VIAnd up then rose the Provost—A brave old man was he,Of ancient name, and knightly fame,And chivalrous degree.He ruled our city like a LordWho brooked no equal here,And ever for the townsmen's rightsStood up 'gainst prince and peer.And he had seen the Scottish hostMarch from the Borough muir,With music-storm and clamorous shout,And all the din that thunders outWhen youth's of victory sure.But yet a dearer thought had he;—For, with a father's pride,He saw his last remaining sonGo forth by Randolph's side,With casque on head and spur on heel,All keen to do and dare;And proudly did that gallant boyDunedin's banner bear.Oh! woeful now was the old man's look,And he spake right heavily—"Now, Randolph, tell thy tidings,However sharp they be!Woe is written on thy visage,Death is looking from thy face;Speak! though it be of overthrow—It cannot be disgrace!"VIIRight bitter was the agonyThat wrung that soldier proud;Thrice did he strive to answer,And thrice he groaned aloud.Then he gave the riven bannerTo the old man's shaking hand,Saying—"That is all I bring yeFrom the bravest of the land!Ay! ye may look upon it—It was guarded well and long,By your brothers and your children,By the valiant and the strong.One by one they fell around it,As the archers laid them low,Grimly dying, still unconquered,With their faces to the foe.Ay! ye may well look upon it—There is more than honour there,Else, be sure, I had not brought itFrom the field of dark despair.Never yet was royal bannerSteeped in such a costly dye;It hath lain upon a bosomWhere no other shroud shall lie.Sirs! I charge you, keep it holy;Keep it as a sacred thing,For the stain ye see upon itWas the life-blood of your King!"VIIIWoe and woe and lamentation!What a piteous cry was there!Widows, maidens, mothers, children,Shrieking, sobbing in despair!Through the streets the death-word rushes,Spreading terror, sweeping on."Jesu Christ! our King has fallen—O Great God, King James is gone!Holy mother Mary, shield us,Thou who erst did lose thy Son!O the blackest day for ScotlandThat she ever knew before!O our King—the good, the noble,Shall we see him never more?Woe to us, and woe to Scotland!O our sons, our sons and men!Surely some have 'scaped the Southron,Surely some will come again!"Randolph Murray describes how the monarch lies dead on the field with his nobles round him."All so thick they lay together,When the stars lit up the sky,That I knew not who were stricken,Or who yet remained to die."A hollow knell is rung and the miserere is sung, and all is terror and disorder until the Provost rouses them."If our King be taken from us,We are left to guard his son.* * * * *Up! and haste ye through the city,Stir the burghers stout and true!Gather all our scattered people,Fling the banner out once more—Randolph Murray! do thou bear it,As it erst was borne before:Never Scottish heart will leave it,When they see their monarch's gore!"Chapter XXIGraeme and BewickGood Lord Graeme and Sir Robert Bewick were friends. They met one day in Carlisle, and went arm in arm to the wine, and, as was too oft the custom of these days, they stayed and drank till they were both merry. Good Lord Graeme took up the cup. "Sir Robert, and here's to thee!" he said, "and here's to our two sons at home, for they like us best in our own country.""O were your son a lad like mine," answered Bewick, boastfully, "and learnt some books that he could read, they might be two brothers in arms, and lord it over the Borderside.'But your son's a lad, and he's but bad,And billie[#] to my son he cannot be.'[#] Comrade, or brother-in-arms.You sent him to school, and he would not learn; you bought him books, and he would not read!"Lord Graeme called angrily for the reckoning. "My blessing shall he never earn," said he, "till I see how his arm can defend his head." He threw down a crown, and went to the stable, took his horse, and rode home. "Welcome, my old father," said his son, Christie Graeme, "but where were ye so long from home?" "I have been at Carlisle town, and a shamed man I am by thee," answered his father with a black look; "I have been at Carlisle town, where Sir Robert Bewick met me. He says you are but a bad, wild youth, and can never be billie to his boy. I sent you to the school, and you would not learn. I bought you books, and you would not read; therefore you shall never have my blessing till I see you save your head in fight with young Bewick." "Now God forbid, my old father, that ever such a thing should be! Billie Bewick was my master, and I his scholar, in spite of the pains he wasted in teaching me." "O hold thy tongue, thou foolish lad! If thou dost not soon end this quarrel, there's my glove, I'll fight with thee myself."Then Christie Graeme stooped low. "Father, put on your glove again, the wind has blown it from your hand.""What's that, thou sayst, thou limmer loon?How darest thou stand to speak to me?If thou do not end this quarrel soon,There's my right hand, thou'lt fight with me!"Then went Christie to his chamber, to consider what should happen. Should he fight with his own father, or with his brother-in-arms, Bewick?"If I should kill my billie dear,God's blessing I shall never win;But if I strike at my auld father,I think 'twould be a mortal sin.But if I kill my billie dearIt is God's will, so let it be;But I make a vow, ere I go from home,That I shall be the next man's die."He put a good old jack or quilted doublet on his back, and on his head he put a cap of steel, and well did he become them with his sword and buckler by his side!Now young Bewick had taken his father's sword under his arm, and walked about his father's close. He looked between himself and the sun, to see some approaching object, and was aware of a man in bright armour, riding that way most hastily."O who is yon, that comes this way,So hastily that hither came?I think it be my brother dear,I think it be young Christie Graeme.Your welcome here, my billie dear,And thrice you're welcome unto me."Christie explained that he was come to fight, that his father had been to Carlisle, and had met with the elder Bewick. He retailed what had passed, "and so I'll never earn my father's blessing, till he sees how my arm can guard my head in fight against thee.""O God forbid, my billie dear,That ever such a thing should be!We'll take three men on either side,And see if we can our fathers agree."Christie shook his head. He knew that it was useless. "O hold thy tongue, billie Bewick. If thou'rt a man, as I'm sure thou art, come over the dyke and fight with me.""But I have no harness, billie, as I see you have.""As little harness as is on your back shall be on mine."With that Christie threw off his coat of mail and cap of steel, stuck his spear into the ground, and tied his horse up to a tree. Bewick threw off his cloak, and cast aside his psalter book. He laid his hand upon the dyke, and vaulted over. The two fought for two long hours. The sweat dropped fast from them both, but not a drop of blood could be seen to satisfy the requirements of honour. At last Graeme hit Bewick under the left breast, and he fell to the ground wounded mortally."Rise up, rise up, now, billie dear,Arise and speak three words to me!Whether thou's gotten thy deadly wound,Or if God and good leeching[#] may succour thee?"[#] Doctoring.Bewick groaned. "Get to horse, billie Graeme, and get thee hence speedily. Get thee out of this country—that none may know who has done this." "O have I slain thee, billie Bewick? But I made a vow, ere I came from home, that I would be the next man to die!" Thereupon he pitched his sword hilt downwards into a mole-hill, took a run of some three and twenty feet, and on his own sword's point he fell to the ground dead.Then up came Sir Robert Bewick. "Rise up, my son," he said, "for I think you have got the victory.""O hold your tongue, my father dear. Let me be spared your prideful talking. You might have drunken your wine in peace, and let me and my billie be! Go dig a grave, both wide and deep, and a grave to hold us both; but lay Christie Graeme on the sunny side, for full sure I know that the victory was to him.""Alas," cried old Bewick, "I've lost the liveliest lad that ever was born unto my name." "Alas," quoth good Lord Graeme, "my loss is the greater.'I've lost my hopes, I've lost my joy,I've lost the key, but and the lock;I durst have ridden the world around,Had Christie Graeme been at my back!'"Chapter XXIIThe Song of the Outlaw Murray"Word is gone to our noble king,In Edinburgh where that he lay,That there was an Outlaw in Ettrick ForestCounted him nought, nor all his Court so gay."The King mentioned in the ballad is supposed to have been either James IV. or James V. This places the date somewhere in the early part of the sixteenth century.The Outlaw Murray and his lady kept royal state in Ettrick Forest. Here he lived with five hundred men, all gaily clad in livery of Lincoln green. His castle, built of lime and stone, stood fair and pleasantly in the midst of the Forest, surrounded by pine trees under which wandered many a hart and hind, many a doe and roe and other wild creatures. In the forefront of the castle stood two unicorns, with the picture of a knight and lady with green holly above their brows.The King in Edinburgh heard of all this royal state and that the Outlaw in Ettrick Forest cared nought for the King of Scotland and his court."I make a vow," said the King, "that either I shall be King of Ettrick Forest, or the Outlaw shall be King of Scotland."Then up spoke Lord Hamilton to the noble King, "my sovereign prince, take counsel of your nobles and of me. I counsel ye to send to the fine Outlaw and see if he will come and be your man and hold the Forest in fee from you. If he refuse, we will conquer both him and his lands, throw his castle down, and make a widow of his gay lady."Then the King called to him James Boyd, son of the Earl of Arran, and when Boyd came and knelt before him, "Welcome, James Boyd," said the noble King; "you must go for me to Ettrick Forest where bides yonder Outlaw, ask him of whom he holds his lands, and who is his master, and desire him to come and be my man, and hold the Forest free from me. I will give him safe warrant to and from Edinburgh, and if he refuse we will conquer him and his lands, and throw down his castle, and make a widow of his gay lady; and hang his merry men pair by pair wherever we see them."James Boyd took leave of the King and went blithely on his way, until he came to the fair Ettrick Forest, the first view of which he got coming down Birkendale Brae. He saw the doe and roe, the hart and hind and wild beasts in plenty, and heard blows ringing boldly, and arrows whizzing near by him.He saw, too, the fair castle, the like of which he had never seen before, with the two gay unicorns on the forefront, and the picture of the knight and lady with the green holly above their brow.Then he spied the five hundred men, all clad in livery of Lincoln green, and shooting with their bows on Newark Lee. In the midst of them was a knight armed from head to foot, mounted on a milk-white steed, with bended bow, all fine to look upon; whom Boyd knew at once to be the Outlaw himself."God save thee, brave Outlaw Murray, thy lady, and all thy chivalry!""Marry, thou art welcome, gentleman; thou seemst to be a King's messenger.""The King of Scotland sent me here, good Outlaw, to know of whom you hold your lands, and who is your master.""These lands aremine. I know no King in Christendom. I won this Forest from the English when neither the King nor his knights were there to see.""The King desires that you come to Edinburgh, and hold the Forest then of him. If you refuse, he will conquer your lands and you, and he has vowed to throw down your castle, make a widow of your gay lady, and hang your knights pair by pair wherever he finds them.""Ay, by my troth! I should indeed be far behind. Before the King should get my fair native land, many of his nobles would be cold, and their ladies right weary."Then spoke the lady of the Outlaw, fair of face. "That an Outlaw should come before the King without my consent makes me fear much that there is treason. Bid him be good to his lords at home, for my lord shall ne'er see Edinburgh."James Boyd took leave of the bold Outlaw and went back to Edinburgh, and when he came to the King, knelt lowly on his knee."Welcome, James Boyd," said the noble King, "of whom is Ettrick Forest held?""Ettrick Forest is the fairest forest that ever man saw. There are doe and roe and hart and hind and wild beasts in plenty; there's a fine castle of lime and stone standing there pleasantly, and in the forefront of the castle two unicorns all fine to see, with a picture of a knight and a lady, and the green holly above their brows. There the Outlaw keeps a royal company—five hundred merry men, all gaily clad in Lincoln green, and the Outlaw and his lady in purple. Surely they live right royally. He says that the forest is his own, that he won it from the English, and that as he won it, so will he keep it against all the Kings in Christendom.""Go warn me Perthshire and Angus," cried the King, "go warn Fife up and down and the three Lothians, and harness my own horse, for I will myself to Ettrick Forest."When the Outlaw heard that the King was coming to his country to conquer him and his lands:"I make a vow," said he. "I make a vow, and that truly, that the King's coming shall be a dear one."Then he called messengers and sent them in haste hither and thither."One of you go to Halliday, Laird of Corehead, my sister's son. Tell him to come quickly to my aid, for that the King comes to Ettrick Forest, and we shall all be landless.""What news? What news, man, from thy master?" said Halliday."No news thou carest to hear; I come seeking your aid; the King is his mortal enemy.""By my troth, I am sorry for that; if Murray lose fair Ettrick Forest, the King will take Moffatdale from me. I'll meet him with five hundred men, and more if need be, and before he gets to Ettrick Forest, we will all die on Newark Lee."Another messenger went from the Outlaw to Andrew Murray of Cockpool, his dear cousin, to desire him to come and help him with all the power he could get together."It is hard," said Andrew Murray, "very hard to go against a crowned King and put my lands in jeopardy; but if I come not by day I shall be there at night."A messenger went also to Sir James Murray of Traquair."What news? What news, man, from your master to me?" said James Murray."What need I tell? Well ye know that the King is his mortal enemy and that he is coming to Ettrick Forest to make ye all landless men.""By my troth," said James Murray, "with yonder Outlaw will I live and die; the King has long ago given away my lands, so matters can be no worse for me."So the King came on with five thousand men through Caddon Ford. They saw the dark forest before them and thought it awesome to look upon, and Lord Hamilton begged that the King should take counsel of his nobles and should desire the Outlaw to meet him at Permanscore with four of his company and that the King should go there also accompanied by five Earls. "If he refuse to do that, we'll conquer both him and his lands; there shall never a Murray after him hold lands free in Ettrick Forest."The Laird of Buckscleuth, a man stalwart and stern, thought it beneath the state and dignity of a King to go and meet an Outlaw. "The man that lives in yonder forest, lives by robbery and felony! wherefore, ride on, my liege; we will follow thee with fire and sword; or if your courtier lords fall back, our Borderers will make the onset."But the King spoke forth, casting a wily glance around. "Thou mayest holdthytongue, Sir Walter Scott, nor speak more of robbery and felony, for if every honest man had his own cattle thy clan would be a poor one."The King then called to him a gentleman, a royal banner-bearer, James Hoppringle of Torsonse by name, who came and knelt before him. "Welcome, James Pringle of Torsonse, ye must take a message for me; go to yonder Outlaw Murray, where he bideth so boldly; bid him meet me at Permanscore with four of his company, I myself will come to him with five Earls. If he refuse, bid him look for no favour from me. There shall never a Murray after him have free land in Ettrick Forest."So James Pringle came before the Outlaw. "Welcome James Pringle of Torsonse! What message bringst thou from the King to me?""He bids ye meet him at Permanscore, with four of your company, and he will go there himself with no more than five Earls. If you refuse, he will cast down your bonny castle, make a widow of your gay lady, and loose on you the bloodhound Borderers to harry you with fire and sword. Never shall a Murray after you hold free land in Ettrick Forest.""It goes hard with me," said the Outlaw; "judge if it go not very hard. I mind not the losing of myself, but when I think of my offspring after me, my merry men's lives, my widow's tears, that is the pang that pinches me. Yonder castle will be right dreary when I am laid in bloody earth. Auld Halliday, young Halliday, ye two shall go with me, with Andrew and James Murray."When they came before the King they fell on their knees. "Mercy, mercy, noble King, for His sake who died on the Cross.""Such mercy shall ye have; ye shall be hanged on the gallows.""May God forbid, and may your mercy be better than that, else, when ye come to the port of Edinburgh, ye shall be thinly guarded. These lands of fair Ettrick Forest I won from the Southrons, and as I won them so will I keep them, against all the Kings in Christendom."The nobles round the King thought it a pity that he should die."Grant me mercy, sovereign prince, and extend me favour. If thou wilt make me Sheriff of Ettrick Forest, and my offspring after me, I will give thee the keys of my castle, and the blessing of my gay lady.""If thou wilt give me thy castle keys and the blessing of thy gay lady, I'll make thee Sheriff of Ettrick Forest as long as the trees grow upward, and never shalt thou forfeit it, if thou be not a traitor to the King.""But Prince, what shall become of my men? When I go back they will call me traitor. I had rather lose both life and land than be rebuked by my merry-men.""I will pardon them all if they amend their lives. Name thy lands where they lie, and I will render them back to thee.""Philiphaugh and Lewinhope are mine by right, Newark, Foulshiells and Tinnies I won by my bow and arrow. I have farms at Newark Lee and Hangingshaw which are mine by birth, and I have many farms in the Forest whose names I do not know." Thereupon he gave the King the key of his castle, with the blessing of his fair lady, and the King made him Sheriff of Ettrick Forest for as long as the trees should grow upward, never to be forfeited while he and his descendants remained faithful to the King. Much of this land belongs to Murray's heirs, even to this day."Wha ever heard in, in ony times,Sicken an outlaw in his degré,Sic favour got befor a King,As did the Outlaw Murray of the Foreste free?"Chapter XXIIIJohnie Armstrong"When Johnie came before the King,With all his men so brave to see,The King he moved his bonnet to him;He knew he was a King as well as he."In 1529 James V. visited the Border country to execute justice on the wild freebooters. Of these the chief was Johnie Armstrong of Gilnockie, who levied blackmail for many miles round his residence at the Hollows, and spread the terror of his name as far as Newcastle. Acting on the evil counsel of false friends, Johnie presented himself before the King in all the pomp of Border chivalry.According to the old ballad the King wrote with his own hand a loving letter to Johnie Armstrong, Laird of Gilnockie, bidding him come and speak with him speedily. Whereupon the Elliots and Armstrongs convened a meeting, to which they came in gallant company, and decided to ride out to meet the King and bring him to Gilnockie."Make ready rabbits and capon and venison in plenty," said Johnie, "and we'll welcome home our royal King to dine at Gilnockie."So they ran out their horses on Langholm Down, and broke their spears, and the ladies, looking from their high windows, cried "God send our men safe home again."When Johnie came before the King with all his brave fellows, the King took off his bonnet to him as to an equal."My name is Johnie Armstrong," said the freebooter, "your subject, my liege; let me find grace for my loyal men and me."But the King cried, "Away with thee, thou traitor, out of my sight! Never have I granted a traitor's life, nor will I now begin with thee!""Grant me my life, my King, and I will give thee a bonnie gift—four-and-twenty milk-white steeds, newly foaled—I'll give thee four-and-twenty milk-white steeds that prance and neigh at a spear, and as much English gold as four of their broad backs are able to bear.""Away with thee, thou traitor, out of my sight! Never have I granted a traitor's life, nor will I now begin with thee!""Grant me my life, my King, and I will give thee a bonnie gift—four-and-twenty mills that are working all the year round for me—four-and-twenty mills that shall go for thee all the year round, and as much good red wheat as all their happers are able to bear.""Away with thee, thou traitor, out of my sight! Never have I granted a traitor's life, nor will I now begin with thee!""Grant me my life, my King, and I will give thee a great gift—four-and-twenty sisters' sons shall fight for thee though all should flee.""Away with thee, thou traitor, out of my sight! Never have I granted a traitor's life, nor will I now begin with thee!""Grant me my life, my King, and I will give thee a brave gift. All between here and Newcastle town shall pay thee yearly rent.""Away with thee, thou traitor, out of my sight! Never have I granted a traitor's life, nor will I now begin with thee!""Ye lie, calling me traitor; ye lie now, King, although ye be King and Prince. Well dare I say it, that all my life I have loved naught but honesty, a fleet horse, a fair woman, and two bonny dogs to kill a deer; yet had I lived for another hundred years, England should have still found me meal and malt and plenty of beef and mutton. Never would a Scot's wife have been able to say that I robbed her of aught. But surely it is great folly to seek for hot water beneath cold ice. I have asked grace of a graceless King, but there is none for me and my men. But had I known before I came how unkind thou wouldst prove to me, I would have kept the Borderside in spite of thee and thy nobles. How glad would be England's King if he but knew that I was taken, for once I slew his sister's son and broke a tree over his breastbone."Now Johnie had a girdle round his waist embroidered and spangled with burning gold, very beautiful to look upon, and from his hat hung down nine tassels, each worth three hundred pounds. "What wants that knave that a King should have, but the sword of honour and the crown?" cried the King."Where did ye get those tassels, Johnie, that shine so bravely above your brow?""I got them fighting in the field where thou darest not be," replied Johnie. "And had I now my horse and good harness, and were I riding as I am used to do, this meeting between us should have been told these hundred years. God be with thee, my brother Christy, long shalt thou live Laird of Mangertown on the Border-side ere thou see thy brother ride by again. God be withthee, my son Christy, where thou sitst on thy nurse's knee; thou'lt ne'er be a better man than thy father, though thou live a hundred years. Farewell, bonnie Hall of Gilnockie, standing strong on Eskside; if I had lived but seven more years, I would have gilded thee round about."Then Johnie Armstrong was slain by the King's orders at Carlinrigg with all his gallant company, and Scotland's heart was sad to see the death of so many brave men, who had saved their country from the Englishmen. None were so brave as they, and while Johnie lived on the Border-side no Englishman durst come near his stronghold.Chapter XXIVThe Lament of the Border WidowHow King James V. of Scotland, in 1529, set forth to strike terror into the Border freebooters, has been already told in the account of Johnie Armstrong. A less celebrated moss-trooper, Cockburne of Henderland, was hanged by the pitiless King over the gate of his own tower. The wife of Cockburne loved him most dearly, and when she found the King would show no mercy, fled away to the rocks behind the castle whilst the cruel sentence was carried out. She sat by a roaring torrent of the Henderland burn, the noise of which in her ears drowned the savage shouts of the King's soldiers. The beautiful song which describes the grief of this loving woman is one of the gems of ancient poetry, and is here printed entire.THE LAMENT OF THE BORDER WIDOWMy love he built me a bonny bower,And clad it a' wi' lilye flower,A brawer bower ye ne'er did see,Than my true love he built for me.There came a man by middle day,He spied his sport, and went away;And brought the King that very night,Who brake my bower, and slew my knight.He slew my knight to me sae dear;He slew my knight, and took his gear;My servants all for life did flee,And left me in extremitie.I sew'd his sheet, making my moan;I watch'd the corpse, myself alone;I watch'd his body, night and day;No living creature came that way.I took his body on my back,And whiles I gaed, and whiles I sat;I digg'd a grave, and laid him in,And happ'd him with the sod sae green.But think na ye my heart was sair,When I laid the moul' on his yellow hair;O think na ye my heart was wae,When I turn'd about, away to gae?Nae living man I'll love again,Since that my lovely knight was slain,Wi' ae lock of his yellow hair,I'll chain my heart for evermair.[image]"I sew'd his sheet, making my moan; I watch'd the corpse, myself alone."Chapter XXVThe Raid of the KersThe spirited ballad that describes this raid is quite modern, since it was written by Hogg, "the Ettrick Shepherd," in 1830. But the rash raid it describes took place in 1549. The Kers were an important Border family, the leaders of whom afterwards became Earls of Roxburgh. Sir Andrew Ker was warden of the Border at the time of the raid, but he proved that it took place without his consent. The Kers were all left-handed men, and puzzled their enemies by their left-handed swordsmanship. Even to-day in some parts of the borders a left-handed man is called "Ker-handed."On a fine September evening Tam Ker rode out, with fifty in his company. They were armed for a fight and their swords were keen; they rode by the Maiden Crags and down the Osway burn, going carefully till the daylight closed, for they were soon in Northumberland. Their bold plan was to get down the valley of the Coquet even as far as Rothbury where Withrington, the English warden, kept a magnificent herd of cattle. They had one castle to pass, that of Biddleston, which had been held by the Selby family since the reign of Henry III., and still belongs to them to this day. Biddleston Castle guarded the Allanton or Alwinton ford, where the Alwin stream enters the Coquet. So they sent the reckless Mark Ker first, to scout along by the ford, and told him to set up marks on the cairns to show his progress. Having nothing else to mark with, he tore the shirt off his back, and left strips of it on the cairns. At the ford a sentry challenged him, and he answered that he had a message for Withrington. The sentry demanded his sealed warrant, and the Scot drew his sword. They fought bravely and long before the Englishman was killed, and the Scot marvelled that a common soldier should so withstand him, for he was the best swordsman of his race. On he galloped, on and on, till he met a comely maiden, and addressing her he tried to imitate the Northumberland speech, saying that he had lost his way. She told him at once that she knew he was a Scot, but so also was she. She had been taken captive, but word had came by an English spy that the Kers were out upon a raid, and while the English had set a hundred soldiers to guard their cattle she had slipped away to warn the Scots and to return with them. Being a gallant after the manner of that day, he sprang from his horse, kissed her, and invited her to mount his saddle even if he had to run beside till he could capture another steed. But an English soldier came up and warned him roughly off the road. Mark Ker had been brought up to answer rough words with rougher blows; out leapt his sword, and he cut the rude words short by slashing the man's head off. Then he disguised the maid in the dead man's clothes, and they retraced their steps that he might warn his companions. They very soon came upon them, and all together hid in the lowest dell of the Larbottle burn while they made their plans. Tam Ker, with twenty of the men, was to draw off the English, while Mark with thirty others slipped round and drove off the cattle unperceived. This was done, and till after midnight, Tam, aided by the darkness and by the difficulties of the wild locality, held the English at bay.Then he heard the bugle signal, and knew that Mark was well on the road with the beasts, and that he must follow quickly. But Withrington also guessed what the signal meant, and pursued with all the speed he knew. Mark had not long crossed the ford at Biddleston before the English were on him. First Mark and Withrington fought in single combat, hand to hand, all their men watching eagerly; it was still very dark, but the clash of sword against sword lit the air with sparks. Withrington was badly wounded, but Mark was killed. With desperate shouts the Scots fell upon the English; then up came Tam and his men from behind to help the Scots, but the Captain of Biddleston had also been awakened, and galloped down with his men to aid the English. Tam smote his head off with his sword, but the horse galloped on with his headless body right into the ranks of the Scots. They thought it must be a demon and began to scatter in full flight to the Border. Tam was slain, trying to follow them, and his men, seeing that they had work enough to gallop for their lives, slew the cattle they could no longer hope to steal. On and on the hard-pressed remnant spurred their weary horses. It was daylight now, and the English along the road shot arrows at them as they galloped past. Out of fifty-one hardy, healthy Kers who had started forth in the raid, only seventeen, weary and wounded, saw their homes again.And back in the south country, the comely Scottish maiden lay dead across the breast of the gallant Mark, their hearts' blood mingling in a common stream. Small wonder that a Scot should make a ballad of the story and that Borderers should sing it even to this day.Chapter XXVIMerrie CarlisleThe city of Carlisle stands in the midst of a beautiful and fertile district with pleasant but not too steep hills around. In the old days an easy water-supply was a first essential, and at Carlisle three rivers meet, the Caldew and the Petterill running here into the broad stream of the Eden. These three rivers almost enclose the ground upon which the city is built, so that it is most probable that there was an ancient British settlement upon so advantageous a site, before the Roman invasion. Our earliest record, however, goes back no further than Roman days, and it is certain there was then a Roman city here calledLuguvallium(the trench of the legion). Even to-day, when new gas-pipes are being laid in the ground, it is by no means rare to dig up Roman relics. The long Roman name became gradually corrupted into "Luel," or "Liel," and the Britons added their word "Caer," which means a city, hence "Caer-luel"—an earlier form of the modern Carlisle. The Roman city stood, as might be expected, by the great Roman wall, guarding the spot where the wall crossed the river Eden. And visitors may see to-day that the centre of Carlisle consists of a market-place with two main streets leading therefrom, the usual plan in cities of Roman origin.Carlisle was destined to have a stormy history. Draw a line from the Solway eastward, straight through Carlisle, and it will be seen that here the mainland of Britain is about at its narrowest, hardly so much as seventy miles wide, as the crow flies. Note, too, that the wild hills of the Pennines and the Cheviots fill in most of this narrow district, and that the mainland of Scotland strikes sharply off to the west. It is plain from these facts that Carlisle commands the main road between Scotland and England, and they provide the reason why at the present day seven different railways, most of them important ones, run their trains into Carlisle station. The very same reason was responsible for the fact that in the good old times no English town was more often burnt down by enemies than "Merrie Carlisle."Even in Roman days, during the reign of Nero, Carlisle was burnt down at least once by the wild Picts, who were brave enough to venture against the well-armed troops of Rome. After the Romans left Britain this town was one of the strongholds of King Arthur; to be sure, nothing very definite is known about this romantic king, but the old ballads tell us that he was victorious over Gauls, Dacians, Spaniards, and Romans. This sounds very unlikely to those who do not realise that when Rome called home her best men for her own defence she may have left behind many rough soldiers, of various nations, to guard the wall. Although we know nothing about King Arthur save what is vague and legendary, we do know that the Roman legions were recruited from all the provinces of the empire. Cumberland had many connexions with King Arthur; within twenty miles of Carlisle, near Penrith, is a big round hill called "King Arthur's Table"; while nearer still, on the Penrith and Carlisle road, is shown the spot where stood Tearne-Wadling Lake and Castle, where King Arthur was bewitched and taken prisoner by the "foul, discourteous knight," only to be released provided one of his men would consent to marry the hideous lady with hair like serpents! When at last Sir Gawaine married this hag for his King's sake, she, of course, changed at once into a beautiful young woman! This does not sound very convincing, it is true, but in the old days many tales just as unlikely were told of famous men. At any rate the ballad begins with the lilting line:—"King Arthur lives in merrie Carleile,"and all that concerns us at the moment is that perhaps he really did live there, and did do some very real fighting along the debateable line of the wall.We next learn of Carlisle that King Egfrid of Northumbria rebuilt the city about the year 675, wherefore we can only suppose that it had suffered its somewhat usual fate, perhaps at the hands of that savage Saxon warrior called The Burner. But in any case, Carlisle never belonged to the Northumbrians for any considerable space of time, but was the capital of the Celtic or Welsh kingdom of Cumbria, from which the present name of Cumberland is derived.In 875 the Danes had a turn at pillaging and harrying Carlisle, which was again in sorry plight. Both Cumbria and Northumbria were faring very badly in the struggle between the various kingdoms which then divided up Britain, and for a while it looked as if the energetic kings of the Scots would annex both these northern dominions. But the coming of the strong-handed Normans altered all this; and by far the most noteworthy event in the history of Carlisle was the fact that during 1092 and 1093 William Rufus seized Cumberland, and for the first time added it definitely to England.Recognising at once the strength and value of Carlisle, Rufus caused a strong Norman castle to be built where the old Roman fort used to stand. To-day, despite the many rough adventures which have befallen this northern city, there yet remain portions of William Rufus's castle, side by side with fragments of the old Roman walls. Many of the modern buildings put up in King George's day are crumbling, but the old Norman and Roman remains are firm as a rock!The castle was strengthened by King Henry I., but this did not prevent its seizure in 1135 by King David of Scotland, who added to it in turn. The Scots held the keep till 1157, when it was retaken by Henry II., but a few years later, in 1173, William the Lion, King of Scotland, besieged it, and for the next fifty years it changed hands several times, according to the fortunes of war. It is significant that a main street in the northern part of Carlisle is called "Scotch Street," while another in the southern part is called "English Street!"Edward I. held a parliament here after defeating Wallace at Falkirk; and it was from Carlisle that this English King conducted his later operations against Scotland. It is a pathetic picture, that of this stern warrior in his old age, on his last march, trying to carry out his pet scheme of uniting the entire island under one rule. He was so ill that he had to be carried in a litter as far as Carlisle. Finding himself again so near the border, he felt the old fire glow within him, and sprang upon his horse—but at Burgh-on-Sands, on the shore of the Solway, whence he could view the goal of his ambition, the brave King died.During the next thirty years Carlisle was frequently attacked by the Scots, but they were usually defeated. In 1337, however, they partly, and in 1345 almost entirely burnt it down. Again in 1380 they burnt part of what had been rebuilt! Had there been fire insurance in these wild days, the premiums in Carlisle would have been heavy!After the Wars of the Roses, the city seemed to settle down somewhat, and was chiefly known on the Border as the place where Scottish freebooters were hanged if caught. In one of the Border villages there is a famous churchyard where of old only the graves of women and children were to be seen. The explanation was given to a passing traveller by an old woman, who said that the men were all buried "in merrie Carlisle," meaning, that is, that they had all been hanged there!In 1537 there was a rising in England known as the "Pilgrimage of Grace," in opposition to the savage policy of Henry's minister, Thomas Cromwell, and no less than eighty thousand insurgents are said to have attacked Carlisle; but after much fighting the rebels were defeated and seventy-four of their leaders were executed on the city walls.When Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned in Carlisle in 1568 it was vainly besieged by a force that sought to rescue her; but less than thirty years afterwards, in 1596, by a bold stroke of daring, Lord Scott of Buccleuch succeeded in surprising the castle and in liberating the well-known freebooter, "Kinmont Willie."When King James united England and Scotland, the troubles of Carlisle might have been thought to be over. But in the civil war between King and Parliament it was again a storm centre, and was held alternately by each of the parties.The last warlike operations against this much-besieged city were undertaken in 1745, when it was first taken by Prince Charlie, who made a triumphal entry without any serious fighting, and afterwards retaken almost as easily by the cruel Duke of Cumberland, whose entry into the place was followed, as usual, by a series of executions.Among those who suffered was Sir A. Primrose, a gallant ancestor of the present Lord Rosebery. The victims were executed, with the cruelties of the old law against treason, on the celebrated Gallows Hill, at Harraby, and were buried in nameless graves in the Kirkyard of St Cuthbert's. Passing down the Botchergate (the London Road), past the site of the old Roman cemetery, the wayfarer may see Gallows Hill rise where a deep cut has been made to avoid a steep rise in the road. It was just outside the boundary of old Carlisle, and executions were witnessed from the walls, by men and women alike. Climb the hill—it is worth while. The little river Petteril sparkles at our feet; the view, fresh and green, stretches away nobly to the Pennines and the Border Hills. Keep a warm thought in your heart for all the gallant fellows who met death bravely in this place.No history of Carlisle could omit to mention the Cathedral. English cathedrals are shaped like a cross lying on the ground; the long stem of the cross is thenaveof the cathedral; the two arms are thetransepts; and the upper end that continues the main stem is thechoir. Where choir, nave and transepts meet, thetowerrises. But unlike every other English cathedral, that of Carlisle has height and width, but is too short in length, two-thirds of the nave having been hurled down by the Scots!Every cathedral has its history written in its stones, for those who know how to read it. That of Carlisle shows a stormy history, stormier than any other. It is not a peaceful building carried out very much in one style and undisturbed. It is a building full of signs of disturbance, the builders of which were interrupted in their plans by war and frequently had their building seriously damaged by their enemies. It is a mixture of styles, a mass of re-buildings and afterthoughts, but for that very reason it is a fitting symbol of the much-harassed city. With all its signs of storm and stress it has much beauty, and possesses the finest window in all England, one of the finest in the world. Just outside the Cathedral is a noble stretch of the old West Wall of the city, which gives a vivid idea of its strength in the old days.The bishops of Carlisle live at Rose Castle, five miles south of the Cathedral. This has been their residence for over six hundred years. No doubt they thought it advisable not to live in the "merrie city"!In this castle King Edward I. stayed. It was once partly burnt by Bruce, and again partly by the Puritans, but this is a comparatively clean record for such a district! In 1745 Captain Macdonald and his Scots came down to besiege it, but hearing that the bishop's baby daughter was about to be christened, the gallant captain would not let warfare spoil so peaceful a ceremony, and not only withdrew his men, but also left a white cockade behind him as a sign that the place was not to be molested. In all this he showed that true courtesy that always marks the real Highland gentleman.Standing to-day in this bustling, breezy, pleasant little city, it is not easy to realise the wild scenes it has witnessed. The charming rivers that hem it in show no traces of the bloodshed of the past. Yet here have contended painted Pict and war-trained Roman; here the most skilful leaders of the Celts, Saxons, and Danes have led their brave and sturdy men to battle; here Norman knight has fought with hardy Scot, and fierce Border factions have wrangled and sought speedy justice; Puritan has fought Cavalier, and Jacobite has faced Hanoverian; kings, generals, and warriors of many centuries have found a fitting meeting-place before or behind the walls of Carlisle.An open, airy, quaint city. There is not very much that is old in it, for the old was not allowed to stand long enough! But on the top of its principal hill the tall truncated Cathedral presents a picturesque figure, and if we stand there or by the castle the eye commands fine, ancient walls and very delightful distances. It is a place of lingering memories, and if these are chiefly of strife and bloodshed we do not forget that to the Border folk the city was "Merrie Carlisle."
VI
And up then rose the Provost—A brave old man was he,Of ancient name, and knightly fame,And chivalrous degree.He ruled our city like a LordWho brooked no equal here,And ever for the townsmen's rightsStood up 'gainst prince and peer.And he had seen the Scottish hostMarch from the Borough muir,With music-storm and clamorous shout,And all the din that thunders outWhen youth's of victory sure.But yet a dearer thought had he;—For, with a father's pride,He saw his last remaining sonGo forth by Randolph's side,With casque on head and spur on heel,All keen to do and dare;And proudly did that gallant boyDunedin's banner bear.Oh! woeful now was the old man's look,And he spake right heavily—"Now, Randolph, tell thy tidings,However sharp they be!Woe is written on thy visage,Death is looking from thy face;Speak! though it be of overthrow—It cannot be disgrace!"
And up then rose the Provost—A brave old man was he,Of ancient name, and knightly fame,And chivalrous degree.He ruled our city like a LordWho brooked no equal here,And ever for the townsmen's rightsStood up 'gainst prince and peer.And he had seen the Scottish hostMarch from the Borough muir,With music-storm and clamorous shout,And all the din that thunders outWhen youth's of victory sure.But yet a dearer thought had he;—For, with a father's pride,He saw his last remaining sonGo forth by Randolph's side,With casque on head and spur on heel,All keen to do and dare;And proudly did that gallant boyDunedin's banner bear.Oh! woeful now was the old man's look,And he spake right heavily—"Now, Randolph, tell thy tidings,However sharp they be!Woe is written on thy visage,Death is looking from thy face;Speak! though it be of overthrow—It cannot be disgrace!"
And up then rose the Provost—
A brave old man was he,
Of ancient name, and knightly fame,
And chivalrous degree.
He ruled our city like a Lord
Who brooked no equal here,
And ever for the townsmen's rights
Stood up 'gainst prince and peer.
And he had seen the Scottish host
March from the Borough muir,
With music-storm and clamorous shout,
And all the din that thunders out
When youth's of victory sure.
But yet a dearer thought had he;—
For, with a father's pride,
He saw his last remaining son
Go forth by Randolph's side,
With casque on head and spur on heel,
All keen to do and dare;
And proudly did that gallant boy
Dunedin's banner bear.
Oh! woeful now was the old man's look,
And he spake right heavily—
"Now, Randolph, tell thy tidings,
However sharp they be!
Woe is written on thy visage,
Death is looking from thy face;
Speak! though it be of overthrow—
It cannot be disgrace!"
VII
Right bitter was the agonyThat wrung that soldier proud;Thrice did he strive to answer,And thrice he groaned aloud.Then he gave the riven bannerTo the old man's shaking hand,Saying—"That is all I bring yeFrom the bravest of the land!Ay! ye may look upon it—It was guarded well and long,By your brothers and your children,By the valiant and the strong.One by one they fell around it,As the archers laid them low,Grimly dying, still unconquered,With their faces to the foe.Ay! ye may well look upon it—There is more than honour there,Else, be sure, I had not brought itFrom the field of dark despair.Never yet was royal bannerSteeped in such a costly dye;It hath lain upon a bosomWhere no other shroud shall lie.Sirs! I charge you, keep it holy;Keep it as a sacred thing,For the stain ye see upon itWas the life-blood of your King!"
Right bitter was the agonyThat wrung that soldier proud;Thrice did he strive to answer,And thrice he groaned aloud.Then he gave the riven bannerTo the old man's shaking hand,Saying—"That is all I bring yeFrom the bravest of the land!Ay! ye may look upon it—It was guarded well and long,By your brothers and your children,By the valiant and the strong.One by one they fell around it,As the archers laid them low,Grimly dying, still unconquered,With their faces to the foe.Ay! ye may well look upon it—There is more than honour there,Else, be sure, I had not brought itFrom the field of dark despair.Never yet was royal bannerSteeped in such a costly dye;It hath lain upon a bosomWhere no other shroud shall lie.Sirs! I charge you, keep it holy;Keep it as a sacred thing,For the stain ye see upon itWas the life-blood of your King!"
Right bitter was the agony
That wrung that soldier proud;
Thrice did he strive to answer,
And thrice he groaned aloud.
Then he gave the riven banner
To the old man's shaking hand,
Saying—"That is all I bring ye
From the bravest of the land!
Ay! ye may look upon it—
It was guarded well and long,
By your brothers and your children,
By the valiant and the strong.
One by one they fell around it,
As the archers laid them low,
Grimly dying, still unconquered,
With their faces to the foe.
Ay! ye may well look upon it—
There is more than honour there,
Else, be sure, I had not brought it
From the field of dark despair.
Never yet was royal banner
Steeped in such a costly dye;
It hath lain upon a bosom
Where no other shroud shall lie.
Sirs! I charge you, keep it holy;
Keep it as a sacred thing,
For the stain ye see upon it
Was the life-blood of your King!"
VIII
Woe and woe and lamentation!What a piteous cry was there!Widows, maidens, mothers, children,Shrieking, sobbing in despair!Through the streets the death-word rushes,Spreading terror, sweeping on."Jesu Christ! our King has fallen—O Great God, King James is gone!Holy mother Mary, shield us,Thou who erst did lose thy Son!O the blackest day for ScotlandThat she ever knew before!O our King—the good, the noble,Shall we see him never more?Woe to us, and woe to Scotland!O our sons, our sons and men!Surely some have 'scaped the Southron,Surely some will come again!"
Woe and woe and lamentation!What a piteous cry was there!Widows, maidens, mothers, children,Shrieking, sobbing in despair!Through the streets the death-word rushes,Spreading terror, sweeping on."Jesu Christ! our King has fallen—O Great God, King James is gone!Holy mother Mary, shield us,Thou who erst did lose thy Son!O the blackest day for ScotlandThat she ever knew before!O our King—the good, the noble,Shall we see him never more?Woe to us, and woe to Scotland!O our sons, our sons and men!Surely some have 'scaped the Southron,Surely some will come again!"
Woe and woe and lamentation!
What a piteous cry was there!
Widows, maidens, mothers, children,
Shrieking, sobbing in despair!
Through the streets the death-word rushes,
Spreading terror, sweeping on.
"Jesu Christ! our King has fallen—
O Great God, King James is gone!
Holy mother Mary, shield us,
Thou who erst did lose thy Son!
O the blackest day for Scotland
That she ever knew before!
O our King—the good, the noble,
Shall we see him never more?
Woe to us, and woe to Scotland!
O our sons, our sons and men!
Surely some have 'scaped the Southron,
Surely some will come again!"
Randolph Murray describes how the monarch lies dead on the field with his nobles round him.
"All so thick they lay together,When the stars lit up the sky,That I knew not who were stricken,Or who yet remained to die."
"All so thick they lay together,When the stars lit up the sky,That I knew not who were stricken,Or who yet remained to die."
"All so thick they lay together,
When the stars lit up the sky,
That I knew not who were stricken,
Or who yet remained to die."
A hollow knell is rung and the miserere is sung, and all is terror and disorder until the Provost rouses them.
"If our King be taken from us,We are left to guard his son.* * * * *Up! and haste ye through the city,Stir the burghers stout and true!Gather all our scattered people,Fling the banner out once more—Randolph Murray! do thou bear it,As it erst was borne before:Never Scottish heart will leave it,When they see their monarch's gore!"
"If our King be taken from us,We are left to guard his son.* * * * *Up! and haste ye through the city,Stir the burghers stout and true!Gather all our scattered people,Fling the banner out once more—Randolph Murray! do thou bear it,As it erst was borne before:Never Scottish heart will leave it,When they see their monarch's gore!"
"If our King be taken from us,
We are left to guard his son.
* * * * *
* * * * *
Up! and haste ye through the city,
Stir the burghers stout and true!
Gather all our scattered people,
Fling the banner out once more—
Randolph Murray! do thou bear it,
As it erst was borne before:
Never Scottish heart will leave it,
When they see their monarch's gore!"
Chapter XXI
Graeme and Bewick
Good Lord Graeme and Sir Robert Bewick were friends. They met one day in Carlisle, and went arm in arm to the wine, and, as was too oft the custom of these days, they stayed and drank till they were both merry. Good Lord Graeme took up the cup. "Sir Robert, and here's to thee!" he said, "and here's to our two sons at home, for they like us best in our own country."
"O were your son a lad like mine," answered Bewick, boastfully, "and learnt some books that he could read, they might be two brothers in arms, and lord it over the Borderside.
'But your son's a lad, and he's but bad,And billie[#] to my son he cannot be.'
'But your son's a lad, and he's but bad,And billie[#] to my son he cannot be.'
'But your son's a lad, and he's but bad,
And billie[#] to my son he cannot be.'
[#] Comrade, or brother-in-arms.
You sent him to school, and he would not learn; you bought him books, and he would not read!"
Lord Graeme called angrily for the reckoning. "My blessing shall he never earn," said he, "till I see how his arm can defend his head." He threw down a crown, and went to the stable, took his horse, and rode home. "Welcome, my old father," said his son, Christie Graeme, "but where were ye so long from home?" "I have been at Carlisle town, and a shamed man I am by thee," answered his father with a black look; "I have been at Carlisle town, where Sir Robert Bewick met me. He says you are but a bad, wild youth, and can never be billie to his boy. I sent you to the school, and you would not learn. I bought you books, and you would not read; therefore you shall never have my blessing till I see you save your head in fight with young Bewick." "Now God forbid, my old father, that ever such a thing should be! Billie Bewick was my master, and I his scholar, in spite of the pains he wasted in teaching me." "O hold thy tongue, thou foolish lad! If thou dost not soon end this quarrel, there's my glove, I'll fight with thee myself."
Then Christie Graeme stooped low. "Father, put on your glove again, the wind has blown it from your hand."
"What's that, thou sayst, thou limmer loon?How darest thou stand to speak to me?If thou do not end this quarrel soon,There's my right hand, thou'lt fight with me!"
"What's that, thou sayst, thou limmer loon?How darest thou stand to speak to me?If thou do not end this quarrel soon,There's my right hand, thou'lt fight with me!"
"What's that, thou sayst, thou limmer loon?
How darest thou stand to speak to me?
If thou do not end this quarrel soon,
There's my right hand, thou'lt fight with me!"
Then went Christie to his chamber, to consider what should happen. Should he fight with his own father, or with his brother-in-arms, Bewick?
"If I should kill my billie dear,God's blessing I shall never win;But if I strike at my auld father,I think 'twould be a mortal sin.But if I kill my billie dearIt is God's will, so let it be;But I make a vow, ere I go from home,That I shall be the next man's die."
"If I should kill my billie dear,God's blessing I shall never win;But if I strike at my auld father,I think 'twould be a mortal sin.But if I kill my billie dearIt is God's will, so let it be;But I make a vow, ere I go from home,That I shall be the next man's die."
"If I should kill my billie dear,
God's blessing I shall never win;
But if I strike at my auld father,
I think 'twould be a mortal sin.
But if I kill my billie dear
It is God's will, so let it be;
But I make a vow, ere I go from home,
That I shall be the next man's die."
He put a good old jack or quilted doublet on his back, and on his head he put a cap of steel, and well did he become them with his sword and buckler by his side!
Now young Bewick had taken his father's sword under his arm, and walked about his father's close. He looked between himself and the sun, to see some approaching object, and was aware of a man in bright armour, riding that way most hastily.
"O who is yon, that comes this way,So hastily that hither came?I think it be my brother dear,I think it be young Christie Graeme.Your welcome here, my billie dear,And thrice you're welcome unto me."
"O who is yon, that comes this way,So hastily that hither came?I think it be my brother dear,I think it be young Christie Graeme.Your welcome here, my billie dear,And thrice you're welcome unto me."
"O who is yon, that comes this way,
So hastily that hither came?
I think it be my brother dear,
I think it be young Christie Graeme.
Your welcome here, my billie dear,
And thrice you're welcome unto me."
Christie explained that he was come to fight, that his father had been to Carlisle, and had met with the elder Bewick. He retailed what had passed, "and so I'll never earn my father's blessing, till he sees how my arm can guard my head in fight against thee."
"O God forbid, my billie dear,That ever such a thing should be!We'll take three men on either side,And see if we can our fathers agree."
"O God forbid, my billie dear,That ever such a thing should be!We'll take three men on either side,And see if we can our fathers agree."
"O God forbid, my billie dear,
That ever such a thing should be!
We'll take three men on either side,
And see if we can our fathers agree."
Christie shook his head. He knew that it was useless. "O hold thy tongue, billie Bewick. If thou'rt a man, as I'm sure thou art, come over the dyke and fight with me."
"But I have no harness, billie, as I see you have."
"As little harness as is on your back shall be on mine."
With that Christie threw off his coat of mail and cap of steel, stuck his spear into the ground, and tied his horse up to a tree. Bewick threw off his cloak, and cast aside his psalter book. He laid his hand upon the dyke, and vaulted over. The two fought for two long hours. The sweat dropped fast from them both, but not a drop of blood could be seen to satisfy the requirements of honour. At last Graeme hit Bewick under the left breast, and he fell to the ground wounded mortally.
"Rise up, rise up, now, billie dear,Arise and speak three words to me!Whether thou's gotten thy deadly wound,Or if God and good leeching[#] may succour thee?"
"Rise up, rise up, now, billie dear,Arise and speak three words to me!Whether thou's gotten thy deadly wound,Or if God and good leeching[#] may succour thee?"
"Rise up, rise up, now, billie dear,
Arise and speak three words to me!
Whether thou's gotten thy deadly wound,
Or if God and good leeching[#] may succour thee?"
[#] Doctoring.
Bewick groaned. "Get to horse, billie Graeme, and get thee hence speedily. Get thee out of this country—that none may know who has done this." "O have I slain thee, billie Bewick? But I made a vow, ere I came from home, that I would be the next man to die!" Thereupon he pitched his sword hilt downwards into a mole-hill, took a run of some three and twenty feet, and on his own sword's point he fell to the ground dead.
Then up came Sir Robert Bewick. "Rise up, my son," he said, "for I think you have got the victory."
"O hold your tongue, my father dear. Let me be spared your prideful talking. You might have drunken your wine in peace, and let me and my billie be! Go dig a grave, both wide and deep, and a grave to hold us both; but lay Christie Graeme on the sunny side, for full sure I know that the victory was to him."
"Alas," cried old Bewick, "I've lost the liveliest lad that ever was born unto my name." "Alas," quoth good Lord Graeme, "my loss is the greater.
'I've lost my hopes, I've lost my joy,I've lost the key, but and the lock;I durst have ridden the world around,Had Christie Graeme been at my back!'"
'I've lost my hopes, I've lost my joy,I've lost the key, but and the lock;I durst have ridden the world around,Had Christie Graeme been at my back!'"
'I've lost my hopes, I've lost my joy,
I've lost the key, but and the lock;
I durst have ridden the world around,
Had Christie Graeme been at my back!'"
Chapter XXII
The Song of the Outlaw Murray
"Word is gone to our noble king,In Edinburgh where that he lay,That there was an Outlaw in Ettrick ForestCounted him nought, nor all his Court so gay."
"Word is gone to our noble king,In Edinburgh where that he lay,That there was an Outlaw in Ettrick ForestCounted him nought, nor all his Court so gay."
"Word is gone to our noble king,
In Edinburgh where that he lay,
That there was an Outlaw in Ettrick Forest
Counted him nought, nor all his Court so gay."
The King mentioned in the ballad is supposed to have been either James IV. or James V. This places the date somewhere in the early part of the sixteenth century.
The Outlaw Murray and his lady kept royal state in Ettrick Forest. Here he lived with five hundred men, all gaily clad in livery of Lincoln green. His castle, built of lime and stone, stood fair and pleasantly in the midst of the Forest, surrounded by pine trees under which wandered many a hart and hind, many a doe and roe and other wild creatures. In the forefront of the castle stood two unicorns, with the picture of a knight and lady with green holly above their brows.
The King in Edinburgh heard of all this royal state and that the Outlaw in Ettrick Forest cared nought for the King of Scotland and his court.
"I make a vow," said the King, "that either I shall be King of Ettrick Forest, or the Outlaw shall be King of Scotland."
Then up spoke Lord Hamilton to the noble King, "my sovereign prince, take counsel of your nobles and of me. I counsel ye to send to the fine Outlaw and see if he will come and be your man and hold the Forest in fee from you. If he refuse, we will conquer both him and his lands, throw his castle down, and make a widow of his gay lady."
Then the King called to him James Boyd, son of the Earl of Arran, and when Boyd came and knelt before him, "Welcome, James Boyd," said the noble King; "you must go for me to Ettrick Forest where bides yonder Outlaw, ask him of whom he holds his lands, and who is his master, and desire him to come and be my man, and hold the Forest free from me. I will give him safe warrant to and from Edinburgh, and if he refuse we will conquer him and his lands, and throw down his castle, and make a widow of his gay lady; and hang his merry men pair by pair wherever we see them."
James Boyd took leave of the King and went blithely on his way, until he came to the fair Ettrick Forest, the first view of which he got coming down Birkendale Brae. He saw the doe and roe, the hart and hind and wild beasts in plenty, and heard blows ringing boldly, and arrows whizzing near by him.
He saw, too, the fair castle, the like of which he had never seen before, with the two gay unicorns on the forefront, and the picture of the knight and lady with the green holly above their brow.
Then he spied the five hundred men, all clad in livery of Lincoln green, and shooting with their bows on Newark Lee. In the midst of them was a knight armed from head to foot, mounted on a milk-white steed, with bended bow, all fine to look upon; whom Boyd knew at once to be the Outlaw himself.
"God save thee, brave Outlaw Murray, thy lady, and all thy chivalry!"
"Marry, thou art welcome, gentleman; thou seemst to be a King's messenger."
"The King of Scotland sent me here, good Outlaw, to know of whom you hold your lands, and who is your master."
"These lands aremine. I know no King in Christendom. I won this Forest from the English when neither the King nor his knights were there to see."
"The King desires that you come to Edinburgh, and hold the Forest then of him. If you refuse, he will conquer your lands and you, and he has vowed to throw down your castle, make a widow of your gay lady, and hang your knights pair by pair wherever he finds them."
"Ay, by my troth! I should indeed be far behind. Before the King should get my fair native land, many of his nobles would be cold, and their ladies right weary."
Then spoke the lady of the Outlaw, fair of face. "That an Outlaw should come before the King without my consent makes me fear much that there is treason. Bid him be good to his lords at home, for my lord shall ne'er see Edinburgh."
James Boyd took leave of the bold Outlaw and went back to Edinburgh, and when he came to the King, knelt lowly on his knee.
"Welcome, James Boyd," said the noble King, "of whom is Ettrick Forest held?"
"Ettrick Forest is the fairest forest that ever man saw. There are doe and roe and hart and hind and wild beasts in plenty; there's a fine castle of lime and stone standing there pleasantly, and in the forefront of the castle two unicorns all fine to see, with a picture of a knight and a lady, and the green holly above their brows. There the Outlaw keeps a royal company—five hundred merry men, all gaily clad in Lincoln green, and the Outlaw and his lady in purple. Surely they live right royally. He says that the forest is his own, that he won it from the English, and that as he won it, so will he keep it against all the Kings in Christendom."
"Go warn me Perthshire and Angus," cried the King, "go warn Fife up and down and the three Lothians, and harness my own horse, for I will myself to Ettrick Forest."
When the Outlaw heard that the King was coming to his country to conquer him and his lands:
"I make a vow," said he. "I make a vow, and that truly, that the King's coming shall be a dear one."
Then he called messengers and sent them in haste hither and thither.
"One of you go to Halliday, Laird of Corehead, my sister's son. Tell him to come quickly to my aid, for that the King comes to Ettrick Forest, and we shall all be landless."
"What news? What news, man, from thy master?" said Halliday.
"No news thou carest to hear; I come seeking your aid; the King is his mortal enemy."
"By my troth, I am sorry for that; if Murray lose fair Ettrick Forest, the King will take Moffatdale from me. I'll meet him with five hundred men, and more if need be, and before he gets to Ettrick Forest, we will all die on Newark Lee."
Another messenger went from the Outlaw to Andrew Murray of Cockpool, his dear cousin, to desire him to come and help him with all the power he could get together.
"It is hard," said Andrew Murray, "very hard to go against a crowned King and put my lands in jeopardy; but if I come not by day I shall be there at night."
A messenger went also to Sir James Murray of Traquair.
"What news? What news, man, from your master to me?" said James Murray.
"What need I tell? Well ye know that the King is his mortal enemy and that he is coming to Ettrick Forest to make ye all landless men."
"By my troth," said James Murray, "with yonder Outlaw will I live and die; the King has long ago given away my lands, so matters can be no worse for me."
So the King came on with five thousand men through Caddon Ford. They saw the dark forest before them and thought it awesome to look upon, and Lord Hamilton begged that the King should take counsel of his nobles and should desire the Outlaw to meet him at Permanscore with four of his company and that the King should go there also accompanied by five Earls. "If he refuse to do that, we'll conquer both him and his lands; there shall never a Murray after him hold lands free in Ettrick Forest."
The Laird of Buckscleuth, a man stalwart and stern, thought it beneath the state and dignity of a King to go and meet an Outlaw. "The man that lives in yonder forest, lives by robbery and felony! wherefore, ride on, my liege; we will follow thee with fire and sword; or if your courtier lords fall back, our Borderers will make the onset."
But the King spoke forth, casting a wily glance around. "Thou mayest holdthytongue, Sir Walter Scott, nor speak more of robbery and felony, for if every honest man had his own cattle thy clan would be a poor one."
The King then called to him a gentleman, a royal banner-bearer, James Hoppringle of Torsonse by name, who came and knelt before him. "Welcome, James Pringle of Torsonse, ye must take a message for me; go to yonder Outlaw Murray, where he bideth so boldly; bid him meet me at Permanscore with four of his company, I myself will come to him with five Earls. If he refuse, bid him look for no favour from me. There shall never a Murray after him have free land in Ettrick Forest."
So James Pringle came before the Outlaw. "Welcome James Pringle of Torsonse! What message bringst thou from the King to me?"
"He bids ye meet him at Permanscore, with four of your company, and he will go there himself with no more than five Earls. If you refuse, he will cast down your bonny castle, make a widow of your gay lady, and loose on you the bloodhound Borderers to harry you with fire and sword. Never shall a Murray after you hold free land in Ettrick Forest."
"It goes hard with me," said the Outlaw; "judge if it go not very hard. I mind not the losing of myself, but when I think of my offspring after me, my merry men's lives, my widow's tears, that is the pang that pinches me. Yonder castle will be right dreary when I am laid in bloody earth. Auld Halliday, young Halliday, ye two shall go with me, with Andrew and James Murray."
When they came before the King they fell on their knees. "Mercy, mercy, noble King, for His sake who died on the Cross."
"Such mercy shall ye have; ye shall be hanged on the gallows."
"May God forbid, and may your mercy be better than that, else, when ye come to the port of Edinburgh, ye shall be thinly guarded. These lands of fair Ettrick Forest I won from the Southrons, and as I won them so will I keep them, against all the Kings in Christendom."
The nobles round the King thought it a pity that he should die.
"Grant me mercy, sovereign prince, and extend me favour. If thou wilt make me Sheriff of Ettrick Forest, and my offspring after me, I will give thee the keys of my castle, and the blessing of my gay lady."
"If thou wilt give me thy castle keys and the blessing of thy gay lady, I'll make thee Sheriff of Ettrick Forest as long as the trees grow upward, and never shalt thou forfeit it, if thou be not a traitor to the King."
"But Prince, what shall become of my men? When I go back they will call me traitor. I had rather lose both life and land than be rebuked by my merry-men."
"I will pardon them all if they amend their lives. Name thy lands where they lie, and I will render them back to thee."
"Philiphaugh and Lewinhope are mine by right, Newark, Foulshiells and Tinnies I won by my bow and arrow. I have farms at Newark Lee and Hangingshaw which are mine by birth, and I have many farms in the Forest whose names I do not know." Thereupon he gave the King the key of his castle, with the blessing of his fair lady, and the King made him Sheriff of Ettrick Forest for as long as the trees should grow upward, never to be forfeited while he and his descendants remained faithful to the King. Much of this land belongs to Murray's heirs, even to this day.
"Wha ever heard in, in ony times,Sicken an outlaw in his degré,Sic favour got befor a King,As did the Outlaw Murray of the Foreste free?"
"Wha ever heard in, in ony times,Sicken an outlaw in his degré,Sic favour got befor a King,As did the Outlaw Murray of the Foreste free?"
"Wha ever heard in, in ony times,
Sicken an outlaw in his degré,
Sic favour got befor a King,
As did the Outlaw Murray of the Foreste free?"
Chapter XXIII
Johnie Armstrong
"When Johnie came before the King,With all his men so brave to see,The King he moved his bonnet to him;He knew he was a King as well as he."
"When Johnie came before the King,With all his men so brave to see,The King he moved his bonnet to him;He knew he was a King as well as he."
"When Johnie came before the King,
With all his men so brave to see,
The King he moved his bonnet to him;
He knew he was a King as well as he."
In 1529 James V. visited the Border country to execute justice on the wild freebooters. Of these the chief was Johnie Armstrong of Gilnockie, who levied blackmail for many miles round his residence at the Hollows, and spread the terror of his name as far as Newcastle. Acting on the evil counsel of false friends, Johnie presented himself before the King in all the pomp of Border chivalry.
According to the old ballad the King wrote with his own hand a loving letter to Johnie Armstrong, Laird of Gilnockie, bidding him come and speak with him speedily. Whereupon the Elliots and Armstrongs convened a meeting, to which they came in gallant company, and decided to ride out to meet the King and bring him to Gilnockie.
"Make ready rabbits and capon and venison in plenty," said Johnie, "and we'll welcome home our royal King to dine at Gilnockie."
So they ran out their horses on Langholm Down, and broke their spears, and the ladies, looking from their high windows, cried "God send our men safe home again."
When Johnie came before the King with all his brave fellows, the King took off his bonnet to him as to an equal.
"My name is Johnie Armstrong," said the freebooter, "your subject, my liege; let me find grace for my loyal men and me."
But the King cried, "Away with thee, thou traitor, out of my sight! Never have I granted a traitor's life, nor will I now begin with thee!"
"Grant me my life, my King, and I will give thee a bonnie gift—four-and-twenty milk-white steeds, newly foaled—I'll give thee four-and-twenty milk-white steeds that prance and neigh at a spear, and as much English gold as four of their broad backs are able to bear."
"Away with thee, thou traitor, out of my sight! Never have I granted a traitor's life, nor will I now begin with thee!"
"Grant me my life, my King, and I will give thee a bonnie gift—four-and-twenty mills that are working all the year round for me—four-and-twenty mills that shall go for thee all the year round, and as much good red wheat as all their happers are able to bear."
"Away with thee, thou traitor, out of my sight! Never have I granted a traitor's life, nor will I now begin with thee!"
"Grant me my life, my King, and I will give thee a great gift—four-and-twenty sisters' sons shall fight for thee though all should flee."
"Away with thee, thou traitor, out of my sight! Never have I granted a traitor's life, nor will I now begin with thee!"
"Grant me my life, my King, and I will give thee a brave gift. All between here and Newcastle town shall pay thee yearly rent."
"Away with thee, thou traitor, out of my sight! Never have I granted a traitor's life, nor will I now begin with thee!"
"Ye lie, calling me traitor; ye lie now, King, although ye be King and Prince. Well dare I say it, that all my life I have loved naught but honesty, a fleet horse, a fair woman, and two bonny dogs to kill a deer; yet had I lived for another hundred years, England should have still found me meal and malt and plenty of beef and mutton. Never would a Scot's wife have been able to say that I robbed her of aught. But surely it is great folly to seek for hot water beneath cold ice. I have asked grace of a graceless King, but there is none for me and my men. But had I known before I came how unkind thou wouldst prove to me, I would have kept the Borderside in spite of thee and thy nobles. How glad would be England's King if he but knew that I was taken, for once I slew his sister's son and broke a tree over his breastbone."
Now Johnie had a girdle round his waist embroidered and spangled with burning gold, very beautiful to look upon, and from his hat hung down nine tassels, each worth three hundred pounds. "What wants that knave that a King should have, but the sword of honour and the crown?" cried the King.
"Where did ye get those tassels, Johnie, that shine so bravely above your brow?"
"I got them fighting in the field where thou darest not be," replied Johnie. "And had I now my horse and good harness, and were I riding as I am used to do, this meeting between us should have been told these hundred years. God be with thee, my brother Christy, long shalt thou live Laird of Mangertown on the Border-side ere thou see thy brother ride by again. God be withthee, my son Christy, where thou sitst on thy nurse's knee; thou'lt ne'er be a better man than thy father, though thou live a hundred years. Farewell, bonnie Hall of Gilnockie, standing strong on Eskside; if I had lived but seven more years, I would have gilded thee round about."
Then Johnie Armstrong was slain by the King's orders at Carlinrigg with all his gallant company, and Scotland's heart was sad to see the death of so many brave men, who had saved their country from the Englishmen. None were so brave as they, and while Johnie lived on the Border-side no Englishman durst come near his stronghold.
Chapter XXIV
The Lament of the Border Widow
How King James V. of Scotland, in 1529, set forth to strike terror into the Border freebooters, has been already told in the account of Johnie Armstrong. A less celebrated moss-trooper, Cockburne of Henderland, was hanged by the pitiless King over the gate of his own tower. The wife of Cockburne loved him most dearly, and when she found the King would show no mercy, fled away to the rocks behind the castle whilst the cruel sentence was carried out. She sat by a roaring torrent of the Henderland burn, the noise of which in her ears drowned the savage shouts of the King's soldiers. The beautiful song which describes the grief of this loving woman is one of the gems of ancient poetry, and is here printed entire.
THE LAMENT OF THE BORDER WIDOW
My love he built me a bonny bower,And clad it a' wi' lilye flower,A brawer bower ye ne'er did see,Than my true love he built for me.There came a man by middle day,He spied his sport, and went away;And brought the King that very night,Who brake my bower, and slew my knight.He slew my knight to me sae dear;He slew my knight, and took his gear;My servants all for life did flee,And left me in extremitie.I sew'd his sheet, making my moan;I watch'd the corpse, myself alone;I watch'd his body, night and day;No living creature came that way.I took his body on my back,And whiles I gaed, and whiles I sat;I digg'd a grave, and laid him in,And happ'd him with the sod sae green.But think na ye my heart was sair,When I laid the moul' on his yellow hair;O think na ye my heart was wae,When I turn'd about, away to gae?Nae living man I'll love again,Since that my lovely knight was slain,Wi' ae lock of his yellow hair,I'll chain my heart for evermair.
My love he built me a bonny bower,And clad it a' wi' lilye flower,A brawer bower ye ne'er did see,Than my true love he built for me.
My love he built me a bonny bower,
And clad it a' wi' lilye flower,
A brawer bower ye ne'er did see,
Than my true love he built for me.
There came a man by middle day,He spied his sport, and went away;And brought the King that very night,Who brake my bower, and slew my knight.
There came a man by middle day,
He spied his sport, and went away;
And brought the King that very night,
Who brake my bower, and slew my knight.
He slew my knight to me sae dear;He slew my knight, and took his gear;My servants all for life did flee,And left me in extremitie.
He slew my knight to me sae dear;
He slew my knight, and took his gear;
My servants all for life did flee,
And left me in extremitie.
I sew'd his sheet, making my moan;I watch'd the corpse, myself alone;I watch'd his body, night and day;No living creature came that way.
I sew'd his sheet, making my moan;
I watch'd the corpse, myself alone;
I watch'd his body, night and day;
No living creature came that way.
I took his body on my back,And whiles I gaed, and whiles I sat;I digg'd a grave, and laid him in,And happ'd him with the sod sae green.
I took his body on my back,
And whiles I gaed, and whiles I sat;
I digg'd a grave, and laid him in,
And happ'd him with the sod sae green.
But think na ye my heart was sair,When I laid the moul' on his yellow hair;O think na ye my heart was wae,When I turn'd about, away to gae?
But think na ye my heart was sair,
When I laid the moul' on his yellow hair;
O think na ye my heart was wae,
When I turn'd about, away to gae?
Nae living man I'll love again,Since that my lovely knight was slain,Wi' ae lock of his yellow hair,I'll chain my heart for evermair.
Nae living man I'll love again,
Since that my lovely knight was slain,
Wi' ae lock of his yellow hair,
I'll chain my heart for evermair.
[image]"I sew'd his sheet, making my moan; I watch'd the corpse, myself alone."
[image]
[image]
"I sew'd his sheet, making my moan; I watch'd the corpse, myself alone."
Chapter XXV
The Raid of the Kers
The spirited ballad that describes this raid is quite modern, since it was written by Hogg, "the Ettrick Shepherd," in 1830. But the rash raid it describes took place in 1549. The Kers were an important Border family, the leaders of whom afterwards became Earls of Roxburgh. Sir Andrew Ker was warden of the Border at the time of the raid, but he proved that it took place without his consent. The Kers were all left-handed men, and puzzled their enemies by their left-handed swordsmanship. Even to-day in some parts of the borders a left-handed man is called "Ker-handed."
On a fine September evening Tam Ker rode out, with fifty in his company. They were armed for a fight and their swords were keen; they rode by the Maiden Crags and down the Osway burn, going carefully till the daylight closed, for they were soon in Northumberland. Their bold plan was to get down the valley of the Coquet even as far as Rothbury where Withrington, the English warden, kept a magnificent herd of cattle. They had one castle to pass, that of Biddleston, which had been held by the Selby family since the reign of Henry III., and still belongs to them to this day. Biddleston Castle guarded the Allanton or Alwinton ford, where the Alwin stream enters the Coquet. So they sent the reckless Mark Ker first, to scout along by the ford, and told him to set up marks on the cairns to show his progress. Having nothing else to mark with, he tore the shirt off his back, and left strips of it on the cairns. At the ford a sentry challenged him, and he answered that he had a message for Withrington. The sentry demanded his sealed warrant, and the Scot drew his sword. They fought bravely and long before the Englishman was killed, and the Scot marvelled that a common soldier should so withstand him, for he was the best swordsman of his race. On he galloped, on and on, till he met a comely maiden, and addressing her he tried to imitate the Northumberland speech, saying that he had lost his way. She told him at once that she knew he was a Scot, but so also was she. She had been taken captive, but word had came by an English spy that the Kers were out upon a raid, and while the English had set a hundred soldiers to guard their cattle she had slipped away to warn the Scots and to return with them. Being a gallant after the manner of that day, he sprang from his horse, kissed her, and invited her to mount his saddle even if he had to run beside till he could capture another steed. But an English soldier came up and warned him roughly off the road. Mark Ker had been brought up to answer rough words with rougher blows; out leapt his sword, and he cut the rude words short by slashing the man's head off. Then he disguised the maid in the dead man's clothes, and they retraced their steps that he might warn his companions. They very soon came upon them, and all together hid in the lowest dell of the Larbottle burn while they made their plans. Tam Ker, with twenty of the men, was to draw off the English, while Mark with thirty others slipped round and drove off the cattle unperceived. This was done, and till after midnight, Tam, aided by the darkness and by the difficulties of the wild locality, held the English at bay.
Then he heard the bugle signal, and knew that Mark was well on the road with the beasts, and that he must follow quickly. But Withrington also guessed what the signal meant, and pursued with all the speed he knew. Mark had not long crossed the ford at Biddleston before the English were on him. First Mark and Withrington fought in single combat, hand to hand, all their men watching eagerly; it was still very dark, but the clash of sword against sword lit the air with sparks. Withrington was badly wounded, but Mark was killed. With desperate shouts the Scots fell upon the English; then up came Tam and his men from behind to help the Scots, but the Captain of Biddleston had also been awakened, and galloped down with his men to aid the English. Tam smote his head off with his sword, but the horse galloped on with his headless body right into the ranks of the Scots. They thought it must be a demon and began to scatter in full flight to the Border. Tam was slain, trying to follow them, and his men, seeing that they had work enough to gallop for their lives, slew the cattle they could no longer hope to steal. On and on the hard-pressed remnant spurred their weary horses. It was daylight now, and the English along the road shot arrows at them as they galloped past. Out of fifty-one hardy, healthy Kers who had started forth in the raid, only seventeen, weary and wounded, saw their homes again.
And back in the south country, the comely Scottish maiden lay dead across the breast of the gallant Mark, their hearts' blood mingling in a common stream. Small wonder that a Scot should make a ballad of the story and that Borderers should sing it even to this day.
Chapter XXVI
Merrie Carlisle
The city of Carlisle stands in the midst of a beautiful and fertile district with pleasant but not too steep hills around. In the old days an easy water-supply was a first essential, and at Carlisle three rivers meet, the Caldew and the Petterill running here into the broad stream of the Eden. These three rivers almost enclose the ground upon which the city is built, so that it is most probable that there was an ancient British settlement upon so advantageous a site, before the Roman invasion. Our earliest record, however, goes back no further than Roman days, and it is certain there was then a Roman city here calledLuguvallium(the trench of the legion). Even to-day, when new gas-pipes are being laid in the ground, it is by no means rare to dig up Roman relics. The long Roman name became gradually corrupted into "Luel," or "Liel," and the Britons added their word "Caer," which means a city, hence "Caer-luel"—an earlier form of the modern Carlisle. The Roman city stood, as might be expected, by the great Roman wall, guarding the spot where the wall crossed the river Eden. And visitors may see to-day that the centre of Carlisle consists of a market-place with two main streets leading therefrom, the usual plan in cities of Roman origin.
Carlisle was destined to have a stormy history. Draw a line from the Solway eastward, straight through Carlisle, and it will be seen that here the mainland of Britain is about at its narrowest, hardly so much as seventy miles wide, as the crow flies. Note, too, that the wild hills of the Pennines and the Cheviots fill in most of this narrow district, and that the mainland of Scotland strikes sharply off to the west. It is plain from these facts that Carlisle commands the main road between Scotland and England, and they provide the reason why at the present day seven different railways, most of them important ones, run their trains into Carlisle station. The very same reason was responsible for the fact that in the good old times no English town was more often burnt down by enemies than "Merrie Carlisle."
Even in Roman days, during the reign of Nero, Carlisle was burnt down at least once by the wild Picts, who were brave enough to venture against the well-armed troops of Rome. After the Romans left Britain this town was one of the strongholds of King Arthur; to be sure, nothing very definite is known about this romantic king, but the old ballads tell us that he was victorious over Gauls, Dacians, Spaniards, and Romans. This sounds very unlikely to those who do not realise that when Rome called home her best men for her own defence she may have left behind many rough soldiers, of various nations, to guard the wall. Although we know nothing about King Arthur save what is vague and legendary, we do know that the Roman legions were recruited from all the provinces of the empire. Cumberland had many connexions with King Arthur; within twenty miles of Carlisle, near Penrith, is a big round hill called "King Arthur's Table"; while nearer still, on the Penrith and Carlisle road, is shown the spot where stood Tearne-Wadling Lake and Castle, where King Arthur was bewitched and taken prisoner by the "foul, discourteous knight," only to be released provided one of his men would consent to marry the hideous lady with hair like serpents! When at last Sir Gawaine married this hag for his King's sake, she, of course, changed at once into a beautiful young woman! This does not sound very convincing, it is true, but in the old days many tales just as unlikely were told of famous men. At any rate the ballad begins with the lilting line:—
"King Arthur lives in merrie Carleile,"
"King Arthur lives in merrie Carleile,"
"King Arthur lives in merrie Carleile,"
and all that concerns us at the moment is that perhaps he really did live there, and did do some very real fighting along the debateable line of the wall.
We next learn of Carlisle that King Egfrid of Northumbria rebuilt the city about the year 675, wherefore we can only suppose that it had suffered its somewhat usual fate, perhaps at the hands of that savage Saxon warrior called The Burner. But in any case, Carlisle never belonged to the Northumbrians for any considerable space of time, but was the capital of the Celtic or Welsh kingdom of Cumbria, from which the present name of Cumberland is derived.
In 875 the Danes had a turn at pillaging and harrying Carlisle, which was again in sorry plight. Both Cumbria and Northumbria were faring very badly in the struggle between the various kingdoms which then divided up Britain, and for a while it looked as if the energetic kings of the Scots would annex both these northern dominions. But the coming of the strong-handed Normans altered all this; and by far the most noteworthy event in the history of Carlisle was the fact that during 1092 and 1093 William Rufus seized Cumberland, and for the first time added it definitely to England.
Recognising at once the strength and value of Carlisle, Rufus caused a strong Norman castle to be built where the old Roman fort used to stand. To-day, despite the many rough adventures which have befallen this northern city, there yet remain portions of William Rufus's castle, side by side with fragments of the old Roman walls. Many of the modern buildings put up in King George's day are crumbling, but the old Norman and Roman remains are firm as a rock!
The castle was strengthened by King Henry I., but this did not prevent its seizure in 1135 by King David of Scotland, who added to it in turn. The Scots held the keep till 1157, when it was retaken by Henry II., but a few years later, in 1173, William the Lion, King of Scotland, besieged it, and for the next fifty years it changed hands several times, according to the fortunes of war. It is significant that a main street in the northern part of Carlisle is called "Scotch Street," while another in the southern part is called "English Street!"
Edward I. held a parliament here after defeating Wallace at Falkirk; and it was from Carlisle that this English King conducted his later operations against Scotland. It is a pathetic picture, that of this stern warrior in his old age, on his last march, trying to carry out his pet scheme of uniting the entire island under one rule. He was so ill that he had to be carried in a litter as far as Carlisle. Finding himself again so near the border, he felt the old fire glow within him, and sprang upon his horse—but at Burgh-on-Sands, on the shore of the Solway, whence he could view the goal of his ambition, the brave King died.
During the next thirty years Carlisle was frequently attacked by the Scots, but they were usually defeated. In 1337, however, they partly, and in 1345 almost entirely burnt it down. Again in 1380 they burnt part of what had been rebuilt! Had there been fire insurance in these wild days, the premiums in Carlisle would have been heavy!
After the Wars of the Roses, the city seemed to settle down somewhat, and was chiefly known on the Border as the place where Scottish freebooters were hanged if caught. In one of the Border villages there is a famous churchyard where of old only the graves of women and children were to be seen. The explanation was given to a passing traveller by an old woman, who said that the men were all buried "in merrie Carlisle," meaning, that is, that they had all been hanged there!
In 1537 there was a rising in England known as the "Pilgrimage of Grace," in opposition to the savage policy of Henry's minister, Thomas Cromwell, and no less than eighty thousand insurgents are said to have attacked Carlisle; but after much fighting the rebels were defeated and seventy-four of their leaders were executed on the city walls.
When Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned in Carlisle in 1568 it was vainly besieged by a force that sought to rescue her; but less than thirty years afterwards, in 1596, by a bold stroke of daring, Lord Scott of Buccleuch succeeded in surprising the castle and in liberating the well-known freebooter, "Kinmont Willie."
When King James united England and Scotland, the troubles of Carlisle might have been thought to be over. But in the civil war between King and Parliament it was again a storm centre, and was held alternately by each of the parties.
The last warlike operations against this much-besieged city were undertaken in 1745, when it was first taken by Prince Charlie, who made a triumphal entry without any serious fighting, and afterwards retaken almost as easily by the cruel Duke of Cumberland, whose entry into the place was followed, as usual, by a series of executions.
Among those who suffered was Sir A. Primrose, a gallant ancestor of the present Lord Rosebery. The victims were executed, with the cruelties of the old law against treason, on the celebrated Gallows Hill, at Harraby, and were buried in nameless graves in the Kirkyard of St Cuthbert's. Passing down the Botchergate (the London Road), past the site of the old Roman cemetery, the wayfarer may see Gallows Hill rise where a deep cut has been made to avoid a steep rise in the road. It was just outside the boundary of old Carlisle, and executions were witnessed from the walls, by men and women alike. Climb the hill—it is worth while. The little river Petteril sparkles at our feet; the view, fresh and green, stretches away nobly to the Pennines and the Border Hills. Keep a warm thought in your heart for all the gallant fellows who met death bravely in this place.
No history of Carlisle could omit to mention the Cathedral. English cathedrals are shaped like a cross lying on the ground; the long stem of the cross is thenaveof the cathedral; the two arms are thetransepts; and the upper end that continues the main stem is thechoir. Where choir, nave and transepts meet, thetowerrises. But unlike every other English cathedral, that of Carlisle has height and width, but is too short in length, two-thirds of the nave having been hurled down by the Scots!
Every cathedral has its history written in its stones, for those who know how to read it. That of Carlisle shows a stormy history, stormier than any other. It is not a peaceful building carried out very much in one style and undisturbed. It is a building full of signs of disturbance, the builders of which were interrupted in their plans by war and frequently had their building seriously damaged by their enemies. It is a mixture of styles, a mass of re-buildings and afterthoughts, but for that very reason it is a fitting symbol of the much-harassed city. With all its signs of storm and stress it has much beauty, and possesses the finest window in all England, one of the finest in the world. Just outside the Cathedral is a noble stretch of the old West Wall of the city, which gives a vivid idea of its strength in the old days.
The bishops of Carlisle live at Rose Castle, five miles south of the Cathedral. This has been their residence for over six hundred years. No doubt they thought it advisable not to live in the "merrie city"!
In this castle King Edward I. stayed. It was once partly burnt by Bruce, and again partly by the Puritans, but this is a comparatively clean record for such a district! In 1745 Captain Macdonald and his Scots came down to besiege it, but hearing that the bishop's baby daughter was about to be christened, the gallant captain would not let warfare spoil so peaceful a ceremony, and not only withdrew his men, but also left a white cockade behind him as a sign that the place was not to be molested. In all this he showed that true courtesy that always marks the real Highland gentleman.
Standing to-day in this bustling, breezy, pleasant little city, it is not easy to realise the wild scenes it has witnessed. The charming rivers that hem it in show no traces of the bloodshed of the past. Yet here have contended painted Pict and war-trained Roman; here the most skilful leaders of the Celts, Saxons, and Danes have led their brave and sturdy men to battle; here Norman knight has fought with hardy Scot, and fierce Border factions have wrangled and sought speedy justice; Puritan has fought Cavalier, and Jacobite has faced Hanoverian; kings, generals, and warriors of many centuries have found a fitting meeting-place before or behind the walls of Carlisle.
An open, airy, quaint city. There is not very much that is old in it, for the old was not allowed to stand long enough! But on the top of its principal hill the tall truncated Cathedral presents a picturesque figure, and if we stand there or by the castle the eye commands fine, ancient walls and very delightful distances. It is a place of lingering memories, and if these are chiefly of strife and bloodshed we do not forget that to the Border folk the city was "Merrie Carlisle."