THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES

 
 BORDERLAND STUDIES.
 
 MAWSON, SWAN, & MORGAN, PRINTERS, NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE.
 
 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 BY 
 
 HOWARD PEASE. 
 
 " The Hotspur of the North ; he that kills me some six or seven 
 dozen of Scots at a breakfast, washes his hands, and says to his wife : 
 4 Fie upon this quiet life ! I want work.' " 1st Part King Henry IV. 
 
 " Fain would I be in the North Countrie, 
 There would I see what is pleasant to me." 
 
 Old Northumbrian Ballad. 
 
 NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE : 
 MAWSON, SWAN, & MORGAN. 
 
 LONDON : 
 SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT, & Co., LTD. 
 
 1893-
 
 TO 
 
 C. f. irabes, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE BLARNEY BALLADS," 
 
 AS A SLIGHT ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF VARIOUS 
 
 HELP AND VARIED CRITICISM THIS SMALL 
 
 VOLUME IS INSCRIBED BY 
 
 Cjjf flutjor. 
 
 869277
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 OF the following Sketches, " Children of Boreas " and 
 " Upon the Advantage of being a Scot," appeared in 
 Mr. Greenwood's Anti-Jacobin, " Our Village," and " With 
 the North Countrie Methodies," in the National Observer, 
 while of the Tales, "The Elder of North Quay" is but 
 the " second name," to use an old Quaker term, of " The 
 Pearl of Hafiz," which appeared in the pages of the 
 Gentleman's Magazine. The Author here desires to express 
 his thanks to the editors of the above periodicals for their 
 courteous permission to reprint these articles. The 
 remainder of the volume consists of fresh matter. 
 
 And now, lest the reader should shrewdly suspect the 
 Author of endeavouring, under a specious title, to fobb off, 
 like the tricksy auctioneer, an " odd lot " of articles upon 
 his credulity, a few words may perhaps be permitted 
 concerning the Genesis of the book. 
 
 Finding that the above-mentioned sketches had met 
 with some approbation, it occurred to the Author to 
 increase their number and to add thereto a like quantity of 
 Tales, which should illustrate the characteristics of the 
 North Countrie Folk, previously dealt with realistically, in 
 romantic or idealistic fashion, for he believed that the 
 hard and resolute, rugged and tenacious character of the 
 race was well adapted to this purpose, and at the same time 
 he conceived the project to possess some degree of novelty. 
 The ancient temper of the country that perfervidwn 
 ingenium to which the Northumbrian, equally with the 
 Scot, may lay claim, though it may have changed its 
 direction, still survives to this present with unabated force. 
 
 As formerly he was amongst the last energetically to 
 support the jus divinum of the Stuarts, so now he is 
 amongst the first as keenly to uphold the modern theory of 
 the jus divinum of the working man. When Mr. Anthony 
 Hillyard (in Mr. Besant's novel, "Dorothy Forster ")
 
 8 PREFACE. 
 
 discussed the prospects of the premeditated Jacobite rising 
 in the '15, he was ever anxious to enquire how the City of 
 London was minded on the matter, considering all attempt 
 hopeless if the city were averse from their cause. 
 
 Somewhat similarly the writer well remembers when at 
 Oxford how his tutor used ever to ask, when discussing the 
 latest industrial problem or socialistic theory : What 
 Tyneside thought upon the question ? plainly intimating 
 that what Tyneside thought to-day the progressive part 
 of the community elsewhere would generally accept 
 to-morrow. 
 
 In conclusion the writer would apologise for what has 
 been called by a friendly critic, " the sombre colouring " of 
 the tales, pointing out, however, in self defence, that 
 Northumbria is no Phaeacia, no land of soft delights where 
 always 
 
 Acu's re (f>i\r) K.i6api<i Tf Xo/ooi re 
 
 fi/jLara fr)fj.oi/3a Xoerpa. re QtpfJia /ecu evvat. 
 
 but a bleak and wind-bitten northern region, where life is 
 hard, and men's thoughts and deeds, as a consequence, 
 are something grim in their inclination. 
 
 ARGOT HALL, 
 
 DUDLEY, 
 NORTHUMBERLAND.
 
 SKETCHES. 
 
 PAGE 
 THE BORDERLAND . . . . u 
 
 OUR VILLAGE . . . .14 
 
 WITH THE NORTH COUNTRY METHODIES . 18 
 
 UPON THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING A NORTH 
 
 COUNTRYMAN . . . .21 
 
 UPON THE FURTHER ADVANTAGE OF BEING 
 
 A SCOT . . . . .25 
 
 CHILDREN OF BOREAS . . .30
 
 THE BORDERLAND. 
 
 PHE stranger, whirling rapidly Northward through 
 -* Northumberland by the East Coast service of trains, 
 may catch an occasional glimpse of mighty castles by the 
 sea, or again, preferring the more leisurely route, thought- 
 fully provided by the North British Railway Company for 
 the better appreciation of the landscape, he may see, ere 
 he cross the Border, full many a ruined peel tower and 
 ancient stronghold, and many an unmistakable evidence, 
 if he have the antiquary's eye, of the stormy life of olden 
 time. 
 
 Camp and barrow, cairn and tower, quaint named fell 
 and haugh are all so many proofs of a tumultuous past, 
 each a link in the self-same stirring tale which crenellated 
 mansion, hidden monastery, and sea-girt castle continue 
 and carry forward to a later age. 
 
 Before the traveller's eye, as he faces westward towards 
 the Border, the naked fells of the " terra contentiosa " 
 that debatable land of old, will open out, rolling away as 
 on a full tide, to a high horizon, desolate as a November 
 sea. 
 
 Often, save for the scattered sheep, no sign of life is 
 visible, and, save for the cry of the curlew, no sound 
 is audible. In the lonely clumps of firs that here and 
 there crown the grey-green grassy slopes, fancy may 
 picture a plump of Border spears hard-spurring towards 
 the haugh below to carry off the sheep and " nowf It 
 may be a troop from Liddesdale, or it may be a company 
 of Robsons eager to harry the Grahams once again, and 
 hang the chiefest among their number as a warning, that 
 " the neist ty me gentlemen cam to tak their schepe, they 
 war no to be scabbit." Here, indeed, the mind may gallop 
 to imagination's prick, for the past, like an open page, is 
 spread before the eye ; and not alone is the face of Nature
 
 12 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 unchanged, for the very dwellers in the dales bear the 
 names of the " graynes " of old. 
 
 Writing so lately as 1871, Dr. ("harlton relates that 
 famous " Muckle Jock " of Bellingham remembered more 
 than once clearing Bellingham Fair with the Tarset and 
 Tarretburn men at his back to the ancient Border cry 
 
 " Tarset and Tarretburn 
 Hard and heather-bred 
 Yet, yet, yet." 
 
 To this day, indeed, about Bellingham, at a fair or 
 football match, may the " Yet, yet, yet," of the old Border 
 slogan be heard. 
 
 The ancient feuds, too, between the various dalesmen 
 have only recently been extinguished, stray embers, even 
 within living memory, having been momentarily blown into 
 heat upon occasion, as when at Harbottle Fair in Coquet - 
 dale, some fifty years ago, a Redesdale man was heard 
 disconsolately to remark, " Aw nivor seed sic a fair i' maa 
 life, past 'leven o'clock o' the forenoon an' nivor a broken 
 heid." 
 
 The writer himself has heard, high up in Coquetdale, 
 upon an occasion of a wrestling bout wherein a Tynedale 
 man and a Coquetwater representative met together, the 
 latter's comrade cry, " Aa'l back wor wattor aa'l back 
 wor wattor," sufficient evidence of the ancienf rivalry. 
 The dweller in the level law-abiding days of the latter 
 portion of the igth Century, may be surprised (and possibly 
 pleased, if the old Adam be not dead within him), to hear 
 that " salmon leistering," or " burning the water," does 
 still occasionally take place in Coquetdale. Still on good 
 occasion does the cresset furtively flame by night above 
 the water, and still the luckless salmon quivers on the 
 leister's prongs. Northumbrians, indeed, cling yet to old 
 customs, and even where the deeds of the " old man " 
 have been " put off," the traditions are still kept up, for 
 now as in the days of the Lord Keeper Guildford, are the 
 inhabitants " great antiquaries within their own bounds." 
 
 There will still be some found, when the " Northern 
 Lights " flame in the wintry sky, to tell you that these are 
 " Derwentwater's lights," so named because upon the fatal
 
 THE BORDERLAND. 13 
 
 night of his execution in London the aurora glowed with 
 deeper brilliance upon the vales of Tyne. Still, indeed, is 
 the Northumbrian loth to let slip old custom and tradition, 
 and still, with the burr in his throat, is he 
 to the stranger within his gate.
 
 OUR VILLAGE. 
 
 OUR village (' wor villeedj,' in the Northumbrian ver- 
 nacular) is not remarkable for natural beauty, 
 historical incident, or the physical comeliness of -the inhabi- 
 tants. These be gifts to advantage it from a worldly 
 point of view, no doubt : as serving as lodestones to 
 tourists and as matter for the rhapsodising maker of guide 
 books. But, rightly regarded, they are proved but vanities. 
 
 Our village is seated hard by the sea. It caps an 
 uneven mound that rises like a dyke against the ocean. On 
 the north the hill climbs higher, shutting out the view, but 
 keeping the cold winds from the broad links that stretch 
 away to the shore, the edges broken by sandhills covered 
 with shocks of coarse, grey-green grass. Beyond is the 
 sea : here rounding into the curve of the land and there 
 stretching away to the horizon, where the ships sail 
 remotely as on a lifted way. That is all. But lack of 
 natural beauty does not distress us, for we pride ourselves 
 upon something neither skin-deep nor adventitious : and 
 that is character. Some years ago a ' clivvor chep ' was 
 down our way, who put things about us into books. This 
 might have made other folk vain and apt to irritation ; but 
 we ' sat ' for our likenesses, serene in the consciousness 
 that, like the lady of quality, we should have full justice 
 done. Besides, as we are always ready with the historic 
 ' skelp i' the lug ' (as promised by our countryman to the 
 Londoner who was uncivil enough to fail to understand his 
 pronunciation), we have seldom to do without deference : 
 a certain punctiliousness in its exaction being, indeed, our 
 sole weakness. 
 
 There are three alehouses in the village, and one inn ; 
 and here it is that the dark foundations are laid for the 
 eventual building-up of character. Like your excellent 
 sherris, indeed, that ' good creature ale ' hath ever a ' two-
 
 OUR VILLAGE. 15 
 
 fold operation ' : it is sovran for the green sickness, and 
 withal it is a most potent influence in the development of 
 the Ego. Here is no mistaking one man for another, as in 
 towns where all men grow alike to a lamentable loss of 
 interest and a rank sterility of gossip ; for here each 
 individual hath an idiosyncrasy as naturally as a 
 patronymic. The little cluster of houses on either side our 
 street encloses a world in miniature, with all the types of 
 the world at large. Here is the last of an ancient county 
 family whose fortunes long since decayed. His house 
 (which he lets as lodgings in the summer) is still dignified 
 with pictures of favourite hunters and racehorses ; for his 
 ancestors spent their substance, in the good Northumbrian 
 fashion, on cellar and stable. On Sundays he is majestical 
 in a tail-coat and a Georgian tie, playing the part of 
 churchwarden with a courtly grace ; while on week-days 
 he digs in his garden and ' minds the coo.' Here is, or 
 rather here was not long ago, the Common Prodigal : who, 
 having left his home with his share of his father's goods 
 (reputed to be a gentleman of family), lived, after the 
 fashion of prodigals, hobnobbing and drinking ' turn about ' 
 with his inferiors. Our's was great at arranging sporting 
 matches and losing his money in them. He was doubtless 
 nearing the end of his tether, for he suddenly disappeared, 
 and is now probably on his way home with that healthy 
 appetite for the fatted calf which is characteristic of his 
 breed. Then for the bourgeoisie, here is a merchant from 
 the neighbour town. He sustains the appearance of the 
 country gentleman, is respectfully regarded by the 
 villagers, whose sporting patron he is, as a ' great pot,' and 
 has the reputation of being a ' fly man, good at a bargain.' 
 In the matter of Dissent we vigorously maintain our 
 strength of character ; for some of us refuse to worship 
 anywhere, while others chiefly fishermen and the poorer 
 sort are earnest Methodists. At the little Zion in the 
 alley there are two local preachers : the one a caretaker 
 by profession, the other a stonebreaker, both having the 
 reputation of being ' powerful in prayer ' and excellent at 
 resisting the devil till he flee from them. Carnal pride, 
 intruding here as elsewhere, occasionally lifts a head : as
 
 16 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 when the fisherman, in answer to an enquiry (he was 
 seldom visible in church) if he were a ' Methody,' replied, 
 with admirable hauteur, that he was a ' puor-bred Chorch- 
 man like his feythors afore him.' 
 
 It is natural that, with such a respect for character, we 
 should especially admire all them that are pre-eminent in 
 the matter of idiosyncrasy. Natural that two of us, stand- 
 ing a head and shoulders above the rest, should be held to 
 personify this abstract quality, and so described (admir- 
 ingly) as ' characters.' The one is commonly, and by his 
 
 own preference, called ' M T .' He served in Her 
 
 Majesty's Marines (hence his cognomen), and even now 
 will flourish his cap, with a sound, ' God bless her ! ' at 
 the very mention of the Widow's name ; also, furthermore, 
 if a patron be generous, he will not scruple to be loyally 
 drunk. He represents Bohemianism in its eternal 
 war against respectability, and, as himself remarks, 
 he had leifer sleep ' at the dyke-back than in a dirty 
 lodgin'.' He is thought to be the offspring of a Scottish 
 minister of the straightest sect of the Presbyterians ; 
 and, indeed, he does exhibit a great repugnance to 
 being drunk upon the Sabbath. He insists (without 
 regards to the parental reputation) that he was ' born 
 drunk ' ; but he is a man of sixty, and his memory 
 is scarce to be trusted on the point. He lives partly 
 by odd jobs and partly on a pension : once paid 
 quarterly, but he commuted the half of it, in a moment of 
 peculiar thirst, for a lump sum, money down. Since the 
 new policeman was appointed we have seen less of him 
 than we used. Our other ' character ' is or was, for we 
 are now lamenting his demise a fisherman, one ' Puffin' 
 Bill,' so named because of his supposed resemblance to the 
 bird. The gossip and the Timothy Tosspot of the village, 
 and furthermore a great authority on sport, his was a 
 striking figure, truly, as he lounged stooping full six feet 
 at the corner : with his ragged beard afloat, and his tall 
 felt hat thrust over the thatch of his brows, and his little 
 ring of idlers to whom he would hold forth as one having 
 authority upon every conceivable topic, though with the 
 greatest mastery upon the shooting of wild duck. Laughter
 
 OUR VILLAGE. 17 
 
 followed where he went, and the shrewder sort would wink 
 and nudge at his quips. None was keener or quicker to 
 mark out the V-shaped flight at sea, or to know the spot 
 where you should lie in wait for it early in the morning or 
 late, late at e'en. To the very last he would be on the 
 look-out ; and if he saw duck flying high in the air, or 
 faintly visible under a heavy line of cloud, or low down on 
 a stormy sea, he would make a point of letting you know 
 of it. ' D'ye see yon ? ' he would say, and catch you by 
 the arm : and the apathy would vanish from his eye, quick 
 as the upspring of a bird's lid when you startle it from 
 sleep. ' D'ye see yon ? ' shading his vision with one hand 
 and pointing out to sea with the other to a wedged-shaped 
 flock of birds speeding rapidly northwards against the 
 wind : ' there's nigh ten brace o' mallards ; ay, and mebbe 
 ye'd get a shot at them the morn out on the rocks a bit 
 eftor dawn.' Now that he's gone we are by way of dread- 
 ing lest our reputation for character be held to be on the 
 wane. Yet we comfort ourselves by reflecting that in this 
 matter, as with our Northern coal-fields, the substratum 
 runs so deep that there can be no fear of its being ' worked 
 out ' : at all events in our time.
 
 WITH THE NORTH COUNTRY 
 "METHODIES." 
 
 P^OUBT may flourish like a green bay, but not in the 
 *' strong soil of the ' Methodies.' Elsewhere the 
 oracles are dumb, but here they speak with unequivocal 
 directness. Here you shall hearken to a preacher who 
 discourses concerning the ' Maistor ' as intimately as a 
 Yorkshireman of ' t'owd squire.' The ' Primitives ' are the 
 most fervent in praise and the most ' powerful in prayer ' ; 
 for, being poorer as a rule, and coming closer to the true 
 condition of the Apostles, they are less let and hindered 
 by the carnal impediments that may prevail elsewhere : as, 
 for instance, a choice of words that shall not offend the 
 richer and weaker-kneed. Copper may be the staple of 
 collection, and paraffine the only visible mode of illum- 
 ination ; the breath of the worshippers may hang frosty 
 on the draughts of Little Bethel, yet it will but serve to 
 kindle brighter the flame within. None will be found 
 squeamish where all are poor, and you may call a spade a 
 spade and hurt nobody. Thus, a pitman, when he ' gets 
 religion,' usually becomes a private in the ranks of the 
 ' Primitives.' The bonds of the Church are too narrow for 
 him ; the repetition of the Litany is vain in his ears and 
 shrives him not ; no confession of miserable sinnership may 
 appease his ardour. It follows, then, that himself must 
 preach, for he is ' under a concern,' as an old-time Quaker 
 would say. He has a personal testimony to give forth 
 unto the world, and he turns to it with a like energy to 
 that he displays in fronting the ' coal face ' in the pit. And 
 thus it is he takes service with the ' Primitives,' for a 
 wider space and a larger liberty are here afforded him ; 
 with an immediate sphere of influence as well in the ' class- 
 meeting ' as in the ' prayer-meeting ' after service. The 
 ancient spirit of the North is strong in him ; like Hotspur
 
 WITH THE NORTH COUNTRY METHODIES. 19 
 
 in the matter of love-making, he ' looks not greenly, nor 
 gasps out eloquence, nor hath he no cunning in protestation.' 
 He will kill you some six or seven dozen sins at a 'praying' 
 and think it but ' a trifle, a trifle ' and will fall to it at the 
 ' classes ' after his day in the pit with a ' Fie upon this 
 quiet life ! ' 
 
 Occasionally, perhaps, it may chance that there is a 
 mistake as to vocation : as with him who, tiring of the 
 discipline of the ' classes,' seceded, and curtly replied to 
 the query of the ' leader ' that he was ' dyen wiv' releegion 
 and wis gannin' te join the Chorch.' Unrelieved of book- 
 learning, in the earlier stages he sometimes resembles the 
 Ethiopian courtier who understood not what he was 
 reading ; as in the story of him who candidly confessed 
 that he did not know what sort of a ' tree ' was indicated 
 by the ' passle-tree ' (psaltery) ; as with that other who, 
 expounding the meaning of the ' gross darkness ' in which, 
 according to the Prophet, the people sat, satisfied his 
 audience that that darkness of the mine they knew was as 
 nothing, in comparison, for a gross being twelve times 
 twelve, 'gross darkness' was ' one hundred and fotty-fower 
 times darker than the darkness o' the pit.' But when one 
 putteth forth his hand to the plough it is rare for him to 
 turn back ; rather he passes on, from praying and relating 
 his experience at the ' class-meeting ' to passing an exam- 
 ination and turning local preacher : when, like an Apostle 
 of old, he goes the rounds and ' confirms the Churches.' 
 Often he is a great reader; daily he searches the Scrip- 
 tures; his speech teems with quotations from the ' Book.' 
 Nor does he halt if he be a ' bit of a scholar,' but will 
 study the Fathers hard. Or, it may be, he takes a fancy 
 to Milton or Baxter, shining lights of the Puritans, and 
 these shall leaven his discourse with strong yet pleasant 
 old-world savours. His real strength as preacher lies in 
 his intimate knowledge of the daily life and habits of them 
 that ' sit under him.' A fisherman discoursing to fishermen 
 departs but little from his work-a-day occupation : six days 
 in the week he fishes, and on the seventh he casts his nets 
 for men, savouring his utterance with metaphors sweet in 
 the belly of them whose business lies in the great waters.
 
 20 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 And so religion becomes a homely and a comfortable 
 thing; being no longer kept for the Sabbath (like best 
 clothes), but rounded to the actual life of day-by-day. A 
 pitman will entrance his hearers by an apt allusion to the 
 pit, and if the pit be what is known as ' fiery,' why, 'twill 
 be odds if he cannot terrify the ' reprobate ' by some rich, 
 juicy, and satisfying description of the terrors in store for 
 them. 
 
 But it is a mistake to suppose that his staple of doctrine 
 is always terrifying, or that with him, as with Andrew 
 Fairservice, the teaching of other persuasions is held to be 
 no better than ' clauts o' cauld parritch.' Indeed, a certain 
 pitman we know who boldly maintains the very opposite : 
 alleging that inasmuch as he had no benefit of education the 
 ' puir barefoot laddie,' selling matches at the street corner, 
 is in no more parlous case than the preacher himself, who 
 has all the advantages of ' book-larnin'.' Yet the pulpiteers, 
 being strong men, as their hearers are also, do undoubtedly 
 preach not milk for babes -but hot meat for the strong. 
 But the very differences amongst them have their comfort- 
 able side, and the more nervous in the audience are better 
 sustained by the quiet earnestness of Pratt the shoemaker 
 than by the fiery eloquence of ' Geordie ' the pitman : who, 
 after the fashion of a great Scots preacher, seems like to 
 ' ding the pulpit into blads and so flee oot,' whenever he 
 falls to it on the terrors of the Wrath to come. 
 
 Sanguine persons rejoice in looking forward to the time 
 when ' meeting-house and kirk, Little Bethel and the 
 Church, Synagogue and Oratory shall be joined together 
 in one large " annexe," and the " Old Man " of Dissent 
 having been " put off," all mankind shall worship harmoni- 
 ously in the universal church.' But those who know the 
 said ' Old Man of Dissent ' know better.
 
 UPON THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING A 
 NORTH COUNTRYMAN. 
 
 P\ANS le Midi, 1'homme du Nord se reconnait a son 
 *-* attitude tranquille, a la concision de son lent parler, 
 tout aussi surement que le meridinal se trahit dans le nord 
 pas son exuberance de pantomime et de debit." So writes 
 the historian of the Pays du Midi anent the difference in the 
 respective bearing of Tartarin, the man of the South, and 
 the man of the North, the Due de Mons. 
 
 " C'est la race qui vent fa, jeune homme," says the 
 great Tartarin, " nous sommes tous les memesa Tarascon. 
 Du matin au soir, on rit, on chante, et le rest du temps on 
 danse la farandole." There the sun shines ever, and the 
 wind blows softly, rendering life joyous for the Tarasconnais, 
 yet fostering, too, the dreamy imaginative habit, the dislike 
 of realities, that dread disease ' la mensonge.' 
 
 But in the colder North another strain is to be met ; 
 there you will find a race, hardy, practical, and unpoetic, 
 lovers of ' les rentes,' keen-nosed as ' bon homme Grandit ' 
 for a bargain, conscious as a Scot of the value of "siller," 
 and, above all, inimical to ' la mensonge,' the bane of the 
 Pays du Midi. 
 
 So, too, even in Britain, the home of the unemotional, 
 will the North countryman bewray himself by a conciser 
 speech, and greater reserve of manner, while the Southron, 
 with his large loquacity and easy habit, will prove his 
 origin in the colder North. 
 
 " Yes," continued Joseph Poorgrass, his shyness, which 
 was so painful as a defect, filling him with a mild com- 
 placency now that it was regarded as an interesting study. 
 " 'Twere blush, blush, blush with me every minute of the 
 time when she was speaking to me." " Blushes hev been 
 in the family for generations. There, 'tis a happy provi- 
 dence that I be no worse, and I feel the blessing." 
 
 " True," said Jacob Smallboy, deepening his thoughts 
 to a profounder view of the subject, " 'Tis a thought to
 
 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 look at that ye might have been worse ; but even as you 
 be, 'tis a very bad affliction for ye, Joseph." 
 
 So speaks the man of Wessex, and between him and the 
 man from Glasgow what a difference ! " Gude save us," 
 said Andrew, " in what can I hae offended your honour ? 
 Certain a' flesh is but as the flowers o' the field ; but if a 
 bed of chamomile has value in medicine, of a surety the use 
 of Andrew Fairservice to your honour is nothing less 
 evident it's as muckle as your life's worth to part with 
 me." 
 
 Set these two worthies face to face in the arena, and let 
 the thumb of the populace decide, and t'will be but short 
 shrift for the man of Wessex. 
 
 'Twas a Scot, of course, who prayed fora 'guid conceit 
 of hissel' ' (and Solomon himself had scarce done better), 
 while 'twas a Southron that poorly asked to be delivered 
 from " witches and wizzards, and long-tailed buzzards." 
 Theologians may quarrel as to the respective degree of 
 piety involved, yet no one can doubt as to which of the 
 twain will win the greater carnal success. Your Southron, 
 indeed, is more loosely joined together ; nature hath forgot 
 to dovetail his parts with accuracy. Inconsequent he is, 
 and sidelong as the stealthy crab will he approach the 
 object of desire. When started upon a descriptive effort 
 he will choose you the method of the 'circular tour,' and 
 visit, like the cit abroad, the greatest number of places 
 possible before ever he attains his goal. 
 
 So Andrew Hedger, the Hampshire man, when he 
 undertakes to show the stranger the way to Diana's house, 
 wanders here and there in effectual maze for three quarters 
 of an hour, and finally stops short in rapture, forgetful of 
 his mission, to gaze upon the pale body of a slaughtered 
 porker, and " Ah could eat hog a solid hower ! " says he. 
 
 The further North one goes the colder becomes the 
 climate and the more practical the people. A Yorkshire- 
 man will know more concerning a horse (and there is 
 money in horses) than most mothers about their children ; 
 the Northumbrian miner knows so well what is not good 
 for him that he will have nothing to do with a legal eight 
 hours' bill, notwithstanding the blandishments of the
 
 THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING A NORTH COUNTRYMAN. 23 
 
 Socialist, while a Scot with his hereditary wisdom will 
 make a "bawbee" go further than a South countryman 
 a sixpence. The Northumbrian, indeed, may be said to 
 be the younger, or prodigal brother to the Scot, for he loves 
 to early finger his share of his father's goods, and quickly 
 reap a youth's enjoyment, whereas his elder brother over 
 the Border, knowing full well that 'tis as difficult to replace 
 ' siller,' once lost, as to repair a broken skin, is righteously 
 indignant at slaughter of fatted calves. Yet the younger is 
 not to seek, neither, in the matter of worldly wisdom, for 
 he knows right well that there is yet remaining the un- 
 touched moiety of parental goods at home, and thither, 
 when pocket is empty, he quickly hastens. 
 
 Apart, indeed, from this quandom recklessness of his 
 (which should be pardoned him, for ' he has it from his 
 father '), the Northumbrian hath many a Scottish quality. 
 His speech is epigrammatic and incisive, his point of view 
 is practical and direct, and what he sets his heart on, that 
 will he acquire. 
 
 'Tis with wit rather than humour he practises, and he 
 can deal you a home thrust as shrewdly as the ' pawkiest ' 
 Scot, as witness the occasion when the North Tynedale 
 celebrity put the ' meenister,' who had been somewhat 
 foolishly upbraiding him, to an entire confusion thus : 
 " They maun ha' been unco scant o' timmer when they 
 made ye a pillar o' the kirk." 
 
 The Southron, on the other hand, with slower mind and 
 humbler nature, hath the greater turn of humour, and here 
 again he is at a disadvantage, for wit is forged for attack, 
 while humour is mainly useful in life's battle for defence. 
 
 Down South, again, the forelock may be tugged as the 
 ' Squire ' passes, but in the North a nod suffices. Warmth 
 of heart may incline to the side of the Northerner, but the 
 Southerner has the best of the manner. 
 
 In the ' North-countrie,' indeed, the small clothes of 
 feudalism have long since been discarded, the last ' clout ' 
 having been ' cast ' at time of the discovery (dating from 
 1832) that one man is as good as another. Here the 
 various qualities of a man are scrutinized in a practical 
 business light, are summed up as though 'twere matter for
 
 24 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 a balance sheet, with auditor's certificate duly attached. 
 Thus ' canny ' may with equal ease describe ' my lord ' or 
 pot-boy, provided (according to the glossary) either possess 
 ' certain kind, agreeable and useful qualities.' ' Gobby,' 
 again, will pick off a man neatly, though 'twere a difficult 
 word to translate into less than a sentence. 
 
 When the celebrated James Pigg, a native, as he 
 proudly proclaimed himself, of ' Paradise, aside Canny 
 Newcassel,' called upon Mr. Jorrocks in answer to his 
 advertisement for a huntsman, he thus characterized his 
 countrymen, " Aye, civil, aye, they're all civil enough gin 
 you're civil to them. If ye set up your gob, they'll mump 
 it, I's warn't." 
 
 Suggestive peculiarities, again, are commonly picked 
 out as relentlessly as amongst schoolboys, for exposure, 
 epithets being terse, and polysyllables eschewed. 'Tis 
 doubtless a wholesome practice, for it tends to the correction 
 of all undue egotism, and in the case of the sensitive, is of 
 value in cauterizing the part affected. Up here, indeed, a 
 man wears not his heart upon his sleeve for any daw to 
 peck at, and it may well be that a Northern cuff will 
 indicate as much affection as a Southern kiss. 
 
 North-country eulogy seems at first sight, often enough, 
 to be mainly depreciatory, consisting chiefly of negatives, 
 and it is only by applying the Baconian method that one 
 can arrive at the real essence. Thus, over the Border, if 
 an individual is ' no this, no that,' and ' no t'ither,' it follows 
 ' per exclusionem et rejectionem ' that an affirmative basis 
 of excellence will be found for him to stand on at last. 
 
 And now, summing up, one may say that the Northerner 
 will usually have the advantage in life's handicap over the 
 Southerner, for his view is narrower, and his horizon is 
 limited by the practical, whereas his fellow-man in the 
 South is as frequently a dreamer. 
 
 'Tis doubtless all a question of climate. In regions 
 where the sun shines warmly the physical needs are less 
 oppressive, and the necessity for exertion smaller, but 
 where the east wind is the vogue, man must exert himself 
 or die of inanition, with the result that the physical activity 
 thus begotten insensibly effects the mental faculties in a 
 like direction.
 
 ON THE FURTHER ADVANTAGE OF BEING 
 A SCOT. 
 
 ON no subject, indeed, have more individuals, even of 
 acknowledged ability, made a greater number of 
 mistakes than in treating of the national character of the 
 Scots people. One would think, indeed, to listen to these 
 gentry, that some serious disadvantage clung to each 
 member of that race, that the mere fact of their nationality, 
 like ignorance of Court in the case of Touchstone's shep- 
 herd, sufficed to put them in the same " parlous state." 
 Again, not only do they show ill-breeding by sneers 
 directed at the poverty of the race, but they prove their 
 own mental range to be extraordinarily narrow by assert- 
 ing, as they vehemently do, that the Scot has no notion of 
 humour, and but little idea of wit. 
 
 One who has been called the "wisest and wittiest of 
 Englishmen," Dr. Samuel Johnson, was never tired of 
 levelling his wit, like some clumsy petronel, against the 
 devoted body of the Scots nation, and yet, (alas for the 
 inconsistency of human nature !) his chiefest companion 
 through life was one who came from that detested country. 
 Another famous English wit was wont to groan in Athenian 
 fashion over the Bseotia of Scotland, and was even carried 
 to such lengths by prejudice as to assert that it required a 
 " surgical operation " to get a joke into the head of a Scot. 
 
 The fact is, that the great doctor's prejudice was 
 due to what he might have himself acknowledged to 
 be (had it been roundly put to him by a lady) " pure 
 ignorance, ma'am," while the prejudice of the well-known 
 clergyman who uttered the above- quoted mot was chiefly 
 due to pique. Because a Scot does not guffaw over 
 a mot is there to be no inward chuckle ? Does one sayer 
 of " good things " ever care a button or waste a smile over 
 ihejeux d' 'esprit of another ? Of course not. The stranger
 
 26 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 in Edinburgh departed disgusted because, amongst a 
 people notorious for pungent wit, incisive epigram, and 
 crushing repartee his own poor humour went unregarded. 
 
 I will here at once acknowledge that for humour in the 
 ordinary acceptation of the term the Scot does not greatly 
 care. For the clown and the red hot poker he has some- 
 thing of a contempt. It is skimble shamble stuff, whereas 
 " wut " is a matter of practical significance ; the play- 
 ground of the full-grown man, the delight of the greybeard 
 who has plumbed life's depths, and acquired a correct 
 notion of the value of " siller." Humour, indeed, is poor 
 stuff compared to wit, going frequently, as the learned Mr. 
 Burton discovered, with melancholy, and accompanying a 
 poor opinion of one's self, whereas wit is the vin brut of the 
 mind, trodden out of the unadulterated intellect, oozing 
 forth from the winepress of those who have " a gude 
 conceit o' theirselves." If you want a matter put with 
 terseness and conciseness, and neat so as to fit into a 
 nutshell ; full of sap, and ripe with knowledge of the 
 depravity of one's neighbour, you must turn to a Scot with 
 his " pawky " wit and biting intellect. Say the notorious 
 failings of womankind are in question, and how tame is the 
 " varium et mutabile semper " of Virgil, how tiresome the 
 long tirades of Juvenal, as compared with the epigrammatic 
 scorn of an Andrew Fairservice. " Na, na ; we'll hae nae 
 slices o' the spare rib here, be praised for't," quoth the 
 gardener at Osbaldistone Hall ; " the first of his trade 
 having had," as he shrewdly puts it, " eneuch o' thae 
 cattle." Or say, again, that the frequent failure of the 
 preacher to administer comfort from the pulpit is the topic, 
 and where will you find the soul of wit so distinguishable 
 as in the gardener's description of the discourse at the 
 parish church. Four little words suffice to reveal a world 
 of discontent ; and " Clauts o' cauld parritch, clauts o' 
 cauld parritch," replied Andrew, with a most supercilious 
 sneer. 
 
 " We do not laugh," says a recent writer, " at real 
 humour. It falls upon us with the deliberation of the 
 morning dew. We know not how it comes, but only that 
 it is there." So it is with the humour of an Andrew Fair-
 
 ON THE FURTHER ADVANTAGE OF BEING A SCOT. 27 
 
 service or an Edie Ochiltree, who to a deliberation like 
 that of the morning dew join the crushing force of the 
 bludgeon. After an encounter with such an adversary the 
 victim may be observed, like Monkbarns after the argu- 
 ment with Edie concerning the Prastorium, to hobble off 
 discomfited to some retired spot where he can proceed to 
 bind up his wounded self-respect as best he may. 
 
 Yet so inveterate is the prejudice of the Southron that 
 he will not even allow a Scot the merit of his own accom- 
 plishments. Believing in his narrow and foolish fashion 
 that the Scot, because he does not draw attention with 
 nudge and wink to his own witty sayings, is therefore 
 ignorant of their being, he loudly proclaims that he has no 
 notion of humour ; and, setting up as an authority on the 
 matter, constitutes himself showman to the wares of 
 another. 
 
 The reason why the Scot permits this intrusion is not 
 due, of course, to modesty, but to the strong reserve and 
 self-sufficiency so characteristic of the race. His wit and 
 humour are no house-top utterances, nor do they require 
 the stimulus of wine, but quietly they steal forth in the 
 way of soliloquy and every-day conversation, accompanied 
 by no advertising laughter, but by an inward chuckling. 
 He cares not whether the world outside perceives his drift ; 
 whether it disregards his jokes or makes them its own. It 
 is enough for him that his table is laid and his own digestion 
 keen ; whether others join him or no is a matter of indiffer- 
 ence. Thus, in justice, he should be praised equally for 
 the philosophy as for the good taste of his attitude, yet the 
 reward he reaps from the world is an accusation of dulness 
 of mental faculty. One might, indeed, as well accuse the 
 lady of quality who without ostentation wears upon her 
 person costly jewels, of ignorance of their value, as vilify 
 the Scot because he draws not attention to his adorning 
 wit. 
 
 And now, to turn to the general question whether the 
 Scot is really disadvantaged, as many believe, by his 
 hereditary characteristics. The truth is that, if only 
 prejudice be discarded, it will at once appear that the 
 supposition is ridiculous and untenable. Granted that he
 
 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 starts from scratch, owing to circumstances over which he 
 has no control, in the handicap of life, his idiosyncrasy is 
 such that he eventually attains the pride of place. The 
 vulgar belief, of course, insists that he is rough-mannered 
 and taciturn, lacking versatility, redolent of the sancti- 
 monious. Here again, if one regards the matter rightly, it 
 will be seen at once that these accusations result from 
 prejudice, jealousy and superficial observation. Virtue, 
 indeed, is never popular never nearly so enchanting to 
 the vulgar as a little wildness. A " douce, responsible 
 man," such as Aristides is hissed off the stage, whilst a 
 " pleasure-loving, rake-helly chiel," such as Alcibiades is 
 recalled by the groundlings again and again. If on occasion 
 he be a trifle brusque it is because he is so devout a lover 
 of the truth ; if ever a little taciturn it is because he is a 
 philosopher ; if apparently lacking in charity it is that he 
 knows the majority are " reprobate," unworthy of pearls ; 
 if ever sanctimonious to the outward view, because he loves 
 piety and the ordinary do not ; while as for versatility, he 
 is, in argument especially, the nimblest of mankind. " I 
 wunner at ye, Bailie," responded the quick official who 
 was " heckled " concerning the water-supply (early closing 
 being the rule of the " toon ") " I wunner at ye talkin' o' 
 water when it's ten meenits till ten o'clock." The Bailie, 
 needless to say, hastily adjourned the meeting, and the 
 subject of the water-supply at once became a matter of 
 secondary importance. 
 
 That famous Scot, the Admirable Crichton, attained, as 
 every one knows, so wide a reputation throughout the 
 world of the sixteenth century for his versatility and variety 
 of accomplishments that his name has come down to us as 
 a pattern for all the ages. " All the choicest and most 
 profound philosophers, mathematicians, naturalists, medi- 
 cinists," &c., we are told, " together with the professors of 
 arts and disciplines at Paris, studied and set their brains 
 awork how to devise the most difficult questions, thereby 
 to puzzle him in the resolving of them, meander him in his 
 answers, put him out of his medium, and drive him to a 
 non-plus." And yet, so quick and apt was the Scot, so 
 endowed with the resources of his race, that he kept all 
 this mighty host at bay without an effort.
 
 ON THE FURTHER ADVANTAGE OF BEING A SCOT. 29 
 
 Again, how ridiculous is the belief that a Scot is 
 naturally boorish and ill-mannered. When one reflects 
 upon his characteristics it is apparent at once that the self- 
 confidence with which he is reproached, so far from being a 
 stumbling-block to good breeding, is in reality the crown of 
 good manners. It is only your shy and awkward, diffident 
 and self conscious individual who will never learn what to 
 do or say upon an emergency. The Scot never hesitates by 
 doubting his own capacities, nor commits that grievous sin 
 against good breeding, an apology, but knows what is due 
 to him, and, without any bourgeois diffidence, takes it. 
 
 Where would you find better breeding than in the quiet 
 self-possession of an old Aberdeenshire man, gillie and 
 weaver, upon whom one afternoon her Majesty unexpectedly 
 made a call ? Informed of the honour done him, out goes 
 John to the carriage-side, in no wise abashed by the scarlet 
 liveries or the presence of Royalty itself. " An' sae ye hae 
 come," was his greeting as he tugged at his forelock, proud 
 as a man might be, but as self-possessed as though he were 
 but welcoming an old friend to tea. Her Majesty 
 descended and visited the small biggin, John acknowledging 
 next day that his wife Mary was " some shy," but he 
 " kenned weel eneuch hoo to talk to that class o' person."
 
 CHILDREN OF BOREAS. 
 
 PHE suckling of Romulus and Remus by the wolf is not 
 * merely an interesting phenomenon in natural history, 
 or a pardonable act of self-advertisement on the part of 
 that far-seeing animal, but an important fact to the scientist 
 of to-day who explains so much by means of " hereditary 
 tendencies." He will see, of course, in the ferocity of the 
 Roman soldier evidence of ancestral influence, and, 
 similarly, we perhaps may trace the special type of 
 character to be met with in Northumberland to the rough 
 nursing of Boreas. The southerner who sojourns there is 
 often somewhat puzzled and offended by an apparent lack 
 of social courtesy of the " s'il vous plait " of life. He will 
 dislike to have his own " good evening " responded to by a 
 gruff nod from " Geordie the pitman " on his homeward 
 way, and it is not till he comes to closer touch that he 
 can recognise the warmth of the heart under Geordie's 
 jacket. 
 
 Three main traits of character and one shibboleth seem 
 ingrafted in the Northumbrian nature : a mighty determin- 
 ation and a certain resulting ruggedness, a keen love of 
 sport, a great capacity for liquor, and a curious phonetic 
 difficulty with the letter " r." These are the four leading 
 " habits " to use a gardener's phrase of the Northumbrian 
 character, found alike amid the older gentry, the industrial 
 population, the pitmen, the Tynedale lads, and the fisher- 
 men along the coast. They seem, indeed to have given up 
 all hope of ever conquering the letter " r." They begin by 
 rolling it, like the Scots, then in despair are fain to swallow 
 it; the result being the well-known "burr" by which the 
 Northumbrian is bewrayed. Their determination, however, 
 (apart from the matter of this little "r") is clearly shown 
 in every other walk of life, and is especially manifested in 
 politics and sport.
 
 CHILDREN OF BOREAS. 31 
 
 The working classes, of course, are almost to a man 
 Gladstonian Radicals ; and having once made up their 
 minds on any point (which is done pretty quickly) nothing 
 will induce them to listen to the other side of the question. 
 One trial is enough to convince even the most persistent 
 and stout-hearted that their conversion is impossible. As 
 to the love of sport of all kinds the daily challenges in the 
 local newspapers are evidence of how deep a root it has in 
 the northern heart. Here you read that " I, A.B. will 
 match my pigeon to fly any pigeon in Newcastle, i mile to 
 3 miles, for 10 a side," and next, " I, B.C., am astonished 
 at D. of Pity-me, wanting to shoot me after the last match. 
 I will shoot him at 30 pigeons each ; gun below elbow, 
 elbow down, &c., &c." There is no difficulty for the 
 willing sportsman ; he has but to pre-pay his challenge and 
 name his fancy rabbit coursing, sparrow-shooting, boxing, 
 whatever he may choose, and a competitor will instantly 
 confront him. It is "sport " rather than athletics to which 
 the Northumbrian is devoted, and he dearly loves (after 
 the time-honoured fashion of sportsmen everywhere) to 
 back his opinion with money. " Geordie, the pitman " is, 
 perhaps, typical in this respect, being always ready with 
 his " brass " to back his fancy. " At Pitch and Toss," one 
 writer says, " I have seen a pitman who won jo in one 
 afternoon lose the whole of it next day in betting on the 
 bowling on Newcastle Town Moor, and go to work the 
 next day afterward guiltless of the ownership of sixpence." 
 
 He may usually be known by his dog, for without one 
 he feels, according to the well-known story, " sae stark 
 neaked like." It is often a greyhound for coursing hares, 
 or if that be too expensive, a mongrel for rabbits. Then 
 again, he is a pigeon fancier, and ofttimes you may meet 
 him carrying in his hand a square wooden box with per- 
 forated top, containing his homing pigeon, or perhaps he 
 has his bird fast in his hand to fly it from a nearer flighting 
 place. An ardent pigeon-flyer had the question of the 
 Church's disestablishment presented to him in a very 
 attractive light, when it became evident to him that he 
 might possibly attain possession of the porch's architrave 
 to strengthen therewith his beloved " pigeon-ducket "
 
 32 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 (pigeon-cote). And it is well known that another, when 
 lying on his deathbed and listening to a discourse concern- 
 ing the metamorphoses that await the true believer in 
 another world, startled the clergyman by asking him if he 
 would have wings too. " Ye-es," replied the clergyman, 
 somewhat taken aback ; with all humility, he trusted 
 he might say so. " Then," said Geordie, eagerly, the old 
 Adam flashing forth, "a'll flee thee for a sovereign." If, 
 again, Geordie happens to be of a quieter turn of mind, he 
 becomes a great gardener, proof of which is that a certain 
 variety of pink claims him as " eponymos." Sometimes he 
 is a poultry-fancier ; and if he takes to music he will make 
 noise enough for an entire orchestra. This same energy is 
 also proven when he is in for a drinking bout on " pay- 
 Saturday," as it is called. This is his opportunity when 
 his fortnightly wages are jingling " cannily " in his pocket. 
 Then, indeed, does he show his descent from the valiant 
 ale-quaffers and mead-champions of a more northerly 
 North. 
 
 Yet, though a deep drinker, he is no tippler. He is not 
 in the habit of fuddling himself, as unfortunately some of 
 his neighbours are. His work is too hard to admit of that, 
 and his mind is too broad and his energies too vigorous to 
 submit to such frittered and slovenly ways. " Canny 
 Newcassel " itself, as a town, ranks very high in the class 
 lists of drunkenness. " Proxime accessit " may describe 
 with fair accuracy her position, while throughout the 
 country the ancient devotion to strong drink prevails. 
 Race-week, the last week in June, is of course the great 
 event of the year. It is then that the Carnival of the 
 North is held, and work there is next to none. Pits are 
 laid idle, and factories are stopped or work " short-time." 
 Banks close at i p.m. each day, and not long after, partner 
 and clerk may be seen cheek by jowl in the enclosures, 
 enquiring " the odds." Any good Tiorse owned by a local 
 man is generally made favourite by the populace. But he 
 must really be a good one, for the knowledge of horseflesh 
 is well diffused. 
 
 Such are the more obvious characteristics of North- 
 umbria, and as they are now so have they been for centuries.
 
 CHILDREN OF BOREAS. 33 
 
 We may note the same eager and determined spirit in the 
 defiance that brought upon the land the terrible punishment 
 of William the Conqueror, traces of which are to be seen 
 to this day. In the same way we may explain the 
 marauding, raiding, reiving that went on continuously till 
 the accession of James VI. of Scotland; and the cock- 
 fighting, bull and bear baiting, and heavy potations of a 
 later day all testify to the same strong strain of blood and 
 tradition.
 
 TALES. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 GEORDIE NICHOLSON . . . -35 
 
 THE HERD OF WINDYHAUGH . . .45 
 
 THE BIGGIN' BY THE LOCH. . . 58 
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUAY . . .73 
 
 DAFT WILLIE .... 102 
 
 BY BUDLE BAY . 108
 
 GEORDIE NICHOLSON. 
 
 pHE stranger who, perchance, may have wended his 
 way some Saturday afternoon along the broad road 
 leading due north from the town of Oldcastle, will, doubt- 
 less, have been surprised at the evolutions of a squad of 
 black figures, thickly packed upon the centre of the bleak 
 common, wide-spreading on his left. Now they are massed 
 together, thick as a swarm of flies ; anon they unbind and 
 straggle off in knots of two or three, only, however, to 
 re-form, after an interval, thickly as before. Occasionally, 
 a half-clad active figure may gleam amidst the throng, 
 then suddenly there is motion and commotion, and a 
 hoarse shout breaks upon the air. If the wayfarer be 
 curious, and approach nearer, the sounds of mighty oaths 
 will din upon his ears, another step or two and he will find 
 himself amid a throng of North-country pitmen, hot upon 
 the primeval game of " bowls." Heroes of old time may 
 well have sported at such a game as this, fit pastime for 
 men of brawn for the " bool " is of heavy stone, needing 
 a strong arm to cast rightly, lovingly rounded, cupped for 
 the fingers' grip so the stranger may well believe, as he 
 watches the pitman rushing side-long to the mark, and 
 then with a mighty jerk heave his " bool " along the plain. 
 The heavy ball crashes through the air, claps upon the 
 turf, and speeds away in the direction of the white flag in 
 the distance. For a moment or two silence ; then, as the 
 " bool " creeps up and perchance shoots past the other, 
 the air is rent with confused excited cries, through which, 
 like meteors, flash the mighty oaths, strong utterances of 
 
 strong men On a certain September afternoon 
 
 the excitement was intense upon this bleak and windy 
 moor, for Geordie Nicholson and Jimmy Straughan were 
 matched for ^50. Jimmy had led all along the track, and 
 now his " bool " lay within fifteen yards of the handicap
 
 36 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 mark. The " bookies " were offering 3 to i against 
 Geordie, as he took up his 20 oz. bowl for his last cast ; 
 gravely he consulted with his "marrow" (mate) who 
 " trigged " for him on this eventful day, carefully noted 
 the indicated line, preluded first, then with a mighty rush 
 shot forth the heavy ball of stone. Lightly it lit and 
 bounded onwards, rolling without impediment over the 
 uneven turf; now it had crept up to where the other lay, 
 but tottered for a moment on the rising ground, then, 
 staggering over, rolled onward to lie dead, two feet over 
 the winning line. A shout as of Valhalla rent the air 
 Geordie had won. Backers and fielders, winners and 
 losers crowded round with one accord, vying in con- 
 gratulations, for such a cast as this had never been known 
 within the memory of man. 
 
 " Eh, maw canny hinny," quoth Geordie's "marrow " in 
 an ecstasy, his eye dim with unaccustomed moisture, 
 " maw canny hinny, damn thee, but thoo's a jool ; an' 
 noo lads," he continued without pause, wiping away 
 the moisture from his eye with his sleeve, and turning 
 to the throng around him, " had awa' te the public 
 an' wor Geordie '11 gie ye a'al a boose." So the com- 
 pany trooped off in the natural direction, discussing 
 the mighty deed, while Geordie, having donned his upper 
 garments, followed after, his "marrow" clinging to him 
 as half afraid his hero, after such a feat, might be wafted 
 away from him Valhalla wards. A fifty pound note was duly 
 handed to the hero by the obsequious landlord, and as it 
 was "pay Saturday," and in addition to his well won bets, 
 his fortnightly wages were jingling in his pocket, Geordie 
 was a rich man that afternoon. 
 
 It might thus have been supposed that he would have 
 made a "night of it," but he seemed curiously pre-occupied, 
 and it was soon evident that he was otherwise disposed, 
 for having sat and drank awhile, he whispered his "marrow " 
 to order a " machine " preparatory to going home. 
 
 The assembled company looked at each other knowingly 
 as Geordie gave his commands, nudging one another with 
 the elbow as though the secret of Geordie's departure was 
 well-known to them all, though maybe a delicate matter
 
 GEORDIE NICHOLSON. 37 
 
 within the length of Geordie's arm. Indeed, amid the 
 general admiration for the hero there seemed to mingle 
 commiseration, as for some weak spot in his character. 
 
 The " machine " arrived, he paid the reckoning, 
 (a goodly item) and slipped away with his sorrowful 
 "marrow," who inwardly groaned over such waste of 
 opportunity. 
 
 The cab rattled away homewards, and Geordie sank 
 back into his corner nursing a secret joy. 'Twas not that 
 he was so much elated at his triumph, as overjoyed at 
 what the triumph had brought with it. For now he could 
 pour into his Dinette's lap full seventy pounds of " brass," 
 for 'twas of Dinette he had been thinking the afternoon 
 through, and 'twas her, not his " marrow," he had seemed 
 to see before him as he gripped his " bool " for his last 
 victorious throw. Had it not been for that, never had he 
 vanquished "Jimmy," the champion of Bromilaw Colliery 
 and then, as ever in his happiest moments, his thoughts 
 turned back to the glorious day when he had taken her for 
 his wife, exactly a month agone. How she had ever 
 married him he had never quite understood, but 
 blindly accepted his happiness, and fearfully joyed over it, 
 daily in the depths of the pit as he hewed, and nightly 
 when he woke and found her sleeping beside him. He 
 minded how she had said one evening she was tired-like 
 of the theatre life, and had looked at him a wee-bit 
 sideways, and at once a mighty flame swept upward 
 through him, driving his heart to his lips with a leap, and 
 he had won, ay, won, just as he'd won the bowling match, 
 not knowing how a flash, a mist over the eyes, a year- 
 long moment, and there was the " bool " across the mark. 
 How well he minded, too, the first time ever he saw her 
 in the theatre, as she danced in the glare of the foot lights; 
 how with lusty lung he had helped to recall her again and 
 again, and how the wondrous luck of it all he had 
 chanced to meet her at the house of a far-away cousin of 
 his who lived in the " canny toon." Ay, and then to find 
 to his wonderment that he was even a kind of relation of 
 hers he, a " proper caution," a great " gowk " of a pitman, 
 she, neat as a fairy, trim as a bird i' the spring, the joy of 
 the theatre, treading a-tip-toe like a star at night.
 
 38 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 Her mother, whom he remembered to have "heard tell 
 of," was a " clivvor lass ; " had risen to be a teacher, and 
 married a " frenchy chep " who taught the violin, and thus 
 it was that his Dinette spoke a little foreign like, and was 
 so different from every other lass in the world. Ay, that she 
 was, he thought delightedly, as different as cheese from 
 chalk ; and then how strong she was too, though to look at 
 her ye'd think she'd snap in two in the hand like a blind 
 worm as ye pick it up. He laughed aloud as he called 
 to mind how she had once caught up in her little hands 
 " ill-tongued Janet " (who'd come in and set up her 
 " impittance "), carried her to the doorway and dropped 
 her into the road, her screeching all the time like an 
 " aad hen gannin' te hev its neck wringed." Again he 
 laughed aloud, for his "marrow" had fallen asleep, and 
 they were nearing home. Then the cab stopped and out 
 the two got, and Geordie gave " good neet " to his sorrow- 
 ful " marrow," who, knowing his hero would be visible no 
 more that evening, inwardly cursed the " furrin' lass " 
 who kept such a grip on his Geordie. 
 
 Geordie had hoped to find his Dinette in, but when he 
 reached his house, the topmost of the long row, it was 
 empty. No matter, she'd likely not yet got back from the 
 town where she had gone to market, and in the meantime 
 he would go out himself to the dene, four hundred yards or 
 so away, and see if there were any rabbits in the gins he 
 had set the night before. Wending his way along, his 
 happiness so overpowered him that he fell to thinking 
 again by way of relief why 'twas she'd married him ; 'twas 
 just his strength she'd a fancy for, it could be nowt else, 
 there was nowt in him but that ; ay, for did she not use 
 to pinch his arm and say, " Geordie thinks 'tis his, ah, the 
 poor Geordie, but 'tis mine, and 'tis I can hew in the pit, 
 and play the box better than them all." 
 
 Wrapped in his delights he carelessly went forward 
 through the wood, till suddenly he stumbled over some- 
 thing that caught his feet in the path, heard a piteous 
 squeak below him, and there in the gin was a struggling 
 rabbit. Why, he was gey an' lucky that afternoon, and 
 stooping down he plucked forth the rabbit, and, breaking
 
 GEURD1E NICHOLSON. 39 
 
 its neck with one swift stroke, thrust it into his pocket, 
 prepared to turn homewards. But just as he rose up 
 again, a figure some eighty yards higher up in the wood 
 struck his eye, why, 'twas she, his Dinette of course. 
 He was about to shout, when at the moment his eye caught 
 sight of another figure leaning carelessly against a tree 
 trunk beside her that of a man and as he looked, chill 
 fear caught at his heart. Who was it ? Who could it be ? 
 She'd ever kept all the men at a distance, and had nowt to 
 say to any of them ; not that he mistrusted her for a 
 moment but who could it be ? He could see the two 
 figures distinctly against the sunset's light, and could 
 catch their frequent laughter as they talked. The man 
 was fat, was adorned with trinkets, and was leering he 
 noted with a thrill of wrath right into Dinette's face. A 
 swaggerer, ay, and a " waster ; " soft fleshed a Jew 
 likely, ugh ! seemed, too, he'd seen him before somewhere, 
 ah now he had it, and Geordie dashed his hand across 
 his eyes in an agony, 'twas one of those theatre chaps 
 manager or such like come to 'tice her back. A venomous 
 smile crossed Geordie's lips as he thought how easily, if 
 that was the chap's game, he could end it one twist of 
 the hand on that fat neck of his, and his business would be 
 finished. Stealthily he drew nearer, unperceived through 
 the thick cover, till he could over-hear what was said ; 
 he was not one to judge too soon, but to give every man 
 his chance. 
 
 As he crouched behind a clump of elder, Dinette's 
 voice came distinctly to him searing his very heart's blood. 
 His lips turned to an ashy green, a rattle sounded in his 
 throat like that of a dying man 'twas she then his 
 Dinette, sickened with marriage, had sent for the chap to 
 take her away not he who had tracked her out. What 
 was he to do ? Rushing forth from his shelter, should he 
 seize and strangle her there and then ? Ay, that would 
 he, yet no, he could not, and her so beautiful. Rage 
 dropped like a stone through the cold depths of his despair. 
 
 " Bravo, bravo," shouted the manager loudly, almost 
 close beside him, as Dinette fell to curtsy and to strut 
 in front of him with wreathed hands and smiling face.
 
 40 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 11 Bravo, bravo," cries the manager, " encore, encore, 
 every throat from pit to gallery hurraying, and never an 
 empty seat in the house." 
 
 Greedily, like a wild beast, Geordie watched her as she 
 passed to and fro, and as he watched, a righteous anger 
 seized hold upon him. Slowly she danced unconscious 
 towards him, swaying delightedly this way and that, 
 kissing her hand as to a lover in the distance, now 
 challenging with eye and lip, then timid and all a-droop like 
 a flower; and now she was within a yard of him. There 
 came a sudden crash through the bushes, a cry of alarm 
 sounded, and Geordie stood face to face with her, so set 
 and impenetrable a look on his grave countenance, that an 
 involuntary terror seized her. Fool that she had been not 
 to have stolen away an hour sooner, was the thought that 
 flitted through her mind as she waited for Geordie to 
 speak. " An' se thoo wes gannin' te flit fre me ? " said he 
 slowly, speaking with a thick constrained utterance, " an 
 nivvor se much as te say good-bies, an' ye ma wedded 
 wife ? " There was a space of silence, for Dinette did not 
 reply, but stood with downcast eyes toying nervously with 
 her dress. 
 
 " An' can ye hev forgotten that this day a month agone 
 we swore te luv an' cherish each the other till death did us 
 part ? ay, scarce a month agone, an' yet ye've forgotten, 
 or else ye perjored yorsel that day. Which is it then, for 
 it mun be wan o' the two ? " and Geordie's voice had such 
 solemnity, that the manager, who stood by breathlessly 
 listening, grew nervous as to how this strange scene was 
 to end. " No, no, Geordie," Dinette replied, with a sudden 
 rush of words, " Ive not forgotten, but ye were so strong, 
 Geordie, and I was ill at the time, and weak, and tired of 
 the theatre life for a space, and 'twas pleasant to think 
 I'd a man to myself that was stronger than them all, and 
 yet I could conquer him with my little finger. Yes, I was 
 weak and tired, Geordie, an' when ye spoke like that, and 
 said I was a queen to ye, an' night and day would ye toil 
 for me, an' a smile would reward ye, ye tempted me, 
 Geordie ; if it could only be ' yes,' ye said, then the whole 
 world might go a beggin' for ye, for ye were heart
 
 GEORD1E NICHOLSON. 41 
 
 satisfied. Why then I said ' yes,' not thinking, for your 
 eyes were beseeching me like a wild thing's, as tho' for life, 
 an' I couldn't say ' no.' " 
 
 " Ay," replied Geordie slowly, and this time there was 
 something uneven in his voice, " Ay, sureties aw did, an' aw 
 spake heart's truth then, an' swore te the same faithfullies 
 before the priest an' in the sight o' Heaven whiles ye 
 ye swore te, yet 'twas a perjory." And here his voice 
 grew strong again till his words rang like a challenge in 
 his listeners' ears. 
 
 Again there was a space of silence, then Dinette com- 
 menced to tap her foot impatiently upon the ground. 
 What had she to do with grave and serious matters ? 
 Life should go ever gaily as a dancing tune, full of warmth, 
 and merriment, and love. What had she to do with 
 frowns, and oaths, and perjury ? So she reflected with 
 increasing irritation. Then quickly she replied : " And 
 did I ever think ye would treat me so ? and rate me like 
 a school girl thus ? Ah, no, not when ye made me promise 
 to marry ye, but soon I found the time would come when 
 we would be quarrelling, an' this is why I'm leavin' ye, 
 Geordie, to spare ye this. I was for goin' unawares to ye. 
 Aye, Geordie, we've made a mistake, we're not suited, for 
 I cannot stay still in the same place always, but love 
 change, and the theatre, and the applause of many, not of 
 one yes, that's the truth of it, an' if ye ask why I married 
 ye, 'tis as I said ye persuaded me, Geordie, an' frightened 
 me into it, once ye had me in those strong arms of yours. 
 Yes," she continued, gaining courage as she went on, " and 
 'tis certain I'd have gone before, but he," pointing to the 
 manager who was standing stock still in amazement at the 
 scene that was being played before his eyes, " was away 
 down south and could not come for me, and 'twas amusing, 
 too, to see the other men's wives here in the village copying 
 me in the way of walking and talking, and in their manner 
 of dress ; to see them stepping high, and holding up their 
 gowns as they crossed the road " and here she fell to 
 mimicking an awkward strut, then suddenly stopped short 
 to break into a ripple of laughter " Yes, 'twas enter- 
 tainment indeed, and then how they hated me while always 
 
 D
 
 42 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 they were for imitating me, that was the most amusing 
 of all." 
 
 At every fresh and unconscious revelation of her 
 heartlessness, Geordie's face grew paler and more stern, 
 and now he spoke again. 
 
 " An' se forgettin' aal that's passed atween us ye're 
 bent te leave me by maa lane ? Na, na, it canna be, 
 Dinette," and here his voice broke away in a sob, and he 
 fell upon his knees before her, " ye canna dee't, lassie, an' 
 me clean daft for ye ; wey, lassie, aw won the great match 
 on the toon moor this eftornoon, an aal wi' thinkin' o' 
 your bonny fyece, that might tempt an angel to gie up 
 heaven for ye ; see, lass, the brass aa've won for ye," and he 
 pulled out a handful of sovereigns, and poured them on the 
 grass at her feet. " Na, na, ye'll cyum back hyem wi' me, 
 an' think what a feast we'll hev the neet ; a singin' hinny, 
 an' aal that's canny, cyum awa, ma hinny," and he spread 
 out his arms imploringly. 
 
 With an increased impatience she drew herself away 
 from him, for she was fearful again now, his passion 
 frightening her, and she so eager to depart. " No, no, 
 Geordie, 'tis good-bye," she replied hastily, "an soon ye'll 
 be forgettin' me, an' thinkin' 'twas all a dream of the 
 night." 
 
 " Na, lass, a'll no," said Geordie slowly, as he rose to 
 his feet, his face whiter than before, but so fixed and 
 resolute that instinctively she shrank before him. "Tell me 
 then," he continued, and his voice was calm again, and 
 his whole bearing betokened an absolute self-possession, as 
 of a settled purpose, " if ye will no come back wi' me, will 
 ye let me cyum wi' ye, an' tend ye, an follow ye about tiv 
 all the theatres and plyces ye gan' te ? " 
 
 " No, no, ye cannot, I tell ye," replied she, with a spasm 
 of anger, his resoluteness terrifying her, " I cannot play, 
 and dance, and sing when all the time I'm tied to ye, an' 
 stifled with bondage ; can a bird sing i' the cage ? no, no, 
 no, I tell ye, ye cannot," and her voice rose shrilly upwards 
 in despair, for Geordie's face moved not nor showed any 
 sign of understanding. "An* if ye ask again why I mar- 
 ried ye," she went on heartlessly, for Geordie made no
 
 GEORDIE NICHOLSON. 43 
 
 answer, " why I've told ye, an' if that will not satisfy ye, 
 then I know not 'twas but a momentary folly I cannot 
 tell je suis artiste oui, oui, nay more, I am a woman," 
 she murmured proudly to herself, as she glanced down her 
 beautiful form to her delicate feet. "And am aw no a man ?" 
 came from Geordie's lip in turn, "ay, am aw, as ye could 
 hev seen on Newcassel Moor this eftornoon, ay, aw am that," 
 he repeated, with a proud simplicity, "and no te be thrown 
 awa' like an aad shoe when maybies ye've walked thro' 
 the mud wiv' it. 'Twes not for that I swore te ye te luv' 
 and cherish ye in sickness an' in health till death did us 
 part, a month since, an' 'twes in real ornest before the altar 
 that aw myed the oath ; ay, an' a'll keep to it. Ay," he 
 repeated solemnly, as he strode towards Dinette, who sank 
 in terror to the ground, and each word sounded slow and 
 solemn as a knell, " A'll keep to it, for 'twas till death did 
 us part." Gently he picked her up from the ground, and 
 folding her to his bosom, walked rapidly away uphill 
 through the wood. And now the manager, starting 
 from his trance, followed after and endeavoured to stop 
 his progress. " Put her down, man, put her down, 
 she's coming away with me, man, I'm sorry for ye, 
 but she's signed an engagement." Geordie's strong 
 right arm came sweeping round in reply, and hurled 
 the speaker from his balance backward over into the brush- 
 wood. There he lay quaking till the memory of the look 
 on Geordie's face aroused him to action. Plucking him- 
 self from out of the bushes, he stood up and commenced to 
 holloa so loudly for help, that immediately a number of 
 pitmen and their wives came thronging from the village to 
 discover the cause of the outcry. Hurriedly the frightened 
 manager related what had happened, and pointed out the 
 direction in which Geordie had gone. Geordie's " marrow" 
 was amongst the number of the new comers, and, dimly 
 realising the gravity of the situation, at once set off in the 
 direction indicated. " Wor Geordie's a tarr'ble chep when 
 he's vext, aw doresent think what may hev happened," he 
 murmured to himself, as he strode onward through the 
 wood. Soon he came upon an open space, in the centre of 
 which lay a quarry hole, long since disused, wherein an
 
 44 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 unknown depth of water had gradually accumulated. And 
 there, on the very brink, lay a cap, which the searcher, 
 with a thrill of fear, recognised to be Geordie's. Overcome 
 by a feeling of terror, he staggered to the broken edge, and 
 looked over on to the dark waters below. The sullen 
 surface broken into small uneven waves strengthened his 
 suspicions, and there, right in the centre of the pool, as if 
 to render further doubt impossible, floated the bright bonnet 
 of a woman.
 
 THE HERD OF WINDYHAUGH. 
 
 IT was with some reluctance that I finally accepted, 
 ^ towards the latter end of November, some fifteen 
 years ago, my uncle, the Border herd's, invitation to bring 
 my books and stay with him a few days. He had always 
 been regarded as somewhat " uncanny," and latterly his 
 idiosyncrasies were reported to have developed. But as 
 my uncle had no children and was known moreover to 
 have saved money (he was said to be cleverer with sheep 
 than any other two shepherds together in Coquetdale), 
 worldly wisdom and my father's pressure determined my 
 going. I was still attending sessions at Edinbro' University 
 with a view to the ministry, and as my exit examination 
 was fast approaching, and my father had but little gear of 
 his own, it was to my uncle (after whom I had been named) 
 that he looked to give me a start in the world. It was 
 thought, too, that eventually I might, through his influence 
 and that of his relations, who formed a numerous clan 
 in the dale, receive a "call" to the kirk at Shawbottle, of 
 which they one and all were members. 
 
 There was nothing really formidable about my respected 
 uncle, and his cottage was a magnificent place for unin- 
 terrupted study, lying as it did some nineteen miles from 
 the central village where the marts were held, and situated 
 amongst the lonely dales where sheep and their attendant 
 shepherds were the only dwellers. Still, I had always an 
 uncomfortable feeling when staying with him, though I 
 saw little of him save in the evenings. Rarely, indeed, did 
 I feel at my ease with him, for he never left practising 
 on my feelings, and was always endeavouring to discover 
 a joint in my harness wherein his crafty wit might enter. 
 He loved to probe into my heart, to discover what I 
 thought of him, and whenever he made a mention of the 
 money he had saved, screwing up his eyes he would watch
 
 46 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 me out of a sly corner. Add to this that he was often 
 extremely absent in his manner and was wont to mutter 
 to himself at times in very disconcerting fashion, and 
 'twill be acknowledged that he was not the pleasantest 
 companion in the world for a sensitive youth with but 
 little capacity for concealing his emotions. 
 
 Then again, the last time I was with him, his previous 
 cold and sneering treatment of his wife had shown signs of 
 a fast development into an active aversion, and I misliked 
 the notion of again playing audience to an unfair combat. 
 My aunt, indeed, having but little strength of character, 
 and possessed of no great mental equipment, was an open 
 target for his wit, the very booty of his scorn. 
 
 She had grievously disappointed him, I believe, by 
 bearing him no issue, and, realizing she was no longer 
 beloved, the spirit had gone out of her, so that she 
 resembled, as a woman will when affection is dead, a faded 
 flower, the scentless presence of which is but a mournful 
 memento of decay. 
 
 I fell to wondering as I trudged onwards over the bleak 
 slopes of Monzie Law if she still decked herself out of an 
 evening in the scraps of finery that once perhaps had 
 pleased a lover's eye, but now did but serve to provoke 
 sarcastic comment and disdain. 
 
 This vanity of hers was indeed the sole interest she 
 had left in life ; once doubtless she had been beautiful, and 
 she still clung to this forlorn memory in spite of her 
 husband's scorn. 
 
 I had plenty of opportunity for reflection upon this 
 solitary walk, for it was full nineteen miles from Jedburgh 
 town, where I lived with my father and sisters (my mother 
 had died a few years after my birth), to my uncle's cottage, 
 which sheltered on the slope of Windyhaugh, a spur of 
 the Cheviot range. By three of the afternoon, however, 
 I had broken the back of my task, and was climbing the 
 high slope between Wedder Hill and Monzie Law. Half- 
 an-hour more and I was amidst the reaches of upper 
 Coquetdale, and, occupied with fresh thoughts concerning 
 my uncle, fell to a more leisurely procedure. 
 
 Surely, I thought, if a man were inclined to be peculiar,
 
 THE HERD OF WINDYHAUGH. 47 
 
 this would be the very country to enhance his foibles. 
 The rounded hills, that rolled away in vast monotony of 
 grey-green colour, were as destitute of variety as billows of 
 a stormy sea. Save for the lonely sheep, and the solitary 
 curlew, or a rare figure on a hill-top, whose back aslant 
 and length of stride proclaimed him a shepherd, no sign of 
 life was visible. 
 
 Often, when he could not get to the " meeting " on 
 the Sabbath, my uncle, as I knew, would go for a fortnight 
 without any intercourse, save for the chance " crack " upon 
 the hillside, with his fellowmen. This loneliness would, I 
 felt, have been unendurable to one who, like myself, was 
 used to cities, and to feel the warmth of human fellowship 
 blow on every side of him, and I felt certain it must 
 have a peculiar force in the developing of character. 
 The tinge of melancholy, which in my uncle's family had 
 grown to insanity, it was said, in the case of his grand- 
 father, might surely have been caused by this isolation of 
 existence. He it was who, smitten with disgust at life, 
 had one summer forenoon thrust his crook deep into the 
 ground, tied thereto his plaid, and twisting the end round 
 his neck, had slowly, and inch by inch, as it were, 
 strangled himself with the coolest deliberation in the world. 
 
 There was, again, a good deal of the old reckless 
 Border spirit still surviving amongst the inhabitants of 
 these lonely dales, which would naturally foster the harsher 
 side of a man's character. I had once accompanied my 
 uncle upon a " salmon leistering " foray, one dark October 
 night, and I well remembered the fierce excitement of his 
 mood, as salmon after salmon was speared and flung upon 
 the bank. 
 
 Perhaps, it was the quieter blood in my veins derived 
 from my father, who, though he had settled down as a 
 draper in Jedburgh, was South-country born and bred, 
 that rendered me timid, or it may have been the un- 
 accustomed solitude of my surroundings, but certainly it 
 was with no expectation of enjoyment, but with a 
 foreboding as of some impending disaster, that I descended 
 the fell to where, upon the haugh, my uncle's shieling 
 stood.
 
 48 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 As I knocked upon the door I heard the growl of a 
 collie within, and knew my uncle must have returned from 
 the hill side ; another moment and he opened the door 
 himself to me. 
 
 He did not seem much altered, though it was two years 
 since I last had seen him ; a thread or two of grey appeared 
 in the thick of the ruddy beard, and the ragged ends of it 
 had somewhat faded. 
 
 My aunt, however, had certainly changed ; she had 
 grown thinner, and her listless manner had an occasional 
 turn of fear in it. Could my uncle, tiring of his ironical 
 method, have taken to actual ill-treatment of her ? I 
 determined to watch and find this out for myself, for my 
 aunt would never confide in me, believing me a favourite 
 with my uncle. 
 
 It was early yet when I arrived, and, after having made 
 me drink off a large mug of milk, my uncle took me out 
 again to inspect two cows that had recently been sent him. 
 So successful had he been with his master's sheep, that, in 
 addition to his " pack-wage " as shepherd, he had been 
 presented with these two cows as a testimony to his 
 services. His master's " hirsel " numbered some fifty 
 score, and scarce a ewe or a lamb had he lost the 
 preceding year. 
 
 Having duly inspected the cows we turned indoors 
 again, and made our supper of scones and cheese made 
 of ewes milk. My uncle, I noticed, never once spoke 
 to my aunt, who sat apart in the ingle-nook, listlessly 
 gazing into the fire the evening through. It was evident 
 that the breach between them had widened since last I was 
 there, for my uncle now took no notice at all of his wife, 
 no longer even amusing himself with subtle scorn and 
 sarcasm at her expense. The meal over, my uncle sat 
 back in his chair, and lighting his pipe, commenced to 
 question me in his old fashion concerning hogs and 
 gimmers, wedders and ewes, for he loved ever to catch me 
 tripping over the various distinctions of his trade. Inwardly 
 I believe he was proud of having as nephew one who had 
 been trained up as a "scholar," for he himself had had 
 practically no " larnin'," yet such was his curious turn of
 
 THE HERD OF WINDYHAUGH. 49 
 
 mind that he delighted to lay bare my ignorance, no matter 
 how or where, and then, with a chuckle, would remark 
 that in his young days a body could grow up as ignorant 
 as may be without wasting "ower muckle siller" on the job. 
 
 We went to bed early, for the next day being the 
 Sabbath, we were to walk over the hills to the "meeting " 
 at Shawbottle, some nine miles distant, and it was 
 necessary to start soon after eight o'clock. 
 
 The morning came, and with it a sudden change of 
 weather. Over-night it had been clear and bright, but 
 to-day the sky was overcast with heavy clouds, and my 
 uncle foretold a snowstorm before night. 
 
 Still he was determined to go, and we started shortly 
 after eight, leaving my aunt behind without ever a word 
 from my uncle. 
 
 From his conversation as we climbed the steep slopes 
 of the opposite hills it appeared that my uncle had suddenly 
 taken a religious turn ; formerly he had always attended 
 " meeting " for the sake of the " crack " with his friends 
 afterwards, but now he went, it appeared, for the sake of 
 the " preachin' " and his inward comfort. 
 
 I could scarce keep from wondering what it was that 
 had caused this change, for I had ever been somewhat 
 sceptical on the phenomena of sudden conversions, having 
 seen many curious and unlocked for results from the same. 
 To my mind religion, being of a more serious nature than 
 anything else in the world, should be a matter of an advised 
 selection and a life-long training, yet here were people 
 who would inform you that their whole nature w r as changed 
 in an hour's space, the habits of a life-time cast aside, and 
 they on an instant become " new creatures," as though the 
 past of a man were but the finger of a clock, to be shifted 
 this way and that upon a hasty computation. No light was 
 shed upon the subject, however, till after the "meeting" 
 was over, and we had got well on our homeward journey, 
 when my uncle at last broke the long fit of silence that had 
 held him since leaving the kirk. We were sitting on the 
 lee side of a " stell " at the time, eating a frugal luncheon, 
 when he thus commenced : 
 
 "I'm thinkin' the meenister did not get a reet haud o'
 
 50 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 his subjeck the day, the fall o' man is a graun' subjeck for 
 a discoorse, though reetly it should be ca'ad the fall o' 
 woman, for 'twas she that fell, draggin' the man along wiv 
 her, the jade. St. Paul noo wud ha dyen bettor wiv it, for 
 he wes na marrit, an' he kenned weel enow the monstrous 
 natter of a woman, whiles the meenister, puir body, is far 
 ower muckle marrit to mak' a guid job o' a tex' like that." 
 " Man," he burst out with sudden ferocity, bringing his 
 fist with a clap down upon his knee, ' I pairfeckly loathe 
 the hail race of fyemales ! To think o' losin' Paradise 
 through the folly of a woman, aal for an' aeple, tee, 'tis 
 a thocht that drives me a'most wild an aeple," he slowly 
 repeated with intensity of scorn, " an' aeple, whey, t'wud 
 tak' siller to tempt a man, a mort o' siller might hae' even 
 tempted me, but there wud hae' been some sense i' that, for 
 dootless it wud hae' been permitted to tak' it wiv one off 
 the premises." " Ay," he repeated again in solemn tones, 
 " I pairfeckly loathe the hail race o' fyemales, their only 
 use is to bring bairns into the world, and when they canna 
 dee that, whaurs the use o' them ?" " I'm no muckle o' a 
 scholar, as ye ken," he continued, in quieter tones, " but I 
 made up a bit poetry on the subjeck some time back, wi' 
 the help o' the paraphrases an' a young chep that was up 
 the wattor on a walkin' tower, as he ca'd it, an' lodged wi' 
 me twa neets ; he wes a gey clivvor chep tee, a scholar frae 
 Oxford College, an' kenned aal aboot poetry an' sich like 
 predicaments, an' was a wunnerful help to me ower the job. 
 I kenned weel that twa ends of the paraphrase should 
 match, the y-ane the t'ither, like the lugs of a y'ewe, but 
 hoo to catch a haud o' them was beyont me. Man, it wes 
 a tarr'ble fashions job, an' I'd hae gien it up had it no' been 
 for the scholar. Ye'll no believe it, maybe, but he tell't me 
 poetry wes as common at Oxford as grin'stanes i' canny 
 Newcassel. I did'na tell him though what 'twas for I 
 wanted it," continued my uncle, slyly, " but I howked it 
 oot o' him fine wivoot his ever suspectin' onything at aal. 
 Ay, I did sae, an' here's the poetry," and he commenced 
 forthwith to sing, as though at kirk, the following words : 
 " The deidly sarpint lauchin' crept 
 
 To Eden's fair gyardin. 
 For weel he kenned a woman is 
 
 Aye ready for to sin.
 
 THE HERD OF WINDYHAUGH. 51 
 
 An' helter-skelter loupit Eve 
 
 Into the trap o' sin. 
 Whence, for her fyulishness man aye 
 
 Mun sweat an' groan within." 
 
 " The hail race o' them," he remarked bitterly, as he 
 concluded his singing, "are just aal Eve's at bottom; 
 " aye ready for to sin," hits em off fine, an' the sly deil he 
 kenned it weel enow." 
 
 " But uncle," I here remarked somewhat incautiously, 
 " you got married yourself." He turned upon me with a 
 snarl. " An' mebbe ye're thinkin' ye've got a haud o' me 
 there, but ye hanna, for there's twa good reasons for't ; 
 forst, she had siller, an' second, I was no releegious then, 
 but I am the noo, an sair, sair hae I repentit ma folly ! 
 But I bear up weel, for releegion's a gey guid comfort i' 
 misfortune. Sorch the Scriptor weel, an' ye'll be sure to 
 find what ye want. An' what does Scriptor say aboot the 
 onfaithful woman ? Whey, " gie her a writtin' o' divorce- 
 ment," it says, an that's what I'm gannin' te dee. D'ye 
 mind that good-like nowt, Airmstrong, the shepherd that 
 dwells by Naked Law ? He's been jest constant aboot ma 
 hoose an' ma wife syne the back end o' the year, but I'll 
 nae allow it, my man. There's to be nae breakin's o' 
 commandments i' ma hoose ; the smoke o' hell shall nivvor 
 smirch ma garments, I tell ye, " Let them rather marry 
 than burn," says Scriptor, an' sae I'll marry them at aince, 
 aye, this very neet if sae be as I catch him in by on my 
 return." 
 
 " But uncle," I remonstrated, amazed at his fierceness 
 of tone, and alarmed by the wildness of his eye, " you can't 
 marry them, in the first place you'd have to get a divorce, 
 if that were possible, as I'm sure its not, for my aunt's 
 never done an ill deed in her life, of that I am quite 
 certain, and then 
 
 " Haud yer tongue," burst in my uncle, " I tell ye I 
 will marry them, I'll gie her a writtin' o' divorcement, an' 
 we'll aal sign it, an' then I'll marry them tegither, 'tis plain 
 as dayleet, an' but followin' oot the Scriptor injunctions. 
 'Tis a peety tho' that ye're no a full fledged meenister yet, 
 or we cud hae dyen the job better nor ivor. But ye can
 
 52 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 male' up the writin,' for ye're a scholar, sae there may be 
 some use in ye efter aal." 
 
 I made no answer to this, for I scarce knew what to 
 believe. Indeed, I feared my uncle was really insane, for 
 I never for a moment believed his calumny concerning his 
 wife, and I could but conjecture that the whole story was 
 but the figment of a heated brain, developed by his solitary 
 brooding habits. I thought it best to humour him, 
 however, so I quietly asked, " But what will the shepherd 
 say to this course, will he be ready to carry out his part 
 in it ? " 
 
 " He'll be com-pelled," replied my uncle grimly, and 
 with this the conversation dropped. 
 
 The afternoon wore away while we still continued to 
 sit silently by the stell side, I lamenting that I had ever 
 accepted my uncle's invitation, and making up my mind 
 that the following morning I would depart, my uncle, 
 evidently deep in thought, for occasionally his lips would 
 move and stray words unconsciously escaped him. After 
 we had sat there an hour or more, snow suddenly began to 
 fall, and this at last roused my uncle to action. " Aye," 
 he said to himself, " its snawin', 'twill be a braw neet for 
 a weddin' trip ; come nevvie, 'tis time for us to be ganninY' 
 
 It was a long and weary walk home, amidst the eddying 
 snow clouds and the gathering gloom ; twice or thrice I 
 essayed to turn my uncle from the subject which I knew 
 possessed him, but he would not listen, and wearily I 
 trudged alongside, trusting that his mood might change 
 when within doors. 
 
 We were about half-a-mile from the cottage when he 
 suddenly broke silence again. " That Armstrong's a puir 
 fule," he said, " he coorted my wife lang syne, but she'd 
 hae nowt to say to him then when she'd a chance at me. 
 Aye, a puir fule he is, an' at our weddin' when aal the 
 lads were ridin' for the kail, he fell off his horse crossin' 
 the burn, an' was nigh drowned i' the lynn. An' at the 
 "gatherin's" he's aye a muddle-heid, an' nivor kens which 
 is his sheep, and which is na. Man, he tried ance to claim 
 some o' mine, though they were aal marked wiv the " keel," 
 an' a different one to his ain."
 
 THE HERD OF WINDYHAUGH. 53 
 
 I began at last to think that there must be some 
 foundation after all for my uncle's talk ; perhaps an old 
 acquaintance of my aunt's might have dropped in 
 occasionally to ask after her, and show sympathy for her 
 under my uncle's cruel neglect, and it must have been 
 on these slight grounds that my uncle built his suspicions. 
 But now, at last, we were at home again, and breathing a 
 sigh of relief, I shook the snow from my clothes in the 
 doorway, and followed my uncle into the main room 
 beyond. Greatly to my surprise there actually was a man 
 within, sitting in the armchair, by the fireside, opposite to 
 my aunt, and evidently holding converse with her. 
 
 My uncle spoke never a word to either as he entered, 
 but I was certain this must be the man of whom he had 
 just been speaking, and an apprehensive feeling as to how 
 the evening would end seized hold upon me. I looked at 
 the man in the armchair, and perceived that he was a hand- 
 some looking fellow of some forty years of age, his mouth, 
 however, though somewhat hid by an auburn beard, was 
 weak and drooping, and the glance of his eye, though 
 direct enough, had no force in it. A kind hearted chap, I 
 reflected, but something feeble, and I felt now morally 
 certain that this same individual must be Armstrong, the 
 herd, who had once, according to my uncle, courted my 
 aunt. 
 
 Meanwhile my uncle had been busying himself at a 
 drawer in the corner, and was now dragging forth the table 
 from the window, and placing it across the room so as to 
 command the whole interior, and cut off access to the door. 
 I had turned to my aunt, and had not particularly noted 
 my uncle's preparations, when suddenly he called me by 
 name, and looking round I saw that he was seated on the 
 far side of the table with pen, ink, and paper spread before 
 him. Beckoning to me to come close, he whispered 
 excitedly, " I'm gannin' te draw up the writin' I tell't ye of, 
 sit ye doon besides me an' lend a han'." 
 
 Alarmed though I was at his manner, for it was evident 
 he was really bent on carrying out his mad intention of 
 the afternoon, I was determined to have no share in his 
 wicked purpose. " I know nothing about it uncle," I
 
 54 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 replied, " and L'll have no part in it if 'tis what you 
 mentioned on the hill." 
 
 " Ding ye for an addle-pate, ye dinna ken either what's 
 releegion nor whilk side your bread's buttered," replied my 
 uncle with such a hard and savage gleam in his eyes that 
 I felt thankful the table was between us. " Nae matter, 
 though," he continued to himself, " I'll manage it canny, 
 ma lane." With that he fell to scratching upon the papers 
 with his pen, and I turned away and sat down on a stool 
 by my aunt, dumbfounded at the situation. 
 
 Meanwhile my aunt and the stranger continued to con- 
 verse at intervals, and took no notice of my uncle, whose 
 vagaries apparently they had grown accustomed to. Half- 
 an-hour perhaps passed thus in comfortless fashion, when 
 we were roused by a shout from my uncle at the table. 
 
 " Stan' up wi' ye, Elinor Crammett, an' Tam Airm- 
 strong, an' listen to what I've written for your eternal 
 behoof." We all stood up together in amazement and 
 looked at one another in perplexity. 
 
 " I ken weel," continued my uncle excitedly, his pale 
 blue eyes aflame, and a strange glow of colour on his 
 cheeks, "what's in yor evil hairts, but I'll save ye frae 
 distruction yet, an free masell at the same time frae a 
 fruitless woman. I've written here a writin' o' divorce- 
 ment agen this woman, for I ken weel her onfaithfulness i' 
 the sperrit, if no' yet i' the body, an' 'tis for ye, Tam Airm- 
 strong, her partner i' the evil thing, to tak' up wi' her an' 
 marry her. Sign the writin' ye maun this night, an' han' 
 in han' pledge each the ither ; then oot ye gan intae the 
 night, an' nivor shew your faces here agen." 
 
 My uncle paused, and glared at Armstrong, who was 
 gazing stupified, first at the speaker, and then at the 
 woman beside him. After another moment he spoke, how- 
 ever, and I was surprised at the unexpected courage he 
 displayed." 
 
 " Geordie Crammett," he said, " ye ken as weel as I 
 dee that yor wife's as innorcent o' wrang to ye as the babe 
 unborn. Aye, an' ye ken tee dootless that lang syne I 
 courted her, an' she said me nay, an' if sae be as I've 
 leuked in to see her latterly, 'tis but to cheer her up a wee,
 
 THE HERD OF WINDYHAUGH. 55 
 
 for 'tis well kenned ye treat her like a dog.' But noo," he 
 continued quietly, " if sae be she says she'll gan wi' me, 
 I'm ready to cherish her as best I may the rest o' my 
 nattoril life. Will ye gan wi' me, Nell ? " he asked, turning 
 towards the woman beside him as he spoke. " Ay, I'll 
 gan wi' ye," replied my aunt listlessly, and now for the 
 first time I realised how broken in spirit she really had 
 become. " Anything's better than livin' in hell here." 
 
 " Sign the writin'," cries my uncle, pointing to the 
 paper on the table, which he forthwith pushed over 
 towards Armstrong. The other took the pen in his hand, 
 subscribed his name, then silently handed it to my aunt, 
 who did likewise. 
 
 " An' noo," continued my uncle afresh, grasp han's, 
 an' ye woman shall say, ' I'll tak ye for my husband,' an' 
 ye man, ' I'll tak' ye for ma wife,' then get on yor bonnets 
 an' be off." The couple silently complied, and in another 
 moment this strange scene was ended, for without further 
 speech the newly married man and wife took up, the one 
 his cap, the other her bonnet and shawl, and hand in hand 
 moved round the corner of the table, opened the door, and 
 silently passed out into the night. 
 
 " An' wha said I cud na marry them ? " shouted my 
 uncle triumphantly, with a scornful glance at me, " the 
 meenister hissel cudna hae dyen it cannier, an' noo there's 
 peace i' the hoose, an' righteousness an', an', sae te 
 supper." 
 
 With this he proceeded to get eatables out from a 
 cupboard and spread them on the table, then, having made 
 fast the outer door, he commenced to make a hearty meal, 
 beckoning at the same time to me to fall to likewise. "An" 
 noo," he said suddenly, " we'll hae a muckle great feast the 
 night, for 'tis a weddin' night, an' there s healths to be 
 drunk." Rising, he strode to the cupboard again, fetched 
 therefrom a big green bottle and two glasses, and filling 
 up both to the brim, seized the nearest, and was about to 
 toss it off, when a sudden thought seemed to strike him. 
 
 " Gosh," he exclaimed in deep dejection, as he put it 
 down most lothfully, " but I was as nigh as poss'ble 
 forgettin' 'twas the Sawbath, an' no a day for a carouse.
 
 .->6 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 Ding it aal, but 'tis terr'ble provokin' to be catched by a 
 Sawbath on sich an occasion as this, an' me wi 'a graun 
 thirst on, an' tis three mortal hours till Monday strikes." 
 Glancing at the clock I noticed that it was just on the 
 stroke of nine, and I determined to slip off to bed at once, 
 for I had made up my mind to leave the first thing in the 
 morning. As I lit my candle at the dresser, and bade my 
 uncle good night, I noticed that he was moving about near 
 the clock in a suspicious and uneasy manner, so that out 
 of a curiosity I was moved to stand for a moment in the 
 doorway to see what he was after. Thinking I had gone, 
 he quickly opened the case, rapidly moving the pointers 
 till the clock stood at a quarter to twelve, having done 
 which he heaved a mighty sigh of relief, and I heard him 
 mutter to himself, " It'll no be varry long noo to wait till 
 she strikes Monday, and then, ma word!" and he 
 smacked his lips expectantly. 
 
 Noiselessly I stole upstairs and reflected with concern 
 upon the strange doings I had just witnessed. The snow 
 had ceased falling, so that there was little chance of the 
 fugitives being lost in the storm before they could find a 
 shelter in a friend's cottage. There was nothing I could 
 do for my unfortunate aunt, so the only purpose I had was 
 to start with daylight and inform my father what had 
 happened. 
 
 Just before I fell asleep, I caught the sound of merri- 
 ment below, and plainly heard my uncle's voice triumph- 
 antly uplifting his paraphrase, and dwelling always on the 
 words with ever-thickening emphasis 
 
 " For weel he kenned a woman is 
 Aye ready for to sin." 
 
 'Twas evident, indeed, why my uncle had moved on 
 the clock. 
 
 Early next morning I set off, yet not before my uncle 
 had already started with his dogs to look after his sheep, 
 but for this I was not sorry, for any little affection I had 
 previously entertained for him was now turned to aversion, 
 and I could scarce have bidden him farewell with a good 
 grace. 
 
 Two days after my return to Jedburgh, news came that
 
 THE HERD OF WINDYHAUGH. 57 
 
 my uncle had been caught in a heavy snowstorm on the 
 hill, as he was returning home from putting his sheep into 
 the " stells,'' and when searched for next day, had been 
 discovered peacefully lying cold and stiff under a heavy 
 drift of snow.
 
 THE BIGGIN' BY THE LOCH. 
 
 ON the western or Scottish side of the Cheviots, at 
 their southern extremity, and a few miles from the 
 Border, the ruins of a small farm, standing above a steep 
 loch side, may still be observed by the stray traveller. The 
 thatch of the roof has long since fallen in, but a trembling 
 rafter here and there seems to show that it must have been 
 inhabited within the memory of man. 
 
 No one, however, could now-a-days be found to live 
 there on any condition whatever because of the evil name 
 attaching to it, for it is universally believed to be haunted, 
 and after the fall of twilight the ruin is sedulously avoided 
 by the wayfarer. Certainly no spot more fitted for some 
 desperate deed than this dark and desolate farm-house 
 could ever be imagined. It was a melancholy situation to 
 choose for a human abode. The farm stood alone in its 
 small croft ; behind it rolled away upward the solitary fells, 
 whose short pasturage, cropped by sheep in summer, and 
 in winter bleached by snow and wind, maintained a grey 
 monotony of colour throughout the year, while below, in a 
 deep hollow, the forbidding Dhu Loch lay like a scowl 
 on the landscape's face. Here was the lair, so 'twas fabled, 
 of the great water-bull, whose roaring, on a stormy night, 
 presaged ill for the wayfarer. Beyond the loch a wild 
 moorland stretched away, yet there was good grazing 
 ground attached to the farm some way off down the valley, 
 and in those days the Lament's, its last inhabitants, were 
 considered, for so poor a district, in the Scotch phrase 
 "responsible" people. 
 
 Some forty years ago, Elspeth Lamont and her two 
 sons John and Donald, were living there, and carried on 
 the farm which they rented on easy terms from my uncle. 
 There had always been something strange about Elspeth 
 Lamont ; a strongly marked countenance, deep-set eyes,
 
 THE BIGGIE' BY THE LOCH. 59 
 
 coal-black hair, a curiously unchanging expression, and a 
 weird lack of colour, gave her an individuality, and 
 impressed the visitor with a feeling of awe it was impos- 
 sible to shake off. It was well known that she possessed 
 the " second sight," and had on sundry occasions given 
 noteworthy proof of it. Thus at the time of her husband's 
 death, when John and Donald were " but bairns," she had 
 witnessed, as in a distant vision, his final struggle with the 
 storm, and had herself led the way to the spot where, " by 
 the muckle eagle-stane " he was found peacefully lying in 
 the snow. Again, it was she who had found, when all 
 other means had failed, the body of the young Macdonald, 
 who had been drowned in the loch, his boat overturned in 
 a sudden squall. Followed by the relatives of the dead 
 man, she had rowed in her boat to a small creek in the 
 " Fraoch Eileen," and there, beneath the tangle of the 
 drooping branches, had she discovered the corpse. Such, 
 amongst others less significant were the stories John had 
 told me when, long ago, as a school-boy, I first began to 
 fish under his guidance. 
 
 John, indeed, was my tutor in all sporting matters, and 
 during the holidays my frequent companion, and gradually 
 I became accustomed on my way back from fishing or 
 shooting to stop at the farm to enquire after their welfare, 
 partake of scones and milk, and enjoy a " crack." 
 
 Yet I never could quite get rid myself of a certain dread 
 of Elspeth Lamont ; her weird gift seemed to me to 
 isolate her, as it were, and raise her above the level of 
 ordinary life. A strange sense of personality clung about 
 her at all times, whatever her occupation, and on the 
 occasions of my visits to the farm I always felt, whenever 
 her eyes met mine, that, did she but desire it, she could 
 peer into my soul and handle my secrets as she would. 
 
 A few years after her husband's death, things began to 
 go ill at the farm ; John and Donald were now on the eve 
 of manhood, yet Elspeth seemed to believe they were still 
 " bairns," and ruled the household with a rigid hand, 
 feeling doubtless, without her husband, additional respon- 
 sibility. Donald, the younger son, resembled his father, 
 being of a milder disposition than John, and would
 
 f.O BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 be quite content to ply the loom after his day's work was 
 done, or to dream over one of his small stock of books, but 
 John had an obstinate will of his own, loved adventure and 
 sport of all kinds, and rebelled against his mother's stern, 
 though not unkindly rule. 
 
 I knew that there was friction in the household, but 
 thought it would pass away, so that when I learnt, some 
 time after my return to school, that John had suddenly left 
 home, the news was a grief as well as a surprise to me. 
 
 Next came a report that he was dead, killed, it would 
 seem, in a brawl, though there was, it appeared, but little 
 distinctly known concerning his fate. He had gone up to 
 Edinburgh, it seemed, with his savings in his pocket, and 
 had there fallen in with riotous companions, chief amongst 
 whom (as came out at the examination held later), was a 
 certain profligate sailor, " Three-fingered Jack," for so he 
 was styled owing to his having lost two of the fingers of 
 his right hand in a fight at sea. It further appeared that 
 this same sailor had not only been his constant companion 
 and ill -adviser since his arrival in the town, but was the 
 last individual seen with him on the night of the murder. 
 There was also a rumour as to a girl having in some way 
 or other originated the quarrel, but she too, apparently, 
 had been a stranger in the town and had disappeared some 
 time previously to the murder. In short, nothing definite 
 was known, all was matter of conjecture. No trace could 
 be discovered of the sailor who, it was believed, had 
 shipped himself as extra hand on one of the vessels that 
 left the port of Leith early the next morning. 
 
 At all events he had disappeared, and though warrants 
 were issued and search universally instituted, nothing 
 came of it all. Now what made the matter a good deal 
 talked of at the time was the fact (as told me by my uncle 
 in his letters), that Elspeth had witnessed in a vision, as it 
 were, the last tragic scene of her son's life, which vision 
 was looked upon by my uncle, who as " laird " had 
 especially interested himself in the case, as being, though- 
 not legally admissable, in itself sufficient evidence to 
 condemn the sailor could he only be brought to justice. 
 
 Her vision she described that very night to Donald,
 
 THE BIGGIN' BY THE LOCH. 61 
 
 and Donald, next day, in full belief and horror of its truth, 
 had hastened to my uncle, and narrated all the particulars 
 to him. She had seen, she said, John playing at cards in 
 an ill-lit and low ceilinged room with a companion, " a 
 black-a-vised man," as she described him. Both seem- 
 ingly had been drinking, and a sudden quarrel had sprung 
 up, John striking the stranger in the face. The latter 
 seemed for a moment as if he were about to spring upon 
 his assailant, but drew back a step and spoke some words, 
 as though making an offer of some kind, for he held out 
 his right hand as though to ratify it, and as he did so 
 Elspeth noted the strange fact that his right hand lacked 
 two fingers, the first and second, with startling distinctness, 
 for the maimed outline of his hand was clear against the 
 light of a small lamp burning on the chimney piece. 
 John hesitated, but eventually reached forth his own to 
 take it, then, just as the fingers touched, she saw the 
 stranger whip out with a lightning rapidity his left hand, 
 which he had held concealed behind him, and drive a 
 knife into his companion's heart. Then all became dim, 
 and Elspeth saw no more. The room in which the 
 murder had been committed tallied with Elspeth's descrip- 
 tion, and it seemed certain, even to the most sceptical, 
 from the fact that the knife was of a foreign workmanship, 
 and had never been seen in Donald's possession, that it 
 was not a case of self-inflicted death but of cowardly 
 murder. 
 
 Nothing more could be discovered, however, and 
 gossip, growing weary, soon set off in chase of some 
 fresh quarry. 
 
 Of all this I had due information, but it so happened 
 that two years passed away before I again visited my 
 uncle, and in the interval the matter seemed to have faded 
 out of the general remembrance. 
 
 The affair, however, had stamped itself upon my 
 memory, and it was one of my first cases to pay the 
 Lament's a visit. Donald I found much the same, rather 
 quieter of manner than before, perhaps, and less willing to 
 talk than formerly ; but Elspeth, on the contrary, had 
 grown more restless, seeming to have lost in part her old
 
 (52 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 self-concentration ; there was, too, a curiously eager look 
 about her face that had previously been absent, and, 
 generally, a certain change was noticeable, though it 
 would have been difficult to say exactly wherein it lay. 
 
 My visit was but short, however, and I did not see or 
 hear anything of them again until the following year, when 
 I came north again for a stay of some weeks duration. 
 The day after my arrival was wet and stormy, but I 
 determined, nevertheless, to go out for a few hours with 
 my gun to see if I could not pick up a brace or two of 
 grouse or a stray snipe. It chanced after I had been out 
 for an hour or two that I was unfortunate enough, in 
 leaping from one rock to another, to slip and sprain my 
 ankle ; to get home was out of the question, and, on 
 reflection, I determined to hobble down as best I could to 
 the Lament's farm, about three-quarters of a mile distant. 
 Donald would probably be in, and would willingly, I 
 reflected, go up to the house some three miles away and 
 send back a pony for me, so that I might be able to reach 
 home before nightfall. 
 
 Making my way painfully along down the rough 
 ground I at last arrived at the farm, and knocking, was at 
 once admitted by Donald. On seeing my condition he 
 volunteered to go up to my uncle's to tell them of my 
 accident and fetch back the pony. As, however, the wind 
 by this time had crept up into half a gale, and the night 
 threatened to be a stormy one, I made him promise, if the 
 weather grew worse, to stay that night at the house, and 
 come back for me early in the morning. Elspeth had 
 offered to shake me down a bed for the night, and I should 
 be perfectly happy, I said, under her care, and without 
 anxiety so long as I knew my uncle's fears at my absence 
 were removed. This he agreed to do, and at once set off 
 along the rough path that led eastward above the waters 
 of the loch. Standing in the door-way, as I said good- 
 night, I marked the wintry aspect of the sky ; the wind 
 blew gustily, shivering to pieces the low flying clouds, and 
 beating into anger the waters of the loch below. In the 
 distant sky great piles of cloud were massed of that curious 
 cold and faint-purple colour that betokens snow. Shutting
 
 THE BIGGIN' BY THE LOCH. 63 
 
 the door I made up my mind at once that I should have to 
 remain there the night, for if the wind went down, a snow- 
 storm was certain. Sitting down on a settle near the fire 
 I watched Elspeth making me up a bed in the corner, for 
 she too was evidently of opinion that I should have to pass 
 the night there. I fell to wondering, idly, how we should 
 " agree," as they say, and whether conversation would be 
 difficult or no, for in times past I had usually addressed my 
 remarks chiefly to John and Donald, having always a 
 nameless awe of her. 
 
 I continued to watch her, as, having made the couch 
 ready, she proceeded to prepare materials for a meal ; 
 scones and butter, cold meat and potato, the tea-pot, and 
 the round green whisky bottle, all made their appearance. 
 Not a word did she speak the while, but when all was 
 ready she drew two chairs up to the table, motioned me to 
 one of them, saying as she sat down herself, " Tak ye yon 
 ane." Whilst I ate I ventured on some few remarks, with 
 a view to conversation, all of which she wholly ignored, 
 sitting preoccupied, it seemed to me, and listening 
 apparently to the noise of the storm without. On those 
 occasions when a more violent gust than usual tore at the 
 thatch above till the rafters groaned, and the cottage 
 rocked to its very foundations, she would exclaim, as 
 though in answer to herself, " Ay, it's a braw nicht, a 
 braw nicht." 
 
 She ate but little herself, but drank sundry cups of tea 
 into which was poured a flavouring of whisky. The 
 meal over, she put away the things, drew up the settle to 
 the ingle-nook for me, threw some fresh peats on to the 
 smouldering ashes of the hearth, then went to the door, 
 and looked forth upon the turmoil outside. I could see 
 through the cracks in the "hallan," that tattered flakes 
 of snow were now driving on the storm, and I knew at 
 once that I should have to remain there the night, for the 
 snow would probably lie inches deep by the morrow's 
 dawn. 
 
 Shutting to the door Elspeth shot the bolt, saying as 
 she did so, though apparently to herself, " There's some 
 may be out on the hull the noo wha'd best ha' never left
 
 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 their ain roof-tree the nicht." And now, returning to her 
 chair, she commenced to talk volubly ; a suppressed 
 excitement seemed to have taken hold of her ; her eyes 
 shone brightly and her hands moved dramatically, illus- 
 trating her words. She told me all the news of the 
 country-side, displaying a knowledge I had never credited 
 her with ; she asked many questions about my doings at 
 the University, and drew forth my intentions for the future. 
 And all the time I felt somehow that she wished to keep 
 the conversation away from herself, for if ever I ventured 
 to turn it to Donald or herself, she would evade my inten- 
 tion and deftly change the subject to my own doings, or 
 those of my relatives. I would like to have mentioned 
 John's name, and enquired concerning his mysterious fate, 
 and in some way have shewn my sympathy with her, but 
 she feigned to misunderstand, and kept me at arm's 
 length. 
 
 An hour or more had passed thus, and it was now about 
 nine o'clock. Sitting there listening to the wailing of the 
 wind without, and marking the play of the firelight upon 
 that stern face, a great fear of her came upon me, an eerie 
 feeling stole over me, and I fell into a reverie. What a 
 strong and absolutely fearless face it was ! and what a 
 purpose might lurk in those deep-set, steadfast eyes ! Had 
 she lived in the stormier times of the past, how great a part 
 she might have played on the stage of history ! The 
 mighty wife of Rob Roy Macgregor had been such another; 
 Flora MacDonald herself would not have surpassed her in 
 fidelity, nor held to a purpose more tenaciously than the 
 woman before me, whose face had iron resolution so clearly 
 stamped upon it. ' 
 
 Thus was I meditating, when suddenly there came a 
 knock on the door outside, and I woke with a start from 
 the world of dreams. Elspeth had gone to the door, and 
 opened it, and now there emerged from the darkness the 
 dim figure of a man, thick set and burly, apparently, and 
 sheeted over with snow. " May be ye'll give me a lodgin' 
 for the night, mistress," said the new-comer, as he strode 
 in without waiting for reply, and commenced stamping 
 upon the floor to divest himself of his snow covering.
 
 THE BIGGIN' BY THE LOCH 65 
 
 " Ay, ye'll be welcome for the nicht," said Elspeth, " ay, 
 will ye, and a richt Scots welcome will we gie ye the 
 nicht. Sit ye doun i' the chair by the fire, and warm 
 yersel'." 
 
 There was a curious note of exultation in Elspeth's 
 voice as she thus bade the stranger so heartily welcome, 
 and he seemed for a moment a little surprised at her ready 
 warmth, but he sat down at once by the fire, thanking her 
 kindly, and heaved a sigh of relief as he stretched forth his 
 legs over the warm peats. 
 
 " Its a fearful night," he said, addressing himself 
 to me, for Elspeth was now busy getting out the relics 
 of our supper for the stranger's refreshment. " Bein' out 
 on such a night as this," he continued, " might make one 
 think almost, if one had an ill conscience, that the wind and 
 snow had a purpose to destroy one ; whenever I came 
 anigh the edge of the path, down swooped the wind, 
 draggin' me, as it were, to the brink, and strivin', tooth 
 and nail, to thrust me into the lake, while the snow 
 blinded the eyes, fair dazzlin' me. Many's the dirty night 
 I've passed at sea, but never one so dirty as this." 
 
 " Ay, 'twas gay and lucky ye fun' the hous," replied 
 Elspeth, who had overheard his words, "an" folk to 
 welcome ye ; it was the hand of Providence may be," 
 and again the same strange tone of exultation sounded 
 in her voice, ringing clearly as a bell above the noise 
 of the storm. " And noo," she continued, " if ye're 
 warmed eneuch, there's a bit supper for ye," pointing to 
 the table, " turn the chair roon, and ha'p yersel'." 
 
 " Thank-ye," said the stranger, " thank-ye, I'm half 
 clemmed with hunger, not havin' had bite nor sup since 
 leavin' Heatherton at twelve this mornin'." So saying, he 
 fell to ravenously, while Elspeth continued to move around 
 him, seeing all his wants were provided for. 
 
 The stranger was evidently a sea-faring man, his talk 
 had indicated so much, and his clothes gave confirmation. 
 Dressed in blue broadcloth, and wearing a heavy pilot coat, 
 he had the appearance of a merchant sailor of the better 
 class ; he was of medium stature and thick-set, and, from 
 what I could gather from his free and easy air, his jaunty
 
 66 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 carriage, his dark bronzed face, marked here and there 
 with a scar, he seemed one of the reckless, dare-devil sort. 
 
 He soon demolished what had been set before him ; 
 then filled an inch long cutty pipe with tobacco, and 
 emptying the contents of the round green bottle into a 
 big tumbler, thrust his chair nearer the fire, and filling up 
 "with hot water from the kettle, sipped his mixture con- 
 tentedly, and drawing deep breaths of tobacco smoke, 
 commenced to talk in the egotistic manner of a sailor. 
 
 " Mebbe, ye'll be wunderin' how 'tis I come to be 
 wanderin' about in these desolate parts, and me a sea- 
 faring man," he commenced, " but bless ye, I've been 
 everywhere, high and low, far and near, in my time ; 
 beginning life in a sea-port town, I served the sea for my 
 'prenticeship, did a bit of smugglin' at one time when the 
 world was easier than 'tis now, digged gold in Australee, 
 kept a bar for a while in Melbourne, but bein' a ungentle- 
 manly trade, chucked that and took to the sea agen, and 
 now I'm purposed to swing at anchor the rest o' my days, 
 with a tender-ship alongside o' me, d'ye see ? " Here he 
 laughed loudly and winked at me, then in reply to a 
 question from myself, explained himself further. " This is 
 how 'tis ' but three years ago 1 was in Edinburgh, bein' 
 paid off after a longish voyage, an' I fell in there with a 
 han'some lass, a strong upstandin' gal, a canny lass that 
 knew a man when she saw one, an' could reckon his vally. 
 Well, I just lost no- time, ye may tak' your davy o' that, 
 an' the upshot was that if I came back, after another 
 voyage, with a bit o' brass saved, she'd splice me, if so be 
 she'd not found a properer man in the meantime. Well, 
 off she goes to Lunnon to take service there for a while, 
 leavin' me to finish my carouse 'long shore afore shipping 
 agen to collec' the brass agen the weddin' day.' " Here he 
 paused to take up his glass, and having drained the 
 tumbler to the dregs, proclaimed in arrogant tones : 
 " There's Janet's health, and never a better toast in the 
 kingdom. She'd lines to catch a man's eye amid a crowd 
 of other sail, and happy the man who can call himself 
 skipper of such a craft ! " The whisky had evidently had 
 its influence upon him, his face had become more flushed,
 
 THE BIGGIN' BY THE LOCH. 67 
 
 his manner noisier, and his tongue more garrulous than 
 before. 
 
 " Ay, she was well worth fighting for was Janet," he 
 continued, " an' sad it was to leave her at a moment's 
 notice, but 'twas necessary, as it chanced, and, bein' 
 hurried like, as I may say, there was no choice but to take 
 third mate's place on board an old sea-coffin of a brig 
 whose sailing orders were ready, bound for Mexico ; an' 
 'twas little I ever expected to fetch harbour, but we'd a 
 rare passage, an' with the brass I had over I made a 
 tolerable lucky venture out there ; so here I am back 
 again wi' a fair warm linin' for a stockin' here he tapped 
 his chest pocket significantly, and continued vivaciously 
 " Ay, an mebbe in three weeks time there'll be one able- 
 bodied seaman the less, an one fam'ly man the more, for 
 Janet's still single, an' I've a letter from her to say she's ready 
 for the job. I'd an address in Lunnon ye see, where I got 
 news of her as soon as ever I landed, an wrote her at onst. 
 She'd been back i' these parts somewhile it seemed, an' 
 bein' an orphan does the housekeeping for an uncle, a 
 shepherd, that's livin' on the hills about 10 mile from here. 
 T'was there I was steerin' a straight course for, by 
 compass across the moor, when the storm came on, an' I 
 was forced to lay to, an' was lucky enough to find such 
 friendly folk as mistress here." 
 
 His story ended, he stooped down to the hearth, and 
 knocked the ashes carefully out of his pipe and as he did 
 so I suddenly saw, plain against the glow of the peat, that 
 two fingers of his right hand were missing. Startled out 
 of my self control by the strange sight, an involuntary cry 
 escaped me surely this same stranger could be none 
 other than " Three-fingered Jack " of the murder. The 
 suggestion came in a flash, everything seeming to tally ; 
 but the sailor had now turned to me asking what ailed me, 
 and at the same moment I caught a glimpse of Elspeth's 
 face, her eyes, it seemed to me in my terror, full of an 
 indescribable look demanding my inmost thoughts. 
 Endeavouring to collect myself, and grasping the frightful 
 nature of the situation, I made a mighty effort for self- 
 control, and stammered out that my ankle had given a
 
 68 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 sudden twinge and forced me to cry out. " Ay," said 
 Elspeth, rising, " the young laird's lame the nicht, an' will 
 be glad to sleep, an ye'll be tired too maybe, an' ready 
 eneuch for bed. Ye can just hae Donald's room the nicht, 
 for he's awa an' will not be back till the morn. 'Tis lucky 
 he's awa the nicht, ay, an ye're lucky as said the noo, ye 
 that hae a fine lass awaitin' ye the morn." Thus speaking 
 Elspeth strode to the dresser to light the candles, and as 
 she turned again towards us I marked her pride of gait, 
 her resolute aspect, her glowing eye, and a great awe took 
 hold upon me. 
 
 " Sleep ye well," she said to me, and in her voice 
 sounded yet more strongly, I fancied, that same note of 
 exultation I had noticed previously. " Gang ye up first," 
 said Elspeth to the sailor, handing him a lighted candle, 
 and motioning him to the stair. She took up the other 
 herself, and mounted after him. I watched them breath- 
 lessly, the sailor mounting light-heartedly, humming the 
 fragment of some sea ditty ; Elspeth following hard behind 
 him, stern and silent, rigid as fate. At the top they 
 parted, he to the left to Donald's room, she to the right to 
 her own. 
 
 I heard the sailor shut his door and shoot the bolt, 
 then Elspeth entered her own room, and hearing her move 
 about the small chamber above my head, I drew breath 
 again with a mighty sense of relief. 
 
 I could not have told what I expected, but some terrible 
 deed seemed imminent, and now that the unsuspecting 
 sailor was safely housed behind his bolted door my nervous 
 tension was somewhat lightened, and I could, with some 
 approach to calmness, think over the situation. I never 
 for a moment doubted that this sailor was "Three fingered 
 Jack," after whom my uncle had made search at the time 
 of the examination, the presumable murderer of poor John, 
 and the " black-a-vised man " of Elspeth's vision. Every- 
 thing fitted in with the supposition ; the sailor's own easy 
 confessions, his presence in Edinburgh at that time, the 
 rumour about a lass being mixed up with the quarrel, and 
 lastly, what bore, of course, greatest weight of all, the 
 startling evidence of the two first fingers of his right hand
 
 THE BIGGIN' BY THE LOCH. 69 
 
 being absent. I wondered how it was I had not sooner 
 noticed this, but the light was dim, and now that I thought 
 about it, he seemed indeed always to have used his left 
 hand for anything he wished to do. Had Elspeth noticed 
 it too ? This was the question that now filled my mind to 
 the exclusion of all other thoughts. 
 
 No, upon a calmer reflection I concluded she had not, 
 for she had kept silence all the time the stranger had been 
 narrating his history, and I remembered to have thought 
 she had even fallen asleep. Even when at the moment of 
 my discovery, I had uttered that foolish cry, I remembered 
 now that her face had been turned towards the firelight 
 and away from the sailor, and that when she had turned 
 upon me with that strange gaze, her face had worn no 
 other expression than that of stern enquiry. 
 
 There was now no sound from above, both Elspeth and 
 the sailor having apparently fallen asleep, and quieter 
 thoughts stole into my mind. Quickly I made my plans. 
 Next morning at day's dawn I would hobble off and inform 
 my uncle of my discovery, and he of course would forth- 
 with take steps to secure this same three-fingered Jack, 
 who was, I could not doubt, poor John's assassin. 
 
 Though such thoughts as these brought comfort with 
 them, I yet resolved that there was one thing still to be 
 done before I could lay aside my fears and compose myself 
 to sleep, and that was to discover, by actual investigation, 
 whether the sailor had really shot his bolt and so secured 
 his safety for the night. 
 
 Cautiously, then, I rose, and hobbled towards the stairs, 
 and mounting them with infinite difficulty and pain, on hand 
 and knee I finally gained the top, reached out my hand and 
 found the door of the sailor's room, which I pressed with 
 outstretched hand. I rejoiced when I found it firmly fixed, 
 not yielding in the least to my pressure ; then I slowly 
 descended, with a mind tolerably at ease, and placing 
 myself on the couch fell instantly to sleep, tired out with 
 all that had happened that day. 
 
 I slept soundly at first, but gradually terrible fancies 
 ruffled the placid surface of sleep. Confused and misty 
 images floated across my brain, but gradually a space
 
 70 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 cleared, and I saw, as in a vision, two flying figures, the 
 one pursuing, the other fleeing, as if for life. The pursuer 
 was gaining quickly on the pursued, and now they were 
 close upon me, and I saw that the hunter was Elspeth, 
 the fugitive the sailor. Then I perceived a third 
 figure blocking the path in front of the sailor, in whose 
 angry lineaments I recognized the features of the dead 
 John. A fearful shriek seemed to fill the air around me, 
 and I woke to find a deathly stillness prevailing in the 
 house, and saw the pale moonbeams streaming in through 
 the windows with faint and ghostly light. Reassured at 
 finding everything so quiet I endeavoured once more to 
 calm the agitation of my mind, when suddenly there broke 
 upon the stillness what seemed the weird moaning of a hound. 
 I quaked upon my bed, as I sat upright listening to the 
 sound, remembering the superstition of the Highlands, 
 which avers 'tis the tolling for a departed soul. Then I 
 recollected the existence of my retriever, who had been 
 shut up in the lean-to at the back of the house, and this 
 thought brought some comfort to my mind. Still, I was 
 so unnerved I felt I could not remain inactive. I looked 
 at my watch and found it was three o'clock, still two hours 
 at least before I could hope to get away. 
 
 To quieten my uneasiness I determined once more to 
 ascend the stairs and make trial of the door, to ascertain if 
 it was still fast as before. Still more cautiously and 
 laboriously than before I mounted, rested at the summit to 
 gain my breath, stretched out my hand again and lo ! 
 to my horror this time I found the door gave way to my 
 pressure, slight as it was. 
 
 A great fear seized me an electric sense of some 
 horrible thing took hold of me, and I could scarce keep 
 myself from a fainting fit. Summoning up all my courage, 
 I rose desperately to my feet, thrust open the door, and 
 there before my eyes gleamed, livid in the moonlight, the 
 upturned face of the sailor, a ghastly grin upon his 
 countenance, his lips drawn back and his white teeth 
 glistening savagely in the ghostly moonlight. 
 
 In that one moment I knew he was dead no living 
 face could have looked like that and I reeled back against
 
 THE BIGGIN' 13Y THE LOCH. 
 
 the door post, my mind whirling like a top, everything 
 swimming before my eyes. Gradually I recovered my 
 consciousness, and my eyes sought again that dreadful 
 countenance, and though I loathed to look, I could not 
 help but gaze. Drawing involuntarily a step nearer, I 
 plainly saw the thin stream of blood that marked his 
 flannel shirt ; his coat and waistcoat were wide open, and 
 there, standing straight up from his chest, dark in the 
 moonlight, rose the handle of a dirk I had once, long ago, 
 given to the departed John. 
 
 Sick at heart, I tottered out of the room, and, scarce 
 knowing what I did, turned to the chamber opposite and 
 looked within for Elspeth. No one was there ; the moon's 
 rays lit the room ; the bed clothes were still unturned. I 
 raised my voice and cried " Elspeth, Elspeth." No answer 
 came save only the howling of the dog below. I could not 
 stay another moment in that house of death, so turning, I 
 fled hastily down stairs, and forgetting my lame ankle, 
 undid the latch and bolt, and rushed forth into the night. 
 
 Not much now remains to tell, nor in fact could I relate 
 how painfully I struggled those long three miles through 
 the deep snow-drifts, and finally arrived at my uncle's 
 house. 
 
 All I remember is that I had just strength sufficient to- 
 rouse the still sleeping inmates, when I sank upon the door- 
 step. When I awoke to consciousness it was broad 
 daylight ; men had been sent to the cottage and these 
 found all as I had left it, and the dead man the sole inmate 
 of the house. Footsteps were found in the snow leading 
 down to the loch, and as Elspsth was never seen again in 
 this world, it was believed that, her vengeance accomplished 
 for which alone she had lived, she had found a quiet grave 
 beneath the dark waters of the loch. 
 
 Enquiry, of course, was held, and I gave my evidence, 
 and was duly exonorated of whatever shadow of suspicion 
 might have fallen upon me ; and though sometimes I feel 
 inclined to blame myself for my inaction, the universal 
 belief held by people in those parts comforts my conscience, 
 which avers that throughout the hand of Providence was 
 plainly visible.
 
 72 BOKDERLA.VD STUDIES. 
 
 As for Donald, he was quite shattered by this last blow 
 that had fallen upon his house, and went about like a 
 broken man, and as soon as the magisterial enquiry was 
 ended emigrated over the seas to begin life anew. He 
 came to see me to say good-bye, and the last words I ever 
 heard him speak were these: "Good-bye sir," he said, 
 " and thank ye again and again for your kindness to me 
 and to them that's gone, and, sir," he continued in a 
 faltering voice, " dinna ye think too ill o' my mither, for 
 she was sorely temptit ; she lo'ed John like the apple o 1 her 
 ee, an' aye blamed hersel' for the quarrel that drave him 
 frae the door, though there was blame o' bath sides, as I 
 may say. Ay, sir, an' it's my belief she jest lived to do 
 her vengeance, fore seein' wi' her gifts that ae day the 
 murderer wad come to her very door-cheek, pittin' his life 
 in her han's. Wi' a temptation sic as that ye'll no be 
 blamin' her over mickle mebbe, an' whiles, though the 
 meenister micht say 'twas papistical, I just offer up a bit 
 prayer for her soul." 
 
 Thus Donald spoke and said good-bye Such 
 
 then is the story the passing stranger will be told if he 
 enquire why the " biggin' " by the Dhu Loch's side is 
 crumbling to ruins, and is now almost level with the 
 ground.
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUAY. 
 
 PHE town of North Quay lies on the farther side of a 
 -^ certain important river in the North of England, and 
 was once well known to sailors all the seas over, owing to 
 its proximity to the river's mouth, and to the fact that 
 vessels frequently unloaded there and sought repairs in 
 the various dry docks and yards, from whence arose a 
 constant clatter of rivetters and platers at their work. 
 Now, however, it is much less busy than formerly, owing 
 to the competition of a new port on the southern side of 
 the river. 
 
 Thus it had gradually attained to an antique and 
 picturesque appearance ; sundry warehouses, for example, 
 had fallen into decay on the river's bank, and at low tide 
 showed black misshapen limbs, on which the green sea- 
 weeds, like an evil disease, festered in spots. 
 
 The houses rose up tier above tier, from the very brink 
 of the river to the full height of the hill behind, red-tiled 
 for the most part, with curious tall and crooked chimney- 
 stacks that reminded the stranger of a foreign town ; here 
 and there a gable end had fallen in, and the irregular 
 outline of its ruin added to the general effect of the whole. 
 
 Down by the quayside, and along the lower length of 
 the town, ran a curiously narrow and curving road, that 
 but barely admitted the passage of a cart. 
 
 All the length of this thoroughfare was crowded with 
 public-houses and drinking booths : here and there, indeed, 
 a marine store displayed a dingy window stuffed with 
 ancient clothes, offering facilities for re-opening a credit 
 next door ; nor were there wanting sundry chandlers' 
 shops, from whose doors a pungent odour was emitted. 
 Occasionally the signs of other trades also might be seen : 
 enormous painted boots hung high in air, and on a windy 
 day were a frequent source of alarm to the passers-by ; 
 
 F
 
 74 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 sundry inscribed boards proclaimed that up the various 
 alleys that opened on to the roadway travellers might be 
 housed for the night as cheaply as the good Samaritan 
 lodged his protege. But the public-houses so greatly 
 predominated, and were there indeed in such numbers, 
 that a certain well-known character in the town, of proved 
 capacity, had refused to back himself to walk down the 
 length of it, take a glass at each, and pronounce his own 
 name at the other end. 
 
 There were, however, as was but natural, one or two of 
 these places of resort more popular than the rest, notably 
 " The Spotted Dog " and " The Goat in Boots," where 
 custom and a reputed easiness in the landlord had founded 
 a reputation. The last named inn was the favourite 
 resort of merchant sailors, and stood in the centre of the 
 narrow street, a little back from the pavement ; in front 
 stood a tall mast from which swung a signboard, whereon a 
 fantastic creature in large sea-boots was understood by 
 the artist at all events to be capering vivaciously. 
 
 One night towards the close of November, ten years 
 ago, it chanced that the " Goat in Boots " was unusually 
 crowded. A large East Indiaman had just come in, and 
 the inhabitants of the town, relishing a now rare honour, 
 had come in force to see the strangers and hear the stories 
 they would surely be willing to tell. 
 
 In the taproom a bright fire blazed, calling forth a 
 responsive gleam from the dark panelling that ran round 
 the room. The floor was clean and sanded, the long 
 tables resounded with the clink of pewter and the ring of 
 glasses, and the atmosphere was thick with laughter and 
 tobacco smoke. 
 
 Round the chimney corner, and lounging in the arm- 
 chairs provided for superior guests, were two or three of 
 the new comers, whose words were reverently listened to 
 by the habitues of the place, whose knowledge of naval 
 matters, though great, was essentially theoretical. Nearer 
 the door sat a swarthy seaman, gay with bright coloured 
 neck-cloth, rings in his ears and on his fingers, who 
 was earnestly endeavouring, notwithstanding occasional 
 hiccoughs, to convince his neighbour a timid shoemaker
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUAY. 75 
 
 from next door of the dangers of the deep and the better 
 security of terra firma. Quite close to the entrance was a 
 nondescript group, consisting generally of those who 
 hoped to scrape acquaintance with the new arrivals, and, 
 by learning their weaknesses, to glean advantages for 
 themselves ; amongst whom touts that one-eyed, errand- 
 running race of men and red-faced, Amazonian females, 
 who might fitly have lectured on the equality of the sexes, 
 were plainly visible. 
 
 In the middle of the room, and at a table by himself, 
 sat a tall, white-haired, venerable old man, who looked 
 superior to, and yet quite at his ease among his strange 
 companions. He might have been observed to be taking 
 secret note of all that was going on out of the corner of his 
 half-shut eyes ; yet, though his eyes were thus apparently 
 only half open, his glance was clear and keen as a hawk's, 
 and the paper he held in his hands was merely a pretext for 
 escaping observation and avoiding conversation. One 
 figure more especially occupied his, as well as the general 
 attention that, namely, of a stranger who was sitting in 
 the corner nearest the fire in the chief place, with a wise- 
 looking parrot on his shoulder and a big cheroot between 
 his lips. 
 
 Stories of adventure had been freely circulating amidst 
 a din of laughter, applause, and the clink of pewter, but 
 when the owner of the parrot spoke, his individuality 
 seemed to assert itself, for the noise gradually ceased and 
 the space of silence about him gradually widened. 
 
 He was certainly of interesting appearance : his hair 
 was long and hung in curls about his shoulders ; his face, 
 through exposure to the sun, was of a dark tan hue, while 
 his eyes were of the deep blue colour that typifies the sea 
 on a summer day, and is only to be found amongst the race 
 of sailors. His hands and arms were tattooed with quaint 
 symbols and devices, and in the lines of his mouth was 
 visible a humourous expression, which, taken in connection 
 with his easy attitudes, gave him the air of one who has 
 seen the world and found it to his liking. 
 
 There seemed, indeed, to cling about him a scent of 
 romance and adventure : a Sindbad of the nineteenth
 
 76 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 century, imagination whispered, plucking, as he spoke, 
 expectation's sleeve. 
 
 Some of the bystanders had remarked upon the strange 
 colouring and wise aspect of the parrot that sat upon his 
 shoulder and surveyed the company with cold penetrative 
 eyes. 
 
 " Ay, ay," said he, in response to some query, " she's a 
 wise bird, yon is, and knows more than many a human. 
 The Indian priest who gave her me said she was more nor 
 fifty years old, and a curious history it was that he told of 
 her. He believed there was a spirit inside of her. She 
 was always findin' out things he'd have rather kept hid, 
 and had a memory for them that was quite as perplexin' as 
 it was disgustin', so he said. Ay, ay," continued the 
 sailor, stroking the parrot's head, " there's many a queer 
 yarn she could tell ye had she a mind to, but she just holds 
 her tongue and laughs at the folly of other people." 
 
 Here one of the bystanders, charmed by this description, 
 endeavoured to conciliate the wise but cynical bird by also 
 stroking her head. She, however, resenting the imperti- 
 nence, caught him by the forefinger and tweaked it so 
 sharply that the blood was visible. Roars of laughter 
 followed this reverse, whilst the unfortunate individual 
 uttered hearty imprecations, to which the parrot listened 
 intently, but not finding any fresh additions therein to 
 her own vocabulary, proceeded to shut her eyes in scornful 
 manner and go to sleep. 
 
 " Ay, mates," began the sailor again, when the merri- 
 ment had subsided, " she could tell ye, had she a mind to do 
 so, queer things enough, but as she won't, why, I'll tell ye a 
 yarn myself about how this jewel came into my possession," 
 drawing, as he spoke a little green case forth from the 
 inner pocket of his red-lined pilot coat, which he placed on 
 the table in front of him. Then slowly opening it, he 
 disclosed to the wondering gaze of the spectators a 
 magnificent pearl, which, for size, purity, and lustre, far 
 surpassed any to be seen in the richest jewellers' windows. 
 
 " It shines like a lamp, mates," he continued, amidst 
 the hum and rustle of admiration, holding it up between 
 his fingers that its sheen might be the more apparent.
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUAY. 77 
 
 " 'Twas an heirloom, as the great folks say, and has a 
 history as long as my arm, I'll warrant ye, though I can 
 only tell ye how it came to be in my possession. 'Tis about 
 a year or more agone that I was aboard the ' Nizam', 
 outward bound for the East Indies. We'd put into Con- 
 stantinople, however, to discharge freight and take in coal, 
 and finding the time hanging heavy on my hands, I 
 wandered about a bit one day to see the place. Well, I 
 was tacking about up and down the main streets, trying to 
 catch a glimpse of the ladies under their veils, which they 
 wear, I b'lieve, to prevent their bein' found out. 'Taint 
 in women's nature, d'ye see, to wear a veil if so be they're 
 handsome. I was just returnin' to the ship then, when all 
 of a sudden clap comes a hand on my back, and turnin' 
 round, whom did I see but the young Squire, on whose 
 place I had been brought up at home. 
 
 " ' Jack ! ' says he, quite astonished, 'who'd ha' thought 
 of seein' you here ? Why, its Fate,' says he. ' Kismet, sure 
 enough, as they say out here. You're just the very man I 
 want, so come along with me,' says he, ' and I'll tell ye all 
 about it,' clappin' his arm through mine and halin' me 
 along like a p'liceman, takes me to his hotel. 
 
 " Well, dashed if it warn't just one of them Turkish 
 women I'd just been sneerin' at ! The young Squire had 
 been travelling d'ye see, makin' a ' grand tour ' as he called 
 it, to complete his eddication : eddication not bein' com- 
 plete, of course, without a lesson or two from the fair sex." 
 Here the narrator paused a moment, gave a mighty wink 
 at a nervous-looking little man near him, drained his 
 glass, and continued with a smile : 
 
 " He'd made up his mind to marry her there and then, 
 run the blockage, and carry her off if need were. There 
 was need enough and to spare indeed, for her Pa, d'ye see, 
 was a minister, a Pasha, they called him ; a hooked nose, 
 fiery Turk, who hated Christians, and more especially 
 Englishmen, like pork, which those pagunds say is unclean, 
 though they ain't over-clean themselves, if it comes to that. 
 Well, notwithstanding all this, and all I could say against 
 it and I was strong against it, too, tellin' him as how he 
 was over-young for the job, and could take his choice in
 
 78 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 England when the proper time came ' Why,' says I, for- 
 getting myself for the moment, ' as for runnin' away with a 
 foreign gal in a veil why, it's like buyin' a pig in a poke.' 
 
 " ' Jack,' says he, laughin' quite in a good humour at 
 the notion, as it were, ' you'll be ready to eat your foolish 
 words when once you've seen her.' Well, I didn't think 
 so, but I said no more, seein' the uselessness of it, for 'tis 
 the skipper pricks the chart and the seaman must just 
 obey. 
 
 " So I agreed to be at a certain point that night at 
 eleven o'clock and follow out all his instructions, happen 
 what might. Well, I might ha' been seen that night, at 
 the very moment the clock was strikin' ten, clamberin' up 
 a great high wall that shut in the Nabob's paliss and 
 grounds. 
 
 " I'd to wait, d'ye see, just below the wall, in the 
 shadow of a fig-tree, for her to come, then help her over 
 the wall by a rope ladder I had round my waist, and 
 jump into the carriage which was to be there ready for 
 us the young Squire himself bein' the cabby, dressed out 
 in linen togs and turban to distract attention. 
 
 " 'Twas a nasty wall to climb, was yon: I doubt if I 
 hadn't been a sailor I'd never ha' got to the top ; however, 
 I managed after a bit to get a foothold, and swingin' 
 myself up to the top, lay there to get my breath. First 
 thing I see is a great scowling sentry just below me with a 
 nasty heathen sword like a sickle waiting for me. There 
 wasn't a moment to think about anything at all I just 
 made a jump on to him there and then almost fell on 
 him, in fack, and by good luck stunned him as I came 
 down pretty heavy right on top of him. I was mighty 
 pleased it was him that was stunned and not me, as there'd 
 ha' been mighty little chance of my ever seein' the light 
 again, had he had a say in the matter. For fear, however, 
 he might come to before the young lady was to arrive I 
 took the turban off his head and tied it tight round his 
 mouth like a gag, and then, tying his hands behind his 
 back, left curlytoes senseless on the grass and hid myself 
 in the shade of the fig-tree. Two or three minutes passed 
 away, and I trembled at every sound, fearing lest an alarm
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUAY. 79 
 
 had been given and it was all up. Yet all of a sudden 
 comes a rustling noise, and, lo and behold, there she was ! 
 Well, mates, she was just like 
 
 Here the narrator's imagination, proving unequal to the 
 task, sought a stimulus in the glass that had been judici- 
 ously ordered by one of the audience beforehand and 
 placed beside him. 
 
 " Ay, ay," continued the sailor slowly, " its no use 
 talkin', but she beat a fairy in a pantomime hollow a bit 
 pale, perhaps, she was, but her eyes shone like stars on a 
 clear night in the Indian Seas, glimmerin' as 'twere, with 
 grace and beauty, like the pearl ye've seen to-night. 
 
 " Well, it wasn't many minutes before she was over 
 that blessed wall and safe into the carriage t'other side. 
 Off we drove to the hotel, and there that very evening they 
 were married by an English clergyman who happened to 
 be out there at the time. Ay ! married right enough, no 
 doubt about that : why, I gave her away myself and wit- 
 nessed their signatures, ay, and got a kiss too for the job, 
 and what I valued less at the time, mates, this here pearl 
 as well," again producing it as he spoke from his pocket. 
 
 "No, no," cried the honest sailor in conclusion, "he 
 promised true enough to love and to cherish her till death 
 did them part, else, squire or no squire, he'd not ha' had 
 my help ! " 
 
 A murmur of applause greeted this manly and essen- 
 tially British sentiment that so fitly brought the tale to a 
 conclusion. 
 
 The story of the pearl had monopolised all attention, 
 and the men gazed reverently upon the possessor of a jewel 
 that had been so romantically won. Polite attentions were 
 plentifully shown the honest sailor, offers of " something 
 hot " resounded on all sides of him, but now mine host 
 came forward and intimated, with deprecating smile and 
 finger pointed to the clock, that the time had come when 
 he, however unwillingly, was forced to close his doors and 
 frown upon festivity. 
 
 The company slowly broke up and dispersed in little 
 groups of twos and threes, all discussing the sailor and his 
 pearl and repeating again the romantic details of its history.
 
 80 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 The venerable looking individual who, as was noticed 
 above, had taken such an interest in all that was going on, 
 though he had not joined in the throng of those who 
 offered their services, was awaiting with impatience an 
 opportunity of accosting the possessor of this priceless 
 jewel. " Good-nights " were exchanged outside as the 
 company broke up and went their various ways, and the 
 sailor, who had refused all the invitations for prolonging 
 the night that had been showered upon him, was left 
 standing alone for a moment in the middle of the street. 
 
 The venerable old man, perceiving his opportunity, 
 came up at once and thus accosted him. 
 
 " My friend," said he, " if I may without offence thus 
 style a stranger, should it so happen that you seek a 
 lodging I offer my humble roof to your notice." 
 
 Here he produced a card on which was inscribed in 
 large letters 
 
 EBENEZER STALLYBRASS. 
 
 6, Marine Terrace. 
 FURNISHED APARTMENTS. 
 
 which he impressively handed over to the sailor. 
 
 " Ay," he Continued slowly, "at 6, Marine Terrace, I, 
 Ebenezer Stallybrass, let lodgings ; charges moderate, all 
 things cleanly and orderly, and an extraordinary fine 
 prospect of the sea, which will be very pleasing to a 
 sailor." " Ay," he commenced again after a moment's 
 pause, " and lest ye should fear ye might be robbed I may 
 tell ye that I am an Elder o' the Kirk and well respecked 
 in the town." 
 
 " Ay," he concluded, after another and most impressive 
 pause, during which the sailor had difficulty in subduing a 
 smile, " at 6, Marine Terrace there's prayers morning and 
 evening and all the comforts of a home." 
 
 It may be doubted whether the honest sailor would 
 have included prayers in the category of home comforts, 
 but at all events he seemed impressed by what he heard, 
 or perhaps it was rather that he was amused by the 
 manners and character of his would-be host, for he 
 reflected for a short space, and a humorous twinkle lit up
 
 THE ELDER OF NOR1H QUAY. 81 
 
 his eye as he replied, " Well, thank ye, mate, I've got a 
 berth for to-night, but I'll look ye up to-morrow, and 
 maybe I'll stay with ye a bit, though as to prayers, now, 
 well, I'm one who's for prayer myself but 
 
 " Ay, ay," interrupted the other quickly, " prayers are 
 no compulsory, but, eh mon ! ye'll just have been tarr'bly 
 neglecked at sea the main part of ye. Ay, 'twill be just a 
 gran' opportunity for ye if ye lodge with me." 
 
 The mariner laughed good-humouredly, amused as a 
 prosperous man may be when sympathised with for a loss 
 he does not feel, then turning away with a hearty good- 
 night, walked off down the street. He had not gone very 
 far, however, before he felt a tap upon his shoulder, and, 
 looking quickly round, perceived the venerable Elder, who 
 again accosted him. " Friend," he said, " I'm no one of 
 those that lightly speak evil of my neighbours, but I'm 
 thinkin' it's the plain duty of one man to another to warn 
 ye that there's some here who would rob ye a'most for the 
 price of a glass of whisky." 
 
 " Ay," he continued, solemnly, " and wi' a pearl like 
 yon upon ye it would be a sin no to tak' precautions. 
 Now, if ye would like to deposit it wi' me for the night I'll 
 take the risk wi' it, and I'll gie ye a receipt for it the 
 while," said he, taking as he spoke a book from his pocket, 
 and carefully wetting a pencil between his teeth, prepared 
 to save his neighbours from temptation. 
 
 " It's all right with me, thank ye kindly," replied the 
 sailor, amused at the other's warning and anxiety to 
 bestow the pearl in a place of security. " No, no," he 
 continued, " you reckon I can pretty well steer a right 
 course by this time, fair weather or foul ! " With this he 
 moved away again, leaving Ebenezer standing still with 
 his book open in his hand, watching his retreating figure 
 with anxious eyes and fearful for his safety. 
 
 As the honest mariner made his way homeward he 
 might have been heard to laugh again and again at the 
 thought of his would-be landlord. Though he had seen, 
 like a certain famous traveller of old, " the manners and 
 cities of men," he had not lost his native simplicity or been 
 taught to distrust his neighbour ; nay, his travels had
 
 82 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 quickened his human interest, and led him to take new 
 interest in every fresh type of character he encountered. 
 He had now, indeed, almost made up his mind to lodge at 
 the house of the Elder, whereas a more cautious man 
 would probably have hesitated to face such a formidable 
 combination of qualities as went to make up Ebenezer's 
 personality. 
 
 The honest mariner dimly guessed indeed that 
 Ebenezer was a complex character, but he did not 
 endeavour to form any analysis, but came to the simple 
 conclusion that " Scottie " was a rum customer, and from 
 that fact promised himself some amusement. 
 
 The honest mariner, however, as we said above, troubled 
 himself not about these things, but next day betook himself 
 to Marine Terrace in order to inspect Ebenezer's apart- 
 ments. He found them much to his liking and fully 
 bearing out, so far as he could see, the description given of 
 them. Not merely were the rooms neat and simple, and 
 commanded a good prospect of the sea, but a pretty 
 parlour maid answered the bell, as it turned out, and added 
 another attraction which was " very pleasin' to a sailor." 
 It was this, perhaps, rather than the situation, or the fact 
 that his landlord was an original, or even the rusty 
 telescope in the garden, as large as a small cannon, of 
 which he could have the gratuitous use, that clinched his 
 desire and determined him to have his chest brought up 
 thither at once. 
 
 The next few days passed by pleasantly enough, the 
 sailor thought, as he peaceably smoked his pipe in the 
 garden on a warm afternoon, and in the evening sat in his 
 arm-chair beside the red-bricked fireplace, where a fire 
 always burned cheerily, keeping the hobs those brackets 
 so convenient for after-dinner enjoyment warm and ready 
 for their uses. 
 
 As for the " prayers morning and evening" the honest 
 sailor had devoutly attended at first, and had somewhat 
 disconcerted Ebenezer who previously had always been 
 listened to by the two servants in perfect silence by 
 uttering devout, but unfortunately ill-timed, amens : as for 
 example, when Ebenezer paused to take in a fresh supply
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUAY. 83 
 
 of breath. What had finally put an end to the sailor's 
 attendance was not the " prayer " so much as the 
 " exposeetion," as Ebenezer called it, which followed, 
 wherein he sustained the part of " devil's advocate " with 
 efficacy, exposing the weak side of various apostles and 
 divines with an unfailing satisfaction. 
 
 " Ay," he remarked one evening in an " exposeetion," 
 suggested by a chapter he had just read from one of the 
 Epistles, " ay, St. Paul, now, had a gran' eloquence, 
 doubtless, and a choice of words quite extraordinary, but 
 he was aye over-weak in doctrine whiles beseeching 
 instead of threatening, and aye leaving the sinner a 
 loophole for escape. Ye cannot coax the sinner to 
 righteousness wi' a kiss, but wi' threats maun drive him 
 afore ye as an auld wife brings hame her kye of an 
 evening. 'Twas a greet peety, too, he should write of 
 himself as bein' weak in bodily presence, and in speech 
 contemptible.' Ay, 'twas a peety, indeed, he should ha' 
 been so meek ay, and a sair peety that others who ha' 
 the gifts should lack the opportuneeties." . 
 
 Then there ensued an impressive pause which was 
 broken unexpectedly by the sailor, who, but dimly under- 
 standing what had been said, and believing something to 
 be expected from him, audibly ejaculated " Amen ! " and 
 thereby so startled the elder that some of the hard sayings 
 destined for another fell upon himself. 
 
 After this the sailor no longer attended prayers, not- 
 withstanding the expostulations of the landlord, who 
 enlarged upon the "building up" the "exposeetion" 
 never failed to effect. 
 
 To this he bluntly replied that " there wasn't no chance 
 for one of the crew if the skipper were trounced like that," 
 alluding to the above-mentioned attacks on the divines 
 of old. 
 
 Indeed, he more than suspected that Ebenezer's 
 scheme of righteousness worked out in the form of an 
 equation, whereby the election of one just man, viz., 
 Ebenezer, was equivalent to the rejection of ninety-and- 
 nine unjust persons, amongst whom the sailor felt he was 
 himself included.
 
 84 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 He dimly guessed, indeed, that his future host com- 
 bined several diverse qualities in his constitution, and, had 
 ha been gifted with the analytical spirit, he might have 
 likened him to a prodigy of old, an instance of the 
 "triformis" class, composed of three very different 
 elements, of which elements, the Scot would generally 
 predominate, assisted by the second the lodging-house 
 keeper while on Sundays of course the Elder would 
 reign supreme. It might be surmised, moreover, that 
 on the remaining six days of the week the elements of 
 the Scot and the lodging-house keeper when any mutual 
 advantage was obtainable would be only too ready to lay 
 violent hands upon the unfortunate Elder and incontinently 
 imprison him. 
 
 He had discovered very soon that it was not so much 
 the desire to save him from destruction, as the extraordinary 
 affection he had for his pearl, that had made Ebenezer so 
 eager to secure him as a lodger. 
 
 For every evening after the Bible had been put away 
 his landlord would come downstairs, and under pretence of 
 seeing that his guest was comfortable, would enter into 
 conversation and sit down opposite him. Before he 
 departed, the conversation would be sure to turn sooner 
 or later to the wonderful pearl ; the story of course 
 resulted, and finally, in answer to certain hints, the pearl 
 itself would be drawn from its case, to prove, as it were, 
 the authenticity of the story. 
 
 The sailor, indeed, was nothing loath to tell the 
 romantic history as often as might be, but yet found 
 mighty satisfaction in pretending not to notice Ebenezer's 
 hints that came fluttering forth each evening after prayers, 
 like bats or moths about a lamp, as he used to slily reflect 
 within himself. 
 
 Many were the groans Ebenezer had to give vent to 
 before his hints would be perceived by his obtuse lodger, 
 whose insensibility invariably increased as the eagerness of 
 the other was more openly displayed. The period of 
 suspense was prolonged, in fact, each evening, till, as the 
 sailor used to mischievously describe it, " it wasn't afore he 
 had burnt both wings and was buzzin' about and around
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUA Y. 85 
 
 the pearl like a bluebottle fly," that the torture was ended 
 by its production. 
 
 Here, indeed, the sailor felt he had his host at a disad- 
 vantage, and could repay with interest on the material side 
 some of the severe buffets he had himself received in the 
 spiritual discipline he had been subjected to. 
 
 On one occasion, indeed, he even went so far as to 
 pretend he had lost it, and Ebenezer's face worked like 
 that of a man in a fit. Indeed his passion for the pearl was 
 fast consuming him, and with his passion his hate of the 
 owner of the pearl grew correspondingly, not, of course, 
 because he envied him a mere carnal possession, but that 
 his spiritual pride was wounded at thus having to ask 
 a favour of one who was a mere castaway. 
 
 Matters, however, came to a crisis one evening. It so 
 happened that Ebenezer had been reading at prayers that 
 night concerning the merchant in the bible who sold all his 
 possessions in order to buy a pearl of great price. The 
 incident thus recorded had taken immediate hold of his 
 imagination, for the merchant, it seemed to him, had been 
 in a similar position to that wherein he himself was placed 
 at the moment. The question that at once occupied him 
 was the amount of the sum thus raised by the merchant 
 that proved sufficient for the purpose. 
 
 " Could it have been as much as ^"500 ? " cogitated 
 Ebenezer, as he slowly descended the stairs, groaning 
 within himself the while at the immensity of the amount. 
 
 He found his lodger at home, as was usual in the 
 evening, and after a few preliminary and inconsequent 
 remarks skilfully, as was his wont, led up to the great 
 subject. When again the jewel was disclosed, he could 
 restrain himself no longer, but was fain to discover once for 
 all though several times previously he had thrown out 
 judicious feelers on the subject whether his lodger would 
 be willing to part with it at a price. 
 
 " May be," he questioned insidiously " ye can give 
 a guess as to what the value of it might be," peering out as 
 he spoke, from under his bushy eye-brows at his careless 
 lodger who sat in the arm-chair opposite.
 
 86 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 " Oh ! I dessay a thousand pounds, maybe," replied the 
 other in his offhand way. 
 
 " Eh ! a thousand pounds ! " echoed the horror-struck 
 Ebenezer. " Man ! ye can never mean it. Na, na, you 
 sailor folk are just a daft set and dinna ken the right value 
 o' siller. Na, na, ye'll have just made a mistake," he 
 continued, visibly brightening at his own suggestion : " na 
 doubt but ye mean five hundred, and that maybe would be 
 mair nor it would be worth from a strict mercantile point of 
 view," he concluded thoughtfully, fearing lest he might be 
 influenced by the scriptural parallel above mentioned and 
 be offering too much. 
 
 " Well, well, replied the sailor with a laugh and a 
 mischievous look in his eye, " suppose we say five hundred, 
 what then ? " 
 
 " Well, maybe," replied Ebenezer, cautiously, "ye'll be 
 wanting siller soon, and perchance I might be able to 
 raise as much, though" groaning deeply " its a tarr'ble 
 large amount and no easy got together." 
 
 " Ay," he continued, almost bitterly, as he perceived 
 no special sign of delight at the offer in his companion's 
 face, " you sailors are just a reckless race and have 
 absolutely no idee o' the value o' siller. Why, there's 
 plenty men could keep themselves in board and lodgin' the 
 rest o' their lives on five hundred pounds laid out at a 
 decent rate o' interest." 
 
 His companion's ideas on the subject differed probably ; 
 at all events, he did not immediately reply, and the two 
 men sat watching each other in silence Ebenezer debating 
 within himself whether he could offer guineas instead 
 of pounds, and the sailor mischievously pondering a scheme 
 whereby he might outwit his host, teach him a moral lesson 
 in the matter of covetousness, and yet retain the pearl 
 notwithstanding. 
 
 " Well," the sailor broke out at last, with a jolly laugh, 
 " I'll tell ye what. We'll have a carouse for the pearl. 
 I'm not particular anxious to sell, but I've no objection to 
 give ye a chance to get it. Look ye, now, we'll have a 
 friendly carouse by way of a match for it my pearl 
 and your brass for the stakes, and grog the weapon."
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUAY. 87 
 
 " Ay, ay," he continued, laughing, ' I challenge ye and 
 I choose the weapons. All fair and square ; you stake 
 your brass and I my pearl, side by side on the table, then 
 glass and glass about to prove which is the better man 
 chalking up the score, I for ye and ye for me, as we 
 turn about. Then, gradually, I calculate, one of us will 
 feel the ship rollin' and staggerin', and will seek seclusion, 
 maybe, under the table, whiles t'other, still keeping right 
 end up'urds, wins the match, and pockets pearl and brass. 
 
 " The one that's beat can't say nothin' against it next 
 mornin', mind, though like enough he won't remember 
 much what's happened. No, no, he'll be occupied enough, 
 I calculate," concluded the sailor, with a hearty laugh, 
 and a mischievous glance at his companion, " in 
 refrigeratm' his headpiece as though t'were a perishable 
 article a-passing through the Tropic of Capricorn." 
 
 Ebenezer sat there rigid and stiff, scarce believing he 
 could have heard aright. 
 
 Eh ! How Providence favoured the elect ! This was 
 the thought that predominated in the tumultuous eddy of 
 his brain. Here was opportunity literally thrust upon him, 
 and he remembered with pride certain bouts of former 
 days, wherein he had gained a reputation, though he had 
 long since found it convenient as an Elder of the Kirk to 
 put away the memory of such misdeeds. 
 
 He almost felt the pearl in his grasp ; and as for the 
 ^"500, why, there it was still comfortably housed in his 
 trousers' pocket. 
 
 " It it will be whisky ? " he queried hoarsely, after the 
 short pause wherein he had endeavoured to collect his 
 thoughts and maintain to outward appearance his usual 
 composure, " ye'll ha' no objection to the whisky ? " 
 
 "Ay, ay whisky, for it makes one feel so frisky," 
 replied the roystering mariner, not bethinking himself that 
 as a Scotchman his host, however reverend, was probably 
 acclimatised to that beverage. " Whisky, first course, 
 hot ; second course, whisky ; third course, whisky ; then a 
 brew of punch, and something tasty to eat atween whiles." 
 Then he broke off into a jolly laugh, and began to sing in 
 a full deep voice a stave or two of a drinking song.
 
 88 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 The anchor's slipt and the freight's unshipt, 
 
 Sing ho for Jack ashore ! 
 Now gold doth chink and the glasses clink, 
 
 Sing ho for mirth galore. 
 
 The fire burns bright, Jacks heart is light, 
 
 Sing ho, the night arouse ! 
 We'll drink about till Sol be out, 
 
 Sing ho for a carouse 
 
 " Whist, man, whist," exclaimed Ebenezer anxiously, 
 for he had now had time to reassume the mantle of the elder 
 which had so nearly fallen from his shoulders in the 
 excitement of the last few moments. " Ye canna com- 
 prehend the delicate nature of a good repute," he continued, 
 by way of explanation. " It just clings about a man like 
 a sweet savour, and if once suspeecion, wi' it's foul breath, 
 comes nigh it, it's just altogether overpowered like 
 ointment o' the apothecary that stinketh by reason o' the 
 dead flies in it. There's aye plenty reprobates gangin' 
 up and down like roarin' lions seekin' to do the godly a 
 damage. I should na wonder," he continued, suddenly 
 descending to the particular, " if there were ane o' them at 
 this meenit wi' his lug fast to the window." With this he 
 stepped towards it, and lifting up the sash peered cautiously 
 out into the night. After he had duly satisfied himself on 
 this point, he closed the window, drew the curtains 
 carefully to, and, facing the sailor, commenced again. 
 
 " Ay, ay," with a sorrowful wag of the head " there 
 wad be mony not ower guid themsell wad be only too glad 
 to bring a discredit on anither, wha wad shoot out the lip 
 wi' scorn and whet there tongue like a sword, rejoicin' the 
 while at the thought o' bringin' a scandal on the Kirk, if 
 ance they heard tell there had been a ' carouse,' as ye ca' 
 it, in the house of Ebenezer Stallybrass. 
 
 " Ay," he continued, with a sigh, after a pause, " and 
 doubtless there wad be some found to believe them. But 
 I ken a way," he continued, brightening up at the 
 thought, " we'll defeat them. We'll just carry up the 
 necessary supplies ourselves to a little bit room I ha' up i' 
 the garrets. It's full wi' lumber and things, but we'll ha' 
 a fire, and it'll no be bad. Ay, and ye can sing a song if 
 ye like none will hear ye up there. I'm thinkin'," he
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUAY. 89 
 
 continued, after a moment's hesitation, " we'd better begin 
 early while there's noises in the streets, and suspicion will 
 no be so likely to be snuffin' about wi' her nose as keen's a 
 game dog's. What d'ye say to nine ? " 
 
 " Ay, nine will suit me, mate," replied the sailor some- 
 what disconsolately, not altogether liking the way in 
 which his suggestion had been caught up and positively 
 taken out of his hands by his host. Indeed, he had 
 gleefully promised himself an upholding of hands, pro- 
 testations, and a ludicrous exhibition of shifts on the part 
 of the elder in the event of his accepting this dissolute 
 challenge and the consequent necessity he would be under 
 of reconciling therewith his austere piety. 
 
 Instead of this, however, here was Ebenezer calmly 
 arranging the details of the carouse as though it were a 
 meeting of the Synod of his Kirk to discuss lay matters. 
 He could scarcely understand it, and indeed began to feel 
 doubtful whether he had not been premature in making 
 the suggestion. 
 
 It was too late to go back now, however, and they 
 parted for the night, after having agreed to take up the 
 necessary supplies the following afternoon when the servants 
 would be out and suspicion would not be incurred. 
 
 Ebenezer, as he went upstairs, exulted in his heart 
 at the thought of his enemy's discomfiture ; the trap the 
 enemy had prepared for another would be the means of the 
 enemy's own downfall ; Providence had favoured him 
 indeed, and he sang a song of triumph in his heart at 
 the thought of victory. At the moment he might be 
 compared, perhaps, to one of the grim heroes of his own 
 church in times past, who, proud in their election, found 
 Providence a willing ally, and justification easy, in any 
 adventure they might be engaged upon against the person 
 of the ungodly. 
 
 On the other hand, the sailor could not look upon the 
 carouse that had just been planned in the same pleasing 
 light as before until he had partaken of a stiff glass of grog ; 
 then, indeed, he could once more agreeably perceive the 
 elder lolling in his seat, half seas over, strugglin' in his 
 utterance with the sanctimonious polysyllables he could 
 
 G
 
 90 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 no longer effectually pronounce, and, delightful thought, 
 oblivious of the fact that he had lost his " siller " and yet 
 not won the pearl. Enraptured by these various thoughts, 
 both combatants sought their respective couches at an 
 early hour. 
 
 The next afternoon Ebenezer occupied himself upstairs 
 in the lumber room on various excuses, arranging details 
 for the evening's entertainment, and coming downstairs 
 now and again for the supplies the sailor surreptitiously 
 introduced into the house. 
 
 At last the fated hour struck the hour anxiously 
 awaited by both host and lodger through the long interval 
 of the day. 
 
 The host, indeed, had previously prepared himself for 
 the carouse by a big meal partaken of at one of the Quay- 
 side restaurants, for, as he sagely reflected, " whisky was 
 unco' ill on an empty stammick." 
 
 His lodger, on the other hand, had purposely taken 
 little or no food, in order to do himself full justice, as he 
 thought, in the evening. 
 
 Punctually at the last stroke of the clock he made 
 his way up the narrow wooden staircase that led to the 
 chamber in the attics. Pushing his way through the 
 trapdoor at the top of the staircase, he emerged into a small 
 encumbered room which was brightly lit up by a big fire, in 
 front of which he perceived his host already standing. 
 
 The table was spread with the various weapons of the 
 duel ; a big stone bottle, evidently containing whisky, 
 flanked one end of the table, while a sturdy broad-bottomed 
 flask, that suggested rum, stood on guard opposite ; in 
 the middle a big punch-bowl serenely rested a noble 
 advertisement of the coming struggle, while round about 
 were basins containing sugar and lemons that gleamed 
 brightly in the light of the lamp. A slate was propped 
 against the punch-bowl, on which stood the score to be 
 kept by the respective combatants, each for the other, as 
 aforesaid. Then there were two or three side dishes 
 containing viands of an appetising description, which were 
 merely meant to whet the appetite for the liquor on which, 
 as we know, the issue depended.
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUA Y. 91 
 
 A kettle hissed merrily on the fire, and the sailor, as he 
 viewed the suggestive scene before him, felt enraptured 
 once again with his plot, and gloried in the thought of the 
 instant duel. 
 
 " Capital," he cried, " capital, it could not have been 
 done better, mate," and he commenced rubbing his hands 
 briskly in keen anticipation, and hummed to himself a 
 stave of song. 
 
 " Ha' ye brought the pearl wi' ye ? " inquired the 
 Elder anxiously, indifferent to compliments. 
 
 " Ay, ay, here she is," replied the sailor, producing it 
 from his pocket. 
 
 The Elder took the case carefully into his hands, 
 opened it, and reassured himself that it was still therein, 
 then gently placed it in front of the punch-bowl in the 
 middle of the table. Having done this, he turned to the 
 chimney piece and lifted down a canvas bag which he 
 carefully placed alongside the pearl, after having just 
 untied the string round its mouth, and thereby exposed its 
 golden contents. 
 
 " We'll leave them there," said he, for he felt that witli 
 the stakes before his eyes victory was doubly assured. 
 
 The combatants now sat down, Ebenezer at the top of 
 the table as host, with the sailor on his left hand. 
 
 " The fire burns bright, Jack's heart is light," sang the 
 enraptured sailor, grasping the stone jar near him with 
 both hands. 
 
 Had a third person been present, he would have greatly 
 marvelled, doubtless, at the strange scene before him, and 
 the strangeness of the surroundings. 
 
 Here was one reveller gay and happy, flourishing his 
 glass aloft and singing snatches of quaint ditties, while the 
 other sat still and almost silent with a hard and constrained 
 look in his eyes. 
 
 Then the garret in which they were holding their 
 carouse was encumbered with such a curiously diverse 
 sort of furniture in one corner was a big sideboard 
 supported by carved oak dragons, in another were carpet- 
 bags and Chinese jars effects of various impecunious 
 lodgers, while on the rafters and cross-beams that bore up
 
 92 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 the low roof was piled a heavy net, though for what 
 purpose it was there was certainly not manifest. The 
 cord ends hung down not far above the heads of the 
 carousers, but had not apparently been noticed by either 
 of them. 
 
 The trap door had been shut down, and no one 
 disturbed or was cognisant of this secret revelry, save only 
 the parrot, who had accompanied his master into the room, 
 and was now safely ensconced on the top of a kitchen 
 clock in the corner, where he sat solemnly blinking at the 
 fire, regardless of the revellers. 
 
 Meanwhile, of the two combatants, the sailor had very 
 soon outstripped his host, who had been paying more 
 attention to the viands, and was two glasses of grog 
 behindhand. 
 
 But, while the latter sat steady and upright in his 
 chair, the sailor lolled about and showed signs of an 
 excessive hilarity, proposing and seconding and drinking 
 the healths of individuals whose names he frequently was 
 unable to remember, and all the time poking fun at " Old 
 Snuffles," as he familiarly termed his host. 
 
 Now it was time that the punch should be brewed, and 
 when he had mixed and tasted the beverage and found it 
 inimitable, he filled his glass and proclaimed the health of 
 " the prettiest maid in North Quay." The Elder's glass 
 had been filled too, but curiously enough on this occasion 
 he did not raise his glass as he previously had done in 
 response to his companion's lead, but sitting back in his 
 chair lightly grasped the full tumbler, watching intently, 
 like a cat about to spring, his companion's action. A 
 gurgling noise proclaimed the delicious draught to be 
 ended, and the smack of the lips that followed eminently 
 suggested an encore. Slowly the unsuspicious sailor raised 
 his head his mind wholly intent upon his desire and 
 just at the very moment that his eyes appeared upon the 
 horizon of the punch-bowl, a blinding splash of spirit met 
 them full in front. The sailor, stupefied and bewildered at 
 the sudden attack, sat motionless for a second ; down 
 came a thick net upon him over head and shoulders, and 
 he felt himself fast in the grasp of the Elder.
 
 THE ELDER OF NOR'IH QUAY. 93 
 
 It was not a fair fight ; for the Elder, like the retiarius 
 of old, had his victim fast in the meshes of the net, and 
 soon had twined the folds round and round his arms so 
 securely that resistance was impossible. 
 
 Then, bearing him backwards to the ground, the Elder, 
 after having first thrust a handkerchief into his victim's 
 mouth, proceeded to tie his legs together, and make fast 
 and sure the knots about his chest and arms. 
 
 Seated astride his prostrate lodger, and grimly engaged 
 upon these final touches, the joy of triumph welled up 
 within his soul, and overflowing, found a vent in song. 
 
 " Aha, aha ! " chanted the Elder, in sing-song fervent 
 tones, " the ungodly man thought to triumph, and like a 
 vain fool had lifted up his horn on high, but suddenly was 
 he dashed down and caught in the net he had laid for 
 another." 
 
 " Ay, ay," he continued, as a sudden movement of the 
 prostrate body underneath him accentuated the position ; 
 "dashed down and trodden under foot is he ; and strapped 
 tight wi' a weel-knotted rope." 
 
 The Elder would probably have continued to illustrate 
 the paraphrase, had not the glint of the pearl, as it lay on 
 the table, caught his eye ; hastily rising, he stepped to the 
 table, took up his prize of victory with reverent hand, then 
 carefully buttoned it into an inner pocket. The canvas 
 bag he then proceeded to tie up, having done which he 
 deposited that also in another of his capacious pockets. 
 Then, looking about him and reflecting for a few seconds, 
 he advanced to the window, looked out, and thus 
 soliloquised : 
 
 " Ay, it's early yet ; may be it will be half an hour yet 
 afore they're here. I'd just better slip round and hurry 
 them on." So saying, he turned towards the door and 
 unlocked it, but on a sudden turned back, and stalking up 
 to where his victim lay, pronounced the following epitaph 
 over him : 
 
 " Ye're no but a great fule possessin' neither the head 
 to carouse, nor the wut to keep yer ain." 
 
 These scathing words were finally driven home by a 
 contemptuous kick ; then the door shut softly, a creak
 
 04 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 jarred on the stair, and the unfortunate sailor was left 
 alone in the silent room to reflect upon the truth of the 
 portrait. 
 
 The shock of the encounter, and the perilous condition 
 in which he was, had effectually sobered him. Crimping 
 apparently awaited him, to judge by the words he had 
 overheard, and the terrible lot that was to fall on him was 
 the result of his own pride and the poor desire to have the 
 laugh of his sanctimonious host. Could folly herself have 
 devised so contemptible a plot have perilled so much for 
 so trivial a triumph ? 
 
 The unfortunate captive groaned in spirit as he saw 
 pass by him in fancy the various events, like links in a 
 chain, that had led up to this final catastrophe. 
 
 Then, after having lashed himself with regrets, he 
 became calmer, took his bearings, and finding himself lost 
 in the breakers, resigned himself to his fate. 
 
 He saw himself carried away, a common sailor on 
 board a vile merchant brig sent out to sea to be scuttled, 
 the owners gaining the insurance, and no tales told. 
 
 Meanwhile Mogib, the parrot, perceiving that the noise 
 and consequent danger, as she was well aware, had passed 
 away, took advantage of this opportunity to fly down from 
 her perch and settle on the table to inspect the viands and 
 liquor, of which she had a peculiar knowledge. 
 
 Seated on a plate, she was discussing, with one eye 
 shut, head well thrown back, and critical tongue, the 
 flavour of the rum punch that had so pleased her master's 
 palate. 
 
 It so chanced, however, that an unconscious movement 
 of the captive jarred suddenly against the table leg. 
 Mogib, startled, lost her balance and fell backwards, 
 screaming loudly " man overboard," and bearing with her 
 to the ground at the same time plate, fork, and knife. 
 
 The noise and clatter startled the sailor in his turn, and 
 rolling over on his side, he dimly perceived Mogib, frag- 
 ments of china, and lastly, with a sudden leap of hope, 
 what seemed a knife close beside him on the floor. 
 
 Scarce could he believe his eyes Mogib had then 
 brought him this chance of deliverance ! There was not a
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUAY. 95 
 
 moment to be lost, for 'twould be a hard task enough to 
 set himself free under any circumstances ; and then there 
 was the possibility of Ebenezer's returning at any minute. 
 
 Rolling over till he felt the knife underneath him, he 
 endeavoured to gradually work his fingers through the 
 meshes in order to get hold of the handle. 
 
 His hands being fast tied at the wrists, and his arms 
 and chest being tightly encircled by the cord, the only 
 possible way to set himself free was to get the knife 
 between his hands, thrust the handle into the grip of his 
 knees, and then, by a gradual friction of the blade against 
 the binding of the wrists, to sever the cord. 
 
 Painfully and with difficulty his fingers pulled them- 
 selves through the meshes, dragging the knife after them ; 
 every now and again the blade would slip from their feeble 
 grasp, or catch fast in some of the thick meshes of the net. 
 
 After a long and desperate struggle, during which he 
 had several times given up all hope, and sank back 
 exhausted from the struggle, he finally succeeded in getting 
 firmly into the palms of his hands the trusty weapon with 
 which he was to work out his safety. He lay there still a 
 moment, happy but breathless, for hope had blazed up 
 again and fired determination, and now he felt indeed his 
 freedom was assured. 
 
 Turning over on his back, he raised his knees, thrust 
 the handle of the knife between them, then slowly inserting 
 the point between the cord-lappings that bound his wrists, 
 endeavoured to cut through the strands by a gentle 
 rubbing against the knife blade. 
 
 It was a terrible strain, and one that could not last 
 long, for, crippled as he was, and in danger moreover of 
 suffocation, he found the greatest difficulty in keeping all 
 his forces concentrated upon the delicate task before 
 him every detail of which, indeed, as it depended upon a 
 measurement the result of touch and not of sight, was 
 liable to miscalculation, in which case the chance of 
 liberty would be lost. 
 
 Suddenly there came a loosening of the cord just at the 
 very moment when his knees had released their grip and 
 the knife had fallen between them. Could it be that a strand
 
 % BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 could really have parted ? With wrist against wrist he 
 stretched to the utmost the cords ; now he felt them 
 slipping, and then all at once his arms were free. 
 
 A moment before and all his strength had ebbed away, 
 but now, on a full tide, it came rushing back. 
 
 Seizing the knife, he rapidly cut through the net a 
 passage for his arm ; then, this done, sawed through the 
 cords that bound his chest, and in a few more seconds had 
 actually regained his liberty. 
 
 Now, the question was, what would be the best plan of 
 action escape seemed the first thing to be aimed at 
 revenge could conveniently follow. 
 
 The door, however, proved, on being tried, to be 
 locked, and the window, on close inspection, was found to 
 be too great a height above the ground to be available, 
 nor was there any projection or pipe by which descent 
 would have been rendered possible. 
 
 Well, there was no help for it, the sailor soliloquised ; 
 he must just await Ebenezer's return. To do so, indeed, 
 jumped better with his inclination. 
 
 It was certain that Ebenezer would be back soon, but 
 whether he would come alone was the question to which 
 no answer could be given, and yet it was on this that all 
 depended. 
 
 On reflection, however, it appeared probable that he 
 would return alone his dread of scandal would be one 
 reason for so doing and then the long rope with hook 
 attached, which he had discovered fastened to the cord 
 ends about his chest, had revealed the fact that he was 
 to be lowered out of the window into the arms of the gang, 
 who, as he had overheard, were shortly expected. 
 
 Thus thinking, he formed his plan : the door was 
 locked, as we have seen, but as it opened into the room on 
 the left-hand side, it would, if pushed back to its limit, 
 naturally come against the heavy sideboard that stood 
 behind it, and thus would form a place of ambush for an 
 assailant. First, however, before taking up his position, 
 he made up a bundle of rags, and laid them carefully 
 together in the same spot where he had himself just been, 
 dropped his handkerchief on the edge of the bundle to
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUAY. 97 
 
 represent the position of the head, next strewing over it 
 the several pieces of the net, he gathered up the remaining 
 coils into his hands and turned down the lamp. 
 
 Then, mounting on the sideboard, he cautiously 
 crouched on the edge nearest the door, net in hand, 
 scarcely daring to draw breath lest the sound should 
 betray him all his thought suspended in revenge. 
 
 Ah ! if he could once feel the Elder writhing in the 
 meshes, how lightly would he esteem the loss of his pearl ! 
 Some ten minutes passed slowly, during which his ear, 
 like a timid sentinel, challenged the silence and caught the 
 fancied footfall of a foe. 
 
 Then came a creak of heavy footsteps on the staircase 
 just below him, a slight sensation was instantly perceptible 
 in the woodwork of the wall, a key grated in the lock, and 
 in another moment Ebenezer's head cautiously appeared 
 beyond the edge of the door. 
 
 Satisfied in the dim light that all was as he had left it, 
 he stepped inside, unconscious of his peril ; at that moment, 
 however, there came a suspicious noise from behind, but 
 before he could look round a net fell upon his head and 
 shoulders, and a heavy body followed instantly and bore 
 him to the floor. 
 
 The Elder, knowing instinctively that his enemy was 
 upon him, and no quarter would be granted, yelled like a 
 wild beast when suddenly stricken, and fought with 
 delirious fury. He was underneath, however, and the net 
 entangled his movements, while the sailor, strong in his 
 lust of revenge, with both hands had a firm grasp of his 
 opponent's throat. 
 
 It was not, indeed, until Ebenezer's face had assumed 
 a black and unnatural hue that the sailor relaxed his hold, 
 and even then it was only for the purpose of binding the 
 hands and feet of his victim tightly together. 
 
 This being safely accomplished, he could search the 
 pockets of the unconscious Ebenezer for his pearl, not 
 without some fears, however, for the money had disappeared 
 and possibly the pearl had been secreted also. 
 
 But, no ! there it was lying securely in its little case in 
 a high vest pocket, and when taken out, seemed to shine
 
 98 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 with even additional lustre, as though recognising its true 
 owner. 
 
 The tension of the last few minutes now loosened its 
 grasp, and triumph found a voice and sang along his brain. 
 Looking down upon his prostrate foe, his fancy depicted an 
 instant picture of Ebenezer on board the dirty merchant- 
 man destined for himself, forced to grope his trembling 
 way up the unused shrouds in fear of his life, rope's-ended 
 like a cabin boy for every blunder, and finally he who 
 had been but yesterday an elder and edifier of the kirk 
 the butt and scoff to-day of godless men. 
 
 He chuckled inwardly at the delicious picture thus 
 presented to him, but whilst he gazed, a slight stirring of 
 the prostrate body warned him that the Elder was returning 
 to consciousness. Taking up, then, the remains of the net, 
 he finally completed the fastenings, and now attached the 
 hook and chain to the bundle as they had previously 
 been fastened to his own person. 
 
 Ebenezer had now indeed fully recovered consciousness, 
 and struggled madly with his bonds, to the mighty joy of 
 his secure enemy, whose eye grew mirthfuller at every 
 fresh token of his impotent wrath. 
 
 The remembrance of the words the Elder had spoken 
 over him when he was in the like desperate case, and 
 which so nearly had been his epitaph, recurred to him and 
 suggested retaliation. With a chuckle he knelt down, and 
 in fair imitation of the Elder's slow and nasal tones, 
 whispered impressively in his ear " Ye're just a fool, 
 Ebenezer, with all your self conceit but, mind ye a sea 
 voyage is a splendid cure for the self-conceit, as ye'll find 
 ye carousin', wicked old elder that ye are ! " concluded he, 
 in his normal tones, as the wrath of the natural man got 
 the better of the moralist. 
 
 He likewise enforced his epigram by a hearty and con- 
 temptuous kick upon the person of the Elder, which had 
 the curious effect of immediately checking his convulsive 
 struggles. 
 
 The tumultuous thoughts that surged up into the Elder's 
 brain as he just recovered consciousness the loss of the 
 pearl, his present perilous condition, the chances of
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUAY. 99 
 
 escape had doubtless been disquieting enough ; but it 
 was the kick the cruel indignity of the kick that 
 exasperated him almost to madness. The abysm of mis- 
 fortune in which he lay was thus revealed to him ; he 
 could have screamed with rage had not the handkerchief 
 been stuffed too deep into his mouth ; as it was, he 
 palpitated with murderous wrath. 
 
 At this moment, however, there came a sharp " hist " 
 from outside, startling the sailor from his pleasing reverie, 
 and at the same time clearly intimating to the Elder what 
 fate awaited him. 
 
 The sailor at once cautiously proceeded to the window, 
 and peering out, perceived three or four figures waiting 
 in the street below. " Are ye ready ? " queried the sailor 
 softly, imitating the Elder's voice, for he guessed rightly 
 that they were waiting there for himself. 
 
 " Ay, ay, lower away. Sharp's the word ! " came back 
 the answer in gruff undertones that seemed to bode ill for 
 the comfort of the Elder, as the sailor thought with mis- 
 chievous glee. 
 
 Carefully lifting up the prostrate form of the enemy, 
 the sailor carried it to the window, and, after a brief 
 struggle, forced the shapeless bundle through the some- 
 what narrow space, using perhaps rather more force than 
 was absolutely necessary to effect his purpose. 
 
 This accomplished, he gradually paid out the rope, at 
 the other end of which Ebenezer was helplessly swinging, 
 till he felt a sudden stoppage ; then the rope swung light 
 and loose in his hands, and he knew his enemy was safely 
 in the hands of the hirelings below. 
 
 Looking out, he perceived them plainly enough, making 
 off at all speed, and carrying as best they could, their 
 unwieldy burden. 
 
 The Elder was safely caught in his own net this time, 
 thought the sailor, chuckling at the remembrance of the 
 Elder in his hour of victory, and wondering whether the 
 spiritual parallels in which he had so delighted would be 
 able to afford him consolation in his hour of misfortune. 
 Well enough did the sailor know that no excuses would 
 avail the wretched man on board ship no attempts to
 
 100 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 prove that he was the wrong man would go down when a 
 ship was sailing shorthanded. No, no ; there he was 
 aboard a dirty merchant brig, in as sorry a plight as could 
 well be imagined, and all, as the sailor gleefully reflected, 
 through his own wicked devices. 
 
 Some two or three months after the events just recorded, 
 had any inhabitant of North Quay been passing through 
 the pretty village of Moreton-in-the-Wolds, and had 
 inquired been smitten with thirst after the constant 
 fashion of his native town as to the whereabouts of the 
 best alehouse in the place, he would certainly have been 
 told to seek for his solace at the sign of " The Pearl." 
 
 As he proceeded thither, he would first perceive on his 
 approach a ponderous signboard swinging over the 
 entrance, on which were depicted two warriors engaged in 
 a desperate duel, while two armies in the background 
 breathlessly awaited the result. On the forefinger of the 
 fiercer and rougher of the two opponents was a huge ring, 
 which was set with so gigantic a pearl that the wearer 
 must have been seriously incommoded by it in the violent 
 struggle in which he was engaged. 
 
 Having gazed upon this stirring scene, and unconsciously 
 wondered what the history that was evidently attached to 
 it could be, he would discover, on arrival at the bar, none 
 other in mine host but the famous sailor the possessor of 
 the wondrous pearl who had been so well-known a figure 
 in North Quay for a short time some months ago, and had 
 outwitted the Elder in the famous episode of the carouse. 
 
 The honest sailor, indeed, had departed very shortly 
 after his victory, but not before he had related to his 
 comrades the manner in which he had got the better of the 
 Elder, whose strange disappearance, of course, had set 
 everybody speculating as to the cause. 
 
 The humour of the situation and the retribution that 
 had befallen the Elder tickled everyone's fancy, and 
 delighted many who had doubtless often been rebuked by 
 him for their backslidings. 
 
 The sailor, however, early escaped from attentions that
 
 THE ELDER OF NORTH QUAY. 101 
 
 were beginning to become wearisome by a sudden 
 departure. He had determined to sell the pearl at its own 
 true value, and having done so, to settle down in his old 
 home on the land belonging to the young squire, whose 
 lovely wife, as we have heard above, he had been 
 instrumental in helping to win. 
 
 He bought with the proceeds of the wonderful pearl the 
 village inn, and was now fast becoming, after the squire 
 and his wife, the most popular person in the district. 
 
 The story of the jewel had, of course, become famous, 
 and often would mine host be pressed to tell the tale of 
 how first it was won in fair fight against the invader ; then, 
 how he had received it as his prize for helping to carry off 
 the " mistress," and lastly best of all how he had 
 regained it from the grasp of the sanctimonious but 
 perfidious Elder.
 
 DAFT WILLIE. 
 
 DAFT WILLIE," as the village folk called him, was 
 my constant companion during a brief stay, one 
 " long vacation," at Watersmouth, a picturesque village on 
 the North East coast, some thirty miles from the Border 
 town of Berwick. Save that he was extremely sensitive, 
 being absolutely unable to endure pain himself or witness 
 its effect on others, and that he loathed the sight of a 
 printed page (wherein he had my sympathy), I never was 
 able to discover that he was in any other way inferior to 
 the majority of his fellow creatures. He knew much more 
 than many twice his age, though it was not of the " book 
 larned " order, and many a long afternoon was pleasantly 
 wiled away, as I listened to some curious narrative or other 
 told in simplest and most direct language, and enlivened 
 by quaint metaphor. 
 
 The following story was told to me one still September 
 afternoon, as we lay idly on the beach together, some miles 
 away from the village, and every now and again, at some 
 stray touch of memory, the whole scene the story itself 
 and its setting comes back to my mind in all its vividness. 
 
 " D'ye see yon twe points ? " said Willie, nodding at 
 two peaks of rock that broke the quiet surface of the 
 water three hundred yards out at sea. " Yons the Lover's 
 Rock, as they call it ay, an' a tarr'ble story hangs roond 
 it, I'se war'nt ye. There's few that's ivvor waalked the 
 eorth that's seen a warse sight than Aa saw one neet bettor 
 nor six or seven yeors back this month. Aa wes oot 
 about eliven o'clock, eftor supper time, for Aa cudn't 
 sleep, an' thought Aa might mebbies chance te spy 
 a few ducks flyin' aboot an' feedin' on the rocks thebr," 
 pointing to the extent of rock close by on our left, which 
 seemed to have been broken away from the cliff above 
 under press of the waves at some former period. " Ay, 
 theor was Aa lyin' on the bank top in a little neuk o' rock, 
 like a rat in's hole, spyin' a' things but nowt spyin' him, 
 when sudden Aa heard a noise o' folks talkin', an' cranin' 
 ower the rock's neck Aa spied the teacher an' Postmistress' 
 daughter laughin' an' carryin' on tegither. Eh, Aa wes
 
 DAFT WILLIE. 103 
 
 tarr'ble feared seein' them theor oot sae late, an carelessly 
 daffin' "on as tho' theor weor nowt else i' the world but 
 jist them alyen ; ay, ' bonnie Lillie ' as she wes called, 
 havin' had her sweetheart lang syne, an' bein' but a Sunday 
 or twe aff the banns bein' called i' the Chorch wi' Joe, wor 
 mason an' ' moorgrieve.' Theor had been words, as Aa 
 kna'ad, between Lillie an' Joe, an' Aa minded hoo a day or 
 twe agone Aa had been stannin' at the street top wi' the 
 Schoolmaster when Joe, her sweetheart, had passed by. 
 Theor she stood makin' believe she did not see him wiv her 
 heid i' the air, like a dog sniffin', an' laughin' loud at every 
 word the teacher lad was sayin' ; he was nobbut a lad still, 
 scarce bettor nor three an' twinty, wiv a bit hair on's lip 
 he wes that proud of he nivvor let go haud on't. He'd no 
 been i' the village lang, an' had fa'en i' love wi' Lillie at 
 ance ; an' Aa kna'ad weel enough he wes in love wi' 
 ' bonnie Lillie,' an' hoo he'd written poetry aboot her, 
 which times he read te me. He was aye kind te me," 
 continued Willie, breaking off with a sob, " an' larned me 
 the most o' what I hev in ma heid the noo. Ay, an' the 
 poetry wes aal aboot the sea, an' the sky, but it nivvor 
 ended wiv owt but Lillie. She wes the chorus or his 
 sang, an' the chorus wes aye the bonniest pairt o't. 
 
 Noo Lill te ma mind, tho' theor's some hev their doots 
 about the matter, wes really i' love wi' Joe, an' Joe wi' 
 her, but theor hevin' been a bit quarrel both weor vexed 
 wi' th' ither, sae Lill had ta'en up wi' Schoolmaster te 
 vex Joe likely, an' Schoolmaster he takes it a' in eornest, 
 Aa'm thinkin', an' nivvor gies a thought te Joe, an mebbies 
 jist hevin' new come te the village knaa'd nowt about Joe's 
 sweetheartin'. Mebbies, too, he didna care ower much, as he 
 wes a tarr'ble passionate chap, quick an' fiery, rufflin' at a 
 touch ; ony way when Aa see'd Lill an' him tegither Aa 
 kna'ad theor was a tarr'ble danger aheid if Joe should 
 find them tegither, for Joe was a hard man an' was feared 
 a bit i' the village ; if he sets his eyes on a thing he aye 
 went straight for't, divvn't ye knaa, an' when he waalked 
 down the street folks made way for'm wivvout knaaing they 
 did sae, but aal folks respected him for he was a gran' 
 worker, an' had nivvor been seen i' liquor, even at the week 
 end, like most o' the cheps i 'the village. Lill must hev'
 
 104 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 been vext wi' Joe for not takin' enough notis of her carryin' 
 on wi' the Schoolmaster, or mebbies the Schoolmaster had 
 been readin' his poetry te her, for she seemed a bit reckless, 
 an' her laugh wes far louder nor ordinair', an' Aa could 
 hear it weel from ma hidin' place i' the rocks. 
 
 Schoolmaster, he wes bendin' doon a bit to leuk intiv 
 her eyes, an' sayin' somethin' in rale eornest, for her laugh 
 stopped short on a sudden, an' she shrank a bit back from 
 him. Weel, jist at that moment roon the corner th' ither 
 side o' the rocks, who should come but Joe, stridin' alang 
 hastily as tho' he had a purpose in 's mind. He stoppit 
 short, an' Lill gave a sort o' start an' a bit scream, an' then 
 stood still like a styen, while Schoolmaster he made one 
 step back an' stood theor glow'rin' at Joe out o' his eyes an' 
 sayin' nowt, but Aa cud see his cheek wes white as a 
 bit paper, an' his han's were shakin 1 a wee. Joe, he did nor 
 speak either but took a stride forward an' seized School- 
 master in his arms. Theor was jist a passionate cry, an' 
 a moment's struggling an then both were doon i' the sand 
 tegither, Joe uppermost. Schoolmaster struggled ne more, 
 an' lay theor quiet, his white face gleamin' an' workin' wi' 
 passion then Joe turns him on 's back, bends his arms 
 backward, an' holdin' them tegither in 's one hand, 
 ties a handkerchief round them wi' th' other. 
 
 Suddenly Schoolmaster raises hissel fre the sand, an' 
 commences a fearfu' struggling like a beast iv a trap, an' 
 tries te turn round an' wrench his han's free, but 'twes 
 ne use, Joe held him like a baby, an' wivvout sayin' 
 onythin' gies a final knot, then seizes his legs, an' binds 
 them tee wiv a bit cord he has in 's pocket. It dis not 
 tyek lang, an' aal the while Lill says nowt, but gazes at the 
 twe strugglin' like one iv a dream. 
 
 Then Joe rises, silent as ivvor, an' hads awa round the 
 rock again, an' aal is silence save a sob, as if frae a 
 wounded beast, frae the Schoolmaster as he lies helpless, 
 his face i' the sand. 
 
 Aa cud not move as much as a handstir, Aa kna'ad 
 somethin' awfu' wes te happen, an' could but bide till it came. 
 
 It was nor lang for theor round the side o' the rocks 
 came sounds of a boat gratin' on the beach, then a noise of 
 oars workin', an' round the rocks end Aa could spy the boat
 
 DAFT WILLIE. 105 
 
 i' the moonleet, an' Joe rowin' fast wi' lang steady pulls. 
 Round the corner he comes, an' up he drives his craft on 
 the beach. Oot he jumps, an' still sayin' nowt, catches 
 haud o' Schoolmaster an' drops him inte the stern, like a 
 bundle o' rags, an' Schoolmaster cries oot in a voice Aa 
 scarcely kna'ad for his'n, shrill as a tern at the start, then 
 doon intiv a sob at th' end. " Fight me like a man," he 
 says, " let me free, an' not strangle me like the coward 
 ye are." But Joe did'na answer ; he jist beckons to Lill an' 
 says " get in," an' Lill tyeks one look at him, myeks as tho' 
 te speak, but dis not, then jumps in an sits down, her face 
 covered wiv her han's. Joe, he shoves off, leaps in, an' 
 straight he shapes for the rock oot yonder. 
 
 What was his purpose Aa cud not even a guess. Aa felt 
 dizzy, an' scarce kna'ad what things were happenin' tho' 
 theor they weor before ma eyes. Noo he's reached the 
 rock, an' pulls oot the Schoolmaster an' leaves him on the 
 rock, then he signs te Lill te jump oot, an' sae she does. 
 Then tyin' the boat te the rocks, he throws hissel' inte the 
 wattor, an' half swimmin', half waalkin' myeks for the shore. 
 Lill calls oot "Joe, Joe," then as he takes ne nottis flings 
 herself on te the rock while Joe comes plashin' thro' the sea 
 towards the shore. The rocks mebbies was ne mair nor 
 sixty yards frae the shore at the time but the tide wes 
 makin' tarr'ble fast an' he'd no hev won te the shore a 
 moment later. Gie'n hissel a shake up he comes te jist 
 below wheor Aa wes crouchin' amang the rocks above ; 
 doon he sits, drippin' wi' wet, an' bides quietly i' the 
 shadow, gazin' upo' the rock. 
 
 T'wes a tarr'ble thing te see Joe sittin' theor, still as a 
 styen, gazin' at the twe figures on the rock, while the tide 
 wes makin' fast, an' ne'er a sound above the wattor but 
 the boat scrapin' agen the rock edge. 'Twes like a dream 
 te me leukin' on unseen i' ma cranny, an' aal ghos' like an' 
 unreal. Theor wes Schoolmaster lyin' motionless on the 
 rock, an' Lill stannin' up straight an still i' the moonleet ; 
 Joe bidin' quiet i' the shadow below me as tho' 'twere jist 
 a play-actin', an' nowt te dee but leuk on contentedly, 
 while aal the time his sweetheart wes but a hair's breadth 
 frae death itsel'. What was Joe wantin' ? He cud not 
 wish ta droon them else he'd no hev left them the boat, an* 
 
 H
 
 106 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 yet he sat watchin' an' watchin', an' makin' ne move tho' 
 the tide kept makin' faster an' faster. 
 
 An' noo Aa spied one o' the figures niovin' on the rock, 
 'twes Schoolmaster Aa cud knaa him i' the moonleet 
 who'd worked hissel free frae the tyin' an' noo wes 
 stannin' upright on the rock ; he leuked aboot, mebbies te 
 see if Joe wes onywheres nigh still, an' shook his fists 
 towards the land, tho' he could nivvor hev seen Joe frae 
 wheor he wes, then he turns an' lifts up Lill who wes lyin' 
 on the rock. He kept pointin' te the boat, an' Aa cud see 
 him seize her hand an' seem te drag her towards it. But 
 she tyuk ne heed ov him jist gazin' straight in front ov 
 her. Aa cud nor tell what wes in her mind, but Aa'm 
 thinkin' she wes dootin' Joe 'd ivvor care for her agyen, an' 
 wes groon careless ov her life thinkin' o't. 
 
 As for Schoolmaster he wes wild like, he would hev 
 ta'en her awa', an' made as tho' te lift her inte the boat, 
 but she 'd none ov him, an' drove him awa', an' springin' 
 up pushed him back frae her as though she would strike 
 him. Jist then Aa notticed the boat swing off frae the rock, 
 carried awa' by a big wave that cam' near up te the top o' 
 the rock. Joe, he sees it tee, an' up he leaps an offs wi's 
 coat an' shoes, an in te the wattor agen tho' this time he 
 mun swim, for 'tis se much deeper nor before. Straight 
 he strikes oot, not for the rock, but for the boat that wes 
 driftin' awa' north on a strong runnin' current, an' when 
 he reaches her, an' clambers in, 'twas mebbies some 
 hunner an fifty yards aff the rocks. Whiles he wes 
 swimmin' eftor the boat it cam' in te ma heid that what he 
 was eftor wes te find oot if Lill loved the Schoolmaster or 
 no, an' between whiles te larn her a lesson, for Joe was a 
 tarr'ble proud chep an' did not dee things like ither folk. 
 Noo if Lill an' Schoolmaster had been sweethearts iv 
 earnest she would hev helped him aff wi' the cord, an' 
 wud hev been glad enough te get inte the boat wiv him, 
 an' row te land, for neither kna'ad but what Joe had 
 ganned right awa' lang syne. He'd no meant te droon 
 them, 'twes easy te see that, an' noo that he was i' the boat 
 he pulled awa' like a madman te the rock which the waves 
 wes a'most coverin' noo. Aa cud yet spy the twe figures 
 on the rock, Lill aboot two feet above the Schoolmaster, 
 seemin' te stan' on a ledge by hersel'. An' Schoolmaster,
 
 DAFT WILLIE. 107 
 
 he wes turned awa' frae Lill, as tho' despairin' like noo 
 that she'd shown se plainly she cared nowt for 'in theor 
 he wes, stannin' quite still tho' the wattor wes plashin' up 
 tiv his knees, wiv his eyes fixed firm on the boat speedin' 
 nearer. Then jist when Joe wes a'most sixty yards nigh 
 the rock, sudden Aa saw the Schoolmaster turn roond, catch 
 haud o' Lill an' seize her in 's arms, an' wiv a shout o' 
 triumph he flings hissel an' her inte the sea. Aa cud not 
 breathe i' the horror o' the thing upon me, ma heid went 
 roond an' roond, an' aal things were misty. Theor wes a 
 tarr'ble cry frae Lill as she fell into the wattor, "Joe, Joe ! " 
 she called, an' then aal wes still as death. Aa rubbed ma 
 eyes thinkin' mebbies 'twes a dream, but theor wes Joe 
 rowin' like mad te the spot. Aa thought Aa saw for a 
 moment twe white faces upturned te the moonleet, naethin' 
 more nor that, an' aal was gyen : an' Joe Aa cud see him 
 rowin' roond an' roond the rock, then springin' up, mad like, 
 an' gazin' everywheor ower the wattor, but nivvor a sight o' 
 Lill. Then he dives frae the rock an' swims aboot as tho' 
 he maun find her somewheor, then climbs back inte the 
 boat agyen, an' rows te the shore, an' searches theor as if 
 he maun find her if he but searched lang enough. 
 
 Aa cud not bide nae mair, but fled awa' hame nivvor 
 restin' till Aa got back an' could tell ma granny ; mebbe else 
 Aa had gyen clean, aaltegither, daft that neet. Sometimes 
 the noo Aa wyek o' neets wiv a cry i' ma ears, an' Aa see it 
 ower again jist as plain before ma eyes as ivvor it wes that 
 neet, but Aa tell granny and that mebbe helps it te pass oot 
 o' ma mind. 
 
 " Ah," he ended with a sob, " puir Lill, she wes that 
 beautiful she shud not hev deid, an the puir Schoolmaster he 
 wes mad wi's misery, likelies, when he kna'ad Lill had been 
 makin' a fyule o'm ay, an' mebbies 'twes the deil that 
 tempted him, for he'd ivvor a kind heart tho' tarr'ble 
 passionate. 
 
 Ay, 'twas a tarr'ble neet's wark, Lill an' Schoolmaster 
 deid, an' Joe's good as deid ; 'twes said he drifted out te 
 sea in 's boat, an' wes picked up by a vessel, an' that he 
 listed in foreign parts ; onyway we've nivvor seen nor 
 heord o'm again. 'Twes a tarr'ble neet's wark an' aal, as 
 one may say, because ov a bit o' pride."
 
 BY BUDLE BAY. 
 
 ON a certain November night, long remembered in that 
 part of the country, some thirty years ago, a fierce 
 Nor'easter was raging all along the harsh coast of 
 Northumberland. The storm had sprung up suddenly, as 
 is not unusual in that region, but a careful observer from 
 certain premonitory signs might easily have foretold its 
 coming. 
 
 All afternoon the cattle had been drawing closer to the 
 lee side of the dykes for shelter ; many a plump of sea fowl 
 had been speeding inland off the sea ; the drooping clouds 
 to the eastward had lost their separate shape, and were 
 merged in a single, heavy, and opaque mass on an ever 
 nearer horizon. 
 
 As the afternoon wore on, the fisher-women drew closer 
 and closer to the fire-side, thanking God their men were 
 not out at sea that day, and the wild-fowler, watching the 
 in-drawing of the sea fowl, had taken down his fowling- 
 piece from the rafters, and was furbishing it up, rejoicing 
 in the prospect of to-morrow's sport. 
 
 Towards sun-down, jets of white spray might have been 
 seen playing against the basalt cliffs of the inner Fames ; 
 the " megstone," or Cormorant island, had long since 
 disappeared from view, while afar to the southward Dun- 
 stanbro's " churn " was sounding, in prelude to the battle. 
 
 As evening drew swiftly on, hugh wave furrows, deep 
 driven by the wind plough, crashed continuously upon the 
 strand. The air smoked with salty mist ; the gale thundered 
 aloft, as though with claps of mighty sails, and well the 
 little group of watchers on Budle sands knew that the big 
 ship they had marked that afternoon, labouring deep in the 
 rising sea, was helpless as a new-born babe that night. 
 
 Still, however, they waited on, in hopes they might be 
 able to rescue some poor shipwrecked soul who might
 
 BY BUDLE BAY. 10!) 
 
 chance to be washed up ashore. Her minute guns had 
 ceased to sound, and once, when the gloom lifted a little, 
 they had spied her fast amidst the breakers, pooped time 
 after time by mountainous waves. 
 
 Rockets had been fired unavailingly ; indeed, against 
 the stress of storm it scarce seemed possible to carry so far, 
 and in the prevailing mist 'twas hardly possible to more 
 than vaguely guess her whereabouts. Suddenly, however, 
 one of the keenest sighted amongst them became conscious 
 of what seemed a black smudge upon the churning breakers 
 nearer shore, a trembling spot of darkness that now soared 
 upward for a moment, and then was lost to view amidst the 
 foaming ruin. The eyes of the entire group were instantly 
 turned in this direction, and all stood breathless, peering 
 forth with strained eye-balls, to discover whether fancy had 
 deceived their comrade, or whether it might not chance to 
 be a human form. A simultaneous cry escaped the lips of 
 the watchers, who had insensibly drawn down to the 
 margin of the waves, for there on the surface of a mighty 
 billow hung for a moment an evident patch, outlined 
 against a curving edge of foam. There it hung an instant, 
 but whether a spar from the wreck or a human form could 
 not be known, for it sank immediately from sight into the 
 seething cauldron below. Yet once again, and nearer 
 shore the black patch rose and peeped amidst the surge, 
 and at the sight the strongest of the watching group plunged 
 boldly forward, a rope about his waist, into the blinding 
 waves. Soon he had fought his way till he was close 
 beside the object of his search, then as he stooped to grasp 
 it the ebb sucked back the helpless bundle from his hold, 
 and tossed it like a ball to the following wave that, deftly 
 catching it, swung it aloft in triumph, and hurled itself 
 upon the pigmy figure below. Yet the figure, undaunted, 
 stretched out his arms to catch the falling object ; the 
 wave broke over him, and nought was seen upon the hissing 
 surface. 
 
 The group on shore tug bravely, running backward as 
 they haul, for the weight is heavy, and the ebb is eager for 
 its plaything. Yet now the strand is reached, and the 
 group breaks up and rushes down to seize the black object
 
 110 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 lying motionless upon the sand. Fast in the arms of his 
 rescuer, himself insensible, the limp and drooping figure of 
 a sailor is discovered, a life-buoy gripping him close beneath 
 the armpits, sore battered by the waves, to all appearance 
 lifeless. 
 
 Lifting up the two dripping bodies they carefully bore 
 them up the beach and over the sandy dunes to where, in 
 a hollow, stood a small house, sheltered from the winds. 
 This house was the home of the fisherman who had so 
 gallantly rescued the shipwrecked man, and served also as 
 a small ale-house or refreshment tavern in the summer for 
 the wayfarer who might be travelling to the island beyond. 
 The slim form of a girl came timidly through the darkness 
 at the approach of the company, anxiously inquiring what 
 had kept them so long. 
 
 Kindly the rough men, bidding her be of good heart, 
 informed her of the rescue, and calmed her fears for her 
 father's safety, telling her a drop of brandy would soon put 
 him to rights, though as for t'other, 'twas more than 
 doubtful if he was not already beyond their aid. With 
 quick understanding she at once sought out the necessary 
 appliances, carried blankets to the fire-side, and drew forth 
 from a recess a flagon of brandy, which one and all pro- 
 nounced to be " tarr'ble canny for the livin', and the best 
 thing in the waarld for drooned men." Quickly they un- 
 dressed the two men, and, disregarding the advice of the 
 eldest of the group who insisted upon their temporary 
 suspension by the heels from the rafters, swathed them in 
 hot flannels and laid them down by the fireside, some 
 chafing the numbed limbs, and others endeavouring to 
 force hot brandy down their throats. They succeeded in 
 getting some down the throat of their comrade, but found it 
 impossible in the case of the stranger to secure the passage 
 of the restorative. "Ay, poor chep, I doot he's gyen," said 
 one, after a last fruitless endeavour, and this being the 
 universal opinion they forsook a hopeless task, and sipping 
 at the steaming glasses their hostess handed them, patiently 
 awaited the course of events. Some minutes passed away 
 in silence, then suddenly, to her great joy, Nell (for so 
 the girl was called), saw signs of returning life in her
 
 BY BUDLE BAY. Ill 
 
 father's countenance ; a faint colour had come back to his 
 cheeks, his lips trembled, and he heaved a sigh ; in another 
 moment he had opened his eyes, and with a struggle raised 
 himself with the help of her outstretched arms, to a sitting 
 posture on the floor. 
 
 " A'm reet enough, thank-ye ma lass," he said, " an' 
 thank ye te, mates, for what ye've dyen, but hoo's the 
 poor chep." To the astonishment of the group he stopped 
 dead short in his utterance, his eyes fixed at a stare upon 
 the face of the lifeless figure on the floor. Then his lips 
 moved, and they heard him mutter to himself " Black 
 Jim ! " Leaning forward from where he sat he pointed to 
 the right ear of the unconscious sailor, and at once the 
 silent group about him, following the line of his pointed 
 finger, perceived that the lobe was wanting. 
 
 " Ay," they further heard him mutter to himself, " 'tis 
 he, shure enough, there's nivvor another like him i' the 
 waarld." 
 
 Curiously enough, and as though the presence of one 
 evidently well known to him in the past had penetrated to 
 his consciousness, the figure of the shipwrecked man now 
 gave signs of a return to life. The eyelids were seen to 
 twitch, and a slight and uneasy motion passed through his 
 body. 
 
 The assembled group, dumb with astonishment at the 
 strange turn matters had taken, looked uneasily, first at 
 their companion sitting swathed in blankets by the fireside, 
 and then at the stranger lying pale and deathlike on the 
 floor beside him, and felt that there was something most 
 unchancy in it all. To think that these two were old 
 acquaintance, and should have chanced together in such 
 guise, yet that Straughan should care no more about his 
 chance of recovery than if he had been a drowned kitten. 
 " Ay, 'twas tarr'ble strange, and no just canny." Such 
 thoughts passed slowly through their minds, and all sat 
 silent till Nell gave voice to the universal curiosity, when, 
 recovering from her astonishment, she asked her father : 
 " Ye'll never have been knowin 1 him, father ? " " Ay, I 
 knaa'd him weel lang syne," responded he, looking straight 
 before him into the fire, " ay, an 'twas little gude I knaa'd 
 of him either."
 
 112 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 Pondering inwardly upon this strange meeting, and 
 perplexed as to what could have been the relationship 
 between their old comrade and this unknown stranger 
 whose destiny yet hung in the balance, the rest of the party 
 continued silently to chafe the limbs of the shipwrecked 
 sailor, but with increased hope now that life was evidently 
 still fluttering within. They were so far successful, indeed, 
 that soon his pulse could be felt to beat, though so feebly 
 that only Nell, with her delicate ringers, could be sure that 
 it was really at work again. But now at last they con- 
 trived to force some brandy down his throat, and this 
 accomplished, it was felt that the corner had been turned. 
 His eyes were still fast closed, though some mutterings 
 escaped his lips, and the general feeling now being that 
 Nature should be left to work out the further cure they 
 lifted up the unconscious stranger from the floor and laid 
 him in the four-post bed in the corner. Meanwhile their 
 host, worn out by his exertions, or possibly overcome by 
 hidden emotion, lay in fitful slumber on the floor, and him 
 they raised in turn and lifted on to a rough settle by the 
 ingle nook, securing his comfort as best they could. 
 
 Nell was now persuaded to go upstairs to her room and 
 take some rest, her kind friends assuring her they would 
 look after her father and see that he wanted for nothing. 
 The door closed upon her slight form, and they were left 
 alone, and now at last their tongues were free to wag upon 
 the strange event of the night. 
 
 The creeping and delicious sense of mystery indeed had 
 suddenly entered into their life, than which there is to 
 mortal man no chiefer savour in the world. 
 
 Straughan, indeed, though an Islander by birth like 
 themselves, had early run away to sea, and on his return 
 after many years had always been tongue-tied about the 
 past, and had been on this account credited with a strange 
 and adventurous career. To have their suspicions thus 
 almost verified to have romance actually brought to their 
 very door cheek was as treasure trove to these home-keep- 
 ing men, who still looked upon railways as an " uncanny " 
 mode of travel and a " fair temptin' o' Providence." " Tis 
 a fearful strange thing, this, lads," said the eldest of the
 
 BY BUDLE BAY. 113 
 
 group, a grizzled, weather-worn fisher, the leading Methody 
 and local preacher on the island, " a fearful strange thing, 
 though maybe heor as elsewheor 'tis the hand of Heaven 
 workin'." " Ay, 'tis a strange thing, sure enough, an' 
 maybe 'tis Providence an' maybe 'tis no' 'tis a matter 
 beyond our knowin' an' useless to spekilate upon," said 
 another and younger man, the well-to-do publican of the 
 " Fisherman's Rest " on the island, who, having quarrelled 
 with the " priest " on the temperance question, had 
 seceded from church, and, scorning chapel, had set up 
 for himself as a " nattoril Christian " in the matter of 
 religion, and was wont to sustain his position on occasion 
 by a battering of received theology " but what'd be better 
 worth knowing, and 'tis a proper matter for consideration," 
 he continued, " is what for Straughan leuked se evilly on 
 the poor drooned chep of a furriner theor. He was weel 
 acquainted with him for he acknowledged that hissel, but 
 he bears him an ill-will, 'tis plain as dayleet, an' 
 Straughan's a gey canny man, as canny as ony that ivor 
 waalked the eorth, an' no one to mislike a man unless he'd 
 a proper call ; ay, it mun hev been a mighty big thing to 
 put Straughan agen him like that." The conversation 
 having thus been given the right practical turn, all specu- 
 lated concerning the supposed cause of Straughan's enmity 
 against the stranger, and finally, after various theories had 
 been started and rejected the scales hung even between its 
 being a woman or a buried treasure. Eventually the 
 woman theory, backed by the local preacher, triumphed 
 over the treasure theory which the " nattoril Christian " 
 had found it necessary to uphold. 
 
 " Ye see," quoth the victorious Methody, by way of 
 clinching the argument, " ivor since the tyem of the garden 
 of Eden a woman's been consarned in aal the mysteries of 
 the warld, an' tis no like that this tyem she should be left 
 oot an' did ye no' mark the furriner's fyece ? 'Twas a 
 sinfu' fyece yon, an' one that likelies be ivor nosin' aboot 
 eftor women like a gyem dog eftor partridge ; I'm no ane 
 to hammer a man wivvoot a cause, but natur's natur, an' 
 'tis only a fyul will run his heid agen a plain like wall." 
 
 A murmur of assent ran round the circle, and a grave
 
 114 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 nodding of heads ratified the conclusion. Scarcely had 
 these sounds subsided, when the figure on the settle moved 
 from its recumbent posture, rose to its feet and walked to 
 the bed whereon the stranger still lay unconscious. To the 
 surprise, and possibly a little to the disappointment of the 
 others, Straughan seemed suddenly to have changed his 
 bearing towards him, for having felt his feeble pulse he 
 turned and spoke in altered tones : " It'll maybies gan 
 hard wiv him, mates, he'll likely hev had some bones 
 broken in aal that buffetin', one of ye'll maybies gan for a 
 doctor whiles we dee the best we can till then." 
 
 One of the group of fishermen immediately volunteered 
 to undertake this commission, and as the gale was now 
 subsiding as rapidly as it had arisen, and grey morning 
 was flickering in the east, the rest of the company rose to 
 depart to their several homes. 
 
 It was some time before the doctor arrived, and in the 
 meantime the patient had awoke to consciousness and dis- 
 covered himself to be in possession of all his faculties and 
 apparently uninjured by his terrible experiences, though in 
 a very weak and battered condition. His recognition of 
 his rescuer and former companion, Straughan, and the 
 various emotions, on either side, that accompanied it, 
 were matter of speculation amongst the curious, but none 
 ever knew what had transpired, for it had taken place 
 before the doctor's arrival, and Nell had been absent from 
 the house at the time. 
 
 No bones were broken, the physician reported, and no 
 internal hurt had apparently been sustained, but rest and 
 quiet were enjoined, and a fortnight or more must elapse 
 before the patient could with safety set out again upon his 
 travels. Many were the visits of inquiry, serving as a veil 
 to curiosity, that the islanders paid to the house, but it 
 was little they learnt for their pains. Straughan was more 
 reserved than usual, and seemed to take but little notice of 
 his guest, who, however, appeared to be very much at his 
 ease, carrying himself, indeed, throughout these visits in so 
 arrogant a manner, and with such a tyrannical pretension 
 that one and all gradually came to the conclusion he was 
 a pirate, and wondered if Straughan would not be for
 
 BY BUDLE BAY. 115 
 
 "shifting" him. The stranger, however, in these inter- 
 views, never let fall anything from his lips that threw any 
 light on his past relations with his host, so that this, even 
 after a week had passed, was still matter for acute con- 
 jecture. 
 
 Nell, however, with a woman's instinct, quickened, 
 moreover, by filial love, had divined from the first that in 
 some mysterious way the stranger possessed an influence 
 over her father. It was evident, too, to her (and this it 
 was that rendered the matter tangled past all unravelling), 
 that her father actually feared this same stranger. 'Twas 
 strange, indeed, that he whom she had thought nothing in 
 the world could ever gliff should be afraid of anyone. 
 Why, it was her father who had alone dared to withstand 
 that fiery-head, the blacksmith, when he was roaring 
 drunk, and had sworn to kill his wife. 
 
 Now from this dread there seemed to follow unavoidably 
 the inference (though she sprang ever from it as though it 
 were a defilement) that her father had committed some 
 crime in the past, and that this stranger knew of it. She 
 did not believe it for a moment, and yet, and yet it seemed 
 as if it must be so, for her father did not interfere, though 
 shortly after their guest began to pay attention to her, nay, 
 even to court her. He frightened her, so she could not 
 resist him as she would, and ever and anon, when she 
 would not answer him, he would let fall some hint or 
 cunning suggestion of the evil case her father stood in did 
 he, the stranger, wag but a finger. Hotly she disregarded 
 these suggestions, yet the sight of her father's altered 
 countenance could not but strengthen them, and often- 
 times she noted that he could but barely conceal the fire 
 that quivered in his eye, or shut in the words that trembled 
 on his lip when Black Jim talked with her of an evening. 
 Sometimes he would even rise and go out, pacing up and 
 down outside for an hour, when he would return, the passion 
 gone from his face, but in its stead a pained and harassed 
 expression never seen there before. 
 
 Daily the unwelcome stranger, as he grew stronger, 
 grew bolder, pressing his suit the more as the time for his 
 departure drew nearer. Despite a natural aversion to the
 
 116 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 man, Nell could not but feel there was a certain attraction 
 about him ; throughout his very braggadocio, carried to 
 the verge of recklessness, there breathed an evident air of 
 mastery ; he smelt of battle, as it were, and his easy 
 speech was fragrant with memories of victory. The 
 champion wrestler at the fair, in the hour of his triumph, 
 she minded, had had an identical gait. 
 
 To her he ever deferred, however arrogant with others ; 
 his stories of adventure she could not but listen to, so rich 
 in excitements were they. He had seen the wonders of the 
 world and had brought back chips of them, as it were, in 
 his pocket. 
 
 As her aversion to him died down, so her fear of him 
 increased ; everything, it seemed, he had ever set his hand 
 to had so prospered that one might believe Providence her- 
 self had stood gossip to him at his birth. That heavy 
 underlip of his what purpose and greed of power it 
 revealed ! And when she saw those bold eyes of his fixed 
 upon her, their prominent whites shining brightly beneath 
 his dark and bushy eyebrows, she felt her knees tremble 
 under her and her power of resistance vanish in thin air. 
 She had ventured to approach the subject with her father 
 on one or two occasions, and had timidly enquired as to his 
 former acquaintance with their guest, but had ever been 
 vaguely answered and comforted by the assurance that the 
 stranger would soon depart, and there an end of the 
 matter. 
 
 There wanted now but two days to the date of his 
 departure when her father, calling her aside early in the 
 morning, intimated that he had arranged for her to spend 
 the next two days at her aunts on the Island, and not to 
 return until Black Jim should have gone. " Ay, lassie," 
 he said, " I'm loth to let ye gan, you an me that's nivvor 
 been parted syne the neet Heaven gave ye to me, but 'tis 
 better sae, for Black Jim's worse than a deevil, an' I 
 could'na bide ye bein' i' the hoose wiv him any longer. To 
 see him coortin' ye, or makin' a pretence o't, as it likelies 
 is, an' me prevented frae thrustin' him to the door, why, to 
 burn in hell would be mair pleasin' nor that." " Ay, 
 lassie," he continued, sorrowfully, as he gave her a final
 
 BY BUDLE BAY. 117 
 
 kiss, " he's got a bit hold on me, that's the truth, but he'll 
 be awa' in two days, an aal ull gan reet wiv us then. I 
 canna tell ye the reasons o' things now, but ye'll nivvor be 
 dootin' yer fayther, whativvor happens, will ye lassie ? " he 
 cried in conclusion. 
 
 Protesting truly that she had never for a moment enter- 
 tained a single unworthy thought of him, and that her 
 anxiety was solely on his behalf, she endeavoured to 
 assume, notwithstanding a sense of impending calamity, an 
 appearance of light-heartedness she certainly did not feel. 
 
 After this conversation with her father, Nell went 
 at once to spend the two days before the departure 
 of their unwelcome guest, at her aunt's house on the 
 Island, in order to be out of the way of any further atten- 
 tions on the part of the stranger. Late in the afternoon of 
 the next day, which was also the day before that fixed for 
 Black Jim's departure, Nell determined that she would go 
 across the water to see her father once again ; she knew 
 she was in this disobeying his wishes, but a strange rest- 
 lessness had tormented her all the morning, she had slept 
 ill and her dreams had been full of a fear of some impend- 
 ing misfortune, so that it was with a feeling of relief that 
 she finally set off for her father's house. 
 
 On arriving there she found that the door was locked, 
 and concluding her father and his guest were out was 
 about to turn back sadly, when she heard the sound of 
 voices raised in dispute from within. Stealing round to 
 the little low window at the side of the house she saw 
 through a crack in the shutters three figures within, two of 
 them gesticulating as though in anger. One was her 
 father, the other "Black Jim," and the third, a dark- 
 skinned, evil eyed foreigner, evidently a sailor from his 
 appearance. Terrified at the sight she stood still, unable 
 to move a limb, then catching the mention of her own 
 name she became aware that the window was not fast shut, 
 so that by kneeling on the ground she might be able, 
 unseen, to discover the meaning of the mysterious drama 
 now toward within. Swiftly she knelt on the ground, 
 applying her ear to the minute opening above, and found 
 she could catch, for the voices were raised in dispute and 
 the night quiet, the conversation carried on within.
 
 118 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 " Ay, that's my ultimatum," said Black Jim, "so make 
 your choice ; 'tis the gallows awaits ye if ye don't agree." 
 " 'Twas ye that killed him, an' Mingo and I'll be ready to 
 davy it at the 'Sizes, blowin' the trouble of it when 'tis for 
 the sake o' justice, won't we Mingo, my hearty ? " turning 
 maliciously towards the foreigner as he spoke. " Ay, ay, 
 Mr. Jim, for the sakes of justice, ha, ha, berry good, berry 
 good ! " re-echoed his companion, showing his teeth in 
 venomous laughter. " In confidence," continued the 
 first speaker, " and between us three that knows the facts 
 of the case I'll acknowledge 'twas a disappointment to me 
 that the coin came down tails and singled ye out for the 
 job, for 'twas a matter of knifing to save the lives of all, 
 and him the cowardliest brute ever I sailed under, but in 
 a court of law, why, 'tis another matter, an' with all them 
 lyin' lawyers about 'tis enough to deflect the very 
 compass itself, an' Mingo an' I would likely enough 
 be found swearing we'd tried to prevent ye from doing 
 it, but ye were ower quick for us." " Berry good, 
 berry good," interrupted the stranger, again smacking 
 his lips over the last few words, and repeating them 
 over to himself while the other continued. " An' what'll 
 be the result of the trial ? why I'll tell ye for certain 
 what it'll be." Pausing, he left it blank, but an ugly 
 motion with his hand round his gullet and a throwing 
 upwards of the whites of his eyes plainly signified what 
 that blank would be. " Ay, ye were aye unlucky, 
 Straughan, an' that's a fact, 'twas aye heads with me an' 
 tails we ye, an' now ye are in the tightest place ever ye 
 found yourself in in your life, an' ull have to haul down the 
 flag, an' quickly too. Mingo an' I have got ye at last, 
 after twenty years seekin' for ye, and savin' up our revenge 
 in the hope of finding ye at home some day, and now, 
 an' now"- The speaker here broke inconclusive off, 
 rubbed his hands swiftly together, drew in his breath 
 between his teeth, and glanced triumphantly at Mingo, 
 with such a fire of hate burning in his eyes that the poor 
 girl looking on, dropped momentarily to the ground in terror. 
 " Never yet," he went on, " did I take a blow from a man 
 without paying him back the double of it, and here's this
 
 BY BUDLE BAY. 
 
 d d scar of yourn," touching as he spoke a jagged line 
 
 that showed immediately below his cheek bone, " been 
 yelping at me daily ever since that day we parted for its 
 repayment, an' Mingo here, whenever he chaws his food 
 most naturally curses ye 'twixt his mouthfuls." Mingo 
 smiled evilly, nodding in affirmation, and disclosed a black 
 gap in the ivory line of his teeth. " Ay, Straughan, no 
 doubt ye thought ye were extraordinary clever that day 
 when ye choused me as ye did, but ye'll not be thinkin' 
 yourself so clever to-day, perhaps," he added with a sneer. 
 "Ay, ye choused me of a fine lass that afternoon, but now 
 ye've got to make it up to me with another, and her your 
 own. 'Twas a downright foolish, as well as an 
 ungentlemanly trick ye played chousing your old mate out 
 of the bonny Indian lass, an' never to gain any good 
 yourself by it ay, an now ye've to pay a two-fold debt 
 first, for the lass, an' second, for this mark of your cursed 
 fist." 
 
 He paused for a moment, and then continued in quieter 
 tones, which only served however (as the poor listener at 
 the window thought to herself), to throw into greater relief 
 the black hate of the speaker's heart within. " But I'm 
 willing to deny myself a bit, for I don't forget that t'was 
 ye who pulled me out of the sea t'other night, not but 
 what any one of those stout fellows there might have done 
 the trick instead, but bein' as 'twas, I say I'm ready to 
 make matters pleasant for ye if ye don't set up any further 
 foolishness. I'll not force her to say yes by tellin' tales 
 against ye until I've up an' axed her to take me on my 
 own account, not but what she must have made a shrewd 
 guess ye're in my power, for she's quick is the lass, an' 
 ye've been behaving ever since I came feet foremost into 
 the house like a gaol-bird in presence of a beak. If she 
 says no, why then let the law take its course, says I, for 
 I'm for law, an' order, an' security, an' the use o' steel for 
 carvin' o' mutton only, like any trembling cit o' them all 
 now I'm for settlin' down as long-shore man. But mind 
 ye, she'll say yes, don't be feared, for she's taken to me 
 uncommon, an' small blame to her either, says I. An' 
 what a selfish chap ye are, too, thinking only of yorself all
 
 120 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 the while, an' never of her at all. " An what d'ye think 
 would be her feelin's when all the world was pokin' the 
 finger of scorn at her for bein' the daughter o' a gallows- 
 bird, as so they will if ye don't strike sail to me. 'Tis a 
 handsome offer I'm makin' ye under the circumstances, yet 
 here ye are sulky as a bear, sayin' nothin' to it all ; why 
 'tis no manners at all ye've got ! " he cried, tauntingly, for 
 his victim still sat silent, his head averted as though he 
 scarce listened. His right hand, however, stole uncon- 
 sciously towards his left hip and groped in search of a 
 weapon, then, finding nothing, fell helplessly back to his 
 side again, and at that Black Jim, who had mockingly 
 watched the movement, burst into a laugh and taunted 
 him afresh. 
 
 " Ay, ay, mate, but ye're not aboard ship now, remem- 
 ber, an' ye'd best not play any of those tricks with us, or 
 'twill be the worse for ye." And now at last Straughan 
 broke his long silence. Facing round he showed a 
 countenance wherein, save for his eyes that glowed like 
 lamps, was not a particle of colour, and thus burst forth : 
 " Hell yawns for ye, ye black-hearted scoundrel, ay, an* 
 I'll pay ye what I canna dee myself; 'tis just the thought 
 of her, an' what her misery ud be that keeps my hands 
 frae your throat, an' keeps ye safe till your time comes. 
 Ay, but I pray Heaven it may be soon an' maybies 
 Heaven ull hearken to a poor man's cry that never, save 
 once, an' that alone for the sake of others, has soiled his 
 soul wiv guilt." These last words were pronounced in so 
 low a tone that it was doubtful if his two companions 
 caught them, but Nell, outside, whose ears were at their 
 keenest stretch, heard, and could scarce restrain her 
 anguish. 
 
 There was a space of silence for a moment, broken only 
 by the sound of Black Jim's mocking laugh, then 
 Straughan, who seemed suddenly to have repented of his 
 outbreak, made a fierce attempt to control his passion, and 
 after sundry hesitations stumblingly commenced in a 
 changed and apologetic tone : " Maybies I'm ower hasty 
 in the temper yet, ay, an ne doot I was selfish, for 'tis her 
 I've to think about an' no mysel', an' maybies it'll be best
 
 BY BUDLE BAY. 121 
 
 for me to give in an' haul down the flag as ye wor sayin' 
 wivout more ado." And he sank back in his chair like 
 one defeated, his face wearing a blank expression, the 
 flame dead in his eyes. " And now," he continued, and 
 there was such apparent cheerfulness in his voice that the 
 pale watcher outside was herself almost deceived, " we'll 
 myek an end of threats an' such like, an' hev a proper 
 unnerstandin' about the matter. Ye say ye'll use ne 
 compulsion, an' if Nell says " aye " ye'll marry her sure an' 
 fast byganes 'ull be byganes, an' aal will be reet. An 
 dootless she'll give you " aye " as ye were thinkin', for 'tis 
 hard for a woman to say nay to a chep like yersel' that 
 gans about wiv his pockets clinkin' wiv brass." "Ay, 
 mate," replied Black Jim, upon whom the flattery was not 
 lost, " now ye're talkin' sense, an' as ye've climbed down 
 I'll be ready to make things go as pleasantly as can be. 
 But, mind ye, there's to be no shilly-shally here, else ye 
 might be slippin' through our fingers again, an twenty 
 years of waitin' be thrown away. I'll off this night an' 
 seek out Nell an' get my permit, as I think 'twill be. If 
 so, an' 'tis "aye," then we'll off to-morrow to Edinburgh an' 
 be spliced there that very afternoon, for Edinburgh's 
 where I'm settlin' doon, an' Scotland's a fine place for 
 matrimony on a sudden. Do ye agree mate ? " he asked 
 abruptly, dropping his jovial tone and assuming again a 
 threatening expression. 
 
 " Ay, I'll agree, say no more on't," replied Straughan. 
 " Well then," continued the other, content with his 
 acquiescence, " we'll allow ye to come and see the last o' 
 your daughter, but the moment the knot's tied we part 
 company, an' off ye sheer for good an' all. An' mind ye, 
 ye're not to attempt to see her till I've had my say, nor 
 any ways till to-morrow, when ye'll be able to congratulate 
 her on the good choice she's made. An' now, Mingo, my 
 lad, now that all's ship shape, lets have a carouse, an' 
 then I'll away to the island to pay my respecs' to the 
 missus." So saying, he turned aside to the dresser, where 
 stood sundry bottles, and with Mingo's help at once 
 commenced his preparations. 
 
 Meanwhile, Nell, outside, was strengthening herself in 
 
 I
 
 122 BORDERLAND STUDIES 
 
 the determination she had arrived at whilst listening to 
 the conversation within. It had needed all her power of 
 self control not to force her way in and take part with her 
 father in the cruel struggle that had been going on within. 
 Now she was glad of it, for prudence told her she had 
 acted wisely. Yes, she had made up her mind and would 
 act at once. Never would she allow her father, whom she 
 passionately loved, to become the sport of their revenge. 
 There was but one way to save him from their cruelty, 
 and that way she would take. Ay, would she, ay, and 
 even marry that fiend within, though marriage with such 
 as he was a thing to spit upon. Then, having married 
 him, the next day she would find a way to fly from him, 
 would re-join her father, and they two would flee together 
 somewhither, to some corner of the earth beyond Black 
 Jim's kenning. 
 
 Ah, why had her father not trusted her love ? Why 
 had he not told her about all that had happened in the 
 past ? There was nothing that could turn away her love 
 from him, and 'twas a brave deed, too, he had done, even 
 Black Jim had granted that. 'Twas his love for her that 
 held him back from telling her, fearing she might look 
 askance at him, doubtless ; oh, but the pity o't, for 'twas 
 now too late, and Black Jim, with revenge burning in that 
 black heart of his, had him tight in his keeping. Never 
 mind, she would outwit him yet, for a woman's wits were 
 sharper than a man's, as she'd often heard tell. Doubtless 
 her father thought she would refuse Black Jim, but she 
 would not. Ay, that was what he was thinkin' on when 
 he agreed to the scheme, hopin' to gain time and circumvent 
 his enemy in the end. There was not much time to lose 
 however, for she must be back at the island to collect her 
 thoughts and have her answer ready. One last long look 
 at the little room within, which but yesterday she could 
 have confidently said she would never leave while life 
 lasted, but which she now felt certain she would never see 
 again. So she looked long through the hole in the shutter, 
 and in below the sash, and noted the quaint but beloved 
 objects belonging to what henceforth would be a former 
 existence.
 
 BY BUDLE BAY. 123 
 
 There were her father's long sea-boots and oil-skin 
 petticoat hanging from the heavy beams ; there on a nail 
 above the dresser his sou'-wester, while in the corner lay 
 the "squills " with the long lines she had often helped him to 
 bait of an evening, a pleasant three hours' task as they 
 chatted together sitting opposite one another on their 
 "crackets" with the mussel-filled pail between them ; then 
 above the dresser, too, lay one by one the many curious 
 articles she had often laughed at him for keeping, not that 
 he wanted them, but had simply bought to propitiate 
 " lang nebbed Nanie " the uncanny pedlar woman with the 
 evil eye, the fear and dread of all the fishermen, who was 
 always to be found by the beach when the cobles put off of 
 a morning. Ay, there they all were, and she must leave 
 them, but she would leave them gladly, for to-morrow 
 she would save her father, rejoining him never to part 
 again. One last loving look at him as he sat there in his 
 chair, brooding and haggard, to keep up her own strength 
 for the sacrifice awaiting her, then she must fly, for time 
 was pressing. A sigh escaped her as she gazed for the 
 last time upon the humble room, then with firm lips she 
 turned swiftly away towards the island. 
 
 She had been back there not much above an hour 
 when there came a sudden knock on the door, and instinc- 
 tively she knew that " Black Jim " was without. Going 
 to the door herself she opened it and met the sailor face to 
 face. " Why, 'tis the fair maid herself," said he with an 
 air of boisterous gallantry, " that's fortunate, for 'tis with 
 yourself and not with auntie I'm anxious for a talk. Can 
 ye step outside for a minute, my lassie, and hear what I've 
 to say ? " She nodded assent, and closing the door quietly, 
 followed him down the little street to a space of open 
 ground where they could speak without attracting notice. 
 
 The sailor commenced warmly to protest his love, and 
 assured her it was with her father's permission that he did 
 so, then began to expatiate on the benefit to all concerned, 
 when, to his surprise, Nell turned towards him and said, 
 " Ay, I'm ready to marry wi' ye." It was but a momen- 
 tary sensation, however, for, after all, had it not always 
 been so with him ? had not women ever fallen plump, like
 
 124 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 ripe fruit, into his arms whenever he had jogged love's 
 tree ? 
 
 " That's a sensible lass," responded he, folding as he 
 spoke her passive form in his arms and imprinting rough 
 kisses on her cheek. " I thought to myself maybe she'd 
 taken a fancy of her own free will to rough Black Jim, an' 
 maybe ye'll be ready to marry me in a hurry like," he 
 continued, " say, to-morrow, for your father's agreeable, 
 an' tis best so for he's been ailin' of late, as I daresay ye've 
 noticed, and on your account, as I know right well, and 
 once ye're married belike there'd be a weight off his mind." 
 " Ay, I'll be ready," quoth Nell again, impassively as 
 before. 
 
 " Ay, an' will ye ? " responded the sailor in rapture, 
 for he had foreseen difficulty here, " Why, ye're the 
 very identical maid for me, for your fie-fie missie hath a 
 weary trick." " Ha', done," said Nell, firmly, escaping 
 from his arms, " I'll marry ye, an' that's enough. Wait 
 here a minute," she continued, imperiously, "and I'll send 
 a message by ye to my father." Without waiting for 
 reply she fled away, re-entered the house, and hurriedly 
 wrote five little words to her father on a scrap of paper, 
 enclosing a ring he had given her long ago. She then 
 returned to the sailor, who was pacing up and down out- 
 side inclined to be wrathful at her sudden change of mood. 
 
 " Ay, she's a bit of a vixen yet," he murmured to him- 
 self, "but a week or two o' livin' with me will put that right 
 soon enough." She thrust the paper into his hand and 
 bade him deliver it to her father, but barely listening 
 to his injunctions as to to-morrow's plans. Whilst he was 
 still speaking she turned away, escaped from his embraces, 
 and was gone. "Ye're an ill-tempered hussy after all," 
 quoth the disappointed sailor, hotly, " but so much the 
 better 'twill be all the sweeter revenge, ay, it'll taste 
 all the better for a little opposition." 
 
 Opening the scrap of paper he deciphered in the dim 
 light the following words, " All will be well, dear Father." 
 " Aha," he chuckled to himself, " I was no' mistaken, she's 
 a 'cute lass yon, an' smelt the danger her father was in." 
 Tearing up the paper and thrusting the ring into his pocket
 
 BY BUDLE BAY. 125 
 
 he sauntered off to relate the news of his acceptance to his 
 future father-in-law, rejoicing in the thought of a first 
 taste of revenge, for it would be a greater triumph were he 
 to say nothing of the message and tell Straughan she had 
 willingly accepted him. With an inward groan (for his 
 last hope of delay was thus shattered), Straughan heard, 
 and took the ring. Yet perhaps after all it was but 
 another of his devilish tricks, and he might yet find a way 
 to outwit Black Jim at the finish. So all the evening 
 through he sat revolving stratagems, while his unwelcome 
 guest made merry and feasted in his house, all the while 
 keeping a watch upon him, for he and Mingo had agreed 
 to keep him within eyesight until their purpose was 
 accomplished. 
 
 Slowly the night waned for these three ill-assorted 
 companions, each busied with his several thoughts. The 
 Lascar and Black Jim wiled away the hours with jesting 
 and gambling, and gloated over their near revenge, yet not 
 daring openly to voice it lest Straughan might yet, if 
 rendered desperate, escape their clutch by some mad deed. 
 And all the time they drank and jested at the table 
 Straughan sat silent in his chair gazing deep into the fire, 
 planning to outwit his enemies even in this last extremity. 
 
 Nell had sent him back the ring as token she would 
 marry the sailor, and never a message with it. Could she 
 really have taken a fancy to the villain after all ? No, no, 
 it was impossible, she knew of course (for he had told her), 
 that Black Jim had a hold on him, and she thought to save 
 him thus. Yes, that would be like her the noble girl, but 
 she should not do it, he would find some other way. 
 
 When at last the grey dawn trembled in the east, he 
 rose wearily and stumbled out of doors in hopes that the 
 fresh air of morn might provide counsel to his brain. The 
 sailor motioned Mingo to follow him and prevent, if 
 such were his intention, his going over to the island. An 
 hour or more passed as Straughan roamed distractedly 
 over the sandy dunes, savagely meditating, but only to 
 reject, plan after plan, and all the time, as he was con- 
 scious, the figure of the Lascar stole secretly behind him 
 like some grey shadow of approaching doom.
 
 126 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 On one thing alone was Straughan determined, to save 
 his darling from the sailor's grasp, for well he new what 
 marriage meant, even if marriage was intended, with such 
 a man. A month of petting till lust was gratified, then a 
 thrusting forth to harlot it in the streets for a living. 
 
 Yet what could he do ? turn this way and that he could 
 see no path of deliverance. Black Jim was not invulnerable, 
 yet there was the Lascar to deal with also, and both, he 
 knew, were watching, like hawks, his every movement. 
 Were he, secretly, now to plunge himself into the waves he 
 might escape their vengeance, but his lovely flower would 
 still remain to be plucked by a ruthless enemy. Full of 
 despair he stood still upon a knoll and gazed upon the 
 waves that seemed to him to mouth in scorn at him and his 
 helpless plight, and filled with voiceless melancholy he 
 was tempted to " curse God and die." Yet at that very 
 moment a sudden inspiration leapt like a ray of light into 
 his mind, ay, there was a chance there, he thought, a wee 
 bit of a thing but likely yet, for the sailor, like all evil 
 men, was greedy and easily tempted. Maybe he would 
 save her yet, and they would fly together, for they'd get a 
 good bit start any way ; folk might think it had happened 
 an accident, and that there was nobody in the house, and 
 might be slow to the rescue. Quickly turning, he strode 
 back to his house dandling his idea in his mind, turning it 
 this way and that as he went, till he was satisfied on every 
 point. As he neared the house, the strident voice of his 
 enemy, raised high in exulting song, came roaring from 
 within through the open door- way, scattering fragments of 
 a ditty to the outer air. 
 
 " O luck it is a fair woman 
 
 That halts 'twixt yea and nay, 
 The lusty knave will win favour, 
 The tim'rous fool hath nay. 
 
 'Bove all, cries she, I love the man 
 
 That smells of the salt sea. 
 Merry he is, and lief he is 
 
 To pay the bussing fee. 
 
 " Ay, ay, Black Jim," he murmured savagely to himself, 
 " ye've elwis been lucky, ne doot, but maybies ye're
 
 BY BUDLE BAY. 127 
 
 strainin' Providence ower far the noo." Entering the 
 house with an appearance of joviality, (for he had a part 
 to play) he thus addressed his enemy. "Just been for a 
 jaunt, mate, to liven me up for the day's business ; but it's 
 time now I was puttin' Nell's things into a trunk, for tis 
 near the hour to be startin'. The machine's to be by the 
 Beacons in half-an-hour, 1 believe. I'll no want anything 
 for meself for I'll return the neet when aal's finished in 
 Edinburgh." 
 
 " Ay, ay, that's ship shape, look slippy there, for I'd 
 no like to keep a lassie waitin' on her weddin' day, 'tis no 
 gentleman likes that, an' 'tis insulting to the ladies, ain't it 
 Mingo ? " said Black Jim, addressing the Lascar, who had 
 by this time also returned. Straughan forthwith proceeded 
 upstairs to his daughter's little room and quickly filled her 
 trunk with her belongings, dragged it downstairs, re-entered 
 the room where Black Jim was sitting on the top of a sea 
 chest the Lascar had brought with him, still chanting his 
 ode to luck. 
 
 " I'm ready for a start now," said Straughan, " there's 
 but a thing or two I'm wantin' yet. I'll carry the trunk 
 an' ye an Mingo can take the chest atween ye. There's 
 just one thing I'd near forgotten," he continued, " an that's 
 a bit dowry I've set by for Nell, ye'd best tyek it wiv ye 
 now, for I'll no want it mysel', the fishin' an the hoose 
 here will support a single man an' somethin' ower." 
 
 Black Jim, who had just begun to shoulder the chest, 
 glanced suspiciously at the speaker for a moment or two 
 before replying, but seeing no trace of ill faith in his host's 
 manner, the devil of greed stole into his soul, for he hesitated 
 a moment longer, then said roughly : " Where is it, is it 
 part of the old haul ? gold, or what is it ? " " Ay," was 
 the response, " there's gold in bags, an' there's bars, as 
 were saved ower from our last voyage from Peru, ye'll 
 find it up i' the loft there. Gan up the ladder, an' lift the 
 door an' ye'll find yourself in a little lumber-room, there's 
 nets an' sea-goin' matters put awa' for the winter ; I'll 
 show ye the way if ye like, 'tis hid in the far cupboard an' 
 theor's tiie key," throwing it, as he spoke, upon the table. 
 The sailor took it up slowly, again hesitated a moment or
 
 128 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 so, then turned to his host and said with a suspicious 
 frown on his brow. " I'll go myself, alone, thank ye, an' 
 lest ye should be at any tricks, Mingo will stay behind 
 here an' watch ye ; mind ye, Mingo lad, keep an eye on 
 him, an' if he's up to mischief raise a shout for me." So 
 saying he turned towards the small ladder in the corner, 
 while Straughan, carelessly seating himself on the table, 
 commenced to light a pipe. The sailor ascended and 
 disappeared, and a few moments later came mysterious 
 sounds of heavy bags thrown upon the floor, then the rasp 
 of metal, at which Mingo's ears pricked greedily and his 
 lower jaw dropped expectantly. " Maybies it'll be as well 
 for ye to gan up and help him, 'tis gay heavy is gold, 
 18 carat too, I'se warr'nt." The Lascar looked at him 
 with quick suspicion, then listening again to the sounds 
 upstairs greed almost conquered prudence, for Straughan's 
 careless manner was re-assuring. Still, however, he 
 lingered dubiously, half fearful of his ancient foe and 
 mindful of his watch. " If yor fearin' owt, ye may 
 bind me," said Straughan carelessly. ' I'm fearin' we'll 
 miss the train," and he held his hands out temptingly 
 behind his back. The Lascar jumped at the offer ; 
 whipping out of his pocket a big bandana handkerchief, 
 he quickly tied it round and round Straughan's wrists in 
 hard knots, then sprang to the door, locked it, put the key 
 in his pocket, and bounded up the ladder to the loft above. 
 
 " D ye, what d' ye want here! " Straughan heard 
 
 Jim growl as the Lascar appeared above the loft door, 
 " down wi' ye at once an keep guard as I telled ye." 
 " All's berry well, Mr. Jim, me's tied his hands an' locked 
 the door," said Mingo. There was a pause, then Jim's 
 head was thrust through the opening ; seeing Straughan 
 sitting quietly there with his arms tied behind him, his 
 suspicions were allayed, and with a scornful laugh he 
 hurried back to his treasures. " Ay, he's fast enough, 
 Mingo, an' now with your help we'll fill up this box an' 
 carry it downstairs. There's a tidy heap here, an 'twere a 
 sin to leave it." 
 
 A look of relief passed over Straughan's face as he still 
 sat motionless below, listening with straining ears and
 
 BY BUDLE BAY. 12'. 
 
 parted lips to the conversation above. Then a hot glow of 
 purpose leapt into his eyes ; yet not a moment was to be 
 lost, the Lascar's timidity had well nigh ruined his chance. 
 And all this while, with ears still quick to follow the 
 progress of events above his outstretched hands had felt 
 and had found the chimney of the lamp which was still 
 burning on the table, for the morning had been dark. 
 There he stood, motionless and eager, not a muscle of his 
 face moving a hair's breadth while the flame struggled 
 with the knots of the handkerchief and crept along his 
 wrists ; still not a muscle moved, though a smell of 
 scorched flesh rose into the air. Ay, now it was giving 
 way, thank God the charred rags had parted at last and he 
 was free. He bent down and with his smoking hands 
 pulled off his shoes, laid them down noiselessly, sprang 
 across the room to the ladder and stole as lightly as a cat 
 up the steps. Not a moment too soon, for as he clutched 
 the ring of the trap door he caught his enemy's eye not 
 three yards away dragging his booty to the stair. Black 
 Jim made a spring forward, but the trap clanged heavily, 
 grazing his heel in its descent. Shooting the heavy bolt 
 home, Straughan descended the ladder and kicked it down, 
 then going to a recess in the wall he drew forth a large can 
 of oil. " Ah, there's plenty for the job," he said quietly to 
 himself as he carried it towards the bed. Seizing the bed 
 clothes he dragged them down, pouring the oil carefully 
 over all. Then to the table and seizing the lamp, he broke 
 off the chimney against the table edge and flung the lamp 
 into the soaking mass of bedding. 
 
 Bravely the flames leapt up, jostling each his fellow in 
 their hurry to tear and devour their delicate prey. Bravely 
 they leapt and crackled as they spread further, while from 
 the loft above came a roaring as of caged beasts and a 
 trampling as of iron heels. " Ay, Black Jim," said 
 Straughan to himself, as he listened to the turmoil above, 
 " an', maybies ye're no singin' yer ditty to Luck the noo ; 
 a'am thinkin' she's tired o' ye at the finish." 
 
 So saying, he moved quickly to the narrow window, which 
 he hastily thrust open, looked anxiously out, and seeing 
 nobody about, sat quietly down in a chair to meet his
 
 130 BORDERLAND STUDIES. 
 
 doom. Ay, he was trapped himself, Mingo had done the 
 trick for him by locking the heavy door, the window was 
 scarce two feet across, 'twas useless to attempt it. Ah, 
 well, he did not mind overmuch, maybies he'd have been 
 caught after all even had he got away for the time, and 
 Nell was saved. 
 
 "God, maybies, will pardon me yet, offsetting my life to 
 theirs, for I was sore beset. An' noo, sweet lassie," he 
 continued in a louder voice, as though a listener might be 
 present, " good-bye, an' dinna mourn ower much when a'am 
 gyen." The fire, so quickly grown in strength, was now 
 roaring upward to the roof ; upstairs no sound was audible. 
 Through the thick smoke that rolled along the floor, the 
 flames stretched out lean fingers that clutched at the 
 motionless figure in the chair. In another, moment that 
 space was empty, and a heart of flame pulsed through 
 an empty shell of walls. 
 
 Printed by Messrs. Mawson, Swan, & Morgan, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
 
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