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 Wilson's
 Tales of the Borders
 AND OF SCOTLAND.

 HISTORICAL, TRADITIONARY, & IMAGINATIVE.

 WITH A GLOSSARY.

 REVISED BY
 ALEXANDER LEIGHTON,
 _One of the Original Editors and Contributors._

 VOL. II.

 LONDON:
 WALTER SCOTT, 14 PATERNOSTER SQUARE,
 AND NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.
 1884.




CONTENTS.


 A WIFE OR THE WUDDY,             (_John Mackay Wilson_),    1
 LORD DURIE AND CHRISTIE'S WILL,  (_Alexander Leighton_),   33
 RECOLLECTIONS OF BURNS,          (_Hugh Miller_),          65
 THE PROFESSOR'S TALES            (_Professor Thomas Gillespie_)--
     THE CONVIVIALISTS,                                    122
     PHILIPS GREY,                                       144
 DONALD GORM,                     (_Alexander Campbell_),  155
 THE SURGEON'S TALES,             (_Alexander Leighton_)--
     THE CURED INGRATE,  188
 THE ADOPTED SON,                 (_John Mackay Wilson_),  220
 THE FORTUNES OF WILLIAM WIGHTON, (_John Howell_),         247
 MY BLACK COAT; OR, THE BREAKING
     OF THE BRIDE'S CHINA,        (_John Mackay Wilson_),  276




 WILSON'S
 TALES OF THE BORDERS
 AND OF SCOTLAND.

THE WIFE OR THE WUDDY.

    "There was a criminal in a cart
       Agoing to be hanged--
     Reprieve to him was granted;
       The crowd and cart did stand,
     To see if he would marry a wife,
       Or, otherwise, choose to die!
     'Oh, why should I torment my life?'
       The victim did reply;
     'The bargain's bad in every part--
       But a wife's the worst!--drive on the cart.'"


Honest Sir John Falstaff talketh of "minions of the moon;" and, truth
to tell, two or three hundred years ago, nowhere was such an order of
knighthood more prevalent than upon the Borders. Not only did the
Scottish and English Borderers make their forays across the Tweed
and the ideal line, but rival chieftains, though of the same nation,
considered themselves at liberty to make inroads upon the property
of each other. The laws of _meum_ and _tuum_ they were unable to
comprehend. Theirs was the strong man's world, and with them _might_ was
_right_. But to proceed with our story. About the beginning of the
seventeenth century, one of the boldest knights upon the Borders was
William Scott, the young laird of Harden. His favourite residence was
Oakwood Tower, a place of great strength, situated on the banks of the
Ettrick. The motto of his family was "_Reparabit cornua Phoebe_," which
being interpreted by his countrymen, in their vernacular idiom, ran
thus--"We'll hae moonlight again." Now, the young laird was one who
considered it his chief honour to give effect to both the spirit and
the letter of his family motto. Permitting us again to refer to honest
Falstaff, it implied that they were "gentlemen of the night;" and he was
not one who would loll upon his pillow when his "avocation" called him
to the foray.

It was drawing towards midnight, in the month of October, when the
leaves in the forest had become brown and yellow, and with a hard sound
rustled upon each other, that young Scott called together his retainers,
and addressing them, said--"Look ye, friends, is it not a crying sin and
a national shame to see things going aglee as they are doing? There
seems hardly such a thing as manhood left upon the Borders. A bit
scratch with a pen upon parchment is becoming of more effect than a
stroke with the sword. A bairn now stands as good a chance to hold and
to have, as an armed man that has a hand to take and to defend. Such a
state o' things was only made for those who are ower lazy to ride by
night, and ower cowardly to fight. Never shall it be said that I,
William Scott of Harden, was one who either submitted or conformed to
it. Give me the good, old, manly law, that 'they shall keep who can,'
and wi' my honest sword will I maintain my right against every enemy.
Now, there is our natural and lawful adversary, auld Sir Gideon Murray
o' Elibank, carries his head as high as though he were first cousin to a
king, or the sole lord o' Ettrick Forest. More than once has he slighted
me in a way which it wasna for a Scott to bear; and weel do I ken that
he has the will, and wants but the power, to harry us o' house and ha'.
But, by my troth, he shall pay a dear reckoning for a' the insults he
has offered to the Scotts o' Harden. Now, every Murray among them has a
weel-stocked mailing, and their kine are weel-favoured; to-night the
moon is laughing cannily through the clouds:--therefore, what say ye,
neighbours--will ye ride wi' me to Elibank? and, before morning, every
man o' them shall have a toom byre."

"Hurra!" shouted they, "for the young laird! He is a true Scott from
head to heel! Ride on, and we will follow ye! Hurra!--the moon glents
ower the hills to guide us to the spoils o' Elibank! To-night we shall
bring langsyne back again."

There were twenty of them, stout and bold men, mounted upon light
and active horses--some armed with firelocks, and others with Jeddart
staves; while, in addition to such weapons, every man had a good sword
by his side. At their head was the fearless young laird; and, at a brisk
pace, they set off towards Elibank. Mothers and maidens ran to their
cottage doors, and looked after them with foreboding hearts when they
rode along; for it was a saying amongst them, that "when young Willie
Scott o' Harden set his foot in the stirrup at night, there were to be
swords drawn before morning." They knew, also, the feud between him and
the house of Elibank, and as well did they know that the Murrays were a
resolute and a sturdy race.

Morn had not dawned when they arrived at the scene where their booty
lay. Not a Murray was abroad; and to the extreme they carried the threat
of the young laird into execution, of making "toom byres." By scores and
by hundreds, they collected together, into one immense herd, horned
cattle and sheep, and they drove them before them through the forest
towards Oakwood Tower. The laird, in order to repel any rescue that
might be attempted, brought up the rear, and, in the joy of his heart,
he sang, and, at times, cried aloud, "There will be dry breakfasts in
Elibank before the sun gets oot, but a merry meal at Oakwood afore he
gangs doun. An entire bullock shall be roasted, and wives and bairns
shall eat o' it."

"I humbly beg your pardon, Maister William," said an old retainer, named
Simon Scott, and who traced a distant relationship to the family; "I
respectfully ask your pardon; but I have been in your faither's family
for forty years, and never was backward in the hoor o' danger, or in a
ploy like this; but ye will just alloo me to observe, sir, that wilfu'
waste maks wofu' want, and I see nae occasion whatever for roasting a
bullock. It would be as bad as oor neebors on the ither side o' the
Tweed, wha are roast, roastin', or bakin' in the oven, every day o' the
week, and makin' a stane weight o' meat no gang sae far as twa or three
pounds wad hae dune. Therefore, sir, if ye will tak my advice, if we are
to hae a feast, there will be nae roastin' in the way. There was a fine
sharp frost the other nicht, and I observed the rime lying upon the
kail; so that baith greens and savoys will be as tender as a weel-boiled
three-month-auld chicken; and I say, therefore, let the beef be boiled,
and let them hae ladlefu's o' kail, and ye will find, sir, that instead
o' a hail bullock, even if ye intend to feast auld and young, male and
female, upon the lands o' Oakwood, a quarter o' a bullock will be amply
sufficient, and the rest can be sauted doun for winter's provisions. Ye
ken, sir, that the Murrays winna let us lichtly slip for this nicht's
wark; and it is aye safest, as the saying is, to lay by for a sair fit."

"Well argued, good Simon," said the young laird; "but your economy
is ill-timed. After a night's work such as this there is surely
some licence for gilravishing. I say it--and who dare contradict
me?--to-night there is not one belonging to the house of Harden, be
they old or young, who shall not eat of roast meat, and drink of
the best."

"Weel, sir," replied Simon, "wi' reverence be it spoken, but I would beg
to say that ye are wrang. Folk that ance get a liking for dainties tak
ill wi' plainer fare again; and, moreover, sir, in a' my experience, I
never kenned dainty bits and hardihood to go hand in hand; but, on the
contrary, luxuries mak men effeminate, and discontented into the
bargain."

The altercation between the old retainer and his young master ran
farther; but it was suddenly interrupted by the deep-mouthed baying of a
sleuth-hound; and its threatening howls were followed by a loud cry, as
if from fifty voices, of--"To-night for Sir Gideon and the house of
Elibank!"

But here we pause to say that Sir Gideon Murray of Elibank was a man
whose name was a sound of terror to all who were his enemies. As a foe,
he was fierce, resolute, unforgiving. He had never been known to turn
his back upon a foe, or forgive an injury. He knew the meaning of
justice in its severest sense, but not of compassion; he was a stranger
to the attribute of mercy, and the life of the man who had injured him,
he regarded as little as the life of the worm which he might tread
beneath his heel upon his path. He was a man of middle age; and had
three daughters, none of whom were what the world calls beautiful; but,
on the contrary, they were what even the dependents upon his estates
described as "very ordinary-looking young women."

Such was Sir Gideon Murray of Elibank; and, although the young laird
of Harden conceived that he had come upon him as "a thief in the
night"--and some of my readers, from the transaction recorded, may be
somewhat apt to take the scriptural quotation in a literal sense--yet I
would say, as old Satchel sings of the Borderers of those days, they
were men--

    "Somewhat unruly, and very ill to tame.
     I would have none think that I call them thieves;
     For, if I did, it would be arrant lies."

But, stealthily as the young master of Harden had made his preparations
for the foray, old Sir Gideon had got timely notice of it; and hence it
was, that not a Murray seemed astir when they took the cattle from the
byres, and drove them towards Oakwood. But, through the moonlight, there
were eyes beheld every step they took--their every movement was watched
and traced; and amongst those who watched was the stern old knight, with
fifty followers at his back.

"Quiet! quiet!" he again and again, in deep murmurs, uttered to his
dependents, throwing back his hand, and speaking in a deep and earnest
whisper, that awed even the slow but ferocious sleuth-hound that
accompanied them, and caused it to crouch back to his feet. In a yet
deeper whisper, he added, encouragingly--"Patience, my merry men!--bide
your time!--ye shall hae work before long go by."

When, therefore, the young laird and his followers began to disperse in
the thickest of the forest, as they drove the cattle before them, Sir
Gideon suddenly exclaimed--"Now for the onset!" And, at the sound of his
voice, the sleuth-hound howled loud and savagely.

"We are followed!--Halt! halt!--to arms! to arms!" cried the heir of
Harden.

Three or four were left in charge of the now somewhat scattered herd of
cattle, and to drive them to a distance; while the rest of the party
spurred back their horses as rapidly as the tangled pass in the forest
would permit, to the spot from whence the voice of their young leader
proceeded. They arrived speedily, but they arrived too late. In a
moment, and with no signal save the baying of the hound, old Sir Gideon
and his armed company had burst upon young Scott and Old Simon, and ere
the former could cry for assistance, they had surrounded them.

"Willie Scott! ye rash laddie!" cried Sir Gideon--"yield quietly, or
a thief's death shall ye die; and in the very forest through which
ye have this night driven my cattle, the corbies and you shall become
acquaint--or, at least, if ye see not them, they shall see you and feel
you too."

"Brag on, ye auld greybeard," exclaimed the youth; "but while a Scott o'
Harden has a finger to wag, no power on earth shall make his tongue say
'I am conquered!' So come on!--do your best--do your worst--here is the
hand and the sword to meet ye!--and were ye ten to one, ye shall find
that Willie Scott isna the lad to turn his back, though ten full-grown
Murrays stand before his face."

"By my sooth, then, callant," cried the old knight, "and it was small
mercy, after what ye hae done, that I intended to show ye; and after
what ye hae said, it shall be less that I will grant ye. Sae come on
lads, and now to humble the Hardens."

"Arm! every Scott to arms!" again shouted the young laird; "and now,
Sir Gideon, if ye will measure weapons, and leave your _weel-faured_
daughters as a legacy to the world, be it sae. But there are lads among
your clan o' whom they would hae been glad, and who, belike in _pity_,
might hae offered them their hands, but who will this night mak a bride
o' the green sward! Sae come on, Sir Gideon, and on you and yours be the
consequence!"

"Before sunrise," returned Sir Gideon, "and the winsome laird o' Harden
shall boast less vauntingly, and rue that he had broke his jeers upon an
auld man. Touch me, sir, but not my bairns."

The conflict began, and on each side the strife was bloody and
desperate. Bold men grasped each other by the throat, and they held
their swords to each other's breasts, scowling one upon another with
the ferocity of contending tigers, ere each gave the deadly plunge
which was to hurl both into eternity. The report of fire-arms, the
clash of swords, the clang of shields, with the neighing of maddened
horses, the lowing of affrighted cattle, the howl of the sleuth-hounds,
and the angry voices of fierce men, mingled wildly together, and, in
one fearful and discordant echo, rang through the forest. This wild
sound was followed by the low melancholy groans of the dying. But, as
I have already stated, the Scotts, and the cattle which they drove before
them, were scattered, and ere those who were in advance could arrive to
the rescue of their friends in the rear, the latter were slain, wounded,
or overpowered. They also fought against fearful odds. The young laird
himself had his sword broken in his grasp, and his horse was struck
dead beneath him. He was instantly surrounded and made prisoner by the
Murrays; and, at the same time, old Simon fell into their hands.

The few remaining retainers of the house of Harden gave way when they
found their leader a captive, and they fled, leaving the cattle behind
them. Sir Gideon Murray, therefore, recovered all that had been taken
from him; and though he had captured but two prisoners, the one was the
chief, and the other his principal adviser and second in command. The
old knight, therefore, commanded that they should be bound with cords
together, and in such rueful plight led to his castle at Elibank. It was
noon before they reached it, and Lady Murray came forth to welcome her
husband, and congratulate him upon his success. But when she beheld the
heir of Harden a captive, and thought of how little mercy was to be
expected from Sir Gideon when once aroused, she remembered that she was
a mother, and that one of her children might one day be situated as
their prisoner then was.

The young laird, with his aged kinsman and dependent, were thrust into
a dark room; and he who locked them up informed them that the next day
their bodies would be hung up on the nearest tree.

"My life and lang fasting!" exclaimed Simon, "ye surely wouldna be
speaking o' sic a thing as hanging to an auld man like me. If we were
to be shot or beheaded--though I would like neither the ane nor the
ither--it wouldna be a thing in particular to be