs, and were absolutely at their command. Laws which cannot
+be enforced at the point of the sword must in the nature of the case
+remain practically inoperative. This unfortunate condition of affairs was
+a fruitful source of misery and mischief, especially on the Borders, where
+the prevalence of the clan-system conferred on the Chiefs the most
+arbitrary and far-reaching powers. Had there been any possibility of
+bringing the Border barons under effective governmental control "the
+thefts, herschips, and slaughters," for which this district was so long
+notorious, would have been in great part prevented. These men not only
+incited to crime, but standing as they did between the ruler and the
+ruled, they threw the aegis of their protection over the lawless and
+disobedient.
+
+If only that nation is to be reckoned happy which has few laws, but is
+accustomed to obey them, then Scotland, and the Borders in particular,
+must have been in a most unfortunate condition during a lengthened period
+of its history. The laws passed were numerous; the obedience rendered most
+difficult to discover. But while these enactments rarely succeeded in
+producing the results aimed at, they are, notwithstanding, exceedingly
+valuable to the historian because of the interesting light they cast on
+the conditions and habits of the people. In the year 1567, in the first
+Parliament of James VI., an important Act was passed, entitled "Anent
+Theft and Receipt of Theft, Taking of Prisoners by Thieves, or Bands for
+Ransoms, and Punishment of the same." It relates especially to the
+Sheriffdoms of Selkirk, Roxburgh, Peebles, Dumfries, and Edinburgh, "and
+other inhabitants of the remanent Shires of the Realm," bearing that it is
+not unknown of the continual theft, reif, and oppression committed within
+the bounds of the said Sheriffdoms, by thieves, traitors, and other
+ungodly persons, having neither fear of God nor man, which is the chief
+cause of the said thefts. And that the said thieves and "broken men"
+commit daily "thefts, reifs, herschips, murders, and fire raisings" upon
+the peaceable subjects of the country, "besides also takes sundrie of
+them," detains them in captivity as prisoners, ransoms them, "or lettis
+them to borrowis for their entrie again." In like manner, it is said,
+divers subjects of the inland, take and sit under their assurance paying
+them blackmail, and permitting them to "reif, herrie, and oppress their
+nichtbouris" with their knowledge and in their sight, without resistance
+or contradiction.
+
+To remove these inconveniences it was statute and ordained that whoever
+receipted, fortified, maintained, or gave meat, harbourage, or assistance
+to any thieves in their theftuous stealing or deeds, either coming
+thereto, or passing therefrom, or intercommunes or trysts with them,
+without licence of the keeper of the country, where the thief remains
+shall be called therefore at particular diets "criminally other airt and
+pairt in their theftuous deeds," or proceeded against civilly, after
+fifteen days warning, "without diet or tabill." It was further ordained
+under pain of lese majesty, that no true and faithful lieges taken by
+these men should be holden to enter to them, all bonds to the contrary
+notwithstanding. And if anyone should happen to take and apprehend any of
+the said thieves, either in passing to commit said theft, or in the actual
+doing thereof, or in their returning thencefrom, he was in no case to set
+them at liberty; but to present them before the Justice, and his deputies
+in the tolbooth of Edinburgh, within fifteen days, "gif their takeris
+justifye them not to the death them selfis." Further, it was ordained that
+none take assurance, or sit under assurance of said thieves, or pay them
+blackmail, or give them meat or drink, under pain of death. In like
+manner when thieves repaired to steal or reive within the incountry the
+lieges were commanded to rise, cry, and raise the fray and follow them,
+coming or going, on horse and foot, for recovery of the goods stolen, and
+apprehending of their persons, under pain of being held partakers in the
+said theft. It was also added that if any open and notorious thief came to
+a house, the owner of the house might apprehend him without reproach.[16]
+
+These enactments are at once minute and comprehensive, and had the power
+to enforce them corresponded in any degree with the good intentions of
+those who framed them, there would have been a considerable change
+produced in the affairs of the Border. But the truth is these so-called
+statutes were but little better than mere "pious opinions," reflecting
+credit on those responsible for them, but producing no impression, or next
+to none, on the country. Not many years after the passing of these Acts we
+find the Estates busy at work again passing measure after measure for the
+quieting of the disordered subjects on the Borders, for the staunching of
+theft and slaughter, and the punishment of "wicked thieves and limmers."
+Things had gone from bad to worse. Every man's hand was against his
+neighbour. Clan rose against clan; the Scotts and the Kerrs, the Maxwells
+and Johnstones, were constantly embroiled in petty warfare, the results
+of which, however, were sometimes most disastrous. "The broken
+men"--Graemes, Armstrongs, Bells, and other inhabitants of the Debateable
+land--finding it either unsafe or inconvenient to commit such frequent
+"herschips" on the English border, betook themselves with all their
+accustomed enthusiasm to the plundering of their Scottish neighbours. They
+are described as "delighting in all mischief, and maist unnaturally and
+cruelly wasting and destroying, harrying and slaying, their own
+neighbours." The Privy Council at last determined to deal with these
+matters, and arranged to sit on the first day of every month in the year
+for this purpose. Trial and injunction was to be taken of the diligence
+done in the execution of things directed the month preceding, and of
+things necessary and expedient to be put in execution during the next
+month to come, and that a special register be kept of all that shall
+happen to be done and directed in matters concerning the quietness and
+good rule of the Borders. But to make assurance doubly sure it was also
+ordained at the same time that all landlords and bailies of the lands,
+should find sufficient caution and surety, under pain of rebellion, to
+bring all persons guilty of "reife, theft, receipt of theft, depredations,
+open and avowed fire-raisings, upon deadly feud, protected and maintained
+by their masters," before "our sovereign lord's Justice," to underlie the
+law for the same. Failing their doing so, the landlords and bailies were
+bound to satisfy the party skaithed, and to refund, content, and pay to
+them their "herschips and skaithes." And further, the chief of the clan,
+in the bounds where "broken men" dwell, and to which "broken men" repair
+in their passing to steal and reive, or returning therefrom, shall be
+bound to make the like stay and arrestment, and publication as the
+landlords or bailies, and be subject to the like redress, criminal and
+civil, in case of their failure and negligence. In addition to the
+foregoing ordinances, it was resolved that all Captains, Chiefs, and
+Chieftains of the clans, dwelling on the lands of divers landlords, shall
+enter pledges for those over whom they exercise authority, upon fifteen
+days' notice, before his Highness and his secret Council, said pledges to
+be placed as his Highness shall deem convenient--"for the good rule in
+time coming, according to the conditions above written whereunto the
+landlords and bailies are subject; under the pain of the execution of the
+said pledges to the death, and no redress made by the persons offended for
+whom the pledges lie."
+
+We also learn from another Act of Parliament, passed at the same time,
+that all pledges received for the good rule and quietness of the Border
+shall be placed on the north side of the water of Forth, without exception
+or dispensation; and the pledges for the good rule of the Highlands and
+Isles, to be placed on the south side of the same water of Forth.
+
+But one of the most extraordinary Acts passed by this Parliament was an
+Act forbidding the Scottish Borderers to marry the daughters of the
+"broken men" or thieves of England, as it was declared this was "not only
+a hindrance to his Majesty's service and obedience, but also to the common
+peace and quietness betwixt both the Realms." It was therefore statute and
+ordained "that nane of the subjects presume to take upon hand to marrie
+with onie English woman, dwelling in the opposite Marches, without his
+Highness' express licence, had and obtained to that effect, under the
+great Seal; under the paine of death, and confiscation of all his goods
+moveable; and this be a special point of dittay in time cumming."
+
+These enactments were doubtless well meant, and under ordinary
+circumstances might have been expected to bring about beneficial results;
+but unfortunately they were treated with callous indifference. No
+improvement was effected. The "broken men" were not to be intimidated by
+such measures. They laughed at Parliament, and scorned the laws. This is
+brought out in the most conclusive manner in the records of the State
+Paper Office, as we shall have occasion to point out in succeeding
+chapters. But proof of another kind lies ready to hand. An Act of
+Parliament was passed in 1593, just six years after those already noticed,
+in which complaint is made of the rebellious contempt of his Highness'
+subjects who, without regard of their dutiful obedience, pass daily to the
+horn, "for not finding of law surety;" and "for not subscribing of
+assurances in matter of feud," and for "dinging and stricking his
+Majesty's messengers," in execution of their offices. Notice is also taken
+of some who nightly and daily reive, foray, and commit open theft and
+oppression: "for remead whereof, our said Sovereign Lord, ordains the Acts
+and laws made before to be put to execution, and ratifies and approves the
+same in all points." It was further ordained that no respite or remission
+was to be granted at any time hereafter to any person or persons that pass
+to the horn for "theft, reif, slauchter, burning or heir-shippe, while the
+party skaithed be first satisfied; and gif ony respite or remission shall
+happen to be granted, before the partie grieved be first satisfied, the
+samin shall be null and of nane avail, be way of exception or reply,
+without any further declaritour; except the saidis remissiones and
+respittes be granted, for pacifying of the broken Countries and
+Borders."[17]
+
+These may be regarded as fair samples of the long list of measures passed
+at different times by the Scottish Parliament for the regulation of
+Border affairs during the reign of the Jameses. In reading them one is
+forcibly reminded of a remark made by one of the English wardens, that
+"things were very tickle on the Scottish Border." No respect was paid to
+the law, either by the Chiefs or their clansmen. In the preface to Cary's
+Memoirs, these Scottish Borderers are described as "equalling the Caffirs
+in the trade of stealing, and the Hottentots in ignorance and brutality."
+This savage indictment is borne out by Sir William Bowes who, in a letter
+to Burghley in the year 1593--nearly forty years after the
+Reformation--thus writes:--"The opposite wardens and officers being always
+Borderers bred and dwelling there, also cherish favourites and strengthen
+themselves by the worst disposed, to support their factions. And as they
+are often changed by the King for their misdemeanours, the new man always
+refuses to answer for attempts before his time. Cessford the warden cannot
+answer for the whole Middle March, but must seek to Fernihirst for one
+part, and Buccleuch for Teviotdale.
+
+"_Execrable murders are constantly committed_, whereof 4 new complaints
+were made to the lords in the few days they were here, and 3 others this
+month in Atholstonmoor. The gentlemen of the Middle March recount out of
+their memories nearly 200 Englishmen, miserably murdered by the Scots,
+since the tenth year of her Majesty's reign, for which no redress hath at
+all been made.... I have presumed to testify this much to your lordship
+more tediously than I should; yet will be ready to do more particularly,
+if you direct me. Praying you to receive from some other, equally heedful
+of truth--and in meantime trusting you will cover my name from undeserved
+offence--I pray God to make you an instrument under our gracious sovereign
+to cure the aforesaid gangrene thus noisomely molesting the foot of this
+kingdom."[18]
+
+This "gangrene" was of long standing, and as we shall find was not to be
+easily eradicated.
+
+But while poverty,--largely due to circumstances over which the people had
+no control,--and lawlessness,--the result of the inherent weakness of the
+central government,--had much to do in creating that condition of affairs
+on the Borders which we have briefly described, there were other and
+perhaps more potent causes which demand consideration. Foremost among
+these was the almost entire absence of the restraints and sanctions of
+religion. In one of the Acts of Parliament already noticed it is
+significantly declared that one of the principal causes of the lawlessness
+of the Borders was that "they had neither the fear of God nor man." To
+those familiar with certain phases of Border history this may appear
+somewhat anomalous. At an early period in the religious life of Scotland
+this district was brought under the influence of the Evangel by St. Aidan
+and St. Cuthbert. That the work of these missionaries was signally
+successful, is shown in the large number of churches planted all over the
+Borderland. After the time of Queen Margaret, whose influence in certain
+directions was almost marvellously potent, the great religious houses of
+the Borders rose in rapid succession, such as Melrose, Kelso, and
+Jedburgh, each a centre and source of religious and social wellbeing. The
+moral life of the people, notwithstanding the existence of such beneficent
+institutions, may have been of an indifferent character; but what the
+state of matters might have been, had those places, and what they
+represented, never been in existence at all, it is impossible to conceive.
+It was a true instinct which led the people to regard the Abbey of
+Haddington as the "Lamp of the Lothians." And the same designation might
+have been applied with equal appropriateness to every Abbey in the
+country. Those places for many generations represented all that was
+highest and best in the thought and life of Mediaevalism. Here law and
+order were supreme. Round those religious houses industrial, orderly
+communities sprang up, whose influence was felt throughout the length and
+breadth of the land. The Monasteries may deserve all that was said of
+them in later times, but, throughout a considerable period of their
+history, their influence was almost wholly beneficial. Scotland owes much
+to them, and there is no reason why the fact should not be generously
+recognised. It is no doubt true that, for some considerable time before
+the Reformation, those great institutions had sadly degenerated. "Jeshurun
+waxed fat and kicked." The time came when they had, perforce, to yield to
+those disintegrating processes which usually herald the advent of reform.
+The old order changeth. The new wine of a democratic Protestantism, in
+which the claims of the individual, his right to think for himself, and
+form his own judgments, are prominent ingredients, agreed but
+indifferently with the old bottles of an earlier Faith and Polity. And so
+the Monasteries disappeared.
+
+But it was long ere the new light of the Reformation made itself
+practically felt on the Borders. When the influences which had hitherto
+been so potent ceased to operate, a condition of religious and moral chaos
+supervened. Hundreds of churches were left without ministers. Whole
+districts practically lapsed into barbarism. For at least fifty years
+after the Reformation, the Scottish Borders were to all intents and
+purposes out-with the influence of the Church. Even as late as the
+Covenanting period their condition had not greatly improved. "We learn,"
+says Sir Walter Scott, "from a curious passage in the life of Richard
+Cameron, a fanatical preacher during what is called the time of
+'persecution,' that some of the Borderers retained till a late period
+their indifference about religious matters. After having been licensed at
+Haughead, in Teviotdale, he was, according to his biographer, sent first
+to preach in Annandale. 'He said, How can I go there? I know what sort of
+people they are.' But Mr Welch said, 'Go your way, Ritchie, and set the
+fire of hell to their tails.' He went, and the first day he preached on
+the text--_How shall I put thee among the children, &c._ In the
+application he said, 'Put you among the children! the offspring of thieves
+and robbers! we have all heard of Annandale thieves.' Some of them got a
+merciful cast that day, and told afterwards that it was the first field
+meeting they had ever attended, and that they went out of mere curiosity,
+to see a minister preach in a tent, and people sit on the ground."[19]
+
+During the period of religious decadence, prior to the Reformation, a
+remarkable custom, not unknown elsewhere, prevailed on the Borders. Owing
+to the scarcity of clergymen, especially in the Vales of Ewes, Esk, and
+Liddle, the rites of the church were only intermittently celebrated, a
+circumstance which gave rise to what was known as _Hand-fasting_. Loving
+couples who met at fairs and other places of public resort agreed to live
+together for a certain period, and if, when the _book-a-bosom_ man, as the
+itinerant clergyman was called, came to pay his yearly visit to the
+district, they were still disposed to remain in wedlock they received the
+blessing of the church; but if it should happen that either party was
+dissatisfied, then the union might be terminated, on the express
+condition, however, that the one desiring to withdraw should become
+responsible for the maintenance of the child, or children, which may have
+been born to them. "The connection so formed was binding for one year
+only, at the expiration of which time either party was at liberty to
+withdraw from the engagement, or in the event of both being satisfied the
+'hand-fasting' was renewed for life. The custom is mentioned by several
+authors, and was by no means confined to the lower classes, John Lord
+Maxwell and a sister of the Earl of Angus being thus contracted in January
+1577."[20]
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+RAIDS AND FORAYS.
+
+  "Then forward bound both horse and hound,
+     And rattle o'er the vale;
+   As the wintry breeze through leafless trees
+     Drives on the pattering hail.
+
+  "Behind their course the English fells
+     In deepening blue retire;
+   Till soon before them boldly swells
+     The muir of dun Redswire."
+
+                                   LEYDEN.
+
+
+To give anything like an adequate account of the various raids and forays,
+on the one side of the Border and the other, would fill many volumes.
+These raids, as we have already noticed, began at an early period, and
+were carried on almost without intermission for at least three hundred
+years. The Armstrongs and Elliots in Liddesdale, and many of the other
+noted clans in Merse and Teviotdale, were "always riding." As an English
+warden remarks in one of his despatches to the Government:--"They lie
+still never a night"--a statement which may be accepted as literally true.
+At some point or other along the Border line, invasions either on the
+part of the Scots or English were constantly occurring. In this respect,
+more especially during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the Scots were
+perhaps the principal offenders. But as a general rule their invasions,
+though frequent, were on a comparatively small scale, partaking rather of
+the nature of forays than of raids. They would hurriedly cross the Border
+of an evening, drive together as many cattle or sheep as they could find,
+and then hasten back with all possible speed to their own country.
+Sometimes, if they were compelled to go a considerable distance inland,
+they would hide during the day in some quiet glen, within the enemy's
+territory, and then sally forth as soon as the moon lent her kindly aid,
+and accomplish with the utmost expedition the task which had brought them
+thither. It is said that these incursions were marked with the desire of
+spoil rather than of slaughter, a statement which may be true so far as
+forays generally are concerned, but which certainly does not apply to the
+more important raids. These latter incursions were marked with every
+element of ferocity and bloodshed. In some of the raids conducted by
+Cessford and Buccleuch, in the 15th century, in Redesdale and Tynedale,
+many lives were sacrificed, and all who offered resistance were put to the
+sword. Hertford, Wharton, and others, in their raids upon the Scottish
+Border seemed often more intent on shedding blood than securing booty.
+The statement that these incursions were marked with a desire of spoil
+rather than bloodshed must therefore be accepted _cum grano salis_.
+
+It would seem that the season of year most favourable to reiving was
+between Michaelmas and Martinmas. The reason of this is not difficult to
+discover. The reivers in their expeditions hardly ever went on foot. They
+rode small hackneys--hardy, well-built animals--on which they cantered
+over hill and dale, moor and meadow, a circumstance which gained for them
+the name of _hobylers_. In the late autumn the moors and mosses were drier
+than at any other season of the year, which made riding, in certain
+districts especially, a much more easy and expeditious undertaking. Then
+the winter supply had to be secured. The beef tub required replenishing,
+and as the "mart" was rarely ever fed at home it had to be sought for
+elsewhere. It was a case of all hands to work, and every available horse
+or rider was brought into requisition.
+
+Leslie has given a graphic description of the methods adopted by the
+Border reivers to secure their booty. Everything was gone about in the
+most orderly and deliberate manner. He says that the reivers never told
+their beads with so much devotion as when they were setting out on a
+marauding expedition, and expected a good booty as a recompense of their
+devotion! "They sally out of their own borders in troops, through
+unfrequented ways and many intricate windings. In the day time they
+refresh themselves and their horses in lurking places they had pitched on
+before, till they arrive in the dark at those places they have a design
+upon. As soon as they have seized upon their booty, they, in like manner,
+return home in the night; through blind ways and fetching many a compass.
+The more skilful any captain is to pass through these wild deserts,
+crooked turnings, and deep precipices, in the thickest mists and darkness,
+his reputation is the greater, and he is looked upon as a man of an
+excellent head, and they are so very cunning, that they seldom have their
+booty taken from them, unless sometimes, when by the help of bloodhounds,
+following them exactly upon the track, they may chance to fall into the
+hands of their adversaries. When being taken they have so much persuasive
+eloquence, and so many smooth and insinuating words at command, that if
+they do not move their judges, nay and even their adversaries, to have
+mercy, yet they incite them to admiration and compassion."
+
+Such a skilful "Captain," as is here referred to, was the famous Hobbie
+Noble, who terminated his adventurous career in "Merrie Carlisle," where
+so many famous freebooters, at one time or other, have paid the last
+penalty of the law. Speaking of himself, he says:--
+
+  "But will ye stay till the day gae down,
+    Until the night come o'er the ground,
+  And I'll be a guide worth ony twa
+    That may in Liddisdale be found!
+
+  "Though the night be dark as pick and tar,
+    I'll guide ye o'er yon hill sae hie;
+  And bring ye a' in safety back,
+    If ye'll be true and follow me."
+
+
+But the skill of the leader of the foray was not always sufficient to
+bring his followers safely back to their homes and families. When the
+bloodhounds were put on the track it was often a matter of the greatest
+difficulty for the thieves to elude their pursuers.
+
+  "The russet bloodhound wont, near Annand's stream,
+  To trace the sly thief with avenging foot
+  Close as an evil conscience."
+
+
+These useful animals were kept at different points along the Border, and
+as they rendered most important services, we are not surprised to learn
+that a good sleuth-hound often sold as high as a hundred crowns.
+
+It may be interesting, before proceeding to give an account of some of the
+more famous raids, to glance briefly at the manner in which the raiders
+were armed and accoutred for the fray. Froissart has given the following
+account of the Scottish Borderers, and Scottish soldiers generally, as
+they appeared towards the close of the fourteenth century. "The Scots," he
+says, "are bold, hardy, and much inured to war. When they make their
+invasions into England, they march from twenty to four-and-twenty leagues
+without halting, as well by night as by day; for they are all on
+horseback, except the camp followers, who are on foot. The knights and
+esquires are mounted on large bay horses, the common people on little
+Galloways. They bring no carriages with them, on account of the mountains
+they have to pass in Northumberland; neither do they carry with them any
+provisions of bread and wine, for the habits of sobriety are such in time
+of war that they will live a long time on flesh half sodden, without
+bread, and drink the river water without wine. They have therefore no
+occasion for pots or pans, for they dress the flesh of their cattle in the
+skins after they have taken them off; and being sure to find plenty of
+them in the country which they invade, they carry none with them. Under
+the flaps of his saddle each man carries a broad plate of metal, behind
+the saddle a little bag of oatmeal. When they have eaten too much of the
+sodden flesh, and their stomach appears weak and empty, they place this
+plate over the fire, mix with water their oatmeal, and when the plate is
+heated they put a little of the paste upon it and make a thin cake like a
+cracknel or biscuit, which they eat to warm their stomachs; it is
+therefore no wonder they perform a longer day's march than other soldiers.
+In this manner the Scots entered England, destroying and burning
+everything as they passed. They seized more cattle than they knew what to
+do with. Their army consisted of four thousand men at arms, knights, and
+esquires, well mounted, besides twenty thousand men, bold and hardy, armed
+after the manner of their country, and mounted upon little hackneys that
+are never tied up or dressed, but are turned immediately after the day's
+march to pasture on the heath or in the field."[21]
+
+It may be said that this description--which, it may be remarked, is as
+graphic in outline as it is minute in detail--applies rather to the
+regular army than to those undisciplined marauding bands which infested
+the Borders, and to which the name "reivers" or "mosstroopers" is usually
+assigned. This is no doubt true. At the same time, it must not be
+forgotten that many of the more important raids were undertaken by large
+bodies of troops, numbering sometimes three or four thousand men. This
+much at least is certain that the Border reiver was always well mounted,
+and well armed with lance or spear, which, on occasion, he could use with
+much dexterity and skill. With a steel cap on his head, a jack slung over
+his shoulders, a pistol or hagbut at his belt, he was ever ready for the
+fray, and prepared to give or take the hardest blows. He was naturally
+fond of fighting. Like Dandie Dinmont's terriers he never could get enough
+of it, and must have found life peculiarly irksome when he was compelled
+to desist from his favourite pastime. He lived in the saddle, and was as
+unaccustomed to the ordinary occupations of the world as the wild Arab of
+the desert.
+
+Even to enumerate the raids and forays on the one side or the other, of
+which some record has been left either in the Histories of the two
+Kingdoms, or in the archives of the State Paper Office, would be an almost
+endless task, and moreover would serve no really useful purpose. The
+details of the "burnings," "herschips," and "slaughters," which were the
+necessary concomitants of these invasions, are much the same in all cases.
+It is a dreary tale of theft and oppression, bloodshed and murder. The
+following incidents may be taken as fairly illustrative examples.
+
+During the reign of Henry VIII. the relations between the two kingdoms
+were often of a most unsatisfactory and unsettled character. This was due
+to a variety of causes, partly political and partly religious. The same
+difficulties cropped up in the subsequent reigns of Edward, Mary, and
+Elizabeth, and the consequence was that war clouds were ever hanging, dark
+and threatening, on the horizon. The mutual antagonism between the two
+countries fostered the raiding tendencies of both kingdoms. The Scots were
+intent on despoiling their more wealthy neighbours, and the English never
+missed an opportunity of humiliating and crippling their ancient foes.
+
+Two of the most destructive invasions, or raids, on the part of the
+English were conducted by the Earl of Hertford and Sir Ralph Eure. The
+former invaded the country both by sea and land. Edinburgh and Leith
+suffered severely. The Abbey and Palace of Holyrood were given to the
+flames. All along the east coast, and southwards as far as Merse and
+Teviotdale, marked the steps of the retreating and relentless invaders.
+Henry's savage instructions were faithfully carried out. When Hertford set
+out on this expedition he was commanded "to put all to fire and sword, to
+burn Edinburgh town, and to raze and deface it; when you have sacked it,
+and gotten what you can out of it, as that it may remain for ever a
+perpetual memory of the vengeance of God lighted upon it, for their
+falsehood and disloyalty. Do what you can out of hand, and without long
+tarrying, to beat down and overthrow the Castle, sack Holyrood-house, and
+as many towns and villages about Edinburgh as ye conveniently can; sack
+Leith and burn and subvert it, and all the rest, putting man, woman, and
+child to fire and sword, without exception, where any resistance shall be
+made against you; and this done, pass over to the Fife land, and extend
+the extremities and destructions in all towns and villages whereunto you
+may reach conveniently, and not forgetting amongst all the rest so to
+spoil and turn upside down the Cardinal's town of St. Andrews, as the
+upper stone may be the nether, and not one stick stand by another, sparing
+no creature alive within the same, specially such as in friendship or
+blood be allied to the Cardinal."[22]
+
+This hideous policy on the part of the English King was fruitful mainly of
+bitter memories. He did not accomplish the object he had in view, but he
+certainly succeeded in engendering in the Scottish mind a feeling of the
+most bitter hostility. It produced, however, one good result. It alienated
+from the English monarch some of those nobles who had for some time been
+wavering in their allegiance to the Scottish throne, and had been, either
+secretly or openly, lending their aid to further the machinations of the
+English government.
+
+But destructive as Hertford's invasion proved (which has been well
+described as only a foray on a large scale), it was totally eclipsed by
+the raid undertaken by Sir Ralph Eure in the following year, 1544. He
+crossed the Scottish Border with a considerable army, and laid waste
+nearly the whole of Merse and Teviotdale, reducing that large and
+important district to a blackened desert. Jedburgh and Kelso were burnt
+to the ground, and the surrounding country plundered and destroyed. "The
+whole number of towns, towers, stedes, barnekins, parish churches,
+bastel-houses, seized, destroyed, and burnt, in all the Border country,
+was an hundred and ninety-two, Scots slain four hundred, prisoners taken
+eight hundred and sixteen, nolt ten thousand three hundred and eighty-six,
+sheep twelve thousand four hundred and ninety-six, gayts (goats) two
+hundred, bolls of corn eight hundred and fifty, insight gear--an
+indefinite quantity.
+
+"The great part of these devastations were committed in the Mers and
+Teviotdale.... The other commanders of chief note, besides Sir Ralph Eure,
+were Sir Brian Laiton and Sir George Bowes. On the 17th July, Bowes,
+Laiton, and others burnt Dunse, the chief town of the Mers, and John
+Carr's son with his garrison entered Greenlaw, and carried off a booty of
+cattle, sheep, and horses. On the 19th of the same month, the men of
+Tyndale and Ridsdale, returning from a road into Tiviotdale, fought with
+the laird of Ferniherst and his company, and took himself and his son John
+prisoners. On July 24th the Wark garrison, the Captain of Norham Castle,
+and H. Eure, burnt long Ednim, made many prisoners, took a bastel-house
+strongly kept, and got a booty of forty nolt and thirty horses, besides
+those on which their prisoners were mounted, each on a horse. August 2d,
+the captain of Norham burnt the town of Home, hard to the castle gates,
+with the surrounding stedes. September 6th, Sir Ralph Eure burnt Eikford
+church and town, the barnekyn of Ormiston, and won by assault the Moss
+Tower, burnt it, and slew thirty-four people within it; he likewise burnt
+several other places in that neighbourhood, and carried off more than five
+hundred nolt and six hundred sheep, with a hundred horseload of spoils got
+in the tower. September 27th, the men of the east and part of the middle
+march won the church of Eccles by assault, and slew eight men in the abbey
+and town, most part gentlemen of head sirnames; they also took several
+prisoners, and burnt and spoiled the said abbey and town. On the same day
+the garrison of Berwick brought out of the east end of the Mers six
+hundred bolls of corn, and took prisoner Patrick Home, brother's son to
+the laird of Ayton. November 5th, the men of the middle march burnt
+Lessudden, in which were sixteen strong bastel-houses, slew several of the
+owners, and burnt much corn. November 9th, Sir George Bowes and Sir Brian
+Laiton burnt Dryburgh, a market town, all except the church, with much
+corn, and brought away a hundred nolt, sixty nags, an hundred sheep, and
+much other booty, spoilage, and insight-gear."[23]
+
+This record is an instructive one. It shows how these merciless raiders
+were dominated by the spirit of destruction and revenge. Nothing was
+spared which it was possible for them to destroy. This invasion must have
+proved peculiarly vexatious and disheartening to the Scottish Borderers.
+Flodden had left them terribly crippled. The damage they had sustained was
+not only of a material kind--the loss of men and resources--it was also,
+to a certain extent, moral and intellectual. They had become utterly
+disheartened, and it was some considerable time before they regained their
+wonted confidence and intrepidity:
+
+  "Dool and wae for the order, sent our lads to the Border!
+    The English, for ance, by guile wan the day:
+  The flowers of the forest, that fought aye the foremost,
+    The prime of our land, are cauld in the clay.
+
+  "We'll hear nae mair lilting, at the ewe milking;
+    Women and bairns are heartless and wae:
+  Sighing and moaning on ilka green loaning--
+    The flowers of the forest are a' wede awae."
+
+
+The darkest part of the night precedes the dawn. Help was forthcoming from
+an unexpected quarter. Henry had promised to give Eure a grant of all the
+land he could conquer in Merse, Teviotdale, and Lauderdale, and it so
+happened that the greater part of the district named belonged to Angus,
+who was then in disgrace at the Scottish Court, and for some time had been
+currying favour with the English King. When he learned what had taken
+place, his indignation was unbounded. He swore that "if Ralph Eure dared
+to act upon the grant, he would write his sasine, or instrument of
+possession, on his skin with sharp pens and bloody ink." Scotland has not
+unfrequently been deserted by her nobles at the most critical periods of
+her history, but just as often has she been saved by their valour and
+patriotism. On the present occasion, Angus was not moved to action,
+perhaps, by any really patriotic feeling. Had his own interests not been
+imperilled, he would in all probability have remained an idle spectator of
+the ruin and devastation which, like a flood, was rushing over the land.
+Be this as it may, he acted with promptitude and effect. Having been
+joined by the Regent, who brought with him a small and hastily-gathered
+force, Angus challenged the English army at Melrose; and, though at first
+he was compelled to retreat, he hung upon the rear of the enemy until,
+joined by Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch and the redoubtable Norman Leslie,
+he gave them battle on Ancrum Moor. The English, flushed with confidence
+by their former successes, rushed precipitately upon the Scottish army,
+believing that their ranks had fallen into confusion, and were preparing
+for flight. It was not long ere they were undeceived. The Scots were ready
+for the encounter, and in a short time completely routed the formidable
+host by which they were assailed. The battle speedily became a slaughter.
+Sir Ralph Eure and Sir Brian Layton both lay dead on the field, a thousand
+prisoners were taken, among them being many persons of rank, for whom high
+ransoms were exacted. It is said that the peasantry of the neighbourhood,
+hitherto only spectators of the short conflict, drew near to intercept and
+cut down the English; and women, whose hearts had been steeled against the
+fugitives by their atrocious barbarities, joined in the pursuit, and
+spurred on the conquerors by calling upon them to "remember Broomhouse."
+One of these heroines has been immortalized. Her monument may still be
+seen in the neighbourhood of Ancrum. On it were inscribed the following
+lines:--
+
+  "Fair maiden Lilliard lies under this stane,
+  Little was her stature, but great was her fame;
+  Upon the English loons she laid many thumps,
+  And when they cutted off her legs she fought upon her stumps."
+
+
+Some may be disposed to think that the devastations caused by Hertford and
+Sir Ralph Eure must be exceptional; that the raiding and reiving must have
+gone on much more quietly than such accounts would lead us to suppose. But
+this is not so. The Borders were kept in a constant state of turmoil. They
+had no sooner recovered from one invasion than they were subjected to
+another. Long before Hertford's time, for example, Lord Dacre, one of the
+English wardens, made a succession of the most disastrous raids on the
+Scottish Border, and carried off immense quantities of booty. He was
+exultant over his good fortune. Writing under date October 29, 1513, he
+says:--"On Tewsday at night last past, I sent diverse of my tennents of
+Gillislande to the nombre of lx. personnes in Eskdalemoor upon the Middill
+Merches, and there brynt vii. howses, tooke and brougth away xxxvj. head
+of cattle and much insight. On weddinsday at thre of the clok efter noon,
+my broder Sir Christopher assembled diverse of the kings subjects beyng
+under my reull, and roode all night into Scotland, and on Thurisday, in
+the mornynge, they began upon the said Middill Merchies and brynt
+Stakeheugh, with the hamletts belonging to them, down, Irewyn bwrne, being
+the chambrelain of Scotland owne lands and undre his reull, continewally
+birnyng from the Breke of day to oone of the clok after noon, and there
+wan, tooke and brought awey cccc. hede of cattell, ccc. shepe, certaine
+horses and verey miche insight, and slew two men, hurte and wounded
+diverse other persones and horses, and then entered Ingland ground again
+at vij. of the clok that night."[24]
+
+Such a record as this ought to have given great satisfaction to the
+Government. Lord Dacre had evidently done his utmost to impoverish and
+ruin the unfortunate Scottish Borderers. But the English appetite at this
+time was not easily satisfied. Naturally enough Dacre's invasion led to
+reprisals, and so successful had the Scots been in their forays on the
+opposite Border that the English Government blamed their representative
+for not having prevented these raids. In reply to these rather unjust
+complaints, Dacre wrote saying that "for oone cattell taken by the Scotts
+we have takyn, won and brought awey out of Scotland a hundreth; and for
+oone shepe two hundreth of a surity. And has for townships and housis,
+burnt in any of the said Est, Middill, and West Marches within my reull,
+fro the begynnyng of this warr unto this daye,... I assure your lordships
+for truthe that I have and hes caused to be burnt and distroyed sex times
+moo townys and howsys within the West and Middill Marches of Scotland, in
+the same season then is done to us, as I may be trusted, and as I shall
+evidently prove. For the watter of Liddall being xij. myles of length,...
+whereupon was a hundreth pleughs;... the watter of Ewse being viij. myles
+of length in the said Marches, whereupon was vii. pleughs,... lyes all
+and every of them waist now, noo corn sawn upon the said ground.... Upon
+the West marches I have burnt and distroyed the townships of Annand
+(together with thirty-three others mentioned in detail), and the Water of
+Esk from Stabulgorton down to Cannonby, being vi. myles in lenth, whereas
+there was in all tymes passed four hundreth ploughes and above, which are
+now clearly waisted and noo man duelling in any of them in this daye, save
+oonly in the towrys of Annand Steepel and Walghapp (Wauchope)."[25]
+
+As might be expected these inroads were not allowed to pass unredressed,
+as the Scots never missed an opportunity of retaliating. During the latter
+half of the fifteenth century they were considerably weakened by the
+successive wars in which they were compelled to engage in their own
+defence; but we find that a century later, during the reign of Elizabeth,
+they had completely recovered, and made their power felt in no uncertain
+manner. They raided upon the opposite Border without intermission,
+plundering all and sundry, sparing only those who were prepared to pay
+them blackmail, "that they might be free from their cumber." The English
+wardens were comparatively helpless, owing to their lack of men and horses
+to defend the Marches. The Scottish reivers were not easily captured; and
+when it came to an encounter, unless matched against a greatly superior
+force, they almost invariably gave a good account of themselves. We find
+Eure affirming, in a letter to Cecil, under date May, 1596, that the
+spoils of his March amounted to the sum of L120,000, "the redress for
+which is so cunningly delayed that the Queen's service is ruined."[26] Sir
+Robert Cary, who was warden of the East March, has a still more doleful
+tale to relate. He says that when he applied to the opposite warden for
+redress he "got nothing but fair words." He furnished his Government with
+a note of the "slaughters, stouthes, and reafes," committed within his
+wardenry, which shows that the Scottish reivers were ever ready to make
+the most of their opportunities. The following is the suggestive list:--
+
+"Nicolos Bolton of Mindrum slain in daylight at his own plough by Sir
+Robert Kerre of the Spielaw and his servants.
+
+"Thomas Storie of Killam slain there by night by Sir Robert Kerre and his
+servants.
+
+"John Selby of Pawston slain by the Burnes defending his own goods in his
+own house there.
+
+"John Ewart of Corham slain on English ground at the rescue of Englishmen
+bringing their own goods.
+
+"'Reafes.'--In Hethpoole in daylight by the Davisons, Yonges, and Burnes
+of 40 kyen and oxen, and hurting Thomas and Peter Storye, &c., in peril of
+their lives. Another there by daylight by the Kerres, Yonges, and Taites,
+of 46 head of neate, shooting John Gray with a 'peice' in peril of death,
+and hurting one of the Brewhouses following, and taking his horse. In
+West Newton in daylight by James Davidson of the Burnyrigge, &c., of 5
+horse and mares; another there at night taking up 2 horses, 20 neate, and
+insight worth 20 nobles.
+
+"On Thomas Routledge of Killam, at night, by the Yonges, of 30 kyen and
+oxen. On Adam Smith of Brigge mylle at night by the Kerres, Yonges,
+Burnes, &c., of 20 neate, and 5 horse and mares. In Cowpland, by the
+Yonges, Burnes, and Kerres on Gilbert Wright, 'by cutting up his doores
+with axes,' of 30 neate, 4 horses and mares, and insight worth L10. In
+Haggeston by the Yonges, Halles, Pyles, and Amysleyes, 'by cutting up
+their doores with axes,' of 30 neate, 5 naegs, and hunting 4 men in peril
+of death. On Ralph Selby, of West wood, by the Yonges, &c., 'by breaking
+his tower,' and taking 3 geldings worth L60 sterling 'and better.'"[27]
+
+Then follows a long list of "Stouthes," which it would only be a weariness
+to repeat. These incidents had all occurred in this March within a brief
+period, and may be accepted as an illustration of what was going on almost
+every day in the year within the respective wardenries. This game, it may
+be said, was indulged in with equal spirit and pertinacity on both sides.
+We read of two men in the Middle March in England coming into Liddesdale
+and carrying off 30 score kye and oxen, 31 score sheep and "gait," 24
+horse and mares, and all their insight--"the people being at their
+schellis, lipning for no harme, and wounded twa puir men to their deid."
+At the same time, Captain Carvell, with 2000 "waigit" men, by Lord
+Scrope's special command, burnt "six myle of boundis in Liddisdale, tuik
+sindrie puir men and band them twa and twa in leisches and cordis, and
+that 'naikit,' taking awa a 1000 kye and oxen, 2000 sheep and 'sex scoir
+of hors and merris,' to the great wrak of the puir subjects."[28]
+
+These forays, it must be admitted, were sometimes conducted in the most
+relentless and cruel spirit. We read, for example, of one "Sowerby," near
+Coldbeck, having his house broken into, and himself most cruelly used.
+"They set him on his bare buttocks upon an hote iron, and then they burned
+him with an hote girdle about his bellie, and sundry other parts of his
+body, to make him give up his money, which they took, under L4."[29]
+
+Some of the most interesting episodes in Border history were not the
+outcome of any deep laid scheme, but the result of some sudden and
+unexpected emergency. It was difficult for the inhabitants of the opposite
+Marches to come into close contact without the greatest danger of an
+outbreak of hostilities. Individual families were often on friendly terms,
+and were ready even to assist each other on occasion. The Scots sometimes
+brought the English to help them to rob those who lived in their own
+neighbourhood; and the English, on the other hand, were equally ready to
+avail themselves of the assistance of those on the opposite Border when
+they had a similar object in view. But when they came together in their
+hundreds or thousands, as they sometimes did on a "Day of Truce," then it
+was a matter of supreme difficulty to keep them from flying at each
+other's throats. Feeling ran high, and a word, a look, was sometimes
+sufficient to change an otherwise peaceful meeting into one of turmoil and
+bloodshed.
+
+One notable instance of this kind is known as the "Raid of the Reidswire."
+Sir John Foster, the English warden, and Sir John Carmichael, the warden
+on the opposite March, had a meeting for the regulation of Border affairs,
+on the 7th July, 1575. Each warden was attended by his retinue, and by the
+armed clans inhabiting the district. As the balladist describes it:
+
+  "Carmichael was our warden then,
+     He caused the country to convene;
+   And the Laird's Wat, that worthy man,
+     Brought in that sirname weil beseen:
+   The Armestranges, that aye ha'e been
+     A hardy house, but not a hail,
+   The Elliots' honours to maintaine,
+     Brought down the lave o' Liddisdale.
+
+  "Then Tividale came to wi' spied;
+     The Sheriffe brought the Douglas down,
+   Wi' Cranstane, Gladstain, good at need,
+     Baith Rewle water and Hawick town,
+   Beanjeddart bauldly made him boun,
+     Wi' a' the Trumbills, strong and stout;
+   The Rutherfoords with grit renown,
+     Convoy'd the town of Jedbrugh out."
+
+
+The two parties had apparently met on the best of terms. Mirth and good
+fellowship prevailed. The pedlars erected their temporary booths, and sold
+their wares. The gathering presented the appearance of a rural fair. No
+one could have suspected that so much bad feeling was hidden under such a
+fair exterior, and ready to burst forth in a moment with volcanic fury.
+Yet such was the case. A dispute arose betwixt the two wardens about one
+Farnsteen, a notorious English freebooter, against whom a bill had been
+"filed" by a Scottish complainer. Foster declared that he had fled from
+justice, and could not be found. Carmichael regarded this statement as a
+pretext to avoid making compensation for the felony. He bade Foster "play
+fair." The English warden was indignant. Raising himself in the saddle,
+and stretching his arm in the direction of Carmichael, he told him to
+match himself with his equals!
+
+  "Carmichael bade them speik out plainlie,
+     And cloke no cause for ill nor good;
+   The other, answering him as vainlie,
+     Began to reckon kin and blood:
+
+  He raise, and raxed him where he stood,
+    And bade him match with him his marrows;
+  Then Tindaill heard them reason rude,
+    And they loot off a flight of arrows."
+
+
+The cry was raised, "To it, Tynedale," and immediately the merry meeting
+was turned into a Donnybrook fair, where hard blows were given and
+received. The Scots at first had the worst of the encounter, and would
+have been completely routed had it not been for two circumstances. The men
+of Tynedale, conscious of their superior strength, began to rifle the
+"merchant packs," and thus fell into disorder. At this juncture a band of
+citizens of Jedburgh, armed with fire-arms, unexpectedly, but most
+opportunely, appeared on the scene, and in a short time the skirmish ended
+in a complete victory for the Scots. Sir John Heron was slain, and Sir
+John Foster and many other Englishmen of rank taken prisoner.
+
+  "But after they had turned backs,
+    Yet Tindaill men they turn'd again,
+  And had not been the merchant packs,
+    There had been mae of Scotland slain.
+
+  But, Jesu! if the folks were fain
+    To put the bussing on their thies;
+  And so they fled, wi' a' their main,
+    Down ower the brae, like clogged bees."
+
+
+The prisoners were sent to Dalkeith, where for a short time they were
+detained in custody by the Earl of Morton. He ultimately dismissed them
+with presents of falcons, which gave rise to a saying on the Borders that
+for once the Regent had lost by his bargain, as he had given live hawks
+for dead herons,--alluding to the death of Sir John Heron.
+
+  "Who did invent that day of play,
+     We need not fear to find him soon;
+   For Sir John Forster, I dare well say,
+     Made us this noisome afternoon.
+   Not that I speak preceislie out,
+     That he supposed it would be perril;
+   But pride, and breaking out of feuid
+     Garr'd Tindaill lads begin the quarrel."
+
+
+"The Queen of England," says Ridpath, "when informed of these proceedings,
+was very much incensed, and sent orders to her Ambassador, Killigrew, who
+had a little before gone to Scotland, to demand immediate satisfaction for
+so great an outrage. Killigrew was also directed to inform the Regent that
+the Queen had ordered the Earl of Huntingdon, who was then president of
+the Council at York and lieutenant of the northern counties, to repair to
+the Borders for the trial and ordering of the matter; and that she
+expected that Morton would meet him in person for that effect. Morton,
+ever studious to gratify Elizabeth, readily agreed to the proposal. The
+two Earls accordingly met at Fouldean, near the Berwick boundary, and
+continued their conferences there for some days, in the course of which
+Morton made such concessions, and agreed to such conditions of redress, as
+entirely healed the offence. Carmichael, who was considered as the
+principal offender, was sent as a prisoner into England, and detained a
+few weeks at York; but the English Court being now convinced that
+Forrester had been in the wrong in the beginning of the fray, the Scottish
+warden was dismissed with honour, and gratified with a present to
+effectuate the restitution of goods which Morton had engaged should be
+made by the subjects of Scotland, he summoned all on this side of the
+Forth to attend him with twenty days' provision of victuals in an
+expedition to the Borders, but this summons sufficed to awe the offenders
+to make of themselves the restitution required."[30]
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+THE WARDENS OF THE MARCHES.
+
+  "The widdefow wardanis tuik my geir,
+    And left me nowthir horse nor meir,
+   Nor erdly guid that me belangit;
+    Now, walloway! I mon be hangit."
+
+                                   PINKERTON.
+
+
+Owing to the peculiar circumstances in which the Borders were placed, it
+was found necessary, for the preservation of order, and the detection and
+punishment of crime, to appoint special officers, or wardens, armed with
+the most extensive powers. On either side of the Border there were three
+Marches, lying opposite each other, called the East, West, and Middle
+Marches. The wardens were, as a general rule, officers of high rank,
+holding special commissions from the Crown. The English government had
+little difficulty in finding gentlemen of high station and proved ability
+to undertake the duties of such an office; but in Scotland the King was
+considerably circumscribed in his choice, as the Border Chiefs were
+accustomed to carry things with a high hand, and in any arrangements
+relating to the management of affairs in their own districts, their wishes
+and interests had, perforce, to be respected. The office of warden was
+regarded as belonging, by a kind of prescriptive or hereditary right, to
+one or other of the more prominent and powerful Border families. This
+policy was fraught with many disadvantages, and, it must be frankly
+admitted, produced the very evils it was designed to suppress. The
+Scottish wardens had other objects in view besides the maintenance of a
+certain semblance of law and order in the districts over which they ruled.
+They seldom lost sight of their own pecuniary interests, and frequently
+prostituted their high office to secure their own ends. The wardens
+themselves were often the principal offenders.
+
+In the East March the warden was most generally either an Earl of Home or
+a Ker of Cessford. The Middle March was long under the supervision of the
+Earls of Bothwell and the Lords of Buccleuch. The West March was usually
+represented either by a Johnstone or a Maxwell.
+
+The Scottish wardens, though invested with the most arbitrary powers,
+found it politic to enter into bonds of alliance with the neighbouring
+Chiefs, in order not only to increase their influence and power within
+their own wardenries, but to add to their authority when called upon to
+deal with questions of a more general nature. This fact reveals
+unmistakably the weakness of the central government of the country at
+this period, and indicates the important part which was played by the
+nobility in the administration of the affairs of the nation.
+
+Several of these "Bonds" have been preserved. Some of them are too lengthy
+for quotation, but the following one--which is comparatively brief--may be
+taken as a fair sample of the whole. It is subscribed by the Lairds of
+Buccleuch, Hunthill, Bon-Jeddart, Greenhead, Cavers, and Redheugh, in
+favour of Sir Thomas Ker of Fernihirst, and runs as follows:--"We
+undersigned, inhabitants of the Middle March of this realm opposite
+England, understanding how it has pleased the King's majesty our sovereign
+lord to make and constitute Sir Thomas Ker of Fernihirst Knight his
+Highness warden and justice over all the Middle March, and acknowledging
+how far we are in duty bound to the service by our counsel and forces to
+be employed in the assistance of his said warden in all things tending to
+the good rule and quietness of the said Middle March, and setting forth of
+his Highness authority against these traitors, rebels, and other
+malefactors to their due punishment, and defence and safety of true men.
+Therefore we be bound and obliged, and by the tenor hereof binds and
+obliges us, and every one of us, that we should truly serve the King's
+Majesty our sovereign lord, and obey and assist his said warden, in the
+premiss, and shall concur with others in giving of our advice and
+counsel, or with our forces in pursuit or defence of the said thieves,
+traitors, rebels, and other malefactors disobedient to our sovereign
+lord's authority, or disturbers of the public peace and quietness of the
+realm, as we shall be charged or warned by open proclamations, missives,
+bailies, or other the like accustomed forms as we will answer to his
+Highness upon our obedience at our highest charge and peril, if we shall
+be found remiss or negligent, we are content to be repute held and
+esteemed as favourers and partakers with the said thieves, traitors,
+rebels, and malefactors in their treasonable and wicked deeds, and to be
+called, pursued, and punished therefor, according to these laws in example
+of others."[31]
+
+There can be no doubt that these "Bonds" were often contracted in good
+faith; that is to say, those who subscribed them were honestly desirous to
+fulfil, both in the spirit and letter, the obligations thus undertaken. It
+is, however, worthy of remark that those who had thus sworn allegiance to
+the warden had not infrequently ends of their own to serve, which
+conflicted with their duty to the representatives of law and order.
+Thieves were harboured, or at least allowed to remain unmolested, on the
+estates, or within the jurisdiction, of those who had thus professedly
+banded themselves together for their detection and punishment. The result
+was that the subscribers to the "Bond" were occasionally reported to the
+government for their delinquencies, and prosecuted and punished for their
+breach of faith. Thus we find that on one occasion Walter Ker of Cessford,
+James Douglas of Cavers, George Rutherford of Hunthill, and Ker of
+Dolphingstone were convicted of art and part of the favour and assistance
+afforded to Robert Rutherford, called Cokburn, and John Rutherford, called
+Jok of the Green, and their accomplices, rebels and at the horn;
+permitting them to pass within their bounds continually for divers years
+past; for not using their utmost endeavour to hinder them from committing
+sundry slaughters, stouth-reifs, thefts and oppressions on the King's poor
+lieges, nor ejecting the said rebels, their wives and their children, from
+their bounds and bailiaries, but knowingly suffering them to pass within
+their limits and to remain therein beyond the space of twelve hours, to
+commit sundry crimes during the time of their passing and reset within the
+shire in which they dwelt, thereby breaking, transgressing, and violating
+their obligation and "Bond" to the King, and incurring the pains contained
+in the said "Bond."[32]
+
+It is remarkable, considering the reputation enjoyed by the Borderers for
+being true to their word, that such occurrences should have to be so
+frequently complained of.
+
+Unfortunately, the wardens were as little animated by a high sense of
+honour as those who had solemnly pledged themselves to support them in the
+discharge of the duties of their office. They frequently, and in some
+cases almost systematically, exercised the powers conferred on them, not
+in trying to preserve the public peace, but in wreaking vengeance on their
+enemies. A striking instance of this is to be seen in the conflict which
+was so long waged between the Johnstones and the Maxwells, and which
+produced endless misery and mischief throughout a wide area.
+
+All things considered, the wardens were well remunerated for such services
+as they were able to render. The usual fee appears to have been L100 per
+annum. In 1527 the Earl of Angus had L100 for the East and a similar sum
+for the Middle March. In 1553 the Warden's fee was L500, but he had to
+surrender the one half of the "escheats" to the authorities. When William
+Ker of Cessford was appointed warden of the Middle March and keeper of
+Liddesdale, his salary for the former office was L100, and for the latter
+L500. But these sums represented but a small part of the actual income.
+They were also allowed forage and provision for their retinue, which
+consisted of a guard of horsemen. They had in addition a portion of the
+"unlaws" or fines imposed in the warden courts, and at certain periods
+these must have amounted to a large sum. The law ordained that "the
+escheat of all thieves and trespassers that are convict of their movable
+goods, ought and should pertain to the warden for his travail and labours,
+to be used and disposed by him at his pleasure in time coming. The warden
+ought and should take and apprehend all and sundry our sovereign Lord's
+lieges turning and carrying nolt, sheep, horses, or victuals furth of this
+realm into England, and bring their persons to the King's justice, to be
+punished therefor; and all their goods may he escheat: the one half
+thereof to be applied to the King's use, and the other half to the warden
+for his pains." In addition to this, the wardens had a large share of the
+plunder of the various forays upon the English Border, which they either
+conducted in person, or winked at when undertaken by their retainers or
+dependants. In the "Border Papers" we are informed that on Sunday, the
+17th April, 1597, the Lord Buccleuch, Keeper of Liddesdale, accompanied by
+twenty horse and a hundred foot, burned at noonday three onsets and
+dwelling-houses, barns, stables, oxhouses, &c., to the number of twenty,
+in the head of Tyne, cruelly burning in their houses seven innocent men,
+and "murdered with the sword" fourteen which had been in Scotland, and
+brought away the booty, the head officer with trumpet being there in
+person.[33] This was a frequent occurrence, especially with Buccleuch, who
+was never quite happy when not plundering and oppressing "the auld enemy."
+From a pecuniary point of view, not to speak of other advantages, the
+office of warden was a highly desirable one, and was consequently eagerly
+sought after by the Border Chiefs.
+
+The duties pertaining to this office may be described as of a twofold
+nature--the maintenance of law and order, and the protection of the
+districts against the encroachments and inroads of the enemy. "In the
+first capacity," as has been remarked, "besides their power of control and
+ministerial administration, both as head stewards of all the crown
+tenements and manors within their jurisdiction, and as intromitting with
+all fines and penalties, their judicial authority was very extensive. They
+held courts for punishment of high treason and felony, which the English
+Border laws classed under the following heads:--
+
+I. The aiding and abetting of any Scottishman, by communing, appointment,
+or otherwise, to rob, burn, or steal, within the realm of England.
+
+II. The accompanying personally, of any Scottishman, while perpetrating
+any such offences.
+
+III. The harbouring, concealing, or affording guidance and protection to
+him after the fact.
+
+IV. The supplying Scottishmen with arms and artillery, as jacks, splents,
+brigantines, coats of plate, bills, halberds, battle-axes, bows and
+arrows, spears, darts, guns, as serpentines, half-haggs, harquibusses,
+currys, cullivers, hand-guns, or daggers, without special licence of the
+Lord-warden.
+
+V. The selling of bread and corn of any kind, or of dressed leather, iron,
+or other appurtenances belonging to armour, without special licence.
+
+VI. The selling of horses, mares, nags, or geldings to Scottish men,
+without licence as aforesaid.
+
+VII. The breach of truce, by killing or assaulting subjects and liege-men
+of Scotland.
+
+VIII. The assaulting of any Scottishman having a regular pass or
+safe-conduct.
+
+IX. In time of war the giving tidings to the Scottish of any exploit
+intended against them by the warden or his officers.
+
+X. The conveying coined money, silver or gold, also plate or bullion, into
+Scotland, above the value of forty shillings at one time.
+
+XI. The betraying (in time of war) the counsel of any other Englishman
+tending to the annoyance of Scotland, in malice to the party, and for his
+own private advantage.
+
+XII. The forging the coin of the realm.
+
+XIII. The making appointment and holding communication with Scotchmen, or
+intermarrying with a Scottish woman, without licence of the wardens, and
+the raising of no fray against them as in duty bound.
+
+XIV. The receiving of Scottish pilgrims with their property without
+licence of the wardens.
+
+XV. The failing to keep the watches appointed for the defence of the
+country.
+
+XVI. The neglecting to raise in arms to the fray, or alarm raised by the
+wardens or watches upon the approach of public danger.
+
+XVII. The receiving or harbouring Scottish fugitives exiled from their own
+country for misdemeanours.
+
+XVIII. The having falsely and unjustly _fould_ (_i.e._, found true and
+relevant) the bill of any Scotchman against an Englishman, or having borne
+false witness on such matters.
+
+XIX. The having interrupted or stopped any Englishman pursuing for
+recovering of his stolen goods.
+
+XX. The dismissing any Scottish offender taken red-hand (_i.e._, in the
+manner) without special license of the Lord-warden.
+
+XXI. The paying of black-mail, or protection money, whether to English or
+Scottish man."[34]
+
+The significance of these provisions cannot be mistaken. They reveal the
+anxiety of the English government to prevent, as far as possible, all
+intercourse with Scottish Borderers. The offences referred to in the
+foregoing list amounted to what is known as March Treason. Those who were
+accused of this crime were tried by a jury, and if found guilty were put
+to death without ceremony. "This was a very ordinary consummation," says
+Sir Walter Scott, "if we can believe a story told of Lord William Howard
+of Naworth. While busied deeply with his studies, he was suddenly
+disturbed by an officer who came to ask his commands concerning the
+disposal of several moss-troopers who had just been made prisoners.
+Displeased at the interruption, the warden answered heedlessly and
+angerly, 'hang them in the devil's name;' but when he laid aside his book,
+his surprise was not little, and his regret considerable, to find that his
+orders had been literally fulfilled."[35]
+
+The duties devolving upon the Scottish wardens were not, in all respects,
+the same as those which the English wardens were called upon to discharge.
+This was due to some extent to the fact that the jurisdiction of the
+Scottish wardens was circumscribed by the hereditary rights and privileges
+of the great families who, within their own territories, exercised supreme
+control. In addition to this, the hereditary judges had the power of
+repledging; that is to say, they could reclaim any accused person from
+courts of co-ordinate jurisdiction, and try him by their feudal authority.
+But while the power of the wardens was thus considerably circumscribed,
+they never hesitated, when they had the chance, to mete out summary
+punishment to all offenders. If a thief was caught red-handed, or if the
+evidence against him appeared at all conclusive, he was at once, and
+without ceremony, strung up on the nearest tree, or thrown into the
+"murder" pit. Indeed, the execution not unfrequently preceded the trial--a
+circumstance which seems to have given rise to the well-know proverb about
+"Jeddart Justice." On both sides of the Border, the same haste to get rid
+of offenders was a noted feature of the times. This is evident from the
+well-known English proverb which runs thus--
+
+  "I oft have heard of Lydford law,
+   Where in the morn men hang and draw,
+      And sit in judgment after."
+
+The sitting in judgment, either before or after, was a formality that
+might often have been dispensed with, as the evidence submitted was seldom
+carefully sifted, or weighed. To be suspected, or accused, was regarded as
+almost tantamount to a plea of guilty. Such a method as this would hardly
+pass muster in our modern and more finical age; still it is probable that
+substantial justice was usually done. If those who were condemned were not
+always guilty of the particular crimes laid to their charge, their general
+record was sufficiently bad to warrant their being thus summarily dealt
+with.
+
+There was, moreover, a practical difficulty in the way of minute
+investigation being made into each individual case. The number of those
+accused of various offences under the Border laws was often so great as to
+render an investigation of this kind all but impossible. There were few
+places of strength where prisoners could be retained in order to await
+their trial, and so it became necessary to deal with them as expeditiously
+as possible. "The Borderers," it has been said, "were accustomed to part
+with life with as little form as civilized men change their garments."
+
+The mode of punishment was either by hanging or drowning. "Drowning," says
+Sir Walter Scott, "is a very old mode of punishment in Scotland, and in
+Galloway there were pits of great depth appropriated to that punishment
+still called murder-holes, out of which human bones have occasionally been
+taken in great quantities. This points out the proper interpretation of
+the right of 'pit and gallows' (in law Latin, _fossa et furca_), which
+has, less probably, been supposed the right of imprisoning in the pit or
+dungeon, and that of hanging. But the meanest baron possessed the right of
+imprisonment. The real meaning is, the right of inflicting death either
+by hanging or drowning."[36]
+
+But the warden had other duties to discharge of a still more important
+nature than those already described. In time of war he was captain-general
+within his own wardenry, and was invested with the power of calling
+musters of all the able-bodied men between the age of sixteen and sixty.
+These men were suitably armed and mounted according to their rank and
+condition, and were expected to be ready either to defend their territory
+against invasion, or, if necessary, to invade the enemy's country. The
+ancient rights and customs which the warden was expected to observe on
+such occasion have been thus summarised:--
+
+"I. All intercourse with the enemy was prohibited.
+
+II. Any one leaving the company during the time of the expedition was
+liable to be punished as a traitor.
+
+III. It was appointed that all should alight and fight on foot, except
+those commanded by the general to act as cavalry.
+
+IV. No man was to disturb those appointed to array the host.
+
+V. If a soldier followed the chase on a horse belonging to his comrade,
+the owner of the horse enjoyed half the booty; and if he fled upon such a
+horse, it was to be delivered to the sheriff as a waif on his return home,
+under pain of treason.
+
+VI. He that left the host after victory, though for the purpose of
+securing his prisoner, lost his ransom.
+
+VII. Any one seizing his comrade's prisoner was obliged to find security
+in the hands of the warden-serjeant. Disputed prisoners were to be placed
+in the hands of the warden, and the party found ultimately wrong to be
+amerced in a fine of ten pounds.
+
+VIII. Relates to the evidence in case of such dispute. He who could bring
+his own countrymen in evidence, of whatsoever quality, was preferred as
+the true captor; failing this mode of proof, recourse was had to the
+prisoner's oath.
+
+IX. If the prisoner was of such a rank as to lead a hundred men, he was
+either to be dismissed upon security or ransomed, for the space of fifteen
+days, without leave of the warden.
+
+X. He who dismounted a prisoner was entitled to half of his ransom.
+
+XI. Whosoever detected a traitor was entitled to a reward of one hundred
+shillings; whoever aided his escape, suffered the pain of death.
+
+XII. Relates to the firing of beacons in Scotland: the stewards of
+Annandale and Kirkcudbright were liable in the fine of one merk for each
+default in the matter.
+
+XIII. He who did not join the army of the country upon the signal of the
+beacon lights, or who left it during the English invasion without lawful
+excuse, his goods were forfeited, and his person placed at the warden's
+will.
+
+XIV. In the case of any Englishman being taken in Scotland, he was not
+suffered to depart under any safe conduct save that of the King or warden;
+and a similar protection was necessary to enable him to return and treat
+of his ransom.
+
+XV. Any Scottishman dismissing his prisoner, when a host was collected
+either to enter England or defend against invasion, was punished as a
+traitor.
+
+XVI. In the partition of spoil, two portions were allowed to each bowman.
+
+XVII. Whoever deserted his commander and comrades, and abode not in the
+field to the uttermost, his goods were forfeited, and his person liable to
+punishment as a traitor.
+
+XVIII. Whoever bereft his comrade of horse, spoil, or prisoner, was liable
+in the pains of treason, if he did not make restitution after the right of
+property became known to him."[37]
+
+These military regulations, at once minute and comprehensive, were drawn
+up by William, Earl of Douglas, with the assistance of some of the most
+experienced Marchmen; and, with the necessary alterations, were adopted by
+the English--thus indicating that they were thoroughly in harmony with the
+military spirit of the age on both sides of the Border.
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+THE DAY OF TRUCE.
+
+  "Our wardens they affixed the day,
+    And as they promised so they met.
+    Alas! that day I'll ne'er forget!"
+
+                                   OLD BALLAD.
+
+
+The arrangements made for dealing with offences against Border law, though
+of a primitive, were by no means of an ineffective, character. All things
+considered, they were perhaps as good as could have been devised in the
+circumstances. During the period when Border reiving was most rampant,
+though the population was by no means sparse, little or no provision had
+been made for detaining prisoners in custody. The jails were few and far
+between, and such as were available were generally in such an insecure and
+ruinous state that, unless strongly guarded, they were almost useless for
+the purpose for which they existed. But imprisonment had other
+inconveniences which militated against its being resorted to with much
+frequency. Prisoners had to be provided for when under "lock and key,"
+and, as provisions were difficult to procure, it was generally found more
+advantageous to leave those who had broken the laws to "fend" for
+themselves until such times as they were wanted. As might be expected in
+such circumstances, the accused person not unfrequently took "leg-bail,"
+and passed into another district, or, perhaps, crossed the Border, and
+sought refuge among the enemies of his country and his clan. This
+expedient, in those lawless and disordered times, was no doubt
+occasionally successful--for the nonce--but sooner or later the evil-doer
+was either betrayed by the enemy, or, resuming his old habits--which was
+almost a necessity--brought himself under the special notice of the warden
+of the district to which he had fled. He thus placed himself, as it were,
+between two fires, and made further immunity from prosecution practically
+impossible. When it came to the knowledge of the warden that an accused
+person had passed into another wardenry, he at once certified the warden
+opposite, requiring him to apprehend and deliver the prisoner with all
+possible speed; and he was bound, after receiving this notice, to make
+proclamation throughout his wardenry "by the space of six days after of
+the said fugitive," and also to certify the other two wardens of the realm
+"to proclaim the fugitive throughout all the bounds of their wardenries,
+so that none could proclaim ignorance, or excuse themselves when charged
+with the wilful receipt of the aforesaid fugitive so proclaimed."
+
+The duty thus laid upon the wardens of searching for fugitives was one
+which was generally undertaken _con amore_, not merely on account of the
+fact that it was naturally agreeable to these officers to detect and
+punish crime, but also because in such circumstances it was greatly to
+their advantage to do so. A law was passed ordaining that when a fugitive
+entered with his goods into the opposite realm, the warden who captured
+him, and handed him over to be punished for his offence, _was entitled to
+retain the goods for his labour_. Should he not succeed in apprehending
+the fugitive, then the goods had to be returned to the warden of the realm
+from which they came. This was a wise arrangement, and on the whole proved
+fairly effective.
+
+As offences against the law were numerous and frequent, it was statute and
+ordained that a "Day of Truce" should be held every month, or oftener,
+when the wardens of the Marches opposite each other should meet for the
+discussion and adjustment of their respective claims, and the punishment
+of evil-doers. The date and place of this meeting was made known to the
+inhabitants of the Marches by proclamation being made in all the market
+towns. Notice was also sent to the lords, knights, esquires, and
+gentlemen, commanding them, along with a sufficient number of their
+tenants and servants, well mounted and fully armed, to repair the night
+before and attend upon the warden at the day of truce.[38]
+
+Early on the morning of the following day this imposing cavalcade might be
+seen wending its way towards the place of rendezvous. This was generally
+some convenient spot near the Border, most frequently on the Scottish
+side. When the wardens and their friends came within hailing distance of
+each other, a halt was called, and the English warden sent forward four or
+five gentlemen of good repute to demand from the Scottish warden "that
+assurance might be kept" until the sunrise of the following day. According
+to a statement made on the authority of Sir Robert Bowes, the reason of
+this particular form of procedure was "because the Scots did always send
+their ambassadors first into England to seek for peace after a war.
+Therefore both the particular days of truce are usually kept either at
+places even on the confines of the Marches, or else at places within the
+realm of Scotland, and also the English warden and other officers were
+always used to send first for the assurance as aforesaid."
+
+When assurance had been given by the Scottish warden, a number of Scottish
+gentlemen passed over to the other side to demand from the English warden
+assurance on his part. These preliminary precautions having been duly
+observed, the two parties met, and the business which had brought them
+together was at once entered upon. The wardens did not always attend these
+meetings in person, their duties occasionally necessitating their
+remaining at home, but when unable to be present themselves they were
+represented by deputies--men of influence and good social position--who
+were thoroughly qualified to deal with any important question that might
+arise.
+
+The regulations for the conduct of business at these meetings were
+carefully drawn out, and, as a general rule, strictly observed. The
+English warden named six Scottish gentlemen to act on his side, and the
+Scottish warden the same number of Englishmen to act as the English
+assize. These men, who thus constituted the jury, were carefully chosen.
+No murderer, traitor, fugitive, infamous person, or betrayer of one party
+to another could bear office, or give evidence, but only good and lawful
+men deserving of credit and unsuspected.
+
+Each warden, in the presence of the opposite warden and the inhabitants of
+both the Marches, "Swore by the High God that reigneth above all Kings and
+Realms, and to whom all Christians owe obedience, that he shall (in the
+name of God) do, exercise and use his office without respect of person,
+Malice, Favour, or Affection, diligently or undelayedly, according to his
+Vocation or Charge that he beareth under God and his Prince, and he shall
+do justice upon all Complaints presented unto him, upon every Person
+complained upon under this Rule. And that, when any complaint is referred
+unto him, to swear, fyle, and deliver upon his Honour, he shall search,
+enquire, and redress the same at his uttermost power: And that, if it
+shall happen in so doing to quit and absolve the persons complained upon
+as Clean and Innocent: Yet if he shall any ways get sure Knowledge of the
+very Offender, he shall declare him foul of the Offence, and make lawful
+Redress and Delivery thereof, albeit the very Offender be not named in the
+Complaint: And this Oath of the Wardens not only to be made at the first
+Meeting hereafter to ensue, but also to be made every Year once solemnly,
+as aforesaid, at the first Meeting after _Mid-summer_, to put them in the
+better Remembrance of their Duties, and to place the fear of God in their
+Hearts."[39]
+
+The following oath was also administered to the jury:--"Ye shall truly
+enquire, and true deliverance make between the Queen's Majesty, and the
+prisoners at the Bar, according to the evidence that shall be given in
+this Court. As God keep you and Holydome."[40]
+
+These formalities having been duly observed, the trial of the prisoners
+was then proceeded with. Bills were presented on the one side, and on the
+other, setting forth with considerable fulness of detail the nature and
+extent of the damages that had been sustained. The prisoners against whom
+these indictments had been made were then called to answer the charges
+preferred against them.
+
+There were at least three ways in which these cases could be tried. In the
+first place, the bill might be acquitted _on the honour of the warden_.
+But should it afterwards be found that the warden in acquitting the bill
+had proceeded on imperfect information, and had acquitted upon his honour
+a bill that was in reality "foul," then the complainant was at liberty to
+prosecute a new bill, and demand that justice should be done. The case was
+then tried by a jury who "fyled" or "cleared" the bill at their
+discretion. When a bill was "fyled," that is to say declared true, the
+word "foul" was written on the margin, and when it was "cleared," the word
+"clear" was inserted.
+
+But further, bills might be _tried by inquest or assize_, which was the
+method most frequently adopted, such cases being decided by the juries on
+their own knowledge, and on the evidence sworn to in open court.
+
+The third way of dealing with bills was by a "_Vower_." The significance
+of this method is fully explained by Sir Robert Bowes, who says:--"The
+inquest or assise of Scotlande, notwithstanding their othe, would in no
+wyse fynde a bill to be true, nor fyll any Scottis man upon an
+Englishman's complaynte unles the Englishman could fynde an inhabitant of
+Scotlande, that would avow openly to the inquest, or secretlye to the
+warden, or some of the inquest, that the complaynte was treue, and the
+partie complayned upon culpable thereof, otherwise althoughe the matter
+was ever so notoryously knowne by the Englishman, their evydence would not
+serve to secure a conviction."
+
+It frequently happened, on the occasion of these meetings, that "bogus"
+bills were presented, a custom which gave the officials a great deal of
+unnecessary labour. The commissioners, in referring to this reprehensible
+practice, remark that "it hath been perceived of late that, since the
+order was begun by the Warden to speire, fyle, and deliver, upon their
+Honour, that some ungodly Persons have made complaint, and billed for
+Goods lost where none was taken from them, and so troubled the Wardens,
+causing them to speire and search for the Thing that was never done."[41]
+It was therefore statute and ordained that all persons guilty of this
+offence should be delivered to the opposite warden to be punished,
+imprisoned, and fined at the discretion of the same warden whom he had
+troubled.
+
+Another formidable difficulty with which the wardens had to contend on
+these occasions, was in estimating the value of the goods for which
+redress was claimed. In making up a bill the complainant was strongly
+tempted to put an absurd value on the gear, or cattle, which had been
+stolen from him. Had he always got as much as he claimed he would soon
+have been enormously enriched by the loss of his property! The
+commissioners were therefore under the necessity of drawing out a scale of
+charges for the guidance of the warden courts. The following are the
+prices fixed by this tribunal:--"Every Ox, above Four Year old, Fourty
+Shillings Sterling; every Cow, above Four Year old, Thirty Shillings
+Sterling; and every Young Cow, above Two Years old, Twenty Shillings
+Sterling; every other Beast, under Two Years old, Ten Shillings Sterling;
+every old Sheep, Six Shillings Sterling; and every Sheephogge, Three
+Shillings Sterling; every old Swine, above One Year old, Six Shillings
+Sterling; every young Swine, Two Shillings Sterling; every Goat, above One
+Year old, Five Shillings Sterling; every young Goat, Two Shillings
+Sterling; and every Double Toope to be valued after the rate of the
+Single."[42]
+
+These prices, judged by the standard of the present day, seem absurdly
+low, but they may be accepted as representing the average rate of prices
+obtainable, three hundred years ago, for the various classes of stock
+mentioned.
+
+It was the duty of the wardens to have the offenders in custody, against
+whom bills had been presented, in readiness to answer, and in case the
+bills were "fouled" he was bound to deliver them up to the opposite
+warden, by whom they were imprisoned until they had paid a _single and two
+doubles_, that is to say, treble the value of the estimated goods in the
+bill. To produce these men was generally the most difficult part of the
+warden's duty. He could not keep them in confinement until the day of
+truce, for, independently they were sometimes persons of power and rank,
+their numbers were too great to be retained in custody. The wardens,
+therefore, usually took bonds from the Chief, kinsmen, or allies of the
+accused party, binding him or them to enter him prisoner within the iron
+gate of the warden's castle, or else to make him forthcoming when called
+for. He against whom a bill was twice fouled, was liable to the penalty of
+death. If the offender endeavoured to rescue himself after being lawfully
+delivered over to the opposite warden, he was liable to the punishment of
+death, or otherwise at the warden's pleasure, as being guilty of a breach
+of the assurance.[43]
+
+It would seem to have been customary on a day of truce to enumerate the
+various bills "fouled" on either side, and then to strike a balance,
+showing on which side most depredations had been committed. It
+occasionally happened that the claims of both parties were so numerous
+and complicated, the same person frequently appearing both as plaintiff
+and defendant, that it was deemed prudent to draw a veil over the whole
+proceedings, and give satisfaction to neither party, thus wiping out, as
+it were, with a stroke of the pen, and without further parleying, all the
+claims which had been lodged. This mode of procedure, arbitrary though it
+may appear, did not, as a rule, result in serious injustice being done to
+either party.
+
+The offences dealt with were of a varied character. Reiving was only one
+of the many ways in which the Borderers sought to enrich themselves at the
+expense of their neighbours in the opposite March. They had an eye to the
+land as well as to the cattle. It was customary for them not only to
+pasture their stock on the enemy's territory, but to sow corn, cut down
+wood, and go hunting and hawking for pleasure as well as profit. Sir
+Robert Cary, one of the most vigorous of the English wardens, was
+determined that hunting without leave should not be carried on in his
+wardenry. He wrote to the laird of Ferniherst, the warden opposite,
+explaining his views, but, "notwithstanding this letter," he says, "within
+a month after they came and hunted as they used to do without leave, and
+cut down wood and carried it away. I wrote to the warden, and told him I
+would not suffer one other affront, but if they came again without leave
+they would dearly aby[44] it. For all this they would not be warned; but
+towards the end of the summer they came again to their wonted sports. I
+sent my two deputies with all speed they could make, and they took along
+with them such gentlemen as were in their way, with my forty horse, and
+about one of the clock they came to them, and set upon them; some hurt was
+done, but I gave special order they should do as little hurt, and shed as
+little blood, as they possibly could. They observed my command, only they
+broke all their carts, and took a dozen of the principal gentlemen that
+were there, and brought them to me to Witherington, where I lay. I made
+them welcome, and gave them the best entertainment I could. They lay in
+the castle two or three days, and so I sent them home--they assuring me
+that they would never again hunt without leave, which they did truly
+perform all the time."[45]
+
+This firm, but kindly method, was entirely satisfactory; and, had the
+Borders only been blessed with a succession of Carys in the various
+wardenries, the probability is that Border reiving would never have
+attained such portentous dimensions.
+
+But despite the masterful management of men like Cary, such questions as
+those we have mentioned continued to occupy the time and attention of the
+warden courts. The freebooters on the Border never considered too closely
+the minute shades of difference between _meum_ and _tuum_, and were
+difficult to persuade that depasturing, or cutting wood in a neighbour's
+plantation, was a matter of any real importance. They were at all times
+disposed to put a liberal construction on the words--"The earth is the
+Lord's and the fulness thereof." Their somewhat loose interpretation of
+this ancient Hebrew maxim occasioned them no end of vexation and trouble.
+
+But the settlement of Border affairs on the day of truce did not interfere
+with the ancient custom which entitled the person who was robbed to follow
+his goods on what was called the _hot-trod_, and mete out summary
+punishment to the offender--provided he could overtake him. The warden
+also was enjoined, in the Act of 1563, to pursue and chase in hot-trod,
+unto such time or place as the fugitives or offender be apprehended, to
+bring him again within his own jurisdiction to be punished for the
+offence, "as appertaineth;" "and that without let, trouble, or impediment
+to be made or done to him by any of the inhabitants of that realm wherein
+he pursueth." And if any person should make resistance to the said warden
+in the foresaid pursuit he was to be billed for, and delivered to the
+warden. In the following of the said chase, in the manner aforesaid, it
+was thought convenient, and ordained, that the pursuer shall, at the first
+town he cometh by of the opposite realm, or the first person he meeteth
+with, give knowledge of the occasion of his chase, and require him to go
+with him in the said pursuit. If the offender was caught red-handed he was
+executed; but if the desire for gain was stronger than the thirst for
+blood, then he was held at ransom. The prey was followed with hound and
+horn, hue and cry, the pursuers carrying on the point of their spears a
+lighted piece of turf.
+
+The business of the warden courts was conducted with despatch. When all
+the bills had been either "fouled" or "cleared," those who had been found
+guilty of "March Treason" were brought up for sentence. The lord warden
+called on him whose office it was to see the prisoners suffer, and thus
+addressed him:--"I command you in the Queen's Majesty's name that ye see
+execution done upon these prisoners, according to the Law of the Marches,
+at your peril." Then addressing the prisoners he said:--"Ye that are
+adjudged by the Law of the Realm to die, remember that ye have but a short
+time to live in this world; therefore earnestly call to God, with penitent
+hearts, for mercy and forgiveness of your sinful lives; repent ye have
+broken God's commandments, and be sorry therefor, and for that ye did not
+fear the breach and dangers of the Law, therefore your bodies must suffer
+the pain of death, provided to satisfy the reward of your Fact in this
+world; yet the salvation of your soul's health for the world to come,
+stands in the great mercy of Almighty God: Wherefore do ye earnestly
+repent and ask mercy for your sins, now when ye are living, put your Trust
+to be saved by the merits of Christ's passion; and think in your hearts if
+ye were able to recompence them ye have offended, ye would do it; and
+where you are not able, ask Forgiveness. Have such faith in God's Mercy as
+Dismas the Thief and Man-Murderer had that hang at Christ's Right hand,
+when he suffered his Passion for the Redemption of Mankind: Whose Faith
+was so great he should be saved, his Sins were remitted, tho' he had but
+short time of Repentance, and he enjoyed Heaven. Therefore despair not in
+God's Mercy, though your sins be great, for God's Mercy exceedeth all his
+Works. Set apart all Vanities of this World, and comfort you in Heavenly
+things; and doubt not but, if ye so do, ye shall inherit Everlasting Joy
+in the Kingdom of Heaven. And thus I commit you to the Mercy of God,
+wishing your Deaths may be an Example to all Parents to bring up their
+Children in the Fear of God, and Obedience of the Laws of this Realm."[46]
+
+With these suitable admonitions ringing in their ears, the condemned
+prisoners were led forth to execution.
+
+The business of the court having been finished, the wardens retired after
+taking a courteous leave of each other.
+
+These meetings, attended as they were by a large number of people, who
+came either on business or pleasure, were frequently broken up by sudden
+outbursts of tumult and disorder. _Baughling_, or brawling, was a common
+occurrence, and loud words and angry looks naturally led to more serious
+encounters. We have already noticed the incident of the Reidswire, but
+this was by no means an isolated case. In the month of July, 1585, at a
+day of truce between Sir John Foster and Ker of Ferniherst, Lord Russell,
+a young man of great promise, and of the most amiable disposition, was
+suddenly shot dead by an unknown hand. This lamentable incident gave rise
+to much bitterness of feeling on both sides of the Border. Foster wrote to
+Walsingham, saying, that he and the opposite warden had met for the
+redress of attempts committed on both sides, Russell being present to
+attend to particular causes of his own, "where it chanced a sudden
+accident and tumult to arise among the rascals of Scotland and England
+about a little pyckery among themselves, and we meaning no harm did sit
+the most of the day calling bills, and my Lord Russell among us. The said
+Lord Russell rose and went aside from us, with his own men, and there
+being in talk with a gentleman, was suddenly shot with a gun and slain in
+the midst of his own men, to the great discomfort of me and his poor
+friends in this country, and never a man either of England or Scotland but
+he. Alas! that the mischievous chance should happen for him to be killed
+with a shot, and none but him, which is the greatest discomfort that ever
+came upon me."[47]
+
+No hint is here given of any suspicion that Ker of Ferniherst was
+implicated in the death of this young man. Hence we are surprised to find
+that, on the day after this letter was written, Sir John Foster drew up a
+statement in which he gives an entirely different complexion to the
+incident. He asserts that it was not an accident. "Had it been an
+accident," he says, "or sudden breaking by rascals, as there was no such
+matter, the gentlemen of Scotland with their drums, fife, shot, and such
+as carried the 'ensigne' and 'penseller,' would have tarried with the
+warden; so that it appeareth plainly it was a 'pretended matter'
+beforehand, for the wardens sitting quietly calling their bills, the
+warden of England thinking no harm, the party of Scotland seeing the time
+serve for their 'former desire,' suddenly broke, striking up an alarm with
+sound of drum and fife, and gave the charge upon us--in which charge the
+Lord Russell was cruelly slain with shot, and so divers gentlemen of
+Scotland with their footmen and horsemen and whole force, followed and
+maintained their chase four miles within the Realm of England, and took
+sundry prisoners and horses, and carried them into Scotland, which they
+deny to deliver again."[48]
+
+This statement contradicts, in almost every particular, the asseverations
+deliberately made in the letter written the day before, and shows that
+even a gentleman in Sir John Foster's high position, with a deservedly
+great reputation for fair dealing, was capable, when occasion demanded, of
+twisting facts, or even inventing them, to suit his own ends, or the
+interest of the government he represented. It has been suggested that the
+English secretary, knowing that Ferniherst was an intimate friend of
+Arran, saw that by laying the blame of Lord Russell's death on the
+shoulders of the former, he might thereby procure the disgrace of this
+hated minister. Be this as it may, such conflicting assertions, made by
+the same person almost at the same time, should lead us to accept with a
+modified confidence other statements of a similar kind, as the spirit of
+party is no friend to the love of truth.
+
+But despite the drawbacks and dangers attaching to such gatherings for the
+settlement of Border affairs, the day of truce was an institution of great
+public utility. It is difficult to see how, apart from such an
+arrangement, even the semblance of civilized life could have been
+maintained. The Borders really constituted an _imperium in imperio_, and
+the wardens, when presiding over their monthly convention, were to all
+intents and purposes absolute rulers within their own prescribed domain.
+It was generally found that when warden courts, or days of truce, were
+regularly held, good rule and order, at least judged by the ordinary
+Border standard, were well maintained throughout the entire district.
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+THE DEADLY FEUD.
+
+          "At the sacred font, the priest
+  Through ages left the master hand unblest
+  To urge with keener aim the blood incrusted spear."
+
+                                   LEYDEN.
+
+
+The difficulties with which the Borderers had to contend were of a varied
+character. They had to be constantly on the watch against the aggressions
+and incursions of their enemies on the opposite Marches. But it frequently
+happened that their most dangerous and inveterate foes were to be found
+amongst their own countrymen. This was the case more especially when
+blood-feuds arose, setting family against family, and clan against clan.
+An interesting, if not very luminous, account of the origin of the "Feud"
+is given by Burghley in a report submitted by him to the English
+government, in which he deals with what he calls the "Decays of the
+Borders." He says:--"Deadly Foed, the word of enmytie on the Borders,
+implacable without the blood and whole family destroyed, whose etymologie
+I know not where better to fetch than from Spiegelius in his _Lexicon
+Juris, in Verbo_ 'feydum:' he saith it is an old Teutch word whereof is
+derived by Hermanus Nivoranus (?) _faydosum Hostis publicus_; 'foed'
+_enim, Bellum significat_." He further points out that the Scottish
+wardens, being native Borderers, are "extraordinarilye adicted to
+parcialities, favour of their blood, tenantes and followers," and
+consequently he holds they should be disqualified for office.[49]
+
+The evils resulting from these deadly-feuds would have been comparatively
+trifling had it been possible to limit the consequences to the persons
+more immediately concerned. Owing, however, to the system of clanship
+which prevailed on the Borders, the whole sept became involved in the
+feud. "If one of the clan," says Sir Walter Scott, "chanced either to slay
+a man, or commit any similar aggression, the chief was expected to defend
+him by all means, legal or illegal. The most obvious and pacific was to
+pay such fine or _amende_, or assythement, as it was called, as might
+pacify the surviving relations, or make up the feud. This practice of
+receiving an atonement for slaughter seems also to have been part of the
+ancient Celtic usages; for it occurs in the Welch laws of Howell Dha, and
+was the very foundation of the Irish Brehon customs. The vestiges of it
+may be found in the common law of Scotland to this day. But poor as we
+have described the Border chief, and fierce as he certainly was by
+education and office, it was not often that he was either able or disposed
+to settle the quarrels of his clansmen in a manner so amicable and
+expensive. War was then resorted to; and it was the duty of the chief and
+clan who had sustained the injury to seek revenge by every means in their
+power, not only against the party who had given the offence, but, in the
+phrase of the time and country, against all his name, kindred,
+maintainers, and upholders. On the other hand, the chief and clan to whom
+the individual belonged who had done the offence, were equally bound in
+honour, by every means in their power, to protect their clansman, and to
+retaliate whatever injury the opposite party might inflict in their thirst
+of vengeance. When two clans were involved in this species of private
+warfare, which was usually carried on with the most ferocious animosity on
+both sides, they were said to be at deadly feud, and the custom is justly
+termed by the Scottish parliament most heathenish and barbarous.... In
+these deadly feuds, the chiefs of clans made war, or truce, or final peace
+with each other, with as much formality, and as little sincerity, as
+actual monarchs."[50]
+
+Feuds of the most bitter and hostile character were an every-day
+occurrence. The Herons, Fenwicks, Shafftownes, Charletons, and Milbornes,
+on the English side of the Border, were all at feud at the same time. And
+on the Scottish side the Elwoods (Elliots), Armstrongs, Nixons, Crosiers,
+Trumbles, and Olivers were, during the same period, at "daggers drawn,"
+and thirsting for each other's blood. The misery which such feuds created
+can hardly be over-estimated. The sense of personal security was
+completely destroyed. Mutual trust, the primary condition of social life,
+was rendered practically impossible. And, as might be expected, the most
+trivial circumstances often gave rise to the most implacable hostility. A
+singular instance of this is referred to by John Cary in one of his
+communications to Burghley. He says:--"Your honour remembers hearing long
+since of the great road by the Scotts 'as Will Haskottes and his fellowes'
+made in Tynedale and Redesdale, taking up the whole country and nearly
+beggaring them for ever. On complaint to the Queen and Council, there was
+some redress made with much ado and many meetings. Buccleuch and the
+Scotts made some 'bragges and crackes' as that the country durst not take
+its own; but the Charletons being the 'sufficientest and ablest' men on
+the borders, not only took their own goods again, but encouraged their
+neighbours to do the like and not be afraid--'which hath ever since stuck
+in Buccleuch's stomack.'... Mary! he makes another quarrell, that long
+since in a war tyme, the Tynedale men should goe into his countrey, and
+there they took his grandfather and killed divers of his countrye, _and
+that they took away his grandfather's shworde_, and never let him have it
+yet synce. This sayeth he is the quarrell."[51]
+
+Nor did lapse of time tend to soften the animosities. The feud was
+inherited along with the rest of the family property. It was handed down
+from generation to generation. The son and grandson maintained it with a
+bitterness which, in some cases, seemed year by year to grow more intense.
+It affected more or less a man's whole social relationships, and gave rise
+to endless animosities and heart-burnings. Feuds were not unknown in other
+districts of the country, but owing to the feeble and ineffective manner
+in which the law was generally administered, they prevailed to a greater
+extent on the Borders,--and were characterised by a more vengeful
+spirit,--than in any other part of the kingdom.
+
+Hence it was found that the existence of such feuds made the
+administration of the law, such as it was, a matter of supreme difficulty.
+It is said that it was hardly possible for any gentleman of the country to
+be of a jury of life and death if any of those at feud were indicted, "as
+they were grown so to seek blood that they would make a quarrel about the
+death of their grandfather, and kill any of the name." It was, therefore,
+found necessary to appoint special nobles and barons belonging to some
+distant part of the country, to sit in judgment in those cases in which
+the accused was at feud with the warden. On two occasions when courts were
+being held at Jedburgh, it was found expedient to issue proclamations in
+the King's name,--"That na maner of persons tak upon hand to invaid ane an
+uther for ald feid or new, now cumand to this present air or passand
+tharfra, and induring the tyme thairof under the pane of dede; and that na
+maner of persone or persons beir wapins except kniffis at their beltis,
+bot alanerlie our soverane lordis household, the justice, constable,
+merschell, compositouris, thair men and houshald, schireff, crounaris and
+thair deputis, under the pane of escheting of the wapins and punishing of
+the persons beraris therof."[52] Owing to the disturbed condition of the
+country, such precautions were much needed, although it must be admitted
+that they did not always secure the end desired.
+
+Many of the Border feuds present features of great interest alike to the
+sociologist and the historian. They afford interesting glimpses of the
+condition of society in this part of the realm, and disclose the dominant
+passions by which the lives and characters of those more immediately
+concerned were shaped and determined. Throughout the greater part of the
+16th century a fierce feud raged between two of the most noted and
+powerful Border families--the Scotts and the Kers. The circumstances which
+gave rise to this deadly feud form an interesting chapter in the history
+of the Borders.
+
+During the minority of James V. the Earl of Angus controlled the
+government of the country, and in his own interests, and for the
+furtherance of his own ends, kept a watchful eye on the movements of the
+young King. In the year 1525, James, accompanied by Angus, and other
+members of the court, came south to Jedburgh, "and held justice aires
+quhair manie plaintes cam to him of reiff, slauchter and oppression, bot
+little justice was used bot the purse, for thir was manie in that countrie
+war the Earl of Angus' kin and friendis, that got favourable justice,
+quhairof the king was not content, nor non of the rest of the lordis that
+war about him, for they wold have justice equally used to all men; bot the
+Earl of Angus and the rest of the Douglass' rulled yitt still as they
+pleased, and no man durst find fault with their proceidingis; quhairat the
+king was heartilie displeased, and would fain have been out of their
+handis, and for that effect he writt are secreitt letter to the laird of
+Buccleugh, desiring him effectuouslie that he wold come with all his
+forces, kin and freindis, and all that he might ax, and meit him at
+Melrose, at his home coming, and thair to tak him out of the Douglas'
+handis, and put him at libertie, to use himself among the rest of the
+lordis as he thought expedient."[53] Buccleuch at once convened his "kin
+and freindis," and all who were prepared to take part with him, to the
+number of six hundred spears, and set out for Melrose to await the coming
+of the King. Home, Cessford, and Fernieherst, who were of the King's
+company, had returned home. Buccleuch and his followers made their
+appearance, arranged in order of battle, on Halidon Hill, overlooking the
+Tweed, near Melrose bridge. When Angus saw them he wondered what the
+hostile array portended. But when he discovered that Buccleuch was
+supported only by numbers of Annandale thieves, he took heart of grace,
+and said to the King--"Sir, yonder is the laird of Buccleuch, and the
+thieves of Annerdaill with him, to unbesett your grace in the way, bot I
+avow to God, Sir, they sall aither fight or flie. Thairfor, Sir, ye sall
+tarrie here, and my brither George with yow, and any other quhom yeu
+pleas, and I sall pas and put yon thieves aff the ground, and red the
+gaitt to your grace, or else die thairfor."[54]
+
+The conflict now began in earnest. Buccleuch and his men stoutly resisted
+the onslaught of Angus, and for a time the issue seemed uncertain. But
+Home, Cessford, and Fernieherst, having got wind of the affair, returned,
+supported by four score spears, "and sett on freschlie on the utmost wing,
+on the laird of Buccleughis field, and shortly bare them to the ground,
+quhilk caused the laird of Buccleugh to flie; on whom thair followed ane
+chaise be the lairdis of Sesfoord and Pherniherst, in the quhilk chaise
+the laird of Sesfoord was slain with ane cassin spear, be ane called Evan,
+servand of the laird of Buccleughis."[55]
+
+There seems nothing remarkable about such an incident as this. That
+Cessford should have been accidentally slain by one of Buccleuch's
+servants was no doubt a regrettable incident, but those who play bowls
+must be prepared for rubbers. This, unfortunately, was not the view
+entertained by the Kers, who henceforth were at deadly feud with
+Buccleuch. All efforts to bring about a reconciliation were in vain. The
+Kers thirsted for vengeance, and were determined to "bide their time."
+Twenty-six long years had come and gone, and one day as the laird of
+Buccleuch was passing along one of the streets of Edinburgh, little
+suspecting the fate which awaited him, he was fatally stabbed by the
+descendant of Cessford. The Borderers had many faults, but certainly they
+cannot be charged with having had short memories!
+
+But a still more striking illustration of the disastrous consequences of
+the deadly feud is to be found in the case of the Johnstones and Maxwells,
+two of the most prominent and powerful families in Dumfriesshire. These
+two families were strong enough, had they been united, to have kept the
+whole district in good order; but unfortunately they were often at feud,
+with the result that not only their own interests, but the interests of
+the community as a whole, were ruthlessly sacrificed. It is worthy of note
+that one of the principal causes of the frequent and disastrous feuds
+between the representatives of the two families, was the frequency with
+which the office of warden was conferred, first on the one, and then on
+the other, without any good reason being assigned by the King for the
+adoption of this shuttle-cock policy. This office was naturally much
+coveted, as it was not only a source of revenue, which in those days was a
+most important consideration, but a condition of influence and power. It
+must, therefore, have been peculiarly irritating for the warden to be
+summarily called upon to resign his office almost before he had begun to
+reap the rewards pertaining to it. And when he saw his rival basking in
+the sunshine of the royal favour, from which he had been suddenly and
+capriciously excluded, his feelings may be more easily imagined than
+described. Nor did it greatly tend to soothe his wounded feelings to
+reflect that the person by whom he had been superseded would be certain
+before long to be hurled from his proud eminence and another put in his
+place. The whole system was pernicious, and was the source of no end of
+mischief and bad blood.
+
+The origin of this famous feud may be briefly related. John, seventh Lord
+Maxwell, has been well described as one of those men whom a daring and
+restless temperament and their crimes "have damned to eternal fame." After
+the death of the Regent Morton, he succeeded in securing a charter to the
+Earldom of Morton--his mother, Lady Beatrix Douglas, being the Regent's
+second daughter. It was not his good fortune, however, to enjoy for a
+lengthened period either the title, or the domains attached to it. In
+January, 1585, four years after he had come into possession, Parliament
+rescinded the Attainder, and declared that the title and the estates were
+to be conferred on the Regent Morton's lawful heir. Maxwell was declared a
+rebel, mainly owing to his religious views--he being a warm adherent of
+the Romish Church--and Johnstone was commissioned to apprehend him. Though
+he had the assistance of two bands of hired soldiers, Maxwell proved more
+than a match for him, took him prisoner, and set fire to Lochwood Castle,
+as it was savagely remarked, "that Lady Johnstone might have light to put
+on her hood." This unexpected blow fell on the laird of Johnstone with
+crushing effect. In the following year he died of a broken heart. It is
+to these circumstances that we must attribute the origin of the deadly
+feud between the two clans, and especially between their chiefs.
+
+But Maxwell, though gaining this important victory, was not allowed to
+escape. He was ultimately taken prisoner, but afterwards regained his
+liberty, on condition that he left the country. He went to Spain, and
+offered his services to "His Catholic Majesty," who was then busily
+engaged in fitting out the _Invincible Armada_, by which he hoped to
+overwhelm both England and Scotland. Lord Maxwell--so little was he
+animated by the spirit of patriotism--entered into the scheme _con amore_.
+Being furnished with ample means, he returned to Scotland in 1588 to levy
+men on the Borders to assist his new sovereign. His prefidious designs
+were fortunately discovered, and ere he could make good his escape, he was
+surprised by the King in Dumfries, taken prisoner, and his wardenship of
+the West Marches bestowed on his powerful rival, the laird of Johnstone.
+Everything might have gone on smoothly at this juncture had the King only
+been gifted with a little firmness and foresight. He was anxious, however,
+to conciliate his Roman Catholic subjects, and he seems to have come to
+the conclusion that, reasonable conditions being imposed, he might
+accomplish this end by restoring Maxwell to favour and office. This was a
+fatal blunder, and produced disastrous results. Though the two rival
+chiefs were induced to enter into a bond of alliance to support each other
+in their lawful quarrels, as might have been expected, it was not long
+before circumstances arose which brought them again into deadly conflict.
+The Johnstones seemed to have concluded that they were at liberty to harry
+and despoil at their pleasure, so long as they left unmolested any of the
+name of Maxwell. Acting upon this principle, they made a raid upon
+Nithsdale, and committed sundry depredations on Lord Sanquhar, the lairds
+of Drumlanrig, Closeburn, and Lagg, and killed eighteen persons who had
+"followed their own goods." Such a fierce and unprovoked assault could not
+well be allowed to go unpunished, and so a commission was given to Lord
+Maxwell to pursue the Johnstones with all hostilities. Johnstone hearing
+of this, at once adopted measures for his protection. He summoned to his
+aid the Scotts of Teviotdale, and the Grahams and Elliots of Eskdale, as
+well as "divers Englishmen, treasonably brought within the realm, armed in
+plain hostility." Maxwell, however, determined not to be beat, entered
+into "Bonds of Manrent" with Sanquhar, Drumlanrig, and several others, who
+had suffered at the hands of Johnstone, to maintain each other's quarrels.
+
+Acting upon his commission, Maxwell summoned Johnstone to surrender, but
+this he refused to do, on the ground that the warden had acted illegally
+in entering into "Bonds" with the persons above-mentioned. As it was
+clearly impossible to settle the question by diplomatic means, the warden
+despatched Captain Oliphant with some troops to Lochmaben, to await his
+arrival in Annandale. The Johnstones, who were on the alert, coming
+suddenly upon them, killed the captain, and a number of his soldiers, and
+burned the Kirk of Lochmaben, where some of Oliphant's men had fled for
+refuge. Lord Maxwell now entered the field in person. He expected to raise
+the different towns in his aid; but Johnstone, acting on the principle
+that "a 'steek' in time saves nine," attacked him at once, scattered his
+forces, and slew Lord Maxwell, "and sundry gentlemen of his name." This
+affair took place December, 1593, and is well known as the Battle of Dryfe
+Sands. "Lord Maxwell," it is said, "a tall man, and heavy in armour, was
+in the chase overtaken and stricken from his horse. The report went that
+he called to Johnstone, and desired to be taken (prisoner), as he had
+formerly taken his (Johnstone's) father: but was unmercifully used; and
+the hand that reached forth cut off; but of this I can affirm nothing.
+There, at all events, the Lord Maxwell fell, having received many wounds.
+He was a nobleman of great spirit, humane, courteous, and more learned
+than noblemen commonly are; but aspiring and ambitious of rule."
+
+In this contest the Maxwells suffered severely. They were cut down in
+scores in the streets of Lockerbie. It is said that those who escaped bore
+on them to their dying hour marks of the fatal day, which occasioned the
+proverbial phrase of "a Lockerby lick," to denote a frightful gash over
+the face or skull. So dreadful was the carnage in this disastrous "bout of
+arms" that it is alleged by numerous historians that at least 700 of the
+Maxwells and their adherents were slain. Two aged thorns long marked the
+spot where Maxwell met his fate, known in the district as "Maxwell's
+Thorns." They were carried away by a flood some fifty years ago, but have
+been replaced by two others, now enclosed in a railing.
+
+"It is evident, then," remarks Pitcairn, "according to the sentiments of
+those times, inherited from their earliest years, which 'grew with their
+growth and strengthened with their strength,' that natural duty and filial
+piety required such a feud should become hereditary, and behoved should be
+handed down from one generation to another. The attempts by the King and
+his Council to procure an effectual reconciliation, although strenuously
+made and often repeated, at length proved abortive. The re-appointment of
+the Laird of Johnstone to be warden of the West Marches, in 1596, appears
+to have served as a signal for the resumption of mutual aggressions."[56]
+It would seem that Johnstone held the office at this time for a period of
+three years, but as his wardenry had got into a most unsatisfactory
+condition, he was superseded by Sir John Carmichael, his appointment being
+notified to Lord Scrope, by James VI., on the 26th December, 1599.
+Carmichael was murdered by Thomas Armstrong, "son of Sandies Ringan," in
+the following year, and Johnstone was again appointed to this ill-fated
+office. All this time the feud raged as fiercely as ever. Various attempts
+were made to bring about an agreement, but nothing came of them. At length
+through the influence of mutual friends, a private meeting was arranged.
+Solemn pledges were given and exchanged, and Lord Maxwell and Sir James
+Johnstone met on the 6th of April, 1608, each accompanied only by a single
+attendant. The principals having removed some distance to discuss their
+affairs, a quarrel arose between the two attendants, and when Sir James
+Johnstone turned round to admonish them to keep the peace, Lord Maxwell
+suddenly drew his pistol, and fired at him, and shot him through the back
+with two bullets.
+
+This cold-blooded murder, made all the more heinous by the circumstances
+in which it was perpetrated, was amply revenged. Lord Maxwell was
+apprehended, and put in ward in the Castle of Edinburgh. He contrived,
+however, to escape, and went abroad, where he remained for four years. He
+returned to the Borders, but finding that his crime was remembered
+against him, had instantly to prepare for embarkation to Sweden.
+Unfortunately for himself, he was persuaded by his kinsman, the Earl of
+Caithness, to abandon this project. He was lured to Castle Sinclair, where
+he was promised shelter and secrecy. He was not long there before he was
+betrayed by his friend, taken prisoner, and brought to Edinburgh and
+beheaded. "It may be gratifying to know that the Earl of Caithness
+obtained no reward for his traitorous conduct; but, on the contrary, his
+treachery served as a source of constant reproach to him and his
+family."[57]
+
+"Thus was finally ended, by a salutary example of severity, 'the foul
+debate' betwixt the Maxwells and the Johnstones, in course of which each
+family lost two chieftains; one by dying of a broken heart, one in the
+field of battle, one by assassination, and one by the sword of the
+executioner."[58]
+
+The history of the Borders unfortunately affords too many examples of the
+deplorable consequences arising from the prevalency and frequency of such
+feuds. Many were compelled to live in constant terror of the dagger of the
+assassin, never knowing the moment when they might be stricken down by an
+unseen hand. At the same time it may be remarked that those who were
+guilty of the crime of murder found it a matter of extreme difficulty to
+escape punishment. The "avenger of blood" was ever on the track, and
+though for a time, by means of various disguises, the culprit might elude
+pursuit, he had sooner or later to pay the penalty of his misdeeds.
+
+In the year 1511 Sir Robert Ker of Cessford was slain at a Border meeting
+by three Englishmen--Heron, Starhead, and Lillburn. The English monarch
+delivered up Lillburn to justice, but the other two made good their
+escape. Starhead fled for refuge to the very centre of England, and there
+lived in secrecy and upon his guard. Two dependants of the murdered warden
+were deputed by Andrew Ker of Cessford to revenge his father's death. They
+travelled through England in various disguises till they discovered the
+place of Starhead's retreat, murdered him in his bed, and brought his head
+to their master, by whom, in memorial of their vengeance, it was exposed
+on the cross of Edinburgh. Heron would have shared the same fate had he
+not spread abroad a report of his having died of the plague, and caused
+his funeral obsequies to be performed.
+
+Various expedients were resorted to in order to terminate the feuds which
+prevailed. A common method was to get the Chiefs and Chieftains of the
+opposing clans to subscribe what were called "bonds of assurance." There
+can be no doubt that this might often have proved a most effective
+measure, had the parties concerned only been willing to let bygones be
+bygones. But it was found that the old sores were not easily healed.
+Despite the utmost precautions, animosities which had been suppressed for
+a time--kept as it were in abeyance--would assert themselves in a most
+unexpected manner, and with redoubled force, and create a still more
+distracting condition of affairs.
+
+Prior to the Reformation, feuds were sometimes terminated by an appeal to
+the religious sensibilities of the persons more immediately concerned.
+They were induced to make pilgrimages to noted shrines--the shrine of St.
+Ninian being a favourite resort--where, under the influence of religious
+thoughts and feelings, they might be induced to take a more kindly view of
+those with whom they were at feud, and make some reparation for the injury
+they had inflicted. How far this method succeeded it is difficult to
+determine, but the likelihood is that it was quite as effective as any
+other.
+
+Among the Chiefs, or clans, feuds were sometimes brought to an end by a
+contract of marriage between a leading gentleman of one clan and a
+daughter of the principal house of the other. This was the plan adopted by
+the Scotts and Kers, and which, after some vexatious delays, proved
+entirely successful.
+
+But if it was found that none of the above methods of terminating the feud
+could be conveniently applied, then resort was had, as has already been
+hinted, to still simpler means. An atonement was made by the payment of a
+sum of money called "assythment," which was sometimes found sufficient to
+restore good feeling, and bring together in a spirit of amity families
+that had been at feud with each other.
+
+But these and other means of putting an end to the feud proved, perhaps,
+in the majority of cases, of little or no avail. The parties concerned
+preferred, generally, to fight it out to the bitter end, utterly
+indifferent to consequences.
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+THE THIEVES DAUNTONED.
+
+  "Revenge! revenge! auld Wat 'gan cry;
+    Fye, lads, lay on them cruellie!
+  We'll ne'er see Teviotside again,
+    Or Willie's death revenged sall be."
+
+
+The intermittent and ineffective manner in which the law was generally
+administered on the Borders was the occasion, if not the cause, of much of
+the turbulence and lawlessness which prevailed. The Border thieves were
+now and then placed under the most rigid surveillance, and their misdeeds
+visited with condign punishment; but for the most part they were left to
+work out their own sweet will, none daring to make them afraid.
+
+This method of treatment could not be expected to produce beneficial
+results. It had exactly the opposite effect. Respect for the law was
+completely destroyed. Those who were called upon, as the phrase goes, "to
+underlie the law," had no sense of shame when their wrongdoing was brought
+home to them. They no doubt felt the inconvenience of being punished, by
+fine or imprisonment, for their misdeeds; but there was no moral stigma
+attaching to imprisonment, or to almost any other form of punishment.
+That a man's father had been hanged for cattle-stealing, or for the
+slaughter of those who had dared to resist him when he went on a foraging
+expedition, might engender a feeling of resentment, but it was not in the
+least likely to create a feeling of shame. Such incidents as these were
+regarded with philosophical indifference. We remember once hearing a
+distinguished Borderer remark that the ancient history of nearly all the
+great Border families had been faithfully chronicled in "Pitcairn's
+Criminal Trials!" A careful study of that interesting and valuable
+compilation will go far to corroborate the remark. The "Family Tree" is a
+phrase which has an altogether peculiar significance on the Borders. It
+suggests ideas and reflections which are not usually associated with
+genealogy.
+
+But when all has been said on this phase of the question which either envy
+or malice can suggest, every sympathetic and well-informed student of
+Border history will readily admit that the Borderers, bad as they were,
+were really more sinned against than sinning. Carlyle has somewhere
+remarked that a man's first _right_ is to be well governed. It is,
+perhaps, unusual to regard our rights from this point of view, yet there
+can be no doubt that good government is an essential requisite of society,
+and one of the greatest blessings of the individual life. This boon was
+one which, for many generations, the Borderers did not enjoy. They were
+encouraged to commit crime one day, and punished for it the next. This is
+doubtless a strong assertion, but we think it is one that can be amply
+proved. It was the policy of James VI., for example, to keep on the best
+possible terms with Queen Elizabeth, in order not to endanger his chance
+of succession, and consequently he was naturally anxious to keep his
+turbulent subjects on the Borders as well in hand as possible. But that he
+secretly sympathised with them, and encouraged them in their predatory
+incursions on the English Border, hardly admits of serious doubt. Sir John
+Foster, writing in 1586, says: "The King doth write to the Laird of
+Cessford to do justice, and yet in the meantime he appointeth others to
+ride and break the Border, and doth wink thereat."[59] We find Hunsdon
+writing in the same strain. "I am at this present credibly advertised," he
+says, "from one of good intelligence that what fair weather soever the
+King makes, he means no good towards her Majesty, nor her subjects, and
+that at this present, there is some practice in hand, whatsoever it
+is--and he doth assure me that those of Liddesdale, Ewesdale, Eskdale, and
+Annandale, being 400 horse that came to Hawden brigges where they took
+away the goods and burnt 4 houses, was not without the King's knowledge,
+but not meant to be done in that place."[60] In another communication, in
+which he alludes to the coming of the King to the Borders with a large
+army, ostensibly to punish the thieves, he remarks, that he thought it
+very strange that the King should come with so great a company for the
+suppressing of a few thieves, when there was not one of them, either in
+Liddesdale or Teviotdale, that he might not have had brought to him, had
+he so wished it. He hints that these great outrages would never have been
+attempted without the King's "privitie"--"for it was given forth," he
+says, "that the Earl Bothwell's riding to Branksome and Hawick, where he
+holds as many of Liddesdale before him as it pleased him to send for, that
+it was to cause them of Liddesdale to be answerable to justice to England
+for such outrages as they had sundry times committed; but the sequel did
+manifest the cause of his going thither. For presently after, his said
+son-in-law, the Laird of Buccleuch, made a 'roade' with 300 horse into the
+West March at two of the clock in the after-noon, with a trumpet and
+gydon, and spoiled the country about Bewcastle in warlike manner till
+sun-set. The trumpet was my Lord Bothwell's, and the goods was carried to
+Armitage at my Lord Bothwell's officers' commandment. So as I have just
+cause to think that this 'roade' was done by my Lord Bothwell's
+appointment, and I am sure he durst not have done it without the King's
+privity, I will not say commandment."[61]
+
+These are only a few of many illustrations of a similar kind which may be
+found scattered through the pages of the "State Papers," and while we must
+be careful not to accept such statements as in every instance worthy of
+absolute credence, yet the circumstances would seem to warrant our
+regarding them, in many cases at least, as well founded. When the King and
+his lieutenants thus secretly connived at, and encouraged, the
+depredations of the reivers, we need hardly wonder that they engaged in
+the work of plundering with an almost total absence of compunction.
+
+Had the sphere of their operations been always strictly confined to the
+English Border, the likelihood is that neither King, nor Regent, would
+have sought to "daunton" them. But there were times when it was difficult
+for the Scottish reivers to earn a decent livelihood by harassing and
+spoiling "the auld enemy," owing to the watchfulness and strength of those
+dwelling within the opposite Marches; and as there was a danger of their
+talents becoming feeble through disuse, they naturally turned their
+attention to their own more wealthy neighbours and friends. That there is
+"honour among thieves" is a proposition that is sometimes called in
+question; but we find that the spirit of a really helpful friendship
+occasionally manifested itself in curious ways. When a family, or clan,
+contemplated a raid upon a neighbour's property, it was customary to
+secure the assistance of the thieves on the opposite Border. In
+"Pitcairn's Criminal Trials" there are numerous allusions to the
+prosecutions of famous Scottish reivers for the inbringing of Englishmen
+to assist them in the work of plunder. This was one of the offences
+charged against Cockburn of Henderland, and which, no doubt, weighed
+heavily with his judges in consigning him to the gallows.
+
+When the reivers thus turned their attention to their own countrymen, and
+with the assistance of English allies began to despoil them, it was felt
+that strong measures must be adopted for their suppression and punishment.
+The Border reivers regarded the law with a feeling akin to contempt. They
+were disposed to look upon the statutes of the realm as so many old wives'
+fables; and, truth to speak, they were often of not much more account. The
+policy of the wardens was too frequently one of mere self-aggrandizement,
+and so long as their individual interests were not imperilled they looked
+on with a kind of placid indifference at the misdoings of those whom it
+was their duty, if not their interest, to control. When James VI. came to
+Dumfries, to "daunton the thieves" in that district of the country, his
+time was mainly occupied in meting out summary punishment to men of high
+social position, whose "thefts, herschips, and slaughters" had become
+notorious, and cried aloud for vengeance. There were, no doubt, many of
+the commonality as well, who at this time were made to suffer for their
+crimes, but as these cases were generally dealt with by subordinate
+officials, they do not come so prominently before us. "Nothing is more
+remarkable," says Sir Herbert Maxwell, "than the light thrown on the
+social state of Scotland at this time by the justiciary records. By far
+the larger part of the criminals dealt with at the King's 'justice aires'
+were men of good position, barons and landowners, burgesses or provosts of
+burghs. The humbler offenders were dealt with by the sheriff or at the
+baron's courts, and do not appear; but the following extracts from the
+records of the short reign of James IV., in which the culprits are all
+landowners, or members of their families, in Dumfriesshire or Galloway,
+illustrate the difficulty of maintaining order when the upper classes were
+so unruly." Here a list of names is appended, in which such well-known
+personages as Murray, Jardine, Herries, Bell, Dinwoodie, Lindsay, Douglas,
+&c., appear. These men stand charged with high treason,
+forethought--felony, slaughter, horse-stealing, and other heinous
+offences. Some were pardoned, others respited, the horse-stealer was
+called upon to make restitution,--a severe sentence,--and Lindsay of
+Wauchope, who had slain a messenger-at-arms, was condemned to death, and
+his estates forfeited. In the accounts of expenditure incurred by the King
+during this visit to Dumfries some curious items appear. Here are a few
+samples. _Item_, to the man that hangit the thieves at the
+Hallirlaws,--xiiijs. _Item_, for ane raip to hang them in ...--viijd.
+_Item_, to the man that hangit the thieves in Canonby, be the King's
+command ...--xiiijs. But all the details are not of this gruesome
+character. The work of hanging, needful as it was, could give but "sma'
+pleasure" even to a King, and so we find that entertainment of another
+kind was plentifully provided for the youthful monarch. "He was attended
+in his progress," says Tytler, "by his huntsmen, falconers, morris
+dancers, and all the motley and various minions of his pleasure, as well
+as by his judges and ministers of the law; and whilst troops of the
+unfortunate marauders were seized and brought in irons to the encampment,
+executions and entertainments appear to have succeeded each other with
+extraordinary rapidity."[62]
+
+Not long after the King made another visit to the Borders, coming on this
+occasion also with a considerable following, to the Water of Rule, to
+"daunton" the Turnbulls, whose excesses had filled the minds of the more
+peaceful inhabitants with a feeling of terror. Leslie, in his own quaint
+and picturesque style, thus describes the incident:--"The King raid furth
+of Edinburgh, the viij. of November one the nycht, weill accumpaneit to
+the watter of Roulle, quhair he tuik divers brokin men and brocht thame to
+Jeduart; of quhom sum was justifyeit, and the principallis of the
+trubillis [Turnbulls] come in lyning claythis, with nakitt sordis in thair
+handis and wyddyis [ropes] about thair neckis, and pat thame in the Kingis
+will; quha wes send to divers castells in ward, with sindrie utheris of
+that cuntrey men also, quhair throchout the bordouris wes in greiter
+quietnes thairefter."[63]
+
+We find that the Regents, when occasion demanded, were no less severe in
+their treatment of the unfortunate marauders. It would seem that about the
+middle of the sixteenth century the Borders had attained to an almost
+unexampled degree of lawlessness. Murder, robbery, and offences of all
+kinds prevailed to an intolerable extent. It is said that men who had been
+publicly outlawed walked abroad, deriding the terrors of justice. Hawick,
+a burgh of ancient renown, was the centre of these crimes. The Earl of Mar
+made a sudden and rapid march upon the town, encompassed it with his
+soldiers, and made a proclamation in the market place forbidding any one,
+on pain of death, to receive or shelter a thief. He apprehended
+fifty-three of the most noted outlaws, eighteen of whom, strange to state,
+he was under the necessity of drowning for "lack of trees and halters."
+Six were hanged in Edinburgh, and the rest either acquitted or put in
+prison. This sharp and salutary lesson was evidently laid to heart, as we
+learn that, for some time after, extraordinary quietness prevailed.
+
+In a few years, however, the state of matters on the Borders seems to have
+gone from bad to worse. The Scotts and the Ellwoods (Elliots) were at
+deadly feud, and as the result of their frequent and violent quarrels the
+whole district was thrown into confusion and disorder. Queen Mary had
+recently returned from France; and, hearing how things were going in this
+distracted part of her realm, came to Jedburgh to hold court in person.
+For more than a week she was busily engaged in hearing a great variety of
+cases that were brought before her, and imposing various modes and degrees
+of punishment on the offenders. It was on this occasion she made her
+famous visit to Hermitage Castle, in Liddesdale. The Earl of Bothwell had
+been stationed there for some time, in order if possible to "daunton" the
+"wicked limmers" by whom the district had long been infested. One day when
+in pursuit of a party of Elliots, having got considerably ahead of his
+company, he encountered a famous mosstrooper, John Elliot of Park, the
+"little Jock Elliot" of Border song (?), and drawing a "dag" or pistol
+fired at him, wounding him severely in the thigh. The gallant marauder
+turned upon his assailant, and, with a two-handed sword, which he wielded
+with amazing dexterity, bore him to the ground, leaving him to all
+appearance dead. Some have been wicked enough to wish that this _coup
+d'epee_ had been more effective, as both Queen and country would have been
+spared much trouble and many heart burnings had Elliot's well-aimed blow
+fallen with more deadly effect. Mary, hearing that her favourite courtier
+lay ill at Hermitage, resolved to pay him a friendly visit. Leaving
+Jedburgh early in the morning, in the company of her brother Murray, and
+other officers, she rode by way of Hawick over the hills to Liddesdale--a
+distance of twenty miles. The road was rough, and not without its hazards,
+especially to one unacquainted with the district--the ground near the
+watershed being full of quaking bogs and treacherous morasses. There is a
+place still known as the "Queen's Mire," near the head of the Braidlie
+burn, where the palfrey on which her Majesty was riding came to grief. Not
+long ago a bit of a silver spur was found at this spot, which is not
+unreasonably regarded as a relic of the Queen's disaster.
+
+After watching by the bed of the sufferer for the space of two hours, the
+Queen resumed her journey, reaching Jedburgh the same night. This long
+and exciting ride, which has exposed the memory of the fair Queen to many
+severe animadversions, was followed by a violent fever, which brought her
+to the gates of death. She herself did not expect to recover. Calling her
+nobles around her couch she enjoined them to live in unity and peace with
+each other, and to employ their utmost diligence in the government of the
+country, and the education of her son. But the end was not yet.
+Fotheringay, with its tragic memories, and not the quiet Border town where
+she then lay, was to witness the close of her sublimely pathetic career.
+
+The unsettled condition of the country after the battle of Langside, and
+the Queen's flight into England, made the Border reivers more than ever
+bold and lawless. They seemed to think that their opportunity had come,
+and that they might shake themselves free from the embarrassing restraints
+of constituted authority. But they were speedily made to feel that the
+hand of the Regent was even heavier than that of the King. The Earl of
+Murray, realizing that repressive measures were urgently needed, mustered
+a force of 4000 horse and foot and marched into Teviotdale, where he was
+speedily joined by Scott of Buccleuch, Home, Ker of Cessford, Ker of
+Ferniherst, and other gentlemen. After consulting together it was resolved
+to burn and destroy Liddesdale; and Buccleuch and Ferniherst were deputed
+to undertake the work. This resolution, as might have been expected,
+created consternation and dismay amongst the leaders of the clans, who
+came to the Regent entreating him to stay his hand, and graciously pardon
+their offences. Murray was not unwilling to do so, provided they would
+give assurances and pledges of their future conduct.
+
+It was found impossible, however, to come to terms. The sureties offered
+did not satisfy the Regent, and he at once set about the wholesale work of
+destruction which he had formerly planned. He was determined to do the
+work thoroughly when he had begun. Everything that would burn was given to
+the flames. Not a single house was left standing. He spent a Sunday night
+in the castle of Mangerton, and when he left next morning he had the
+satisfaction of seeing it reduced to a heap of ruins. This destructive
+invasion must have taxed the energies of his large army, as it is said
+that the Armstrongs and Elliots had fifty keeps and castles on the banks
+of the Liddle. It is one thing, however, to destroy the rookeries; it is
+another and totally different thing to exterminate the crows. The Border
+thieves were not difficult to accommodate. They were inured to hardship.
+It was a necessity of their mode of life. Their "peels" and "towers" might
+be in ruins, but it never seemed to have occurred to them to go elsewhere,
+at least for any length of time. As soon as the avenging army had
+withdrawn, they were back to their old haunts, and in a short time had
+them as comfortable as ever. When a community has been demoralized by long
+continued misgovernment, the mere application of brute force does not go
+far in the way of restraining them, or helping them toward a better mode
+of life--a lesson which governments are often slow to learn.
+
+But this work of "dauntoning the thieves" was also occasionally undertaken
+by the wardens with considerable heartiness, more especially when dealing
+with unfortunate culprits from the opposite wardenry. Sir Robert Cary
+frequently distinguished himself in this way. In his chatty and
+interesting "Memoirs," he tells a story of one _Geordie Bourne_, whom he
+caused to be hanged on account of his villainies. It is to be hoped that
+the picture he has drawn of this man is not representative of the reivers
+as a whole, as it is hardly possible to conceive of a more consummate
+scoundrel. We shall let the warden tell the story in his own words. He
+says:--"This gallant with some of his associates, would, in a bravery,
+come and take goods in the East March. I had that night some of the
+garrison abroad. They met with this Geordie and his fellows driving off
+cattle before them. The garrison set upon them, and with a shot killed
+Geordie Bourne's uncle, and he himself bravely resisting, till he was sore
+hurt in the head, was taken. After he was taken, his pride was such as he
+asked who it was that durst avow that night's work? But when he heard it
+was the garrison, he was then more quiet. But so powerful and awful was
+this Sir Robert Car and his favourites, as there was not a gentleman in
+the East March that durst offend them. Presently, after he was taken, I
+had most of the gentlemen of the March come to me, and told me that now I
+had the ball at my foot, and might bring Sir Robert Car to what condition
+I pleased; for this man's life was so near and dear to him, as I should
+have all that heart could desire for the good and quiet of the country and
+myself, if upon any condition I would give him his life. I heard them and
+their reasons; notwithstanding, I called a jury the next morning, and he
+was found guilty of March treason. Then they feared that I would cause him
+to be executed that afternoon, which made them come flocking to me that I
+should spare his life till the next day; and if Sir Robert Car came not
+himself to me, and made me not such proffers as I could not but accept,
+then I should do with him what I pleased. And, further, they told me
+plainly that if I should execute him before I heard from Sir Robert Car,
+they must be forced to quit their houses and fly the country; for his fury
+would be such against me and the March I commanded, as he would use all
+his power and strength to the utter destruction of the East March. They
+were so earnest with me, that I gave them my word he should not die that
+day. There was post upon post sent to Sir Robert Car; and some of them
+rode to him themselves to advertise him in what danger Geordie Bourne was;
+how he was condemned, and should have been executed that afternoon, but,
+by their humble suit, I gave them my word that he should not die that day;
+and therefore besought him that he would send to me with all speed he
+could, to let me know that he would be next day with me to offer good
+conditions for the safety of his life. When all things were quiet and the
+watch set at night, after supper, about ten of the clock, I took one of my
+men's liveries and put it about me, and took two other of my servants with
+me in their liveries, and we three, as the warden's men, came to the
+Provost Marshal's, where Bourne was, and were let into his chamber. We sat
+down by him, and told him that we were desirous to see him, because we
+heard he was stout and valiant and true to his friend; and that we were
+sorry our master could not be moved to spare his life. He voluntarily of
+himself said that he had lived long enough to do so many villainies as he
+had done, and withal told us that he had lain with above forty men's
+wives, what in England, what in Scotland; and that he had killed seven
+Englishmen with his own hand, cruelly murdering them; that he had spent
+his whole time in whoring, drinking, stealing, and taking deep revenge for
+slight offences. He seemed to be very penitent, and much desired a
+minister for the comfort of his soul. We promised him to let our master
+know his desire, who, we knew, would presently grant it. We took our leave
+of him, and presently I took order that Mr Selby, a very worthy honest
+preacher, should go to him, and not stir from him till his execution the
+next morning; for after I had heard his own confession, I was resolved no
+conditions should save his life; and so took order that, at the gate's
+opening next morning, he should be carried to execution, which accordingly
+was performed."[64]
+
+Milder measures were sometimes adopted, and proved surprisingly
+efficacious--in certain circumstances. Before Sir Robert Cary was warden
+of the East March he was deputy to Lord Scrope, his brother-in-law, who
+was warden of the West March, with his headquarters in Carlisle. On one
+occasion, when occupying this subordinate position, intelligence was
+brought to him that two Scotsmen had killed a churchman in Scotland, and
+that they had been relieved or sheltered by one of the Graemes of Netherby.
+Cary determined to surprise the fugitive Scots, and about two o'clock one
+morning surrounded the Tower of Netherby with twenty-five horsemen. As he
+approached he saw a boy riding from the house as fast as his horse could
+carry him. Thomas Carelton came to him and said, "Do you see that boy that
+rideth away as fast? He will be in Scotland within this half hour, and he
+is gone to let them know that you are here, and the small number you have
+with you; and that if they make haste, on a sudden they may surprise us,
+and do with us what they please." But Cary was not to be frightened. He
+soon gathered together three or four hundred horse from the surrounding
+district and as many foot, and presently set to work to get to the top of
+the strong tower into which the Scots had fled for refuge. The Scots,
+seeing how things were going, pled for mercy. "They had no sooner opened
+the iron gate," says Cary, "and yielded themselves my prisoners, but we
+might see four hundred horse within a quarter of a mile coming to their
+rescue, and to surprise me and my small company; but of a sudden they
+stayed, and stood at gaze. Then had I more to do than ever, for all our
+Borderers came crying with full mouths, 'Sir, give us leave to set upon
+them, for these are they that have killed our fathers, our brothers, our
+uncles, and our cousins; and they are come, thinking to surprise you, upon
+weak grass nags,[65] such as they could get on a sudden; and God will put
+them into your hands, that we may take revenge of them for much blood that
+they have spilled of ours.' I desired that they would be patient and wise,
+and bethought myself, if I should give them their wills, there should be
+few or none of them (the Scots) that would escape unkilled (there were so
+many deadly feuds among them), and therefore I resolved with myself to
+give a fair answer, but not to give them their desire. So I told them that
+if I were not there myself, they might do what pleased themselves; but
+being present, if I should give them leave, the blood that had been spilt
+that day would lie very heavy on my conscience, and therefore I desired
+them, for my sake, to forbear; and if the Scots did not presently make
+away with all the speed they could upon my sending to them, they should
+then have their wills to do what they pleased. They were ill satisfied
+with my answer, but durst not disobey. I sent with speed to the Scots, and
+bade them pack away with all the speed they could, for if they stayed the
+messengers' return, there should few of them return to their own home.
+They made no stay, but they were turned homewards before the messenger had
+made an end of his message. Thus, by God's mercy and by my means, there
+were a great many lives spared that day."[66]
+
+Thus ended happily what might otherwise have proved a disastrous
+encounter. Such incidents tend to prove that the Borderers might have been
+governed with comparative ease had they only been dealt with in a firm but
+kindly spirit. The rough usage to which they were frequently subjected at
+the hands of the government made them reckless, and not unnaturally led
+them to regard the law not as a friend, but as an enemy.
+
+
+
+
+IX.
+
+LIDDESDALE LIMMERS.
+
+  "_Wicked thieves and limmers._"
+
+                                   ACT OF PARLIAMENT.
+
+
+  "Thir limmer thieves, they have good hearts,
+    They nevir think to be o'erthrown;
+  Three banners against Weardale men they bare,
+    As if the world had been their own."
+
+                                   ROOKHOPE RYDE.
+
+
+Though reiving may be said to have been a characteristic of the
+inhabitants along the whole Border line from Berwick to the Solway, yet it
+was only in the district known as Liddesdale where it attained, what we
+might designate, its complete development as a thoroughly organized
+system. This part of Roxburghshire is, to a certain extent, detached from
+the rest of the county by reason of the fact that it lies south of the
+range of hills which form the watershed between the Solway and the German
+Ocean. This picturesque and interesting district, so famous in Border song
+and story, is of a somewhat triangular shape, and at present forms one of
+the largest parishes in the south of Scotland, measuring some twenty miles
+by fourteen. It is bounded by England on the south, by Dumfriesshire on
+the west, and by the parishes of Teviothead, Hobkirk, and Southdean on
+the north. The upper, or northern, portion is mountainous and bleak. Some
+of the hills along its boundaries are high and precipitous, the lofty
+peaks of Millenwood Fell and Windhead attaining an elevation of close on
+2000 feet. Tudhope hill, which forms a landmark for ships at sea, is 1830
+feet high. The lower end of the district is less mountainous, but the
+whole country is wild and bare, except in the valleys, which are clothed
+in the richest green, and are sunny and sheltered.
+
+Along the banks of the Hermitage and the Liddle--the latter stream giving
+its name to the district--the keeps and peels of the Border reivers were
+thickly and picturesquely planted. These towers, many of which have been
+happily preserved, form one of the most striking features of the Border
+landscape. As a general rule they were built in some situation of great
+natural strength, on a precipice, or close to the banks of a stream, or
+surrounded by woods and morasses, which made them difficult of access. The
+position in which they were generally placed indicated at a glance the
+pursuits and apprehensions of their inhabitants. It is said that when
+James VI. approached the castle of Lochwood, the ancient seat of the
+Johnstones, he exclaimed that "the man who built it must have been a knave
+in his heart."
+
+The principal part of these strongholds consisted of a large square tower,
+called a "keep," having walls of immense thickness, which could be easily
+defended against any sudden or desultory assault. The residencies of the
+inferior Chiefs, called "peels" or "bastel-houses," were generally built
+on a much smaller scale, and consisted merely of a high square tower,
+surrounded by an outer wall, which served as a protection for cattle at
+night. In these places the rooms were placed, one above the other, and
+connected by a narrow stair, which was easily blocked up or defended, so
+that it was possible for the garrison to hold out for a considerable
+period, even after the lower storey had been taken possession of by the
+enemy. In such circumstances the usual device was for the assailants to
+heap together quantities of wetted straw, and set fire to it in order to
+drive the defenders from storey to storey, and thus compel them to
+surrender.
+
+"In each village or town," says Sir Walter Scott, "were several small
+towers having battlements projecting over the side walls, and usually an
+advanced angle or two, with shot-holes for flanking the doorway, which was
+always defended by a strong door of oak, studded with nails, and often by
+an interior door of iron. These small peel-houses were ordinarily
+inhabited by the principal feuars and their families. Upon the alarm of
+approaching danger, the whole inhabitants thronged from their miserable
+cottages, which were situated around, to garrison these places of
+defence. It was then no easy matter for an hostile party to penetrate into
+the village, for the men were habituated to the use of bow and fire-arms;
+and the towers being generally so placed that the discharge from one
+crossed that from another, it was impossible to assault any of them
+individually."
+
+In the middle of the sixteenth century there were no fewer than sixteen of
+these bastel-houses in the village of Lessudden, a fact which shows that
+the inhabitants of the Border were compelled to live under somewhat
+peculiar conditions. To follow the ordinary occupations of life was, in
+most cases, all but impossible.
+
+One of the most important strongholds on the Borders was Hermitage, a
+well-built castle, placed near the watershed, on the banks of a
+swift-flowing mountain stream--the Hermitage water, which joins the Liddle
+a little above the village of Newcastleton. This famous Border tower was
+built and fortified by Walter, Earl of Menteith, in the beginning of the
+thirteenth century. It was a royal fortress, built and maintained for the
+defence of the Kingdom. Numerous interesting associations cluster around
+its mouldering walls. It has, unhappily, been the scene of many a
+blood-curdling tragedy. Could its massive walls only recount the deeds
+which have been done under their shadow, they would many a strange tale
+unfold. Hermitage was long associated with the name of Lord Soulis, a
+fiend in human form, whose crimes have been painted in blackest hues, and
+to whom tradition has ascribed almost every conceivable kind and degree of
+wickedness. He seems, at least, to have been utterly destitute of the
+divine quality of mercy.
+
+  "The axe he bears, it hacks and tears;
+    'Tis form'd of an earth-fast flint;
+  No armour of knight, tho' ever so wight,
+    Can bear its deadly dint.
+
+  No danger he fears, for a charm'd sword he wears,
+    Of adderstone the hilt;
+  No Tynedale knight had ever such might,
+    But his heart-blood was spilt."
+
+He invited the young laird of Mangerton to a feast, and treacherously
+murdered him. The "Cout of Keeldar," also, was drowned by the retainers of
+Lord Soulis in a pool near the castle, being held down in the water by the
+spears of his murderers.
+
+  "And now young Keeldar reach'd the stream,
+    Above the foamy linn;
+  The Border lances round him gleam,
+    And force the warrior in.
+
+  The holly floated to the side,
+    And the leaf on the rowan pale;
+  Alas! no spell could charm the tide,
+    Nor the lance of Liddesdale.
+
+  Swift was the Cout o' Keeldar's course
+    Along the lily lee;
+  But home came never hound nor horse,
+    And never home came he.
+
+  Where weeps the birch with branches green,
+    Without the holy ground,
+  Between two old gray stones is seen
+    The warrior's ridgy mound.
+
+  And the hunters bold, of Keeldar's train,
+    Within yon castle's wall,
+  In a deadly sleep must aye remain,
+    Till the ruin'd towers down fall.
+
+  Each in his hunter's garb array'd,
+    Each holds his bugle horn;
+  Their keen hounds at their feet are laid
+    That ne'er shall wake the morn."
+
+Tradition says that, when the people complained to the King of the
+atrocities committed by Lord Soulis, he said to them in a fit of
+irritation--"Go, boil Lord Soulis and ye list, but let me hear no more of
+him." No sooner said than done--
+
+  "On a circle of stones they placed the pot,
+    On a circle of stones but barely nine;
+  They heated it red and fiery hot,
+    Till the burnish'd brass did glimmer and shine.
+
+  They roll'd him up in a sheet of lead,
+    A sheet of lead for a funeral pall;
+  They plunged him in the cauldron red,
+    And melted him, lead, and bones and all.
+
+  At the Skelfhill, the cauldron still
+    The men of Liddesdale can show;
+  And on the spot where they boil'd the pot
+    The spreat and the deer-hair ne'er shall grow."
+
+At a place called the "Nine Stane Rig" there may still be seen a circle of
+stones where it is supposed this gruesome tragedy was enacted. The
+"cauldron red," in which Lord Soulis was boiled, is now in the possession
+of the Duke of Buccleuch. The Nine Stane Rig derived its name from an old
+Druidical circle of upright stones, nine of which remained to a late
+period. Two of these are particularly pointed out as those that supported
+the iron bar upon which the fatal cauldron was suspended.
+
+The castle of Hermitage ultimately passed into the possession of the
+Douglasses, and became the principal stronghold of the "Black Knight of
+Liddisdale," a natural son of the good Lord James Douglas, the trusted
+friend and companion of Bruce. In the year 1342 it was the scene of the
+following terrible tragedy:
+
+Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie, a brave and patriotic Scottish baron,
+who had specially distinguished himself in the wars with England, was
+appointed governor of the castle of Roxburgh and Sheriff of Teviotdale.
+Douglas, who had formerly held the office of Sheriff, was enraged when he
+heard what had occurred, and vowed revenge against Ramsay, his old
+companion in arms. He came suddenly upon him with a strong party of his
+vassals while he was holding his court in the church of Hawick. Ramsay,
+suspecting no harm, invited Douglas to take a seat beside him. The
+ferocious warrior, drawing his sword, rushed upon his victim, wounded him,
+threw him across his horse, and carried him off to the remote and
+inaccessible castle of Hermitage. There he was thrown into a dungeon, and
+left to perish of hunger. It is said that his miserable existence was
+prolonged for seventeen days by some particles of corn which fell from a
+granary above his prison. Tytler, in commenting on this abominable crime,
+justly remarks:--"It is a melancholy reflection that a fate so horrid
+befell one of the bravest and most popular leaders of the Scottish nation,
+and that the deed not only passed unrevenged, but that its perpetrator
+received a speedy pardon, and was rewarded by the office which led to the
+murder."
+
+In later times Hermitage is chiefly associated with the names of Bothwell
+and Buccleuch. It is still in the possession of the latter noble family,
+and is one of the most interesting of all the old Border castles.
+
+In the olden time Liddesdale was chiefly inhabited by two numerous and
+powerful families--the Armstrongs and the Elliots. The laird of Mangerton
+was the head of the former, and the laird of Redheugh of the latter. Both
+families were, almost without exception, notorious freebooters. Reiving
+was the business of their lives. They were inspired, if not with a noble,
+at least with an overmastering enthusiasm for their nefarious calling.
+They were strongly of opinion that all property was common by the law of
+nature, and that the greatest thief was the man who had the presumption
+to call anything his own! Might was right.
+
+  "They may take who have the power,
+  And they may keep who can."
+
+It was, no doubt, a simple rule, but the consequences resulting from its
+application were not always of an agreeable description.
+
+It is said that the original name of the Armstrongs was _Fairbairn_, and
+that the change of name was brought about by a curious incident. The King
+on one occasion asked a Fairbairn to help him to mount his horse.
+Stretching out his arm, he caught the King by the thigh, and lifted him
+into his saddle. From henceforth he was known by the name of _Armstrong_.
+
+The name "Elliot" has undergone considerable changes. It is spelled in
+some of the older documents in at least seventy or eighty different ways,
+the most common being Ellwood, Elwald, Elwand, Hellwodd, Halliot, Allat,
+Elliot. It is remarkable that in many districts in the south of Scotland
+the name is still pronounced "Allat," though this is one of the older
+forms in which it appears.
+
+The Elliots and Armstrongs and other inhabitants of Liddesdale attained an
+unenviable notoriety. The picture which Maitland has drawn of these
+"Liddesdale Limmers" may be here and there too highly coloured; yet those
+who are most familiar with the facts of Border history will be the first
+to admit that it is, on the whole, a fairly accurate description. It is
+entitled, "A Complaynt against the Thieves of Liddesdale"--
+
+  "Of Liddesdale the common thieves,
+  Sae pertly steals now and reives,
+    That nane may keep
+    Horse, nolt, nor sheep
+  For their mischieves.
+
+  They plainly through the country rides,
+  I trow the mickle devil them guides,
+    Where they onset
+    Ay in their gait,
+    There is no yett,
+  Nor door them bides.
+
+  They leave richt nocht wherever they gae;
+  There can nae thing be hid them frae;
+    For gif men wald
+    Their houses hald,
+    Then wax they bald
+  To burn and slay.
+
+  They thieves hae near hand herrit hail,
+  Ettrick Forest and Lauderdale;
+    Now are they gane
+    To Lothiane,
+    And spares nane
+  That they will wail.
+
+  Bot common taking of blackmail,
+  They that had flesh, and bread, and ale,
+    Now are sae wrackit,
+    Made bare and naikit,
+    Fain to be slaikit,
+  With water caill.
+
+  They thieves that steals and turses[67] hame,
+  Ilk ane o' them has ane to-name,
+    Will i' the Laws,
+    Hab o' the Shaws,
+    To mak bare wa's
+  They think nae shame.
+
+  They spulyie puir men o' their packs,
+  They leave them nocht on bed or balks,[68]
+    Baith hen and cock,
+    With reel and rock,
+    The Laird's jock,
+  All with him taks.
+
+  They leave not spindle, spoon, nor speit,
+  Bed, blanket, bolster, sark, nor sheet,
+    John o' the Park
+    Rypes kist and ark;
+    For all sic wark
+  He is richt meet.
+
+  He is weel kenned, Jock o' the Syde--
+  A greater thief did never ride;
+    He never tires
+    For to break byres;
+    O'er muir and mires,
+  Ower guid ane guid.
+
+  Of stouth though now they come guid speed,
+  That nother of God or man has dread;
+    Yet or I dee,
+    Some shall them see
+    Hing on a tree,
+  While they be dead."
+
+
+It is evident from this graphic account that these "Liddesdale limmers"
+were not particular as to their booty. They carried off everything that
+came to hand, on the principle, perhaps, that if they had no particular
+use for some of the things they appropriated, they were at least leaving
+their enemies poorer than when they found them. We read of one John Foster
+of Heathpool, servant to Sir John Foster, complaining of John Elliot of
+the Heughehouse, Clement Croser, "Martin's Clemye," John Croser, "Eddie's
+John," Gib Foster of Fowlesheiles, &c., to the number of thirty, "who
+stole six oxen, 6 kye, 4 young nowte, ane horse, a nag, a sword, a steil
+cap, a dagger and knives, 2 spears, 2 dublets, 2 pair of breeches, a
+cloke, a jerkyne, a woman's kertle and a pair of sleaves, 9 kerchers, 7
+railes, 7 partlettes, 5 pair of line(n) sheitis, 2 coverlettes; 2 lynne
+sheits; a purs and 6/- in monie; a woman's purs and 2 silke rybbons; a
+windinge clothe; a feather bed; a cawdron, a panne, 4 bond of hempe, a
+pair of wool cards, 4 children's coates, &c., &c."[69]
+
+The list of goods here "appropriated" by John Elliot and his friends is an
+interesting one, as it shows "that all was fish that came to their
+net"--not even the "winding cloth" being discarded when ransacking the
+house. We also find an account of one Robert Rutherford of Todlaw
+producing a "remission for art and part of the theft of certain cuschies
+of silk, sheits, fustiane, linen cloths, scarfs, fustiane, scarfs, and
+other clothes, furth of the Kirk of Jedworthe--Robert Turnbull of
+Blindhalche becoming surety to satisfy parties."[70] Sacrilege was of
+frequent occurrence. We also find the following entry in
+Pitcairn:--"Remission to Edward Tayt, for the thiftwise breking of the
+Kirk of Hendirland, and takin away of certaine guids, gold and silver, fra
+Sir Wilzeame Jurdane." This happened in the year 1493, which points to the
+fact that at that date the church of Henderland, which stood on the
+rounded eminence near Henderland farm house, where "Perys and Marjorie
+Cockburn" have found their last resting place, was then in existence. This
+place of worship must have disappeared about the time of the Reformation.
+
+These items of information, curious though they may appear, must not be
+regarded as abnormal instances of the rapacity of the Liddesdale thieves,
+or "limmers"--to use the designation of an old Act of the Scottish
+Parliament. They simply denote ordinary incidents of Border reiving.
+"Kist" and "ark" were made to yield up their treasures. "Insight gear"
+included everything to be found within the four walls of the house. The
+very children were sometimes carried off! When the thieves had completed
+their task those whom they had plundered were occasionally left in a state
+of absolute destitution. They might congratulate themselves when they
+were able to keep their clothes on their backs! Some, indeed, were not so
+fortunate; and, after an encounter with the thieves, were compelled to
+face the rigour of a severe climate with an exceedingly primitive outfit.
+
+It is interesting to find that the clan system prevailed on the Borders,
+especially in the south-west portion of the district. In Liddesdale, in
+the district known as the Debateable land, and along the shores of the
+Solway, the inhabitants were grouped into clans, many of them numerous and
+powerful. According to Skene, "the word clan signifies children or
+descendants, and the clan name thus implies that the members of it are, or
+were supposed to be, descended from a common ancestor or eponymus, and
+they were distinguished from each other by their patronymics, the use of
+surnames in the proper sense of the term being unknown among them. These
+patronymics, in the case of the _Caenncine_, or chief, and the
+_Ceanntighs_, or heads of the smaller septs, indicated their descent from
+the founder of the race or sept; those of the members of it who were of
+the kin of the Chief or Chieftain showed the personal relation; while the
+commonality of the clan simply used a derivative form of the name of the
+clan, implying merely that they belonged to it."[71]
+
+This form of government, so essentially patriarchal in its nature, is at
+once the most simple and universal. It is derived from the most primitive
+idea of authority exercised by a father over his family. Among nations of
+a Celtic origin this system was universal. Indeed, it is generally held
+that it is a system peculiar to Celtic tribes. How it came to be
+established on the Borders is a question which is not easily solved. Sir
+Walter Scott is of opinion that the system was originally derived from the
+inhabitants of the western portion of Valentia, who remained unsubdued by
+the Saxons, and by those of Reged, and the modern Cumberland. He says that
+the system was not so universal on the eastern part of the Marches, or on
+the opposite Borders of England. There were many families of distinction
+who exercised the same feudal and territorial authority that was possessed
+by other landlords throughout England. But in the dales of Rede and Tyne,
+as well as in the neighbouring county of Cumberland, the ancient custom of
+clanship prevailed, and consequently the inhabitants of those districts
+acted less under the direction of their landlords than under that of the
+principal men of their name.[72]
+
+It is important that this fact should be kept steadily in mind, as the
+mode of government, of living, and of making war, adopted by the Borderers
+on both sides, seems to have been in great measure the consequence of the
+prevailing system of clanship.
+
+It is the simplest of all possible systems of government. The Chief was
+not only the legislator and captain and father of the tribe, but it was to
+him that each individual of the name looked up for advice, subsistance,
+protection, and revenge.
+
+In "Skene's Acts of Parliament" a Roll of the Border clans is given, from
+which it would appear that there were SEVENTEEN distinct septs, or
+families, mostly in the south-western portion of the Scottish Borders. The
+_Middle March_ was inhabited by Elliots, Armstrongs, Nicksons, and
+Crosiers. The _West March_ by Scotts, Beatisons, Littles, Thomsones,
+Glendinnings, Irvinges, Belles, Carrutherses, Grahams, Johnstones,
+Jardines, Moffettes, and Latimers. These clans are described as having
+"Captaines, Chieftaines, quhome on they depend, oft-times against the
+willes of their Landislordes." "Ilk ane o' them," according to Maitland,
+had a to-name, or _nickname_, as it is commonly called now-a-days. This
+was a matter of necessity, as otherwise it would have been exceedingly
+difficult to distinguish the different members of the sept. These to-names
+are often suggestive and amusing, as most of them are based on some
+physical or moral peculiarity. In the year 1583 Thomas Musgrave sent an
+interesting letter to Burghley, Chancellor to Queen Elizabeth, in which he
+gives a list of the Armstrongs and Elliots. "I understand," he says, "that
+your lordship is not well acquainted with the names of the waters, and
+the dwelling places of the riders and ill-doers both of England and
+Scotland.... May it please, therefore, your lordship to understand, that
+the ryver Lyddal is a fayre ryver, and hath her course doun by Lyddisdall,
+so as the dale hath the name of the ryver.... I shall therefore set downe
+the Ellottes of the head of Lyddall as my skyll will afforde, that your
+lordship may know the better when their deeds shall come in question. The
+Ellotes of Lyddisdall:--Robin Ellot of the Redheugh, Chiefe of the
+Ellottes; Will Ellot of Harskarth his brother; Gebbe Ellot his brother;
+Adam Ellot of the Shaws; Arche Ellot called Fyre the brayes; Gybbe Ellot
+of the Shawes; Gorth Simson; Martin Ellot called Rytchis Martin. All these
+are Robin Ellotes brethren, or his men that are daly at his commandement.
+The grayne of the Ellotes called the Barneheedes:--Joke Ellot called Halfe
+loges. The grayne of the Ellottes of the Bark:--Sims Johne Ellot of the
+Park; Will Ellot, gray Willie; Hobbe Ellot called Scotes Hobbe; Johne
+Ellot of the Park; Jem Ellote called gray Wills Jeme; Hobbe Ellot called
+Hobbs Hobbe. The grayne of Martin Ellot of Bradley:--Gowan Ellot called
+the Clarke; Hobbe Ellot his brother; Arche Ellot his brother; Joke Ellot
+called Copshawe; John Ellot of Thornesope; Will Ellot of the Steele; Dand
+Ellot of the Brandley; John Ellot of the same; Seme Ellot of Hardin. All
+theise Ellots and manie more of them are at Robin Ellot's commandment and
+dwell betwixt the Armstrongs in Lyddisdall and Whethough town--fewe of
+them marryed with Englishe women." Then follows a long list of the
+"Armstrongs of Mangerton," and of the "Howse of Whetaughe Towre." Some of
+the names in the list are amusingly suggestive--"Seme Armestronge lord of
+Mangerton marryed John Foster's daughter of Kyrshopefoot; Joke Armestronge
+called the "lord's Joke" dwelleth under Dennyshill besides Kyrsope in
+Denisborne, and married Anton Armestrong's daughter of Wylyare in
+Gilsland; Johne Armestronge called "the lordes Johne," marryet Rytche
+Grayme's sister.... Thomas Armestrong called "the lordes Tome."... Runyon
+Armestrong called "the lordes Runyon."... Thom Armestronge Sims Thom,
+marryed Wat Storyes daughter of Eske, called Wat of the Hare ends."[73]
+
+We also read of "Thomas Abye," "Gawins Will," "Red Andrew," "Bangtale,"
+"Ould Hector of Harlaw," "Stowlugs," "Cokespoole," "Skinabake," "Carhand,"
+"Hob the Tailor," "Redneb," &c.
+
+Among the Elliots we find such to-names as "Long John," "John the Child,"
+"John Cull the spade," "Bessie's Wife's Riche," "Robin the Bastard of
+Glenvoren," &c. One of the family of Nixon was known as "Ill Drooned
+Geordie," a name which seems to indicate that the person who bore it had
+had at one time or another a narrow escape from what perhaps was his
+righteous doom. "Wynking Will,"[74] "Wry-Crag," "David the Leddy," and
+"Hob the King," are sufficiently explicit.
+
+These are a fair sample of the _to-names_ by which the thieves of
+Liddesdale were distinguished. It must be admitted, however, that many of
+them are not quite so respectable as those given, and would hardly admit
+of reproduction in a modern book. The men to whom they were assigned must
+have been regarded, one would naturally suppose, as utterly disreputable
+characters, even by those who associated with them in the invidious
+calling to which they were devoted.
+
+It is probable that the men of Liddesdale were to a certain extent
+corrupted by their propinquity to the lawless hordes which inhabited the
+Debateable land. This was a tract of country lying between the Esk and the
+Sark, of some fifty or sixty square miles in extent, which was regarded as
+belonging neither to the one kingdom nor the other. Here the "Genius of
+Misrule," for many generations, held all but undisputed sway. The Graemes,
+Littles, and Bells, and other "broken men" of equally unenviable
+reputation, found in this district a convenient centre for conducting
+their marauding exploits. It was a matter of no moment to them whether
+their victims belonged to the one country or the other. They were as
+destitute of patriotism as of the other virtues. When they were hard
+driven by the English, they claimed the protection of the Scottish warden;
+and when he in his turn had accounts to settle with them, they appealed to
+his English rival in office to shield them from vengeance. In this way
+they often succeeded in escaping the punishment due to their misdeeds,
+where others, less happily circumstanced, would have been speedily
+compelled to "underlie the law." In course of time this state of matters
+became intolerable, and it was resolved by the Scottish Council in the
+year 1552 that this district should be divided, the one part to be placed
+under the jurisdiction of England, the other under that of Scotland.
+Accordingly, a Commission, on which were representatives of both nations,
+was appointed to settle, if possible, this long-standing difficulty. These
+commissioners were allowed the utmost freedom of judgment in fixing upon a
+proper boundary line, as both governments were agreed that minor
+difficulties, as to the extent of territory to be allocated to the one
+country or the other, should not be allowed to stand in the way. The final
+decision was not so easily arrived at as might, in the circumstances, have
+been expected. The Scots drew the line considerably to the south, the
+English to the north, of the boundary finally agreed upon. After
+considerable discussion, a line was ultimately fixed which satisfied both
+parties, and a turf dyke was built, stretching from the Sark to the Esk,
+which is still known as the Scots Dyke.
+
+This was an important step. The boundary was finally settled. The wardens
+knew the precise limits to which their power and authority extended, and
+were thus in a position to discharge the duties of their office with more
+assured certainty of success. But, as might have been anticipated, the
+fixing of a boundary line did not eradicate, or even to any great extent
+restrain, the thieving propensities of the lawless inhabitants of this
+district. The Debateable land continued to nourish "ane great company of
+thieves and traitores, to the great hurt and skaith of the honest lieges"
+as in times by-past. But a good beginning had been made in fixing the
+boundaries, and in course of time more favourable results ensued.
+
+It would be unwarrantable to assert that the Liddesdale thieves attained
+their unenviable notoriety entirely owing to their intimate association
+with the fierce banditti to whom reference has been made. The Armstrongs
+and Elliotts needed no encouragement in the carrying on of their nefarious
+business of plunder. They were evidently heartily in love with their
+calling, and were never happier than when engaged in a marauding
+expedition. But apart from the fact that "evil communications corrupt good
+manners," the near neighbourhood of the Debateable land constituted an
+indirect incentive to crime. In the great deer forests of the Highlands
+there are what are called "sanctuaries," or places to which the deer may
+resort to escape the huntsman. We are told that when they are disturbed on
+the mountains, they at once make for the protected area, where they know
+they are safe from pursuit. The Debateable land constituted for
+generations just such a "sanctuary," or place of refuge for Border
+thieves. Here they were comparatively safe. The district formed a little
+kingdom by itself. Within this region the law was comparatively powerless.
+
+But we find that the "Liddesdale limmers" were occasionally driven to bay
+in the most effectual manner. Sir Robert Cary on one occasion gave them a
+salutary lesson, which they did not soon forget. The Armstrongs
+especially, a powerful and turbulent clan, had long carried things with a
+high hand on the English Border, burning, despoiling, and slaying to their
+hearts' content. This state of matters had at last become intolerable, and
+Cary determined to have it out with them. He called the gentlemen of the
+neighbourhood together, and acquainted them with the miseries which had
+been brought upon the people by the rapacity and cruelty of the
+Liddesdale thieves. They advised him to apply to the Queen and Council for
+assistance, but this he was unwilling to do, as he thought he was quite
+able, with the resources at his command, to effectually suppress the
+lawless horde which had wrought such havoc within his wardenry. He
+says:--"I told them my intention what I meant to do, which was, 'that
+myself, with my two deputies, and the forty horse that I was allowed,
+would, with what speed we could, make ourselves ready to go up to the
+wastes, and there we would entrench ourselves, and lie as near as we could
+to the outlaws; and, if there were any brave spirits among them, that
+would go with us, they should be very welcome, and fare and lie as well as
+myself: and I did not doubt before the summer ended to do something that
+should abate the pride of these outlaws.'" With this comparatively small
+force he set out for Liddesdale. He built a fort on a hill in the
+immediate vicinity of Tarras moss, into which the thieves, when they
+learned of his approach, had fled for refuge. Here Cary and his men stayed
+from the middle of June till near the end of August. The country people
+supplied him with provisions, being well paid for anything they brought to
+him. "The chief outlaws," he says, "at our coming, fled their houses where
+they dwelt, and betook themselves to a large and great forest, (with all
+their goods,) which was called the Tarras. It was of that strength, and
+so surrounded with bog and marsh grounds, and thick bushes and shrubs, as
+they feared not the force nor power of England or Scotland, so long as
+they were there. They sent me word, that I was like the first puff of a
+haggis, hottest at the first, and bade me stay there as long as the
+weather would give me leave. They would stay in the Tarras-wood, till I
+was weary of lying in the waste; and when I had had my time, and they no
+whit the worse, they would play their parts, which should keep me waking
+next winter. Those gentlemen of the country that came not with me, were of
+the same mind; for they knew, (or thought at least,) that my force was not
+sufficient to withstand the fury of the outlaws. The time I stayed at the
+fort I was not idle, but cast, by all means I could, how to take them in
+the great strength they were in. I found a means to send a hundred and
+fifty horsemen into Scotland, (conveighed by a muffled man, not known to
+any of the company,) thirty miles within Scotland; and the business was so
+carried, that none in the country took any alarm at this passage. They
+were quietly brought to the backside of the Tarras, to Scotland-ward.
+There they divided themselves into three parts, and took up three passages
+which the outlaws made themselves secure of, if from England side they
+should at any time be put at. They had their scouts on the tops of hills,
+on the English side, to give them warning if at any time any power of men
+should come to surprise them. The three ambushes were safely laid, without
+being discovered, and, about four o'clock in the morning, there were three
+hundred horse, and a thousand foot, that came directly to the place where
+the scouts lay. They gave the alarm; our men broke down as fast as they
+could into the wood. The outlaws thought themselves safe, assuring
+themselves at any time to escape; but they were so strongly set upon on
+the English side, as they were forced to leave their goods, and to betake
+themselves to their passages towards Scotland. There was presently five
+taken of the principal of them. The rest, seeing themselves, as they
+thought, betrayed, retired into the thick woods and bogs, that our men
+durst not follow them, for fear of losing themselves. The principal of the
+five, that were taken, were two of the eldest sons of Sim of Whittram.
+These five they brought me to the fort, and a number of goods, both of
+sheep and kine, which satisfied most part of the country, that they had
+stolen them from....
+
+Thus God blessed me in bringing this great trouble to so quiet an end; we
+broke up our fort, and every man retired to his own house."[75]
+
+Judging from this account, one is led to suppose that the force which Cary
+had at his command was comparatively small. He tells us that he took a
+list of those that offered to go with him, and found that with his
+officers, gentlemen, and servants there would be about two hundred good
+men and horse; a competent number he thought for such a service. But we
+find in a letter which he sent to Cecil that he speaks of having "a 1000
+horse and foot."[76] But whatever may have been the strength of the forces
+at his command, it is quite certain that, on this occasion at least, he
+proved himself more than a match for the "Lewd Liddesdales."
+
+The tradition of this famous raid, which was long preserved in the
+district, differs considerably from the account here given. "The people of
+Liddesdale have retained," says the editor of the "Border Minstrelsy,"
+"the remembrance of _Cary's raid_," as they call it. "They tell that,
+while he was besieging the outlaws in the Tarras, they contrived, by ways
+known only to themselves, to send a party into England, who plundered the
+warden's lands. On their return, they sent Cary one of his own cows,
+telling him that, fearing he might fall short of provisions during his
+visit to Scotland, they had taken the precaution of sending him some
+English beef."
+
+The anecdote is worth preserving, as it indicates how anxious the
+Liddesdale reivers were to forget one of the most unpleasant episodes in
+their history, or at least to make their discomfiture appear in as
+favourable a light as possible.
+
+
+
+
+X.
+
+AFTER THE HUNTING.
+
+  "_Efter the hunting the King hanged Johnie Armstrong._"
+
+                                   PITSCOTTIE.
+
+
+  "Here is ane cord baith grit and lang,
+    Quhilk hangit Johne Armstrang,
+    Of gude hempt soft and sound,
+  Gude haly pepil, I stand ford,
+  Whaevir beis hangit wi' this cord,
+    Neidis never to be drowned!"
+
+                                   SIR DAVID LINDSAY.
+
+
+We have already seen that the Armstrongs were a numerous and powerful
+clan, and that for a considerable period they had been known on the
+Borders as "notour thieves and limmers." They levied blackmail over a wide
+district, and appropriated whatever came readiest to hand with a sublime
+indifference either to neighbourhood or nationality.
+
+  "They stole the beeves that made them broth
+  From Scotland and from England both."
+
+
+King James V. having succeeded in shaking himself free from the tyranny of
+the Douglasses, resolved that he would "daunton" the Border thieves, by
+making them feel the weight of his sword. He made an excellent beginning.
+He imprisoned the Earls of Bothwell and Home, Lord Maxwell Scott, Ker of
+Ferniherst, Scott of Buccleuch, Polworth, Johnston, and Mark Ker.[77] It
+must have been quite evident to the young King, and his counsellors, that
+so long as these Chiefs were at liberty it would be a bootless errand to
+proceed against those who owned them allegiance. The ringleaders must
+first of all be disposed of, and so they were put in ward, there to await
+his Majesty's pleasure. This measure was not devised, as some suppose, for
+the purpose of crushing the nobility. It is absurd to infer that James, a
+youth of seventeen, had projected a deep political plan of this nature.
+The outrages which these men had committed during his minority had excited
+his lively resentment, and he was determined that they should no longer
+maintain bands of lawless followers at the public expense. This necessary
+measure for the pacification of the Borders was wisely devised, and
+promptly executed, and must have produced a deep impression, if not a
+wholesome fear, in the minds of those whom it was intended to influence.
+
+It was in the month of June, 1529, that James set out for Meggatdale,
+accompanied by eight thousand men, lords, barons, freeholders, and
+gentlemen, all well armed, and carrying with them a month's provisions.
+The King commanded all gentlemen that had "doggis that were guid" to
+bring them with them to hunt "in the said bounds." The Earls of Huntley,
+Argyle, and Athol, brought their deerhounds with them, and hunted with his
+Majesty. They came to Meggat, near St. Mary's Loch, and, during their
+short stay in this district, eighteen score of deer were slain.
+
+The tradition is that on this occasion the King captured William Cockburn
+of Henderland, a famous freebooter, and hanged him over his own gate. It
+is quite certain, however, that in regard to this matter the tradition is
+unreliable. In "Pitcairn's Criminal Trials" we find it stated, under date
+May 26th--nearly a month before the King left Edinburgh--that "William
+Cockburne of Henderland was convicted (in presence of the King) of High
+Treason committed by him, in bringing Alexander Forrestare and his son,
+Englishmen, to the plundering of Archibald Somervile: And for treasonably
+bringing certain Englishmen to the lands of Glenquhome: And for Common
+Theft, Common Reset of Theft, outputting and inputting thereof.--Sentence.
+For which causes and crimes he has forfeited his life, lands, and goods,
+moveable and immoveable, which shall be escheated to the
+King.--Beheaded."[78] Such is the brief but authentic record. It
+establishes beyond controversy the fact that Cockburn was apprehended, and
+tried, before the King had left Edinburgh on his famous expedition. The
+tradition that he was hanged over his own gate, must therefore be set
+aside.
+
+The Cockburns were an old and well-known family. One of the Scotts of
+Buccleuch married a daughter of the house, which, on the principle of
+heredity, may help to explain the well-known reiving propensities of some
+branches of this famous clan. In "Pitcairn's Criminal Trials," where so
+much of the ancient history of the great Border families may be read, if
+not with pleasure, at least not without profit, mention is made of various
+Cockburns who distinguished themselves as daring and successful
+freebooters. In the old churchyard of Henderland there is still to be seen
+a large slab bearing the inscription--"Here lyis Perys of Cockburne and
+Hys wife Marjory." There is no date on the tombstone, but the likelihood
+is that this "Perys of Cockburne" was a descendant of the William Cockburn
+whose fate we have just mentioned.
+
+But the most interesting tradition in connection with this family relates
+to the well-known ballad, "The Border Widow's Lament," one of the most
+beautiful, and certainly the most pathetic, of all the Border ballads. It
+has been supposed to describe the feelings of Cockburn's widow when her
+husband was put to death by the King.
+
+  "My love he built me a bonnie bower,
+  And clad it a' wi' lilye flour,
+  A brawer bower ye ne'er did see,
+  Than my true love he built for me.
+
+  There came a man, by middle day,
+  He spied his sport, and went away;
+  And brought the King that very night,
+  Who brake my bower, and slew my knight.
+
+  He slew my knight, to me sae dear;
+  He slew my knight, and poin'd his gear;
+  My servants all for life did flee,
+  And left me in extremitie.
+
+  I sew'd his sheet, making my mane;
+  I watch'd the corpse, myself alane;
+  I watch'd his body, night and day;
+  No living creature came that way.
+
+  I took his body on my back,
+  And whiles I gaed, and whiles I sat;
+  I digg'd a grave, and laid him in,
+  And happ'd him with the sod sae green.
+
+  But think na ye my heart was sair,
+  When I laid the moul' on his yellow hair;
+  O think na ye my heart was wae,
+  When I turned about, awa' to gae?
+
+  Nae living man I'll love again,
+  Since that my lovely knight is slain;
+  Wi' yae lock o' his yellow hair,
+  I'll chain my heart for evermair."
+
+
+This exquisite ballad has probably no connection with Cockburn of
+Henderland,--we feel strongly convinced it has not,--but it is none the
+less interesting, as it is a composition which can well afford to be
+regarded apart altogether from its traditional associations.
+
+There is another tradition which it may be as well to notice in passing.
+It is said that, after hanging Cockburn, the King proceeded to Tushielaw
+to deal in like manner with Adam Scott, well known on the Borders as "The
+King of Thieves." His castle stood on the spur of a hill opposite the
+Rankleburn, on the west side of the river Ettrick, commanding a wide
+out-look in almost every direction. Near it was the famous "Hanging Tree,"
+which was accidentally destroyed by fire only a few years ago, where the
+unlucky captives of this noted outlaw were unceremoniously suspended in
+order to prevent their giving further annoyance. It is said that, on one
+of the branches, a deep groove was worn by the swaying to and fro of the
+fatal rope. It would have been most fitting had this cruel marauder been
+put to death where so many of his victims ended their career. But in this
+instance the tradition, that this actually happened, has been proved to be
+without any foundation in fact. We find in "Pitcairn" an account of Adam
+Scott's trial and execution in Edinburgh. On the 18th May, 1529--just two
+days after Cockburn had "justified the law"--"Adam Scott of Tuschilaw was
+Convicted of art and part of theftuously taking _Black-maill_, from the
+time of his entry within the Castle of Edinburgh, in Ward, from John
+Brown, Hoprow: And of art and part of theftuously taking _Black-maill_
+from Andrew Thorbrand and William, his brother: And of art and part of
+theftuously taking of _Black-maill_ from the poor Tenants of Hopcailzow:
+And of art and part of theftuously taking _Blackmaill_, from the poor
+Tenants of Eschescheill." Then follows the significant
+word--"Beheaded."[79]
+
+The King, therefore, when he passed the castle of Tushielaw with his
+retinue, on his way to Teviotdale to meet Johnie Armstrong, must have had
+the satisfaction of knowing that Adam Scott had gone "where the wicked
+cease from troubling."
+
+He had sent a loving letter, written with "his ain hand sae tenderly," to
+the laird of Gilnockie, requesting him to meet his "liege lord" at a place
+called Carlenrig on the Teviot, some nine miles above Hawick. Various
+accounts have been given by historians, both ancient and modern, as to the
+means adopted by the King to bring about Armstrong's capture and
+execution. Leslie, for example, informs us that "all this summer the King
+took great care to pacify the Borders with a great army, and caused
+forty-eight of the most noble thieves, with Johnie Armstrong, their
+captain, to be taken and hanged on growing trees." He says that "George
+Armstrong, brother of the said Johnie, was pardoned and reserved alive,
+_to tell on the rest_, which he did, and in course of time they were
+apprehended by the King, and punished according to their deserts."[80]
+Pinkerton, who evidently bases his account largely on the information
+supplied by Leslie, enters more fully into particulars. He alleges that
+"by the assistance of George, his brother, who was pardoned on condition
+of betraying the others, John Armstrong, the chief of the name, whose
+robberies had elevated him to opulence and power, was captured and
+suffered the fate of a felon."[81] These statements, definite though they
+are, ought not to be lightly accepted, as the strongest reasons may be
+advanced against this supposition. In the first place, we ought to
+remember that, however many sins and shortcomings the Border reivers may
+be accused of, breach of faith can hardly be reckoned one of them.
+"Hector's Cloak" was a phrase of peculiar opprobrium. It was regarded as
+the symbol of meanness and perfidy. That this one instance of betrayal
+should have been so long remembered, and so thoroughly detested, is an
+unmistakable indication that the Border thieves, bad as they were in many
+respects, were not without a high sense of honour in matters of this kind.
+It is hardly conceivable, therefore, that Armstrong's brother could have
+been guilty of his betrayal. Strong proof would require to be forthcoming
+in support of such a statement; and this is precisely what the historians
+do not give us.
+
+But there are other and more cogent arguments against this view. George
+Armstrong was under no necessity of betraying his brother in order to save
+himself. He could easily have escaped had he been minded to do so. The
+King's authority did not extend beyond the Scottish Border. It is morally
+certain, had Armstrong and his friends ever suspected that James would
+have treated them as he did, they would either have taken refuge in their
+own strongholds and defied him, or crossed the Border into England, where
+they would have been comparatively safe from pursuit. That they did
+neither, but voluntarily came before the King, is strong evidence in
+favour of the supposition that they were enticed by fair promises to place
+themselves within his power. The very fact that Armstrong neither sought
+nor obtained a safe conduct goes to prove that he had the most implicit
+confidence in the clemency, if not the goodwill, of his sovereign. There
+was no betrayal on the part of anyone, save the King himself. This is
+clearly brought to view in the peculiarly graphic and fascinating account
+which "Pitscottie" has given of this memorable incident. He says:--"Efter
+this hunting the King hanged Johnie Armstrong, laird of Gilnockie, quhilk
+monie Scottis man heavilie lamented, for he was ane doubtit man, and als
+guid are chiftane as ever was upon the borderis, aither of Scotland or of
+England. And albeit he was ane lous leivand man, and sustained the number
+of xxiiij. weill horsed able gentlemen with him, yitt he nevir molested no
+Scottis man. Bot it is said, from the Scottis border to Newcastle of
+England, thair was not ane of quhatsoevir estate bot payed to this John
+Armstrong ane tribut to be frie of his cumber, he was sae doubtit in
+England. So when he entred in befoir the King, he cam verie reverentlie,
+with his foresaid number verie richlie apparrelled, trusting, that in
+respect he had cum to the Kingis grace willinglie and voluntarilie, not
+being tain nor apprehendit be the King, he sould obtaine the mair favour.
+Bot when the King saw him and his men so gorgeous in their apparrell, and
+so many braw men under ane tirrantis commandement, throwardlie, he turned
+about his face, and bad tak that tirrant out of his sight, saying, 'Quhat
+wantis yon knave that a King should have.' But when Johnie Armstronge
+perceaved that the King kindled in ane furie againes him, and had no hope
+of his lyff, notwithstanding of many great and fair offeris, quhilk he
+offerred to the King, that is, that he sould sustene himself with fourtie
+gentlemen, ever readie to awaitt upon his majestie's service, and never
+tak a pennie of Scotland, nor Scottis man. Secondlie, that there was not
+ane subject in England, duik, earle, lorde, or barrun, bot within ane
+certane day he sould bring ony of them to his majesty, either quick or
+dead. He seing no hope of the Kingis favour towards him, said verrie
+proudlie, 'I am bot ane fooll to seik grace at ane graceles face. But had
+I knawin, sir, that ye wad have taken my lyff this day, I sould have leved
+upon the borderis in disphyte of King Harie and yow baith; for I knaw King
+Harie wold doun weigh my best hors with gold to knaw that I were
+condemned to die this day.' So he was led to the scaffold, and he and his
+men hanged. This being done, the King returned to Edinburgh, the xxiiij.
+day of July, and remained meikle of that winter in Edinburgh."[82]
+
+This interesting and picturesque account is corroborated by another
+historian, who says: "On the eighth of June the principalls of all the
+surnames of the clannes on the Borders came to the King upon hope of a
+proclamation proclaimed in the King's name that they sould all get their
+lyves, if they would come in and submit themselves to the King's will, and
+so upon this hope Johnie Armstrang, who keipit the castle of Langhame (a
+brother of the laird of Mangerton's, a great thieff and oppressor, and one
+that keiped still with him four-and-twenty well-horsed men), came to the
+King, and another called Ill Will Armstrong, another stark thieff, with
+sundrie of the Scotts and Elliotts, came all forward to the campe where
+the King was in hopes to get their pardons. But no sooner did the King
+persave them, an that they were cum afarre off, when direction was given
+presentlie to enclose them round about, the which was done accordinglie,
+and were all apprehendit, to the number of threttie fyve persons, and at a
+place called Carlaverocke[83] Cheapell, were all committed to the
+gallowes. One Sandy Scot, a prowd thieff, was brunt because it was provin
+that he haid brunt a pure widowes house, together with sum of her
+children. The English people were exceeding glade when they understood
+that John Armstrang was executed, for he did great robberies and stealing
+in England, menteaning 24 men in houshold evorie day upon rieff and
+oppression. The rest delyvered pledges for their good demeanare in tymes
+to cum."[84]
+
+There can be little doubt that Armstrong was cruelly betrayed, not by his
+brother, but by the King--a circumstance which seriously reflects on his
+honour and good name.
+
+The suggestion has been made that this expedition against the laird of
+Gilnockie was undertaken by James at the instigation of Lord Maxwell, who
+was then a ward in Edinburgh. It is certainly a somewhat suspicious
+circumstance that three days after Armstrong's execution Maxwell received
+from the King the gift of all the property, moveable and immoveable, which
+pertained to "umquhill Johne Armstrang, bruther to Thomas Armstrang of
+Mayngerton, and now perteining to our souverane lord be reason of eschete
+throw justefying of the said umquhill Johnie to the deid for thift
+committed be him."[85]
+
+As might be expected, when all the circumstances were taken into
+consideration, the execution of Armstrong and his followers produced a
+profound sensation, and a deep and bitter feeling of resentment. It was
+long believed by the peasantry of the district that, to mark the injustice
+of the deed, the trees on which they were hanged, withered away. On purely
+abstract grounds it may be argued that Armstrong and his men richly
+deserved the punishment meted out to them, but this fact does not
+exonerate the King from the charge of treachery and deceit which has
+justly been brought against him. The measures he adopted to capture the
+quarry were unworthy of a puissant monarch with eight thousand well armed
+men under his command. He might well have paid more respect to the
+principles of honour and fair play.
+
+It is interesting to find that the version of Armstrong's capture and
+execution given in the famous ballad agrees substantially with the
+accounts of Pitscottie and Anderson. There, we are told, that the King
+sent a "loving letter" to Armstrong, inviting him to a conference.
+
+  The King he wrytes a luving letter,
+    With his ain hand sae tenderly,
+  And he hath sent it to Johnie Armstrang,
+    To cum and speik with him speedily.
+
+
+This communication evidently excited no suspicion, and extensive
+preparations were at once made to extend to his Majesty a kind and hearty
+welcome. It was even hoped that he might be induced to dine at Gilnockie!
+
+  The Eliots and Armstrangs did convene;
+    They were a gallant cumpanie--
+  "We'll ride and meet our lawful King,
+    And bring him safe to Gilnockie.
+
+  "Make kinnen[86] and capon ready, then,
+    And venison in great plentie;
+  We'll welcum here our royal King;
+    I hope he'll dine at Gilnockie!"
+
+  They ran their horse on the Langholme howm,
+    And brak their spears wi' mickle main;
+  The ladies lukit frae their lofty windows--
+    "God bring our men weel hame again!"
+
+  When Johnie cam before the King,
+    Wi' a' his men sae brave to see,
+  The King he movit his bonnet to him;
+    He ween'd he was a King as well as he.
+
+According to the balladist, it would seem that Armstrong's ruin was
+brought about by the princely style in which he appeared before his
+sovereign. The King, highly displeased, turned away his head, and
+exclaimed--
+
+  "Away, away, thou traitor strang!
+    Out o' my sight soon mayst thou be!
+  I grantit never a traitor's life,
+    And now I'll not begin wi' thee."
+
+This unexpected outburst of indignation led Armstrong at once to realise
+the perilous position in which he found himself placed. He now felt that,
+if his life was to be spared, he must use every means in his power to
+move the King to clemency. Consequently he promised to give him
+"four-and-twenty milk white steeds," with as much good English gold "as
+four of their braid backs dow[87] bear;" "four-and-twenty ganging mills,"
+and "four-and-twenty sisters' sons" to fight for him; but all these
+tempting offers were refused with disdain. As a last resource, he said--
+
+  "Grant me my life, my liege, my King!
+    And a brave gift I'll gie to thee--
+  All between here and Newcastle town
+    Sall pay their yeirly rent to thee."
+
+This was no idle boast. So powerful had Armstrong become that, it is said,
+he levied black-mail--(which is only another form of the word
+"_black-meal_," so-called from the conditions under which it was
+exacted)--over the greater part of Northumberland. But even the prospect
+of increasing his revenue by accepting this tribute was not sufficient to
+turn the King aside from his purpose. He was bent on Armstrong's
+destruction, a fact which now became painfully evident to the eloquent and
+generous suppliant. Enraged at the baseness of the King, he turned upon
+him and gave vent to the pent up feelings of his heart--
+
+  "Ye lied, ye lied, now King," he says,
+    "Altho' a King and Prince ye be!
+  For I've luved naething in my life,
+    I weel dare say it, but honesty--
+
+  "Save a fat horse, and fair woman,
+    Twa bonny dogs to kill a deir,
+  But England suld have found me meal and mault,
+    Gif I had lived this hundred yeir!
+
+  "She suld have found me meal and mault,
+    And beef and mutton in a' plentie;
+  But never a Scots wyfe could have said,
+    That e'er I skaith'd her a puir flee.
+
+  "To seik het water beneith cauld ice,
+    Surely it is a greit folie--
+  I have asked grace at a graceless face,
+    But there is nane for my men and me![88]
+
+  "But had I kenn'd ere I cam frae hame,
+    How thou unkind wadst been to me!
+  I wad have keepit the Border side,
+    In spite of all thy force and thee.
+
+  "Wist England's King that I was ta'en,
+    O gin a blythe man he wad be!
+  For anes I slew his sister's son,
+    And on his briest bane brak a trie."
+
+The balladist then proceeds to give a minute description of the dress worn
+by the redoubtable freebooter on this occasion--of his girdle, embroidered
+and bespangled with gold, and his hat, with its nine targets or tassels,
+each worth three hundred pounds. All that he needed to make him a king was
+"the sword of honour and the crown." But nothing can now avail.
+
+  "Farewell! my bonny Gilnock hall,
+    Where on Esk side thou standest stout!
+  Gif I had lived but seven yeirs mair,
+    I wad hae gilt thee round about."
+
+  John murdered was at Carlinrigg,
+    And all his gallant companie;
+  But Scotland's heart was ne'er sae wae,
+    To see sae mony brave men die.
+
+
+It was a foul deed, foully done. The King was no doubt determined, as it
+is said, to "make the rush bush keep the cow," and perhaps to a certain
+extent he succeeded, as some time after this, Andrew Bell kept ten
+thousand sheep in Ettrick Forest, and they were as safe as if they had
+been pasturing in Fife or the Lothians. But the murder of Armstrong in no
+way daunted the other members of that notable clan. Many of them took
+refuge on the English side of the Border, and for years waged a successful
+predatory warfare against their _quondam_ Scottish neighbours. In 1535,
+for example, we find that "Christopher Armstrong, Archibald his son,
+Ingram Armstrong, Railtoun, Robert and Archibald Armstrong there, John
+Elwald, called _Lewis John_, William, son of Alexander Elwald, and Robert
+Carutheris, servants to the laird of Mangerton; John Forrestare, called
+_Schaikbuklar_, Ninian Gray his servant, Thomas Armstrong in Greneschelis,
+_Lang Penman_, servant of one called _Dikkis Will_. Thomas Armstrong of
+Mangerton, and Symeon Armstrong, called _Sim the Larde_" and several
+others, were denounced rebels, and their whole goods escheated for not
+underlying the law for having stolen from John Cockburn of Ormiston
+seventy "drawand oxen" and thirty cows; and for art and part of
+traitorously taking and carrying off three men-servants of the said John,
+being the keepers of the said castle, and "detaining them against their
+will for a certain space;" and further "for art and part of the Stouthreif
+from them of their clothes, whingars, purses and certain money
+therein."[89] Indeed the depredations of the clan after the execution of
+Gilnockie were on the most extensive scale. On the 21st February, 1536,
+Symon Armstrong was "convicted of art and part of the theft and
+concealment of two oxen from the laird of Ormistone, furth of the lands of
+Craik, and a black mare from Robert Scott of Howpaslot, furth of the lands
+of Wolcleuche; committed during the time he was in the King's ward, about
+Lammas 1535. _Item_, of art and part of the theft and concealment of five
+score of cows and oxen from the said laird of Ormistone, stolen furth of
+the said lands of Craik; committed by _Evil-willit Sandie_, and his
+accomplices, in company with Thomas Armstrong, _alias Greneschelis_, and
+Robert Carutheris, servants of the said Symon, and certain Englishmen, at
+his command, common Thieves and Traitors, on July 27, 1535. _Item_, of art
+and part of the traitorous _Fire-raising_ and _Burning of the Town of
+Howpaslot_; And of art and part of the Theft and Concealment the same time
+of sixty cows and oxen belonging to Robert Scott of Howpaslot and his
+servants; committed by Alexander Armstrong, in company with Robert
+Henderson, _alias Cheyswame_,[90] Thomas Armstrong, _alias_ Grenescheles,
+his servants, and their accomplices, common Thieves and Traitors, of his
+causing and assistance, during the time he was within the King's ward,
+upon October 28, 1535. _Item_, of art and part of the theft and
+concealment of certain sheep from John Hope and John Hall, the King's
+shepherds, furth of the lands of Braidlee in the Forest; committed during
+the time he was within the said ward. _Item_, for art and part of the
+treasonable assistance given to Alexander Armestrang, called _Evil-willit
+Sandy_, a sworn Englishman, and sundry other Englishmen his accomplices,
+of the names of Armestrangis, Niksounis, and Crosaris, in their
+treasonable acts. SENTENCE--To be drawn to the gallows and HANGED
+thereupon: And that he shall forfeit his life, lands, possessions, and all
+his goods, moveable and immoveable, to the King, to be disposed of at his
+pleasure."[91] In the following month John Armstrong, _alias Jony of
+Gutterholes_, and Christopher Henderson were hanged for "Common Herschip
+and Stouthreif, Murder and Fire-raising." These items give but a faint
+idea of the extent to which the Armstrongs carried on their depredations.
+
+But, perhaps, a still more serious result of the unwise policy adopted by
+James in his treatment of the Armstrongs, was the destruction of that
+feeling of loyalty to the Scottish Crown, which had hitherto been, in some
+measure at least, a characteristic of the Borderers. Henceforth not only
+the Armstrongs, but many others besides, were ready to place their arms
+and their lives at the service of the English government, and to take part
+with their ancient foes in oppressing and despoiling their own countrymen.
+In the battle of Ancrum Moor in 1546, there was a considerable contingent
+of Scottish Borderers fighting under the standard of Lord Eure, and it was
+only after the tide of war had turned in favour of the Scots that they
+threw away the badge of foreign servitude and helped to complete the
+victory. It maybe said that in acting thus they were moved simply by
+considerations of personal advantage. Be this as it may, the incident
+clearly shows that their attachment to King and country had been all but
+completely destroyed. Had James acted with ordinary discretion and
+foresight he might at once have secured the end he had in view, and at the
+same time have won over to his side, and to the side of law and order, a
+body of men whose crimes were due rather to the peculiarity of their
+circumstances than to their own inherently evil dispositions. He had a
+great opportunity, but he failed conspicuously to take advantage of it. He
+learned, when it was too late, that force, when not wisely applied, may
+produce greater evils than those it seeks to remedy.
+
+
+
+
+XI.
+
+THE CORBIE'S NEST.
+
+  "Where are ye gaun, ye mason lads,
+    Wi' a' your ladders, lang and hie?"
+  "We gang to berry a corbie's nest
+  That wons not far frae Woodhouselee."
+
+                                   KINMONT WILLIE.
+
+
+The incidents in the predatory warfare so long carried on by the dwellers
+on both sides of the Border were not all of a painful or tragic character.
+The spirit of fun sometimes predominated over the more selfish and
+aggressive instincts. There was a grim kind of humour characteristic of
+the Border reiver. He certainly was not disposed to laugh on the slightest
+provocation,--his calling was much too serious for that,--but when he once
+relaxed, his mirth was not easily controlled. And, however degrading his
+occupation may have been in its general tendency, there was often
+displayed among the Border thieves, even among the very worst of them, a
+spirit of the most splendid heroism, which helps to redeem the system from
+the general contempt in which it is regarded by the moralist of modern
+times. Many of the leaders were not only men of undaunted courage, but of
+considerable military genius. In a later age, under other and happier
+conditions, they would have won renown on many a well-fought battlefield.
+They possessed the qualities, physical and moral, of which great soldiers
+are made. The Bold Buccleuch, Little Jock Elliot, Johnie Armstrong of
+Gilnockie, and his kinsman, Willie of Kinmont--not to mention other names
+which readily occur to the mind in this connection--were men dowered by
+nature with great courage and resource. They were strong of arm and
+dauntless of heart. We do not seek to justify their deeds. These were
+reprehensible enough, judged by almost any standard you may apply to them.
+But just as some people find it impossible to smother a certain sneaking
+kind of admiration of the Devil, so magnificently delineated in Milton's
+"Paradise Lost"--a being who seems possessed of almost every quality save
+that of consecrating his varied endowment to worthy ends--so in like
+manner it is difficult to withhold a certain meed of admiration for some
+of the "nobil thieves" whose names stand out prominently in, if they
+cannot always be said to adorn, this long chapter of Border history. They
+were undoubtedly men of ability, energy, and force of character, who would
+have won their spurs in almost any contest into which they had chosen to
+enter.
+
+One of the most notable of this band was the famous Kinmont Willie,
+renowned in Border song and story. He was an Armstrong, a descendant of
+the laird of Gilnockie, whom James VI. put to death at Carlinrig in such
+graceless fashion. He, like all his race, was a notorious freebooter. The
+English Border, more especially the West and Middle Marches, suffered much
+at his hands. He had a large and well armed following, and conducted his
+marauding expeditions with an intrepidity and skill which created a
+feeling of dismay among the subjects of his oppression. Nor did it matter
+much to him where, or on whom, he raided. The King's treachery at
+Carlinrig had destroyed--at least so far as the Armstrongs and their
+friends were concerned--the last lingering spark of patriotism. Their hand
+was now turned against every man, English and Scottish alike. They had
+become pariahs, outcasts, whose only ambition was revenge. But bad as
+Kinmont was, and his record is of the worst, it might be said of him, as
+it was said of one of the greatest and best men Scotland has ever
+produced, that "he never feared the face of man." He was always to the
+front, dealing out hard blows; courting danger, but never dreaming of
+defeat. He cared as little for the warden as for the meanest and most
+defenceless subject of the realm. Scrope tells us, for example, that on
+one occasion "certain goods were stolen by Scottish men from one of the
+Johnstones, a kinsman of the laird Johnstone being warden, whereupon the
+fray arose, and the warden himself, with his company and friends, pursued
+the same. But Kinmont and his complices being in the way to resist them,
+the warden and his company returned again to Annand, the which he taketh
+in very yll parts."[92]
+
+It was no doubt a sore point with the warden that he should be thus
+interfered with in this masterful fashion, and one can readily sympathise
+with him in his chagrin. Such an incident shows that Kinmont and his
+friends were in a position to set the constituted authorities at defiance,
+and conduct their reiving "without let or hindrance." The warden, however,
+was not altogether free from blame for this state of matters. He seems to
+have given the thieves every encouragement as long as they confined their
+depredations to the English Border. Scrope, in a letter to Walsingham,
+informs him that "as well in the tyme of my being with you, as also synce
+my return home, manye and almost nightlie attemptates have been committed
+in Bewcastle and elsewhere within this wardenrie, as well by the
+Liddesdales as also by the West Wardenrie of Scotland, specially Kinmont,
+his sonnes and complices; who ... are nevertheless at their pleasure
+conversaunte and in company with the warden, and no part reprehended for
+their doynges." Hunsdon, another English warden, even goes the length of
+suggesting that the King himself (James VI.) privately encouraged Kinmont
+in his evil doing. He says that four hundred horse came to "Hawden
+brigges," and took up the town and burned divers houses, whereat the King
+was very angry, "because it was done there--for he would have had it to be
+done in some part of my wardenry. Since the taking up of Hawden brigg,
+Will of Kinmont, who was the principal man who was at it, hath been with
+the King in his cabinet above an hour, and at his departure the King gave
+him 100 crowns, as littell as he hath. What justis wee are to looke for
+att the King's hands lett her Majestie judge!"[93]
+
+Thus encouraged by the warden and the King, it is not to be wondered at
+that Kinmont should have thrown himself with great enthusiasm into the
+work of harassing and plundering all who came within his power.
+
+But his name might have remained in comparative obscurity, notwithstanding
+his depredations, had it not been for an extraordinary incident which
+occurred, and for which he was in no way directly responsible.
+
+The dramatist has said that some men are born great, and that others have
+greatness thrust upon them. We are not prepared to say that only the
+latter part of the statement applies to the subject of our sketch, for,
+despite his evil-doing, Kinmont was a man of much natural ability--ability
+amounting almost to genius. But that he had "greatness thrust upon him"
+will be readily conceded. His name will always remain associated with one
+of the most thrilling incidents in Border history. The circumstance which
+made him famous was this. He had been present at Dayholm, near
+Kershopefoot, on the occasion of a day of truce, in the month of March, in
+the year 1596. The business which called them together having been
+finished, he was returning home, accompanied by a few of his friends,
+along the banks of the Liddle, when he was suddenly attacked by a body of
+two hundred English Borderers, led by Salkeld, the deputy of Lord Scrope,
+the warden of the East March, chased for some miles, captured, tied to the
+body of his horse and thus carried in triumph to Carlisle castle.
+
+  They band his legs beneath the steed,
+    They tied his hands behind his back;
+  They guarded him, fivesome on each side,
+    And they brought him ower the Liddel-rack.
+
+  They led him thro' the Liddel-rack,
+    And also through the Carlisle sands;
+  They brought him to Carlisle castell,
+    To be at my Lord Scrope's commands.
+
+This proceeding was clearly in direct violation of Border law, which
+guaranteed freedom from molestation to all who might be present at a
+warden court, or day of truce, betwixt sunrise on the one day and sunrise
+on the next. We can easily understand the overmastering desire of the
+warden's deputy to lay Kinmont "by the heels," as he had long been
+notorious for his depredations on the English Border, but it is incumbent
+on the representatives of the law that they should honour it in their own
+persons, and, however many crimes might be laid to the charge of the
+famous freebooter, he was justly entitled to enjoy the freedom, which a
+wise legal provision had secured, even to the greatest offenders. The
+excuse given by Scrope for this manifest breach of Border law is an
+exceedingly lame one. He says:--"How Kinmont was taken will appear by the
+attestations of his takers, which, if true, 'it is held that Kinmont did
+thereby break the assurance that daye taken, and for his offences ought to
+be delivered to the officer against whom he offended, to be punished
+according to discretion.' Another reason for detaining him is his
+notorious enmity to this office, and the many outrages lately done by his
+followers. He appertains not to Buccleuch, but dwells out of his office,
+and was also taken beyond the limits of his charge, so Buccleuch makes the
+matter a mere pretext to defer justice, 'and do further indignities.'"[94]
+
+That Kinmont had broken the assurance taken at the warden court is an
+assertion in support of which neither has "takers," nor Scrope give a
+scintilla of proof. Had such a thing really happened, there surely would
+have been no difficulty in establishing the fact; but this is not done, or
+even attempted to be done, by those whose interest it was to prove the
+accusation up to the hilt. The other reasons adduced for this
+unwarrantable proceeding will not bear serious consideration. That Kinmont
+bore no goodwill to Scrope or those associated with him in his office, may
+be taken for granted; and that he and his friends and associates had been
+guilty of many outrages on the English Border, goes without saying. But a
+slight examination of the excuses will be sufficient to show that they are
+mere subterfuges. The point in dispute is carefully left out of view by
+the English warden. No doubt Kinmont richly deserved to suffer the utmost
+penalty of the law on the ground of his misdemeanours; but he had been
+present at the warden court, where he would never have gone had he not
+felt sure that he was amply protected from arrest by the law to which we
+have referred. It may be said that nearly every man present on that
+occasion, irrespective of nationality, might have been apprehended on the
+same general grounds. To use an expressive Scottish phrase--"they were all
+tarred with the same stick." It was therefore a direct violation, not only
+of the spirit, but of the letter of Border law, for Salkeld to take
+Kinmont prisoner. Scrope was clearly in the wrong--a fact of which he
+himself seems dimly conscious--as he displayed an amount of temper and
+irritability in dealing with the case which seemed to indicate that he
+felt the weakness of his position. On the other hand, the "rank reiver,"
+who had been thus suddenly and unceremoniously "clapped in jail," accepted
+the situation with a singular amount of philosophical indifference. He
+felt sure that the deed would not go unavenged, that his friends, and he
+had many of them, would leave no stone unturned in order to effect his
+release. The balladist finely represents him as saying--
+
+  My hands are tied, but my tongue is free,
+    And whae will dare this deed avow?
+  Or answer by the Border law?
+    Or answer to the bold Buccleuch?
+
+  "Now haud thy tongue, thou rank reiver!
+    There's never a Scot shall set thee free;
+  Before ye cross my castle yate,
+    I vow ye shall take farewell o' me."
+
+  "Fear na ye that, my lord," quo' Willie;
+    "By the faith o' my body, Lord Scroope," he said,
+  "I never yet lodged in hostelrie,
+    But I paid my lawing before I gaed."
+
+An account of what had happened was speedily conveyed to Branxholme, where
+the Bold Buccleuch was residing. When he heard what had occurred he was
+highly indignant. The picture drawn by the balladist is graphic in the
+extreme. For intense realism it has rarely ever been surpassed--
+
+  He has ta'en the table wi' his hand,
+    He garr'd the red wine spring on hie--
+  "Now Christ's curse on my head," he said,
+    But avenged on Lord Scroope I'll be!
+
+  "O is my basnet a widow's curch?
+    Or my lance a wand o' the willow-tree?
+  Or my arm a ladye's lilye hand,
+    That an English lord should lightly me!
+
+  "And have they ta'en him, Kinmont Willie,
+    Against the truce of Border tide?
+  And forgotten that the bauld Buccleuch
+    Is Keeper here on the Scottish side?
+
+  "And have they e'en ta'en him, Kinmont Willie,
+    Withouten either dread or fear?
+  And forgotten that the bold Buccleuch
+    Can back a steed, or shake a spear?
+
+  "O were there war between the lands,
+    As well I wot that there is none,
+  I would slight Carlisle castell high,
+    Though it were builded of marble stone.
+
+  "I would set that castell in a low,
+    And sloken it with English blood!
+  There's never a man in Cumberland,
+    Should ken where Carlisle castell stood.
+
+  "But since nae war's between the lands,
+    And there is peace, and peace should be;
+  I'll neither harm English lad or lass,
+    And yet the Kinmont freed shall be!"
+
+Before resorting to extreme measures Buccleuch did everything in his power
+to bring about an amicable settlement of the case. He first of all applied
+to Salkeld for redress; but Salkeld could only refer him to Lord Scrope,
+who declared that Kinmont was such a notorious malefactor that he could
+not release him without the express command of Queen Elizabeth. Buccleuch
+then brought the matter under the consideration of James, who made an
+application through an ambassador, for Kinmont's release; but this also
+proved unavailing.
+
+It looked as if the imprisoned freebooter was likely to pay his "lodging
+mail" in a very unpleasant fashion. The English government seemed
+determined to detain him until such times as they could conveniently put a
+period to his career by hanging him on Haribee hill. But Buccleuch, while
+anxious to effect his purpose, if possible by constitutional means, was
+determined that Kinmont should be rescued, whatever might be the method he
+was under the necessity of adopting. To accomplish his purpose he was
+prepared to "set the castle in a low, and sloken it with English blood."
+This threat was regarded as a mere piece of bravado. The castle was
+strongly garrisoned and well fortified. It was in the centre of a populous
+and hostile city, and under the command of Scrope, who was regarded as one
+of the bravest soldiers in England. The Bold Buccleuch, however, was not
+easily daunted. He had a strong arm and a brave heart, and he knew that he
+could summon to his aid a small band of followers as brave and resolute as
+himself. On a dark tempestuous night, two hundred of his bravest followers
+met him at the tower of Morton, a fortalice in the Debatable land, on the
+water of Sark, some ten miles or so from Carlisle. Their plans had been
+carefully considered and determined upon a day or two before, when they
+had met at a horse race near Langholm. The Armstrongs, of course, were
+ready to adventure their lives in such a laudable undertaking, and the
+Graemes, to whom Will of Kinmont was related by marriage, were also forward
+with promises of assistance. They were all well mounted--
+
+  With spur on heel, and splent on spauld,
+  And gleuves of green, and feathers blue--
+
+and carried with them scaling ladders and crowbars, hand-picks and axes,
+prepared to take the castle by storm. The rain had been falling heavily,
+and the Esk and the Eden were in roaring flood, but boldly plunging
+through their turbid waters they soon came within sight of the "Corbie's
+Nest" which they had come to "herry," and--
+
+  The first o' men that we met wi',
+    Whae sould it be but fause Sakelde?
+
+  "Where be ye gaun, ye hunters keen?"
+    Quo' fause Sakelde; "Come tell to me?"
+  "We go to hunt an English stag,
+    Has trespass'd on the Scots countrie."
+
+  "Where be ye gaun, ye marshall men?"
+    Quo' fause Sakelde; "Come tell me true!"
+  "We go to catch a rank reiver,
+    Has broken faith wi' the bauld Buccleuch."
+
+But the troublesome questions of the "fause Sakelde" were speedily cut
+short by the lance of Dickie of Dryhope, who led the band--
+
+  Then nevir a word had Dickie to say,
+    Sae he thrust the lance through his fause bodie.
+
+The way was now clear for the advance upon the castle. Everything seemed
+favourable to the success of their hazardous undertaking. The heavens were
+black as pitch, the thunder rolled loud and long, and the rain descended
+in torrents--
+
+  "But 'twas wind and weet, and fire and sleet,
+  When we came beneath the castle wa'."
+
+When Buccleuch and his men reached the castle they were dismayed to find
+that the ladders they had brought with them were too short; but finding a
+postern they undermined it, and soon made a breach big enough for a
+soldier to pass through. "In this way a dozen stout fellows passed into
+the outer court (Buccleuch himself being fifth man who entered,) disarmed
+and bound the watch, wrenched open the postern from the inside, and thus
+admitting their companions, were masters of the place. Twenty-four
+troopers now rushed to the castle jail, Buccleuch meantime keeping the
+postern, forced the door of the chamber where Kinmont was confined,
+carried him off in his irons, and sounding their trumpet, the signal
+agreed on, were answered by loud shouts and the trumpet of Buccleuch,
+whose troopers filled the base court. All was now terror and confusion,
+both in town and castle. The alarum-bell rang and was answered by his
+brazen brethren of the cathedral and the town house; the beacon blazed
+upon the top of the great tower; and its red, uncertain glare on the
+black sky and the shadowy forms and glancing armour of the Borderers,
+rather increased the terror and their numbers. None could see their enemy
+to tell their real strength."[95]
+
+The suddenness of the attack and the terrific noise made by Buccleuch and
+his troopers as they laid siege to the castle, created confusion and
+dismay amongst the defenders of the stronghold. Lord Scrope, with
+commendable prudence, kept close within his chamber. He was convinced, as
+he afterwards declared, that there were at least five hundred Scots in
+possession of the castle.
+
+Kinmont, as he was borne triumphantly forth on the broad shoulders of Red
+Rowan, shouted a lusty "good night," to his bewildered lordship.
+
+  Then Red Rowan has hente him up
+  The starkest man in Teviotdale--
+  "Abide, abide now, Red Rowan,
+  Till of my Lord Scroope I take farewell."
+
+  "Farewell, farewell, my gude Lord Scroope!
+    My gude Lord Scroope, farewell he cried--
+  I'll pay you for my lodging maill,
+    When first we meet on the Border side."
+
+  Then shoulder high, with shout and cry,
+    We bore him down the ladder lang;
+  At every stride Red Rowan made,
+    I wot the Kinmont aims play'd clang!
+
+  "O mony a time" quo' Kinmont Willie,
+    "I've prick'd a horse out oure the furs;
+  But since the day I back'd a steed,
+    I never wore sic cumbrous spurs!"
+
+
+Having now successfully accomplished their purpose, Buccleuch and his men
+moved off towards the place where they had left their horses, and in a
+short time they were safely back on Scottish soil--
+
+  Buccleuch has turn'd to Eden Water,
+    Even where it flow'd frae bank to brim,
+  And he has plunged in wi' a' his band,
+    And safely swam them through the stream.
+
+  He turn'd them on the other side,
+    And at Lord Scroope his glove flung he--
+  "If ye like na my visit in merry England,
+    In fair Scotland come visit me."
+
+A cottage on the roadside between Longtown and Langholm, which stands
+close to the Scotch Dyke, is still pointed out as the residence of the
+smith who was employed, on this occasion, to knock off Kinmont Willie's
+irons. It is said that when Buccleuch arrived he found the door locked,
+the family in bed, and the knight of the hammer so sound a sleeper, that
+he was only wakened by the Lord Warden thrusting his long spear through
+the window, and nearly spitting both Vulcan and his lady.
+
+The rescue of Kinmont Willie--a most notable feat from whatever point of
+view it may be regarded--made Buccleuch one of the most popular heroes of
+the age. It was declared on all hands that nothing like it had been
+accomplished since the days of Sir William Wallace.
+
+According to a statement made in the "Border Papers," Buccleuch was
+assisted in effecting Kinmont's rescue by Walter Scott of Goldielands;
+Walter Scott of Harden; Will Elliot of Gorronbye; John Elliot of
+Copeshawe; the laird of Mangerton; the young laird of Whithaugh and his
+son; three of the Calfhills, Jock, Bighames, and one Ally, a bastard;
+Sandy Armstrong, son to Hebbye; Kinmont's Jock, Francie, Geordie, and
+Sandy, all brethern, the sons of Kinmont; Willie Bell, "Redcloak," and two
+of his brethren; Walter Bell of Goddesby; three brethren of Tweda,
+Armstrongs; young John of the Hollows, and one of his brethren; Christie
+of Barngleish and Roby of Langholm; the Chingles; Willie Kange and his
+brethren with their "complices."
+
+The breaking of the castle, and the rescue of Kinmont, completely upset
+the equanimity of my Lord Scrope. His indignation almost unmanned him. He
+wrote a long letter to the Privy Council describing the circumstances, and
+denouncing Buccleuch and his accomplices, in no measured terms. He
+entreated the Council to induce her Majesty to call upon the King of
+Scotland to deliver up Buccleuch "that he might receive such punishment as
+her Majesty might find that the quality of his offence merited." He
+assured their lordships that "if her Majesty shall give me leave it shall
+cost me both life and living, rather than such an indignity to her
+Highness, and contempt to myself, shall be tolerated." From the
+subsequent correspondence on this subject, which was of a voluminous
+nature, one can easily see that Scrope was more concerned about the
+indignity to himself than the contempt which had been offered to her
+Majesty. He seems to have found it more difficult than he at first
+anticipated to move the government to take prompt and effective action.
+Buccleuch, as may be readily supposed, had a good deal to say in his own
+defence. He argued, and with considerable cogency, that Kinmont's capture
+and imprisonment constituted a gross violation of Border law, and that he
+had not made any attempt at his rescue until he had exhausted every other
+means of accomplishing his purpose. He also pointed out that the
+representations which he had made had been received with scant courtesy,
+and that even the remonstrance of the King had been treated with contempt.
+Further, he showed that his Borderers had committed no outrage either on
+life or property, although they might have made Scrope and his garrison
+prisoners, and sacked the city.
+
+These considerations ought to have weighed heavily in Buccleuch's favour,
+but Elizabeth would listen to no excuses. She demanded his immediate
+surrender. For a time James refused to comply, and was warmly supported by
+the whole body of his council and barons, even the ministers of the Kirk
+were strongly opposed to surrender. Had the King been able to act with as
+much freedom as some of his predecessors, it is morally certain that this
+demand would have been indignantly repelled, but in the circumstances he
+had to proceed with caution, as he was afraid that resistance might lead
+to unpleasant results. And so, bowing to the inevitable, Buccleuch was
+surrendered--at least he was for a time put in ward in Blackness.
+
+The letter which Elizabeth addressed to James on this occasion is written
+throughout in the most passionate language. It is evident that Her Majesty
+had great difficulty in controlling her feelings. After soundly rating her
+"Dear brother" on the attitude he had assumed, she says:--"Wherefore, for
+fine, let this suffice you, that I am as evil treated by my named _friend_
+as I could be by my known _foe_. Shall any castle or habytacle of mine be
+assailed by a night larcin, and shall not my confederate send the offender
+to his due punishment? Shall a friend stick at that demand that he ought
+rather to prevent? The law of kingly love would have said, nay: and not
+for persuasion of such as never can or will stead you, but dishonour you
+to keep their own rule, lay behind you such due regard of me, and in it of
+yourself, who, as long as you use this trade, will be thought not of
+yourself ought, but of conventions what they will. For, commissioners I
+will never grant, for an act that he cannot deny that made; for what so
+the cause be made, no cause should have done that. And when you with a
+better weighed judgment shall consider, I am assured my answer shall be
+more honourable and just; which I expect with more speed, as well for you
+as for myself.
+
+For other doubtful and litigious causes in our Border, I will be ready to
+point commissioners, if I shall find you needful; but for this matter of
+so villainous a usage, assure you I will never be so answered, as hearers
+shall need. In this and many other matters, I require your trust to our
+ambassador, which faithfully will return them to me. Praying God for your
+safe keeping. Your faithful and loving sister, E. R."
+
+Such plain speaking might not be relished by the Scottish King, but the
+interests at stake were too great to enable him to disregard it. He was in
+thorough sympathy with Buccleuch, but he dare not resist further, and so
+pacified the angry Queen by yielding her demands.
+
+
+
+
+XII.
+
+FLAGELLUM DEI.
+
+  "Then out and spak the nobil King,
+  And round him cast a wilie ee--
+  Now, had they tongue, Sir Walter Scott,
+  Nor speak of reif nor felonie:
+  For, had every honest man his awin kye,
+  A right puir clan thy name wad be!"
+
+                                   BALLAD OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY.
+
+
+While reflecting great credit on the prowess of the Bold Buccleuch, the
+rescue of Kinmont Willie gave rise to many serious local as well as
+international complications. As we have seen, the English Queen was deeply
+offended. She resented the high-handed and arbitrary manner in which the
+release of this famous prisoner had been effected. It constituted a gross
+insult to the Crown, and she was determined that those responsible for the
+deed should suffer for their temerity. The anger of Elizabeth was no
+trifling matter under any circumstances, but to James, whose courage was
+never a conspicuous quality, it was dreaded in the last degree. He simply
+quailed before the storm, and hastened to tender his humble submission.
+The Queen received his assurances of contrition with commendable
+graciousness. Yet it would seem she was not quite satisfied. Buccleuch had
+been put in ward, but he had not been, as was demanded, surrendered to the
+English government, and satisfaction was apparently out of the question
+until this condition had been complied with. She expostulated with James
+on the impropriety of the course he had seen fit to adopt, and gave him an
+interesting lecture on the manner in which he ought to discharge the
+duties of his high office. "For the punishment given to the offender," she
+says, "I render you many thanks; though I must confess, that without he be
+rendered to ourself, or to our warden, we have not that we ought. And,
+therefore, I beseech you, consider the greatness of my dishonour, and
+measure his just delivery accordingly. Deal in this case like a king, that
+will have all this realm and others adjoining see how justly and kindly
+you both will and can use a prince of my quality; and let not any dare
+persuade more for him than you shall think fit, whom it becomes to be
+echoes to your actions, no judgers of what beseems you.
+
+For Border matters, they are so shameful and inhuman as it would loathe a
+king's heart to think of them. I have borne for your quiet too long, even
+murders committed by the hands of your own wardens, which, if they be
+true, as I fear they be, I hope they shall well pay for such demerits, and
+you will never endure such barbarous acts to be unrevenged.
+
+I will not molest you with other particularities; but will assure myself
+that you will not easily be persuaded to overslip such enormities, and
+will give both favourable ear to our ambassador, and speedy redress, with
+due correction for such demeanour. Never think them mete to rule, that
+guides without rule.
+
+Of me make this account, that in your world shall never be found a more
+sincere affection, nor purer from guile, nor fuller fraught with truer
+sincerity than mine; which will not harbour in my breast a wicked conceit
+of you, without such great cause were given, as you yourself could hardly
+deny; of which we may speed, I hope, _ad calendas Graecas_.
+
+I render millions of thanks for such advertisements as this bearer brought
+from you; and see by that, you both weigh me and yourself in a right
+balance; for who seeks to supplant one, looks next for the other."
+
+These wise and weighty admonitions were no doubt received in a becoming
+spirit. But James was not prepared at once to comply with the demand that
+Buccleuch should be handed over to the tender mercies of his enemies.
+Buccleuch was a special favourite. He was disposed, therefore, to shield
+him as long as he could conveniently do so, with any degree of safety to
+himself and his own interests. Negotiations were carried on between the
+two governments for a period of eighteen months, and everything might have
+been amicably settled had the wardens, and others in authority, only
+conducted themselves with a reasonable amount of discretion. Scrope,
+especially was dying to be revenged on those who had subjected him to such
+great indignity; and consequently, a few months after the castle of
+Carlisle had been broken into by Buccleuch, he gathered together two
+thousand men and marched into Liddesdale, where he and his followers
+created great devastation. They burned, so the Scottish commissioners
+allege, "24 onsettes of houses, and carried off all the goods within four
+miles of bounds. They coupled the men their prisoners 'tua and tua
+togeather in leashe like doggis. Of barnis and wemen, three or four
+scoore, they stripped off their clothis and sarkis, leaving them naked in
+that sort, exposit to the injurie of wind and weather, whereby nyne or
+tenne infantes perished within eight daies thereafter.'"
+
+The answer of the English commissioners to this indictment indicates, at
+least, the grounds on which Scrope regarded himself as justified in
+undertaking this invasion of Liddesdale. The reasons adduced are
+plausible, if not always convincing. "It is no novelty," they say, "but an
+ancient custom, for the English warden to assist his opposite, and the
+keeper of Liddesdale, to ride on and 'herrie' such thieves, and on
+occasion to do so at his own hand.... Buccleuch, besides (1) surprising
+the second fortress of the Queen's Border; (2) slaying 24 of her subjects,
+including 16 of her soldiers; (3) has bound himself with all the notorious
+riders in Liddesdale, Eskdale, and Ewesdale, and after asserting that he
+paid 'out of his own purse' half of the sworn bill of Tyndale of L800,
+which the King commanded him to answer, joined himself with the Ellotts
+and Armstrongs, to plunder Tyndale for demanding the balance, slaying in
+their own houses 7 of the Charletons and Dodds the chief claimants. And
+being imprisoned by the King, he made a sporting time of it, hunting and
+hawking, and on his release did worse than ever, maintaining his 'coosens'
+Will of Hardskarth, Watt of Harden, &c., to murder, burn, and spoile as
+before.
+
+The people under his charge, Ellotts, Armstrongs, Nicksons, &c., have of
+late years murdered above 50 of the Queen's good subjects, many in their
+own houses, on their lawful business at daytime--as 6 honest Allandale men
+going to Hexham market, cut in pieces. For each of the last 10 years they
+have spoiled the West and Middle Marches of L5000. In short, they are
+intolerable, and redress being unattainable, though repeatedly demanded by
+the Queen and warden, the justifiable reprisal ordered by her Majesty in
+necessary defence of her own Border, cannot in equity be called an
+invasion, but rather 'honourable and neighbourlike assistance,' to
+maintain the inviolable amitie between the princes and realms, against
+the proud violaters thereof in eyther nation.... To conclude--this action
+of the Lord Scrope's is to be reputed and judged a 'pune,' an ancient
+Border tearme, intending no other than a reprisall, which albeit of late
+years her Majesty's peacable justice hath restrained."
+
+There is much in a name. This invasion of Liddesdale, resulting in the
+burning of numerous homesteads, the slaughter of many women and children,
+accompanied by barbarities of the most revolting description, is
+euphoniously described by the commissioners as "honourable and
+neighbourlike assistance." The women and bairns, who were led in leashes
+like so many dogs, were no doubt duly grateful to my Lord Scrope and his
+minions for their kindly attentions! The absurdity of such a verdict is
+surely unique.
+
+It would appear that Buccleuch's enforced absence from the Borders, after
+the taking of Carlisle castle, was of brief duration. He was soon back in
+his old haunts, and at his old trade. What had happened in the interim was
+not likely to enhance his feeling of regard for Scrope, and those who were
+aiding and abetting him in this matter. He was determined to avenge the
+cruel raid which had been made upon Liddesdale. Along with Sir Robert Ker
+of Cessford, another renowned freebooter, he marched into Tynedale with
+fifty horse and a hundred foot, burned at noonday three hundred onsteads
+and dwelling houses; also barns, stables, ox houses, &c., to the number of
+twenty; and murdered "with the sworde" fourteen who had been to Scotland,
+and brought away their booty. The English warden was utterly helpless. He
+dare not lift a finger to stay the progress of the invaders. He gave vent
+to his feelings in a letter to Burghley, in which he says--"To defend such
+like incursions, or rather invasions, with sorrow as formerly I declare to
+your lordship the weak state of Tindale, for there was not 6 able horse to
+follow the fray 'upon the shoute,' though in daytime, and where as
+reported to me, there were 300 able foot, 'or better,' there was not a
+hundred of this following, 'and those naked.' This piteous state increases
+since my coming, and I cannot see how to amend it, leaving this to your
+wisdom, 'wishing to God' I had never lived to serve where neither her
+Majesty nor her officer is obeyed; fearing unless assisted by her
+Majesty's forces, Tyndale will be laid waste as other parts of the March
+are."[96]
+
+One cannot restrain a certain feeling of commiseration for the English
+warden, who was so shamefully neglected by his government, and so
+miserably supported in the discharge of his duties by those dwelling
+within his wardenry. The complaint which Eure here makes is one which was
+often made by the wardens on the English Border. They were frequently
+left in a comparatively helpless condition, having neither men, horses,
+nor money sufficient for their purposes. The knowledge of this fact no
+doubt encouraged the Scots to pursue their nefarious calling with a
+boldness and persistency, which, at first sight, appear somewhat
+extraordinary.
+
+Buccleuch, when charged with the atrocities here so minutely described,
+had a good deal to say in his own defence. He avowed that his inroad on
+Tynedale was fully justified. He says--"60 English entered Liddesdale by
+night, slew 2 men, and drove many sheep and cattle, when the fray arising,
+he with neighbouring gentlemen 'followed the chace with the dog,' and put
+the first men he met making resistance, to the sword. The rest of the
+spoil, taken to sundry houses in Tindale, was therein held against him by
+the stealers, and though he offered them life and goods, if the cattle
+were delivered, he had to force entry by the firing of doors, when the
+houses were burned 'besides his purpose,' with the obstinate people who
+refused to yield on trust."[97]
+
+This plausible story, the main facts of which, however, are admitted by
+the English warden, did not go far to pacify the Queen of England. She
+threatened the utmost penalties unless Buccleuch and Ker were delivered
+up to her. The time had gone past for further "excuses, deferrings, and
+lingerings." It is said her resentment had reached such a pitch that, with
+her concurrence, a plan was formed to _assassinate_ Buccleuch.
+
+Though the Queen had at first been opposed to the appointment of a
+Commission for the consideration of some of the more important questions
+which had arisen between the two kingdoms, owing mainly to Buccleuch's
+exploits, she ultimately yielded the point, and it is an interesting and
+significant fact that during the time of the sitting of the Commission
+Buccleuch was busily engaged in ravaging with fire and sword some of the
+fairest districts within the English Border. The magnitude of his offences
+had evidently impressed them. They hardly knew what to say about him. In
+the first paragraph of the report which they issued we read:--"We have
+accomplished the treaty of the Border causes with all the diligence
+possible, though not to so great advantage to the realm as we desired. Yet
+we have revived articles of the former treaties discontinued, supplied
+many old defects, and made new ordinances. Slaughters we were forced to
+leave as they were (the Scots protesting that they could not, under their
+instructions, deal with them); but we trust as the punishment is left to
+the princes, her Majesty will so consider the same, that it shall be found
+far better that we have left that article at large, than if we had
+condiscended to any meane degree of correccion for so barbarous acts ...
+specially by Baklugh, who is _flagellum Dei_ to his miserably distressed
+and oppressed neighbours."[98]
+
+But, however distressing Buccleuch's conduct may have been to the English
+members of the Commission, it is evident that neither King nor Council in
+Scotland was disposed to regard him as a "scourge of God." He went up to
+Edinburgh at this time, when things seemed to be going so much against him
+in the Commission, and had an interview with James, and so obtained his
+favourable countenance, that "they laughed a long time on the purpose."
+The Council took an equally favourable view of the situation, affirming
+that "it was found that his last invasion of England was just, for
+'repetition' of goods stolen a short time before, and the slaughter was
+but of special malefactors, enemies to the public weal and quiet of both
+countries."
+
+Elizabeth, however, took a different view of the matter, and put her foot
+down with such purpose and determination that James speedily became
+convinced that he must either surrender his favourite, or involve the
+country in a war with England. The latter alternative was out of the
+question, as it might have imperilled his claim to the succession, and so
+Buccleuch was compelled to place himself as a prisoner in the hands of
+Sir William Bowes, who conducted him to Berwick, and put him in ward,
+there to await the Queen's pleasure. Sir John Cary was then governor of
+the town, and it was with much perturbation and many misgivings that he
+undertook the safe custody of such a notorious and masterful captive. In a
+pathetic letter which he addressed to Lord Hunsdon, he says--"I entreat
+your lordship that I may not become the jailor of so dangerous a prisoner,
+or, at least, that I may know whether I shall keep him like a prisoner or
+no? for there is not a worse or more dangerous place in England to keep
+him in than this; it is so near his friends, and besides, so many in this
+town willing to pleasure him, and his escape may be so easily made; and
+once out of the town he is past recovery. Wherefore I humbly beseech your
+honor let him be removed from hence to a more secure place, 'for I protest
+to the Almighty God, before I will take the charge to keep him here, I
+will desire to be put in prison myself, and to have a keeper of me!' For
+what care soever be had of him here, 'he shall want no furtherance
+whatsoever wit of man can devise, if he himself list to make an escape.'
+So I pray your lordship, 'even for God's sake and for the love of a
+brother,' to relieve me from this danger."[99]
+
+This passionate appeal, to be relieved from the responsibility of taking
+charge of Buccleuch, does not seem to have received much attention.
+Buccleuch remained under Cary's guardianship, and, needless to say, proved
+himself one of the most tractable of prisoners. He could not well have
+acted otherwise, for he must by this time have become fully convinced that
+Elizabeth was determined to have her way, and that, in the peculiar
+circumstances in which the Scottish King was placed, he could ill afford
+to thwart her wishes. Sir Robert Ker was also induced to place himself in
+the hands of the English authorities. Strange to relate, he was placed in
+charge of Sir Robert Cary, with whom he lived for a considerable time on
+the most intimate and friendly terms. "Contrary to all men's
+expectations," says Cary, "Sir Robert Car chose me for his guardian, and
+home I brought him to my own house after he was delivered to me. I lodged
+him as well as I could, and took order for his diet, and men to attend on
+him; and sent him word, that (although by his harsh carriage towards me,
+ever since I had that charge, he could not expect any favours, yet)
+hearing so much goodness of him, that he never broke his word; if he would
+give me his hand and credit to be a true prisoner, he would have no guard
+set upon him, but would have free liberty for his friends in Scotland, to
+have ingress and regress to him as often as he pleased. He took this very
+kindly at my hands, accepted of my offer, and sent me thanks.
+
+Some four days passed; all which time his friends came unto him, and he
+kept his chamber. Then he sent to me, and desired me I should come and
+speak with him, which I did; and after long discourse, charging and
+recharging one another with wrongs and injuries, at last, before our
+parting, we became good friends, with great protestations on his side,
+never to give me occasion of unkindness again. After our reconciliation,
+he kept his chamber no longer, but dined and supped with me. I took him
+abroad with me, at least thrice a-week, a-hunting, and every day we grew
+better friends. Bocleugh, in a few days after, had his pledges delivered,
+and was set at liberty. But Sir Robert Car could not get his, so that I
+was commanded to carry him to York, and there to deliver him prisoner to
+the archbishop, which accordingly I did. At our parting he professed great
+love unto me for the kind usage I had shown him, and that I would find the
+effects of it upon his delivery, which he hoped would be shortly."[100]
+
+Sir Robert Ker was as good as his word. After he had regained his freedom,
+by the delivery of the pledges demanded, he returned to his duties as
+warden of the East March, and seems to have conducted himself to the
+entire satisfaction of his generous opponent. Cary says that they often
+met afterwards at days of truce, and that he had as good justice as he
+could have desired--their friendship remaining unbroken to the end.
+
+The fortunes of the "Bold Buccleuch," after his imprisonment in Berwick,
+were of a varied, but by no means of an unpleasant character. He returned
+to his duties as Keeper of Liddesdale, and applied himself with energy and
+ability to the arduous task of keeping his unruly charge, as far as
+possible, within due bounds of law. This was an almost impossible
+undertaking, as the Armstrongs and Elliots and other "broken men" of the
+district had been so long accustomed to a lawless life that they quickly
+resented any interference with their liberty. The change which had come
+over the spirit of Buccleuch's dream was not at all to their liking, and
+consequently they turned against him, and assailed him with much
+bitterness. He was "in contempt with them" because of his just dealing
+with Cary. They would gladly have shaken off his yoke, and were privately
+working for his overthrow, that they might have the "raynes louse" again.
+But difficult as the task was, Buccleuch was not easily turned aside from
+his purpose. He had evidently become convinced that a change of policy was
+desirable in the interests of the country, and he was determined to carry
+it out, however formidable might be the opposition with which he had to
+contend. The fact is significant, and ought to be carefully borne in mind.
+Buccleuch's indiscretions during the earlier part of his official life
+were manifold, and severely reprehensible. The only defence which can be
+offered in his behalf is, that he was placed in a position of great
+responsibility before he was old enough to appreciate to the full extent
+the consequences of his actions. His extreme youth, fiery temperament, and
+fervid patriotism, account for many things in his life which otherwise
+would be difficult either to explain or justify. But if he sinned greatly,
+he also repented sincerely. It is really to him we owe the first impulse
+in the social regeneration of the Borders. From 1597 onwards, he
+contributed more towards the establishment of good order in the district
+over which he presided--and it was infinitely the worst district in the
+country--than any other man of his time. It may be said, indeed, that in
+him many of the finest qualities of the Scottish Borderer came to full
+fruition. He was brave, resolute, independent, quick to resent injuries,
+but withal, warm-hearted and generous. We do not greatly wonder at the
+large place he has filled in the traditional story of the country. His was
+a powerful and fascinating personality, and though, from a national point
+of view, the sphere of his activities was comparatively limited, his name
+is not unworthy of being associated with some of the greatest names in
+Scottish history.
+
+Towards the close of the year 1599 he went to London to make his peace
+with the Queen. In a letter to Cecil, written by Sir Robert Cary, we have
+striking testimony given of the change which had taken place in
+Buccleuch's attitude towards the English government. "He will be
+desirous," Cary says, "to kiss the Queen's hand: which favour of late he
+hath very well deserved, for since my coming into these parts, I do assure
+your honour he is the only man that hath run a direct course with me for
+the maintenance of justice, and his performance hath been such as we have
+great quietness with those under his charge. Nor have I wanted present
+satisfaction for anything by his people: and he has had the like from me.
+There is not an unsatisfied bill on either side between us."[101]
+
+Considering the terms of this letter, we are not surprised to learn that
+the "Bold Buccleuch" was received at Court with considerable favour. If it
+be true that Elizabeth at one time was privy to a plot to assassinate him,
+she must surely have had some qualms of conscience when at last this
+"stark reiver" stood before her. The scene is a memorable one. The Queen
+demanded of him, with one of those lion-like glances which used to throw
+the proudest nobles on their knees, how he dared to storm her castle, to
+which the Border baron replied--"What, madam, is there that a brave man
+may not dare?" The rejoinder pleased her; and, turning to her courtiers,
+she exclaimed--"Give me a thousand such leaders, and I'll shake any throne
+in Europe!"
+
+
+
+
+XIII.
+
+MINIONS OF THE MOON.
+
+  "Diana's Foresters, Gentlemen of the shade,
+  Minions of the Moon."--FALSTAFF.
+
+
+  "_Reparabit Cornua Phoebe._"--MOTTO: HARDEN FAMILY.
+
+
+  "The siller moon now glimmers pale;
+  But ere we've crossed fair Liddesdale,
+  She'll shine as brightlie as the bale
+         That warns the water hastilie.
+
+  "O leeze me on her bonny light!
+  There's nought sae dear to Harden's sight:
+  Troth, gin she shone but ilka night,
+         Our clan might live right royallie."
+
+                                   FEAST OF SPURS.
+
+
+The more famous reivers whose names have been handed down in the
+traditions, poetry, and history of the Scottish Border, are seldom
+regarded with any very pronounced feelings of aversion. The Armstrongs,
+Elliots, Graemes, Stories, Burneses, and Bells; the Scotts, Kers, Maxwells,
+and Johnstones--whose depredations have been recorded with much fulness of
+detail in the annals of the country, were no doubt quite as bad as they
+have been described. They cannot be acquitted of grave moral
+delinquencies, judged even by the standard of the age in which they lived.
+But at this distance of time many are disposed to regard their
+depredations and lawless life, if not with a kindly, at least with an
+indulgent eye. It must be frankly admitted that there was an element of
+genuine heroism in their lives, which goes far to redeem them from the
+contempt with which, under other conditions, we would have been compelled
+to regard them. What they did was, as a general rule, done openly, and
+evidently with a certain sub-conscious feeling that their actions, if
+rightly understood, were not altogether blame-worthy. Their reiving was
+carried on under conditions which developed some of the best as well as
+worst elements of their nature and manhood. The Border reiver, whatever he
+was, can certainly not be described as cowardly. He carried his life in
+his hands. He never knew when he went on a foraging expedition, whether he
+might return. The enemy with which he had to contend was vigilant and
+powerful. Before he could drive away the cattle, he had, first of all, to
+settle accounts with the owner. He might be worsted in the encounter, and
+instead of securing his booty, he might find himself a captive, with the
+certainty of being strung up on the nearest tree, or drowned in some
+convenient pool. Such incidents were of almost every day occurrence.
+Reiving was therefore one of the most exciting and hazardous of
+occupations, demanding on the part of those engaged in it, a strong arm
+and a dauntless spirit. The burglar who sneaks up to a house while the
+inmates are asleep, and plies his nefarious calling in silence and under
+shade of night, and is ready to start off, leaving everything behind him,
+the moment the alarm is raised, is a contemptible miscreant, for whom the
+gallows is almost too mild a form of punishment. But the Border reiver was
+made of different metal; was, indeed, a man of an essentially higher type.
+He was prepared to fight for every hoof or horn he wished to secure. It
+was a trial of skill, of strength, of resource, with the enemy. No doubt
+he had occasionally to ride during the night, aided only by the mild rays
+of the moon. The way was often long, the paths intricate, and the dangers
+manifold; but he was also prepared, under the full blaze of the noonday
+sun, to challenge those he had come to despoil, to protect and retain
+their property if they could. It was open and undisguised warfare on a
+miniature scale. This, of course, was not true of _all_ the reivers on the
+Borders. Some of them were hardly worthy of their profession. There are
+black sheep in every trade--men who represent the baser qualities of their
+kind, and who bring discredit on their associates.
+
+In looking back over the long list of famous reivers there are many names
+which, somehow or other, we are disposed to regard with a more or less
+kindly feeling. This may be difficult to explain, but the fact is
+undeniable. Perhaps the feeling is due, to a certain extent at least, to
+the fact that, despite the mode of life adopted by these men, they
+represented many really admirable qualities, both of intellect and heart.
+Johnie Armstrong of Gilnockie, for example, was one of the most notorious
+of the clan to which he belonged, and yet he was evidently regarded as a
+great hero, who had been most shamefully treated by the King. It is also
+interesting to find that he had a high opinion of himself. He prided
+himself on his _honesty_. However much injury he had inflicted on the
+unfortunate Englishmen, who had to bear the brunt of his onslaughts, it
+gives him infinite pleasure and satisfaction to affirm that "he had never
+skaithed a Scots wife a puir flee." It is possible, too, that his tragic
+end may have something to do with the kindly feeling with which his memory
+is cherished, though this in itself is not sufficient to account for the
+place he occupies in the Valhalla of Border heroes.
+
+In the same way a halo of romance has gathered round the name of the "Bold
+Buccleuch," whose spirit of chivalry has gone far to redeem his memory
+from opprobrium. The penetrating eye of the English Queen was quick to
+discern in him qualities of a high order which only required the proper
+sphere for their development. He may well be regarded as a truly great
+man who was compelled by the circumstances in which he found himself
+placed, to devote his time and talents to tasks which were quite unworthy
+of his genius. Hence, when the opportunity occurred, he speedily proved
+himself not only a great leader of men, but a most potent factor in the
+social and moral regeneration of the district with which he was so
+intimately associated.
+
+But of all the Border reivers whose names have been handed down in song
+and story, none is regarded with more kindly, we might almost say
+affectionate interest, than that of "Auld Wat of Harden." For many years
+he played an important part in Border affairs, and was always to the front
+in harassing and despoiling the English. We have already noticed the
+assistance he gave his near kinsman, the "Bold Buccleuch," in the assault
+on Carlisle castle, when Kinmont Willie was so gallantly rescued from
+imprisonment. But, four years prior to this event, in the year 1592, he
+took part, under the leadership of Bothwell, in the famous "Raid of
+Falkland," when the King was surprised in his Palace, and would have had
+short shrift from the Borderers, had not timely warning been given him of
+his danger. This escapade entailed on the laird of Harden somewhat serious
+consequences. An order was issued by the King, with the consent of the
+Lords of his Council, to demolish the _places, houses, and fortalices_ of
+Harden and Dryhoip, pertaining to the said Walter Scott. The order runs
+thus--"Apud Peiblis, xiij die mensis Julij, anno lxxxxij (1592)--The
+Kingis Majestie, with aduise of the Lordis of his Secreit Counsale, Gevis
+and grantis full pouer and Commission, expres bidding and charge, be thir
+presentis, to his weil-belouitt Williame Stewart of Tracquair, to DIMOLEIS
+and cause to be dimoleist and cassin doun to the ground, _the place and
+houssis of_ TYNNEIS, quhilkis pertenit to James Stewart sumtyme of
+Tynneis; as alswa, the lyke pouer and commissioun, expres bidding and
+charge, to Walter Scott of Gouldielandis and Mr Iedeon Murray, conjunctlie
+and seuerallie, to dimoleis and caus be dimoleist and cassin doun to the
+ground, _the placeis, houssis, and fortalices of_ HARDEN _and_ DRYHOIP,
+pertening to Walter Scott of Harden, quha, with the said James Steuart,
+wes arte and parte of the lait tresonabill fact, perpetrat aganis his
+hienes awin persone at Falkland: And that the foirsaidis personis caus the
+premisses be putt in execution with all convenient expeditioun in signne
+and taikin of the foirsaidis uthiris personis tressounable and unnaturall
+defection and attemptat, committit be thame in manner foirsaid. As thay
+will ansuer to his hienes upon thair obedience."[102]
+
+This was a severe blow to the laird of Harden, but he doubtless bore it
+with that fine philosophical indifference for which he was distinguished.
+The motto of the Harden family, "We'll hae moonlight again," breathes the
+spirit of optimism, and indicates that the reverses of fortune were never
+regarded as irreparable. Hope sprang eternal in the Harden breast!
+
+But Auld Wat was never disposed to linger unduly, even when courting the
+smile of the capricious Goddess. He believed in himself, and relied mainly
+for his good fortune on his own energy and skill. He was a man of the
+world--keen, subtle, far-seeing, energetic--never allowing the grass to
+grow under his feet. He believed in taking time by the forelock--in making
+hay while the sun shone. Rarely did he ever miss a favourable opportunity
+of increasing "his goods and gear." And his reiving was carried on in no
+paltry or insignificant fashion. He was a man of large ideas, and he
+carried them out on a splendid scale. For example, we find that in 1596 he
+ran a day foray into Gilsland, and carried off "300 oxen and kye, a horse
+and a nag." This was a large addition to make to his stock, and one cannot
+help thinking that the "dell" in front of Harden castle, where he kept his
+captured nowte, must have often been unduly crowded. But then it ought be
+remembered that the demands on his hospitality were numerous and not
+always easily met. He had a numerous body of retainers, as was befitting a
+man of his position, who had to be kept in "horse meat and man's meat,"
+and having so many to provide for, his large herds often disappeared with
+great rapidity. The result was that he was constantly under the necessity
+of crossing the Border in order to replenish his stock. It is related that
+on one occasion he overheard the town herd calling out to some one, as he
+was passing, to "send out Wat o' Harden's coo." "Wat o' Harden's coo!" the
+old reiver indignantly exclaimed, "My sang, I'll soon mak ye speak of Wat
+o' Harden's kye," and so he at once gathered his forces, marched into
+Northumberland, and before long he was seen on his way back driving before
+him a big herd of cows and a basson'd bull. On his way he passed a large
+sow-backed haystack. Turning round in his saddle and looking at it
+wistfully, he said, in a regretful tone of voice, "If ye had four feet, ye
+wadna stand long there!"
+
+It is perhaps to this successful foray that Lord Eure refers in a letter
+addressed to Cecil under date July 15, 1596, in which he says:--"Watt
+Ellatt, _alias_ Watt of Harden, with other East Tividale lairds had 300 or
+400 able horsemen, laying an ambush of 300 or 400 foote, brake a day
+forray a myle beneathe Bellinghame, spoiled the townes men in
+Bellinghame, brake the crosse, toke all the cattell upp the water to the
+number thre or fower hundred beastes at the leaste, hath slaine three men
+of name and wounded one allmoste to deathe, fired noe houses. The fray
+rose and being brought to me at Hexhame about ix(o) or x(o) houers in the
+morning, I rose myself with my household servuantes, caused the beacons to
+be fired and sent the fray eche way rounde aboute me, and yet could not
+make the force of the countrie iiij{xx} horsemen and some six score
+footmen. I followed with the horsemen within twoe or three myles of
+Scotland, and except Mr Fenwick of Wellington, together with the Keaper of
+Tindale, Mr Henry Bowes, ther was not one gentleman of the Marche to
+accompanie me, or mett me at all; and when all our forces were togeither,
+we could not make twoe hundredth horsse, nor above twoe hundredth
+footmen.... With shame and greife I speake it' the Scottes went away
+unfought withall."[103]
+
+It will thus be seen that within a few months this famous freebooter had
+transferred from English soil some six or seven hundred head of cattle. No
+doubt like his neighbours, who were engaged in the same precarious line of
+business, he had many unsuccessful raids to recount, but he was certainly
+one of the most wary and successful of the reivers on the Scottish side of
+the Border.
+
+Sir Walter Scott, who was a descendant of Wat of Harden, has an
+interesting note in his "Border Minstrelsy" regarding the family. "Of this
+Border laird," he says, "commonly called _Auld Wat of Harden_, tradition
+has preserved many anecdotes. He was married to Mary Scott, celebrated in
+song by the title of 'The Flower of Yarrow.' By their marriage contract,
+the father-in-law, Philip Scott of Dryhope, was to find Harden in horse
+meat and man's meat at his Tower of Dryhope for a year and a day; but five
+barons pledge themselves, that, at the expiry of that period, the
+son-in-law should remove without attempting to continue in possession by
+force! A notary-public signed for all the parties to the deed, none of
+whom could write their names. The original is still in the charter-room of
+the present Mr Scott of Harden. By 'The Flower of Yarrow' the Laird of
+Harden had six sons; five of whom survived him, and founded the families
+of Harden (now extinct), Highchesters (now representing Harden), Reaburn,
+Wool, and Synton. The sixth son was slain at a fray, in a hunting match,
+by the Scotts of Gilmanscleuch. His brothers flew to arms; but the old
+laird secured them in the dungeon of his tower, hurried to Edinburgh,
+stated the crime, and obtained a gift of the land of the offenders from
+the Crown. He returned to Harden with equal speed, released his sons, and
+showed them the charter. 'To horse, lads!' cried the savage warrior, 'and
+let us take possession! The lands of Gilmanscleuch are well worth a dead
+son.'"
+
+Hogg's description of "Auld Wat" as he set out for Edinburgh on this
+occasion is humourously realistic:
+
+  And he's awa' to Holyrood,
+    Amang our nobles a',
+  With bonnet lyke a girdle braid,
+    And hayre lyke Craighope snaw.
+
+  His coat was of the forest green,
+    Wi' buttons lyke the moon;
+  His breeks were o' the guid buckskyne,
+    Wi' a' the hayre aboon.
+
+  His twa hand sword hang round his back,
+    An' rattled at his heel;
+  The rowels of his silver spurs
+    Were of the Rippon steel;
+
+  His hose were braced wi' chains o' airn,
+    An' round wi' tassels hung:
+  At ilka tramp o' Harden's heel,
+    The royal arches rung.
+
+    *       *       *       *
+
+  Ane grant of all our lands sae fayre
+    The King to him has gien;
+  An' a' the Scotts o' Gilmanscleuch
+    Were outlawed ilka ane.
+
+But Harden's best fortune came to him with his wife--the far-famed "Flower
+of Yarrow."
+
+  This beautous flower, this rose of Yarrow,
+  In nature's garden has no marrow.
+
+So sang Allan Ramsay. And since his day the charms of "Yarrow's Rose" have
+inspired many a more or less tuneful ode. But Mary Scott's beauty was,
+after all, not her greatest gift. She was wise beyond most of her sex,
+and skilful to a degree in the management of her husband. We find, for
+example, that instead of remonstrating with him on his culpable negligence
+in allowing the larder to become depleted, she quietly set before him when
+he came to dinner a pair of clean spurs! The hint thus indirectly conveyed
+was quite sufficient. Immediately her worthy spouse was in the saddle and
+riding as fast as his nag could carry him towards the English fells. It is
+interesting to know that the spurs that were thus suggestively served up
+for dinner are still in the possession of the family, being carefully
+preserved among Lord Polwarth's treasures at Mertoun House.
+
+But while Wat of Harden could look after his own interests, he was never
+unmindful of the interests of others. When the Captain of Bewcastle came
+over to Ettrick "to drive a prey," and carried off Jamie Telfer's kye, he
+rendered splendid service in rescuing the herd from the hand of the
+spoiler. Though Telfer, with "the tear rowing in his ee," pled with the
+Captain to restore his property, he was only laughed at for his pains--
+
+  "The Captain turned him round and leugh,
+    Said--"Man, there's naething in thy house,
+  But ae auld sword without a sheath
+    That hardly now would fell a mouse."
+
+Telfer first of all applied for assistance at Stobs Ha', evidently
+thinking that he had some special claim on "Gibby Elliot," but he was
+unceremoniously turned from the door, and told to go to "Branksome" and
+"seek his succour where he paid blackmail." When Buccleuch heard what had
+taken place, he cried--
+
+  "Gar warn the water, braid and wide,
+  Gar warn it sune and hastilie!
+  They that winna ride for Telfer's kye,
+  Let them never look in the face o' me!"
+
+
+Auld Wat and his sons having also been informed of the Captain's raid,
+lost no time in getting out their steeds and hurrying after the English
+reiver. Over the hills, down near the Ritterford on the Liddel, the melee
+began. The Captain was determined to drive Jamie Telfer's kye into England
+despite the opposition of the Scotts, but he was made to pay dearly for
+his temerity.--
+
+  Then til't they gaed, wi' heart and hand,
+  The blows fell thick as bickering hail;
+  And mony a horse ran masterless,
+  And mony a comely cheek was pale.
+
+Willie Scott, the son of Buccleuch, was left dead on the field. When
+Harden saw him stretched on the ground "he grat for very rage."--
+
+  "But he's ta'en aff his gude steel cap,
+    And thrice he's waved it in the air--
+  The Dinlay snaw was ne'er mair white
+    Nor the lyart locks of Harden's hair.
+
+  "Revenge! revenge!" Auld Wat 'gan cry;
+    "Fye, lads, lay on them cruellie!
+  We'll ne'er see Teviotside again,
+    Or Willie's death revenged sall be."
+
+The conflict was speedily ended. The Captain of Bewcastle was badly
+wounded, and taken prisoner; his house was ransacked, his cattle driven
+off, and Jamie Telfer returned to the "Fair Dodhead" with thirty-three
+cows instead of ten.--
+
+  "When they cam' to the fair Dodhead,
+    They were a wellcum sight to see!
+  For instead of his ain ten milk kye,
+    Jamie Telfer has gotten thirty and three.
+
+  And he has paid the rescue shot,
+    Baith wi' goud and white monie:
+  And at the burial o' Willie Scott,
+    I wat was mony a weeping ee."
+
+
+The eldest son of Wat of Harden was destined to become as famous as his
+father, though in a different way. He had evidently, from what we learn of
+him, inherited all the reiving tendencies of his race. But the difficulty
+of crossing the Border had been considerably increased. Buccleuch, the
+Keeper of Liddesdale, had changed his tactics. He had now begun to use his
+utmost endeavour to bring about a better understanding, and a better state
+of feeling, between the two countries. Willie Scott no doubt realised that
+a raid on the English Border, though successful, might now get the whole
+family into serious trouble. But the kye "were rowting on the loan and the
+lea," and something had to be done to augment the quickly vanishing herd.
+He took into his confidence a farmer, who lived on the banks of the
+Ettrick--William Hogg--well known as the "Wild Boar of Fauldshope." This
+redoubtable reiver was a progenitor of the Ettrick Shepherd, whose family,
+it is said, possessed the lands of Fauldshope, under the Scotts of Harden,
+for a period of 400 years. He was a man of prodigious strength, courage,
+and ferocity, and ever ready for the fray. For some reason or other he had
+a strong antipathy to Sir Gideon Murray of Elibank, the picturesque ruins
+of whose Castle may still be seen on the banks of the Tweed, a mile or two
+above Ashiesteel. That young Harden could have no particular liking for
+him is easily understood, as he was one of the men who had been
+commissioned by the government to destroy Harden castle as a punishment
+for the part taken by his father in the Raid of Falkland. Sir Gideon had a
+splendid herd of cattle pasturing on the green slopes above the Tweed, and
+so Willie Scott resolved, with the assistance of his powerful coadjutor,
+to transfer as many of them as possible to his own pastures. The night was
+set, the expedition was carefully planned, and fortune seemed to smile
+upon the project. But--
+
+  The best laid schemes o' mice and men
+           Gang aft a glee.
+
+Some one was good enough to convey to Sir Gideon a hint of what was on
+foot, and he at once took measures to give the thieves, when they came, a
+warm reception. After a sharp encounter, Willie Scott was taken prisoner,
+and thrown into the dungeon of the Castle, with his hands and feet
+securely bound. He knew quite well the fate which awaited him on the
+morrow. He would be led forth to the gallows, and there made to pay the
+forfeit of his life. A better lot, however, was in store for him. A good
+angel, in the person of Lady Murray, interfered on his behalf. She had
+been anxiously considering how she could save his life. Her plans were
+speedily formed, and in the morning she ventured to lay them before her
+irate husband. As Hogg has humorously described the scene--
+
+  The lady o' Elibank raise wi' the dawn,
+    An' she waukened Auld Juden, an' to him did say,--
+  "Pray, what will ye do wi' this gallant young man?"
+    "We'll hang him," quo Juden, "this very same day."
+
+  "Wad ye hang sic a brisk an' gallant young heir,
+    An' has three hamely daughters aye suffering neglect?
+  Though laird o' the best of the forest sae fair,
+    He'll marry the warst for the sake o' his neck.
+
+  "Despise not the lad for a perilous feat;
+    He's a friend will bestead you, and stand by you still;
+  The laird maun hae men, an' the men maun hae meat,
+    An' the meat maun be had be the danger what will."
+
+
+The plan thus suggested seemed feasable. It might really be the wisest
+course to pursue, at least so Sir Gideon was disposed to think, and no
+time was lost in bringing the matter to an issue. Young Scott was at once
+brought into the hall, the terms on which his life was to be spared were
+briefly stated, and he was afforded an opportunity of seeing the young
+lady whom fortune had thus strangely thrown in his way. One glance
+sufficed. The features of Sir Gideon's daughter, known to fame as
+"Muckle-mou'd Meg," were not attractive. The condemned culprit felt that
+even the gallows was preferable to such an objectionable matrimonial
+alliance.
+
+  "Lead on to the gallows, then," Willie replied,
+    "I'm now in your power, and ye carry it high;
+  Nae daughter of yours shall e'er lie by my side;
+    A Scott, ye maun mind, counts it naething to die."
+
+These were brave words, bravely spoken. Sir Gideon, however, had made up
+his mind as to the course he meant to pursue, and Willie Scott was at once
+led forth to make his acquaintance with the "Hanging Tree." But when he
+drew near and saw the fatal rope dangling in the wind, his courage began
+to fail him. The prospect was far from inviting, and he pled for a few
+days respite to think on his sins, "and balance the offer of freedom so
+kind." But the old laird was inexorable. He simply said to him, "There is
+the hangman, and there is the priest, make your choice." Thus driven to
+bay, Willie saw that further parleying would not avail, and so he thought
+he had better make the best of a bad business. As he thought over the
+matter, he began to discover certain traits in the young lady's person and
+character of a more or less pleasing description. He concluded that,
+after all, he might do worse than wed with the daughter of Elibank.--
+
+  "What matter," quo' he, "though her nose it be lang,
+    For noses bring luck an' it's welcome that brings.
+
+  There's something weel-faur'd in her soncy gray een,
+    But they're better than nane, and ane's life is sae sweet;
+  An' what though her mou' be the maist I hae seen,
+    Faith muckle-mou'd fok hae a luck for their meat."
+
+
+Thus everything ended happily, and young Harden had cause to bless the day
+he found himself at the mercy of Sir Gideon Murray of Elibank. Seldom,
+indeed, has Border reiver been so beneficently punished!
+
+  An' muckle guid bluid frae that union has flowed,
+    An' mony a brave fellow, an' mony a brave feat;
+  I darena just say they are a' muckle mou'd,
+    But they rather have still a guid luck for their meat.
+
+
+Such is the tradition, as Hogg has given it in his humourous poem. It goes
+without saying that the poet has embellished and enlarged the story to
+suit his own purposes. But the tradition has generally been regarded as
+having some considerable basis of fact. Satchells, in his History of the
+Scotts, thus refers to Auld Wat of Harden and his famous son--
+
+  "The stout and valiant Walter Scott
+  Of Harden who can never die,
+  But live by fame to the tenth degree;
+  He became both able, strong, and stout,
+  Married Philip's daughter, squire of Dryhope,
+  Which was an ancient family,
+  And many broad lands enjoyed he;
+  Betwixt these Scotts was procreat,
+  That much renowned Sir William Scott,
+  I need not to explain his name,
+  Because he ever lives by fame;
+  He was a man of port and rank,
+  He married Sir Gideon Murray's daughter of Elibank."
+
+
+The fortunes of other famous reivers have formed the theme of many a
+stirring ballad. The so-called historical data on which many of these
+ballads are professedly based, may often, no doubt, be truthfully
+described as more imaginary than real, nevertheless the picture which the
+balladist has drawn is often deeply interesting, and subserves an
+important end by indicating the feeling with which these men and their
+deeds were usually regarded.
+
+In a history of Border reiving such side-lights as the ballads afford may
+be profitably utilized.
+
+Maitland, in his celebrated poem on the Thieves of Liddesdale, makes
+allusion to a well known character who is known to fame as "Jock o' the
+Syde." He was nephew to the "Laird of Mangerton," and cousin to the
+"Laird's Ain Jock," and had all the enthusiasm of his race for the calling
+to which the members of his clan seem to have devoted their somewhat
+remarkable talents.--
+
+  He never tyris
+  For to brek byris
+  Our muir and myris
+  Ouir gude ane guide.
+
+It is said that he assisted the Earl of Westmoreland in his escape, after
+his unfortunate insurrection with the Earl of Northumberland, in the
+twelfth year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. But according to the
+balladist his career, on one occasion, had well nigh terminated
+disastrously. In the company of some of his friends he had made a raid
+into Northumberland. Here he was taken prisoner by the warden, and thrown
+into jail at Newcastle, there to "bide his doom." He knew that he would
+not have long to wait. Not much time was wasted in considering the various
+items of the indictment, more especially when the accused was a well-known
+thief. "Jeddart justice" was not confined to the small burgh on the
+Scottish Border. It was as popular, at that time, in England as anywhere
+else, as many a Scottish reiver has known to his cost. The friends of the
+prisoner were fully aware that if he was to be saved from the gallows, not
+one moment must be lost. A rescue party was speedily organized. The laird
+of Mangerton, accompanied by a few friends--the Laird's Jock, the Laird's
+Wat, and the famous Hobbie Noble (an Englishman who had been banished from
+Bewcastle)--started off for Newcastle with all speed, determined to bring
+the prisoner back with them, quick or dead. To allay suspicion and avoid
+detection, they shod their horses "the wrang way"--putting the tip of the
+shoe behind the frog--and arrayed themselves like country lads, or "corn
+caugers[104] ga'en the road." When they reached Cholerford, near Hexham,
+they alighted and cut a tree--"wi' the help o' the light o' the moon"--on
+which were fifteen nogs or notches, by which they hoped "to scale the wa'
+o' Newcastle toun." But, as so often happened in like circumstances, this
+improvised ladder was "three ells too laigh." Such trifles, however,
+rarely ever proved disconcerting. The bold reivers at once determined to
+force the gate. A stout porter endeavoured to drive them back, but--
+
+  "His neck in twa the Armstrongs wrang;
+    Wi' fute or hand he ne'er played pa!
+  His life and his keys at once they hae ta'en,
+    And cast his body ahint the wa'."
+
+
+The path being now clear they speedily made their way to the prison, where
+they found their friend groaning under fifteen stones of Spanish iron
+(nothing short of this would have availed to keep a stark Scottish reiver,
+fed on oatmeal, within the confines of a prison cell), carried him off,
+irons and all, set him on a horse, with both feet on one side, and rode
+off with the fleetness of the wind in the direction of Liddesdale:
+
+  "The night tho' wat, they didna mind,
+    But hied them on fu' merrilie,
+  Until they cam' to Cholerford brae,
+    Where the water ran like mountains hie."
+
+
+Dashing into the stream they soon reached the opposite bank. The English,
+who were in hot pursuit, when they reached the Tyne, which was rolling
+along in glorious flood, durst not venture further. They were filled with
+chagrin when they saw the prisoner, loaded as he was with fifteen stones
+of good Spanish iron, safe on the other side. They had sustained a double
+loss. The prisoner was gone, and he had taken his valuable iron chains
+with him. The land-sergeant, or warden's officer, taking in the situation
+at a glance, cried aloud--
+
+                             "The prisoner take,
+  But leave the fetters, I pray, to me."
+
+To which polite request the Laird's ain Jock replied--
+
+                           "I wat weel no,
+  I'll keep them a'; shoon to my mare they'll be,
+  My gude bay mare--for I am sure,
+  She bought them a' right dear frae thee."
+
+
+No Liddesdale reiver was ever likely to part with anything in a hurry,
+least of all to give it up to an Englishman.
+
+The Armstrongs, almost without exception, were noted thieves. They seem to
+have possessed a rare genius for reiving. Their plans were generally so
+well formed, and carried out with such a fine combination of daring and
+cunning, that the "enemy" almost invariably came off "second best." One of
+the last, and most noted of this reiving clan, was _William Armstrong_, a
+lineal descendant of the famous Johnie of Gilnockie, who was known on the
+Borders by the name of _Christie's Will_, to distinguish him from the
+other members of his family and clan. He flourished during the reign of
+Charles I., a circumstance which shows that moss-trooping did not
+altogether cease at the union of the Crowns. It is related that, on one
+occasion, Christie's Will had got into trouble, and was imprisoned in the
+Tolbooth of Jedburgh. The Lord High Treasurer, the Earl of Traquair, who
+was visiting in the district, was led to enquire as to the cause of his
+confinement. The prisoner told him, with a pitiful expression of
+countenance, that he had got into grief for stealing two _tethers_
+(halters). The eminent statesman was astonished to hear that such a
+trivial offence had been so severely punished, and pressed him to say if
+this was the only crime he had committed. He ultimately reluctantly
+acknowledged that there were two _delicate colts_ at the end of them! This
+bit of pleasantry pleased his lordship, and through his intercession the
+culprit was released from his imprisonment.
+
+It was a fortunate thing for Lord Traquair that he acted as he did. A
+short time afterwards he was glad to avail himself of the services of the
+man whom he had thus been the means of setting at liberty. The story is
+one of the most romantic on record, and amply justifies the adage that
+"truth is stranger than fiction." A case, in which the Earl was deeply
+interested, was pending in the Court of Session. It was believed that the
+judgment would turn on the decision of the presiding judge, who has a
+casting vote in the case of an equal division among his brethren. It was
+known that the opinion of the president was unfavourable to Traquair; and
+the point was, therefore, to keep him out of the way when the question
+should be tried. In this dilemma the Earl had recourse to Christie's Will,
+who at once offered his services to _kidnap_ the president. He discovered
+that it was the judge's usual practice to take the air on horseback, on
+the sands of Leith, without an attendant. One day he accosted the
+president, and engaged him in conversation. His talk was so interesting
+and amusing that he succeeded in decoying him into an unfrequented and
+furzy common, called the Frigate Whins, where, riding suddenly up to him,
+he pulled him from his horse, muffled him in a large cloak which he had
+provided, and rode off with the luckless judge trussed up behind him.
+Hurrying across country as fast as his horse could carry him, by paths
+known only to persons of his description, he at last deposited his heavy
+and terrified burden in an old castle in Annandale, called the Tower of
+Graham. The judge's horse being found, it was concluded he had thrown his
+rider into the sea; his friends went into mourning, and a successor was
+appointed to his office. Meanwhile the disconsolate president had a sad
+time of it in the vault of the castle. His food was handed to him through
+an aperture in the wall, and never hearing the sound of human voice, save
+when a shepherd called his dog, by the name of _Batty_, and when a female
+domestic called upon _Maudge_, the cat. These, he concluded, were
+invocations of spirits, for he held himself to be in the dungeon of a
+sorcerer. The law suit having been decided in favour of Lord Traquair,
+Christie's Will was directed to set the president at liberty, three months
+having elapsed since he was so mysteriously spirited away from the sands
+at Leith. Without speaking a single word, Will entered the vault in the
+dead of night, again muffled up in the president's cloak, set him on a
+horse, and rode off with him to the place where he had found him. The joy
+of his friends, and the less agreeable surprise of his successor, may be
+more easily imagined than described, when the judge appeared in court to
+reclaim his office and honours. All embraced his own persuasion that he
+had been spirited away by witchcraft; nor could he himself be convinced to
+the contrary, until, many years afterwards, happening to travel in
+Annandale, his ears were saluted once more with the sounds of _Maudge_ and
+_Batty_--the only notes which had reached him during his long confinement.
+This led to the discovery of the whole story, but in those disorderly
+times it was only laughed at as a fair _ruse de guerre_.[105]
+
+The victim of this extraordinary stratagem was Sir Alexander Gibson,
+better known as Lord Durie. He became a Lord of Session in 1621, and died
+in 1646, so that the incident here related must have taken place betwixt
+these periods.
+
+The version of this incident, given in the well, known ballad "Christie's
+Will," if not so romantic as the foregoing, is certainly more amusing. The
+balladist represents Lord Traquair as "sitting mournfullie," afraid lest
+the vote of the Court of Session would make him bare at once of land and
+living--
+
+  "But if auld Durie to heaven were flown,
+    Or if auld Durie to hell were gane,
+  Or ... if he could be but ten days stoun ...
+    My bonnie braid lands would still be my ain.
+
+
+At this juncture Christie's Will offers his services--
+
+  "O, mony a time, my Lord," he said,
+    "I've stown the horse frae the sleeping loun;
+  But for you I'll steal a beast as braid,
+    For I'll steal Lord Durie frae Edinburgh toun."
+
+  "O, mony a time, my Lord," he said,
+    "I've stown a kiss frae a sleeping wench;
+  But for you I'll do as kittle a deed,
+    For I'll steal an auld lurdane off the bench."
+
+  He lighted at Lord Durie's door,
+    And there he knocked maist manfullie;
+  And up and spake Lord Durie sae stour,
+    "What tidings, thou stalwart groom, to me?"
+
+  "The fairest lady in Teviotdale,
+    Has sent, maist reverent sir, for thee.
+  She pleas at the Session for her land a' hail,
+    And fain she would plead her cause to thee."
+
+  "But how can I to that lady ride
+    With saving of my dignitie?"
+  "O a curch and mantle ye may wear,
+    And in my cloak ye sall muffled be."
+
+  Wi' curch on head, and cloak ower face,
+    He mounted the judge on a palfrey fyne;
+  He rode away, a right round pace,
+    And Christie's Will held the bridle reyne.
+
+  The Lothian Edge they were not o'er,
+    When they heard bugles bauldly ring,
+  And, hunting over Middleton Moor,
+    They met, I ween, our noble king.
+
+  When Willie looked upon our king,
+    I wot a frightened man was he!
+  But ever auld Durie was startled more,
+    For tyning of his dignitie.
+
+  The king he crossed himself, I wis,
+    When as the pair came riding bye--
+  "An uglier croon, and a sturdier loon,
+    I think, were never seen with eye."
+
+  Willie has hied to the tower of Graeme,
+    He took auld Durie on his back,
+  He shot him down to the dungeon deep,
+    Which garr'd his auld banes gae mony a crack.
+
+    *       *       *       *       *
+
+  The king has caused a bill be wrote,
+    And he has set it on the Tron--
+  "He that will bring Lord Durie back
+    Shall have five hundred merks and one."
+
+  Traquair has written a braid letter,
+    And he has seal'd it wi' his seal,
+  "Ye may let the auld Brock out o' the poke;
+    The land's my ain, and a's gane weel."
+
+  O Will has mounted his bony black,
+    And to the tower of Graeme did trudge,
+  And once again, on his sturdy back,
+    Has he hente up the weary judge.
+
+  He brought him to the Council stairs,
+    And there full loudly shouted he,
+  "Gie me my guerdon, my sovereign liege,
+    And take ye back your auld Durie!"
+
+
+Important as this service was, it was not the only one that Christie's
+Willie rendered to the Earl of Traquair. He was sent, on one occasion,
+with important papers to Charles I., and received an answer to deliver,
+which he was strictly charged to place in the hands of his patron. "But in
+the meantime," says Sir Walter Scott, "his embassy had taken air, and
+Cromwell had despatched orders to entrap him at Carlisle. Christie's Will,
+unconscious of his danger, halted in the town to refresh his horse, and
+then pursued his journey. But as soon as he began to pass the long, high,
+and narrow bridge that crosses the Eden at Carlisle, either end of the
+pass was occupied by parliamentary soldiers, who were lying in wait for
+him. The Borderer disdained to resign his enterprise, even in these
+desperate circumstances; and at once forming his resolution, spurred his
+horse over the parapet. The river was in high flood. Will sunk--the
+soldiers shouted--he emerged again, and, guiding his horse to a steep
+bank, called the Stanners, or Stanhouse, endeavoured to land, but
+ineffectually, owing to his heavy horseman's cloak, now drenched in water.
+Will cut the loop, and the horse, feeling himself disembarrassed, made a
+desperate exertion, and succeeded in gaining the bank. Our hero set off,
+at full speed, pursued by the troopers, who had for a time stood
+motionless in astonishment, at his temerity. Will, however, was well
+mounted; and, having got the start, he kept it, menacing with his pistols,
+any pursuer who seemed likely to gain on him--an artifice which succeeded,
+although the arms were wet and useless. He was chased to the river Esk,
+which he swam without hesitation, and, finding himself on Scottish ground,
+and in the neighbourhood of friends, he turned on the northern bank, and
+with the true spirit of the Borderer, invited his followers to come
+through and drink with him. After this taunt he proceeded on his journey,
+and faithfully accomplished his mission."[106]
+
+If Christie's Will may be regarded as the last Border freebooter of any
+note, it is evident that the peculiar genius of the family to which he
+belonged survived in full vigour to the end.
+
+But the last of the Armstrongs who paid the penalty of death for his
+misdeeds was _Willie of Westburnflat_. It is said that a gentleman of
+property, having lost twelve cows in one night, raised the country of
+Teviotdale, and traced the robbers into Liddesdale, as far as the house of
+Westburnflat. Fortunately, perhaps, for his pursuers, Willie was asleep
+when they came, and consequently without much difficulty they secured him,
+and nine of his friends. They were tried in Selkirk, and though the jury
+did not discover any direct evidence against them to convict them of the
+special fact, they did not hesitate to bring in a verdict of guilty, on
+the ground of their general character as "notour thieves and limmers."
+When sentence was pronounced, Willie sprang to his feet, and laying hold
+of the oaken chair on which he had been sitting, broke it in pieces, and
+called on his companions who were involved in the same doom, to stand
+behind him and he would fight his way out of Selkirk with these weapons.
+But, strange to relate, they held his hands, and besought him to let them
+_die like Christians_. They were accordingly executed in due form of law.
+This incident is said to have happened at the last circuit court held in
+Selkirk.[107]
+
+Willie Armstrong, as he stood under the gallows-tree, might appropriately
+have sung the lines composed by _Ringan's Sandi_, a relative of his own,
+who was executed for the murder of Sir John Carmichael, the warden of the
+Middle Marches--
+
+  This night is my departing night,
+    For here nae langer must I stay;
+  There's neither friend nor foe o' mine,
+    But wishes me away.
+
+  What I have done through lack of wit,
+    I never, never can recall;
+  I hope ye're a' my friends as yet;
+    Good night, and joy be with you all!
+
+
+
+
+
+XIV.
+
+UNDER THE BAN.
+
+  The Cardinal rose with a dignified look,
+  He called for his candle, his bell, and his book!
+  In holy anger, and pious grief,
+  He solemnly cursed that rascally thief!
+  He cursed him at board, he cursed him in bed;
+  From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head;
+  He cursed him in sleeping, that every night
+  He should dream of the devil, and wake in a fright;
+  He cursed him in eating, he cursed him in drinking,
+  He cursed him in coughing, in sneezing, in winking;
+  He cursed him in sitting, in standing, in lying;
+  He cursed him in walking, in riding, in flying;
+  He cursed him in living, he cursed him in dying!
+  Never was heard such a terrible curse!
+  But what gave rise to no little surprise,
+  Nobody seemed one penny the worse.
+
+                                   THE JACKDAW OF RHEIMS.
+
+
+As might be expected, the existence of such an extraordinary phenomenon as
+Border reiving did not escape the attention of the Church. Such a peculiar
+state of affairs could not be regarded with favour, or treated with
+indifference. It may be said, no doubt, that the continued existence of
+such an abnormally lawless and chaotic condition of society on the Borders
+indicated that the ecclesiastical authorities were either singularly
+inept, or reprehensibly careless. Why was some attempt not made long
+before to curb the lawless spirit of the Border reivers? With the
+exception of the "monition of cursing" by Gavin Dunbar, Archbishop of
+Glasgow, little or nothing seems to have been done by the Church to stem
+the tide of Border lawlessness.
+
+In dealing, however, with this phase of the question, there are several
+considerations which ought to be borne in mind. First of all, it ought to
+be remembered that while Border reiving was carried on with more or less
+persistence for some hundreds of years it did not attain really portentous
+dimensions till well on towards the close of the fifteenth century. Prior
+to the time of the Jameses, the two countries may be said to have been
+almost constantly at war. Invasion followed invasion, on the one side and
+on the other, with a kind of periodic regularity. From the time of James
+I., onwards to the union of the Crowns in 1603, such invasions, at least
+on the same large and destructive scale, became less frequent; though, in
+the intervals of peace, the Borderers kept themselves busy harassing and
+despoiling each other. This period of comparative calm, it may be
+remarked, is also synchronous with the decadence of Romanism. From the
+time of Queen Margaret, of pious memory, to the death of Robert III., the
+Romish Church enjoyed a period of signal prosperity. Abbeys and
+monasteries, many of them buildings of great architectural beauty, were
+erected in different parts of the country, and became important centres of
+moral and religious authority and influence. Whatever opinion may be
+entertained regarding Romanism, whether regarded from an ecclesiastical or
+theological standpoint, the majority of fairly unprejudiced students will
+be ready to admit that the system was, in many respects, admirably adapted
+to the circumstances of the country at that particular stage of its
+development. A strong hand was needed to curb and guide the lawless and
+turbulent factions of which the nation was composed. It is more than
+doubtful if, under any other ecclesiastical system--bad as things
+were--the same beneficent results would have been attained.
+
+But powerful as the Romish Church was in the country, in the heyday of its
+prosperity, it never attained the same undisputed sway in Scotland which
+marked its history in other countries, especially on the Continent. The
+reason of this is not difficult to discover, though it must be sought for
+far back in the religious history of the people. The Celtic Church,
+founded by St. Columba, was neither in doctrine nor polity exactly on
+Roman Catholic lines. It sought in the East rather than in the West, in
+Ephesus rather than Rome, its ideals of worship and doctrine. Romanism
+succeeded in establishing itself only after a long and arduous struggle.
+And when at last victory had been achieved, and the Church in Scotland
+had been Romanized, it was discovered that while the form had changed, the
+spirit of the older Church still survived, and when occasion arose, made
+itself felt in no uncertain manner. There can be no question that the
+influence of the Celtic Church continued long after the Church itself had
+passed away. It is a noteworthy fact that neither the rulers of the
+people, nor those over whom they exercised authority, were prepared to
+submit implicitly to the dictation of the Romish see. Their obedience to
+the great temporal head of the Catholic religion was never either servile
+or unlimited. They were prepared to take their own way in many things,
+treating often with much indifference the fulminations of their spiritual
+superiors. Many illustrations of this tendency may be found in the history
+of the country. On one occasion, for example, William the Lion appointed
+his chaplain to the Bishopric of St. Andrews. An English monk was chosen
+by the Chapter to the same office, and thus a complete deadlock was
+brought about. What was to be done? The ecclesiastical authorities
+appealed to the Pope, who was indignant when he learned that the authority
+of the Church was being thus rudely trampled upon. He conferred legatine
+powers on the Archbishop of York, and the Bishop of Durham, to "direct the
+thunder of excommunication" against the King in the event of contumacy.
+But notwithstanding the extreme gravity of the situation the King
+stubbornly refused to yield. He not only set the papal authority at
+defiance, but he banished from the country those who dared to yield to the
+papal favourite.
+
+This is not, by any means, an isolated instance of stubborn and successful
+resistance to the authority of the Church. The same thing, in other
+circumstances, occurred again and again, with the result that the terrors
+of excommunication ceased to be dreaded.
+
+This, of course, was especially the case during the decadent period of the
+Catholic _regime_. There are numerous indications in the literature of the
+fifteenth and sixteenth centuries of this weakening of the ecclesiastical
+authority. The picture which Sir David Lindsay has drawn of the condition
+of the Church at this period is no mere spiteful exaggeration, but may be
+accepted as substantially accurate. Nothing could well more clearly
+indicate how thoroughly the Church had failed to keep in touch with the
+intellectual life of the nation, or guide and control its moral and
+spiritual activities.
+
+It was during this period of weakness, almost of total moral collapse,
+that the Archbishop of Glasgow took it upon him to excommunicate the
+Border thieves. Had the same vigorous measure been adopted at an earlier
+period, the result might have been more favourable. As it was, the
+launching of this ecclesiastical thunderbolt really created more
+amusement than consternation. It was regarded simply as the growl of a
+toothless lion. In no circumstances were the Border reivers easily
+intimidated. Their calling had made them more or less indifferent to the
+claims alike of Church and State. They had never had much affection for
+the king, and they had, perhaps, still less for the priest. Having shaken
+themselves free, to a large extent at least, from the control of the
+State, they were not prepared to put their neck under the yoke of an
+ecclesiastical authority which even the best men of the age had ceased to
+venerate. But the Archbishop felt that he had a duty to discharge, and he
+applied himself to the task with commendable vigour. It may be well to
+explain that there are two forms of excommunication--_excommunicatio
+major_ and _excommunicatio minor_. The former mode of excommunication is
+one of which we in these days happily know nothing, as it can only be
+effectively carried out with the approval and assistance of the State,
+which in modern times would never be granted. But the latter form is still
+common. It has been retained in the Church as a point of discipline, or,
+to use a well known and significant theological phrase, as a _poena
+medicinalis_. The major excommunication was a frightful weapon, and might
+well be dreaded. Those who suffered the greater excommunication were
+excluded from the Mass, from burial in consecrated ground, from
+ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and practically from all intercourse with
+their fellow Christians. They were, in short, handed over body and soul to
+the devil.
+
+The "Monition of Cursing," issued by the Archbishop of Glasgow against the
+Border thieves, was ordered to be read from every pulpit in the diocese,
+and circulated throughout the length and breadth of the Borders. It is a
+curious document, and will, doubtless, be read with interest, if not with
+profit. It was expressed in the following terms:--
+
+"GUDE FOLKS, heir at my Lord Archibischop of Glasgwis letters under his
+round sele, direct to me or any uther chapellane, makand mensioun, with
+greit regrait, how hevy he beris the pietous, lamentabill, and dolorous
+complaint that pass our all realme and cummis to his eris, be oppin voce
+and fame, how our souverane lordis trew liegis, men, wiffis and barnys,
+bocht and redemit be the precious blude of our Salviour Jhesu Crist, and
+levand in his lawis, ar saikleslie[108] part murdrist, part slayne, brynt,
+heryit, spulzeit and reft, oppinly on day licht and under silens of the
+nicht, and thair takis[109] and landis laid waist, and thair self banyst
+therfra, als wele kirklandis as utheris, be commoun tratouris,
+revaris,[110] theiffis, duelland in the south part of this realme, sic as
+Tevidale, Esdale, Liddisdale, Ewisdale, Nedisdale, and Annanderdaill;
+quhilkis hes bene diverse ways persewit and punist be the temperale swerd
+and our Soverane Lordis auctorite, and dredis nocht the samyn.
+
+"And thairfoir my said Lord Archibischop of Glasgw hes thocht expedient to
+strike thame with the terribill swerd of halykirk, quhilk thai may nocht
+lang endur and resist; and hes chargeit me, or any uther chapellane, to
+denounce, declair and proclame thaim oppinly and generalie cursit, at this
+marketcroce, and all utheris public places.
+
+"Heirfor throw the auctorite of Almichty God, the Fader of hevin, his Son,
+our Salviour, Jhesu Crist, and of the Halygaist; throw the auctorite of
+the Blissit Virgin Sanct Mary, Sanct Michael, Sanct Gabriell, and all the
+angellis; Sanct John the Baptist, and all the haly patriarkis and
+prophets; Sanct Peter, Sanct Paull, Sanct Andro, and all haly appostillis;
+Sanct Stephin, Sanct Laurence, and all haly mertheris[111]; Sanct Gile,
+Sanct Martyn, and all haly confessouris; Sanct Anne, Sanct Katherin, and
+all haly virginis and matronis; and of all the sanctis and haly cumpany of
+hevin; be the auctorite of our Haly Fader the Paip and his cardinalis, and
+of my said Lord Archibischop of Glasgw, be the avise and assistance of my
+lordis, archibischop, bischopis, abbotis, priouris, and utheris prelatis
+and ministeris of halykirk, I DENOUNCE, PROCLAMIS, and DECLARIS all and
+sindry the committaris of the said saikles murthris, slauchteris,
+brinying, heirschippes, reiffis, thiftis, and spulezeis, oppinly apon day
+licht and under silence of nicht, alswele within temporale landis as
+kirklandis; togither with thair part takaris, assistaris, supplearis,
+wittandlie resettaris of thair personis, the gudes reft and stollen be
+thaim, art or part thereof, and their counsalouris and defendouris, of
+thair evil dedis generalie cursit, waryit,[112] aggregeite, and
+reaggregeite, with the greit cursing.
+
+"I CURSE thair heid and all the haris of thair heid; I CURSE thair face,
+thair ene, thair mouth, thair neise, thair toung, thair teith, thair crag,
+thair schulderis, thair breist, thair hert, thair stomok, thair bak, thair
+wame, thair armes, thair leggis, thair handis, thair feit, and everilk
+part of thair body, frae the top of thair heid to the soill of thair feit,
+befoir and behind, within and without. I CURSE thaim gangand, and I CURSE
+thaim rydand; I CURSE thaim standand, and I CURSE thaim sittand; I CURSE
+thaim etand, I CURSE thaim drinkand; I CURSE thaim walkand,[113] I CURSE
+thaim sleepand; I CURSE thaim rysand, I CURSE thaim lyand; I CURSE thaim
+at hame, I CURSE thaim fra hame; I CURSE thaim within the house, I CURSE
+thaim without the house; I CURSE thair wiffis, thair banris, and thair
+servandis participand with thaim in thair deides. I WARY[114] thair
+cornys, thair catales, thair woll, thair scheip, thair horse, thair swyne,
+thair geise, thair hennys, and all thair quyk gude.[115] I WARY thair
+hallis, thair chalmeris, thair kechingis, thair stabillis, thair barnys,
+thair biris, thair bernyardis, thair cailyardis, thair plewis, thair
+harrowis, and the gudis and housis that is necessair for thair
+sustentatioun and weilfair. All the malesouns and waresouns[116] that ever
+gat warldlie creatur sen the begynnyng of the warlde to this hour mot
+licht apon thaim. The maledictioun of God, that lichtit apon Lucifer and
+all his fallowis, that strak thaim frae the hie hevin to the deip hell,
+mot licht apon thaim. The fire and the swerd that stoppit Adam fra the
+yettis of Paradise, mot stop thaim frae the gloir of Hevin, quhill[117]
+thai forbere and mak amendis. The malesoun that lichtit on cursit Cayein,
+quhen he slew his bruther just Abell saiklessly, mot licht on thaim for
+the saikles slauchter that thai commit dailie. The maledictioun that
+lichtit apon all the warlde, man and beist, and all that ever tuk life,
+quhen all wes drownit be the flude of Noye, except Noye and his ark, mot
+licht apon thame and droune thame, man and beist, and mak this realm
+cummirles[118] of thame for thair wicket synnys. The thunnour and
+fireflauchtis[119] that [Greek: x]et doun as rane apon the cities of
+Zodoma and Gomora, with all the landis about, and brynt thame for thair
+vile synnys, mot rane apon thame, and birne thaim for oppin synnys. The
+malesoun and confusioun that lichtit on the Gigantis for thair oppressioun
+and pride, biggand the tour of Babiloun, mot confound thaim and all thair
+werkis, for thair oppin reiffs and oppressioun. All the plagis that fell
+apon Pharao and his pepill of Egipt, thair landis, corne and cataill, mot
+fall apon thaim, thair takkis, rowmys[120] and stedingis, cornys and
+beistis. The watter of Tweid and utheris watteris quhair thai ride mot
+droun thaim, as the Reid Sey drownit King Pharao and his pepil of Egipt,
+persewing Godis pepill of Israell. The erd mot oppin, riffe and
+cleiff,[121] and swelly thaim quyk[122] to hell, as it swellyit cursit
+Dathan and Abiron, that ganestude Moeses and the command of God. The wyld
+fyre that byrnt Thore and his fallowis to the nowmer of twa hundreth and
+fyty, and utheris 14,000 and 700 at anys, usurpand aganis Moyses and
+Araon, servandis of God, mot suddanely birne and consume thaim dailie
+ganestandand the commandis of God and halykirk. The maledictioun that
+lichtit suddanely upon fair Absolon, rydand contrair his fader, King
+David, servand of God, throw the wod, quhen the branchis of ane tre
+fred[123] him of his horse and hangit him be the hair, mot licht apon
+thaim, rydand agane trewe Scottis men, and hang thaim siclike that all the
+warld may se. The maledictioun that lichtit apon Olifernus, lieutenant to
+Nabogodonoser, makand weir and heirschippis apon trew cristin [_sic_] men;
+the maledictioun that lichtit apon Judas, Pylot, Herod, and the Jowis that
+crucifyit Our Lord, and all the plagis and trublis that lichtit on the
+citte of Jherusalem thairfor, and upon Symon Magus for his symony, bludy
+Nero, cursit Ditius Makcensius, Olibruis, Julianus, Apostita and the laiff
+of the cruell tirrannis that slew and murthirit Cristis haly servandis,
+mot licht apon thame for thair cruell tiranny and murthirdome of cristin
+pepill. And all the vengeance that ever wes takin sen the warlde began for
+oppin synnys, and all the plagis and pestilence that ever fell on man or
+beist, mot fall on thaim for thair oppin reiff, saiklesse slauchter and
+schedding of innocent blude. I DISSEVER and PAIRTIS thaim fra the kirk of
+God, and deliveris thaim quyk to the devill of hell, as the Apostill Sanct
+Paull deliverit Corinthion. I INTERDITE the places thay cum in fra divine
+service, ministracioun of the sacramentis of halykirk, except the
+sacrament of baptissing allanerllie;[124] and forbiddis all kirkmen to
+schriffe or absolve thaim of thaire synnys, quhill[125] they be first
+absolyeit of this cursing. I FORBID all cristin man or woman till have
+ony cumpany with thaime, etand, drynkand, spekand, prayand, lyand,
+gangand, standand, or in any uther deid doand, under the paine of deidly
+syn. I DISCHARGE all bandis, actis, contractis, athis, and obligatiounis
+made to thaim be ony persounis, outher of lawte,[126] kyndenes or manrent,
+salang as thai susteine this cursing; sua that na man be bundin to thaim,
+and that thai be bundin till all men. I TAK fra thame and cryis doune all
+the gude dedis that ever thai did or sall do, quhill thai ryse frae this
+cursing. I DECLARE thaim partles[127] of all matynys, messis, evinsangis,
+dirigeis or utheris prayeris, on buke or beid; of all pilgrimagis and
+almouse dedis done or to be done in halykirk or be cristin pepill,
+enduring this cursing.
+
+"And, finally, I CONDEMN thaim perpetualie to the deip pit of hell, to
+remain with Lucifeir and all his fallowis, and thair bodeis to the
+gallowis of the Burrow Mure, first to be hangit, syne revin and ruggit
+with doggis, swyne and utheris wyld beists, abhominable to all the warld.
+And thir candillis gangis frae your sicht, as mot[128] thair saulis gang
+fra the visage of God, and thair gude fame fra the warld, quhill thai
+forbeir thair oppin synnys foirsaidis and ryse frae this terribill
+cursing, and mak satisfaction and pennance."[129]
+
+
+
+
+
+XV.
+
+THE TRIUMPH OF LAW.
+
+  'Tis clear a freebooter doth live in hazard's train,
+  A freebooter's a cavalier that ventures life for gain,
+  But since King James the Sixth to England went,
+  There's been no cause of grief or discontent,
+  And he that hath transgressed the law since then,
+  Is no freebooter but a thief from men.
+
+                                   SATCHELL.
+
+
+When we turn our attention to the study of the causes which ultimately
+resulted in the abolition of Border reiving, we find that this desirable
+end was brought about, to a considerable extent at least, by a change of
+environment. Conditions were gradually created which made the old system
+not only undesirable, but unnecessary, both from a political and economic
+point of view. An important step was taken when Buccleuch, at the
+instigation of "the powers that be," drafted off large numbers of the
+"broken men" to the Belgic wars. In the campaigns which were then being
+conducted in the Low Countries, these hardy, valiant Borderers no doubt
+gave a good account of themselves; but, so far as can be ascertained, few
+of them ever returned to "tell the tale." Still more drastic measures
+were adopted in order to get rid of the Graemes, who inhabited the
+Debateable land, and whose depredations had provoked a bitter feeling of
+resentment on both sides of the Border. It seemed hopeless to expect any
+improvement in their habits so long as they were allowed to remain where
+they were, and so they were banished from the country, shipped across the
+channel to the Emerald Isle, where it is to be hoped they found a
+congenial sphere, and sufficient scope for their abilities. Perhaps in
+course of time they settled down to a more orderly, if less exciting, mode
+of life than that to which they had hitherto been accustomed.
+
+But, notwithstanding the removal of these lawless men from the Borders, it
+was found that those who had been left at home were either unwilling or
+unable to abandon their reiving habits. The disease had long been chronic,
+and those responsible for the government of the country began to realise
+that the cure was not to be effected in any instantaneous fashion. Time
+and patience were alike necessary in order to the successful
+accomplishment of the end desiderated. The task of restoring order, more
+especially in the Liddesdale district, was committed to the able hands of
+the "Bold Buccleuch." When he returned from abroad he was invested with
+the most arbitrary powers to execute justice on the malefactors, and he
+went about his work in the most resolute and business-like manner. Well
+known thieves were apprehended and immediately put to death. There were no
+prisons to lodge them in, and as it would have been, in most cases, a
+sheer waste of time to subject them to any form of trial--most of them
+being well known depredators who gloried in their crimes--they were
+executed without ceremony. In this way large numbers of the worst
+characters were disposed of, and a wholesome fear created in the minds of
+those who were fortunate enough to escape the gallows. If Buccleuch, in
+his rash and impetuous youth, was responsible for much of the mischief
+done on the Borders, he amply atoned for his indiscretions by the splendid
+services he now rendered to the State in suppressing lawlessness, and
+inaugurating, in this distracted region, the reign of law and order. His
+name will remain indissolubly associated with one of the most eventful and
+stirring periods in Border history, and we feel certain that the fame of
+his prowess will not suffer from a more minute acquaintance with the
+varied incidents of his remarkable career.
+
+But the main factors in the social and moral regeneration of the Borders
+were--
+
+     (1) The Union of the Crowns.
+
+     (2) The Planting of Schools.
+
+     (3) The Restoration of the Church.
+
+
+This order may not represent, and we do not think it does represent, the
+relative value of the influences which produced the radical and
+significant change which now took place in the habits and life of the
+people on both sides of the Border. But it will best suit our purpose to
+consider these agencies in the order stated.
+
+For a period of wellnigh four hundred years it had been the ambition of
+successive English monarchs to reduce Scotland to a state of vassalage.
+From the time of Edward this object was never altogether lost sight of.
+Again and again the project seemed on the eve of accomplishment, but some
+untoward event always occurred to render the scheme abortive. Doubtless,
+had the union of the Crowns taken place at an earlier period, both
+countries would have escaped some unpleasant and regrettable experiences.
+There can be no doubt that the hostility which marked the relationships of
+the two nations, had--at least from an economic point of view--an
+injurious effect on the people of Scotland. Industry in all its branches
+was crippled by the constant turmoil which prevailed. The Scottish kings,
+moreover, were "cribb'd, cabin'd, confin'd" by the ambitions and
+jealousies of a turbulent and factious nobility, who, in their relations
+to the State, were too frequently dominated by unpatriotic and selfish
+motives. Had it been possible for the sovereign to lay a strong hand on
+his nobles, and compel them to pay more regard to imperial interests than
+to their own private ends and petty jealousies, all might have been well.
+But such a course was often practically impossible. The barons were all
+powerful within their own domain, and when it served their purposes they
+seldom hesitated even to usurp the authority of the king. This abnormal
+condition of affairs made the government of the country a matter of
+extreme difficulty, and gave rise to endless trouble and vexation. No
+doubt it may legitimately be argued that, painful as this state of matters
+undoubtedly was, it was after all better that the Scottish nation should
+have retained its independence, with all the drawbacks attaching thereto,
+than that it should have conceded the demand of England for annexation.
+The difficulties of the situation were the making of the people. This may
+be frankly admitted. But, at the same time, it was a good thing for the
+country when at last the Scottish king ascended the English throne, and
+became the ruler of both nations. A new era was thus inaugurated, an era
+of progressive wellbeing in nearly every department of national life.
+
+It is worthy of note that, for a few years before James succeeded to the
+throne of England, his feeling towards the Scottish Borderers had become
+considerably modified. Whether this was due to the influence of the
+reproachful letters on the state of the Borders addressed to him by
+Elizabeth, or to the additional subsidy of L2000 per annum, now guaranteed
+to him out of the English exchequer, is a question about which there may,
+legitimately, be difference of opinion. In any case he now saw that it
+would be advantageous, from a personal as well as from a national point of
+view, to curb as far as he possibly could the lawless propensities of the
+reiving fraternity. In so doing he was wisely anticipating the time when
+he would be responsible for good rule on both sides of the Border. It may
+thus be said that even the prospect of the union of the Crowns under James
+had a beneficial effect. Coming events cast their shadows before. It led
+to the adoption of a wiser policy in regard to this particular part of the
+realm, with the result that for some years prior to 1603, a noticeable
+improvement had taken place in Border affairs. The wardens had become more
+anxious than before to discharge the duties of their high office with
+impartiality, and to use their utmost endeavour to restrain the more
+lawless spirits among the clansmen over whom they exercised authority.
+Crime was at once more expeditiously and severely punished. A firm hand
+was laid on the ringleaders in Border strife; and though these men were
+not easily daunted, and chafed bitterly under the restraints laid upon
+them by those in authority, yet they were soon made to realise that a new
+spirit was being infused into the administration, and that in consequence
+reiving was becoming an increasingly difficult and perilous business. But
+great social revolutions are not brought about in a day; and, as we shall
+see, it was long ere the Borders settled down into their present normal
+condition.
+
+When James ascended the throne of England, the change which had been
+silently taking place in the management of Border affairs became at once
+more marked and widespread. The effect of this event was unmistakable in
+every department of the national life. It created, no doubt, considerable
+bitterness and jealousy in certain sections of society in England, as it
+was believed that the King was unduly partial to his own countrymen in the
+bestowment of his favours. This was certainly not the case, as James was
+far more anxious to conciliate his English subjects than to favour his
+native land. It would have been well for him, and his successors in
+office, had he discharged his duty to Scotland with less regard to English
+prejudices.
+
+He was determined, however, at all hazards to suppress Border reiving. Ten
+days after his arrival in London he issued a proclamation requiring all
+those guilty of _the foul and insolent outrages_ lately committed on the
+Borders, to submit themselves to his mercy before the twentieth of June,
+under penalty of being excluded from it for ever. Two days after this
+proclamation had been made he emitted another, declaring his fixed
+resolution to accomplish the union of the two realms; in consequence of
+which, the bounds possessed by the rebellious Borderers should no more be
+the _extremities_ but the _middle_, and the inhabitants thereof reduced to
+a perfect obedience. He said that he had found in the hearts of his best
+disposed subjects of both realms, a most earnest desire for this union;
+and he undertook, with the advice and consent of the Estates of both
+Parliaments, to bring it about. In the meantime he declared that he
+considered the two kingdoms _as presently united_; and required his
+subjects to view them in the same light, and in consequence thereof, to
+abstain from mutual outrages and injuries of whatever kind, under the
+penalty of his highest displeasure and of suffering the strictest rigour
+of justice.[130]
+
+In pursuance of this policy, and in order to extinguish all past
+hostilities between his kingdoms, the King prohibited the name of
+_Borders_ any longer to be used, substituting in its place the name
+_Middleshires_. He also ordered all the places of strength, with the
+exception of the habitations of noblemen and barons, to be demolished;
+their iron gates to be converted into ploughshares; and the inhabitants
+were enjoined to betake themselves to agriculture and other works of
+peace.
+
+But these severe measures, accompanied as they were by the summary
+execution of large numbers of the worst characters on the Borders, who, as
+we have seen, were sent to the gallows without ceremony, would not have
+been sufficient of themselves to eradicate the evil. More potent
+influences, however, were brought into operation. The law was now
+administered, not spasmodically as before, but with a continuity and
+impartiality hitherto unknown and unattainable. It was the interest of the
+King and of the Government to repress disorder, to punish the lawless and
+disobedient, and to establish order and good rule throughout both
+kingdoms; and the consequence was that, in course of time, the Border
+reivers were made to realise that they must, perforce, abandon their old
+habits and betake themselves to a new mode of life. This desirable end was
+not attained without difficulty. Border reiving did not altogether cease
+for nearly a hundred years after the union of the Crowns; but the
+beginning of the seventeenth century inaugurated the period of its
+decline.
+
+"The succession of James to the Crown of England," Ridpath remarks, "and
+both kingdoms thus devolving on one sovereign, was an event fruitful of
+blessing to each nation. The Borders, which for many ages had been almost
+a constant scene of rapine and devastation, enjoyed, from this happy era,
+a quiet and order which they had never before experienced; and the island
+of Britain derived from the union of the two Crowns, a tranquility and
+serenity hitherto unknown, and was enabled to exert its whole native
+force. National prejudices, and a mutual resentment, owing to a series of
+wars betwixt the kingdoms, carried on for centuries, still however
+subsisted, and disappointed James' favourite scheme of an entire and
+indissoluble union. From the same source also arose frequent disputes and
+feuds upon the Marches, which by the attention of the sovereign were soon
+and easily composed; and are not of moment enough to merit a particular
+relation. But it required almost a hundred years, though England and
+Scotland were governed all the time by a succession of the same princes,
+to wear off the jealousies and prepossessions of the formerly hostile
+nations, and to work such a change in their tempers and views, as to admit
+of an incorporating and an effectual union."[131]
+
+But another and most important agent in the pacification and social
+regeneration of the Borders was the development, under the fostering care
+of the Church, of what is known as the Parochial system of education. The
+Roman Catholic Church in earlier times was not, as has sometimes been
+erroneously supposed, inimical to the intellectual culture of the nation.
+In its palmy days it undertook the work of educating the people with an
+enthusiasm which commands the respect of most unbiased students of our
+national history.
+
+In this respect the monasteries, especially, rendered important services
+to the community. Long before the Reformation there were at least three
+classes of schools in Scotland--the "Sang Schools," connected with the
+Cathedrals or more important Churches--the "Grammar Schools," which were
+founded in the principal burghs in the country--and the "Monastic
+Schools," which were, as the name implies, connected with the monasteries.
+"The interest in education," says Prof. Story, "which had distinguished
+the Columban Church, was not seriously impaired by its amalgamation with
+the Church of Rome. It survived in active force, and before the foundation
+of any of the existing public schools of England (the oldest of which is
+Winchester, founded in 1387), we find the charge of the schools of
+Roxburghshire intrusted in 1241 to the monks of Kelso, over whom was an
+official called 'The Rector of the Schools.'"[132]
+
+But for a considerable period prior to the Reformation, the interest of
+the Roman Catholic Church in education, as well as in regard to the moral
+and spiritual well-being of the people, had become enfeebled. The
+monasteries had ceased to be, what they were in earlier times, centres of
+gracious intellectual and spiritual influence. And nowhere was this more
+conspicuously the case than on the Borders. The lawlessness of the clans
+reacted on the life of the Church, and instead of the Church overcoming
+the malign and disintegrating influences by which it was assailed, it was
+unhappily overcome by them. Education in all its branches was shamefully
+neglected. The most eminent barons in the land were often unable even to
+write their own names. When they were under the necessity of adhibiting
+their signatures to deed or charter, the pen had to be guided by the hand
+of the notary. In these circumstances it is not difficult to imagine how
+densely ignorant the great body of the people must have been.
+
+Whatever may be said for or against the Reformation, there will be a
+general consensus of opinion, among educationists especially, that the
+scheme propounded by John Knox for the education of the people is in many
+respects an ideal one. It is thus outlined in the Book of Discipline:--"Of
+necessitie therefore we judge it, that every several kirk have one
+schoolmaister appointed, such a one at least as is able to teach grammar
+and the Latin tongue, if the town be of any reputation. If it be upland
+where the people convene to the doctrine but once in the week, then must
+either the reader or the minister there appointed take care of the
+children and youth of the parish, to instruct them in the first
+rudiments, especially in the Catechism [Calvin's Catechism] as we have it
+now translated in the Book of Common Order, called the Order of Geneva.
+And furder, we think it expedient, that in every notable town, and
+specially in the town of the superintendent, there be erected a Colledge,
+in which the arts, at least logick and rhetorick, together with the
+tongues, be read by sufficient masters, for whom honest stipends must be
+appointed. As also that provision be made for those that be poore, and not
+able by themselves nor by their friends to be sustained at letters, and in
+special these that come from landward."[133]
+
+Unfortunately, owing to the rapacity of the nobles, this splendid scheme
+of national education was not carried out in its entirety. But though the
+enlightened views which the Reformers thus endeavoured to impress both
+upon the Parliament and the country were not so heartily and widely
+adopted as they should have been, a beginning was made in the
+establishment of parochial schools, and by this means the benefits of
+education were brought within the reach of the great body of the people.
+It has been justly remarked that if the counsel of the Reformers had been
+followed, no country in the world would have been so well supplied as
+Scotland with the means of extending the benefits of a liberal education
+to every man capable of intellectual improvement.
+
+The state of the Borders, however, for at least fifty years after the
+Reformation, was such as to make it difficult in some places, and all but
+impossible in others, to establish and maintain parochial schools. But in
+course of time, as things began to improve, owing to the more systematic
+and impartial administration of the law, the work of training the youth of
+the district was entered upon with energy and enthusiasm. The beneficial
+results of the new regime in matters educational soon became apparent.
+Crime steadily decreased. The old reiving habits were gradually, if with
+difficulty, abandoned, and increased attention was given to the peaceful
+pursuits of agriculture and other industries; and out of the social chaos
+which had so long been a notorious feature of Border life, a healthy,
+vigorous, law-abiding community was evolved.
+
+But the most potent factor in the pacification and moral regeneration of
+the Borders was the influence and teaching of the Church. The religious
+condition of the people in this part of the country, both before and after
+the Reformation, can only be described as utterly deplorable. The fierce
+fighting Border clans had practically broken with institutional religion
+in all its forms. It is frequently said of them, and not without good
+reason, that they feared neither God nor man. They delighted in robbing
+and burning churches, and held both priest and presbyter in high disdain.
+Johnie Armstrong of Gilnockie is credited with having destroyed, during
+the course of his career, no fewer than fifty-two parish churches. The
+picture of the religious condition of the Borders, as reflected in the
+State Papers, is well fitted to awaken painful reflections. Eure, for
+example, in a letter addressed to Queen Elizabeth, in the year 1596,
+says:--"Another most grievous decay is the 'want of knowledge of God,'
+whereby the better sort forget oath and duty, let malefactors go without
+evidence, and favour a partie belonging to them or their friends. The
+churches mostly ruined to the ground, ministers and preachers 'comfortless
+to come and remain where such heathenish people are,' so there are neither
+teachers nor taught."[134] In a still more doleful strain the Bishop of
+Durham describes the irreligious condition of the Borders. "Diverse
+persons," he says, "under pretext of danger to their persons, and some
+through a careless regard of their conscience toward their flocks, besides
+also other out of a continual corruption of their patrons, turn residence
+into absence, whereby the people are almost totally negligent and ignorant
+of the truth professed by us, and so the more subject to every subtile
+seducer."[135] So completely, indeed, had religious teaching fallen into
+abeyance that one writer even goes the length of affirming that "many die,
+and cannot say the Lord's Prayer."[136]
+
+The Commission appointed to inquire into the state of affairs on the
+Borders, after the breaking of Carlisle castle by Buccleuch, and to
+discover, if possible, some remedy for the clamant evils which prevailed,
+suggested in the first paragraph of their report "that ministers be
+planted at every Border Church to inform the lawless people of their duty,
+and watch over their manners--the principals of each parish giving their
+prime surety for due reverence to the pastor in his office; the said
+churches to be timely repaired."[137]
+
+The propriety and wisdom of this deliverance will not be seriously
+questioned by those who have some knowledge of the motives and principles
+by which human life is moulded and governed. Religion is the bulwark of
+society and the State--the necessary condition alike of their existence
+and wellbeing. It was therefore clearly perceived by those responsible for
+the social and moral wellbeing of this much distracted region that some
+effective measures must be adopted to revive the religious life of the
+people. The task was none of the easiest. Ruined churches had to be
+restored; ministers had to be found, and "honest stipends" provided; and
+the community from an ecclesiastical point of view reorganized. And, as
+might be expected, the changes contemplated were not easily or quickly
+effected. Old habits are not readily abandoned, and consequently it took
+many years to raise the general religious life of the Borders to the level
+of that of other districts of the country where the conditions, to begin
+with, were more favourable. Even in the beginning of the eighteenth
+century, when that renowned minister, the Rev. Thomas Boston, began his
+pastorate in Ettrick, the state of matters from a religious point of view
+was such as might well have appalled the stoutest heart. His parishioners
+were rude and lawless to a degree. We are told that on Sundays some of
+them went, not to church, but to the churchyard, and tried to drown the
+voice of the preacher by producing all sorts of discordant sounds; and
+even those who ventured within the walls ostensibly to worship, would rise
+up during the service with "rude noise and seeming impatience," and leave
+the building. The condition of this parish--and others in the district
+were probably not much better--has been not inaptly described as "an
+unploughed field covered with tangled weeds and thorns, and sheltering
+many foul creatures." But the morals of the people, under the influence of
+the faithful ministrations of Boston, were gradually reformed, and the
+desert was made to bud and blossom like the rose. And what was effected
+in this particular district may be taken as a fair sample of the good work
+accomplished by the Church throughout the whole length of the Borders. Its
+influence was potent and far-reaching, and mighty to the pulling down of
+the strongholds of evil. "How did it happen," says a modern writer, "that
+the raiding and reiving race which inhabited the Borders became so
+peaceful and law-abiding? That were a long tale to tell, but the credit of
+it belongs to those preachers Sir Walter was too superfine and cavalier to
+understand. In this work his own great-grandfather, for nineteen years the
+faithful and diligent minister of Yarrow, bore his own part, and, though
+the great-grandson owed his genius to his mother, the minister's
+grand-daughter, he failed to appreciate the most characteristic treasure
+of his inheritance. He remembered that Richard Cameron--founder of the
+Cameronians, sternest of Presbyterian sects--was once chaplain to the
+Harden Scotts, but he could see no heroism in the uncompromising preacher,
+who had dared to rebuke Harden's too compliant faith and indulgent temper.
+Yet over Annandale, throughout Moffatdale, thence flowing over into the
+Forest, the name of Cameron was one of power. The heroic strain in him
+suited the mood of the ancient reivers, who loved strength and iron in the
+blood. But the Scotts had ridden and lorded it over the Marches too long
+to love iron in any blood save their own. Their feud with the preachers
+began early, for John Welsh, Knox's son-in-law, was persecuted out of
+Selkirk, whither he had gone to convert the souters and reform the
+freebooters of the Forest, by a Scott of Headshaw. But the man who ought
+here to be placed foremost is a man who became minister of Ettrick three
+years before John Rutherford, Scott's ancestor, died--Thomas Boston.
+Cotter Morrison quoted some of his fierce sayings with the horror of a son
+of light suddenly confronting an altogether incredible darkness. But no
+man ignorant of the deeds of Boston can judge his speech. In some of his
+words there is a wonderful tenderness, in his acts a marvellous integrity,
+and in his thought a rare power to move the hearts, stir the consciences,
+and awaken the intellects of his people. It was a brave thing to make the
+stern Presbyterian discipline a reality among these men of the Forest, in
+whom the old reiving instinct was still strong, at once kept alive and
+glorified by the ballads which were known in every cottage, and recited at
+every hearth. But the man was patient and strong enough to do it; nothing
+was too minute to escape his eye; nothing was too inveterate to silence or
+too ancient to overcome his religion."[138] It is undoubtedly to the
+influence of such preachers, men of faith and character, scholarship and
+genius, that Borderers owe many of the best qualities, both of intellect
+and heart, for which, in later times, they have become distinguished.
+
+
+
+
+XVI.
+
+THE HARVEST OF PEACE.
+
+  When this loose behaviour I throw off,
+  And pay the debt I never promised,
+  By how much better than my word I am,
+  By so much shall I falsify men's hope;
+  And, like bright metal on a sullen ground,
+  My reformation, glittering o'er my fault,
+  Shall show more goodly, and attract more eyes,
+  Than that which hath no foil to set it off.
+
+                                   SHAKESPEARE.
+
+
+To those familiar with the history of Border reiving it may appear, on the
+first glance, somewhat inexplicable that in those districts where the
+system was most deeply rooted there should now be found one of the most
+orderly and law-abiding communities in the country. The old leaven, it
+would seem, has worked itself out, and that, too, with a rapidity and
+thoroughness which some may find difficult to reconcile with the modern
+doctrine of heredity. The laws of evolution, whether in the physical or
+social sphere, may operate with the precision and certainty of destiny,
+but the changes effected are brought about slowly, and with well-graded
+regularity. No doubt fifty or a hundred years is a considerable period
+measured by the standard of the individual life, but it is a brief term in
+the history of a nation or people. While considerable changes may take
+place in the course of a century, yet these are often of a more or less
+superficial character, affecting only to a limited extent the thoughts,
+habits, and customs of a community. In the present instance, however, the
+changes which took place in the life of the Border clans seem to have been
+as thorough as they were rapid. In a comparatively short time the Borders,
+from being one of the most lawless and disorderly districts in the
+country, became an example to both kingdoms in honesty, sobriety, and true
+patriotism. Such epithets as "brutal Borderers" and "lewd Liddesdales," so
+freely banded about in earlier times, especially by the English wardens,
+speedily lost their significance. Those lawless reivers, whom neither
+warden nor king could effectively control, were not difficult to induce,
+when the proper time came, to turn their swords into ploughshares and
+their spears into pruning hooks, and to settle down to a well-ordered,
+industrious, and peaceful mode of life. This phenomenon may doubtless be
+accounted for on purely natural principles. The explanation, indeed, is
+not difficult to discover. As we have already seen, the worst characters,
+the "broken men"--those who had no chiefs who could be made responsible
+for their good behaviour--were expatriated--sent to Holland and
+elsewhere--and consequently ceased to give further trouble. And it may be
+said in regard to those who remained that while they had spent the best
+part of their lives in appropriating the goods and chattels of their
+English neighbours, they were not by any means the depraved and degraded
+wretches they have so often been described. Far from it. These men for the
+most part believed, rightly or wrongly, that in despoiling and harassing
+their English neighbours they were rendering an important service to their
+country. They looked upon their reiving as being of the nature of
+reprisal. Time and again they had been hunted and harried by their "auld
+enemies," and they thought it no sin, whenever they found an opportunity,
+to carry the war into the enemies' camp. Moreover, it seems to have been
+an article of their creed--one of the "fundamentals"--that all property
+was common by the laws of nature, a doctrine which, even at the present
+day, is sometimes propounded with considerable show of logic by budding
+Border politicians. Their ethical system was simplicity itself. Might was
+right. The spoil belonged by natural law to the man who could either take
+or keep it. Of course it may be said that such notions are opposed to the
+foundation principles of all social and moral life. This may be conceded.
+But the fact that the Border reivers looked at things from a different
+point of view--while it may not mitigate the offence abstractly
+considered--had an important bearing and influence on their own moral life
+and character. There can be no doubt that it saved them from utter
+demoralization. He that doubteth is damned. But the Borderers were fully
+convinced that their action in plundering and despoiling those who lived
+in the opposite Marches was commendable and right. Johnie Armstrong may be
+taken as a faithful exponent of Border ethics when he says:--
+
+  For I've loved naething in my life,
+  I weel dare say it, but _honesty_.
+
+He leaves us in no doubt as to what he means by the assertion. He does not
+deny that he took everything he could lay his hands on from the
+unfortunate English. He glories in the fact. It never occurs to him that
+he ought to feel ashamed of his conduct. But he avers that though he had
+lived for a hundred years never a Scot's wife could have said that "ere he
+had skaithed her a puir flee." It was right to rob the English; it was
+disgraceful to turn your hand against anyone belonging to your own
+country. Here we have the ethical system of the Border reiver in a
+nutshell.
+
+But lawless as the Borders may have been in the olden time, they certainly
+do not at the present day bear many traces of their evil past. The Border
+counties, judging from the statistics of the Police and Sheriff Courts,
+have an excellent record, whether we consider the number or the nature of
+the cases dealt with. The following statistics speak for themselves:--
+
+                             Average Number of Convictions
+      County.   Population.      for the last five years.
+                                  M.      F.     Total.
+  Selkirk          10,101        315      37     352
+  Roxburgh         34,537        589     105     694
+  Berwick          32,406        287      56     343
+  Dumfries         61,274        539      74     613
+  Peebles          14,761        284      41     325
+
+But these statistics would appear still more favourable were it not for
+the existence of what is known as the "Tweed Act," which is responsible
+for a considerable proportion of the crime charged against the Border
+counties. In the county of Peebles, for example, fully 17 per cent. of the
+convictions recorded are under this exceptional statute. It is a law which
+is often fiercely denounced both by poachers and politicians, and of which
+few others have much that is kindly to say, with the exception perhaps of
+the riparian proprietors; but no really serious attempt has as yet been
+made to have the Tweed and its tributaries brought under the general law
+of the land. But notwithstanding the existence of this fruitful source of
+crime, the Borders compare not unfavourably with other districts. The
+population of Caithness, for instance, is only a little over 4000 higher
+than that of Berwick, and we find that the average number of convictions
+in that county for the past five years is 419, a fact which shows that the
+inhabitants of the south are quite as well conducted as those in the far
+north.
+
+It is also worthy of note that the offences dealt with are for the most
+part of a petty nature. There are comparatively few cases of theft, or
+offences against the person. It may therefore be said that the Borders
+have emerged from the evil conditions of the past, bearing few traces, if
+any, of their former lawlessness. It was no doubt a hard school in which
+Borderers were trained, and, perhaps, as has been remarked, some of them
+are a trifle grim, and dour, and unsociable, deficient to some extent in
+the softer and kindlier virtues characteristic of the inhabitants of the
+western seaboard; but, considering the experiences through which they have
+passed, they have no reason to be ashamed of themselves.
+
+And if Borderers have deficiencies arising out of the adverse
+circumstances with which they had so long to contend, they have also
+outstanding excellencies which have brought them well to the front in the
+race of life. They are brave, outspoken, independent. They think and act
+with energy and decision. They believe in themselves, rely upon their own
+resources, and where the struggle is most severe they almost invariably
+give a good account of themselves. Their contributions in modern times to
+the social and intellectual life of the nation have been considerable,
+and of a high quality. In agriculture, in commerce, in statesmanship, in
+warfare, and in many other departments, they have rendered important
+services. The Scotts and Kers and Elliots--names intimately associated
+with Border reiving in all its phases--have long held a foremost place in
+the political and social life of the country.
+
+But the great feature of Border life in more modern times has been the
+almost marvellous efflorescence of the spirit of poesy, which has
+conferred on the district a unique distinction and an imperishable charm.
+It may seem strange that the home of the reiver should have become the
+birthplace of poetry and song; yet a moment's reflection will suffice to
+show that here are to be found all the conditions which make life a
+tragedy and beget the feeling for it. The rough adventurous life of the
+Border reiver, with its constant peril and hairbreadth escapes, formed, as
+it were, a fitting compost for the cultivation of the tragic muse. And
+what ballads have sprung from this soil watered by the very heart's blood
+of its people! "The Dowie Dens of Yarrow," "The Douglas Tragedy," "Johnie
+Armstrong," "Jamie Telfer of the Fair Dodhead," "The Border Widow's
+Lament," "The Flowers of the Forest"--not to mention many others of almost
+equal merit--have taken possession of the imaginative and emotional life
+of the nation, and become part and parcel of its very being. Indeed, the
+influence of this varied body of balladic lore on the thought and life and
+character of the Scottish people can hardly be over-estimated. Spenser, to
+whose sublime genius we are indebted for the "Faery Queen," is known to
+fame as "the poet's poet." It is a high distinction, and not unworthily
+bestowed. But in a still higher sense it may be said that the Border
+ballads have been a perennial fountain of poetic inspiration to all lovers
+of the Muse. Rough and rugged though many of them are, yet they are
+dowered with that potent spell which at once captivates the heart and
+awakens within it the deepest and tenderest emotions of which it is
+capable. Here, if anywhere, we find the Helicon of Scotland.
+
+We may regret, with R. L. Stevenson, that the names of the old balladists
+have disappeared from the roll of fame. It would have been interesting to
+know who the singers were; but we may be thankful that the songs they sung
+have come down to our later age. They are a priceless inheritance, a
+glorious legacy. In these ballads the rugged cactus of Border life has
+burst into the most gorgeous blossom.
+
+But this is not all. The ballad period, rich as it is in all the higher
+elements of dramatic and poetic suggestiveness, was but the beginning of
+an era of song, which has secured for the Borderland an unique
+distinction. In the beginning of the eighteenth century there was born in
+the manse of Ednam, in the neighbourhood of Kelso, one of the most
+renowned of Border poets, James Thomson, the author of "The Seasons," "The
+Castle of Indolence," "Rule Britannia," and other pieces. His early youth
+was spent in the parish of Southdean, and here among the green rolling
+hills, and by the quiet streams, he stored his mind and imagination with
+those images of natural beauty which in later times, in a far-off city, he
+embodied in immortal verse. His services to the poetic literature of his
+age and country have been tardily, and often very inadequately,
+appreciated. To him mainly belongs the credit of bringing the minds of men
+back to nature and reality as the only genuine sources of poetic
+inspiration. He was the forerunner of Cowper, and Burns, and
+Wordsworth--the pioneer in a new and profoundly significant movement.
+
+After a considerable interval, Scott, Hogg, and Leyden appear on the
+scene--names that will for ever remain enshrined in Border song and story.
+Scott was a Borderer of Borderers, a descendant of Auld Wat of Harden and
+Mary Scott, the Flower of Yarrow. His grandfather, on the maternal side,
+was Professor Rutherford, a famous man in his day, the scion of an old
+Border stock, renowned, like the Harden family, in the annals of reiving.
+
+Hogg and Leyden occupy a place of honourable distinction in the life and
+literature of the Borders. "Kilmeny" is a masterpiece of imaginative
+genius, and has won for its author a fame which the lapse of time will not
+seriously impair. John Leyden, more renowned as a scholar and antiquary
+than a poet, gave evidence of the possession of powers which, had he been
+spared, would have secured for him a foremost place among the most
+brilliant men of his age. These services which the Borders have thus
+rendered to the literature of the country have been valuable and important
+in a high degree.
+
+And--if we dare suggest it--it is not altogether improbable that even
+Burns himself was sprung of a Border stock. We find in the "Border
+Papers," from which much of our information regarding Border reiving has
+been drawn, that the name "Burness" frequently occurs. The family bearing
+this patronymic was well known in Liddesdale and the Debateable land, and
+the various branches of the family, like the Armstrongs and Elliots, were
+distinguished for their reiving propensities. The grandfather of the poet
+found a home in Argyleshire, and Burns' father, as is well known, hailed
+from Kincardineshire. The removal from the Borders of a representative of
+the family may be easily accounted for. Reference has already been made to
+a law which was passed by the Scottish Parliament enacting that the
+various families and clans on the Borders should find pledges for their
+good behaviour. These "pledges" were sent north of the Forth, and were
+strictly prohibited from returning to their former haunts. It is just
+possible that in this way an ancestor of Burns may have been called to
+leave the Border district in the interests of his family or clan. This
+much at least is certain, the name is one which was common on the Borders
+in those times of which we write. But whatever truth there may be in the
+suggestion we have made (it would be foolish to dogmatise in the absence
+of authentic information), Burns furnishes many points of resemblance to
+the distinctive traits of Border character in the olden time. His
+disregard of conventionality in all its forms, combined with his
+aggressive sense of independence, mark him out as of the true Border type.
+
+This district, once so famous as the favourite haunt of the reiver, may
+now be described as one of the most peaceful in the country. Every year it
+attracts an increasing number of tourists, who come from almost every part
+of the world to visit its numerous shrines. To the literary and
+professional classes it has become a kind of Mecca, to which they feel
+constrained to resort once and again for intellectual refreshment and
+inspiration. The glamour which Scott, Wordsworth, and Hogg--and many other
+tuneful poets--have thrown around its green hills and bosky glens has
+given it an air of enchantment to which the poetic temperament especially
+is keenly sensitive. The pity is that in modern times, owing to a variety
+of causes, the population in the rural districts has been steadily
+decreasing. The fine hardy, thrifty, yeomen race is disappearing. Small
+holdings have been consolidated, and the big farm--in too many cases--is
+held by a non-resident tenant, who interests himself little, or not at
+all, in the social and moral well-being of those whom he is under the
+necessity of employing. This evil is one of long standing. In the
+Statistical Account of Yarrow, published in 1833, Dr Russell remarks
+that--"out of forty-five farms in the parish, twenty are _led_ farms. On
+many of these were formerly large families, with servants and cottagers,
+and there are five such lying adjacent,--a state of things the more to be
+regretted, when its only advantage is a trifling addition of rent, and the
+saving of outlay on farm buildings." Well may it be said--
+
+  "Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
+  Where wealth accumulates, and men decay:
+  Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade,
+  A breath can make them, as a breath has made:
+  But a bold peasantry, their country's pride,
+  When once destroyed, can never be supplied."
+
+
+
+
+Footnotes:
+
+[1] Tytler's History, vol. I., page 43.
+
+[2] Tytler's History, vol. I., page 46.
+
+[3] Border Papers, vol. II., page 130.
+
+[4] Froissart, vol. II., p. 362.
+
+[5] Ib.
+
+[6] Godscroft, p. 98.
+
+[7] Hide.
+
+[8] Fend--Support.
+
+[9] Godscroft, pp. 99-100.
+
+[10] Froissart, Vol. II., p. 369.
+
+[11] Godscroft, p. 100.
+
+[12] Douglas was buried at Melrose beside his father.
+
+[13] Hailes' Annals, p. 111.
+
+[14] Maitland of Lethington, vol. I., pp. 69-71.
+
+[15] History of James VI.
+
+[16] Skene's Acts of Parliament.
+
+[17] Skene's Acts of Parliament.
+
+[18] Border Papers, vol. II., pp. 80-81.
+
+[19] Intro. Border Minstrelsy, pp. cxc.-cxci.
+
+[20] Armstrong's Liddisdale, p. 81.
+
+[21] Froissart, vol. I., p. 18.
+
+[22] Taylor's History, vol. I., p. 583.
+
+[23] Ridpath's Border History, p. 550.
+
+[24] Quoted by Sir Herbert Maxwell, Hist. Dumfries and Galloway, p. 958-9.
+
+[25] Quoted by Sir Herbert Maxwell, Hist. Dumfries and Galloway, p.
+159-60.
+
+[26] Border Papers, vol. I., p. 131.
+
+[27] Border Papers, vol. II., pp. 147-8.
+
+[28] Border Papers, vol. II., p. 181.
+
+[29] Ib., vol. I., p. 143.
+
+[30] Ridpath's Border History, p. 651.
+
+[31] _Vide_ Border Antiquities, vol. II., App. p. xlvii.
+
+[32] Pitcairn's Crim. Tr., vol. I., p. 288.
+
+[33] Border Papers, vol. II., p. 299.
+
+[34] Scott's Border Antiquities, Intro. pp. xcii.-xciii. _Vide_ also
+Nicholson's Border Laws, where these particulars are given more in detail,
+pp. 127-129, also pp. 143-144.
+
+[35] Border Antiquities, p. 104.
+
+[36] Border Antiquities, Intro. p. xcvii.
+
+[37] Border Antiquities, Intro, pp. xcviii.-c.
+
+[38] Armstrong's Liddisdale, p. 18.
+
+[39] Leges Marchiarum, p. 88.
+
+[40] Ib., p. 122.
+
+[41] Leges Marchiarum, p. 88.
+
+[42] Leges Marchiarum, p. 94.
+
+[43] _Vide_ Introduction Border Antiquities, p. cviii.
+
+[44] Suffer for it.
+
+[45] Cary's Memoirs, p. 112.
+
+[46] Leges Marchiarum, p. 124.
+
+[47] Border Papers, vol. I., p. 188.
+
+[48] Border Papers, vol. I., p. 189.
+
+[49] Border Papers, vol. II., p. 163.
+
+[50] Border Antiquities, Intro. pp. xlvi.-xlviii.
+
+[51] Border Papers, vol. II., pp. 37-38.
+
+[52] Armstrong's Liddesdale, p. 70.
+
+[53] Pitscottie, p. 319.
+
+[54] Ib., p. 319.
+
+[55] Piscottie, p. 321.
+
+[56] Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. iii., p. 31.
+
+[57] _Vide_ Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. iii., p. 31.
+
+[58] Scott's Border Minstrelsy.
+
+[59] Border Papers, vol. i., p. 252.
+
+[60] Border Papers, vol. i., p. 284.
+
+[61] Border Papers, vol. i., p. 285.
+
+[62] Tytler, vol. ii., p. 275.
+
+[63] Leslie, p. 82.
+
+[64] Cary's Memoirs, pp. 72-74.
+
+[65] Horse newly taken from the grass.
+
+[66] Cary's Memoirs, pp. 45-51.
+
+[67] Carries.
+
+[68] Rafters.
+
+[69] Border Papers, vol. I., p. 348.
+
+[70] Pitcairn's Crim. Tr., vol. I., p. 37.
+
+[71] Celtic Scotland, vol. III. p.
+
+[72] _Vide_ Intro. Border Antiquities.
+
+[73] Border Papers, vol. I., p. 121.
+
+[74] Border Papers, vol. I., p. 121.
+
+[75] Cary's Memoirs, pp. 103-110.
+
+[76] Border Papers, vol. II., p. 763.
+
+[77] Pinkerton.
+
+[78] Pitcairn's Crim. Tr., vol. I., p. 154.
+
+[79] Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. I., p. 145.
+
+[80] Leslie's History, p. 143.
+
+[81] Pinkerton's History, vol. II., p. 307.
+
+[82] Pitscottie, p. 342-3.
+
+[83] Carlenrig.
+
+[84] Anderson MS. Adv. Lib. f. 154.
+
+[85] Reg. Sec. Big., vol. 8f., 195.
+
+[86] Rabbits.
+
+[87] Are able to bear.
+
+[88] It is said that this and the three preceding stanzas were among those
+Sir Walter Scott most delighted to quote.
+
+[89] Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. i., p. 171.
+
+[90] Cheese belly.
+
+[91] Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. i., pp. 172-3.
+
+[92] Border Papers, vol. I., p. 97.
+
+[93] Border Papers, vol. I., p. 282.
+
+[94] Border Papers, vol. II., p. 115.
+
+[95] Tytler, vol. iv. p. 244.
+
+[96] Border Papers, vol. ii., p. 299.
+
+[97] Border Papers, vol. ii., p. 313.
+
+[98] Border Papers, vol. ii., p. 319.
+
+[99] Border Papers, vol. ii. 420.
+
+[100] Cary's Memoirs, pp. 82-3.
+
+[101] Border Papers, vol. ii., p. 631.
+
+[102] Pitcairn's Crim. Tr., vol. i., p. 276.
+
+[103] Border Papers, vol. II., p. 359.
+
+[104] Carriers.
+
+[105] Border Minstrelsy, vol. iv. pp. 91-94.
+
+[106] Border Minstrelsy, vol. iv. pp. 95-96.
+
+[107] Border Minstrelsy, vol. i. p. 402.
+
+[108] Innocently.
+
+[109] Farms.
+
+[110] Rievers, robbers.
+
+[111] Martyrs.
+
+[112] Execrated.
+
+[113] Waking.
+
+[114] Execrate.
+
+[115] Live stock.
+
+[116] Curses and execreations.
+
+[117] Uunti.
+
+[118] Disencumbered.
+
+[119] Lightning.
+
+[120] Places.
+
+[121] May the earth open, split and cleave.
+
+[122] Swallow them alive.
+
+[123] Freed.
+
+[124] Only.
+
+[125] Until.
+
+[126] Loyalty.
+
+[127] Without part in.
+
+[128] So may.
+
+[129] Mr Armstrong has printed the above in his 'History of Liddesdale,
+&c.,' from the 'State Papers of Henry VIII.,' vol. iv., note, pp. 417-419.
+
+[130] Ridpath's Border History, p. 704.
+
+[131] Ridpath's Border History, p. 706.
+
+[132] Apostolic Ministry of the Scottish Church, p. 211.
+
+[133] Book of Discipline, chap. vii.
+
+[134] Border Papers, vol. i. p. 125.
+
+[135] Border Papers, vol. ii. p. 323.
+
+[136] Border Papers, vol. i. p. 494.
+
+[137] Border Papers, vol. ii. p. 316.
+
+[138] Principal Fairbairn.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Passages in italics are indicated by _underscore_.
+
+Superscripted letters are shown in {brackets}.
+
+Additional spacing after some of the quotes is intentional to indicate
+both the end of a quotation and the beginning of a new paragraph as
+presented in the original text.
+
+Footnote 71 does not contain a page number in the orignal.
+
+Footnote 117 reads "Uunti" in the text, although it most likely should
+be "Until."
+
+Some quotes are opened with marks but are not closed. Obvious errors
+have been silently closed, while those requiring interpretation have
+been left open.
+
+The following misprints have been corrected:
+  "neigbourhood" corrected to "neighbourhood" (page 21)
+  "my my" corrected to "my" (page 29)
+  "neigbours corrected to "neighbours" (page 40)
+  "lord s" corrected to "lord's" (page 45)
+  "fourand" corrected to "four-and" (page 195)
+  "the the" corrected to "the" (page 209)
+  "philosopical" corrected to "philosophical" (page 243)
+  "implicity" corrected to "implicitly" (page 270)
+  "fiercly" corrected to "fiercely" (page 303)
+  "deficiences" corrected to "deficiencies" (page 304)
+  "Dnmfries" corrected to "Dumfries" (footnote 25)
+
+Other than the corrections listed above, printer's inconsistencies in
+spelling and hyphenation usage have been retained.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Border Raids and Reivers, by Robert Borland
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