[ PP R , ANNANDALE :
ITS H ISTOR Y A N D TR A D ITION S ,
G H A N K A N E S MA R C B , ” - A u t h r o Th e Cm e mw te rx o A n n a nda l etc. o f f e ,
o n o f t h e a e o e n a me a re in o S s f th rs wh s s st ry , L e Me e o a a z e i n t h e pa e a u mn sk ik t rs th t b—l l tu y Yo urs b e th e ir m o tto the wa tchwo rd of glo ry
’ R n r d i e a a e a t o o o e . dy , y re dy , c quer
—John Brown .
J A D F . N P Y . S R ARLANE , AI LE .
JO N M N ! I N INB W H E ES A D C O . ED U G H A N A O , R D G L SG .
H OUL STO N A N D SO N S L O ND O N , .
D E D I CA TE D TO THE M E M OR Y O F
M Y SON GE OR GE ,
lV/to loved our Valle so dearl y y,
$0 [seen a n i nterest in a ll its history and
872875 P F R E A C E .
I desire to thank all those who have given me informa
tion and encouragement in the production of this book . Want of space prevents me mentioning names of books and
I ma people that have been helpful . If have stolen aught, y the critics be kindly t o me and the little book that go es
ou t forth from my solitude .
AG NES MA R CHBA N K . CONTENTS .
C HAPTE R P AG E . UPPER A NNANDALE 9 THE FIRST D WELLERS IN UPP E R A NNANDALE 1 1 1 THE C O M I N G OF THE R OMANS 6 O M I N G S T S ! N N N N 22 THE C OF CO S , A O S , ORSE , AND ORMA S WALLA CE AT COR E H E A D 28 V 34 THE ! ILL OF MOFFAT A UCH E N CA S 41 4 THE - D OUGLAS 7 FLODDEN 53 I N THE D A ! S OF Q UEEN MARY AND JOHN KNO ! 59 C O R N A L TOWER 62
THE ~ BURNING OF L OCHW O OD 66 ’ ” WILL o KIRK HILL 71 THE BATTLE OF D R YFE SANDS 75 “ ’ L ORD MA! WELL S G OOD - N IGHT 79 THE E N D OF THE FEUD 83 BRINGING P EACE To THE BORDERLAND 86 “ ” E ARL OF H A R TFE L L 90 THE KILLING TIME 95 “ G LEANINGS FROM THE MOUN TAINS 101 “ ” THE E N D OF THE KILLING TIME 107 WITCHES AND WARLOCK S 1 1 1 WITCH WIV ES 1 18 UPPER A NNANDALE IN T HE E IGHTEENTH CENTURY 121 BUILDING AND P LANTING TREES 126 THE KING ” 129 BURNS IN UPPER A N NANDALE 1 35 SIR WALTER SCOTT AND H OGG 143 “ FAITHFUL UN TO D EAT H 147 OL D KIRK YARDS IN UPPER A NNANDALE 151 E N D 156 ! ! ! I . THE ILLUSTRATIONS .
P AG E MO P PA T FROM CHAPEL BRAE THE KERR ’ THE THREE STANIN STANES — THE STONE OF D ES TIN Y CORONATION CHAIR SIR WILLIAM W ALLACE UTH R E R T K I R K BR YD E R IG G (CHAPEL OF ST . C ) A UC H E N C A S T , NEAR MOFFA “ ’ ” TH E D EIL S BEEF TU E M O FFA T D A LE L OCHWOOD
BL A C K L A W T — OWER L OCH H OUSE TOWER SIGNING THE N A TIONAL CO V ENAN T K L MO P FA T C V S T BLAC BUL , , WHERE LA ER WAS Q UAR ERED T B D U M C R E E D KINNEL WA ER , ELOW AND UFF KINNEL R A E IIIL L G LEN FR E N C II L A N D S O L D A S H A V TOWER , REMAIN OF ENUE BURN S SIR WALTER SC OTT ’ TH E G RA Y MARE S TAIL A N UPPER A NNANDALE SHEPHERD A MILK MAI D AND H E R P RI! E C o w U P P E R A N N A N D A L E :
3 m h i s t ory ano E rab i t i ons .
E CHAP T R I .
UP P ER A N NAND ALE .
An n a n e e a n d e , Tw d , Clyd ’ ’ A ra n oot 0 a e hillside , ’ A n tri e d wh a first the se a wad wi n e e ran n n a n wa n Tw d , but A , n n Clyde bra k his n e ck o we r Co rra Li . l’ - h 01d R yme .
P P E R A N N AND ALE begins at the little mossy ditc h “ in the ravine that was of old times called Corrie ” of A t h e nnan , and later , in the days of Raiders , “ ’ d er A nnandale . n U the Deil s Beef Tub It e s , as pp , and m A t o f beco es simply nnandale , when it has gathered itsel ' of Bu rn ock M ofiat Wam h ra the waters , Evan , , p y , Kinnel , and other smaller burns , and , swollen into a mighty river , o t o t h e g es onward Solway . Th c A nnan n — rises in a est of hills high , rugged , heathery ,
d - art fe ll mo . H win swept untains many of them , the highest
n o f t o A . mou tain in the South Scotland , is close nnan Corrie The mountains that stretch away o n the west have Queens
- w of o o . berry , giant like , t ering ver them The cluster hills
- E t t erick on the east have the mist crowned Pen , that t o D r fe e throws its shadow where the y , creeping along lik t o a silver thread , finds its way the rocks at Boreland , and , mad t o o t h e leaping like a thing , drives down its glen j in A D r f a nnan at y e S nds . It of of o . is a land of poetry , romance , hist ry It has in
to . all ages been a land of liberty . Rebels fled it The
- - — dark haired Cave dweller ; the fierce , yellow haired Celt ; 1 0 Upper A nmmdale.
o f Merlin , the last priest nature ; Wallace and his friends weavers from Bothwell Bridge ; Highlanders , creeping
- fiv e o home after the forty and others, wh se only safety “ ” lay in hiding among the h eich s and howes of Upper A nnandale . There has always been sympathy with rebels U ot IS i n pper A nnandale . The worst word they have g ” “ U e puir sowls . Claverhouse , writing home from pp r “ ” A . nnandale, declared the people were all rebels at heart “ h n o It has been said , Blessed are the people who ave ” U A i history . pper nnandale has not been blessed in th s way . The glens are covered with green knowes , that were
- o - nce hill forts of the Celt, with other grass covered forts , left by the Romans , and with the ruins of strong Border ou t Peels , from whence, once on a day , warriors went wi ’ 2 t o whistling, Wha daur meddle me and came home ” “ was find the hare sitting on the hearthstone . Life full o f surprises then . N o old We have o nly ruins to sho w the stranger . fine c n o n o . astles , fine old bridges, fine old churches We have for t o thank ou r friends o n the other side of the Border w one that . Perhaps a few on this Side as ell . There is
consolation , they got as good as they gave . The debt was
paid with interest . a of If we have not got anything else , we h ve a race ’ wh o m of ou r n Borderers , in all ti es nation s trouble , have bee “ a wall of defence , and are aye ready . It is said that t h e people of Upper A nnandale are a strange mixture of
Pict, Celt, Roman , Saxon , and Scandinavian , and that the t o types are be traced in the features , and in the manners,
and in the speech of the dwellers of our glens .
This may be true . If so , it has been a good fighting m wh o m . ixture . It has made men ade history
A n d n o t a n an in a e e t o by d i ty h ds kid , the sh ckl s f ll rust , "
a o n e an a m a t h e n a on . But w rty , h r y w re the h ds th t de ti j ust 1 1 The First D wellers.
CHAP TER II .
THE FIRST D WELLERS IN UP P ER ANNAND ALE .
a n n B on in a n an d n h is foe The cie t rit , his wild be st ski , eyei g f om o a n d a e a on n o oo e r his f rt w ttl d r th the wi dy hill , l ved the w d d m n l an d so well th at he fo ught for it with subli e te acity . ’ —it h B r r i t r e c o d e H s o . l , y N Upper A nnandale are many of the rounded forts of
the first dwellers in the glen , as well as the square
forts of the Romans who conquered them . In early times Upper A nnandale was part of the great forest of Caledon that extended even to where the first missionary “ ” of planted his wattled kirk , where the Cathedral “ was of A Glasgow afterwards built . The Forest nnan d ale was the name our glen got in the days of the first w of Bruce , and the natural ood that clothes the banks our rocky rivers and wild ravines are the remains of this old ” o forest . The once renowned Ettrick F rest was also part of the old forest of Caledon . When the Romans came to this quarter of Scotland they “
Sel ov ae . called the people g , or The Hunters This tribe o f Selgov ae do not appear t o have been the wild white m t o men we generally fancy the have been , but a people o A with s me intelligence . lso people of a poetic tempera m s ment. The na e they called the hills and rivers are s - m t o weet sounding and beautiful na es . They point some peculiarity about the places , and there is sometimes a world of meaning in one little word . The Selgov ae were of t h e same race as the \Ve lsh people o f - of to day . The old ballads of the Welsh people tell the o glory that is past, of battles fought here in our B rderland , m a of heroes among these ancient Celts . The songs were de by Celts who fled t o the high hills now called of m own U A many the going from our pper nnandale . fl e d Hart fe ll Other Celts to the hills about and above , “ where they were also known as Welsh . Veitch says Their representatives are still to be found there as shep ”
and . herds , farmers , lairds 1 2 Upper A rmanolale.
wh o U A Mr Charles Stewart , so well knew pper nnan at A dale, said that Walls, near the farm of lton , there ” m t see s o have been at one time a considerable population . The Knights - Templars built on e of their first churche s “ ”
. as there The name Walls is not a common name, and “ ” i t seems t o have been the name of the auld toon that U A o was first planted in pper nnandale, perhaps s me “ A ntiquarian Society will search ou t and find if it was o m first inhabited by a c lony of these sa e Welsh . Though the Se lgov ae fought with great courage agai n st o the Romans , when once conquered they settled down int m t o a sort of friendship with the invaders . They had ti e d m t m i n o o . it, for the Ro ans cam e stay They re ained U A o f pper nnandale for four hundred years , and many them are said to have married the golden - haired daughters o f o m o n Sel ov ae the land . Fr m these sa e R ma s the g learned : many things the arts of building , planting gardens , work o ing in metals , making roads , and , some say , were als taught the new Gospel of Jesus Christ . The rivers o f Upper A nnandale still h e a r the names these “ ”
Bu rn k . A Celts gave them . oc means little water nnan “ ” wat r It and Evan (A von) are b oth names that mean the e . i s d t o of a descriptive wor , as if it meant give the sound m a m w m . A r as the ur ur of a stre m and the old spelling, ” a nd some say it means slow running water . “ \Vh at is n ow called The Beef Tub was in ancient “ o o r times called Corrie head . C rrie means a deep glen
o A u ch e ncat . ravine . Near the C rrie of A nnan is This “ a at A u ch e n at t me ns field of the wild e . There is an g in A A t m — was o berdeenshire . one ti e the wild cat a danger us
m o wn . ani al , and roamed at its sweet will all over Scotland a it —Ca t ill C at slack M ny places are called after g , , and m at others . In olden ti es A u ch e n c would be fairly well
o l . w oded , game plentiful , and the cats would mu tiply
Their love songs , war songs , and shouts of victory would h e as unwelcome t o the sleepy Celt as to the modern house holder . A nother small glen there with a burn running through it “ is the Lochen , also a common Celtic name , that means ’ little loch W . hen land was undrained , burns often turned
the gro unds ro und them into marshy swamps . Nor were “ ” these l o chens unwelcome t o a people wh o lived by
h u nfing . Th i t D w ller 1 3 e F rs e s .
In this little glen are some caves , which , as far as I
m . know, have never been exa ined by antiquarians The \V m . n . i late Rev Bennet was much interested them , and “ called them the singular Newton caves , hewn out of the ” red sandstone rocks by forgotten hands . “ Perhaps they were lake dwellings . They were near r of the lochen , the swampy marsh , whe e came all kinds
of . game, such as the soul the Celt loved U A The most suggestive word , however, in pper nnandale “ ” Kerr is the , which from time immemorial has been the ' f f fl t o O O M o a . name the pen , unfenced common land south
Th e K err.
The word Kerr is a name that many cities are proud t o m t . possess . It po ints o a date far back in Celtic ti es It
of . shows a town , or a certain space ground , has a history
- o of m There are twenty eight cities which are pr ud the na e , and there are said t o have been many other places once so called . “ The word Caer is generally placed befo re another “ ” o w w rd in the same way as we use the ord Castle . — o of T Carstairs Caer Terras the f rt err s . Cardrona o n ae rlav e rock— il fort the ridge . C fort l the elmwood . l at one Where the word comes , we know that time there r A nnandale 1 4 Uppe .
o st od there a strong and carefully guarded place of defence . o The position was always well ch sen , generally the lower of part a braeside , so as to have the hill behind . Where the “ Caer ” stood there was always a rounded mound of artificial earth work . In the “ Caer ” of Upper A nnandale there is still such “ a round mound that was named the Leddy Knowe ,
m . fro a later story But before that , it was the fort of the A t Celt . least there is every evidence in favour of it being m wa s a British or Celtic fort . So e years ago, when there a dispute because some one had tried to enclose this m M ofiat o com on land , and the pe ple broke down a fence and claimed it as town property , it was found that from “ ” ' - The K err o M o at pre historic times this land had been f fi , and on the plain around had grazed the cows of the village “ “ ”
m . people . The word Kerr is the sa e as Caer The m “ ” fa ily name Kerr is in England Carr, and means the ” o keeper of a f rt, a very old Celtic name . ' M ofiat The people have always called this land Kerr, which seems t o also point t o it being a fort of some consequence in its day . Se l ov ae The g , with a keen eye to the natural defence of n o ad v an their country , must have k wn that their greatest tage lay in keeping close t o the shelter of the hills . Even in modern times it has been found al most impossible t o conquer a people who are familiar with , and able to take every advantage of their knowledge of the mountains . In the far back days neither the A r man n o r the Bu rnock A fl o wed in the straight lines they do now . tradition says that up t o a late period both rivers united in a loch below m the Kerr lands . We know that every Nove ber they break out and strive their hardest to go back t o their old “ ” familiar places . This marshy l o ch below the Kerr or Caer would add A t o to the natural defence . The nnan ran nearer the so t o town then , must have been close the right, the Bur t o m nock close the left, the hill behind , and the arshy loch south . If t h e oldest village in Upper A nnandale was near the o n of Bu rnock Grey gill the banks the , from its high position it wo uld be po ssible for the dwellers on the hill to see if “ ” or d m t h e t h e victory efeat ca e to warriors on Caer . If — defeat there was time to flee to the gloomy recesses of The First D w lle s 1 5 e r.
Black sh o e p , where the weakly and the young children had
gone on before . There was also safety and shelter in w nearer glens . The arriors themselves could find many hiding - places among the leafy branches of the rocky
rn ck - Bu o or alder shaded Ellerbeck . Se l ov a e In later days than the g lived , in the rounded Hart fell edge of the long ridge that stretches down from , was a point that was chosen by Douglas on which t o place A his beacon . It commands a view of all nnandale . l ov a u The Se g e had eyes quite as keen as the Do glas . “ “ ” n on St rat h an n and Sta ding his Caer he looked down , and far away to where the cloud like English hills close i n a for the view . Const nt watch he kept , there were strange tales of the Romans coming with their all conquering “ ” Bu rn ck . o armies Left of the Caer flowed the , slower for t h e than now , land was not drained . Beyond the water ' “ ” D u mcriefi M a h rose up , the hill with the shoulder . The g
fade went up beyond that also - that Magh- fada that must ' D u m riefi W m . c a h ra be closely watched Below was p y , m the cave of slu ber, and fold over fold beyond , the hills “ ” t rat h n n n t guarded S a a d on h e east . West of the Caer “ t h e rose up wooded hill they called Cotes, and beyond
- that was a glen strongly guarded by forts . South of the bill ” Cotes was the hill of the birches , where there was a t o A strong fort guard the entrance to the head of nnandale . “ ” D um re e South again was g , the hill of the herd , and the of ff o shelter Du Kennel lay beyond . Then f ld over fold t h n n nd lay the hills guarding the west of St ra a a . 1 6 er nn a Upp A ndale.
CHAP TER III .
THE COMING OF THE ROMAN S .
R ma n a e a o oe for man a o . T ke he d wh t th u d st , this is
HE Selgov ae doubtless considered their stron fo rts “ g impregnable , especially that strong Caer that
ou t Ma h- ada stood at the head of the g f , and was provided with a natural ditch o n three sides and the lo ng
- U ridge of hill land behind . p in the village the women h O grind the corn into meal wit their quern , the ld men w ork patiently with their primitive tools , making arrows or for the younger men , shields , or strong bows while the little children watch the far away Caer and tell the old old granny of things her eyes cannot see , but the mean v nin ing of which she knows better than they d o . The e e g su n glittering on something that shines brighter than the sun ” itself! A somethi ng that comes nearer ! RAIS E THE AL ARM ! “ ” o so Nay , I cannot g , she says ; she sits by the Grey gill and chants the old song of the Celts :
Fathe r of h e roes the pe o ple ben d befo re th ee o n f a Th u tur est the battle i n t h e field o the br ve .
She sits there with tears running down h e r withered N . ot for all cheeks herself does she weep . She is past
for . fear herself But she knows , it hath been told her, d o what these people can ; their mighty strength , their a fl shing swords , their burnished brass coats that shine in o t the sun , their w nderful shields that are like the rock i self, and the axes that are swifter and surer than the thunder
. om o bolt The men and w en , cattle and children are g ne ; s h is e o wn . alone left, and by her desire She has the ”
sa so no t . sight, they y , they dare thwart her will “ D own a t the Caer the Romans have passed over the A m o o r an , and the stockade of posts g quickly d wn before m the ighty axes . Showers of arrows fall harmlessly on the “ o old is of p lished brass, the fire of Rome in the eyes the o men , before whose blows str ng posts fly into splinters , and The Comin o the R omans g f . 17
“ ere long the strong and impregnable Caer is taken , the t o defenders being put the sword .
. no This was what had always been There was escape ,
except in flight . It is what is always done in unequal n warfare . Courage is of o avail .
One fort after another was taken . The Romans were A nd t o masters of the glens . Show still more their grim t o determination conquer all the country, they made roads e l ov ae t and got the S g o work at them . They also raised sq uare forts and guarded their possessions so thoroughly that the Celts of Upper A nnandale (whom all writers say were milder mannered and more peace - loving than the other t o Celts) tried make the best of what remained , and in time became on very good terms with the people wh o had A n w conquered them . y of the arriors who held out went t o join the Scots and Picts up in the north , whom the
Romans never subdued, but only kept them north of the n conquered cou try by a strong line of forts . m So . there was peace in the land Men , wo en , and t o children crept back the little village by the Grey Gill , shaded by its ash trees patches of corn were sown cattle wandered about ; and children gre w up ready enough t o
forget . Only the bards sang songs of the old days , the old
wars , and the dead heroes .
The Roman Road that comes north by Carlisle , goes a A straight up A nnandale t o the he d of the glen . good m t o U part of it is in use at the present day . On co ing pper A ’ nnandale, it reaches an entrenchment at Tassie s Holm A called after Tatius , a Roman General , one of gricola s
Generals engaged in the expedition into Scotland . This ’ Tassie s He lm is on the farm of Miltons below Beattock . “ ’ ” It is sometimes called Tassie s Camp , and the field is “ m known as The Moat . But all trace of any Roman Ca p
has long since disappeared , though west of it is a place “ ” H t u t tie O idu m called opper , which name stands for pp ”
Tatius . , the Fortified Camp of General Tatius h as It is not strange that all trace of the camp disappeared .
It stood t oo much in the valley . The forts on the hills me at s U have survived . There are fifty and forts in pper
A so . nnandale alone , I think we have enough survivals o Part of the Roman R ad has been ploughed over, but can “ ” still be traced . It joins the present Beattock Road M oflat about a mile below , and goes on till it reaches Lang 2 nandale 1 8 Upp er A n .
A t o Shaw bush . branch goes up the old Roman Cemetery A o n b e at the t op of the hill . nother g es alo g the ridge tween the A nnan and the Evan till it reaches the birth - place old M o at R e iste of the Clyde . In an fi g r there is a letter by o A Mr Ge rge Vere Irving, of Newton House , bington , a member of the Council of the British A rch aeol ogical A sso ciat ion ff , who, assisted by a sta of workmen , had made a thorough examination of the Ro man remains in Upper r A nnandale . He was of opinion that the main or p incipal Roman Road did not leave the valley of A nnandale at “ Langshaw Bush . My impression is , that it turned the bills t o A base of the the head of the nnan , and it then ' ” m t o Moflat W either ca e an end , or turned up ater . t o That is , this road went straight the fort at the Kerr, t o and either ended there , or turned and went up the “ ” m shoulder of the hill , by that straight and very Ro an “ ” re ad like , that is now called the Selkirk Road . If the Roman Road ended at the base of the hills t o the
head of the broad valley , it is likely that the Romans had o of h it s taken p ssession the round fort wit natural defences , and held it as a stronghold t o guard against surprise . The m t t h e Ro ans never left anything o chance . In Statistical Report for 1 792 the minister of Mofiat refers t o t h e finding m old m R o o f of in a oss near the Ro an ad , a piece gold , “ part o f so me military ornament with the number of the ” t o o legion which it belonged . If a thor ugh search were “ ” ou r o A m made by c ming ntiquarian Society , we ight — even find something still better the rem ains of Roman o n on houses the slope above the Kerr, such as are found m l the brae side at Inveresk . The Ro ans cou d not be here for four hundred years without building h ouses for them
selves . The late M r Vere Irving also examined wh It tradition w s m 1 5 said a a Roman Ce etery o n the Coates Hill . This —“ h is report Oh L o ehh o u se farm we found o ne o f the m of o m m m finest speci ens a R an Ce etery that, in all y ex m o tensive experience , it has been y g od fortune to meet \Ve me t m a with . there with a large tu ulus , p rt natural , so part artificial , which often marks the sites of these o a no t s o of burial gr unds , cert inly large , but decidedly the Brah e mu t s of n same type as the the Lewes , the Da e John o f o of o Canterbury , and the m unts Thetf rd , Marlborough , \Vind r m and so . Its sepulchral character was arked even
2 nnan l 0 Upper A da e.
A nd wonderful event . what could be more wonderful t o the poor Selgov ae than the news that this Jesus was a on n ile—d a cross , buried , a—nd after three days rose again . A nd still more wonderfu l He had taught men that the soul never dies , that the great God is our common Father, “ ” t o and that men ought love their enemies . Sel ov ae The g had a fear of death , but all the same he had heard that the soul never dies ; and when he laid th e cromlech his warrior in his , he placed food to help him in t o journey, and weapons ready to his hand when he went
So . the unknown country . did his fathers before him
’ Th e Th re e S t an in St an es .
The “ Stanin ’ Stanes at the side of the Beattock Road are said by tradition t o be the grave of some great wh o a warriors , , on a cert in night i n the year, rise and walk
solemnly round these stones . “ ’ ” m A Stanin Stanes are co mon enough . writer says n fi of them O hillsides, on moors , and on elds we have ’ ’ ‘ a or t a the st nding stones s anin st nes , sometimes single , n th omans 21 The Comi g of e R . s t wo on it s ometimes together, with a third that has fallen side . These are unquestionably of great antiquity, as they a re often referred t o in the earliest charters as objects already generally known , and hence utilised by them as he r or her— Harest one Harelaw boundary stones , called as , , T Harden , etc. he Cromlech was a chamber of rough , u nhewn stones, formed generally of three upright stones and on e laid flat on the t op resembling the covering of a table . There is evidence that these chambers sometimes formed the centre of a mound or barrow composed of e arth . ’ a Before the Beattock road was made , these three st nin ” stanes would stand alone in the centre of an unenclosed n n o field o t far from the old R—oman road . There are o ther stones like them near so they must have been w brought from a great distance t o where they no stand .
The name and rank of the Celtic warriors are forgotten .
But there was a day when sorrowful hearts mourned , and wet eyes looked on the grey Cromlech . 22 Upper A nnandale.
— t on e of D e stin Co on ation Ch ai Th e S y r r .
CHAP TER IV .
OM G S ! O S O S A N D THE C IN OF SCOTS , A N , N R E, M N OR AN S .
n e was o an of a nd a a e a n d The ther Sc tl d , full hills , gre t l k s , a n d an e o e e a and e a difficult — d g r us precipic s , wild h ths , gr t i r alter S ott . morasses . S W c
HE Roman s were recalled t o their own land in o rder
t o defend it against its enemies. Thus t h e gentle mannered people of Selgov ae were left t o themselves after four hundred years of servitude . There was no one no w t o kee p the Northern Celt in order, or to guard the wh o dividing line of forts . Thus the Celtic races had been under the Romans an—d learned their ways, formed them selves into one nation called the kingdom of Strathclyde, was o and the capital Dumbarton , or castle of the Brit ns . They seem t o have tried t o rule this kingdom as the o ad R mans h taught them . But their strength and military skill was much weaker . The omin o the Scots tc 23 C e . g f , The wild Celts in the north were partly Picts and partly o t Scots fr m Ireland . The Picts are supposed o have been m a dark haired race of Britons , and so e think they were the very earliest inhabitants of Britain . They were wild a nd fearless and gave the Romans much trouble . They wh o found their master, however, in the Scots came from
Ireland .
These Scots were Celts like themselves , but of a stronger in nature . They had the masterful manner and belief m the selves that goes far t o make success in this w o rld . m They fully meant business when they ca e over . With them they brought a strange stone that has played no mean t o part in Scottish history . The stone is said have been of t o brought over by Fergus the son Eric, who led them o A r l i the c ast of gy e sh re . “ The Scots had great faith in this stone , and called it The ” o f In Stone Destiny . olden times certain stones some m t o ti es came be objects of worship . Men and women o as m d o carried small st nes charms, and dreaded (so e even n o w) the power possessed by the Opal of changing its colour . “ ” The Stone of Destiny was valued highly . It was said t o have been the stone Jacob used as a pillow . There was a saying regarding it :
’ W e e o n ac e o n e h r er is f u d this s r d st , ” o a The Sc ttish r ce sh all r eign .
The Scots first made themselves masters of the north , and getting the Picts subdued came south with their great o St ne of Destiny . For so me time there was intermarriage between the Scots and Strathclyde Britons, but that was not a fast enough
. So process it ended in a great and desperate battle , near n o w ta where Lochmaben stands , between King Cons ntine
o o f o . of Strathclyde , and Greg ry , king the Sc ts There was A s a great number o f the poor Strathclyde Britons slain . r l v — fo the Se go ae it is said that very few survived . Those wh o t o Hart fell did , fled either the mountain land round ,
or t o join the other Britons among the mountains of Wales . A King Constantine was slain . large tumulus is over the grave o f Co nstantine and the thousands of brave warriors wh o died fighting round their king . The Scots were n ow masters of Strathclyde and the
northern kingdom of the Picts . They now ruled the king 2 nnandal 4 Upper A e.
“ om d that was from them called Scotland . The Picts in
Galloway in Dumfriesshire , and the north ; and the Selgov ae and other tribes of Britons had t o call themselves ” n w t o A s Scots o save themselves from death and ruin . Sel ov ae t o the g had served the Roman , he yielded his
So . brother Celt . the new era began t o The Saxons had come England , and some of them U A slipped into pper nnandale , where they grouped together “ t n e e s . into , and traded and lived very quietly It was w ” h o . they called the Britons Welsh , meaning foreigners A fter that, a colony of Norse , or Scandinavians , came t o o dwell among us . But they did not g into the Saxon “ towns n or interfere with the other races in any way .
They chose the farming lands , and have named such places Ca le ill Bodsbech D r cleu ch Black ri Hank sh aw as pp g , , y , g, , H art f l i el M ddle ill. . , and g The familiar Rig, Gill , etc , show where the Norse farmers had settled . A They called things by plain names . spade was a not spade . They did call things by such fancy names as
the cave of slumber .
However, all these races got on very well together and proved a happy family . The Scots , once settled , were good rulers ; and as Christianity was now introduced , and its softening influence being felt, there came to be a firm bond of union between all the peoples of Upper A nnandale . d The strong ark Douglas clans were Celtic, so were the
a . Maceas family , afterw rds the great Maxwells The
Johnstones are said by Veitch t o have been a Norse race . oh nst one J , a bold , brave name in the Lowlands , is a true
Norse name, the most common in Iceland , and it is one n of of the most commo i n the Lowlands Scotland , and there associated with deeds of personal daring , among the ” roughest in Border history . A n old verse tells u s
n o n o f A n n a n a Withi the b u ds d le , The gen tle Joh n s t on e s ride e h ae e n e a o a n e a Th y b e h re th us d y rs , ’ ” A thousa n d m a ir th e y 11 bide . — Besides these names there were others the small band of very lively Bells , the tall and handsome Morays, the A s Hallidays , and others . time went on each laird built The Comin o the Scots tc 25 g f , e .
“ l himself a Border peel . The word peel is a very o d
h e t o - word . T Celt gave it his hill dwelling . The oldest of ou t of form peel was a round tower . But these went or fashion , and near, on their sites, were erected the strong A Border Towers of the Middle ges . w These ere built of the grey wacke of the district, and o m holes or b les ad itted air or light and served for defence . o m t o The mortar is like st ne . The aking of it is said have been a secret learned from the Romans , a soft cement which , poured in among the built stones , bind them together with the grip of iron .
These towers were almost all of one design . The lower w stories were vaulted . A narro stair led t o the different t o t o t o stories , and also the p. The flat p was guarded by o f battlements , and in the centre the space was a crow
- gabled cottage which served as a kitche n and a watch tower . Round these battlements the l adies could walk t o watch for o n o lover or returning s ns . There were special bed In rooms . old Scottish houses every room was supposed t o - m 1 45 serve the purpose of a bed roo . Even as late as 7 there was only one house in Inverness which had a room w —a without a bed . These towers had t o doors wooden door and a strong iron yett .
o - f L ch house , below Mof at, has still something of its old
no t o o . appearance . It is s much a ruin as the ther towers Lo ng ago I remember seeing in its lower vaulted chamber the ring fastened t o t h e wall which had been used for : unlucky prisoners . I suppose the ring will be gone for o m the house has been m dernised , and even its na e stolen o n ow by the old Beattock H tel , which is the farmhouse “ ” - - o . of Loch house farm , and is called Loch h use The ’ l plumber s pipe adorns the tower walls , and p ate glass t h e h as adorns the h ole s . The hand of Philistine been
d - ! upon the ol to wer . Poor Loch house Far luckier is all u of Lochwood a ruin in the bea ty old age . t o o f A d It was this Forest nnandale , where the lair s were t o o fo r m each eager get a strong t wer built hi self, that m of there came a Nor an at the invitation the Scottish king, ot t o m r David I . This king had g be on very inti ate te ms A with several Normans when visiting in England . dmiring o their ability , he considered that it might be a go d thing t o have several of them serving under him in Scotland . o m of A This N rman , who he made Lord nnandale and 26 r ana Uppe A ndale .
of keeper Lochmaben Castle , was about the cleverest of m the all . His name was Robert the Bruce . The Lordship of A n nnandale was o empty title . It carried with it several privileges : forage and provisions for a large retinue so t o many fat cows and fat geese ; and the power hang, ’ w Off a m t o or dro n , banish , cut man s ears , nail the a post , ’ burn his house over his head . His lordship s retainers ’ could often use their master s auth ority to their own advantage . U A There is a common saying in pper nnandale , which o now is an empty threat, but which in other days c uld —“ ’ make a man shake in his shoes Ye 11 get your heid in ’ A ll o your han s, and your lugs to play ver Scotland there was the same power, which could be a tremendous power when used by a tyrannical lord . “ ’ ’ Ye rl John was the man ; he d hang them just 0 his ’ ” 0 m ain word nane your law, said one ad irer of this rough j ustice . Graham tells of one man , who , when put into the mad pit when they were getting the gallows ready , grew w ith a sense of his unj ust treatment, and , drawing a sword , cried that he would kill the first man wh o touched him . h e r f His wife, fearing that she and family would suf er, “ man — om coaxed the to submit , C e up quietly and be ” - d o n ot . hanged , and anger the laird , said she The gallows was usually erected on a moor where two m t t h e roads e . But there were times when nearest tree ' M oflat served the purpose . The gallows of was in the o common ab ve the town . This common was the ridge of
- hill land behind the town , taking in what is still called the ” o wa Gall w Hill . This hill s not planted with trees in those days .
- t o The Gallows well was close the Gallows , for it
was erected at the cross roads . One old road came from the ford o ver the A r man and went right up and on t o Bu rnock o f Glen . The other r ad went from Mof at, led past
- the Gallows well , and went right onward till it reached the t h o m t wo head of e C rrie of A r an . These roads met in the ” moorland abo ve the town . There is still a right of way kept for the road t o Bu rnockdale but the old road leading f t o A from Mof at the head of nnandale , after it passes the
- m Gallows well and goes onward so e few hundred yards , is
shut o ff by a gate and h as been ploughed over . Of late years it was n o t much used except for a drive round the
28 er A nnandale Upp .
P TE CHA R V . W A E E ALLACE T COR H A D .
He saw ou t of h is po verty the highways of the st a te . — d G . A Townsen . .
“ i t o HEN Dav d I . granted Robert de Brus the A lordship of nnandale , with all its customs and “ privileges , there was a clause , I forbid any o n e t o £ 10 n o hunt in said forest under a penalty of , and o ne shall go through said forest except by the straight road ” a ppointed . This was binding down the people of Upper A so nnandale, for in the forest they got much of their T f A wh daily food . o of end the Lord of nnandale o had the “ n o power of pit and gallows was light matter . Still , in I n A somet hin the keeping of order nnandale , there was A (T be said for the law. firm hand was needed . Many ark a nd I n evil deeds were done the forest . If the Bruce could make each man found in his forest give an acco u nt of him
h e m - self, had a fir er grip on all evil doers . A Besides the lairds and their head , th e Lord of nnan d ale , there were the commoner people . These may be d ivided into t wo classes at this time o ne class engaged in tilling the ground and tending stock ; t h e other trading and
making certain goods . The plough of the time needed six or eight oxen t o pull it along, so the smaller farmers went shares and clustered “ of in—little farm toon—s . They were united in a sort co Operative system something like what has been U of attempted in modern days . sually the whole the
clachan were b ound together by ties of relationship . Their n cows grazed together o the common . They cast their
peats in company . They joyed and sorrowed as one large m y fa il . t o The earlier houses are said have been built of wood , “ ” f o r us . ho es of wattles , stuf ed with clay and heather But as o the f rest was cleared , these gave place at an early age t o o f no those built stones (of which there was lack) , and f built like a dry stone dyke , with the holes stuf ed with Wallace at r h d Co e ea . 29
heather and turf . The laird had his servants housed close t o t the ower, within a high and thick wall secured by a strong iron yett . This enclosure was like a mode—rn farm yard , and into it were driven the cattle at night wolves t o and other wild animals still being in the forest, not speak of thieves . If an enemy came t o close quarters the h an d cattle were oused in the vaulted dungeons , the t o followers helped defend the strong tower . The smaller t o houses might be burned the ground , but in the tower of the middle ages there was n othing that would catch fire any more than on the face of a bare rock . The small clachans that the Saxons called “ toons t o continued cluster together till a late age . Until the n commo s were divided cows fed on the common , and the co- U A operative system kept in force in pper nnandale . Poultry was a stock more attended t o and prized than w no . n ow in Oxen were used for purposes horses are , ploughing, etc .
h ad six o n in a I wse pleuch , A n d they drew teuch an d weel en euch ’ an e m a a n e b an e I dr k th , j ust y ” l a n Guid a e kee ps my h e art bu e .
Th e t o horse used carry a laird , or even a knight, with
m n ot - all his heavy ar our on , was the slim , high spirited A o r animal one sees in pictures . light horse c uld neve have carried such a weight . The horse was of the same breed as those the farm—of Dyke gets prizes for breeding and rearing every year a broad Clydesdale animal with the handsome swing that in war time must have made the lairds and their men from Upper A n nandale look what we ” “ mi t call ch y .
Of the people in the trading toons we shall speak later . There were eight Roberts of the Bruce line lords of A wh o nnandale between this first one, came from England , and the Robert wh o came to be king of Scotland . They kept order in the forest in their time .
Scotland meanwhile was getting into trouble . Four
- kings reigned among them the lion like William , and the good King A lexander III . On the death of this last the crown went t o his grand
a of . daughter Margaret, child four years of age This child was living with her father Eric in Norway . Great nd 30 Upper A nna ale.
Scottish lords went to bring her over . But the poor little queen sickened and died so on after her feet touched the kingdom she was t o govern .
There was then a contention who Should be made King . The nearest t o the throne were John Bali o l and Robert
Bruce . The mother of. the Bruce had been niece to William t h e Lion ; the grandmother of John Baliol had ’ Baliol s a lso been a niece . But it so hap—pened that grand mother had been the elder sister so he contended that he o ugh t to be king .
King Edward I . of England was resolved to have a finger wh . o in the pie Seeing in Baliol a weaker man , would o t oo! readily bec me his , he chose Baliol . The Scottish ’ barons had accepted Edward s offer t o decide between the m two co petitors , and in a moment of weakness granted
t o - of his claim o be ver lord Scotland . “ Edward , having made Baliol King John , was resolved “ wn - that his o rights as over lord should be respected . But the old Celtic blood was too strong in Scotland for the d t o . t o a n people submit Even Baliol feebly strove resist, “ ” t h e then , like the coward he was, resigned his crown into of t o t h e o hands Edward and was sent T wer . The Scottish o n for pe ple never forgave King Joh this . They took such “ ” a dislike t o him that when on a later day a John came m to the throne they made him change his na e . d King Edward now gathered an army , overran Scotlan , o o o and put his English tr ops into the castles . He t k with “ ” him to England the crown and sceptre , the Lia Fail or Sto ne of Destiny o n which the kings of Scotland had been o f crowned , he plundered the monasteries their earliest h e writings , and destroyed all historical documents that h d o is . o him could lay han s on M re than that, he to k with “ ” t h e Holy Rood that the people prized . It was said
‘ t o m t h e t ru e o be a certified frag ent of Cr ss , and had been
' given to the nation by a queen they loved . A f m Upper nnandale suf ered much at this ti e . The father of the wife of Hallid a y at Co re h e ad was killed m at Loch aben ; and that castle , instead of being in the “ ” a o f A kindly h nds the Lord of nnandale , was a garrison for English soldiers , who plundered the people and m oppressed the in every way . “ The little brother of the leddy o f Coreh e ad had gone his m with mother beyond the Tay . His na e was William lV allace at re/Le d 3 1 Co a .
t h e Wallace . The Wallace family were of same family as the Welsh race—and like all Celtic people were high spirited and noble , and brave . William Wallace grew up l wh . o d o a young giant He lived with an uncle, an priest, im im taught h many things when he taught h Latin . He had a rhyme in Latin that went deep into the heart of the growing boy, and which in after years he often repeated .
M s on e e e o o a y , I t ll th s thf stly , N o t o e gift is like lib rty , n n i n a Th e eve r live sl ve ry .
One day Wallace , then a great tall lad of seventeen with — - fi hin a s . giant like strength , went g He had a companion wh o carried his basket . He had just landed a go od haul of trout when up came some English soldiers and demanded ' Th e ofiered t o the fish . young fisher give them a part, but o o nothing w uld do for them but the wh le . m ’ This was t oo uch for the boy s Celtic blo od . He hated ’ of A nd the English because his father s death . he scorn fully refused to part with his fish . There was a free fight .
Wallace hardly realising his own great strength , killed a soldier and picked up his sword . Then , slashing right h e t wo and left, killed other , and was victor . w m n o o t o . , There was s ething else than fish fry The
Th e t o for his . hue and cry was up . lad had flee life
Wallace now lived the life of an adventurer , and was joined by a few others who had also offended the English . o u t of m Not long his teens , when things see ed dark and o m t o C ore h e ad hopeless, he , with four of his f llowers , ca e ,
- r ma at the birth place o f the A n Water . The Corrie of A r man is a narro w dark ravine called “ ’ ” A t n t o n ow the Deil s Beef Tub . the entra ce it was m C oreh ead o o f . the Castle of , the h e the sister of Wallace o bid o m The narr w deep glen is perfectly , and f r ed at a
- a later age the hiding place for c ttle stolen by raiders . But m it has a still greater history , for here were ustered the small devoted band who went with the co urage of heroes ’ t o for o strike the first great blow Scotland s freed m , and t o o win the great prize of the B rderland , the Castle of
Lochmaben . The sister of Wall a ce must have been much o lder than “ for son Ta m of her brother , we find her Halliday one
a - w the leaders under his uncle ; also cousin Ed ard Little . n nd le Upper A na a .
Two very firm friends of William Wallace were marri ed h ad ore e . to Hallidays of C One man Wallace relied on ,
Sir William W allace .
t h e Sir John the Graham , other man whom Wallace made
o oh nst one of . Lord of L chmaben Castle , J Eskdale People say a man never gets his own relations to believ e
. in him . Wallace did . He came with four followers Wallace at r ad 3 Co ehe , 3
o u t h o w U He rode with sixteen , and many more pper A t o o h im nnandale men were trysted f llow we cann ot tell . o U A There were f ur big lairds in pper nnandale then . C oreh e ad o f o a The laird of , the laird M orl nd , laird of m o . Grant n , and laird of Reddings Reddings eans a clear oo m n ing in the w d , so there ust have bee more trees then than now . Fre n ch o f Fre nchlan d must have come to the brae m above Ellerbeck before that, as the French fa ily , accord t o ing Mr Bennet , appear first in records about the year 1 r r 1 2 8. Over at Evandale there we e other lai ds with o o o m powerful f llowings . But th ugh these and thers ight t o A r m o ride over the Corrie of an to hold council t gether, it was no t wise t o alarm the English till the blow was t o be struck . “ Wa llace with his band of sixteen of goodly ch e v alry off t o o h o n t o ma set quietly visit L c maben t w , and hear ss o f there . The end this ride down the glen was a desperate
t o . battle near Queensberry , and the west of Kinnel Water Wallace had been pursued by the English s oldiers from m a m h ad no t Loch aben C stle , and ight have been defeated Sir John the Graham and Ki rkpatrick of To rth orwald o m h m a o c e up wit reinforce ents . The Scottish w rri rs won o is the day . Where the battle was f ught is a ravine that “ ” t h e Ble d o o o t o called y Gill , fr m the blo d that ran d wn d a : fo r a its little burn that y English blood , Wall ce is a n o t t o a o s id have lost a m n . SO ended this ride d wn A a Upper nnand le . W n o w m allace captured Loch aben Castle , and put i n m In o o . his kins an , J hnst ne of Eskdale , as keeper the a o m days th t followed , Wallace f ught with uch success i n m r o f Du f iesshire . By the banks Kinnel Water there “ ’ o n o u t VVallace s o is a place p i ted as L up, where , it is
W ma a a . o said , allace de le p for life and liberty The pe ple point with pride t o two deep h oll o ws which they say were
a o - b e m de by the str ng, iron shielded knees of Wallace , as m u o o half fell before scra bling p the w ded banks . nn ndale 3 4 Upper A a .
CHAP TER VI .
THE VILL OF MOFFA T .
n wa s a The icht c uld , Th e a e was wat c rl , A n d doon ayo n t n The i gle he sat .
N the days of the Bruce th ere were twenty - fiv e larger n w t h V A . M ofIat as h e ills in n andale one of t ese , and U A only one in pper nnandale . Jus t about the time the first Bruce was made Lord of A d nnandale there was erected on the ridge of hill lan , u A r m above the pper valley of the an , a very beautiful o f chapel , which the gables only now remain . This chapel “ ” was erected by the Knights of St . John . These knights d a were or inary monks , who, in a monastery , were set ap rt an d to take charge of sick pilgrims , relieve their wants , “ w ” give hospitality ithout grudging . In ancient times ” hospitals were built close t o the chapels for the aecom modat io n of strangers and the relieving of the sick and poor . The reason why the chapel and hospital were built in such a lonely place seems to be, that the Roman road into Clydesdale from Upper A nnand ale passes near where the chapel stands . Such people , therefore , as required h elp could go in there and be relieved . The wounded o o b e o followers of the Bruce c uld als carried to these m nks , wh o , many of them , were skilled in surgery . The building there was doubtless known all along the valley . The sick , o w unded , aged poor, and weary wanderers , all made their ” t “ way o the hospital on the hill . Round the ruin of t h e chapel are foundations of other t o m buildings, supposed be the re ains of the hospital and o 1 099 cl isters . The Knights of St . John were founded in , b u t 1 1 1 8 in they added another duty to their home ones ,
t o . the obligation fight against the infidel The Templars, “ 1 1 10 t o founded in , had made it their creed protect ” o pilgrims in the H ly Land , which seemed grander and more noble than merely looking after the wounds of rough
Scotsmen , and feeding the wandering poor .
36 er A nnandale Um .
St . Bernard interested himself greatly in favour of the ” so Knights Templars , so much that many wealthy m me bers were added to the body, making it very powerful , and at length so troublesome that the Order was suppressed 1 3 1 m o 6 . in The little onastery , hospital and chapel c uld ” not be very long in use on the Chapel Hill . But while the Templars were in power they planted several chapels in the district . Kirkbr d e ri Like other monasteries , this one of y gg had lands round the chapel which they let out in farms and “ ” d nh lm . G ar e o tofts These lands extend to , where there is likely t o have been at one time a fruit garden co nnected Kirkb r d eri with y gg. The Knights Templars had land on the o ther side of the d A A . o nnan valley, and a chapel at Walls near lton I not know to what saint this early chapel at the “ A uld Toon wn Th e o . was dedicated . knights dedicated their to St o ne Wam h ra t o Cuthbert, and that they erected at p y , their go od old friend St . Bernard . There is said to have m n m been a s all chapel in Evan valley . Its a e was
- — — Lann Be dleim Church of Bethlehem now turned into L an b dh lm g e o . Near Beattock is a place at one time called Blackd omh olm n ow Blackd ome Blackd u b s , and or . Thi m is considered to point to a s all chapel and dwelling there . o The Knights o f St . John w re a black dress with a white cro ss o n the breast the Templars wo re a white cloak with o om O f a red cross , and a cr ss on their banner. S e the v m o a chapels were ery s all , a mere cell c nsecrated with m o r r o . o holy relic , a small altar, and a cross The do e at ry “ ” m o may have been erected by the black onks of St . J hn at the time when they erected the larger buildings o n the ” o r t o hill . The regular clergy parish priests seem have looked on th ese knights as some of ou r modern ministers o A n ot lo k on the Salvation rmy , and , doubtless, would n e w regret their departure . There were , as , five parishes A D u m re e t h e on U . in pper nnandale g , founded by m ks of o 1 660 mo Melr se , in had its parish divided a ng neighbouring u parishes , tho gh the church continued in use . “ f - - o Mof at at this time had its bake houses and brew h uses , and gill- making seems t o have been the principal business in “ ” the burgh t oon for many years . Each burgh prided on m w for itself its skill in so e particular trade . The ater this brewing is said t o have been got at the lower spring The l o at 3 Vi l f M ofi . 7
‘ l Th la n L archh il . e d at , as elsewhere , was tilled by free “ ” m farmers and carles . The feudal syste was i n full n —a swi g . That is king grants land on condition that the t o lord is ready fight for him in his battles , and the great o so l rd grants smallers bits of the land on like terms , and o s on d wnward . Thus a great lord had o many gentlemen o and ye men he could bring into the field . One lord m t o ight be able raise five hundred horse , and if he had s trengthened his position by marriage, he might double that . In th o se days daughters were a marketable commodity t o t o a Border Laird . They were handed over this laird and om m that laird , as if they were a parcel of goods . S eti es o o the girls fell in l ve with the wr ng man , and if the man ’ of om was the son her father s enemy , there was a r ance ; o r it might be a tragedy .
la d e s an e n e The y wr g th ir fi g rs white , m a e n o e e a The id s t r th ir h ir , ’ A fo r the sa k e of the ir tru e love s ’ Fo r them th e y 11 se e n ae ma ir .
A n d an an m a ma e n l g , l g y the id s sit , ’ W i o a m in e a their g ud k i s th ir h ir , ’ A a n fo r e a in e o e w iti g th ir tru l v s , ’ ” For the m th ey 11 se e n a e m a ir .
However , as a rule , the fathers were very sharp at findi n g suitable husbands for the daughters ; and there is a o t o st ry told of one laird who was about hang a man , “ o when his go d wife interfered , and said , Why was he going t o hang the b o nnie lad when their muckle - moot h e d Meg was n o t likely t o get a husband 1 The poor fellow was given w o his choice bet een death and marriage . He ch se the
w - m oot h e d o latter, and ith muckle Meg rode away h me ; in all future time t o be b o und t o stand by her father h e — when had a quarrel , that being always part of the matrimonial bargain . The feudal system fell heaviest upon the tillers of the h nst o ne s a nd . o soil the labouring classes The J , Maxwells , D ou las e s a n d o A g , ther lairds in nnandale and elsewhere h ad a certain freedom . They could club together and d efy the ruling powers . Even alone they could stand out when they were displeased . But away down the line the burden was very heavy . Nor was the burden altogether 1 775 lifted till , when the serfdom of the miners in Scotland anda e 38 Upper A nn l .
was abolished . Till then , when certain lands were sold the people passed with the property . A t the time of Robert the Bruce there was n ot much r freedom for either farmers o their workers . The labourers ’ were bound to remain on their master s land , and if they t tried o escape they were brought back as deserters . They t o were required as war material . The small farmer had so o have many men he c uld bring into the field , or the laird would recko n with him . The laird again had a o o bigger laird over him . When Johnst ne of L chwood ’ o could raise a thousand horse in a week s n tice, there was o a comm tion all down the classes to the poorest . o t o Every one was bliged provide his own arms , and as t o his life migh—t depend on his skill , he learned use them in a business like manner . The poorest cottar had weapons , t o got in former wars , which he valued highly and learned b o w use freely . The and arrow kept long in fashion , and the Scottish archers were famed from Celtic time for their o wh o skill . R bert the Bruce commanded every man , cow t o possessed the value of a , provide himself with a bow and a sheaf of arrows , or with a spear . In the reign “ law - of James I . there was a made That all men task twelve ears o old them to be archers , frae they be y f , an—d that in ilk ten pound worth of land there be made bow marks, aroch e o and especially near p kirks , where up n haly days om a t o men may c e , and least sho t thrice about, and have ” “ A s r h e usury of archery . the Kerr is near our old pa oc n kirk it is likely the shooti g wo uld be there . Or it ' might be i n Mofla t He lm where there is a road that of w la n e w old Bo t o . was named p y , but is advanced Ballplay “ ” me n n o The of twelve years of age would , doubt, be l energetic if they were ike the men of that age now. There is said also to have been an old Scottish law that pro hibited the lads in the lower classes from wearing o n s o as covering their feet till they were fourteen , to make o of them hardy f r the wars . This hardening the young was m uch in favour, as we read of an old Highland chief, wh o when he fo und his son sleeping among the heather h is n o a with head resti g on a st ne, kicked aw y the pillow, m and rebuked his folly of refine ent. “ u h In contrast t o this ro se up t h e b rg tounes . When “ now a days we read of a man receiving the freed o m of ” the burgh , we look on it as we would on a woman getting he Vill o M at 3 T f ofi . 9
an afternoon tea, a polite form of entertainment that means old nothing, and does not cost much . But in the times m d a the freedo of a burgh meant a great e l. Especially t o o - wh o t o a po r down trodden cottar, did not dare leave ” o r the land he was thirled to , he would be brought back w o ff t o ith force , and maybe have an ear shorn warn him “ t o remain in the s ta ti o n in which Providence had placed ” f . o o t o him If, however, one these men could g a burgh old and buy a house , and , keeping out of sight of his
e a. ear and a da fri nds , could live there y y , that man received “ ” w the freedom of the burgh , and might henceforth alk “ ’ ” o n o cau ssie o t o the croon the , n ne daring make him t ne sme n . ou afraid The or burgers were a proud lot , and very careful of their rights and privileges . They supplied oo on e the surrounding district with their g ds , and burgh t o n o did not dare i terfere with an ther burgh . m A t first all the burghs were merely trading com unities . But by degrees each formed itself into a little common wn o . wealth , with its laws and own ways They thus “ ” o of of st od as a wall defence for the rights the toune , t o the big laird not daring meddle with their workers , nor force any burger t o fight against his will . They had their
o - meetings on their mo t hill when business was discussed , or o r and if the souter , or the smith , the weaver, the m of miller, had cheated anyone , they had ways and eans of forcing him t o be honest henceforth . In the days A I. U David , when the first Bruce came to pper nnandale , the burghs then in existence were given the right of self m o govern ent and protected by law . These r yal burghs s o so o flourished well and enriched many , that the bar ns t o and lords tried get other trading towns made burghs , so there came to be burghs of regality and baro ny . In the “ o f wa s h of reign of Charles I . M f at erected into a Burg ” o f t o Barony and Regality . M f at was have a market o t o o t o cr ss , have f ur fairs at certain dates , have a weekly ‘ “ mark e t on m Friday, and to be called in all time co ing, ” f ma the burgh and regality of M of at. There is mention de “ m of all the tene ents, acres , cottages , houses , buildings , ” gardens , tofts , and other pertinents . It is also described “ o f as lying within the lordship and regality Dalkeith . This is expl ained by the fact that the D ou glase s of m Lothian had , in early ti es , a baronial jurisdiction over certain lands in several shires which were in the regalit y 40 e A nnanda Upp r le.
' ’ of M ofiat Mofiat o of Dalkeith , which was one . , h wever , m b ust have been a urgh before this 5 in fact , must have ne m For been o about the ti e of Robert the Bruce . in “ some old charters vassals are bound to pay at the Courts ” of the Burgh .
A u ch encas n ea Moflat . , r A u /L nea c e s. 41
' CH A P TE R VIL
A U H E N A C C S .
’ A n d t h e o n a o M o a y u g E rl r y , ’ Oh h e m h a e e n a n 3 , ight be ki g
N o the struggle before and after Bann ckburn , King Robert the Br u ce h ad two friends on whom he m . o o t o relied One was the g d Sir Ja es Douglas , whom the king granted certai n lands in M offat d ale ; the ’ o t h e t o m other, Sir Thomas Rand lph , king s nephew, who o o f A he gave the l rdship nnandale . Sir Thomas Rand olph was also created Earl o f Moray : a m o st unlucky title that has gone about in a strange o t o fashi n all down Scottish history . It seems have settled “ n ow o . But in the old days it never br ught guid luck t o its possess or . of o on A This new Earl M ray , being made lord of nnan m t o o . dale , set hi self build a str ng tower The site he chose was one that commanded a view down the valley of A of was the nnan . It is on the shoulder a hill that called m A u ch e ncas n e ar by the Celtic na e of , and the ravine A om o called by the old people G airpol. strong R an f rt n ot off had been erected far , and it is likely that the Ro man fort succeeded an earlier fo rt built by the ancient o Brit ns . So the situation was one coveted by every general among them who saw A u ch e ncas stand b oldly o u t above the rocky Evan . A u ch e n cas is a ruin ; but there is en ough t o show us o its splendid proportions . One of the c rner turrets is of almost entire . The walls are great strength and thick
o . ness , and are bound t gether with great blocks of granite
The interior of the quadrangle is 1 20 feet . In its day of glory and renown A u ch e n cas must have been a wo nderful building . Doubtless the grim earl expected it t o go down t o all the ages as the stately home o of the M rays . n o When Ki g R bert the Bruce died , the kingdom went wh o to his son David , was only four years of age , and was named David II . The Earl of Moray was appointed l 42 Uppcp A nmmda e.
regent , and the nation was satisfied that their interests e were in saf hands . The earl was very severe and strict in his manner of
m fin r- . t o e ad inistrating j ustice He was a soldier the g tips , wh o A and one meant t o have his laws obeyed . nnandale
must have been well governed in those days, though we t r h a n n read of nothing special going in S at n a . It is only “ w ” said that in his days the rash bush kept the co . So
raiding was not in fashion , except you crossed the Border . w o It was always la ful to steal fr m an Englishman . The earl seems t o have had a special dislike of men wh o
raided their own countrymen . Such thieves were not mo of uncom n , and were severely dealt with by Earl Moray l . E l andonan when regent of Scotland Going to Castle , in t o the Highlands , punish the thieves, he hung fifty of m o A s the r und the tower . he went down the loch in a “ barge he l o oked at the lifeless bodies and said that he loved better t o l ook on them than 0 11 any garland of ro ses ” h a he d ever seen . To prevent robberies and bring about a feeling of
- security among the well doing in Scotland , he made a law
- that iron tools and plough gear should be left in the field , and that m e n should not shut their house doors nor stable ff doors at night . If anything was stolen , the sheri of the t o t o county was repair the loss , and the king was repay the To was sheriff. see that this law carried out he travelled through Scotland holding courts of justice ; and as he wa s t o determined see honesty in full swing , woe betide
the unlucky wretch who had , like the Hi hlandm n , found a co w o n his way fro m Edinburgh t o g) umfriesaThere
was pro mpt execution . o Such an active life , after the hardships of his y uth , could n o t but wear out the body of the strongest warrior . 32 1 3 . The earl died suddenly at MusselburgO h , July , r o t and This was a great misfortune fo Sc l . The good a om a h ad n Sir J mes Douglas , his c r de in arms, falle in no t m t o o n e battle no t l ong before . There did see be a nd fitted , as they were , to watch the Borders keep the auld enemy from cro ssi n g and once again making o A n d Scotland l o se her dearly b ught liberty . the poor young king was merely a little child “ ” o J m o as The go d Sir a es lord of D uglas , received his “ reward f1 o m the Bruce the wh ole land o f P olmoodie
4 4 U er A a nandal pp e.
and t o o lords their followers , came Sc tland to assert his ’ mad Bali l s rights . The people were at o want o f in o dependence, and , however they might have been disp sed t o him as king if he used but worthy means t o forward his o cause , were not meaning to have him when he had s ld the liberty and rights of the Sco ttish nation in order t o forward his own ambition . m 1 332 In gloo y , dark December , in the year , this m M ofiat o Edward Baliol enca ped at , with his English l rds a - nd some turn coats of Scottish gentlemen . When the M o ffat folk had been bringing in their corn in the harvest, horsemen had come in and told them that this w Ed ard Baliol had got himself crowned at Scone . That m n ow t h e was two onths past, and , king they did not w wh o h ackno ledge , the king meant to sell the rig ts that Coreh e ad o fo r m Wallace and the lads had f ught , was co e among them trying to win them over to his side . They do not seem to have said much : o nly kept out of his way h ad o till he marched away s uth , his banners flying, and his armour glittering in the December sun as the great army o o a marched gl riously d wn past the Meeting of the W ters , D r fe A n nansid e past the rushing y , along the till it reached the Castle of A nna n ; from whence Edward Bali o l sent ou t U A messages, calling on the lords at pper nnandale and all o A d o h im m others to c me to nnan Castle and ho age . So sure was he of success that he began t o feast and make merry on t h e long December nights . He had England at ! m w n o . a his back Scotland was al ost That little D vid , s on o f a o the the Bruce , had neither R ndolph nor D uglas t o defend him . U A him A . y , but he had pper nnandale to defend He h ad a s friends the men wh o had struck the first great blo w ’ for Scotland s freedom in the days of Wallace . These men t o ! m t o submit England Nay , they would never sub it the England that had killed their hero, Sir William his o 1 n h ad u Wallace , and cutting b dy quarters , set it p throughout the country o f Scotland as a warning A warning l‘ —it had been the first thing that made Scotland ’ s freed om possible . m A nd now they re embered it . They spoke of it openly ’ Mofiat as t o a nd i n the Kerr of men looked their harness , ' looked to their arms ; as the smiths of Mo fia t sweated as they repaired armour and sharpened old swords as men 45 A uehencas .
ou t rod e in with horses , and lads hardly of their teens looked sideways and saw admiration in the eyes of the m m e n wh wo en . Old o had fought at Bannockburn eighteen years before ; young lads wh o had t o win their i m A f spu s ; the lairds fro nnan , Evan , Kinnel , Mof at , Bu rnock Fru id , , Clyde , and Tweed , and other smaller
waters , all eager to avenge the insult to the Scottish nation . o h n o s on J Rand lph , the second of the earl , was there m e n . A o of mustering his rchibald Douglas , a br ther the o o m M offat dale g od L rd Ja es , had his lads and others with “ ” - A ! ! A o their war cry , Douglas a Douglas ls another m o Douglas , Sir Willia D uglas , a natural son of Sir James , wh was a soldier o brave and fearless . He had married o f a a m had t h e the heiress Gr h of Dalkeith . Sir William
castle of Hermitage in Liddesdale , and was known as the of h im of Knight Liddesdale . He had with a gathering
Liddesdale lads . There were also Simon Fraser and
. o d a others Over a thousand h rse in all , raised in a v a and a h lf . ” ! M ofiat Ready , aye ready shouted the lads as they o d o t h e t h e r de wn Kerr at the darkening, and sweethearts n and wives cheered their goi g. a o ! n G ll p , gallop, down the glen only halti g at intervals t o be j o ined by o thers and get the latest news from t h e mo f A r m o o m . burgh r an , where the false Baliol was enca ped Was there n o one t o spy on their doings ? N ot one : else D r fe was the night ride had been in vain . The y rushing t o the A r man filled full with the December rains when the fie w o r riders past L ckerbie like the wind . Dark and darke was the night . But never a halt ; light or dark they knew ’ o o Baliol s m the r ad to the B rder well enough . ar y was at n no their ease after their feasting, feari g ill , when , like something u ne a1 t h ly the lads and lairds from the Kerr of ' Mofiat dashed 1 n among them and cut the guard s of Bali ol t o n mo m o . pieces . Ma y were killed ; a ng the Henry Bali l oo o li t o The p r craven , w uld be ki g woke out of his sleep m mo o i t o find the ene y al st at his side . Without st pp ng o o t o o f o w put on cl thes , he g h ld a cart h rse , and ithout a o off for a o saddle , r de de r life over the Border, the c ld December wind chilling h im to the bone as he leaned over an d o t o held the great lumbering h rse , trying his hardest ' o ll ll m b e s . c . urge it f rward igD ht ride hard If the lad m U A h ad h im fro pper nnandale got that night , they would 4 U er A rmandal 6 pp e.
A s h n o . ave had mercy it was , I fear the poor flying A To figure was a joke in nnandale for many a day after . cu t such a sorry figure was to lose all chance of success . A king may stand all things but his people ’ s scornful laughter . The only daughter of the Earl of Moray was married to h wh o the Earl of Marc , must have been a contrast to his A wife , Black gnes . The Earl of March was a little of
- - A facing both ways . But Black gnes had learned lessons A u ch e ncas from her father when she lived at , and was s — firm- trong minded and willed . The English being now m t o deter ined subdue Scotland , and hating the race of
Moray , saw their chance when the Earl of March was from h ome , and came in force with the Earl of Salisbury at t o their head besiege the Castle of Dunbar, expecting an e asy vict ory .
The Castle was strong, and built on a chain of rocks o s tretching out into the sea . Str nger still was the wh o t o Countess , never seemed sleep , and watched every
- o move . Huge st nes were flung at the castle out of the machines in use before cannon . But they could not make her afraid . She walked on the battlements, with a white napkin in her hand , touching the walls here and there as if wiping off the dust . But even then she was directing o her archers . One knight was killed at the side f Earl wh o Salisbury, said grimly , as the knight fell from his “ ’ horse : That is one of my lady s love - tokens ; Black ’
- A gnes s love shafts pierce the heart . When her castle t h e was relieved minstrels sang songs about her .
a o n o e a n d n She kept stir t w r tre ch , a a n o o o e n Th t br wli g , b ister us Sc ttish w ch am e e a a me a C I rly , c I l te , I fo u n d Ag n e s a t the ga te . h la 47 T e D ou g s.
H P E C A T R VIII .
T H E D O UG L A S .
Do a a n am e o a ll o e n o n e ugl s , thr ug h the w rld r w d ’ A n a m e tha t ro uses like the trum t s so u n d Oft a o a e od a 0 h ve y ur f th rs , pr ig l life ,
A Do uglas foll o wed through the blood y strife . HE powerful House of Douglas—that first found fame — on in after Bannockburn as years went , increased
riches , in honour , and in power, till they even t o looked the throne itself, and spoke openly at times of m t their clai s and rights o wear the crown . When the o A o o L rdship of nnandale was given to a D uglas, the pe ple n ot of o were displeased . The house D uglas was always o popular with the people of Sc tland . They could always “ ” be . d e pe nd e d on t o fight for th e A uld Sco ttish Nation . w o t o They ere of Celtic race , pr ud and haughty their equals , but kindly to their inferiors , and very brave and fearless in battle . a A m t o E rl Douglas , as Lord of nnandale , was not eaning be caught napping by the English men while he ruled A so n infor nnandale , he perfected a plan for givi g quick o s o t o m mati n , as be prepared for a visit from Cu berland o r t o thieves , a raid by some lord who wanted avenge old
. A t o o o o r scores nnandale was be pr vided with beac ns , m on bale fires, that would shine out like the la ps a street, t o o n m only they were be lighted hills some iles apart, all u a p the valley . There were eleven st tions , beginning with
Repentance Hill in Lower A nnandale . The last three U A o n e were in pper nnandale ; shone on Kinnel Knock, a o above the Kinnel Water ; n ther on Bleeze Hill , on the west side of the valley ; while the third flamed o u t o n bill o f f Gallowhill, the that lies behind the Kerr Mof at, and below Hart fell. These three beacons would warn the farmers a nd lairds wh o lived in the five glens t o the head A far o t h e of nnandale, that they must drive their cattle int mou n tainland as recesses of the wild , and also carry away f a s t much of their household stuf hey could with them . 4 a rma l 8 Upper A da e .
A s o t o t h e u n for the h uses , they would be burned gro d or ’ ” o n bu t a rickle o stanes their return , , thank God , for heather grew all around thatch , and the auld house was a n n soon raised u p again . When y o e tells us that we have old e a no picturesque cottages such as th y h ve in England , m m i n o let us re e ber, that the early days , the H we of A d m ’ m nnan ale was laid level several ti es in a man s lifeti e , and there was no use of spending ti me and labour i n the building of cottages . The lairds building their peels had
t o m o fo r o . need ake them str ng, the English were keen f es Not o n ly were the beacons lighted from Repentance Hill m was o upward when the ene y coming, but they t ld the n In strength of the advanci g force by certain signals . the “ charter o f Moffat Burgh there is mention of D ouglas A ma m cker . On it Douglas y have held his court a id the
- assembled vassals , and the sturdy burgers and yill makers f m t o t o of Mof at . There would be atters arrange , matters m f quarrel about , much the sa e as the Provost of Mof at and m the me bers of his Council w ork to this day . The banner o o of the D uglas would fl at lazily o n the breeze . Boys would A n d o play on the outskirts of the crowd . the grim L rd of A nnandale with his quick eye and ready wit wo uld sentence s ome poor s oul t o pit or gallows with a ready jest . Being Lord of A nnandale was but a stepping - stone t o
f II. higher h onours . On the death o David the crown t o h is wh o o went nephew, Robert, was a son of Marj ry , ( l the aughter of Robert t h e Bruce . He began the unlucky i n 1 390 w line of the Stewarts . On his death , the cro n t o m m was went his eldest son , na ed John , but as that na e o oo t o n c nsidered never to bring g d fortune a ki g , the name m I d I I. was change to Robert, and he beca e Robert This his so n t o F1 an ce n king sent young James , but the E glish o n t h e 1 is on e r captured him way , and kept him a p for n W h e was t o ineteen years . hen thirty he returned a a nd o h im his Scotl nd , br ught with an English wife , ” — h r m o a s o e . ilk white d ve , the p et king called Scotland was n ow o o was in a m st unha ppy c ndition , and nowhere d there greater misery than in A nnan ale . Since the days o f o t h e m R bert Bruce there had been a feeble govern ent, o wh o and great bar ns , held all laws in scorn , except what o o u suited their own c nvenience . B rder fe ds , revenges , u o h ad inj stice , and ppression grown with the building of o f each Border Peel . Even the Earls Douglas were never The D ou las 49 g .
one at rest but when they were fighting, and Douglas t o had starved his enemy death in his Castle of Hermitage , “ while another boasted , But, blessed be God , my ancestors ” of have died in fields battle, not on down beds . o m N twithstanding this confusion , Ja es I . was determined t o o bring some degree of order int the unhappy kingdom . “ “ If I am spared , said he, I shall bring in a change such m n as e little dream of . There is n ot the wildest spo t where the key shall not keep the castle, and the bracken buss the cow . For thirteen years he ruled well . There m m For were so e gru blers . he tried t o restrain the power of o the n bles , and he increased the taxes, which was hard on the working classes , on whom such burdens mainly fall . The taxes were exacted that he might keep the authority o and of the thr ne maintain j ustice . England had also sent “ in a bill for board and educati o n while they had kept him rison er h o t o p , w ich am unted a large sum in these days , and which fell on the burghers of Edinburgh , Perth , A Dundee , and berdeen . This must have made little towns ' “ like M oflat very glad they were only burghs of regality ” and barony . There was one baron whom the king found himself u n t o of A A able restrain , the Lord nnandale , rchibald , Earl
Douglas . He rode out with a thousand horse as if he n o w were a king, and one dared meddle ith him . t o m On his way spend Christ as at Perth , King James me t ld was by an o Highland prophetess at the ferry . “ My lord the king, if you pass this water you will not return alive , she cried . m He laughed at her fears , and all went erry as a m marriage bell . One night in February the wo an came again , but it was late . They would not let her see the king .
- Shortly after, as the poet king stood all unarmed in n men nightgow and slippers , strange broke in , and the m poor king was ost cruelly murdered . a If the people had murmured at the t xes , and the nobles at the firm laws , there was nothing but sorrow at the m death of the handso e James I . A D o o A t o rchibald uglas , L rd of nnandale , had risen great honours and riches . He was fourteenth Lord w Douglas , first Earl of Wigton , Lord of Both ell , Galloway , A of o of and nnandale , Duke T uraine , Lord Longueville A t t h i ’ . e a and Marshal of France time of the k ng s de th , 50 Upper A m andate. an d t wo for years after , he rode as a king through o Scotland . James II . had come to the thr ne at the age
o f t wo . six, and statesmen managed the kingdom for him
They were not good friends , but they both combined a gainst the great power of the House of Douglas. A m of chance ca e to crush the foe when , on the death w b o the Earl of Douglas , the title ent to William , a y of sixteen . Seeing the new earl a little vain of his title , t o they invited him , and his brother David , Edinburgh a wh o C stle to visit the young king, James II . , seems to n o m t o have had drea of treachery , and was eager see m them . Certain old friends of the Douglas fa ily warned the lads ; but the warnings seemed folly when the lads w m were received ith a hearty welcome fro the young king, wh o m James II . , at this time was a handso e boy of eight, a m with a red mark on his f ce , by which he got the na e of “ ” James of the fiery face . In the midst o f the rejoicings there was an entertain ment that made the Douglas lads start to their feet with a cry of de—spair . Before them was placed the head of a young bull the sentence of death . The young king wept and fell on his knees . m m ” “ ! ! . Spare the spare the he cried , as he grat very sair
The lads were carried out . In a few minutes the dull thud of the headsman ’ s axe came to the ears of the young A n king . old ballad says
n a o n a n d o Edi burgh C stle , t w t wer , G od gran t th o u si n k fo r s in A n d th at even for the bla ck di n ne r
E a rl Do ugl as go t th e re i n . A The nnandale estates now went to James Douglas , called ” Two o as h e . 1 the Gr ss , was fat and lazy years afte t o for they passed William Douglas , who lived revenge , n as and might have bee king , had he been as wise he was For brave . twelve years he was in power as Lord of
A nnandale , also Warder of the West Marches , and did m of go od wo rk by perfecting the syste beacon signalling .
But such work could not content him . He had all the m h a ughty temper of the Douglas , and several ti es showed ’ for but little respect the king s authority . Then he and of o o m the Earls Crawford and R ss f r ed a bond , by which ’ they bo und themselves t o take each other s part i n every
52 r A m andat Upp e e.
t him . o had once served him as a squire He surrendered , —“ I ” saying have fought long enough against my fortune . t o t o He told Kirkpatrick take him the king, claim the To reward , and see that the king keep his word . all ’ Kirkpatrick s pleading he would not yield . Kirkpatrick f o of ered to g into exile with him . But the earl had enough “ o t o t ' of exile . Th u wert true me when I was true o ” myself, he answered . Kirkpatrick , however, hid him till t o . he came terms with the king The king spared his life , but sentenced him t o confinement for life in the m o nastery “ wh o d n o of Lindores . He may o better must needs turn monk, said the senseless king . The king gave R ae hills Kirkpatrick the lands of , his miserly heart t grudging o pay full price . A s years went on , the king became more grasping, and him the nobles still more enraged at . In despair, the king t o having put his treasure in Edinburgh Castle , went the
' monastery and saw old Earl Douglas . Knowing the power A even his name had in days when he was Lord of nnandale , f the king of ered him forgiveness and reconciliation , if he m t o him would but co e back the world , stand by , the king, ’ wn and make the king s cause his o . Th old e brave Douglas looked at the cowardly king, and “ A h answered , , sir, your Grace has kept me and your so black casket long under lock and key , that the time in which we might have done you go od service is past and ” n go e . t o The king turned away . He went fight his rebel subjects ; t o bear the h ot rush of the Borderers o f A nnan o wi dale and Liddesdale with their l ng spears , and ld war cry ; to find friends traitors ; his own son in t h e ranks of t o o for his enemies ; lie weak and , w unded , crying a priest t o that he might seek peace with heaven . Then be “ murdered by the unknown priest as crying , This shall ” of give thee peace , he plunged the dagger in the heart the king . So ended the power of the great D ouglas family in A nnandale . The old monk was the last Earl Douglas , and some say he was t h e unknown priest wh o killed the king . o f A d The name Douglas still lingers in nnandale , as a balla says
S o m a n s o oo as o f t h e D o u la s se s a e n y , g d g h ve be n Of on e surn ame i n Sc otl an d n e ver y e t were se e . dd n 53 Flo e .
CHAPTE R IX .
F L O D D E N .
N ot s o Bo — t o war the rderer bred , ’ He k n e w the ba ttle s d in afa r A n d o e t o a j y d he r it swe ll . His pe a ceful d ay was slo thful e a se N or a n o r e e ar o a e h rp , pip his c uld ple s ” — an e M a rmion . Like the l oud slog y ll . HEN the family of the Black Douglas was crushed o by the King of Sc tland , there rose into favour m wh o another branch of the sa e family , had stood
by the king, the family of the Red Douglas . It was a
common saying, that the Red Douglas had put down the
Black . The Red Douglas was quite as fond of power as the
Black Douglas had been , and as often led the Borderland
into war . Sometimes it was civil war, and at other times w ” .a ar m with what they called the A uld Ene y . A A fter the defeat of old Earl Douglas , Stewart of nnan d office . ale, the was held under the Crown by Lord Maxwell The Maxwell family from early times had estates in U A pper nnandale , and like the Douglas family they were
of Celtic race, hot and impulsive . of m m It has been said the kings of Scotland na ed Ja es , “ m that there never was a wise one among the . They
were all a most unlucky race, and died early , leaving young children t o take in their feeble hands the reins of the
government . James I . was murdered , James II . was killed m at the siege of Roxburgh , Ja es III . was killed by the
m . unknown priest , and Ja es IV . was killed at Flodden These four had all tried t o curb the wild and powerful t o Scottish nobles . But the nobles needed a stronger hand c t oo urb them than the hand of a Stewart . Perhaps , , it was o as well the nobles st od out against the power of the throne, for they were , with all their faults , a wall of defence,
guarding the liberties and rights of the nation . m . t o When James IV arched away the field of Flodden , w a ith the flower of the Scottish nation with him , he had iarz al 54 Upper A rw d e.
of— e large gathering Border lads , and among them must hav U A A been many from pper nnandale , as the men of nnan dale were renowned for their skill with their long spears . They got the name of the thieves of A nnandale in times n t o m of peace, but whenever the ation went war these sa e
t t o . hieves had turn out The fields might lie unreaped , m n all the children cry for bread , wives igh t go mour ing their lives for the brave husbands and bonnie sons . But Robin from Evandale and Jock from the Kinn e lh e id must ' ofl h is needs go , each with steel bonnet, his long spear, and ’ o his forty days provisions tied up in a p ke on his back . A o fo r m o t on st ut poke it was, he ade it str ng, hinking the J of coming use for it . His coat was a steel ack , a coat fa leather with steel quilted into it . The burghers of Mof t also went, and as they were wealthy men , they had wonder fu l new contrivances which h ad been invented to keep out
English long arrows and sharp spears .
- m l But the home co ing was sad . There is no ballad to tel o f it b u t the saddest ballad of all :
’ A e e n i n loam i n n ae o n e are oam n t the g , y u k rs r i g ’ ’ Bo ut sta cks wi t h e la sse s a t bogl e t o pl ay Bu t ma e a am e n n h e r a ilk id sits dr ry , l ti g de ry , Th Fl ’ ’ ’ e o e rs o the Fo re st a re a we de a way .
’ ’ ’ W e 11 hea r n ae ma ir lilt in at the e we - milk in o m n a n d a n a re a e an d wa e W e b ir s he rtl ss , S i h in a n d m oa n in o n a e n oa n n g ilk gre l i g , ’ ’ ’ glo e rs o r s r a e a a The the c e t a e w de w y .
Some of the Border towns had all their adult male pOpu la tion wede away and with the king had been killed t wo t wo bishops , abbots , twelve earls , thirteen Lords of Parlia ment, the Provost and Magistrates of Edinburgh , and one o r o - more f nearly every well known family in the kingdom . “ ” N ot t h e only these, but of the commoner sort,
wh o - N o men were fathers , and sons , and bread winners . o no lodd e n wonder the Scottish pe ple made ballad of F , o nly the wild and eerie lament .
There was now a child on the throne of Scotland , and o s the wid w of the king married the Red Douglas . Thi o f queen was a sister of Henry VIII . England . In
Dumfriesshire, Lord Maxwell was King of the Borderland , and not even the Red Douglas nor the queen herself dare e to meddle with him . The nobles in the Borderland wer n ow t h e not held with firm hand of a Bruce , and every 5 Fledden. 5
t laird of any consequence had his strong tower t o run o . U A In every glen , opening up from pper nnandale , these A D r fe s towers rose up . way up in lonely Evandale and y dale they were there . There were lesser lairds , and bigger wh o lairds , such as Lord Maxwell and Scott of Buccleuch , kept any one from meddling with the Clans of t h e Border land . The clans had private feuds which were kept up t o from generation generation , and into which were dragged wh o t o peaceful people , wished for nothing but quiet and be left alone . The right hands of children were left unchristened so as t o be able t o work free of the christened soul . The whole country was full of disorder and lawless
“ ' Th e D e i Be b l s e f Tu . A “ . t o doings mong other practices, it was common steal ” A frae England and frae Scotland baith . If the nnandale thieves were out on a Michaelmas moon , stealing their A Winter Mart, the rmstrongs perhaps were riding on the ' M oflat Vat e r n ot same errand up l . It was only cattle they lifted for it was told of one freebooter , that passing a hay lVaes stack, he said , me , if ye had but four feet ye wadna stand lang there . There are still places pointed ou t where the stolen cattle bi “ ’ were d . The Deil s Beef Tub is the best known of A — them all . second is in Kirkpatrick juxta, called Palace “ o P elisk nowe — kn we , from , a knowe that is , where had 5 r A nnandal 6 Uppe e. been a palisaded stockade or keep for cattle in the days P alacek nowe o f the Reivers . This is some miles from oh n st on s the Beef Tub and nearer the stronghold of the J e . Te v iotd ale G ailliards Fau ld e s In there is the , where oh n s t on e Wam h ra J of p y , when he joined with the Eskdale A . ou r thieves , hid his cattle ltogether, I must confess , A Upper nnandale was a little peculiar in these times . They had a rhyming prayer they chanted merrily as they rode ou t
a o a n t o b orn He th t rd i ed us be , Sen d us m a ir mea t fo r the mo rn o m o r om a n C e by right , c e by wr g , n e a o a n Christ , let us ev r f st wre l g , ’ Bu t e n a s a o blithely sp d wh t g ily g t . ’ R R o n a o s i n t h e o t ide , ld h ugh p
The young James V . came up to manhood , and shook him
w- self free of control . He was a narro minded young fellow ,
n o . fond of a show of authority , and by means generous o He considered he was quite able to quell the B rderers . He did it in a fashion that is remembered to this day . The j ustice he meted out is so uneven that he made m ore foes than friends among the common people , who made ballads , of not in praise the king , but in praise of his victims . The king seems to have been close - minded as well as
- fis t d o close e . He began his great work by arresting L rd o Maxwell , Scott of Buccleuch , and some other p werful wh o lords, most certainly would have interfered with him had they been free . Then the king said he was going a - t o hunting, that the lords with him were bring their best dogs he was going to Ettrick forest to hunt the deer . He o had a large army , but the people only th ught he wanted “ ’ lo e rs t o go in state . The F of the Forest had been
V . faithful to the father of this King James , and had h im l dd n t fought bravely for at F o e . They were true o w m t him so n no o . the , and eant entertain loyally He nd e rla nd of Tu shie law Cockburn of , Scott , John A m of G ilnockie o r strong , might be freebo ters , but they o of were also great and p werful lairds , and were proud bein able t o entertain their king . hat wants he not a king should have ? said the as saw A t h e king, he rmstrong ride forward ; so laird must have busket him brawly . A r f r The three lairds were hanged . mstrong pled o his dd n 5 Flo e . 7
“ t o of life ; but when refused , said , It is folly seek grace
a graceless foe . The cunning the king displayed at this time took away
any good such strong measures might have done . The “ ’ ” road he went is still called The King s Road ; but the m A ” urder of John rmstrong and all his gallant company , o f of Cockburn , and Scott, weaned the hearts of the
Borderers from the throne . In later years Mary Queen of “ Scots had to pay part of th e price when she t oo sought foe an d m grace frae a graceless , found the com on people o f Scotland had lost the old devotion to the house of o Stewart, and loved m re the powerful nobles and lairds ,
their leaders in the Reformation .
James V. had some thoughts of hanging a few lairds in U A pper nnandale, but he did not dare . They would have “ h ad their followers crying A y e Ready and the other w — ar o . cries , as they chased the king from the B rderland
He said of Lochwood , the stronghold of the Johnstones , U A that lies west of pper nnandale , in a cosie corner in the “ d hid - : ale , half in forest of oaks and peat mosses The
builder may have been outwardly an honest man , but he o was at heart a knave which was a f olish thing to say ,
for the Joh n st one s had been good friends t o him .
James V . now set about getting a wife, and fixed on a
on e . t o t o French He went France marry her, and while m o there saw one more to his taste, arried her, and to k m her ho e to Scotland . But she, poor thing, only lived a
h e h ad t o . few months , when seek a second wife from France of This second wife was of the house Guise, which was the c o o ause of much tr uble , for the Ref rmation was spreading o o of rapidly thr ugh Scotland . The n bles were on the side o o o r m the Ref rmers , either penly secretly , and the co mon people heard the new go spel gladly . t James V . seemed o get more selfish and cruel as years went on . He did several cruel and unwise things ; but perhaps the w orst was the burning of the sister of the o n banished Red Douglas the Castle Hill of Edinburgh , her crime being that she had practised against the life of of a the king by witchcraft and poison . This sister the E rl o f A m K e n eit h ngus was the wife of Ca pbell of p , a lady both young and beautiful ; and there were n ot a few wh o m m bla ed the king, and said that her principal cri e was that she was a Douglas . e A am ndale 58 Upp r .
V ha Henry VIII . of England was uncle to James . , but t t did n ot hinder the Scottish king from marching south with an army intending to invade England . He got his t o army to the Borders , and there his barons refused cross t o into England . Left in the lurch the king had collect what men he could , and the result was a disgraceful defeat Th e t h e at S o lway Moss . night before battle the king is — said t o have been tro ubled with nightmare when a m h im “ bloody shade ca e to and said , Cruel tyrant, thou ” A nd hast unjustly murdered me . then he saw the ghost cut him up b y inches . m Full of sha e , and anger, and remorse, the king retired to his palace of Falkland , shut himself up , and fretted d d . n h a himself to eath His two sons had died . His obles proved faithless and yet they were the sons of men wh o had died at Flodden fighting for his father . He had at on e m o time been in favour of the Refor ati n , and , like all
- - n h ad t o . faci g both ways , been true neither side The Red Douglas might rise again ; Lord Maxwell was king of the Bord erland Joh nst on e of A nnandale could wave his hand and a thousand men wo uld leap on horseback : but the ri king died without a true f end .
6 0 U er A anandale pp .
To a king, the voice of the people ought to be almost a s sacred as the voice of God . Scotland was then passing A n through a period of change . d never did it need a firm ruler more than when Mary Queen of Scots came to the o thr ne . To read the history of the few years that she reigned i n t o h ow Scotland , is wonder more and more she could be
s o . of thoughtless She may have been innocent _ all crime, but even her French training does not excuse the “ fool ’ s ” paradise in which she lived . Poor mad Mary She had ’ t o woman s wit enough have ruled Scotland , and ruled it well . It was well for Scotland that there was John Knox t o t o turn at this time . He had his faults , but none can say o o r n he s ught honours wealth for hi mself . He died plai
m . John Knox, and left but a s all fortune behind him There is a tradition that John Knox preached in Upper A m 5 2 u 1 6 . nnandale , when at D fries, in But it is more likely that A nnandale people had flocked to Dumfries t o ’ s e e and hear Scotland s uncrowned king, and brought back t o n the things he said tell it to the others . The Reformatio was as closely connected with the name of John Knox as i o f the Liberal cause , at a later date , was w th the name m e n Gladstone . The two were identical in two things ; they were both thoroughly convinced o f the truth of the . i n cause they advocated , and thoroughly earnest in defence o f that cause .
The Reformation came very quietly t o Upper A nnandale . w Lord Max ell , while a prisoner in England , had heard the so Reformed doctrines , and was convinced of the truth of the n e w gospel and the wisdom of freedom in matters of t o — h religion , that whenever he returned his own land whic V —h e o was the year after the death of James . intr duced 1 543 A ct in the Scottish Parliament of , the memorable permitting the reading of the English Bible . Cardinal o wh o l Beat n and the French Party , were he ping the Queen “ ” t o A Regent sweep back the tlantic , were joined by the A o U rchbish p of Glasgow, in whose diocese part of pper
A A ct o . nnandale lay . The was strongly pposed But it w s a passed . Not even Cardinal Beaton in the greatness of h is power dared t o venture to repeal that law ; and Jo hn Knox himself gave testimony to the great good that A ct pas sed by the Scottish Parliament did t o the cause of the [ u the D a s o u n ar 61 y f Q ee M y .
. e Reformation Despite the penal laws against heresy , ther ’ was n ow a large circulation of Ty n d ale s English version of t h e t o Bible and other books , thus enabling the people n read in their own la guage the Gospel of Jesus Christ . Lord Maxwell was also wishful that Mary Queen of Scots o m sh uld be arried to Edward , son of Henry VIII . and a good thing for her if she h ad been so married Cardinal Beaton and the friends of the Queen - Regent were so angry at Lord Maxwell for these things that they seized Loch maben Castle and other strongholds of the Maxwells . ’ Lord Maxwell s A ct was in force till the Reformation was fairly established in Scotland so he may have been said t o 111 have helped to lay the foundation of it . later years the second son of this Lord Maxwell became a zealous a was supporter of Queen M ry , and visited by her at Loch m 1 565 m aben Castle in . His nephew became a Ro an o Cath lic , and worked for that cause as energetically as his h ad o t h grandfather w rked for e Reformers . But by this time the Reformation was fairly established . o ot In c nferring honours upon B hwell , Queen Mary made him Lord Warden of the East, Middle , and West Marches , th ough the wardenship had usually been conferred upon o three separate pers ns . Perhaps there never was a more unwise deed d o ne by the poor Queen ; for in raising w t o o h e r o Both ell such hon urs , she put from the devoti n of many of the Border lairds , whose grandfathers had gone t o so blithely Flodden , and who would so willingly have
- fought in her cause had she but gained their good will . Thus o nly one laird from Upper A nnandale seems t o hav e t o taken his followers Langside . This laird was Laird of “ ” l u ch o R acc e of . , in the valley Evandale There is a pard n “ m t o o in existence from Ja es VI . Robert J hnstone of R accle u ch a earan d , for pp with displayed banners at the ” battle of Langside . It is said that Queen Mary and those with her rode ' A M oflat down the Corrie of nnan , through , and down the
Howe of A nnandale in her mad flight of sixty miles .
Lord Herries was with her . She stopped at Dundrennan in Galloway, with sixteen of her attendants, not a coin in her pocket, and no clothes but what she had on . The Queen stepped into a fishing boat on the evening of that Su nday in May , and as she watched the Scottish coast fade away , ! little thought she was leaving Scotland for ever . Poor Mary er A nuanda Upp le.
M offatd ale .
H E C APT R XI . G A ORN L TOWER .
' the entrance of Moflat dale stands the ruin of an old C orn al Border Keep, called Tower . It was the P ercornal mansion of the estate calle—d , or Logan . o of C rai b e ck Bre consid e This estate c nsisted five farms g , ,
11- \Voodh e ad - o Loga , Logan W odfoot, and Crofthead . Per m ! co a and many other lands were , early in the fifteenth A t o century , granted by the Red Douglas , Earl of ngus , his w l Mo use a d . Mou se wald shield bearer, Carruthers of means ” M oss wald o , wood in the moss , and lies s uth of Dumfries . “ u The Carr thers family were a gallant race of knights , distinguished in Border warfare from the time of Wallace ” d wn us . o wards , Mr Charles Stewart tells The estate of Logan did n ot long remain in the A n Carruthers family, but passed into other hands . d thereby hangs a strange romantic tale , told by tradition , a nd corroborated by the written records of the period . of M ou se wald When Carruthers received the estate , the Red Douglas was holding the office of Lord of A nnandale na Car l Tower. 63 and doubtless it was with a vie w of helping t o keep order in the troublesome upper portion that Carr u thers was gi v en ornal t o n C Tower, and which is said have been a hu ting l o dge for old Scottish kings . o While James V . wandered ab ut disguised as the ” n Balle n ie ch h Guidma of g , and spied on t ose whom he u suspected , heard gossip , and ind lged in unkingly pleasures, the laird of Cornal Tower proudly saw his fair home of t w brightened by the birth o daughters . Six years after h of the deat the king, Carruthers himself died , and the girls were left the heiresses o f Corual Tower and the sewald m barony of M ou . I mediately on the death of their o D ru mlanri wa s father, Sir James D u las of g granted the “ ”g m of C ornal ward and arriage of the maidens To wer . Somehow or other this arrangement was resented by Cock ool Charles Murray of p , whose sister had been the
m of . other Janet and Marion DougD las He was exceedingly “ t o t h wart angry , and determined all endeavours to marry ” off wh o the girls , especially the younger niece Marion , m t o n o t see s have had a strong will of her own , and would be handed over in the high handed manner that was the f o . fashion the day The real secret was , as I shall after m wards show, that Marion had a lover, and was deter ined
t o be true and faithful to him . A m m so fter aking so e arrangements about the estate, as t o in t wo have it shares between the maidens , Douglas told m om R ore sou n of Barda nn och Janet to arry Th as , and t t o o m oo . Janet, timid rebel , just beyed Sir Ja es Douglas “ o 1000 for gave her, as t cher, merks , and sustenance ” o f t wo herself and her husband for the space years . This “ was in return for the half of her rights to the lands a nd ” M ou se wald a n barony of . The estate of Log was included so m m i n this Sir Ja es did pretty well for hi self . m o n Sir Ja es Douglas , intent getting the whole of the o m o estate, pr ceeded to fix Marion in the sa e fashi n . But o o n o t t o Mari n , the younger , d es seem have ever given the least encouragement t o any bridegroo m proposed by “ o t o m Sir James , and she ann unced her intention arry o t o Mo us w l whom she pleased , and disp se of her right e a d ” A m . o as she saw fit fraid of her rebellion , Sir Ja es at nce
proceeded t o firm measures . Lest she should carry ou t “ o o o f n her intenti n , D uglas raised letters i hibition t o “ protect his legal rights, under the gift of her ward and U er A anandal pp e.
. n o t marriage That is , if Marion would marry whom he t o n ot t o ordered her marry , she was to be permitted
marry any one else . On the day following this inhibition , Douglas came t o M arion and offered her as husband John ‘ M M at h D al edd e r of n o of p , a friend his own of great t o n o repute . He seems have given her choice , but only
said , that he required th e marriage should be celebrated m at the ti e and place specified by him . “ Proud Mari o n is said to have refused the proposal ‘ m ’ haughtily , and said , She would not be at the said Ja es The case n ow went t o the Privy Council of Scotlan d for Mari o n held out wi th as firm a temper as t h e
Douglas himself . The result was that Mari o n was sent t o her kinsman , Lord Borthwick , at Borthwick Castle , in ’ ’ 1 562 o so , f urteen years after her father s death ; Marion s m rebellion had lasted a long ti e . The Privy Council also ordered that she was t o be under an obligati o n not t o leave n or a traito or broken m n o a . T L rd Borthwick , marry r o thwart Sir James Douglas she tried t o leave her share of t o U of c l h e r property her ncle Murray C o kpoo . Perhaps she thought this would make Sir James let her marry Tw . o whom she would , and cease the persecution years m had gone by since she left Sir Ja es , and sixteen since ’ her father s death . She must have been worn out with the struggle . But there never was a Douglas wh o cared for aught but w m of his o n will . Sir Ja es heard the transaction and got it declared illegal . m t o Worn out, but still deter ined , she went her uncle C u mlon an m at his Castle of g , near the Borders, a ile and o a half from Ruthwell village . The str nghold is still in
o of - is the p ssession Murrays , and in good preservation . so The walls are ninety feet in height , and thick , that m small apartments are included in the . Here went weary
Marion , only asking to live her own life , growing early “ old t o o , but still faithful and true the traitor and br ken
no . man . But even here she got rest Her mind seems t o have given way at last for one day she took a leap over was the highest wall of the castle, and killed . wh w o . o King James VI , al ays to k a practical view of “ ’ Thairt h row brekin things , expressed it , wilfully of her ” ain craig and banes , whereof she died . Her share was then given t o the eldest son of Sir James l ow r Carna T e . 65
Douglas in 1 570 so Marion ’ s rebellion had lasted a long ’ - t wo time . This was twenty years after her father s death . for What I have told is history and fact . Now the t o tradition , which was told by Mr Charles Stewart Mr
‘ o f orn l C a . Samuel Neill , when showing him a sketch Tower Two one lairds were in love with Marion Carruthers , of m who she favoured . The slighted lover was, however, m t o deter ined get her by fair means or foul , and for this ’ o ot o purp se g a kinswoman of Mari n s into the plot . This ’ t o of kinswoman seems have been a niece Marion s , likely the daughter of a natural son of Carruthers of Cornal i Tower for the girl was in an infer or position in the house , ’ m o f o m being maid , and yet was a co panion Mari n s , and ust m o have been about the same age and rese bled her s mewhat. ’ m t o She also see s have been trusted with Marion s secret, o w and had als some knowledge of the t o lairds . The slighted lover heard that his rival was to visit Marion on m t a oonlight night . Marion herself does n ot seem o have so ma u known of his coming, the niece y have p rposely o kept the matter dark . The slighted lover laid his pl t ’ wh i n . o carefully He and the niece , was dressed Marion s braws , walked along lovingly , quite aware that they were ’ followed by Marion s lover, and that the plot had succeeded . t o The niece personated Marion perfection , perhaps hoping that she might say a word for herself at the same time . The loving laird addressed his “ Marion in the impassioned Th e d language of the fond lover . other lair , sure that
Marion was false, was in a towering rage , and his hot anger n o t was less when he found out that he was being deceived . o n o om A He w uld hear apology fr his rival . duel was
u . fought, and the yo ng man was slain Thus Marion ’ s lover became a “ traitor and a broken ” of man in the eyes others . But in her eyes he was always her ain true love .
’ m h a e e e n a n a I ight b ki g s d ughter , ’ ” H a d it n o t b e e n for love 0 thee . l 66 Upper A nnanda e .
L o h woo c d .
H E R C APT XII .
THE BURNING OF LOCHWOOD .
Bu t first y o u must come te ll t o me ” If frie n ds o r foe s y ou b e . HEN the Maxwells were barons of Evandale Moffat dale , they may have noticed wi th haughty displeasure the growing power of the Johnstone w family . First, the strong tower of Loch ood rose from among the pe at mosse s and forest of oaks . Then younger branches of the Johnstones settled in strong peels o f their o wn U A , and these multiplied till pper nnandale was dotted o as of oh nst on e as ver thickly with keeps the J Clan , ever it A nd had once been with bill forts of the ancient Celt . “ t o A e every Johnstone , from Evenhead Lockerbie , was y ready t o follow the Chief of Lochwood whenever he rode
his o r o . forth , be quarrel right wr ng It is told o f a Borderer wh o wa s ordered t o set forth o n a one t o h im daring and lawless enterprise, that some said ,
68 er A nnandale Upp .
o Bait ok s become . In this list is als Mathe Roger, . Thi l shows the early form of Beattock was as the o d. people “ ”
Fran sch Franschland . still name it . There is also Robert , The Laird of Lochwood at this time was Sir John of Johnstone, who had married Margaret Scott, daughter
Sir William Scott, younger of Buccleuch . This Margaret u wh o Scott had an a nt, Janet Beaton , , when her husband of was killed in the streets of Edinburgh , rode at the head o t o 0 0 the Clan of Sc tt , encourage her tr ps and avenge his h n st one of death . Dam e Jo Lochwood had all the courage
- of the bold Scotts and her strong minded A unt Janet . She was also said t o be a very stately lady and fond of
t o . dress , as well as have much influence at Court t o t h e u t Still more anger the Maxwells , slim Regent p Johnstone forward as candidate for the Provostship o f o o t o Dumfries . J hnst ne thought he had only walk the fe w course . But when he rode into Dumfries with a retainers , he found Maxwell there , grimly waiting for him , w f - So ith a body o men all in their fiercest war paint .
Johnstone went quietly home , and complained to the oh nst on e Regent . Lord Maxwell was declared a rebel , and J “ was given a commission t o pursue him with fire and sword as a contumacious rebel wh o deserved n o mercy . The Regent now had his plan working finely but in punish
n . ing Maxwell , Joh stone found he had his hands filled t o t h e Hired soldiers were sent assist Johnstone , but
Maxwells defeated their enemies . Johnstone then went and burned some houses belonging to the Maxwells and To s laid waste their lands . avenge this injury the Maxwell t came to Lochwood and burned it o the ground . ’ t o L och wood s Robert Maxwell , referring the Lady of “ ’ well known love of fi ne clothes , cried , that he d give
Dame Joh n st on e light enough to set her silken hood . i n of G re t n e In an old churchyard , the Parish y , at Red 1 30 m Kirk , about feet within high water ark , there was 1 810 a stone nearly sanded up in , on which was written
l h B h o i n e h e re M D ! e e t . O . . w H re y I N ell , died y y , a n d of a e ! ! ! h s hys g L y e re .
e e B a n a n d an e H r bluidy ell , b ith ski b , Lies qui e tly still a n ea th this sta n e H e wa s a st a rk m o ss - tro o e r ke n t ’ a r u t As ever dr ve a bout o e o . H e b ry n t y e Lo chwood To we r a n d Hall n w 69 The Burni g of L och ood .
’ A n d dan g ye la dy o e r ye wall For e oh n s t on e o an d e whilk y J , st ut wyt , Se t Blackhea th i n a low by n y gh t While cri e d a vo ice as if fro m H
a e o e n a e for B . H st , p ye g t s bluidy ell
“ Dame Johnstone certainly escaped death . If Bell dang ” her owre the wall when helping or hindering her escape,
she was capable of speaking her mind t o him . She was a s - N ot of trong minded woman . only was the fine tower
Lochwood burned , but the laird was made a prisoner . His
t r of . oubles were t oo heavy . He died a broken heart le A nnanda .
‘ ' we Black law l o r. “ ’ ” t 71 Will 0 Kirk/ ill.
H C APTE R XIII .
’ WILL O KIRKHILL . HA VE said that many branches of the Lochwood nst on e s U A Joh settled in pper nnandale . One of h a L t h nh all these d their home at e e . When Loch was Wam h ra wood burned , the Laird of p y and Master of L e t h e n hall o wh o was one William J hnstone , went by the “
m . na e of The Galliard The name comes from a dance , “ and means a gay, reckless character . In a ballad , The ” of Wam h ra Lads p y , we h—ave a full account of the raid made by this Galliard a raid th a t was t o be ever memorable in history as leading to the battle of D ry fe
o f . Sands , the last great clan battle the Borders “ Wam h ra I may say here that this ballad , The Lads of p y , so is exceedingly graphic, and gives such a good picture of old u m the times and places , that it is a pity its author is “ Mr of known . The late Charles Stewart said it, This ballad , o first printed by Sir Walter Sc tt, had been handed down in Wam h ra o of the p y circle , probably fr m the period its occa
a o . t o sion , nearly three centuries g We used hear it sung,
t o o - as it came him , thr ugh oral tradition , by a well known ” m o M ackmaw and popular old far er, J hn Carruthers of . o The Galliard was a noted freebo ter . Near the head of “ Te v iotdale is a valley that was and may still be called The ’ Galliard s Faulds (folds) , as it was there the Galliard and his friends hid and afterwards divided the spoils . The friends and followers of the Galliard were the Eskdale , A “ ” Liddesdale , and nnandale thiefs, whom Sir Richard Maitland in his complay n t tells us about Of Liddesdale the co mmo n thi e fs S o e e a n ow a n d rie fs p rtly st ls , Tha t n o n e m ay k e ep o e n o or e H rs , wt , sh ep , N or y e t da ur sl e e p m For th e ir ischiefs . e o m e n of e a Th y sp il puir th ir p cks , They le av e th e m n o cht on bed or ba cks Ba ith h e n a n d cook With re e l a n d rock ’ Th e laird s J ock ’ h im a All with t k s . 2 er A anandal 7 Upp e.
a n ot n o on n o r c They le ve spi dle , sp , spe t , Be d o e an a n or , b lst r , bl ket , s rk , sheet ; Jock of the Pa rk Hyps kist an d ark For all sic wa rk i h m ” He is r e t eet .
There are pe ople who fancy the Raiders were a company of mounted gentlemen wh o had wholesale deal
- ings in cattle . But there were many of the moss troopers who were very much given t o lifting whatever came in o t o their way , and the foll wers of the Galliard seem have — been of this description rough , ready , and reckless . His “ ’ ” 0 mm nephew, Will Kirkhill, was second in co and , and — — as after events pro ved as utterly reckless and regardless Af o as his uncle the Galliard . ter the burning of Lochw od in and the death of the Laird , there came one of the rare h n n t e rv als of peace between the Jo st o es and the Maxwells . Lord Maxwell was n o w restored t o the favour of the
Court, and his rebellion forgiven . He was Lord Warden , and as powerful as ever he had been . He and the new Laird of Lochwood entered into a bond of union by which they b ound themselves t o stand by one another against all t o comers . Perhaps Lord Maxwell saw that it was better oh n st on e s for have the J friends than for foes , and he could not but know that the ancient feud had but weakened b o th m parties t—o the advantage of t—heir c omm o n ene ies . Both Regents Morton and A rran had stirred up t h e old strife o n e and envy , flung the wardenship from to another , kept oh n st on e J in favour, and used him to punish Maxwell , and all as a matter of policy . King James , reigning without e oh nst one the help of a R gent, might bring forward J again , t o and get him made Lord Warden . It was best keep in m oh n st one favour with King Ja es and with J too , and this might have been successfully carried o u t if it had not been “ ” ’ for The Galliard and Will 0 Kirkhill . The Galliard was very well pleased t o see Lord Maxwell m Lord Warden . He was still ore pleased to know that there was a bond of Union between t he Johnstones and ad v an Maxwells . He considered that it was a very great m r t o . So ob tage hi self long as he did not a Maxwell , he
might lift and carry away from whatever quarter he liked . ’ It was said of the Galliard and the Galliard s men
’ w a o ma n They n e er sa h rse but they de it th e ir ai . “ ’ ” Will i r ll 3 0 K khi . 7
So one night the Galliard set off t o Upper Nithsdale t o clear the lands of Lord Sanquhar
The Galliard t o Nith sd ale is gan e ’ To a Sim ri h t on s win s om d u n ste l C g .
N ow mm mm of e Si y , Si y the Sid , Co me ou t a n d see a Joh n s t on e ride ’ ’ e s o n n o in a N it h s id e H re the b iest h rse , ” A n d n h n n n a ge tle Jo st o e a bu e his hide .
u The Crichtons did come out as invited , and purs ed the Galliard
’ A n d e C on a a h a e a n ther the richt s the G lli rd t e , ’ ” n i A d n an e wi h m but Willie ala n e . The Crichtons had a rough and ready mode of punishing o men who stole from England and fr m Scotland baith . The Galliard had broken that unwritten law of the Scottish Borderland which said that raiding was only lawful
when a man crossed the Border into England . Therefore o the Cricht ns led the Galliard t o the nearest tree . Bold u as the Galliard was, he shrank from such a disgracef l death
0 mm mm le t m e a n , Si y , Si y , g g ’ A n d I 11 n eve r ma ir d o a Crichto n wran g O mm mm le t m e , Si y , Si y , be ’ ’ A n d a pe e k 0 go ld I ll g ae t o the e .
O m m mm le t me an , Si y , Si y , g g A nd my wife sha ll h e a p it with h e r h a n d B u t the Crichton s wo u ld n a le t t h e Ga llia rd ” So the y h ange d h im h ie upo n a tre e .
’ Will 0 wh o Standing by was Kirkhill , swore
e W am h ra t o se e If ver I live p y , ’ M y u n cle s de ath a ven ge d sha ll be .
’ The Crichto ns let Will 0 Kirkhill go back to VVam ’ t o L e t h e nh all ph ray t o carry the news o f his uncle s death . “ ’ ' n ow o f Wam h ra Willie was laird p y , and the Galliard s ” — — m en clustered close a tribe of Joh nst on es in their clay ’ biggin s from G irt hh e ad t o L angwood end at Selcot h in ’ “ ” M ofiat . Water. It was up and ready and away Willie ’ t o led them the Crichtons land , and raided it at his o pleasure . The Crichtons foll wed him , and came on him 74 U er A nnandale pp .
near the head of Evandale . Willie boasted of the victory afterward
N o w a on a n o e , sirs , we h ve d e ble de d ’ W e a n a a h ve reve ged the G lli rd s bluid . ’ ’ For every fin ger o the Gallia rd s h an d ” v w d a a m an I o this y I h ve kille d a .
t n o . This was all very well , but it could end there It
- - o was the old game of tit for tat . The Cricht ns complained t o the Lord Warden , but Lord Maxwell was very unwilling ’ t o t o 0 break up the bond of union , and go punish Will
Kirkhill . The quarrel , he knew , would be taken up by t the Jo hnstones . But the Crichtons were not o be thus t o m silenced . They ld the Lord Warden that they the selves o o would enter int a b nd of union with him , would maintain h is - m an - cause against all comers , and pay rent ; and as t o t o o even this bribe failed rouse him action , they to k a way of their own to bring about the punishment of their enemy . They sent on to Edinburgh a deputation t o King James “ consisting of certain poo r women with fifteen blood y for d shirts , who prayed justice , and laid the eaths of sons , husbands , and servants on the Laird of Lochwood , the
Chieftain o f the Johnstones . There was a procession o through the streets o f Edinburgh . The bl ody shirts were o m o of held al ft, and a sy pathising crowd foll wed telling U A the unlawful deeds done by the men of pper nnandale . o wh o—if Popular feeling was r used . King James , he had n ot t h e of o — beauty his m ther, Queen Mary had all her
- o omm o self will , sent an rder c anding L rd Maxwell to execute j ustice on t h e offending Joh nst o ne s . L ord Maxwell h e therefore had t o o bey . But before he did so entered into a bond of union with the Crichtons . A s m the story goes , this bond of agree ent between the n o t Maxwells and the Crichtons , being securely kept, was m t o stolen by a Johnstone of Cu mertrees, who carried it o the Laird of Lochwood . Thus the laird got w rd early of i t o the danger that threatened h m . He sent the Elliots of
Liddesdale , the Grahams of the Debatable land , the Scotts al of Te v iotd e and Eskdale .
6 U er A n h andule 7 pp . w hen he laid waste Nithsdale, as Mr Charles Stewart says “ ” i n D ry fe sd ale Old Churc hyard that he carried off some o horses bel nging to the Crichtons , and had killed Douglas ” D ru mlan i o f r . Dalveen , probably a cadet of g m oh n st n The Graha s from the Debatable land joined J o e . t o They were always ready fight the Maxwells . But though Joh n st on e of L o chwood had a good and of m e n o strong body , he was utnumbered by Lord Maxwell , wh o n came from Dumfries displayi g the Royal banner, and with two thousand men behind him , also the Nithsdale D ru ml n i a r . barons , Lagg, Closeburn , and g oh nst one rot md J was first in the field , and chose the rising g a D r fe o A r m bove where the y j ins the an . Lord Maxwell , “ ” o on his way to meet L chwood , visited the Border Keep Kirk t ou n wh o of that belonged to James Johnstone, had Kirk t ou n gone to join his chief . His reason for storming seems t o have been t o avenge the active part the laird of n Kirkt ou had taken in raiding the Crichtons . The defence “ was carried o u t by Dame A gnes Joh n st one and the few servants she had with her . It would have gone hard with “ ” oh n st o n e this Dame J , if sudden news had not sent
Maxwell elsewhere . When she saw her enemy go , she sent
me n - t o o oh n st on e s all the servants j in the J , and then she m and her maid watched them , fro the battlements , ride away t o what must have almost seemed to her the defeat h n st o n s U A of the Jo e of pper nnandale . The D ry fe is named from the driving nature of the A r m waters in flood—. Near where it joins the an are the Sands of D ry fe sands brought down by the D ry fe in its m it floods . Tho as the Rhymer said of
Let spades or sh ools D o a ma wh t they y , D ry fe will h a e ’ Dry sdale K irk a way .
This saying h as come true more than once . t o D r fe Coming the banks of the y , and fording it on the n forenoon of that December day , Maxwell sudde ly on A discovered his enemy the rising ground above him . m oh ns t one s s all body of the J came out from the rest, and ou t ou t riding of his reach , taunted him , shouting their “ ” - t o war cry, Ready , aye ready , as if j eer at the slowness of his movements . They then rode away , and were h attle o D r e Sands 77 T e B f yf . follovved wh o by the men under Maxwell , shouted out in —“ ! ! ” return Wardlaw Wardlaw I bid ye bide, Wardlaw , the slogan of the Maxwell clans . VVardlaw is the name of a hill close to the h ome of t h e arl r C av e ock . Maxwells , the castle of m e When the Maxwell men were tempted up the p , the
Johnstones , Scotts , and Grahams left the heights and o f rushed down on their enemies , the quickness their movements creating a sort of panic among the tr0 0 ps unde r
Lord Maxwell . He himself bravely kept his head , and o i his - f ught with all h s wonted courage . But new found D ru mlanri friends , Lagg, Closeburn , and g, turned their ’ o horses heads h meward , and rode for dear life , and behind m them followed as any of their retainers as could go , with m old their ene ies in close pursuit . In the ballad it says
A D ru mlan ri a e a dieu , g f lse w rt y , A n d C o e n i n a a n l s bur b d , Th a f a fl d e L ird o L ag frae my father th t e .
Many o f the Maxwells that day got what has ever since been called a Lockerbie lick , that is , a deep cut or slash
. G ot t e rb on the face Others fled as far as y ford , pursued
. A by the Johnstones Plunging into the nnan , that rolled m sullen and deep on that dark Dece ber day , many of them were drowned . It is said that seven hundred of the Maxwells perished o f D r fe at this battle y Sands. Perhaps there were fewer , but t h e result anyway was a victory for the rebel John stone of Lochw ood . m t o a Before the battle , Lord Maxwell had pro ised give ten pou ndland to whoever should bring him the head or NV e n oh n st on e the hand of Johnstone of Lochwood . h J h e n o ou ndland h e was told of this , said he had ten p , but would give a five merklan d t o whoever brought him th e head or hand of Lord Maxwell . ’ This came to the mind of Will 0 Kirkhill when he saw a o a solit ry horseman riding slowly from the battle , and f und the soldier t o be the defeated Lord Maxwell . Riding quickly up he struck Lord Maxwell from his horse . Half n stunned , Lord Maxwell stretched out his hand pleadi g fo r m t o ercy and claiming be taken prisoner, reminding W h w w ill of o he had once spared Johnstone of Loch ood .
But Will was not a man given t o mercy . He quickly cu t nn 78 Upp er A andale. o ff the pleading hand and carried t he trophy to Joh n st on e o f o L chwood . t o Tradition tells a story that some are slow believe , thinking that a woman could not be so cruel ; but Sir
Walter Scott seems to have believed the tradition , and the late Mr Charles Stewart said that the story was “ currently ” told and believed . Perhaps the woman was cruel , but her ’ o an d father had died in L rd Maxwell s prison , she herself had not so many hours before narrowly escaped from the o m an p wer of this . of When the noise the battle had rolled away westward , oh n s t on e wh o o Dame J , had watched all that weary day fr m o n e m the battlements , called her aid to her , and together “ ’ they went to seek amongst the slain for the folk 0 Kirk ”
m . toun who ight have fallen Before setting out, Dame A gnes Joh n st o ne first locked the inner oaken d oor and then “ n Kirkt ou n t wo the iro yetts of , and tied the large keys t o o by a leather thong . She was not minded give an pen
o o t o . o d r Lord Maxwell Hanging the keys ver her arm , w m she went away , follo ed by her aid , to seek by the Sands of D ry fe for her husband and sons . m of In the evening light the glittering ar our a tall , grey headed man lying close t o a leafless thorn attracted her .
t o . His hand had been cut off. He was bleeding death
His helmet had fallen aside . She knew who it was it was her enemy .
In a weak voice he pled for his life . But even in his for weakness and despair sh e had no pity him . She raised o n him the great keys , and struck him the head and killed . “ ’ ” In For many years there stood Maxwell s thorn . “ 1 862 o , Mr Charles Stewart said , It was upro ted by a ” a flood thirty or forty years go . n ow In A pplegarth there was , and may be for aught I “ A t o know, another thorn , called the lbie thorn , planted A of show where Bell of lbie fell , when pursuing some the
Nithsdale men . The lady of Kirk t ou n did not find her husband among 1 61 7 o the slain that day . In a trial , , several pe ple are de lait it of airt and pairt of the slaughter of James Kirk t ou n d v erse crewell Johnstone in , by giving to him y ” “ P e rse waris A and deadly wounds . , gnes Johnstone , the
relict . ’ ” d axw l s Go d- N i ht 79 L or M el o g .
H E C APT R XV .
A ’ LORD M XWELL S GOOD NIGHT . HE Laird of Lochwood rode home with better news
t o o . than he had dared h pe for True, there was t o King James reckon with . But Sir James John “ ” of stone Lochwood was king i n his ain countrie . King James had made several visits to Dumfries in o rder t o bring of t o about a union the Border clans , and institute stronger t means o put down raiding . But the sin of raiding was m o very equally distributed a ong the B rder clans , and the chief sinners being good fighting men were protected by Kinm n t . o their several chieftains Willie , or Willie A o m rmstr ng, was rescued fro Carlisle Castle by bold ’ 0 3 Buccleuch and his men . Will Kirkhill cause had been t h e h n t n s wh o taken up by all Jo s o e . The Robert Maxwell b urned Lochwood was a daring raider, and both he and ” Kin mon t m t o Willie were sought for, and the king ca e
Dumfries expressly t o get these two arrested and hanged . Bu t where was the man wh o would dare touch Robert
Maxwell , who was natural brother to Lord Maxwell , and o ne of the most fearless and cleverest of the Maxwell clan w N o o . o . , Johnst ne kne B rder law He knew the King h im He was not afraid . He heard of what awaited if he went to Edinburgh . “ But it was no new thing for him to be put to the horn , and it was no great punishment for him t o abide among the peat mosses of Lochwood . a ’ His patience had its reward . Perhaps Dame M rgaret s w h influence had s o mething to do it it . For ere long Sir oh n st one o f James J was made Warden the Middle Marches , and from a “ rebel ” had risen to hold an office under the
. m of Crown Sir James arried a Sara Maxwell , and one the Max wells married a daughter of Dame Margaret ’ s t o So for and sister Sir James . a while there was peace . o well f Dame Margaret J hnstone was provided or. We learn that an arrangement was entered into between Sir James and his mother by which sh e was t o receive Kirk al 80 Upper A anand e. b r ri Hen n illand Hart h o e y g, , p , and other lands ; also the t h e f leases of teind sheaves of Mof at , and all lands and own o n goods therein , with her mill built the lands of ’
E rsch bank w M oflat . , ith Dickson s lands in She also ’ stipulated that t h e tenants of Lord Herries 100 merkland ff m o in Mo at, as well as those of Ja es J hnstone on lands o o t o there, sh uld c me her mill . Dame Margaret Joh nst on e was in all respects a business son woman . The Sara Maxwell who had married her , Sir
James , was a daughter of this Lord Herries . o D r fe L rd Maxwell, who was killed at y Sands , had left
wh o . a son , inherited the title and estates He was quite o b u t y ung when his father died , he seems to have even then sworn t o kill the Laird of L o chwo od and have his revenge . So well was this known that the King himself f tried t o bring Lord Maxwell to a dif erent frame of mind . m t o This Lord Maxwell went abroad , and ca e back A 1 588 . Dumfries just before , the year of the Spanish rmada of His father had been a firm friend Queen Mary , and Lord Maxwell seems t o have inherited his dislike t o For r o n o Elizabeth . when he retu ned fr m Spain he made secret of his intention to raise men and assist the Spanish . o King James had no wish to qu arrel with Elizabeth . S in great alarm he came South and made the headstrong Lord Maxwell a pris o ner ; while Johnstone of Lochwoo d ” as was made Keeper of Lochmaben Castle , a reward for his services . In 1 589 King James set out for Denmark t o marry the A o n e his Princess nna , and from there he wrote to of familiar friends Where we are drinking and d ry v ing on m in the auld anner . For some years after that the Joh nst ones and Maxwells were a trouble to King and Parliament. Lord Maxwell o o was several times rdered int Clydesdale , and twice put ou t in prison , and yet he still held threats against his A h is enemy . fter second escape from Edinburgh he kept o f for u out sight some time, then he s ddenly appeared in h is old place at Dumfries . The death of Elizabeth in 1 603 had made King James ruler over En land ; s o at this time he had t oo much ad o t o care to me dle with the old feud of the Maxwells and wh o e Johnstones . Sir James Johnstone , seems to hav m been a little tired of the feud himself, tried hard to ake ’ L ord Maxwell s Good- i ht N g . s ome arrangement with Lord Maxwell , and f—or that purpose o - in law t o sent Sir Robert Maxwell, his br ther , get a “ ” f b o nd o agreement drawn out . But Lord Maxwell was A t d ifficult to please . last it was arranged that Lord oh n st one l Maxwell and Sir James J shou d meet, that each s h hould have but one friend wit him , that S ir Robert s hould form the fifth and should act as judge between t hem . On the afte rnoon of an A pril day William Joh nst on e o f t Lockerbie rode up o see his chief . He was a bold rider and m this William , when Sir James saw him he welco ed “ : m d o him heartily, as he said Cousin , ye ust this day a ” greate r turn for me than ever I asked at your hands before . He then told William Johnstone of the arrangement ad t o A u ch manh ill m e , and asked William to ride , between
A n . nna dale and Nithsdale , and that he would overtake him o t wo William went as directed , and so n saw men coming a towards him . The L ird of Lochwood rode a poor nag
a nd . was plainly attired , as if seeking a disguise Clearly he did n ot wish the inmates of Lochwood t o know of his plans . They were not long . of meeting Lord Maxwell , a w wh o t o ttended by Charles Max ell, a man seems have had an ill name ; for Sir Robert spoke sharply at such a t man being chosen o take part in such a meeting . Lord
Maxwell , however, swore he was there in all honesty, and So t wo that there should be nothing but fair play . the a t o a ttendants were ordered retire at a dist nce, which they
t o . did , and soon enough found matter quarrel about
Meanwhile, Sir Robert rode up and down with a chieftain o n t o n each side of him , and tried make peace . Sudde ly of they heard the sound a pistol shot, and William “ o Johnst ne cried out, Murder treason ’ o Sir R bert at once tried to catch Lord Maxwell s bridle , and caught his cloak instead: Sir James had ridden off t o
oh n st on e his i . help William J , fr end “ F x y said Sir Robert, angrily, to Lord Ma well ;
make not yourself a traitor and me baith . ” w t le ss I am y , said Lord Maxwell , as he pulled himself f ree . e In a minute more he had belied his words . Riding aft r S ir him . James , he shot in the back l Sir James kept his seat for a few seconds , and then fe l t o m t . heavily the ground or ally wounded However, he 6 d e 82 Upper A nnan al .
t o s staggered his feet as Charle Maxwell came up , and also oh n st on e t o fired at him . William J tried set the wounded man on t o d o so his horse , but being unable laid him on the ground . “ . ! I am deceived Lord , have mercy upon me Christ, have mercy upon me cried the dying man . ”
r t o . Come away , c ied Lord Maxwell Charles But n t Charles was o satisfied . “ My lord , will ye ride away and leave that bloody thief, oh nst on e ou 2 J of Lockerbie , behind y ’ h rak of for W at ye him the other has had enough ,
s off. aid Lord Maxwell , riding
It was afterwards found that the murder was planned .
It has been said that Lord Maxwell used poisoned bullets , f but there is little evidence or this . Lord Maxwell escaped “ ’ - t o . France The ballad , Lord Maxwell s Good night, is a t o t o farewell Lady Maxwell his wife, and is supposed speak his feelings
o h h a a n o oh n st on e Th ug I ve sl i the L rd J , h a a for e W t c re I th ir geed . M n o m n e a a n ble i d th ir wr th disd i s , ’ H wa m a e s y f ther s de id . Both n ight an d d ay I labo ured oft O n h im a n e t o ve g d be , ’ A n d n ow I v e go t what la n g I sought A n d ma n o t a h I y t s y with t e e .
A e D m m o e a di u , u fries , y pr p r pl ce , Bu t an d C arla v e rock fair ; A e m Ca of Th rie v e di u, y stle the , a b u 1l n d1 gs there . ’ A e L o y, ma e n a e s o a di u , b s g t s f ir The Langholm h olm wh e re birks there A m a and on o dieu , y l dy ly j y , F r ma n o I y ot st a y with thee .
“ This Good - night is said t o have suggested that in ” t o Childe Harold . It is supposed have been written 1 60 1 1 3 between 8 and 6 .
l 84 Upper A nnanda e.
A t last, weary with his long exile , and desperate with t t o hat enemy ever behind him , Lord Maxwell returned
S cotland . He may have fancied that there would be ’ oh n st one s nothing said about J death . Border justice had b een little meddled with by king or Parliament in days gone by . A of oh n s t on e las for his hopes For one thing, William J , on still his track, followed him home ; and for another , the union of the crowns under King James had brought into t h e Borderland a responsibility . The people were a little more law - abiding and less inclined t o excuse the killing of an unarmed man by shooting him in the back . Gloomy and threatening faces drove Lord Maxwell from his home . He was invited by his kinsman George , Earl of t o o t o . Caithness, g north Castle Sinclair From there he t o So . could escape Sweden . he went so The Countess of Caithness was his own cousin , Lord Maxwell seems t o have had no thoughts of suspecting the i wh o ntentions of this northern earl , was powerful enough to give him shelter until some arrangement had been come to . t o But the earl was a traitor . He wished be on good and u t o terms with King James, handed his g est over the o fficers of the law .
It is impossible not t o be sorry for Lord Maxwell . He ” A nd f pled for his life . there are of ers of submission , in “ f which we find him humbly confessing his of ence to God , ’ i i ” foresa d s . the King s Maj esty , and the persons He o ffered t o end the feud between the Johnstones and “ Maxwells , and for mair suir establishing of friendship o f t o d oh nst on e f ered marry a aughter of the house of J , and t o give his sister t o the young Laird of Lochwood . G rassmark e t But all in vain . He was executed in the o f t h e Edinburgh , and with him ended the feud between oh ns t on es J and Maxwells .
This feud had cost many lives . John Johnstone of Lochwood had died of a broken heart ; James Johnstone n had been murdered not far from his own home . O e Lord D r fe Maxwell had been killed at y Sands , and the other executed at the G rassmark e t of Edinburgh . William Johnstone of Lockerbie was buried in the old h r f A of D r fesdale n k t e D e . kirkyard y , ear the ban of y gentleman wh o had read the inscription on the stone in The E nd o th u d 85 f e Fe .
5 1 865 1 77 told Mr Charles Stewart about it . In Mr ” D r fesdale Stewart wrote in y Old Churchyard , On my looking for this stone fifty years ago with a gentleman wh o h ad 1 775 deciphered it in , it could not be found and it is probable that, along with many others , it had been under of mined by the action the stream against the bank , and covered up by the debris brought down by the flood . The stone had an account of the murder of Sir James o Johnst ne , and the tracking of Lord Maxwell , inscribed on i t . S ome years after the death of Lord Maxwell his brother for t h e was made Earl of Nithsdale, as if to make up misfortunes of the Maxwells . When King James had been fourteen years settled in o o England , he to k a homesick turn , and came n rth and A t d visited the Borderland . Dumfries they entertaine him royally ; and all went merrily as a marri age bell till o they set bef re King James some fish called vendace, a fish nowhere found except in the Castle loch of Lochmaben . King James thought they looked peculiar and smelled peculiar and , remembering all the wildness of the Borders n whe he was King of Scotland , he sprang to his feet and “ ! ” shouted , Treason Nor would he believe the canny folk of Dumfries were n ot meaning t o poison him till they removed the offending dish . n 1 623 But the Borderland was changed ow. In both Lord Maxwell and the Laird of Lochwood came before the oh n st on e Council , and were publicly reconciled . J got the oh n st n Hart f ll title of Lord J o e and Earl of e . “ In 1 629 the lands of Barony of Moffatdale and Evan dale , part of the Herries and Maxwell estate , was purchased h n t n Hart fell o s o e . by James J , first Earl of of James VI . created John Murray of Lochmaben Earl A of nnandale , and gave him the heritable office Steward A of nnandale . On the failure of his heirs the title and f Th e t o . of ice was given by Charles II . James Johnstone o m C urts of Stewardry were held at Loch aben . oh n st ones of f The J were also lords the regality of Mof at, o f h lding their Courts at Mof at . A nnandale.
L och - h o se o we B K e a o e e of th e Joh nst o ne s of C o reh ead . u T r, rd r p
H E C APT R XVII . A A BRINGING PE CE TO THE BORDERL ND .
E n o U t wo HER is doubt the nion of the Nations, under one kin brought in the end peace t o the ’ t e ne v er Borderland . Queen Elizabeth s death w A off was made kno n , the rmstrongs of Liddesdale set t o as and went south En land on a raid , going as far E n Tish Penrith . But both g and Scottish soldiers pursued them , blew up their towers with gunpowder, and drove of away their cattle and sheep . They carried as many their leaders as they could get hold of and hanged them wh o on at Carlisle . The Grahams , lived the Debateable a E L nd in Cumberland, that was claimed both by ngland w and Scotland , ere forced from their homes by the Esk, of t h and transported t o Ulster in Ireland . Many e Borderers went t o fight for the Dutch against the Spaniards ; one h ot t o and at battle , in very weather , they are said Brin in P t th d r nd 8 g g eace o e Bor e la . 7 have thrown aside their upper garments and fought like
fiends in their shirts . So fierce became the persecution of the Borderers at this “ ” t o edd art time that it gave rise a saying, J justice , which t o means , hang a man and try him afterwards , as was often done at Jedburgh and other places at this time . These severe measures did not altogether put down raiding ; but wh o as the people lived in the Borderland , and were t o suspected of such practices , were not permitted have a m e r our or weapons , nor dare keep a horse above the valu
not ou t . of fifty shillings , raiding could be carried We w all know that la s can be broken ; and , doubtless , the law not U A n was strictly observed in pper n andale , where “ dwelt t h e thieves that were noted as more expert at their trade than any of the others . But as James VI . was o determined to have peace on the B rders, the lairds saw that the old feuds , and freedom to lift the Winter Mart, must be carried on with more caution . James not only o b u t brought peace to the B rderland , he took it into his head to form the t wo National Churches on the same o pattern , which was m re displeasing to the Scottish f Borderers . Mof at had been in the Presbytery of Loch n t o mabe . It was put back its old diocese of Glasgow, and A rchbish op Spot t iswood there was a fast and firm friend ff of Whiteford , the Mo at minister . The kneeling at communion was only on e of the new innovations . But the parson of Moffat carried his pistols to the pulpit with
t o . him , and was determined convert his parish
It was at this time that Taylor , the Water Poet, came f “ ’ to Mof at . My first night s lodging in Scotland was at a place called M 0ph ot A t night being come t o the o toune , I found good , ordinary c untry entertainment ; my r fa e and my lodging was sweet and good , and might have ” served a better man than myself . In 1 634 the Moffat parson was advanced t o the Bishopric of t o Brechin , and is said have been the last bishop ’ in Scotland wh o continued t o read Charles s Liturgy .
He had been a resolute old man . This Whiteford had m a wh o one daughter na ed R chel , was married to Laird r a Johnstone of Co eh e ad . This R chel had been a great a for sh e t o tr veller ; had been England , a wonderful thing at that time . She had drank strange waters there that made her see that the Medicine Well on the slope of the A nh andu e 88 Upper l . hea ther hill above the mills of the auld toune in h e r ’ father s parish was quite a wonderful thing in its way . of h er With the resolution her father in , she made her A t e discovery known . year after hat, her father was mad ff Bishop of Brechin , but she herself remained in Mo at as “ ’ ” r h d the leddy o C o e ea . Her husband appeared before the Commissioners of King f Charles for the valuation of tithes . He described Mof at “ ” “ of as a Corn Toun , but said the tenants take no care
bu t . stock , of their brewing and yill selling The brewing and yill selling had been carried on from very early times . wi The old wells were said to be particularly good for bre ng , ar h h ill t wo especially the lower one at L c . There were L arch hill wells at , one called the Gallows Well , another one Bu rn ock of at Greenbank , near the , another at the foot th e town somewhere near the Black Bull . There is a well “ ’ A . called ndrew s Well , but that is more modern In early times the well mostly made use of for brewing was of L ar hhill that known now as the lower spring c . When Rachel Whiteford first brought into notice t h e Bu rnock n o Sulphur Well at Glen , the locality was by m means so lonely as it is now . There were two ills at “ ” A rch ban k A , and a settlement at the uld Toune that i s could not have been yet all cleared away . The well Bu rn ock e close to the deep ravine of the Water , and abov ’ what is called the Highlandman s Leap . The hill called “ ” Hart fell r Hindfell , near it, is part of ange , and at its Bu rn ock base is Hind Gill . Below it is Cloves and the old A bank A rch . farm steading of Farther down is lton hill , with a deep ravine or gully cleaving its side . This is called the Grey Gill . By the side of this Grey Gill , and near “ ” A low some old ash trees , stood the uld Toune, whose roofed and heather thatched cottages must have still A clustered there in the days of Parson Whiteford . long ’ Ba la t o from A lton was the p y Road leading Collate , and i l s down t o the N eth ermill that stood near A ik r g. Al thi stretch seems t o have been pretty thickly populated . c A The bed of the Buru ek near lton is , like all red sand stone beds , worn deep into the rock . It has deep pools “ A and pretty falls all along its course . When uld Toune was a settlement the bed of the river would not be so deep as f . now, but otherwise there would be very little diference s now Perhap hardly any to what is , except that the country ‘ n 89 Bringin g P eace to the Borderla d. was more freely covered with natural wood though there had been a clearing of it since the time the first Bruce “ came t o the Forest of A nnandale . When Rachel Whiteford married Joh n st on e of C oreh e ad events were shaping themselv es for another great struggle
- in Upper A nnandale and elsewhere . The self will of the t o Stewarts was making Charles I . run ruin as madly as m his grand other had gone . He was a highly moral man , and had many good qualities but still he considered it his duty to make the Scottish nation think as he did and pray as he did . Jenny Geddes flung her stool just about the f A time Mof at Sulphur Well came into notice . few years
u c . later , all around Bur ek Burn was a nest of rebellion
But that is another story . 90 U e A nnandal pp r e.
H E C APT R XVIII . A H E RL OF A R TFE L L .
Bon n o all n ca n ie Sc t , wit ess , n an h n E gl d as made the e a ge tleman .
Thy blue bon n e t when th ou came hither Wo uld sca rcely kee p o u t the win d an d weath e r Bu t n ow it is turn e d t o a h at an d feather
The bo n n et is bl ow n the devil k n ows whith e r . o at a n was a a a The sw rd thy h u ch huge bl ck bl de , With a grea t b asket hilt of iron m a de Bu t n ow a on a o an l g r pier d th h g by his side , ” A n flin d h u gly d oth this bon n ie Scot ride . — ld on O S g . HEN the t wo crowns were united the English said f there was instantly an invasion o the Scots . “ Songs were mad e about the idle rascals and ” miserable bodies , who came south to shame the new king . The King himself had n o wish t o have his rough and war o like northern subjects come , as did s me of them , to get “ ” “ ” re a ment o old debts du e b the Kin p y/ f y g, Which , said a “ his n . So proclamatio , is most displeasing to majesty it was made law that n o one should be permitted t o travel t o
England wi thout leave of the Privy Council .
Peace being now on the Borderland , and a fashion setting “ ” for of in English culture and English ways , made some t w the Border lairds wishful o keep up ith the fashion . By t t h e a . a o of the time that Charles I c me throne , the L ird
Lochwood had become quite an Edinburgh politician , with n o or a advanced views on church st te , and therefore all the 1 633 more likely t o succeed as he did . In Sir James Johnstone was created Lord Joh nst on e of Lochwood and w . as t ten years later, when Charles I trying his utmost o t o was win over the Scottish Lords his side , Johnstone f ll 1 63 w Hart e . 7 h made Earl of In Mr George Buchanan , o
- had been eleven years minister in Kirkpatrick juxta , came t o f Wau ch e son Mof at, and Mr David , the of the notary f wh o f public in Mof at, and had been in Mof at charge for
- t o a . seven years , went Kirkpatrick juxt The reason for
92 U er A n nanda pp le.
Warrist n - o r . n , son of the laird of Bee holm He had bee
m t t o a nd . ad itted an advoca e the Scottish bar , had taken a i h decided side , standing up against Charles I . when he t e rfe re d with the rights and liberties of the Scottish t . o Church He assisted revise the National Covenant, which was signed on the flat stone in Greyfriars Church — yard in Edinburgh by the people some even signing it n t o with their blood , in token of their determinatio stand by the liberty of their National Church . In 1 646 Johnstone was made Lord A dvocate for t o Scotland , and his last act in that capacity was proclaim t o Charles II . King . Charles II . took the oath and came was Scotland , where he received with great joy by the m pe o ple . In Edinburgh the town was al ost mad in their Bonfire s delight . blazed , and men and women turned
- the dull grey streets into a huge ball room . Charles II . had now the people of Scotland with him , and marched A 1651 south . He and his army , in an ugust morning in , P old e an f breakfasted in Holm , four miles below Mof at , am o ng the fine old trees beside the sweet flowing A nnan . “ ” “ A The Rev . William Bennet , in his Guide , says , was d letter written by a soldier of that period , who quartere P old e an u at , was lately p blished , where he described his t h e interview with a ghost, which was said to have haunted t o house for many years . The spectre itself does not seem him have alarmed , but he expresses his surprise on finding that the politics of the ghost differed from those of the l n— h n st n Laird of P o d ea A mbrose Jo o e . What were the politics of A mbrose Joh n st on e 2 Was he
‘ ‘ fool enough t o have any mind o f his own in such days 2 A nd why did the ghost wander about P old ean when the young king lay there ? Was it to warn him of a coming defeat ?
Charles II . became a wanderer and an exile . Cromwell “ U is A m an was master . nder his rule, it said , might ride all over Scotland wit—h a switch in his hand and a hundred pounds in his po cket which he could not have done these ” five hundred years . That is , Cromwell brought back the days of order and peace that had been under the rule of n c the Laird of A u ch e as . He A Moffat man became troublesome at this time . Wau ch e Borrowst orme ss wh o h ad was James , minister of , heired h is father and become owner of a small property at “ ” art ll 93 E arl of H fe .
d f Wau ch e o f h e t ownh ea . t of Mof at James , in spite i n on . Cromwell , went praying for Charles II public, and when he was put out of the church , set up his pulpit in a
for . barn . Praying still Charles II , he was sent to the
1 653 . Castle of Edinburgh in , two years after Charles II l had rested at P o d e an . This seems a brother of the Mr Wau ch e h ad David who, sixteen years before this , been f f minister o Mof at . Next year the Earl of Hart fell was a Member of the Protectorate Parliament and in the following year Joh nst on e of Warrist on was induced to resume the duties '
l - m L ord C e rk . of Register , and also was in Parlia ent Far different were the fortunes of these t wo Johnstones of A Upper nnandale when Charles II . came back at the
Restoration . ’ Warrist on Johnstone of , fearing the king s displeasure , t o m retired the Continent, but in his absence was conde ned to death and outlawed by the Scottish Parliament . For t wo years he wandered about till he became weak in mind “ A Crook e t A and body . Government spy , lexander m t o Murray , caught him in France , and brought him ho e 1 663 his doom . In the summer of he was marched bare t u . h e headed to the Tolbooth of Edinb rgh Before Council , the ‘ onoe proud and resolute man was so weak that he wept f r m In and begged o mercy . So e fools laughed at him . the m orning that he was to be executed he rose calm and u refreshed with a so nd sleep . On his way to his death h ow he remembered weak he had been at his trial , and “ t o ! said the people , Your prayers your prayers Some im t m of his friends assisted h o ount the ladder . There he m m was had to read his last speech , as his e ory impaired of t o fo r with long sickness . He begged his friends pray “ ” him t o 0 ! ! ! even the last . pray , pray Praise praise w u . he said , and died ithout a str ggle A f o o dif erent fortune awaited J hnst ne of Lochwo od .
Honours were heaped on him . He received a new patent A Hart fell of making him Earl of nnandale and , Viscount A Joh n st on e o f nnand , Lord of L chwood , Lochmaben , Mof at of dale and Evandale . The governorship Lochmaben Castle was in itself something fitter than empty honours . It r £300 car ied with it Scots , fishing in the lochs, and the
- a- cow land mart cow , that is , a fat regularly given by each A parish in nnandale . Thirty fat cows , sixty fat geese , 4 er nnanda l 9 Upp A e. a nd for Woodcock naire forage horses in the forest of , was quite as good as the profession of raiding. It sometimes N “ t o . or . pays be honest was that all Charles, by the ” G od t o grace of , let it be known all men that he trans h of ff of ferred the burg and regality Mo at, and the burgh
f t o a A . Mof at that stood within it, James, E rl of nnandale Thus the people of Moffat were handed over t o the f A “ tender mercies o the Earl of nnandale . Gratitude for ”
t o . . mercies come , must have been the notice Charles II , “ ” n o n o for whose word man relied on , had memory past oh nst on e of t o kindnesses . J Lochwood was help the king “ t o put down in Scotland all respect for the National ” Covenant . The ministers of Upper A nnandale had n ow t o go forth from their charges . One of them was John Brown of Wam h ra m p y , of whom Sa uel Rutherford said that Christ was in him more than his brethren . The minister of ” Moffat seems t o have been a weak brother but with the f of oh nstone of Warrist on ate J before their eyes , men had t o walk softly . of A James , Earl nnandale, became seemingly very zealous
- of . ma n i n the service Charles II , right handed with the hated Queensberry , and a member of the High Commission
Court . Yet, for all that, he was mild in his treatment ; a n d though he had the command of a tr0 0p of horse t o a t o n o ssist him put down Covenanters , he had desire t “ A o harry his own leal friends in Upper nnandale . “ ’ ” t is s n oo . H o Hawks dinna pike hawks een William , wh o i was afterwards marqu s , when a student in Glasgow, t o wore , with the rest, a ribbon in his hat show all and ou r ear a sundry that he hated the Papists . F y s fterwards he w nt wit a son e ou t h L gg. But neither father nor were keen on the killin of the Covenanters ; they only tried t o face t o w both ways . hey had keep in with the ruling po ers , n War i n o r share the fate of Joh nst o e of r st o . h in me 95 T e Kill g Ti .
B ack B M o at h e e C a e s was a t e e d . l ull , ff , w r l v r qu r r
H E C APT R XIX .
THE KILLING TIME .
’ L a o n o a m in n na me y d w y ur r s , the ki g s , A n d ye sh a ll all gae sa fely hame ’ ’ Bu t a oot wi ae on n they cried c se t , ’ ” 11 for a o n o n an We fight br ke c ve t .
HERE is n ot a glen or a hill in Upper A nnandale but has some traditions connected with it of the terrible t o killing time . Down the present day there is wh o so still a horror of Clavers, Lagg, and others , relent eat moss lessly hunted the Covenanters in the hills and p e s . “ a o of Not very long g , the portrait Clavers was added t o u the pictures in the Edinb rgh Gallery . It represents A him as a handsome cavalier, with long curls . gentleman , k standing loo ing at it, noticed a countryman and his wife l a carefu ly ex mining it . The man looked long and carefully m at it, as if many thoughts were passing through his ind . “ A t and last he turned to his wife said emphatically , I ’ ” et . woman s ac never y liked a man that had a f e. The ministers wh o had to leave their charges had the r n l 9 6 Uppe A nna da e.
A s so t sympathy of their people . many pulpits had o be fi lled suddenly , raw lads were taken from college and put A ll in as curates . was well when they were lads of some “ ” f m w understanding and religion . But many o the ere old not that . The contrast between the and new preachers t old was oo glaring not to be resented . Thus when the t o ministers were preach at a certain place , and the news t o was passed round , the country people flocked hear them . wh o so The Rev . William Bennet , knew well every inch of A t 5 U o . pper nnandale , said in a letter the writer , Sept , “ 1 893 — Breconsid e Near is a fine greenstone rock, t o shadowed by an ash tree , which is said by tradition have served as a pulpit in the days of the persecution . John Brown of Wamph ray and others might well have n ot preached to many in that sequestered place . I have for seen it years, but I heard lately that the ash is still entire . I cannot recall the person from whom I heard the n ot tradition , but it exists and a more fitting place could have been found for the purpose . The valley is quite f hidden from main roads . It is approached from Mof at by " D u mcri efi a path from Woodhead , beyond , over a height called the Cocket, from which is a fine view . It is reached also by a more regular road from the entrance to Beld A Craig further on . burn , with pools and little falls, descends the valley and joins Beld Craig burn lower down , f passing through a narrow wooded gorge . In the midst o m the open valley, near the pulpit, stands the far house , once mansion of Bre con sid e . The lower part of it is t o ancient . It belonged the patriotic and generally e wh o Presbyt rian family of Carruthers , held much land
A a n . aro und . modern cottage st nds ear the ash The old t o of ash looks very , and as fit have been a sort . canopy as the oaks lower down near P olde a n t o have ’ s sheltered Charles Il . army . Of course one cannot be bu t sure of the age of either , I think this may be assumed . for The ash probably had predecessors in any case , there is a fine scattering of natural wood ro und t h e little green expanse . Brown and others may have preached there at the beginning of the persecution . Tradition says he (Brown ) was taken prisoner through Moffat with his feet tied under the horse . He became eminent in Holland after ” h is . banishment In another letter, on the subject of the
Covenanters , Mr Bennet informed me that one minister 97 The Killing Time.
’ “ i n D um re e t o o r g was , according Hew Scott s Fasti , h Historical Records, banished to S etland , where he had t o live on shellfish . It was about this time that a wild C harteris of A rmsfield swept with his hounds into D u mgre e o o n Kirk during service . S the e event may have followed n t o d o t o . t h e other . It did anger the laird Mr Bennet A s A M . . aid he had read that Mr rchibald Inglis , , was ” o f 1 662 So n outed fr m Mof at in . he could not have bee “ t h e weak brother he was supposed to be . Six years l 1 668 ater , in , Mr John Wilkie , an old man , was being questioned in the Secret Chamber in Ed—inburgh . He was sentenced to confine himself t o Cupar - of A ngus within ten d ays after he was liberated from prison . He said in answer Where Cupar - of- A ngus is I know n ot ; but well I know that this last summer I rode t o Moffat Well with ' n o life and less than the hazard of my , for the present ” I am unable to sit on horse or walk on foot . “ : To this the Chancellor said , sharply Mr Wilkie , your b n ot usiness stands at this , you will engage to forbear preaching . at Nor would he . He was supposed to have presided c so ma onventicles , y have preached below the old ash tree t o t wo a Bre consid e . He was taken back to pris n , and months after, in September, the frail old man was again l t o e xamined . But even now he wou d not promise give o ver preaching the gospel . “ : Said the Chancellor , crossly I see you are clear to ” preach upon a call .
Yes , my lord , if the call have a cleanly rise . A cleanly rise 2 What call y ou a cleanly rise 2 “ : The brave old man said My lord , I make this sup t o position . If your honour invited me preach in one of o for h ow y ur kirks , I being able and qualified the work , d o woe urst I in c nscience refuse, under the pain of that , Woe is m e if I preach n ot the gospel What then should m e ? hinder to preach in a kirk Nay , more , my lord , I ff i was this summer at Mo at Well , and the ch eld that is t h there is run away from them for debt (as I hear) , and place in a manner vacant ; if those in power in that place had had courage t o have given me a call I would have ” t ak e n my venture t o have preached . ’ The old man s courage so surprised his enemies that n o o f they had reply . They sentenced him to g to Mof at 9 er A nnandale 8 Upp .
f Well for two months , and confine himself to Mof at and ten miles rou nd .
There are different kinds of preaching . Mr Wilkie “ ” would speak the word ou t of season and in strange
ff . ways and places, while he drank the Mo at waters If ever he spoke at a conventicle , and with as much fire as he spoke before the Council , there would none could sleep and excuse themselves for the fault by saying that t h e “ a- o ld parson was bumming over their head , as the northern farmer did .
- James Porter of Kirkpatrick juxta also was outed , and oh n st on e So w John Menzies of J , that the hole five parishes o f Upper A nnandale were deprived of their ministers . It was n ot so long since the A nnandale lads had ridden to D r f y e Sands . Many of these old raiders would be living f in the glens . They were not of the stuf to yield easily , i the were elders and , f y
Hard was the days of the killing time . But harder it had been had n ot Joh nst on e of Lochwood had a leaning t o their side ; and many of the smaller lairds helped them of and sheltered them i n their extremity . One these lairds was named Carruthers . Near the wooden bridge of Wood f foot, between it and Milton Mill , four miles from Mof at, n is a little emine ce covered with oak and ash , where a covenanting family of the name of Carruthers lived in the b u ildin old time . Nothing remains of the Only the trees that guard the site , and the name , he house on ” the hill . There is a tradition of a Covenanter wh o lived for some time in a cave in Wamph ray Glen . In his extremity of not t o hunger, daring leave the shelter, he lived on the “ - f . o eggs laid by the cushie doos Many the rebels , after t o Bothwell Bridge, lived in the strange caves be found in o u r : t o deep glens damp, unwholesome places, but more be trusted than the mercy of Claverhouse . Grierson of Kirk brid e ri Lagg was laird of the lands of g, and was born ’ t o ff close the Templar s Chapel , and educated at Mo at ff t d o no . School . Mo at people glory in the fact What he is Johnstone of Lochwood left undone did . His name hated as much as that of Olavers .
Ten years after Mr Wilkie came this terrible Clavers .
He arrived at the end of December, having heard that “ On Tuesday was eight days there were great field
1 n 00 Upper A n andale.
Hogg tells us h ow the Covenanters fled to the mountain U A land of pper nnandale , as a last refuge , after Bothwell of Bridge . From the midst that inhospitable wilderness , from those dark morasses and unfrequented caverns , the prayers of the persecuted race nightly arose t o the throne ” Al s of of the mighty . It was the cu tom these hunted Covenanters t o come forth in the gloom of the evening t o t o to from their shelters , in order go friendly houses o obtain food . On the day that Clavers r de along the ’ steep hillside , where marks of the horse s hoofs are still pointed out (n o wonder they were kept in perpetual memory) , Claverhouse had a great hunting of rebels in ' Mofiat d al Birkh ill e . Four poor martyrs were set up before , n a d shot without the favo ur of a trial . Others were shot t o on the hillsides around and left bleed to death , as if f they had been vermin . The Little Yarrow and Mof at waters springing from their mosses had never seen a crueller deed done . A 1 682 t o In pril , , Clavers wrote his friend Queensberry “ M offat z— M from y lord , all things here are as I would ” A wish , in perfect peace and very regular . fter this , Johnstone of Westerhall came t o offer the test to the
f - people of Mof at . This he did in a high handed manner . A l l the heads of families were to be present at the meeting . Sir James was a turncoat himself ; and as he was always a fraid he might be suspected of being still a Covenanter at heart, he took an evil pleasure in the most cruel deeds,
o - Clavers finding him a ready and only t o willing tool . f When the meeting at Mof at had assembled , Sir James
Johnstone , in his excitement, swore and cursed the men w u . h o in the most fearf l language Then , threatening any d ared to refuse , he made them all take the test in the utmost disorder . When this was done , he cursed them still more, jeered at them , and , with a great oath , swore ‘ M oflat was that every man in as bad as himself, for they had all renounced the Covenant . No wonder Clavers and ’ his men made merry over Johnstone s mad doings . ” Gleanin s rom the Mou ntai g f ns. 1 01
CHAPTE R XX . A U GLE NINGS FROM THE MO NTA INS .
e a a n e of m o n a n a o o n A nn an a Th re is r g hig h u t i s th t b rder d le , o e a n d e a a are m an e t h e Ettrick F r st, Twe dd le , th t by y degre s wi mo ru ed a n d n a in o o f ldest , th—e st g , i ccessible the s uth h t r h h r o a n . i Sc tl d T e E t c S ep e d . O the east of the “ Deil ’ s Beef Tub are two glens t o Hart fell a leading , the highest mount in in the f Hart f ll o . e south Scotland is one of a group , or rather a chain of high hills that sometimes are divided
from each other by a deep glen , at other times are linked
on e o . into l ng range There are lonely hopes, cleughs , t m ea osse s . p , waterfalls , lochs and mountain burns In
o on f- o lden times eagles built the high , clif like r cks , t o and were safe . It was this solitary land the hunted
C o venanters came . There they held their conventicles . It was almost impossible for even sharp- witted Clavers t o
fi nd them . One of the most famous preachers of that NVi t o time was lliam Moffat of Hart fell. He is said have t o prayed with and instructed all wh o came him . He also held conventicles in the deep glens round his dwelling . S u ch a man as this was sure t o become kn o wn t o the “ ” for t o . searchers rebels , and have narrow escapes That he had many friends in the district is seen from the o of 6 1 684 o royal pr clamation May , , which c ntained the following names , among others
a m o n on M an M o a . Ad J h st e , erch t , ff t m n M fa R o A a o o . bert d s , f t
W am o o E a rls h a u h . illi P rte us , g
am e e n a n . J s W lsh , Fi gl d
o n C ore h e ad . Ge rge Hu ter ,
a m M o fa C a m a n C rawford mu ir. J es f t , h p , i o n a N u n r e . J h Cl rk ,
me n of These and a great multitude others were suspected . n t t A They were o o receive kindly and hospitable rites . ll loyal subjects were forbidden t o comfort and harbour t o them , and were ordered use their utmost endeavours 1 2 U e A nnandal 0 pp r e. t o t h apprehend them , or at least give notice to e authorities . f Hart fell It is possible that Mof at, the shepherd of , had these men at his meetings . Perhaps they were at that conventicle where the preacher and people had a narrow A t escape . this meeting the shepherd saw a sudden move ment among the sheep that were feeding on the hillside . M fl’ A . o at o mountain mist lay beyond the sheep , l oking “ n ot up , said , We are in danger these sheep are driven ” A s without a cause . he spoke the people looked up , and saw coming out from the ghost - like mist the dreaded t oo t o . To enemy . It was late for them escape scatter To was t o be shot down without a chance . remain by t h e
r . ou t p eacher might mean death also They waited , crying t o God in their extremity . There is nothing so weird and wilful as the mists of the Borderland . Suddenly, while you are looking at them , b id they rise and move grandly along the rae s es . So did
o . t h e this cl ud come It swept down , dividing despairing f . so Covenanters from their enemies Mof at, knowing well d all the heathery braes aroun , had his friends in safety in a short time . o Moffat had an ther narrow escape . He was a marked To t o . man . hide from his enemies he fled Evandale R accle u ch Passing the tower of , and crossing a stream , he hid himself in a hollow place close to the burn . The o dragoons came and passed his retreat. S me time after, R accle u ch wh o when the shepherd crept out, the laird of , hid 11 had seen where he , came and congratulated him 0 o his escape . The drago ns returning at that time saw t h e
two conversing, and at once gave chase . The shepherd ’ o f h set ofl t o the heights Elvanfoot . There e hid in i h ollow places among the heather , and so succeeded n
making his way over moss and moor into safety . “ m s Si pson , in his Traditions of the Covenanters , say “ ” th at these traditions of Moffat were given t o him by A Mr lexander Brown , Bookseller and Grocer in Sanquhar . “ This Mr Brown received the traditions from a shepherd , m m Wat t ie fa iliarly deno inated Wight, who lived in the ' M flat Wat t i wilds between Elvanfoot and o . e was well acqua inted with the traditions current in that l o nely was of district, and he a man good talent and Christian h . e probity Mr Brown was a truly pious man , and
4 er A nnandal 1 0 Upp e.
his amo—ng the stones over which he was scrambling, and life blood oozed forth upon the rocks where he expired . The place where he was shot is called “ The Straught A t o his Steep . cairn of stones was afterwards raised memory . A fter Douglas had shot Hunter, he pursued Welsh . The Babe made his way to Cat erh ope without being observed . The soldiers guessed he had gone there , and o m f llowed him all the four iles , almost at his heels . When i they went in , they asked the gu dwife if she had harboured ' in diflerent l any Covenanters . She replied y ” No, there is only us twa here . The soldiers saw what th ey thought was the woman ’ s daughter . For the guidwife , fearing discovery , proceeded t e at fir o scold the girl sitting by the p e . Giving her a good slap between the shoulders , she told her to rise and go to her work . What was she idling there for when all d o ? the work was to The ungainly daughter, in her o t o mutch and g on , rose and took the stoups to go the off burn . But she did not get so easily , for Colonel n ot Douglas rode up , and , believing the word of the guidwife, proceeded to search through the house . The daughter coming out with her stoups was called on t o o t f hold the horse . She g rid o her charge as soon as t o t h e no possible , and going with her stoups burn , was in a haste t o return . In after years the B be is said to have ' thanked the guidwife of Ca t erh ope for the kindest cu fl he ever received . This James Welsh was of the same family as the great ” Dr Welsh of Disruption fame . The family still c ontinue to farm the lands near the Co rrie of A nnan . This seems t o prove what has been often said , that the persecutors gained n o abiding title nor lands ; and the hunted l n Covenanters were firmly established the land . A bout this time Lagg and his crony Queensberry made i s a great haul of over eighty prisoners , in what now called ’ ” ’ a 8 o a 5 the R ider Land , though if we g on fact, the R ider ” is A s Land as much Eskdale and nnandale as Nith dale . “ had But , however, that is another story , so I better g0 on . A mong this gang of priso ners they h ad captured Mr ‘ M Millan o f Cald ow William , in the parish of Balmaclellan in Galloway . They were on their way to Edinburgh , ” Gleanin s rom the M ou ntain 105 g f s.
w o f o and when they dre near M f at f und , as is usual in u c A November , that the Bur ek and the nnan had joined o together in making their Martinmas flo d . The prisoners ,
being on foot, were nearly drowned , only saved by the wh o well mounted guards , for reasons of their own , pre w ferred t o have them hanged in Edinburgh . What ith a the floods they had forded , the winter rain be ting t h e pitilessly on them , and the , cold , poor Covenanters
- t o . were chilled the bone Mud stained , hungry , and half ’ M oflat dead , they arrived at in the darkness of that t o t o November night, only cross its broad street, and be
thrust like cattle into the kirk, whose ruins still stand as
a monument t o them in Moffat kirkyard . Think of the “ Conventicle ” that would be held there 0 11 that dull dark night, and of the prayers that were more ” earnest than ours . It was out of the depths they cried . A n other covenanting story is of Hab Dob and Davie ’ Din , the remains of whose hidden cottage stands in Dob s
Linn . H ogg wrote : It is on the very brink of a precipice 400 which is feet of perpendicular height , whilst another ” of about half the height overhangs it above . While here
they were tempted to throw themselves over the linn .
Little ken t the wirrik ow W h a t the C ov e n an t co uld d o w ’ ’ W a 0 a an d a 0 fe n h t f ith , wh t , ’ a 0 m an d a 0 m e n Wh t ight , wh t , O r h ad n e o n a he ev r sh w his f ce , re e k e t a an d e n ae His r gs riv t s , ’ ’ To m e n 0 ma a n d me n 0 m e n rk , se , ’ ’ M e n 0 a a n d me n 0 n e gr ce , se s , Fo r H a b D o b a n d Davie D in ’ ’ Dan g the De il o wre Do b s Lin n .
’ ’ i u o u o We r , q he , Weir , q he , ’ Haud t h e Bible t o his c c n h i1n o or a h im oon Di g wre thr sh d , ’ s a a e o on . He f use , d ceitful l n o h im an d o h im The he wre , he wre o h im a n d h e o h im He wre , wre B a e h im an d m bby h ld g riff g ri , Da h im 111? an d m vie thrush li b , ’ Till like a bu n ch o b a rket ski n s
Do u n fle w Sa ta n o wre the li n n s .
Beside this cottage there was a natural cave where they m of t o a went to in ti es danger, returning the cott ge at
. of t h e for night Ten Covenanters lived thus several days , . 1 06 er A nna dal Upp n e. while another kept guard o n the hill still called the “ ” Watch Knowe . It would have been strange if at such a time of rebellion there had been n o deeds of violence done by
. o these hunted men They were not all saints , th ugh they behaved better than one could have expected of the wild
Borderers . There is a story told of a girl whose spirit is said t o haunt Craigieburn Wood . In the days of the Covenanters this girl was found t o run back and forward between f ’ Mof at and St . Mary s Loch in the dark hours of the night .
People thought she was bewitched , and it was said she
ran . with a ball of fire in her hand , and ran fast Halbert Dobso n and David Dunn watched and found their guess o true . The girl was empl yed by a very evil curate Binram t o n named , carry and bring informatio about the t Covenanters . The power he is said o have used was ” given him by the Devil when Binram fell in love with the girl . Perhaps the girl herself half fancied she was bewitched . m A The real story was doubtless very co monplace . simple girl fallen into the power of an evil man , and being made a to ol . The Covenanters did not believe the stories to ld by the frightened country people . They waylaid t t o t o o . the girl , g her confess , and afterwards went St ’ m Mary s Kirk and shot Binra . The place where they ’ Binram s buried him is called Corse . Hogg said that in his day there were people wh o h ad conversed with other people t o wh om the circumstances were familiar . These all said that the road was laid waste with the fear the fig ure of the running girl had laid on Binram n ot the country people . Doubtless , would make the fear less . Perhaps Halbert Dobson and his friends considered the information Bin ram was able to give Clavers accounted for the successful hunts for Covenanters that had been ' “ ”
on M oflat dale . carried in Many of the curates , as the people called the new ministers , were spies . One tradition A says the girl afterwards died of a broken heart . nother says she was conveyed secretly to a nunnery in Ireland , ’ m was and that her father s na e Nicolson , and that he afterwards lived in C raigb eck .
n d 1 08 Upper A nan ale.
' M oflat well Bu rn ock , at the head of Burn , was the o centre of that old nest of rebelli n , from whence stretch A y . out the Tweed , Cl de, nnan , Esk , and Yarrow The n o lairds there were by means loyal to King James VII . ’ him Even the noted persecutor Queensberry was tired of , and the Earl of Hart fell only half - hearted in work that meant the ruin of men who were his own kin : every Johnstone in Upper A nnandale claiming to be one of the a t o clan . There needed but touch have set all round A n d Upper A nnandale in rebellion . at this time there
seems to have been an organised plan t o join A rgyle . The sight of that wet and weary gan g coming out of the old grey kirk on the November m o rning was enough in itself n mi ht t o have set the heather 0 11 fire . Mo mouth g have ’ a V I s h d . I . been king , had he patience James reign of
terror exasperated England , and in three years the king l had to flee for his ife . U p in the north Claverhouse fought for the king, and fell
. t o after gaining a victory at Killiecrankie His men , used lu n d erin p Tthe dead bodies , did not respect that of their leader . hey left his lifeless body among the heather with
not a rag t o cover it . A l month after Killiecrankie , Co onel Cleland fell fighting
800 . 40 at Dunkeld . He had only men There were 00 of ’ the enemy . Cleland s spirit and example animated his men .
He said if they deserted him he would Stand by himself, for the honour of the regiment and the good cause in which s he was engaged . The result was that the Highlander
300 . had to flee , leaving men behind them A t the landing of William and Mary the Covenanters ‘ ” t o as rose and put ou t the Curates . This is referred the “ ” Rabbling of the Curates , and I am afraid the method is n h w o . o o was more f rcible than polite There doubt,
ever, that some of these curates were giving information t o the authorities during the Killing Time , and were there m fore the cause o f many martyrdo s . In no other way can be explained the fact that even the most careful watching o n ot was c uld guard against surprise , such the case in the tradition told by Mr Laurence A nderson in his “ Heroes ” and Heroines of the Covenant .
William Laidlaw , a shepherd , and Mary Stewart , called “ ” t o sometimes the Flower of Yarrow, arranged be married .
The ceremony was performed in a secluded glen , and the “ ” e n d o t 109 Th E f he Killing Time.
A spo t is still pointed ou t on the farm of Chapelhope . fter this Covenanter ’ s marriage they were going to their shieling among the mountains , when they saw the soldiers coming in the direction of their home . “ You are a Presbyterian ? A n attender of Conventicles ? You harbour field preachers ? William Laidlaw did not answer . “ for Say your prayers and prepare death , was the o i n rder . The bridegroom prayed , and a few minutes his blood was on the heather . t o Mary had fainted , but was brought consciousness at o the l ud report of the firearms . She took her dead bride in groom her arms and closed his eyes .
A - t o con watchman on the hill p, set there to guard the v en t icle a where the wedding had t ken place, gave informa tion . The bridal party returned and carried the poor ’ s hepherd to St . Mary s Kirkyard . Scenes like these hardened the hearts of the people a gainst the men wh o spied on them and were so relentless . w “ ” The onder is not that the people rabbled the curates , but that they did not treat them worse . The Moffat Curate had gone off at the hint of Harkness f L ch U o o e rb e n . The attention of the people of pper A t o nnandale , therefore , was turned the curate in Kirk
- A e r u sson patrick juxta, where Mr rchibald F g , who had
oh n st on e . been translated from J parish , was minister They off attacked him in the manse , tore his clothes , and beat on him the head and legs . He escaped with his life , a mercy he had n ot extended t o the poor Covenanters . o It was either before this time , or at it, when the c untry
a - was in a state of misrule , th t a poor half witted shepherdess used t o wander about Upper A nnandale with her sheep . I heard the tradition when I was very young, ’ “ a nd afterwards in Sir Walter Scott s notes to Heart of
- Mid Lothian , read that he had taken his character, “ f Madge Wildfire, from the old story of the Mof at
Shepherdess .
N o or wh o . one knew whence she came , she was She “ ”
d o . was a leddy , and carried a crook , as shepherds Her t o wi h flock was obedient her, and went t her where she went . The father of the flock was a fine fellow called “ wh o Charlie , was always at her side and her chief o fav urite . When she came t o Moffat she usually rested 1 1 n-ad d 0 Upper A a ale.
f be at the Kerr . One time she came and the Mof at bairns t an o . g stone poor Charlie , and one great stone killed him
The poor, gentle leddy was in great grief, and wept sore . The Moffat people came ou t and buried Charlie on the top f A o the little knowe on the Kerr . fter that the shepherdess t o wandered up and down , always returning now and then ’ ff Charlie s grave . One morning when the Mo at people ’ a on woke , the leddy lay dead Charlie s grave , while close round her were her faithful sheep .
Since then , the round mound of earth that was once a “ ” fo rt has been called The Leddy Knowe .
1 1 2 r n and e Uppe A n al .
A t Mary . last, this pain increasing with every pin , she “ t o would be forced fly to the Curate, and , on the last of night any moon , when he turned the waxen mould , she ” would be his to command . People believed all this as firmly in the old times as people believe in thought - reading w n o . so Perhaps more . The headquarters of witchcraft i n Upper A nnandale was D u m re e g Kirk, the ruins of which stand high above the D u m ree beautiful banks of the Kinnel . g is perhaps the A o ldest Parish Kirk in Upper nnandale . The Kinnel Water joins the A nnan after running for eight miles in “ of most picturesque and lovely scenery . The Monks ” wh o D u m re e t o Melrose , planted g , were always sure look t o the soil round where they put the Parish Kirk . They did not place one where there was not likely t o be a good thriving population round it . Churches at that time were t o . not only ornamental . They had be useful “ There is a famous painting, Choosing the Site , which h w shows o these old monks chose their site . The Cross o r Rood was held so that the sun rising in the east would throw the shadow westward on the grass . Where it fell was the site and when the shadow of the Cross first rested o n the rass , the monks all fell on their knees except he wh d o hel the Holy Rood . In these old times the Scottish of monks were sincere . The ornaments and fripperies a later age had not come into their creed . D u mr t o ee . g Kirk is now a ruin But up the persecution , when its minister was banished to Shetland , after Mad Charte ris with his hounds had swept during service into 1 6 0 t h e u . 6 kirk, it was sed as a place of worship In , D u mgre e parish was divided and partitioned among neighbouring parishes . This was the year Charles II . came t o the throne and began t o force the Scottish people t o have their National Church of the same pattern as t h e
En lish . Th e churchyard of D u mgre e continued t o be used till
a a o . few years g It now lies unfenced , and cattle wander there at their own sweet will . Not far from D u mgre e Kirk is a burrow or tumulous which t o is said be the spot where the Laird of Lochwood shot, i n D m of u re e . a private quarrel , the Laird g , and hid his body A ll these st ories would centre round the deserted kirk “ ” in the days of the killing, and cause people to say it W h d r k itc es an Wa loc s . 1 1 3 w t o n as haunted . I am inclined think it may have bee
- used as a hiding place by the Covenanters . But that is a mere guess .
f . of Near it is Duf Kinnel Rev . William Bennet said m at In le st on Barntim an this I reme ber a farmer g , near p , ‘ ’ ’ of D u fl in the secluded little vale the Kinnel , which runs from behind the green hill ab o ve Parks t o R aeh ill
o . ff gr unds , telling me that it was a reputed fairy haunt Du n Kinnel would be Dark Kinnel . O that green bill are of t o of t h e marks foundations , said have been a residence m ” Charteris fa ily . was D u m re e t o However it , this g Kirk was well known be the headquarters of the Upper A nnandale witches and warlocks . There they held high festival at the first “ a of i qu rter the moon . There they walked w ther skins , f for o . that is , against the course the sun There they , a ’ a s spell , s id the Lord s prayer backward . There the Ma ter own Fiend baptised each of them with their blood , with “ of awful oaths , saying, I baptise thee into the service me , ” E oall of j , Sovereign and King Hell . m Each . witch received a new name, or nickname, fro ” A of a uld Nick . Some these names of wi tches h ve come “ ” “ o t o — - - lum Sme ik - d wn us , such as Dicht the , the ” “ ” - A t parridge , Clarty Kate . their meet A ings the work to be done was arranged . witch might
e to . be set to heal sickness . Oft ner it was hurt or destroy
The principal warlock of Dum cc was Willie Wilkins . There is n o tradition more firm y believed in than the f o o la . story Wilkins . Hogg wrote a bal d ab ut him “ ” D a ia elt wrote about the warlock . The late Rev . Will m
Bennet always lamented the loss of a MS . book he had read in his youth , which contained many interesting of U A a o traditions pper nn ndale , this am ng others ; also m the particulars of Mad Charteris and D u gre e Kirk . The b ook was taken away by some railway men wh o were n ot making the Caledonian Railway , and I have been able t o f hear o another copy . ’ o Hogg said that Wilkins name was J hnstone , and that was n U he the Laird of A u ch e cass . People in pper A m e of St idd ri nnandale have told he was Laird gg, and How that his family lived in St idd rigg t o recent times . 1 693 on e l a was a u ever, in the year , Wil i m Wilkins t ken p before the Session of Kirkpatrick - j ux ta for the sin of Sabbath 8 1 1 4 U e A nnanda pp r le.
t o breaking, and I am inclined believe that the warlock was N o w this man , for reasons which I shall state afterwards . o f r the tradition of Willie Wilkins . The mother of Willie Wilkins soon came t o know about o her son , and all her thoughts were how to save his s ul .
With this thought in her mind she watched one night , m and finding his horse saddled , hid a small Testa ent below
of . h im the flap the saddle That not hindering , she o t h e ni r foll wed him a foot till she came to Kirk of D u g e e . Wh en she entered the kirkyard she found a great number o f horses tethered to tombstones .
V ’ N ow V illie s wa s the state liest steed a D t o A n n an o a Fr e ee H le (v lley) , Bu t wh e n h e stoo d a m a n g them there ” H e e me e a oa s e d j ust lik f l .
10 ! The mother touched each steed as she passed on , and they were all shadows . She went through them as if they ’ of m t o VVillie s were made mist till she ca e horse , that stood ’ A dra p o sweat o n e very h a ir .
t o of D u m re e She went the window g Kirk and looked in .
t h e - The witches , warlocks , and Master Fiend himself were
. o n ot there . But there was great excitement They c uld o o n get g ing with their cantrips , because of an adverse o influence . The mother lo king in at the window heard m m . the , and saw the use rites to find out the traitor He was discovered . It was her son . The sentence went “ m ” m . forth , Tear him li b from li b “ o o The po r m ther from the window cried , Kill me , and ” spare my son 1 of o In a whirlwind flame she was torn limb fr m limb . ’ A o fter his m ther s death Willie Wilkins lived quietly . But I have heard from many Upper A nnandale people that such was his influence that his very shadow would n A nd cause misfortune if it fell o one . there is a story o f a woman coming with some milk cans when he came in A t was on sigo ht . once she stumbled , and the milk flung the ground .
When death drew near, Willie Wilkins called his sons ffi to him , and told them he was dying, and that his co n was n ot t wu ddie s o have metal handles , but saugh head and o A t o f ot . fter his death he was be placed in this coffin , l 1 6 U er A nnandale pp .
N ow m for the story of Willia Wilkins, as told in the
of - Session Records Kirkpatrick juxta, and related by the “ - A f Rev . William Brodie in a lecture fter the Rabbling o t o the Curate , Mr Thomas Goldie was ordained the son of f ministry . He was a the Mof at schoolmaster, a clever man , who had been a teacher in the High School of for - Edinburgh . He filled the charge about forty three h years . T is Mr Goldie seems t o have been a bit strict . of But, doubtless , there was a reaction after the strain A t M r th e Killing Time . the first Session held after ’ Goldie s ordination there were n o less than seventeen pers ons cited t o appear before the Session at next meeting : ‘ ’ ’ t wo for on women scandalous carriage the Lord s Day, ’ t wo ‘ A men for scandalous language , etc . month after, one William Wilkin in Red Brae was delated for the sin f u m t o Sabbath breaking . He was s m oned o appear at A next Session , as also ndrew Gillespie and Robert Dalzell , i n au ldh lm C o . both , as witnesses against him “ A t on 3ot h next Session , accordingly , July , William Wilkins was called and interrogated if he would acknow
f A . ledge breaking o the Sabbath . bsolutely denied A ndrew Gillespie , witness, called and examined thereanent , o declared that up n a Sabbath day , about twenty days or a o W m or a month g , he saw ye said illia Wilkins , four five a seal (several) times at a pit (peat) st ck , and lifting some thing as if he had been righting pits ; but because of ye distance could n ot be sure if it was pits he lifted . Wilkins was again called , and being charged upon this presumption absolutely denied that he took up any peats ; but that he only lifted a little bit of mossy turf t o put under his o horse girding , that was near by , his h rse having a sore f w t o of back . The af air was continued o ing the absence
Robert Dalzell , a second witness , who , being examined at t o another meeting, declared that as he was returning C au ldh olm o n A a Sabbath day , with ndrew Gillespie , he saw ye said William Wilkins st0 0 p fo ur or five seal (several) a times at a peat st ck , and take up something from ye on b e u t o ground and lay it ye stack , which j dged be ‘ of mending ye stack , whereon he cried Ye base rascal , ‘ h ow dare ye big ye peats o n such a day l to which he said ’ t nothing . William Wilkins then waited behind the s ack, l and came ou t after he though t they had gone . Dalzel did not see any horse . ' lVitch an es d Warloclcs.
William Wilkins not appearing was cited t o come t o ‘ ’
or . next meeting, he would be declared contumacious
Wilkins did come but Ro bert Dalzell did n ot turn up .
Wilkins declared he was innocent, said the witnesses m t o o n n should be ade depone oath , and gave the ame of of i for n James Martin Knockhill as a w tness the defe ce , ’ h l . 0 11 2ot who cou d clear him of the scandal the March , 1 694 of , James Martin was asked what he knew the o t o matter, and said he saw Wilkins g from the horse the ‘ o stack, and the horse g into a field , but whether the him t ’ horse was with at the stack he knew no . So the matter was delayed till Dalzell should be agai n m exa ined . This case went on for a year and a half . Poor William Wilkins c ould n ot get them t o believe in his innocence . It all turned on whether ye said William “ ’ Wilkins did or did n ot lift one of t wo peats on ye Lord s i n day . There it went on , till it was written the Session “ ’ f e o . ff o R c rds William Wilkins a air, delayed by reason ’ w ” o n ow off o n . R bert Dalzell s absence, is cut by his death
Very short . But some of the saddest things in life can b e summed up in a few words . A Kinnel Water lady has told me of a quaint cottage o n n ow the Red Brae that is away, but which was well w known . She said it must h ave been the house here lived h this Wilkins of the Red Brae . The cottage was thatc ed , and had four steps leading t o the door . It was quaint o of lo king and great age . h ank NV od A 1s M arc b o . The Red Brae behind ltogether , W I think that this Wilkins was the arlock , and that his suspected uncanny dealings made him more severely dealt w h it by the Session . r ananda l 1 8 Uppe A le.
CHAPTE R XXIII .
W I T C H W I V E S .
A wa awa y e ugly W itch 3 Stan d fa r aw a an d le t m e b e
HERE are other stories of the haunted D u mgre e r Kirk , all firmly believed in . If any one went nea
t o . it, they were best enter and pray there That was how a laird broke the spell when he had three times t n urged his horse o pass o . When one reads the trials of the witches one wonders how the poor mad creatures “ ” o t o confessed to having the p wer . . But some seem o have gloried in it . Perhaps the l ng reign of terror that passed away at the coming of William and Mary may have partly been the cause . Nations , as well as individuals , are subj ect t o hysteria and madness after l ong drawn out “ ” f a t o t o suf ering . It t kes a long time get the system up health mark . “ There was a witch - wife at what is n ow called Beech ” A t n grove . that time there were o ly two little cot houses : on e n ow stood there where Buchan House stands , the
- other near Queensberry House . The witch wife was said t o say her prayers with the Master- Fiend at her side in t h e shape of a black dog .
In her far back past there lay a story . The husband “ ’ she married had been warned t o hae nou cht adac wi her was told she was of the nature of the beautiful tiger, and other things . But, recklessly , he married her and brought her t o the thatched cot house with its kailyard ending in Two t branching ash trees . years were enough o almost madden the man . One day he said , that rather than con ’ t o o tinne live this life he d g and hang himself . She t o o scornfully told him hang himself if he had the will . S he turned and went ou t and hanged himself on on e of the not ash trees at the end of the kailyard . The woman did ’ d t o weep and lament. She sold her husband s bo y the f wh o a Mof at doctor, had it made into a be utiful grinning ’ m m s skeleton and placed in his library . This edical an l 20 Upper A nnand ale . a t A Owl Cites , and was returning late at night . voice called out : “ Johnny Wright ! Johnny Wright “ : He called back What want ye , lad i d o y Where hae ye been at this unk n ly h ur, Johnn ’ wi ’ ” I hae been at Hawken s the yad , he answered , still wh t h im not knowing o spoke o .
If ye come this road again it winna be g uid for ye . n ow on e Johnny looked fearfully about, and saw , on of Bu rn swark o f the topmost points of Craigs , the witch
Wylieh ole switching lint by moonlight . t t o Johnny said not a word more . He was only oo glad
e . scape so easily . He hastened home with all speed
These are only some of the many stories t old o f witches n o a d their doings . There is a traditi n that Rob Roy and m A i o n his men co ing up nnandale w th some cattle , saw,
n ff - t o neari g Mo at, that a crowd was hauling a witch wife R ob the gallows on the braeside abo ve the town . and his me n t o u t h e of instantly ran the resc e , and saved life the l o d woman . u 1 21 Upper A nnandale in the E ighteenth Cent ry .
CHAPTE R XXIV . UPPER A NNA NDA LE IN THE EIGHTEENTH
CENTURY .
In w n e m n n an d a n i t r ti e , whe wi d r i ’ B o o e r o an d l w the h use byre , H e sits beside a clea n h ea rt h s t a n e n Be fore a ro usi g fire . ’ W h o d b e a n ki g , e n A p tty thi g , Wh e n a mille r live s so h a ppy
Ballad , 1 750.
HEN peace came after the Revolution , Scotland
impro ved by leaps and bounds . In no time of
her history had she made such advancement . Perhaps the B orderland of the t wo countries showed o o this impr vement m re than elsewhere . The border feuds a n d o h ad raids put d wn by James VI . only given place , in t o the Scottish Border, the persecutions of the Covenanters , s o that there had been no settled peace nor feeling of f security there . This, in a manner , af ected the English
Border as well , for it kept alive in Scottish hearts the old bitterness against England , English ways , and English man fashions . This is shown by the story of the from the
Scottish Borders , who, passing through Carlisle, heard that a n ot o t hangman could be g , and that a large price would be paid t o the ma n wh o performed the office on a prisoner o now under sentence of death . The B rderer applied and won A d 11 . 0 the reward fterwar s , coming away, a large “ — j eering crowd followed Scottie reviling him for wi nning money in such an unworthy way . ’ m D od d He turned on the , shook his fist, and cried , , I ’ m ” hang ye a at the sa e price . For a picture of the burgh to ons of Upper A nnandale we have the account of an Englishman wh o t ravelled 1 4 dist re s sin 70 . through the glen i n He gives a picture , but it is likely t o be pretty near the truth . t took a go od many years for the Borderland to reco ver from the h t o arrying of Clavers and his men , and feel perfectly 1 22 U er A nnandale pp . certain that Upper A nnandale would not have the beacon s o blazing, and be laid waste once more by fire and sw rd . “ ” t o They had somehow got expect such things . The traveller tells how he missed his way ; and passed a stormy night in a bog on his way from Elvanfoot t o f A t Mof at . last he got a guide and rode down the upper A part of nnandale . “ A n d 1 7 A 1 704 t o f . so on this th of pril , , I got Mof at is This is a small straggling town , among high hills , and of mm m t o the town their wells . In su er , people co e here or w drink waters ; but what sort of people they are , here ’ for s get lodgings , I can t tell , I did not like their lodging t o o t o well enough g to bed , but got such as I could m refresh me , and so came away . Fro thence I came P u d e e n t o A A o through , and nnan , or nnand House , b th small villages ; at the last place I dined at a go od Scotch m house and so ca e to Lockerby, a small town where I lay . It had rained all this day from before noon till night and t o o t o was comfort me more, the ro m wherein I was lay o v e rflown w o la d ith water, so that the pe ple y heaps of turf for t o m t o me to tread upon , get fro the door the fireplace , and from hence t o the bed ; and the floor was so worn o t re d u in h les , that had I aside a turf, I might have sunk p t o my knees in mud and water ; and n o better room was
to be had in this town . m Nay ; what was worse , y room had but half a door , and that t o the st1 eet ; and the wall was b1 oken down at t h e s o t was o o . gable , that the ro m lay open the stable This ’ bu t a comfortless night s lodging after my last on the bog but I was forced to bear it ; so layd 2 case of pist olls (th a t ’ I had with me) by my bed head , and slept dog s sleep till
- on e morning, and had the advantage of over hearing if any A nd attempted to steal my horse . yet the people had
French wi ne , though it was always spoiled for want of ” being well cellared . There has always been a certain 1 iv alry between Moffat off i and Lockerbie . The latter taunt the M at people w th “ ” f ? 1i s l e the old saying, Mof at guid help as if going ther w la t h w v n ot as s . o e e x the refuge The Englishman , , could have fared worse had he remained at Moffat ! This picture shows u s what was the state of matters in
the beginning of the eighteenth century . New Inns and ’ Hotels were built soon after t h e Englishman s visit ; t h e
1 24 er A nnanda le Upp .
t o f e t be an advantage Mof at . With his usual energy he s a bout advertising the new Spa in the manner peculiar t o H the time . The result was that art fell Spa became as
f . famous as the Sulphur Spa, and Mof at became the rage ’ ” a m “ In Gr ha s Social Life in Scotland we are told that, in e t o the records of the time , referenc is often made money being given from the pari sh poor - b ox to send sick paupers t o off N ot o M at Wells . only did Lord Tom Noddy g when ma n he had drank overmuch claret , but the poor craved o t als o drink the healing waters . A bowling green was in the centre of the High Street “ A then . Graham says of it t the bowling green were to of be seen sauntering , city clergy , men letters , county gentlemen , and ladies of rank and fashion ; while the of o wh o h ad diseased , decrepit the l west rank, toilsomely
~ f t o w travelled from far of districts taste the magic aters , ” l oitered in their rags in the village street . A Hart fell small vaulted building was built over the Spa , “ t h e keystone of the r oof bearing the device of the bloody ” of heart the Douglas family . oh n st on e Hart fell : Dr J , in recommending the Spa , said I have known many instances of its particular good f o o ef ects in coughs pr ceeding from phlegm , spitting of bl od , a nd w m m s eatings , in sto ach co plaints attended with h headac es, giddiness, heartburn , vomiting, indigestion , m f o flatulence , etc . , in gouty co plaints af ecting the st mach
t o . and bowels, and in diseases peculiar the fair sex It has likewise been used with great advantage in tetterous ” c omplai nts and old obstinate ulcers . “ Dr Garnet wrote in much the same manner : It is a w po erful tonic of proved utility in obstinate coughs , f stomach complaints af ecting the head , gouty ones disorder t o se x ing the internal system, disorders which the fair ” a re . liable , internal ulcers , etc What more could a man desire in a bottle of medicine It was found t o be an advantage that the waters of this t h e m new Spa , unlike waters of the Sulphur Spa , i proved Hartfell is old with keeping . In taste , Spa like the f ” w ashioned medicine steel drops , and hen kept for some i A was time s o f the colour of brandy . regular trade
Hart fe ll . begun . waters were sent far and near Dr
Johnstone even shipped i t t o the West Indies . This Dr his m M illmcado ws of Johnstone had ho e in , and ground t h 25 Upper A nnandale in the E igh eent Centu ry . 1
t h e about five fields adjoining it . He was in practice in
w . to n for thirty years , and rejoiced in its new prosperity Williamson lived t o see his discovery bring him honour . l all He was a peculiar man , this Williamson . , with erect carriage , independent, alert and handsome , the old man w own ent his way , thinking for himself, and acting as h e f considered right . When he died at the age o ninety at D u mcrie ff t o , he was carried his grave by many who had only a good word to say of the strange old man who h ad ” queer notions . n l Upper A n na da e .
French lan d o m i of ol A e e a ns d A sh e n e . T w r, r v u
H E C APT R XXV . U A N D A B ILDING PL NTING TREES . the eighteenth century Moffat and all Upper A nnan dale began to build as if they really believed the “ ” no t t auld enemy did mean o come and lay waste . ld T l G ood buildings of tasteful design rose up . The o o booth was pulled down and the Court House that has been ” cast aside as ancient was erected on the old site . The “ ” oh nst one A of Spur Inn , or J rms , was built bricks made o ot w f fr m clay g near the hins . But Mof at bricks were f ’ A n ot a success . Mof at House and the King s rms were built ; the masons getting 8d . a day . 1 747 “ In , there came the abolition of feudal jurisdiction , and Scotland really was free . From the time that Charles n t n o II . had handed over Moffat to Joh s o e of Lochw od the laird had the power of choosing the provost and bailies , and “ ” n ot thus the burghers lost all independence , and had the pride in their town they ought to have had .
1 28 U er A nnandale pp . great was the excitement over the n e w planting that one laird c ould think of n o thing else even when he was dying “ ’ ’ A e y be sticking in a tree , John ; it ll grow when you re h t o e . sleeping, said his son Sir Walter Sco tt lamented th at the new planting took t oo often the form of unnatural clumps of firs on a braeside . But in Upper A nnandale there was more taste and greater D mcri ff o variety . u e and the Gall whill were indebted t o that time for the beautiful wo ods that are now the pride R a e hills n ow n o f Upper A nnandale . was bare it is o e f o the finest wooded glens we have . wh o o Perhaps the one man , m re than any other, deserves “ for m m credit the i prove ent, was Doctor Walker , the Mad ff ” Minister of Mo at , of whom John Brown wrote
’ ’ n K a s P ortra it s e o u ll fin d h im Tur up y , th re y , ’ m n A n d see h im an ce y o u ll e ver i d h im . Few e qu als did he lea ve behi n d h im In Natural History ’ n o e e d n n m The k tti st secr ts , he u bi d the ” A n d solve the myste ry .
n ot m ff Dr Walker was only inister of Mo at, but Professor t o of Natural History in Edinburgh . It was his whim of bring home rare specimens new trees , and plant them “ ” t h e o in his glebe . There is still standing old P uch tree , m: a spreading fir, that was brought fro Edinburgh in the ’
ouch . minister s p There was also a very fine plane tree ,
U A n whistle- wu d called by the boys of pper nna dale the , m w from the bark being easily oved hen whistles are made . V ’ There is n o doubt that Dr V alk e r s advice and help made the planting in Upper A nnandale better than most o ther places . The only tree that was once plentiful and “ ” n w is o scarce being the beautiful birch , the birk that “ m old o gave Bait ok its na e . I spell it now as pe ple “ ” Bait . ok pronounce it , and as it formerly was called “ ” r of sa R u le n is the true fo m the word , as people y g is m “ ” old o f . the and true form Rutherglen , eaning red glen is n o w n o t It likely that , if earlier, would be planted the close - cut yew hedge that surrounded the old b owling green of f o Mof at, and which f rmerly stood where the broad High w s Street no i . ” h in 1 29 T e K g.
CHAPT E R XXVI .
T H E K I N G .
A n d a s for this y o u n g man wh o h as come am o n st us seeki n g a o n m a ec e i e on e a 1 8 a e n a n d at ad n o t cr w , y he r v th t He v ly , t f eth a a w y . — i t r t r h P r er o mi n s e i n S . iles E i nbu ay f G , d g , or n wh en com man ded t o pray f Th e K i g .
1 71 5 o N , there was a Jacobite rebelli n , called the of Fifteen . The South Scotland had been expected t o o w rise both in Dumfries and Gall way , and join ith of Northumberland and Cumberland in England . Many the lairds were still holding by the exiled Stewarts , and mo te a ng them was the Earl of Nithsdale , who represen d t wo families who had long had a connection with Upper A n n andale , the Maxwell and the Herries family . A s it was thought that this Earl of Nithsdale , being a n ot Roman Catholic , would be successful in recruiting the o i n o co n Pr testant lairds Dumfries and Gall way , it was s id e re d t o K e nm ure prudent place Viscount , a Galloway man and a Protestant, as chief of the enterprise . “ ” K e n mu re man Viscount was , says Sir Walter Scott, a o f o o go d sense and resoluti n , well acquainted with civil
ff t o . a airs , but a total stranger the military art In the beginning of October all their plans were so far K e nmu re o ripened that and the Earl of Wint n , a brave
- fiv e t o f be lad of twenty , came up Mof at, expecting to K e nmu re j oined by a large number of recruits . and Winton had brought a goodly company of gentlemen and Ke n mu re e their followers , and had j ust seized sevent en stand of arms from Sir James Johnstone of Weste rhall .
Some of the people sympathised with them . The Laird of o f Wamph ray was half a Jacobite . But the feudal l rd o t l so A no of o d . nnandale was , as time , keen on rebellion
Joh nst one of C oreh ead was also against the enterprise . m for Moreover, the parish inisters were all recruiting f the other side , and doubtless Milligan of Mof at was among 9 1 30 U er A nnandal pp e.
1 3th K nmu r . e e them On the of October, went south from “ f 1 50 so t o Mof at with horse , and onward the capture of
Dumfries . But from every parish in the county there t o K e n mu r went up volunteers defend the town , and when e n N arrived , he fou d that Dumfries was fully prepared . o h ad doubt Milligan was watching his every move , and
given information . K enmu re came back t o Upper A nnandale and on t o ff t o m Mo at . Then he moved on Langhol and Hawick , o nly to find that the Lo wlands were coolly watching his
progress , and were grimly remembering what the last
King James had done . James III . and VIII . , as he was t n o . styled , had a chance He was as bigoted as his father and they knew he would never uphold the Protestant i t o relig on did he come the throne . “ ” mu r K e n e . The Fifteen was a failure . was executed t o The Earl of Nithsdale was share the same fate , but escaped by dressing himself up as a woman by the aid of n o his wife . The Earl of Wi t n also made his escape from death and the Tower . In early youth he had learned the of t o trade a blacksmith , and this old knowledge came be of use . Sawing through the iron bars of his prison , he
e t o . scaped , and fled Rome to join his friend Lord Nithsdale A ll these stories mus t have made the A nnandale lairds glad they had remained at home .
Thirty years passed away . The old life was resumed .
Planting trees , sowing new seeds , building stronger houses, n w fi ding ays and means to dress and live better, the days t o of peace were far from eventful . Each year seemed bring changes . Then came a day when the people of the U A glens in pper nnandale were tossing their hill hay , and saw horsemen riding south .
- What news cried the hay makers . A nother Stewart was in the Highlands, and the clans there were flocking t o his standard . m When the corn was ripening in the eadows , more t o alarming news came . The Prince was marching
t o . Edinburgh . Sir John Cope was give him battle
When the corn was fully ripe , and men were leading it “ ” of wh o in , Dr Carlyle Musselburgh , Jupiter Carlyle , had been visiting some friends in Dumfries and D urresde e r t o t o f Manse, set out ride the fifteen miles Mof at, a rough h A “ ill ride . heavy thunderstorm came on , and Jupiter
n a 1 32 Upper A n and le .
- t o wh o h ad visited Kirkpatrick juxta , the horror of Gibby , m t o wait on the as they to ok an early dinner in the kirk . t They are said o have called at Lochwood . But the laird m n ot there , though his title ca e from Charles II . , was meaning to risk his neck for this other Charles . n ot e On their return from England , the army did com
A o f . by nnandale, but went righ t and left the valley Only on e t o poor weary , wandered Highlander found his way D u m r A r e e a . g , where he was kindly tre ted and sent on fte “ ” e that there was the killing of the rebels . One of thes “ ” escaped by plunging into the mist of the Beef Tub . He He had been a drover , and knew the locality well . also knew that the road is often clear when the deep Corrie so is filled with thick fog , that a stranger passing might never guess that such a rav ine lay there . Fog fills it as
o - m o a sn w wreath ight fill it . Maclaren knew als that there
t o - was but one way out , and that it led the hiding place — l of all rebels the mosses round Hart fe l. Breaking loose m h im fro his captors , Maclaren flung his plaid round and t o rolled into the mist , and down the bottom in safety ” n l t Sir Walter Scott used this story in R e dgau t e . wh o of That there were men , out of a love adventure , “ ” t o of A went join Bonnie Prince Charlie , even out nnan t o t o dale , seems have been the case , if references m “ disappearances at this ti e are of any good . He went away and was never heard tell of again , seems a common t o one ending stories of that times . Here is of them of A wh o It is the story one dam Bell , lived in Kinnel m Water, where he had some property . He was un arried , and a m an of position and wealth ; also a very handsome of man , and both a good rider and skilled in the use the m 1 45 . 7 A broad sword In the autu n of , dam Bell left home, after leaving instructions that he should be in for m A h e Edinburgh a considerable ti e . few days after for left, when his housekeeper was cleaning up the day , she was surprised t o see her master enter by the kitchen
o t o . door, pass her, and g his own room ” Y sh t ou . e o have not stayed long, sir, she said But g no answer .
Following him into the room , she asked if he wished a was fire lighted . But he made no answer . He dressed in the same hat and greatcoat, and had a whip in his hand as when he left home . But he kept his back to her, and ” h in 1 T e K g. 33
n ever turned his head . He was at a desk in his room , and s h m m e left him . So e ti e after she heard him go ou t by o the front door and t wards the bank of the river Kinnel ,
which was deeply wooded . T here he vanished from her m sight . The wo an does not appear t o have been sure that m this was really her aster . She ran to a ploughman , and t o said the master was gone mad , and would not Speak her . A a or Search was made , but never was d m Bell seen heard ‘ t of o one M Milla n ell , till, ab ut sixteen years after, , a A t o Musselburgh farmer, was in nnandale , and happened ‘ M Millan hear of the strange story of A dam Bell . then f wn told an experience o his o . A t the time that Bell went t o Edinburgh he also went t o up there see a friend , and remained over night in his m house near Holyrood . In the iddle of the night, feeling ’
o . A unwell , he thought he w uld take some air in St ntony s o Garden behind the h use . The moon shone clear, and he o had scarcely gone a step when he saw a man , butt ned in ‘ i l o . M M l an a drab overc at, enter by the other side was a t o o o fraid g further, and watched this tall man g back
o o i . A t and forward , always l k ng impatiently at his watch m t o . o length another man , shorter and stouter, ca e He , , t w . o wore a topcoat, and had on a bonnet The men o exchanged what seemed a passw rd , flung aside their coats, and engaged in a desperate duel with swords , each trying t o m get his back to the oon . In the end the first man was run through the body , and after covering the dead ‘ man illan off. M M with a greatcoat, the other went was o now terrified . With ut saying a word he slipped into the o house , went to bed , and lay long next m rning, hearing before he got up that a man had been m urdered at the
t m . n o back of the house in the nigh ti e There was letter , oo n o r b k , signature, only a silver watch , and a beautiful
A . t o sword with . B . engraved on the hilt Crowds went “ ” o see the b dy , which was buried as unknown in Grey friars Churchyard . There was n o doubt but this was A dam Bell from Bu t wh o or Kinnel Water . killed him , why they fought , was never known . It had been thought that Bell had n ot t o joined Prince Charlie, but he did appear have j oined m any of the ar ies . ‘ o m M Millan t o con S me bla ed for the whole, owing the m on e of ce al e n t of what he knew . He was the strongest r A nnandal 1 34 Uppe e .
t o and boldest men of his time , and not at all likely play ' such a weak and cowardly part . But the times needed wh o wh caution . It was never known the man was o t o for returned the house and searched papers in the desk . ’ The country people would n ot own it was A dam Bell s w m ghost, because the raith of a man seen in day ti e means “ ” wh long life . It was considered likely that the man o hid his face so cleverly was in search of evidence against himself . This story , if a tradition , is true , and was woven “
of . into one the Tales of the Ettrick Shepherd It shows , in a way , the queer things that happened in the auld lang ’ of syne . If Bell s death was the deed an enemy , he was wh h w an e nemy o knew o t o search for and destroy all. evidence against himself .
nn n al 1 36 Upper A a d e.
“ 1 775 m o was baptised , in , Jean Lori er, daughter of L rimer “ ’ ” o f wi t Craigieburn , the lassie the lin white locks , who t m m inspired Burns o write so any of his ost beautiful songs . of a f If Greenock is proud Highland M ry , Mof at ought to be m pro ud of Jean Lori er . A o While lexander Br wn was preaching one Sunday , the on o building threatened to come down the congregati n , and t here was a rush for the d oor . Mr Brown raised his voice a n d o w advised the people to g quietly out , as that ould secure their safety , which they did . I think it must have been in this kirk that the precentor i n m proclai ing the banns , named first all the men , and then
a ll . o the women Mr Br wn , rebuking him , was assured , " ! k e n Hoot, toot, sir Nae fear , nae fear ; every ane will h is ain . o wh o There is another story told by Mr J hn Brown , was m a grandson of this eccentric inister . Giving the coachman of the stagecoach a treat for m h e so e little service had done , Mr Brown thought right ’ of to preface the taking it by a long grace . The guard s m m off horn sounded, the i patient coach an quickly drank the dram and ran to take the reins, and Mr Brown opened m o his eyes on an e pty gill st up . m He shook his head with quiet humour , and re arked t o w Ye see, lads , we would whiles need watch as ell as ” pray . m ’ m The anse , in Mr Brown s ti e , was placed at the south west corner of the town , and there the new church followed “ it . The old pulpit was taken by the Meeting House ’ 1s n ow o people , but as the Meeting House a grocer s sh p, I cann o t say where the pulpit has gone . I have a vivid m of me ory of seeing it and hearing that it was haunted . a theni A teacher of C lis cs had a class in the vestry . It was of a sort insane dancing with a long pole then in fashion . off Taking my slippers one evening , after class , I could not “ ’ ”
find o . re my b ots They in the pulpit , shrieked the
off. others , as they made With my heart beating , I opened o oo the door that led int the Meeting House . M nlight fell ” eerily into the kirk that had a stool of repentance in the
o f it s . o n front gallery The r u d , polished pulpit rose up of m full light and shadows , and ghosts see ed everywhere . o n o o Still I went , and kneeling , felt ab ut the seat where n “ ’ o wh o had nce sat the blin minister, could say all the Bu rns i n U er nn andal 1 3 pp A e. 7
psalms by heart. My boots were below . I took them t and rose up . I gave a frightened look o that single seat
- in front where had sat so many sinners in the far off past . A on ou t fter that I flew wings of the Meeting House . m m Many things I have not re e bered . But the eerie moon light, falling in light and shadow on the old haunted pulpit, m I always reme ber . ’ o This was Mr Br wn s pulpit, till a newer and more fashionable church was placed beside the manse . on e off The Black Bull Inn is of the oldest houses in M at . For long the portrait of a lion - like Black Bull swung in t o front. If that portrait is in existence , it ought be in the m m Proudfoot Museu . In the Black Bull Burns any m times met his friends , the chief of who was named Clarke , f m then Rector of M of at A cade y . Clarke was a musician o m and a man of s me ability . One ti e when Burns was in
o . the inn , two ladies on h rseback passed by One was Miss wh o Davies , a friend of Captain Riddell , had been intro ’ du ce d t o the poet at Friar s Carse . She was of small a so a st ture , but handsome and beautiful th t she was called , “ of of in the flowery language the day , One the Graces in ” h e r miniature . It was of Burns wrote :
Bo n n we e n a n n e n ie thi g , c i wee thi g , o e we e n o m n L v ly thi g , wert th u i e , o a i n m o o m I w uld we r thee y b s , ” m n Lest y j e wel I sh o uld ti e .
“ The note he penned with it is , Composed on my little ' ” o m id l , the char ing, lovely Miss Davies . Burns was a “
o of . w rshipper lovely women He said , Woman is the blood royal of life let there be slight degrees of precedency ” m o a ng them but let them A L L be sacred . When little Miss Davies passed in company with her m o on e m taller and stouter co pani n , some ade a mirthful “ How o remark on the two , and asked , is it that ane sh uld ” so so ? be little and the other big Burns said , what he ’
- afterwards wrote on the window pane , and also in a lady s note - boo k in pencil :
A — G od m a e m so ma sk why de the g s ll , ? A n d why s o huge the g ra n ite Beca use G od me a n t m a n kin d sh o uld set ” Th a t high e r va lue o n it .
“ ’ wi - Jean Lorimer, the lassie the lint white locks , was 1 38 U er A nnandale pp .
born and spent her early years at Craigieburn . Her
t o m - t wo father removed from there and went Ke mis hall , miles further down the river Nith than Robert Burns and ’ his wife . Burns , as exciseman , was often over at Lorimer s n ot m place , as Mr Lorimer was only a small far er, but a i l n general merchant . Jean also visited at E ll s a d and as ’ Bu rns s m t o she grew up a very beautiful girl , it was whi
- o tease her about a fellow exciseman , named J hn Gillespie , ’ and t o make fun of poor John s inability t o express his “ passion . In the early version of Craigieburn Burns shows this humour more than in the later one , that is more ’
- sentimental and better adapted for a lady s drawing room , a style of son that Thomson the publisher was endeavour
t o . ing make urns write Burns , speaking for Gillespie, sa y s , s e e e a a a n d a I the , gr ceful , str ight , t ll , I see thee swee t an d b o n n ie Bu t oh a m o me n b e , wh t will y t r ts If th o u re fuse thy Jo h n n y Bu t a n e s a o m n , Je i , y th u wilt be i e Sa o o n an o m e y , th u l es e bef re ’ A n d a my d ays o f life t o co me ’ll ” I gratefully a dore thee . The wilful girl of seventeen was n o t in love with the t o speechless Johnny ; and when Burns , more tease her, wrote the two names of Jean Lorimer and John Gillespie o n E llisland m a pane of glass at , and put an orna ental t o an of bordering, Jean was determined not stand y more for t o m wh o it , and went a long visit so e friends lived at
old . Craigieburn , her home But she was not free of the u t o f teasing . B rns came often Mof at on business , where m ” m . was that gem among ortals , Ja es Clarke It was some years before Jean ’ s visit that Burns composed “ k ’ e e o . the song, Willie brewed a p maut The Willie wh o was Mr William Nicol of the High School , Edinburgh , f “ was then in Mof at . Burns , in a note , said , The air is ’ A M ast ert on s . t o , the song mine Honest llan and I went pay Nicol a visit . We had such a joyous meeting , that Mr o wn Masterton and I agreed , each in our way , that we ” should celebrate the business . Where this meeting took
- o place is j ust above Craigieburn . The old , low r ofed house is now swept away , but its site is pointed out . Craigie D u mcrieff burn stands above , in the beautiful vale of M ffatd al o e . The Selkirk Road passes near the house , and
anan l Upper A da e .
is m for e of . I quote this entire , it a g poetry n m Misfortune was also falling o the Lori ers . Business t wo was not prospering . Perhaps this drew the families of For was n together with a bond sympathy . Burns feeli g “ w what the cold shoulder means . Those h o were kind w t o h im had t o have their motives evil spoken of. So as t t it with p oor Jean . People said she went oo often o t o o in Dumfries . Burns himself said Th mson a letter I h o pe Clarke will persuade y o u to ad opt my favourite Craigieburn Wood in your selectio n it is as great a favourite on o of his as of mine . The young lady wh m it was made one of o entre is the finest women in Sc tland , and , in fact, ’ nous t o t o h im , is in a manner me what Sterne s Eliza was , or wh o u a mistress , friend , or at y will , in the guileless ou t o simplicity of Platonic love . I assure y , that my lovely friend y ou are indebted for many of yo ur best songs t o of mine . Whenever I want be more than ordinary in t o t o d song, be in some degree equal your iviner airs , I put myself in the regimen of admiring a fine woma n a nd o f in n in proportion to the adorability her charms , proportio i y ou are delighted w th my verses . “ o o o m o N ow d o n o t He als plainly t ld Th s n , , put any o f o o o 0 11 o r y ur squinting c nstructi ns this , have any clish ” - ou r ma claver about it among any of acquaintances . In a later letter he replies rather crossly t o what Thoms o n u t o had said . Thomson was pedantic . B rns did not care “ use any name but Chlo ris and though that name was t o o or usually applied Jean L rimer Whelpdale , it was meant t o stand in general for the wh ole of bea u tiful “ o ou m s womanho d . I assure y I never was ore in earne t i n a of fa w se n t i n my life , than the ccount that af ir hich I i ” y ou n my last . The painter seeks his model in the face o f every bea u ti So o ful woman . thought Burns when writing his s ngs . m w of He still saw Jean Lori er ith the eyes John Gillespie , even in the gloomy days of Dumfries . The outside and respectable world of Dumfries was very hard upon him . old Perhaps he gave it cause . But his friends, the Lorimers , w f themselves struggling ith di ficulties , were always kind , A l and did not make him feel that they saw any change . l “ o t o wh o h nour Jean , stood by the poet when his back was t o the t o Whelpdale belonged a wealthy family , but though he Bar s i r andal 1 41 n n Uppe A nn e.
o n inherited several fortunes and squandered them vice , he never came near his deserted wife . Jean , helping her t o people , and cheering Burns, fell ill , and was supposed be near death . Burns wrote that beautiful song, On Chloris being ill , the last verse of which reads
’ a m e o w rs n e He r , p divi Oh i n e a me , pity h r a a e o f m n T ke ught lse i e , Bu t my Chl o ris spa re m e
w s m Burns himself a far fro well . He said once or twice that he feared his sins were finding him out . His friend “ h e A Clarke and he corresponded . In a letter wrote , las , A s t o dear Clarke , I begin to fear the worst . my i am indiv dual self, I tranquil , and would despise myself ’ n o t Bu rn s s if I were ; but poor widow, and half a dozen o f c ! ‘ am his lear little ones , helpless orphans There , I ’ ’ ’ o m of ! t is weaker than a w an s tear . Enough this half f o . o s my disease If I must g , I shall leave a few friend ” behind me where I shall live in their remembrance . The trouble which had gone o n for a year brought him t o A n d - the gates of death . by that death bed stood grim a t o o poverty . In letter Ge rge Thomson he wrote asking d o n t for the loan of £5. I o ask this gratuitously ; upon t o returning health , I hereby promise and engage furnish you with Fire P oun ds worth of the n ea test song- poems you ” s have een . “ t o o h e He wrote his dearest l ve , as called his wife ,
- and told her the sea bathing at Brow was easing his pain .
Early in the morning of July 2l st he died . In the “ a : be utiful words of Carlyle Thus he passed , not softly , ” o yet speedily , into that still c untry . D u A on e of mfries Respectables arose . man is always the Respectables when he is dead , whatever he may have n i n . bee life Mrs Burns , in her quaint way, said , when a “ o m of c stly monu ent was erected He asked them bread , and they gave him a stone . W h ad t o o ou t Jean Lorimer, or Mrs helpdale, at last g o o int the w rld as a governess, and in one or other situation
- r spent many years . For twenty three years she neithe O n e was heard from n or saw her husband . holiday she sh e t o returning from Sunderland , where had gone see a an d t o t o brother, went Brampton make enquiries about her h er husband . He had been there that day , and left before ” 1 n l 42 Upper A nanda e. a rrival . He was busy squandering a fortune he had lately r of been left . She next hea d him as in prison in Carlisle ,
‘ a nd t . went o see him . His door was pointed out to her
A s t o - - she was going it a bulky, middle aged , half paralytic man shuf—fled along and looked at her . Jcan Mrs Whelpdale
This was her husband . Jean spent a month in Carlisle, t o t o and saw him daily, trying hard lift him back what “ he might have been . It was hopeless . Whelpdale was
- n o man like Burns ; he was semi barbaric in his tastes . S eeing she could not trust him t o work either for herself o r t o — even himself, Jean went back her duties to toiling for her bread , and struggling with poverty . She never s aw consu m her husband again . She herself went into p ’ tion , and died in a humble lodging in Middleton s Entry ,
Edinburgh , and was buried in Newington . Her husband ,
supported by some relations , died at Langholm four years f after . It was the end of a Mof at romance , one very much s tranger than fiction .
1 44 n Upper A nandale .
Bodsb e ck P olmoodie Corrie fron Scaurs , , , , and the distant ” o - Watch Kn we of the Covenanters . The—se heath clad hills, cleft with hopes and crowned with mists the hills of the old ballads, the birthplace of the Yarrow, the highest — and grandest m ountains in all the south of Scotland must
- m have oft times greeted the dark , glea ing eyes . Whatever n went wro g in the world , they were always the same . To wn o . Hogg, these hills were as familiar as his fireside w o l o He kne their every m od , and cou d tell every traditi n o c ncerning them . Sir Walter Scott never rested far away of from his beloved border hills . Hogg tells a journey he took along with Sir Walter for the purpose of seeing t h e “ savage scene which fr owns around dark Loch Skene . “ m A lt riv e o I reme ber of leaving nce with him , aecom anie d A e r u sson p with Mr William Laidlaw and Sir dam F g , ’ t o visit the tremendous s olitudes of Grey M arc s Tail and
Loch Skene . I conducted them through that wild region by a path which , if not rode by Clavers , was , I daresay , b m A m never rode y another gentle an . Sir da rode into a o t t h e gulph inadvertently , and g a sad fright but Scott, in m very worst paths , never dis ounted , save at Loch Skene , t m t o f o . h take so e dinner We went Mof at t at night, where o m of we met s me of his fa ily , and such a day and night 1 e glee never witnessed . Our perils were a matter of infinit merriment and there was a short - tempered b oot boy at t h e wh o t o h im inn wanted pick a quarrel with , at which he 1 laughed till the water ran down his ch e ck s . was dis appointed in never seeing some incident in his subsequent works laid in a scene resembling the rugged solitudes o for so r und Loch Skene , I never saw him survey any with
o . A much attenti n single , serious look at a scene generally m m filled his ind with it, and he seldo took another ; but of here he took the names all the hills , their altitudes and t o relative situations with regard one another , and made ” v 1 l me repe at them se e a times . Perhaps none of his n o vels touch on the scenery of Loch
- Skene , but the oft quoted lines describe it well .
’ O e r a a e n a n n the bl ck w v s i cess t drive , Da rk mists i n fe ct the summ e r h e a ve n Through the rude ba rri e rs o f the lake A a n a e b e a w y its hurryi g w t rs r k , a e a n d e d a a n d F st r whit r sh curl , n s Till d o w y o u d a rk a by s the y hurl . Sir Walter Scott and Ho 1 gg. 45
’ Th e s ai Grey M arc T l .
R t h e fo - mo e as n o ises g s ke whit s w , n e a m o Thu ders the vi wless stre bel w , D n as on m n e t o a ivi g , if c de d l ve ’ om m n S e de o s subte rran ean ca ve .
h o n an d far n W ere deep , deep d w , withi TO 115 with the rocks the roa ri n g lin n e n n o t on e oam n a Th , issui g f r h f i g w ve , ’ A n d e n o n an a whe li g r u d the Gi t s Gr ve , ’ as no a a White the s wy ch rger s t il ,
Drives do wn the pas s of M o ffatd ale . N o on e wh o had no t studied very closely Loch Skene and t o h gburn which issues from the loch , could have written t hese lines . A nnand al 1 46 Upper e.
Through t h e rude ba rri e rs of the la ke ” A a n a e a w y the hurryi g w t rs bre k , refers t o the burn which fl ows out of the loch in flow and t o a force enough fall in sheet of foam over the linn , in a ’ ” Marc s waterfall called the Grey Tail ,
’ Whee lin g ro u n d the Gi an t s Grave .
A o t h e fter the waters g over the linn , they afterwards join
Moffat Water and go on to join the A nnan . “ ’ ” The Giant s Grave has been often examined . It is a mound near where the burn from the fall joins the Moffat “ YVat r e . Scott said , It has the appearance of a battery t o o designed o command the pass . H gg als considered it artificial and intended for defence in early times . 1 792 m f co n In Mr Brown , the inister of Mof at , wrote it —“ cerning The Tail burn , a little before it falls into the f fo of Mof at, has carried away part of a church in the rm a ” Druid Temple, a small portion of which however remains . o In reading the works of Sir Walter Sc tt, one comes “ “ t o U A a often pper nnandale . The thieves there get “ “ ” his bad name in Tales of a Grandfather . In Minstrelsy he is quite as unsparing . But like old Isaac , when he put “ a worm on his hook, he does it as if he loved him . He n of is ot very hard on the Border thief . He is too proud “ s being a Scott, and never prouder than when he repeat the words of James V .
n o u t an d a t h e n ob il n The Sp k ki g , ’ A n d o n h im a a e e r u d c st wilie , N o w b a u d on a e o thy t g ue , Sir W lt r Sc tt , N or spea k o f re if n or felon ie Fo r h a d e on e m an a in , ev ry h st his kye , ’ A right puir clan thy n ame wad b e .
There is n o glen in Upper A nnandale where the mist on
so - the hills is wayward and ghost like . Perhaps that gave rise t o the many fairy stories connected with this high
a t o o so . mount in land , the st ries told well by Hogg When a rainbow spreads itself over a hillside , when a quaint and u delicate form of mist twines itself round a rugged mo ntain , moving onward like a living thing, when the whaups sing eerily in the moors , then m these solitudes , one can read ’ ” “ ' and even believe the story of Bonnie Kilme ny s v isit t o fairyland .
48 nanda 1 Upper A n le.
c oach went by Beattock and up by Evandale . There had been a new coach road formed with a gradual rise from ’ f t o Mof at the head of the Deil s Beef Tub, a good broad f a on e . ro d , that is still of the best made roads round Mof at It was not expected that steam would so soon set the old for coaches aside . However, the road is ready the wheel ld o n . o u men, be they bikes or motors The Edinb rgh road goes up the narrow glen from Moffat till it reaches the Bri e nd Mickleh olmsid e t o bridge at g , then creeps up past old the summit of the hills . This road was a very trying n f r m o e o . horses in good weather, and al ost impossible in bad for Marchbank The contractor the new road was James , wh o Havannah , and the road surveyor, Mr Henderson , then A sh bank H az elbank lived in y , and afterwards in in John
stone . Considering the expense the new roads had been , it was determined by the Edinburgh officials that no excuse was to be t aken if the coaches were not up to date and
H . M . . Mails delivered at the time specified There were ‘ - n ow M G e or e red tape laws then as . g and Goodfellow had felt v ery much the rebuke which had been given o n a o 1 83 . 8 1 f rmer delay So when the th of February , , begun t o with heavy snowstorm , they made up their minds obey
- o . rders They left Dumfries at half past ten , and managed i t w th difficulty o reach Moffat early in the afterno on . t o o They were then advised delay , but that they w uld n ot d A n f w o. o h o additional pair horses were got, men w n knew the road ent with them , the passe gers went in , ff and o went the mail . m By this ti e the storm was s o mething dreadful . Showers o f snow, whirlwinds of drift, intense cold , and all the
horrors of a feeding storm . A ff mile and a half beyond Mo at the coach stuck fast ,
and neither horses nor men could move it o ne inch . In ‘ this new difficulty Goodfellow and M G e orge determined t o use what was left of daylight and go onward . They
o t wo o f - w t ok the horses , and the mail bag, and ent forward t o t o first, however , directing the men they left send f for t wo of m Mof at a post chaise for the passengers , as the m n . on e were women They then went , and were sent back t h e ff N o o with remaining pair of horses t o Mo at . so ner ‘ had the men gone than Goodfellow and M G e orge returned .
They had found it impossible t o get forward on horseback . t o t h e o Goodfellow , the driver, seemed consider case h peless ; “ ” Faith u l n t t f U o D ea h . 149
‘ M G e or e had but g said he been blamed once , and he never Marchbank would be blamed again . Both and the men with h im u r t o o n o on e ed him repeatedly g back , saying that w o u n o . n ot o on c ld b ame him If he could g horseback, he o n t n t t o o o . f c uld g foot It were best o return o Mof at . ‘ M G e or e t o g , however , seems have been a very deter u mined man . He picked p the heavy mails that were said t o t o d have weighed seven stones , and crying out Goo fellow he that might return if he liked , went away onward . t n o . Goodfellow would desert his friend He followed . y c o The men , as the wat hed them g , expected that ere long of they would see the impossibility the attempt , and would m t wo return . Meanti e the women were left alone in the o c ach . The men passengers seem t o have left the coach t o ff or earlier, and either returned Mo at with the horses , i n joined the others debating with the driver and guard . For t wo wh o i there were only the women left, , see ng the coach being more and more snowed up, considered they e were desert d by the other passengers , and at once began t o f scream or help .
C ranst ou n - Just then Mr , inn keeper, arrived with a chaise , and the excited ladies were carried by strong hands from the
- u t t o snowed p coach o the chaise . They were then driven f ’ Mof at, reaching it about five o clock , more dead than alive . u n ot u The driver and g ard did return , as expected , d ring “ n D um ri s r : a the ight . In the f e Cou ier we read E rly next n Marchb ank s mor ing James ventured forth , bad a the t o of weather was, inspect professionally the state the roads , and returned with the truly doleful tidings , that he un had fo d the identical bags, which he had assisted the t o sn ow ost guard tie the day before, hanging on a p , five
- o f miles and three quarters bey nd Mof at, and one mile and a w h w a qu rter from T eeds a s . Fain would he have travelled Twe ed sh aws t o a as far as ascert in the fate of his friends , but the snow lay in mountains before him , and after an To off ineffectual attempt he was forced t o desist . carry s the bags was bey o nd his strength . He left the pot under the firm co nviction that the h owling waste would protect r the property of the public more securely than bolts o bars . On the frosted snowpost he had seen something that saddened the heart more than mere suspense . There were o n it the marks of bloody fingers . The bag had been hung A s o up by bleeding hands . the man st od , he felt the 1 50 Upper A nn andale .
- m . te pting snow sleep come to himself Ice, like eggs , hung t o his hair on either side of his face . He turned and m A le xander ' E wart struggled downward , eeting of Beech t o ff grove , and some others , and together they went Mo at n ow for help . It was sunset, but Mr Henderson instantly
s e t . about collecting volunteers With lanterns , poles , and on e o f me n the help they gave to another, this party Twe e d sh aws reached , but only to find that neither guard nor driver had been seen . The mails were carried back t o ff b Mo at, and sent on next day y Mr Grieve , in charge t o f . o his son Men were sent with him clear the road .
The driver and guard were last seen on Tuesday . It was
Saturday before their dead bodies were found . The cir sta n e s cu m c were peculiar . The inn - keeper of Twe e dsh aws at that time was Mr
- A U t o Daniel Kirk . and the toll keeper Robert nderson . p the Saturday great bands of men h ad searched everywhere ’ a w . son bout, and al ays without success Mr Daniel Kirk s , ' t o M o at N ews 1 9 A 1 899 writing the fi , th ugust, , said that Twe ed sh aws o n he was in kitchen the Friday , when he heard Robert A nderson say to his father : “ ou o Do y know, I dreamed last night I saw John G od fellow walking bareheaded with a shepherd at Twe ed sh aws Cross A m ’ fter a oment s hesitation , Mr Kirk said “ Well, that is strange ; I had a dream , and I saw the m ” guard at the sa e place . A of fter breakfast, Mr Kirk went out on pretence looking s o n n ot man wh a fter his stock . His says he was a o m t o m believed in dreams , but he see s have been i pressed o n e t o m by this ; for he went the place he had drea ed of, o \Ve lsh and was l oking about when a neighbour, James , o t o came al ng on horseback , and advised him return , as there was another storm coming on . A Next day , Kirk and nderson left the main body of men who were searching about and went t o where they a d A n had dre med they saw the guard and river . d there o of t wo o the dead b dies the friends were disc vered . ‘G t h e t o . M e or e Goodfellow, driver , had been the first fall g had remained near his friend till he died . Then he had
o o . struggled on al ne , falling als in a short time ff m m They were buried in Mo at kirkyard , and a onu ent ” t o f m o e rected o the memory the faithful unt death . l 52 r A n n l Uppe na da e.
I have seen an inscription which was copied from a ston e “ f 1 810 : in Mof at Kirkyard in Here lies William Mure , Clarefoot d formerly in , and Katherine his spouse . Die A 1 779 6 m 4. nno Domi , she, November he , Dece ber
e i e man oma n e Her l s the , the w h re , Their m utu al lo ve so passi n g dea r n o n i n a lie Whe d w she the gr ve did , Here he recli n ed o f sym pa thy
I have heard of another sto ne which bore this in scrip “
: . noo tion Here lies John Kennedy If ye saw him , ye ” wadna ken him na . h did I was told t at a stone bear this inscription , but I only tell what I was told ; I am n ot bidding any on e wn . o believe it I I saw neither of these stones myself, though there were some heaped in a corner that might o n have had such inscriptions them . It is a very great old pity that the gate of this kirkyard is kept shut . Its nearness to the High Street might make it a place for old t o old m . people dauner in , and crack over ti es and ways ’ “ ’ ” In Barrie s When a Man s Single , there is a very pleasing of old picture an kirkyard , fenced round with cottages , such f t as Mof at kirkyard is . The women wandered there o knit m en t o old . and gossip, the smoke and read the names In other places the old kirkyards are made into o pen spaces “ ” fo r t o so t o me n people loiter, as prevent idle from s ou r obstructing the pavements and being fined . Perhap old deserted kirkyard may be opened in that way ; for “ f ” ” Mof at Loitering is a grand standing plea , always in
evidence before ou r Winter Courts .
- Kirkpatrick juxta kirkyard has some very old stones . On one sto ne is a family tree of a certain line of descendant s wh o Tu shielaw is of the laird entailed . The name
A nderson . One of the oldest stones was erected by A lexander lm A nnandh o . s Proudfoot , smith in The inscription tell of h ns n that it is in memory his wife Lilias Jo to e .
o e n o r a e n or a ca n a e N virtu , gr c , be uty s v
Fro m t h e all- c on qu e rin g powe r of t h e g ra ve lse sh e h ad o a d o l E lived , wh se shes here y , m h ad a n n o e n Till Ti e ch ged i t et r ity . Old Kirk ards in er nnandal 1 y Upp A e. 53
A nother stone is erected to the family of one A lston . t o child rcn o n On the p are the figures of four . Beneath , : d o one side are the words By hammer in hand , all arts
stand . On the reverse side is an inscription t o A lston himse lf :
In e n iu s on rom o on e g Alst f this w rld is g , Fro m a du nghill t o sit upon a thron e In a n h n o w a o n highest he ve , w ere l ud he si gs E e n a a n n t r l pr ises t o the K i g of ki gs .
' There is also a stone erected t o William Johnstone oi h m Be ar ol . m , and Sarah Douglas , his spouse This Willia t old B arh olm Johns one was of the family of e . The cele at e h nst on e W ar ist n B rh b r d Jo of r o was born at ea olm . A mong the graves of D u mgre e is one higher than the wh o o thers . The man was buried here was named
Jo hns to ne . He was determined that neither Burke or n or Hare , none of that class , should steal his body after To his death . prevent this , he ordered that wooden coffin t wo should be enclosed in others , one of lead and the n t o outside o e of stone . The stone coffin was have iron m bolts fro the bottom through the lid , fastened with nuts . The bolts were afterwards to be fas tened down till they n were flat o the stone .
There is another interesting grave . The plain stone is “ : wh o marked In memory of John Speirs , died at Barn 2 ” 0t h 1 82 1 . h . 7 6 timpa , Feb , , aged years The housekeeper of this John Speirs was troubled to
see that the kirkyard wall was broken down in some places , and thus the cattle belonging t o the farm o f Parks go t into : ’ t o the kirkyard . She resolved protect her master s grave , and for this purpose gathered a great number of large
t o . stones , such as are used build stone dykes These she
laid in a ring ro und the grave of John Speirs . She was about t o begin the building of the dyke when the Laird of R a e hills of o t o heard her devoti n , and sent word say that m o he , hi self, would get the wall r und the old kirkyard
so no o . repaired , that there was need to tr uble herself o t h e But death came and t ok away the laird , and then A nd d m o . ol wo an died . S the wall was never repaired still ro und the grave of John Speirs lie the stones the old . woman gathered . ' 1 54 U r A a and ppe n ale. In the kirkyard of Johnstone rest the long line of the n t on Joh s es of Lochwood . A s we are on inscriptions on old stones and queer a epit phs , I must tell of one that was written by a f daughter o Lord Rollo . It is given by Leigh Hunt . o son This lampo n was upon Frederick , Prince of Wales , “ A o f . n George II Leigh Hu t says , prince , whom all n o w n o n or parties are agreed in thinking great worthy, superi o r t o what a lovely woman has here written upon ” t o m him . The verses are said have been found a ong the “ of papers the Honourable Miss Rollo , the daughter of the fourth Lord Rollo , who was implicated in the Rebellion .
n Fe d Here lies Pri ce , Gon e down am o n g the d ead H ad n a it bee his f ther , W e h a d m uch rath e r H ad e n m o it be his ther , Be tter th an a n y o ther H ad n it bee his sister , Fe w wo uld h ave misse d her H ad n o e e n e a o n it bee the wh l g r ti , Te n times better for the n a ti on ’ Bu t si n ce tis o n ly Fed ’ n m t a Th e re s o o re o be s id .
I have said that there is , and always have been , rivalry between Moffat in Upper A nnandale and Lochmaben and m t w . o .Lockerbie , that stand idway The middle towns ” taunt Moffat by saying that in old times gaun bodies ” said of Moffat : Moffat ! Guid help us 1 But the Moffat people have a proverb
are a n d a n t o If ye rich w t be puir,
a n t ak a a m o n o m a e n m . G g , f r L ch b uir
True Tammas said about Lockerbie parish kirk :
a a nd oo d o a m a Let sp des sh ls wh t they y , ” D r fe h a D a a a y will e rysd le kirk w y .
o ma This saying has pr ved true . There is but a s ll f wa o a v . portion the old churchyard , the rest being swept
U er A nnandal pp e.
A Mi k mai and h e r P iz w l d r e Co .
H E C APT R XXXI .
THE END . HA VE been reading a very able paper dealing with the vexed question of the absolute loss of population ” To in agricultu ral districts . many this may seem so o a small matter, long as the towns are cr wded . But h as experience shown that the towns , even the healthiest m o f . u them , cannot stand alone Fresh blood st come in ou t from the healthy country or the race dies . There are t wo classes now as there has always been ; the commercial and the agricultural . Educatio n has been t o k con forwarded advance the first, without ta ing into
. i n sideration the second In other lands , schools country d s wh o i tricts are all managed by sensible, business men , on bo wh o t o insist a y has live by feeding stock, knowing t o r something of the animals he is rear, their food , and thei 1 57 The E nd .
m o t o h im habit s . It is far more i p rtant than how to trans
late Latin .
Without going more into this matter , I may say that it is well the atten tion of the country is turned t o the “ A clearing of the glens . Here in Upper nnandale there
has been a constant thinning of the dales . Perhaps there t o is little inducement for a boy turn to the plough , seeing that it is hardly likely he will ever rise above being a farm o m labourer . In olden times , if a man t ok a s all farm he t o ma n in might rise being a bigger some day . But m m m modern ti es all the s all far s are cleared away .
Some years ago the Rev . Peter Hope and Mr Charles Stewart set about getti ng some crofts introduced into Wam h ra n ow o o f p y parish . These are the pride and gl ry o A the glen . If ther ministers in our Upper nnandale for o would only combine a like purpose , it w uld indeed be a t m m n blessing o any a working a . o ne In paper I read , Mr Stewart lamented that the dark ness o f the winter night was not lighted up in Upper “ A nnandale by the twinkling of lights glea ming warm and m bright from many ho es . Lights , like the stars on a w m inter night, at one ti e filled the valley . Now here and f o . there at miles of intervals, one sees the light a home It would make my sto ry too long to give all the information about these old h omes that friends have given
me . They clustered thick even by the lonely Kinnel . cot o o Little villages , mills , h uses , and farm t wns , are all s wept away . France , and even Russia , supplies us with A m eggs , ustralia with butter ; while ha s are fearfully and i A m of wonderfully made out n erica . The making cheese wh o was once a great trade here . There are few living can t o . do it well . They prefer buy it from the grocer ” N o t that they like it, but it saves trouble , they say . Sensible and sound technical education ; the union of landlords and factors t o advance such technical kn o wledge a n d divide farms ; the encouragement by Societies or by t o wh o t o t o Government farm labourers , wish rise be s m a U A mall farmers , y once again fill pper nnandale with m For e n t o o o . ready, aye ready help in every g od w rk , “ ” a s Mr Charles Stewart said , They are the best of men .
B O KS BY A W S N O THE R E V. R . L O .
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- - o o l fa o r S 3d . n e d f r a t in n . t aff a rra P r S gi g S , ' d o b t e d if h s t o of B ne s H omes an d Ha n ts h as e e b e e n b e t t e r It —may 8 u t e ry ur u v r d .S co ts ma n . t ol .
D R P A R L A N E P A I L Y. H O UL S TO N A N D N S L N D N . J. A N . , S E SO , O O
UNIVER SITY O F C AL IFOR NIA L IBR AR Y L os Angeles
k is E n t last at stam T h is b oo D U o h e d e ped b elo w.
— Form L 9 50m ( 59 90)
THE L EHR A R T