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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 M
 
 THE GLEDSTONES 
 
 AND 
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLAW
 
 BY TEE SAME AUTHOE. 
 
 HAWICK AND THE BORDERS 
 
 THREE HUNDRED YEARS AGO: 
 
 a paper 
 
 READ BEFORE THE 
 
 HAWICK ARCH.COL0GICAL SOCIETY 
 On 10th March 1875. 
 
 Published at the request of the Society. 
 
 Hawick : James Haining & Co., Advertiser Office.
 
 THE GLEDSTONES 
 
 AND 
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLAW 
 
 By Mrs. OLIVEE 
 
 OF THORNWOOD 
 
 Mrs,. CT. KL-iVitfrXo-r-^ V'*-^ 
 
 ESHrittm for tfje Itjaiuick 'arcjjacolosical Socictg 
 
 EDINBURGH 
 EDMONSTON & COMPANY, 88 PRINCES STREET 
 
 1878
 
 Printed by R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh.
 
 Gh70hs 
 
 THE GLEDSTONES 
 
 AND 
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLAW. 
 
 Those who know nothing of arcliseology are 
 accustomed to characterise it as a dry, musty 
 science, and to ridicule the antiquarian's love for 
 what they are pleased to call " old rubbish." The 
 utilitarian can see nothing in the broken arch, the 
 ruined cloister, or the deserted ivy-mantled tower, 
 save handy material for building a barn or a 
 cottage ; while to the antiquarian they are elo- 
 quent of the past, of the mail-clad warriors who 
 rode forth under that crumbling archway, of monks 
 and friars who paced these dim aisles as the deep, 
 solemn chant floated up to the lofty roof, and he 
 
 G29857
 
 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 has taught the world to admire those venerable 
 ruins, has opened their eyes to the beauty of these 
 " poems in stone," till at length the taste for the 
 antique has become fashionable, and people will 
 travel hundreds of miles to admire a ruin which 
 they would not have crossed the road to look at 
 had not the antiquary linked it to some story of 
 the past, and the poet extolled its beauty. The 
 craze has spread till not only ruins, but all kinds 
 of old lumber, are more prized than the choicest 
 productions of modern art, and fabulous prices are 
 paid for old cracked teapots, and such like, the 
 older and uglier the better. 
 
 But the true antiquary does not value his 
 treasures because they are old, or because of the 
 price he paid for them, or even because of their 
 beauty. It is not for what they are in themselves 
 that they are precious to him. It is for the story 
 they can tell — to him who has patience to listen — 
 of races who have passed away, of generations who 
 have preceded us — whose struggles are forgotten,
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 
 
 whose achievements are unrecorded, l)ut who, 
 nevertheless, laid the foundations on which our 
 liberty and our civilisation is built. 
 
 It is because each relic bears a faint impress of 
 him who fashioned it, of the system of things of 
 which it formed a part. Those bits of broken 
 earthenware, those useless old coins, and rubbishy 
 odds and ends which have somehow escaped anni- 
 hilation, and have drifted down the stream of 
 time from the dead past to the living present, 
 bring with them faint gleams of light, which 
 enables us to pierce the darkness of the past — 
 that mystic past, which is closing up, darker and 
 more impenetrable, behind us. 
 
 Among many other suggestive treasures con- 
 tained in our Museum, is an old Bible. Its 
 moth-eaten, yellow leaves, and the almost illegible 
 writing on its blank pages, are sufficient in them- 
 selves to excite our interest; for in every well- 
 regulated household " the big ha' Bible, ance liis 
 father's pride," is at once the most sacred heirloom,
 
 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 tlie most cherished household treasure. More 
 especially was this the case before the age of 
 public registration, when the blank pages of the 
 family Bible were inscribed with the simple family 
 chronicles. The marriage rite was hardly con- 
 sidered complete till the names, and date of the 
 ceremony, were duly entered on the sacred page. 
 As each successive olive branch blossomed into 
 life, their names were added to the family tree ; 
 and as one after another their earthly race was 
 run, the event was recorded with circumstantial 
 exactness. These domestic registers were of the 
 greatest possible value in preserving the pedigree 
 of old families, and the destination of large estates 
 has often been decided from the records in the old 
 family Bible. 
 
 The volume in our Museum is not a "big ha* 
 Bible." Size and dignity are so intimately associated, 
 that, in accordance with our ideas of the fitness of 
 things, we like to have our family Bibles, in which 
 are bound up so much of the family dignity, as
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 9 
 
 large as possible. The Gledstone Bible, however, 
 is not a ponderous tome ; but it possesses all the 
 interest and sacredness of the family Bible, which 
 indeed it was. 
 
 The world is two centuries older since the ink 
 dried on its fading records ; the Gledstones, to 
 whom it belonged, were at that time a family of 
 considerable importance in our neighbourhood ; 
 they were extensive landowners, and the estates of 
 different members of the family lay all round 
 Hawick to the south and west, and for some dis- 
 tance up the Slitrig. Then, and for centuries 
 previously, they took their part in local and public 
 affairs, and were associated with the most stirring 
 scenes for which our border land was famous in 
 days of yore. Now they have entirely disappeared 
 from the district. Their lands have passed to 
 other owners ; not even their graves remain, for the 
 family aisle at Cavers Church was removed by 
 consent of the heritors, no one appearing to claim 
 it. The only reKc of the family which remains to
 
 lo THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 US is this Bible, solitary waif, cast up from the 
 dark waters of oblivion, mutely reminding us of 
 the eyes that conned its pages, the hands that 
 traced these quaint entries, and constraining us, 
 so far as may be, to answer its silent question. 
 Who were the Gledstones ? and what has become 
 of them ? 
 
 Any one who makes the attempt to trace the 
 pedigree of a family for a lengthened period will 
 soon find himself involved in a maze of perplexities 
 and entanglements. Names get so mixed up that 
 it is next to impossible to separate their identity. 
 The old chroniclers were far ahead of us as gene- 
 alogists. They could give, without the slightest 
 break or flaw, the pedigree of any hero backwards 
 to Noah and thence to Adam. The imagination 
 was of great assistance, of course, but if we are to 
 submit ourselves to the sober curb of truth we had 
 better make no ambitious attempts in that direc- 
 tion, and be content with such brief and incidental 
 notices as history, local and general, may afford.
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. II 
 
 A long unbroken pedigree is all very well, but if 
 we wish to know something of the position and 
 influence of any family, we shall best accomplish 
 our purpose by searching for then* names in the 
 pages of history, and observing what part they 
 took, and how they acquitted themselves, in 
 public affairs. With respect to the Gledstone 
 family these notices are very brief and erratic. 
 Like flashes of summer lightning on the darkness 
 of the midnight sky, they illumine the landscape 
 for one brief instant and then plunge it into dark- 
 ness again before the eye has had time to take in 
 the picture. Sometimes these flashes appear in 
 rapid succession, and then all is dark for an inter- 
 val, when a flash more vivid than the others makes 
 everything as clear as day. We must be content 
 to take these flashes as they come, and make the 
 best of the glimpses afforded us, and perhaps, after 
 all, we may be able to fonn a pretty accurate idea 
 of what the night had hid from us. 
 
 It is rather a ticklish subject to meddle with
 
 12 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 the etymology of names ; and if I hazard a con- 
 jecture as to the origin of the name of Gledstones, 
 it may be taken for what it is worth. The old 
 mode of spelling was Gledstanes, not Gladstone ; 
 now Gled is the Scotch for a hawk or falcon, 
 and stanes, stones or rocks. Thus Gledstanes 
 might mean the hawk's rock, probably the most 
 prominent feature of the land to which it gave a 
 name, and which, according to the general custom, 
 became the surname of its possessors. 
 
 However that may be, we find that early in the 
 fourteenth century the Gledstanes were a family of 
 some standing. David II., in 1365, granted to 
 William of Gledstanes, the son and heir to William 
 of Gledstanes, knight, deceased, the lands of Wod- 
 grenynton, Wynkeston, and Acolmfield, which 
 Paterick Malleville resigned,* together with the 
 yearly rent due to the Crown from these 
 lands. 
 
 It will be observed, from the fact that the 
 
 * Origines Parochiales.
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA IV. J3 
 
 previous owner of these lands is named, that they 
 were granted to the Gledstones family for the first 
 time, and formed no part of the possessions of the 
 deceased knight. The estate from which he took 
 his title was Gledstanes in Lanarkshire, in the 
 parish of Liberton, and distant only about fifteen 
 miles or so from these newly-acquired lands, which 
 are in Peeblesshire. 
 
 Another charter of Eobert III. conveyed to 
 John Gledstones the lands of Hundelshope, in 
 the barony of Manor, resigned by Margret Gled- 
 staines, his mother. These lands belonged, thirty 
 or forty years previously, to one John Trumble, 
 from whom they descended to his daughter Mar- 
 gret Trumbil, who afterwards married a Gledstanes, 
 and resigned the lands to her son during her 
 lifetime. I believe the lady's husband was the 
 same William of Gledstones who received the 
 grant from David II. In a charter of liobert 
 III., in 149G, all the lands in the barony of Manor 
 are granted to Sir William luglis, save the lands
 
 14 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 possessed by William of Gledstanes. There is no 
 evidence that the Gledstones held any other lands 
 in Manor save Hundelshope, and it is probable that 
 William of Gledstones was named instead of his 
 ■wife. This William of Gledstones was witness to 
 a charter of Eobert III. in 1390 to William Stewart 
 of Gedworth. 
 
 Another charter of the same king conveyed to 
 the aforesaid John Gledstones certain lands in the 
 parish of Eoberton and the town of Selkirk, also 
 resigned by his mother in his favour. 
 
 We have here, then, a family in possession of 
 large estates in the counties of Lanark and Peebles, 
 and we have every reason to believe that this 
 William of Gledstanes was the head of the family 
 which we shortly afterwards find established in 
 the neighbourhood of Hawick. 
 
 This period, during which the Gledstone family 
 were increasing in wealth and prosperity, was a very 
 disastrous one for Scotland. It will be remem- 
 bered that Edward I. had taken advantage of the
 
 THE SIEGE OF CO K LAW. 15 
 
 disputed succession, on the death of the Maid of 
 Norway, to urge his extravagant claim to the feudal 
 superiority of Scotland. We know what strong 
 measures he took to enforce this claim. Again 
 and again was Scotland laid waste by the English 
 invaders. Again and again she had to struggle 
 for her independence and her liberty, till the 
 country was so exhausted and impoverished that 
 her people had little more than their liberties of 
 which they could be robbed. At length Scotland 
 regained her freedom at Bannockburn. The Eng- 
 lish garrisons were driven out of her castles, and 
 if the Scotch could have been content merely to 
 hold their own, all might have been well. But 
 the natural consequence of these wars was to stir 
 up a national enmity and hatred, and to make 
 them embrace every opportunity of retaliating 
 on their powerful neighbours. If the respective 
 governments were at peace, the border barons were 
 always ready to undertake an invasion on their 
 own account. To be at war with tlie English
 
 t6 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 seemed to be the normal state of Scotland ; peace 
 ■was merely a transient episode. 
 
 In 1346 Edward III. was engaged at the siege 
 of Calais, and this was deemed a favourable op- 
 portunity for an extensive invasion of England. 
 David II., who was then only twenty-two years of 
 age, collected an army and marched as far as 
 Durham, where he was met by a large force called 
 out by the Archbishop of York, headed by that 
 prelate in person, and a large body of monks, 
 who carried with them a relic of the holy St. 
 Cuthbert, consisting of a piece of cloth with which 
 he used to cover the chalice when he said mass. 
 The arm of flesh was represented by two experi- 
 enced generals, the Lords Percy and Neville. The 
 battle which followed was very disastrous to the 
 Scots, who were completely routed, the king and 
 several of the nobles being taken prisoners, and the 
 slain were estimated at 15,000. The Archbishop, 
 of course, ascribed the victory to the sacred relic, 
 which was held aloft on a spear during the battle.
 
 THE SIEGE OF CO K LAW. ij 
 
 and the generals themselves seem to have believed 
 that it was of material assistance to them, for a 
 handsome commemorative cross was erected on 
 the field of battle by Sir Ealph Neville, hence the 
 fight is generally called the battle of Neville's 
 Cross. 
 
 After the battle, the two victorious generals 
 crossed the border and took possession of all the 
 border territory and strongholds, and an assembly 
 was convened at Eoxburgh Castle to arrange for 
 its surrender. 
 
 A treaty was entered into between Sir Gilbert 
 de UmfraviUe, Earl Percy, and Sir Ealph Neville, 
 on the part of the English king ; and the Abbots of 
 IMelrose, Jedburgh, and Dryburgh, and several 
 gentlemen, including Paterick and William of 
 Gledstaines, on the part of the people of the shires 
 of Eoxburgh, Selkirk, Tweeddale, and Lauderdale. 
 The old question of England's feudal superiority 
 was brought to the front. The Englisli nobles 
 promised on the part of their sovereign, " life, iiro- 
 
 B
 
 i8 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 perty, goods, and complete immunity and freedom, 
 to all Scots, even those taken in battle, who should 
 come to the peace of our lord the king," They 
 promised that they should be governed according 
 to the laws and customs of Alexander I, and that 
 there should be good governors appointed over 
 them. The commissioners also undertook to 
 persuade the king to appoint such sheriffs as 
 should govern them in an " easy manner." This 
 conciliatory policy on the part of the English king 
 looks very magnanimous in the first flush of 
 victory. His design, like that of his predecessors, 
 was to get the feudal halter well on the Scotch 
 neck, and a little patting and persuasion is often 
 the best mode of dealing with an animal which 
 has a propensity for kicking. The yoke well on 
 the necks of the people, their captive king might 
 be induced to rivet the fetters. So the negotia- 
 tions passed over easily and pleasantly, the com- 
 missioners saying all sorts of agreeable things, 
 the Gledstaines and the others taking the re-
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 19 
 
 quired oaths, doubtless with the full intention of 
 breakinG: them at their earliest convenience, and 
 the castle was delivered up in fifteen days * 
 
 Save in the charters and the treaty above 
 referred to, we do not meet with the name of 
 Gledstones again till the siege of Coklaw, in 1403. 
 By this time we find that a member of the family 
 had become possessed of Coklaw Castle and the 
 lands adjoining, in the parish of Cavers, and the 
 near neighbourhood of Hawick. The estate con- 
 sisted of the lands of Orchard, Ormiston, and 
 Hummelknows, which they held by feudal tenure 
 from the house of Douglas. "We are not told how 
 Gledstones acquired the property; had it been 
 the nineteenth, instead of the fourteeeuth century, 
 we should have concluded that it was by purchase 
 as a matter of course ; but there were many other 
 ways by which a man could become possessed of 
 property in those days ; as, for example, that 
 notable exploit of Sir "William luglis, which 
 * Origines Parocliiales.
 
 20 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 brought him nearly the whole barony of Manor, 
 This was a challenge to a trial of military skill 
 and strength, or, more correctly, a defiance ; for 
 these were the days of knight-errantry, when 
 noblemen and gentlemen challenged each other 
 to mortal combat, just as now-a-days one man 
 might challenge another to a trial of skill at rifle- 
 shooting, or a friendly match at billiards. The 
 combat between Sir AVilliam Inglis and Sir 
 Thomas de Strother, the English knight, was of 
 this sort, the Earls Percy and Douglas being the 
 umpires, a fair estate the victor's reward. 
 
 Grants of land were given by kings and nobles 
 for very trifling services, for money was scarce, 
 and a grant of land secured a faithful vassal and 
 a valuable ally in time of war. Land, especially 
 on the borders, was of small value, for the constant 
 inroads of the English left no security for either 
 crops or cattle. There was one redeeming cir- 
 cumstance, however : Northumberland was not far 
 off, and the cattle there were of fair good quahty.
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 21 
 
 A green moimd in front of Ormiston House is 
 pointed out as the site of Coklaw Castle, tlie 
 ruins of wliich could be seen about the middle of 
 last century, when they were covered with turf by 
 Mr. Walter EUiot, who had then acquired the pro- 
 perty, and was about to erect a mansion-house. 
 It is supposed that some of the vaults still exist, 
 as by stamping on the ground in certain parts, a 
 hollow sound is emitted. A spring near the road 
 is stiU called the castle -well, and legends con- 
 cerning the siege and the ghost of a white lady, 
 who was somehow mixed up with it, were related 
 at the country firesides fifty or sixty years ago. 
 As this siege is of considerable local interest, I 
 may be excused for going rather fully into par- 
 ticulars. It may be well, in the first place, to 
 glance very briefly at the political situation of the 
 period. Eobert III., King of Scotland, is admitted 
 to have been a wise and good man ; but was as 
 unfitted, as a good man could be, to rule a turbulent 
 and warlike kingdom. Preferring the life of a
 
 22 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 recluse, he retired to Eothesay Castle, in the Isle of 
 Bute, and left the care of his kingdom to his 
 brother, the Duke of Albany. The Duke was an 
 ambitious man, fond of power, and more zealous for 
 his personal aggrandisement than for the prosperity 
 of the kingdom. He was no soldier, being rather 
 deficient in personal courage, a circumstance 
 which was not calculated to make him popular 
 with the nobles ; but what he lacked in courage 
 he made up in craft, for he was an unscrupulous 
 plotter — a Eichard III. without his bravery, for, 
 to make the resemblance more complete, Albany's 
 hands were stained with the blood of his nephew, 
 the young Duke of Eothesay, the heir to the 
 throne, whose tragic death has formed the subject 
 of one of Sir Walter Scott's inimitable romances. 
 Between this selfish plotter and the hermit king 
 the Government was not such as to secure the 
 welfare of the nation. 
 
 During the peaceful reign of Alexander III., Scot- 
 land had been wealthy and prosperous, but nearly
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. z^ 
 
 two centuries of almost constant war had weakened 
 and impoverished the country terribly. In arts, 
 manufactures, and civilisation, generally, she had 
 fallen very far behind. The commonest necessaries 
 of life were imported from Flanders, as well as 
 spears, armour, horse-furniture, and cloth ; not only 
 the rich fabrics which formed the dress of the nobles, 
 but the better kinds of stuffs worn by the 
 people. 
 
 The only art cultivated was the art of war ; 
 hunting and great feudal displays, with an occa- 
 sional raid into England, the only amusements. As 
 a natural consequence, where every man was a 
 soldier, and liable to be called to the field at any 
 moment, husbandry was neglected or considered 
 only of secondary importance, while the habits of 
 predatory warfare were calculated to unsettle the 
 people and make them unfit for the slow and 
 patient labour of the farm. Grain was so scarce 
 that it was often taken instead of money for 
 the ransom of English captives ; hence bread was
 
 24 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 a luxury almost unknown to the poor, but they 
 had no lack of beef, game, and salmon. 
 
 The church exerted a powerful influence in pre- 
 serving the country from relapsing into barbarism. 
 The monasteries, with their rich and substantial 
 buildings, and artistic decorations, kept alive a 
 taste for the fine arts. There, also, was centred all 
 the learning and literature of the times. The well- 
 cultivated abbey lands — for the monks were good 
 farmers — constituted the chief agricultural wealth 
 of the country, for church lands and church pro- 
 perty generally were held sacred by the rough, 
 lawless soldiers. There were exceptional cases, of 
 course, when some, more reckless than others, 
 would plunder and destroy church property as 
 ruthlessly as any other ; but as a rule, the rough 
 soldier who cared little for right or wrong, had yet 
 a wholesome dread of incurring the wrath of the 
 church ; he remembered that he would be in need 
 of her good offices some day to square accounts 
 for him with heaven. Let us hope, also, that his
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 2$ 
 
 dread was mingled with reverence for an institu- 
 tion which was known to him only through her 
 charity and good works. She fed the hungry, 
 ministered to the sick and wounded, entertained 
 strangers, and although the sonorous Latin prayers 
 and splendid ritual of her w^orship were above 
 his comprehension, they were none the less awe- 
 inspiring. 
 
 Henry IV. of England, shortly after he ascended 
 the throne, had invaded Scotland on some pretext 
 about his feudal superiority. He laid siege to 
 Edinburgh Castle, but retired without taking it, 
 or indeed doing anything in particular, except 
 keeping alive the international animosity. Earl 
 Douglas retaliated by entering England with a 
 large force, when he ravaged the country north of 
 the Tyne, and was returning laden with booty, 
 when the English army, under the Earl of North- 
 umberland and his son Harry Percy, or Hotspur, 
 as he is generally called, came up with him at 
 Homildou, and in the battle which ensued, the
 
 26 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 Scots were defeated with great slaughter, and 
 
 Douglas and many others taken prisoners. 
 
 The large ransoms paid for noble captives 
 
 made the taking of them extremely desirable, and 
 
 brothers in arms frequently fought and slew each 
 
 other to get possession of a prisoner which each 
 
 claimed as his own prize. Shakspeare has 
 
 described the indignation of the Percies, when 
 
 King Henry demanded that the prisoners taken 
 
 at Homildon should be given up to him. 
 
 " rU keep them ! " 
 cried the fiery Hotspur, 
 
 " By heaven ! he shall not have a Scot of them ; 
 No. If Scot would save his soul, he shall not ; 
 I'll keep them ; by this hand." 
 
 To appease these powerful subjects of his, who 
 indeed had helped to place him on the throne, 
 King Henry granted the Percies the whole of 
 Teviotdale, and all the territory which belonged 
 to the captive Douglas. This was a magnificent 
 gift had it been Henry's to bestow, but the hare 
 had still to be caught, and the catching might not
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 
 
 be very easy, as the Percies knew. They thanked 
 the king for his gift, and gathering together a 
 large army, they proceeded ostensibly to take pos- 
 session of their new territory, but in reality to con- 
 cert measures for a rebellion : first with Owen 
 Glendower and the Welsh ; with Earl Douglas 
 whom they had released, and who was secretly 
 collecting troops to aid them ; and also with the 
 Lord High Steward of Scotland himself. 
 
 That the Earl of Northumberland marched a 
 day's journey into Scotland and laid siege to the 
 Tower of Coklaw all historians are agreed ; but 
 there is some difference of opinion as to the situa- 
 tion of Coklaw. Burton, our latest historian, 
 mentions the siege, but does not identify the lo- 
 cality. Mr. Jeffrey, in his History and Antiquities 
 of Eoxburf/hshire, states that Coklaw was at the 
 head of Bowmont "Water, where there was a tower 
 of that name, but as it was only a mile from the 
 English border, which certainly could not be called 
 a day's march, was not in Teviotdale, which the
 
 28 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 besieged tower was, and formed no part of tlie 
 Douglas territory, it is obvious that Mr. Jeffrey 
 must have been mistaken. From the fact that 
 the names both of Ormiston and Coklaw occur 
 in the account, Mr. Pinkerton identifies it with 
 Ormiston near Eoxburgh, but this also is erron- 
 eous ; for while it has never been shown that 
 Ormiston was ever called Coklaw, or was owned 
 by a Gledstone, it is proved beyond doubt 
 that Coklaw was also called Ormiston, which 
 name it still retains, and at the time of the 
 siege it belonged to a Gledstone. Moreover, it 
 was in the very heart of Teviotdale and of the 
 Douglas territory. 
 
 It must be distinctly understood that nothing 
 was farther from the minds of the Percies than to 
 enter into a hostile engagement with the Scots, or 
 to attempt to take possession of Douglas' lands. 
 The invasion was a mere ruse to divert attention 
 from their real purpose — viz., to organise measures 
 for an insurrection.
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 29 
 
 The usual route from England was by Kelso 
 and Eoxburgh, the Castle of Eoxburgh being 
 held by an English garrison, which it was ob\'i- 
 ously safer to avoid. Besides, the district was 
 known to the king, who had marched through it 
 on his way to Edinburgh, and who might have 
 become suspicious if he had heard of a powerful 
 army laying siege to what he might have known 
 to be only the fortified dwelling of a private 
 laird. 
 
 Farther west the country was a terra incognito 
 to the king, which they would enter unopposed ; 
 and, to add still more to the mystery, Northumber- 
 land, in his dispatches, styled the place Ormiston 
 Castle, instead of its better known name of Coklaw. 
 We may, therefore, with all safety assume that 
 Coklaw or Ormiston, near Hawick, was the real 
 scene of the siege. 
 
 It needs no historian to tell of the consterna- 
 tion and dismay which filled the hearts of the 
 country people as this great host came over the
 
 30 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 Carter Fell, and, winding down among the hills, 
 made their appearance in the pleasant valley of 
 the Eule. 
 
 This was no mere party of marauders, but a 
 large well-appointed army, with the well-known 
 ensign of the Percies displayed. That lion crest 
 was not strange to the Borders. Often had harried 
 byres, trampled fields, and burning homesteads, 
 marked its progress. Often had sorrow and wail- 
 ing over bloody corpses risen up behind it. Troop 
 after troop followed each other down the hillside, 
 now with spears glancing in the sun, now with 
 the longbow and cloth-yard shafts the Scots had 
 such good reason to dread. Anon came knights 
 in hehuets and glittering armour, and conspicuous 
 amonc them rode the Earl of Northumberland and 
 his son Hotspur. 
 
 No wonder the country people fled in terror, 
 and hid themselves in the recesses of the woods, 
 peering now and then from some ambush to see 
 what might befall. To their surprise the army
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. %\ 
 
 marched steadily onward, turning neither to the 
 right nor to the left to pillage or destroy. The 
 lion did not spring. He must be in quest of 
 greater prey. And they wondered what tale of 
 misery and disaster might come back with that 
 host on its return. 
 
 Meanwhile, the invaders held on their way, 
 preceded by terror-stricken messengers of evil 
 tidings, who soon brought the news to Hawick. 
 The inhabitants quickly assembled in the streets 
 to hear the dreadful news, and to take counsel 
 what was to be done. Not that there was much 
 room for difference of opinion. Experience had 
 prepared them for such emergencies, and they 
 knew that their only safety was in flight. They 
 gathered together their few valuables and betook 
 themselves to their usual hiding-places, and left 
 the town to its fate. 
 
 There is a great difference between the Hawick 
 of 300 years ago and the Hawick of to-day, but 
 the difference was very much greater 170 years
 
 32 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 earlier. As I said before, the country was so im- 
 poverished by constant warfare that the useful 
 arts which promote domestic comfort had been 
 totally neglected. The houses even in Edinburgh 
 were little better than cottages built of wood and 
 thatched with straw.* Some were made of oaken 
 boughs interlaced in a kind of inner and outer 
 frame, supported by strong posts and the inter- 
 stices filled with turf ; these formed warmer, more 
 comfortable dwellings than would be supposed 
 from their appearance. In the event of a fire 
 breaking out in a town, the whole was likely to be 
 destroyed. In one year Forfar, Montrose, Aber- 
 deen, StirKng, Perth, Lanark, and Eoxburgh, were 
 all accidentally reduced to ashes ; and there was 
 scarcely a year that the English did not burn a 
 few more. 
 
 If the towns were easily destroyed they were 
 just as easily rebuilt. Three days generally suf- 
 ficed to put up an ordinary dwelling. The furni- 
 ture was correspondingly simple : so that for a man 
 
 * Froissart.
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 33 
 
 to abandon his roof-tree to the flames was no such 
 very dreadful affair five centuries ago. We have 
 no precise information as to the extent of the town 
 500 years ago, but it must have been very small. 
 The church, and the tower, which was then a 
 fortified baronial residence, were almost the only 
 stone buildings in the place. Poor and mean 
 though the town was, its total destruction by a 
 hated enemy was not a pleasant thing to contem- 
 plate, and the Hawick people left their homes 
 with sorrowful hearts ; and, like Jonah at Nineveh, 
 they watched afar off to see the destruction they 
 deemed inevitable. 
 
 The long summer day drew to a close, and still 
 no smoke from their burning homesteads obscured 
 the crimson glory of the setting sun, no sound 
 came from the deserted streets to intimate that 
 the soldiers had encamped there for the night. 
 The morning dawned rosy and fresh, and no 
 enemy disturbed its calm. The day also passed 
 in sickening anxiety. Some of the men ventured
 
 34 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 cautiously to emerge from their concealment, but 
 found everything as they had left it. The rumour 
 could not have been false, for a few straggling 
 bands of soldiers had been seen ; but they began 
 to hope that the enemy had passed on farther down 
 the river ; though before indulging in a feeling 
 of security, it was deemed advisable to reconnoitre. 
 Accordingly, towards nightfall, two or three crossed 
 the hills to the south, seeing nothing till they 
 came to the height above Coklaw, and there an 
 animated scene presented itself to their astonished 
 gaze. In the soft twilight of the summer night 
 they could see the tents pitched, that of the Percy 
 being conspicuous by the pennon fluttering above 
 it. "Watch-fires were lighted, and the men-at-arms 
 were resting after the evening meal. But no 
 stolen herds of cattle were to be seen; no dejected 
 group of prisoners sat huddled together in the 
 centre of the camp. They appeared to have laid 
 siege to Coklaw, but had apparently injured 
 nothing. It was enough to make people doubt
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 35 
 
 the evidence of their senses, for never before 
 had the Percies made their presence known after 
 such a fashion. Day after day passed, and still 
 the army remained before Coklaw; but beyond 
 appropriating a stray ox or sheep, they did no 
 harm. The country people, as well as the inhabit- 
 ants of Hawick, were slow to believe in their 
 security ; but people cannot live on a hillside for 
 ever, even in summer, and by and by they returned 
 " to their homes and their duties, and no harm 
 came to them, for which they devoutly thanked 
 and blessed the Holy Virgin. 
 
 But what of the besieged tower? Gledstone, 
 the proprietor, was absent at the time, and the 
 garrison was in charge of his esquire, John Green- 
 law, who made a right gallant defence, and in 
 perfect good faith, for he was not in the secret. 
 The trumpet was sounded, and the captain was 
 asked to surrender. "No," said John Greenlaw, 
 " take the tower if ye can, but I will hold it so 
 long as it stands and I have a man to help me."
 
 36 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 Hotspur and the stately Nortlmmberland exchanged 
 a smile at this plucky reply from the Kttle garrison. 
 It was enough to fill a stout heart with apprehen- 
 sion to see the numerous army encamped about 
 the tower. Trebuchets and Mangonels thumped 
 and battered against the walls, but they were stout 
 as the hearts within them, and no impression was 
 made. The tower still held out, and John Green- 
 law felt himself very important as he was again 
 and again summoned to parley, and finally to enter 
 into a treaty with two such great noblemen and 
 soldiers. He engaged to deliver up the castle on 
 the 1st of August unless previously relieved by 
 battle. Northumberland then wrote to King 
 Henry, telling him that he held indentures for the 
 delivery of Ormiston Castle, and went on to say 
 that he would conquer Scotland from sea to sea, 
 and desired the king to send him £60,000 to enable 
 him to carry out his enterprise. 
 
 As soon as the news was brought to Gledstone 
 that his tower was besieged by the Percies, he
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 37 
 
 hurried off to the king for assistance,* and was by 
 
 him referred to Governor Albany, who called a 
 
 council of nobles and prelates at Falkland Palace, 
 
 and laid the case before them. They agreed that 
 
 it was better to give up the paltry turret than 
 
 to run the risk of a fresh encounter with 
 
 England. Albany, who knew all about Percy's 
 
 expedition, took the opportunity to swagger 
 
 a little. "I swear to God and St. Fillan," said 
 
 he, "that I will prevent the appointed day, 
 
 though none should attend me save that youth my 
 
 groom." The council were as much surprised as 
 
 pleased with the governor's new spirit. They 
 
 highly applauded his resolution, and agreed to 
 
 accompany him. So Albany marched at the head 
 
 of a great army to the relief of Coklaw, but with 
 
 the secret purpose of joining Percy's expedition. 
 
 Before they reached the borders, however, the 
 
 English army had gone, and Coklaw was in its 
 
 native loneliness. News soon after reached him 
 
 of the defeat at Shrewsbury, where Hotspur was 
 
 • Pinkerton.
 
 38 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 killed, and Douglas severely wounded and again a 
 prisoner. After proclaiming the tidings Albany- 
 disbanded bis army and returned borne. 
 
 Before leaving tbis part of my subject, I may 
 be permitted to allude to some articles wbicb bave 
 been found from time to time near Ormiston, sucb 
 as might bave been left by an army. There were 
 one or two stone balls found, such as were used 
 for cannon on their first introduction. I should 
 not like to say that the presence of these balls 
 proves that an army had left them in 1403. 
 Powder was known then, and Shakspeare, who, 
 though a poet, and therefore entitled to a poet's 
 licence, is pretty accurate as to his historical facts, 
 speaks of it as having been used at the battle of 
 Homildon. Historians all agree, however, that it 
 was the English archers who wrought such destruc- 
 tion on the Scottish ranks, and it is only mentioned 
 "by the dainty perfumed lord" who roused Hotspur's 
 ire, by talking, " so like a waiting gentlewoman, of 
 guns and drums and wounds." But it is quite
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 39 
 
 possible that some of the new engines of war may 
 have been brought to Coklaw to try their effect. 
 There was also found a very curious ornament or 
 broach of iron, which looks as if it had formed 
 some part of the equipment of a horse. And, 
 stranger still, there was found, a hundred yards or 
 so from the site of the old castle, an earthen jar 
 containing a very large number of coins. They 
 were all of an earlier date than the siege ; a few 
 were Scotch coins of Alexander III. and Bruce, 
 but the great majority were English of Edward I. 
 and II. 
 
 Money was scarce then, and its value propor- 
 tionally great ; and it is higlily improbable that 
 any one on the borders could have possessed such 
 a sum. As so few of the coins were Scotch, it is 
 unlikely they belonged to a Scotchman, for, save 
 in the way of harrying and slaughter, there was 
 little communication between the two kingdoms. 
 They were nearly all small silver coins, such as 
 would be used to pay an army. The jar was quite
 
 40 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 full, showing that it must have been filled from a 
 larger heap of coins. What, then, so likely as that 
 it was filled from the treasure-chest of an English 
 army ? Here we have an English army encamped 
 on the very spot, presumably well supplied with 
 money, but bent on a dangerous and treasonable 
 expedition. The Percies had made common cause 
 with Douglas and Albany, and should their enter- 
 prise fail it was natural they should fall back on 
 Scotland, there to collect their forces and organise 
 fresh measures ; and no doubt in such a case they 
 would reflect that they would be none the worse 
 of a supply of the true sinews of war, viz. money. 
 They knew that well-trained, regularly paid soldiers 
 are, like stout oaken staves, thoroughly to be de- 
 pended on ; but when the pay is in arrears they 
 are like reeds shaken with every wind of sedition. 
 It is quite possible, therefore, that some prudential 
 impulse may have suggested to Hotspur or his 
 father to fill two or three jars with money and 
 bury them, to be in readiness, should they be
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 41 
 
 obliged to return. Such a proceeding was not so 
 absurd as it may appear at first sight. INIother 
 earth was the only banker in those days, and she 
 often had large stores of jewels and money entrusted 
 to her safe keeping, which she never failed to "pay 
 on demand." Hotspur fell at Shrewsbury, and 
 his father was a fugitive at St. Andrews with 
 his little grandson, and never led another army 
 to the field ; but it is odd that there have 
 been other old rumours of coins having been 
 found there, only nobody could ever tell the 
 particulars. The jar which was found a few 
 years ago, and some of the coins, may be seen 
 in our museum. 
 
 In 1404 we have again a notice of the Gled- 
 stones in connection with Cavers. Some fifty 
 years previously the Abbey of Melrose had re- 
 ceived a grant from Earl Douglas of the Church of 
 Cavers. It was a common practice at that period for 
 the rural churches to be swallowed up by the great 
 monasteries, which reaped all the benefits and
 
 42 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 emoluments, and deputed one of their order to 
 perform the duties. The benefits derived by 
 Melrose from this grant had hitherto been nil, 
 though the grant had been confirmed by suc- 
 cessive charters. The abbot had indeed enjoyed 
 the privilege of presentation to the living, but 
 he craved more solid advantages. The monks, 
 therefore, appealed to the Pope to give the an- 
 nexation full effect. His Holiness having made 
 proper inquiries, again annexed to the abbey the 
 same church with all its emoluments ; and they 
 were put into actual possession on the 13th of 
 November 1404, when the Abbot of Kelso pro- 
 ceeded to the Church of Cavers, and there caused 
 the charter to be exhibited and read, and gave full 
 possession to the procurator from Melrose, by 
 causing him to take hold of the horns of the altar, 
 and go through other ceremonies usual on such 
 occasions. They then enjoined the parishioners, 
 and all others, by authority of the Pope, and on 
 pain of excommunication, to admit the monks.
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 43 
 
 their procurator, or any person deputed by them, to 
 the full enjoyment of the fruits of the benefice. 
 The witnesses were the Abbot of Dryburgh, and 
 several of the canons of Kelso Abbey, and the 
 "noble men," James de Gledstanes, and Thomas 
 de Gledstanes, and Gilbert de Lauder. The 
 description of the three gentlemen as "noble 
 men " is peculiar ; they were not titled noblemen, 
 but men of good birth and position. This was 
 presumably the Laird of Coklaw and his brother. 
 The next notice we have of a member of the 
 family is in connection with the recovery of a 
 debt. "William and Ai'chibald Douglas of Cavers, 
 and John of Gledstones, owed John Rutherford of 
 Hundole the sum of 100 merks, or £66 : 13 : 8, 
 which they would not, or, at all events, did not 
 pay. The money was probably awarded as 
 damages for some injury the three gentlemen had 
 done the Laird of Hundole, but he never had the 
 satisfaction of receiving a penny during his life- 
 time. They could not be got to pay till Euther-
 
 44 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 ford's energetic grandson summoned the three 
 debtors before the Lords of the Secret Council. 
 This incident proves that the Gledstones were on 
 very intimate terms with the Douglases, and the 
 former one shows they were of good social standing, 
 a fact which is still further established by a testi- 
 monial granted under the great seal of James V. 
 
 Mr. John Gledstones, licentiate of the laws, 
 presented a petition on behalf of himself and his 
 cousin-german, Mr. Robert Fraser, showing that 
 they were about to dwell in France for studying 
 and other honest causes ; they wished to have all 
 the respect shown them to which they were en- 
 titled. The matter having been examined by the 
 Lords of the Council, a declaration was made to 
 the effect, "that Mr. John Gledstones and Mr. 
 Eobert Fraser are noble by both parents, and of an 
 ancient family." The testimonial shows, also, that 
 Mr. Gledstones was of the family of Gledstones of 
 that Ilk. This was surely a very formidable way 
 of obtaining a passport into French society.
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 45 
 
 Ko student of Scotch history need to be told 
 of the terrible and deadly feud which existed be- 
 tween the two great rival Border families, the 
 Scotts and the Kers, nor of the strife and blood- 
 shed of which it was the cause. The Laird of 
 Buccleuch was murdered by the Kers on the 
 streets of Edinburgh, and this tragedy induced the 
 friends of both houses to do their utmost to brins 
 about a better understanding, and to put an end 
 to such deadly quarrels. They were so far suc- 
 cessful that the heads of both families entered into 
 a bond, by which they bound themselves, their 
 friends, retainers, and followers, to " preserve peace 
 and good friendship," " to bury all their feuds, and 
 to live henceforth in amity and good neighbour- 
 hood." Among those for whom the Laird of Buc- 
 cleuch was responsible was John Gledstones of 
 that Ilk and his hairns. 
 
 In 1569 the name of Gledstones of Coklaw is 
 appended to a bond by which the inhabitants of 
 the counties of Berwick, Eoxburgli, Selkirk,
 
 46 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 and Peebles, pledged themselves to unite to repel 
 the Liddesdale thieves. The lawless state of 
 the Borders at this period is so well known that 
 any remark on the subject is almost superfluous. 
 Ruler after ruler had tried to bring them to 
 order, but without effect. It almost seemed 
 as if extermination was the only cure, and 
 they were executed without mercy whenever 
 caught, as, for intance, in 1561, when fifty-three 
 were taken in the act of plundering Hawick Fair, 
 and most of them were either hanged or drowned 
 forthwith. They held out, however, in spite of 
 all the hanging and drowning, and, reinforced by 
 all the outlaws and scoundrels in the country side, 
 they set law and authority at defiance. The 
 Eegent Murray suggested that the inhabitants of 
 the neighbouring counties should form themselves 
 into a league to keep them in check, and the plan 
 was readily adopted. By this bond, the in- 
 habitants of the counties above mentioned 
 agree "never to intercommune with any of
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA IV. 47 
 
 the said thieves, their wives, bairns, or servants, 
 or give them meat, drink, house or harbour, 
 nor were they to be allowed to resort to 
 markets or trysts, nor permitted to remain or 
 pasture their flocks on any lands outwith Liddes- 
 dale, except such as within eight days of the date 
 of bond found responsible sureties, that they would 
 reform all enormities committed by them in time 
 by-past, and keep good rule in time coming." 
 All others, not finding such security, were to be 
 pursued to the death with fire and sword, and all 
 kind of hostility, as open and known enemies to 
 God, the King, and the common good. This bond 
 was very numerously signed, and in the first 
 column of signatures appear the names of James 
 Gledstones of Coldaiu., and Eobert Scott, Bailie of 
 Hawick. 
 
 In 1575 this same James Gledstones of Cok- 
 law and Walter Scott of GoldHands gave security 
 to the amount of £1000 Scots each for the appear- 
 ance of Allan Denys, John Scott, son to Philip's
 
 48 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 Jock, and Johnnie Cavers, all of Hawick, before 
 the Eegent and the Lords of the Secret Council, 
 to answer some charge, the nature of which we 
 are not informed. 
 
 From the above notices, we find that Gledstone 
 was among the friends and retainers of the house 
 of Buccleuch, and that he took an interest in the 
 affairs of Hawick. His signature appended to 
 the bond of resistance to the Liddesdale thieves 
 shows that he was a friend to law and good order ; 
 but we find a notice in Pitcairn's Criminal trials 
 which is not so creditable to him. 
 
 In 1561 John Gledstones of Coklaw was 
 charged with the slaughter of Thomas Peebles 
 and William BeU, committed on the lands of 
 Kaidmuir, near Peebles. There are no particulars 
 of the crime given, except that it was done of " set 
 purpose." The trial was deferred, and we hear 
 no more of the matter for forty years. Meanwhile, 
 as other notices show, John Gledstone had gone 
 in and out among his fellow-men, his social posi-
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 49 
 
 tion in no way affected by the crime of which he 
 had been guilty. He had probably taken the law 
 into his own hands in punishing some offence, a 
 practice common enough among the border lairds 
 at that period. Forty years later we find the 
 matter brought up again by the descendants of the 
 deceased Thomas Peebles, who had been a burgess 
 of the town from which he took his name. Before 
 this time John Gledstones had been gathered to 
 his fathers, and his son reigned in his stead. But 
 it was evidently a pecuniary solatium the de- 
 scendants of the slaughtered burgess were seeking, 
 and for this purpose the son was as good as the 
 father. It was no unusual thing for the relatives 
 of a murderer to be pursued for damages, even 
 when the criminal himself had suffered the extreme 
 penalty of the law : So James Gledstanes of Cok- 
 law, or of that Ilk, as he is termed in the indict- 
 ment, had to answer to the charge. He produced 
 the king's respite, which the pursuers pleaded 
 was not admissible, because granted contrary to 
 
 D
 
 50 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 Act of Parliament, "no letter of stains having been 
 granted by them for asythement of the party." 
 Gledstone maintained that the respite was quite 
 correct ; but added, that he was willing to satisfy 
 the parties, and offered to find sureties to that 
 effect. The judge admitted the defender's plea, 
 and John Gledstones of AVyndington Haugh and 
 Jolm Eutherford, Bailie of Jedburgh, became 
 sureties that James Gledstones of that Ilk would 
 satisfy the parties for the slaughter of Thomas 
 Peebles. This trial is of some significance, as 
 proving that the Gledstones had still some con- 
 nection with Peebles and that neighbourhood. 
 It also establishes the fact that Gledstone of that 
 Ilk and Gledstone of Coklaw were the same, both 
 names occurring in the indictment. 
 
 A few months after Gledstone had been security 
 for the men of Hawick, his name appears in con- 
 nection with the raid of the Eeidswire, an en- 
 counter between the Scotch and English bor- 
 derers, which formed the subject of one of our 
 border ballads.
 
 THE SIEGE OF CO K LAW. 51 
 
 There had been peace and pretty good order 
 maintained on the borders for nearly five years. 
 The hostile raid, which from time immemorial 
 had been the borderers' favourite mode of settling 
 accounts, had been superseded by courts held 
 by the Scotch and English wardens of the marches, 
 where all international disputes might be adjusted 
 in an orderly and legal manner. It was no easy 
 task the wardens had to undertake, where there 
 were so many slaughters, spoliations, and other 
 injuries to be dealt with ; for though these things 
 were no longer done wholesale, the borderers 
 could not forget their feuds all at once, but 
 kept their hands in at the old trade in a smaller 
 
 way. 
 
 The raid of the Eeidswire was an accidental 
 skirmish, which broke out at a warden court, held 
 on the Carter Fell, in the summer of 1575. The 
 best description of this raid is to be found in the 
 ballad, which has evidently been written by one 
 who took part in the fray. It makes |no preten-
 
 52 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 sions to elegance of style ; but it describes the 
 engagement with much graphic force and rugged 
 simplicity. 
 
 It is a strange picture thus presented to us — 
 a picture so characteristic of these warlike times, 
 but in such striking contrast to our own. Here 
 we have a court of justice held on a bare hillside, 
 in an almost uninhabited district of country ; 
 nothing to be seen but heath-clad hills stretching 
 away in every direction ; the majesty of the law 
 represented not by grave judge and learned 
 lawyers, but by soldierly wardens, each with a 
 large following of armed men. The clients — the 
 complainers, and defenders — come in such 
 numbers, that the usually silent hills resound with 
 the ring of their bridles, the trampling of their 
 horses. They come not in solitary groups, but 
 in hundreds, to see fair play ; and fully armed and 
 prepared, either for defence or defiance. 
 
 The Scotts of Buccleuch are there with the 
 " Laird's Wat" at their head. There are the Elliots,
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. S3 
 
 the Armstrongs, and " a' the lave o' Liddesdale ; 
 the Trumbles, strong and stout ; " the Euther- 
 fords, with the town of Jedburgh ; and, to quote 
 from the ballad, — 
 
 " Then Teviotdale came to wi' speed, 
 The Shirrif brought the Douglas down, 
 Wi' Cranstone, Gledstone, good at need, 
 Baith Rewle Water, and Hawick town. " 
 
 From the English side came the Tyndale and 
 Eedesdale men. " 500 Fenwicks in a flock ;" and, 
 as the ballad goes on to say, — 
 
 " We looked ower the other side, 
 And saw come breasting ower the brae, 
 Wi' Sir John Forster for their guyde, 
 Full fifteen hundred men and mae." 
 
 When such a gathering of ancient enemies meet 
 face to face fully armed to discuss their wrongs, 
 the wonder would have been had they parted 
 without open hostility. A pretext is not difficult 
 to find ; high words arc heard ; a flight of arrows 
 are sent among the Scots, who, nothing loth, rush
 
 54 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 to the fray. The slogan or war-cry of each party 
 echoes from all parts of the field, followed by the 
 rattle of pistolets, the clash of steel, and the whirr 
 of hundreds of arrows. The English had the 
 advantage in numbers, but the Scots were victori- 
 ous ; and the ballad informs us exultingly that — 
 
 ' ' With help of God the game gaed right, 
 Frae time the foremost o' them fell, 
 Then ower the knowe, without good-night, 
 They fled, with many a shout and yell." 
 
 But many cracked crowns had been given and 
 taken, and many a tall fellow stretched on the 
 heather with his life-blood ebbing away. Sir John 
 Heron, one of the English leaders, was slain ; and 
 the warden, and several others taken prisoner. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth was dreadfully angry when 
 she heard of the encounter, not so much with her 
 own subjects for beginning the fray, but at the 
 Scots for presuming to punish them and take her 
 warden prisoner. The Eegent Morton could not 
 afford to quarrel with Elizabeth, so he enter-
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 55 
 
 tained the prisoners hospitably at Dalkeith Palace, 
 and sent them home with many civil regrets. Sir 
 John Carmichael, the Scotch warden, w^as obliged 
 to go and make a humble apology to the Queen 
 for his victory ; and among other presents sent 
 with him were some valuable falcons, which gave 
 rise to the jest that the Regent had made a bad 
 bargain, for he gave live falcons for a dead Heron. 
 It will be observed from the ballad that Gled- 
 stone led the men of Hawick to the fray : the 
 lines, 
 
 ' ' Cranstone, Gledstone, good at need, 
 Baith Rewle Water, and Hawick Town," 
 
 obviously meaning that Cranstone led the men of 
 Rewle Water, and Gledstone those of Hawick. 
 
 From the prominence given to the names of 
 Gledstain and the Laird's Wat, as Scott of Goldi- 
 lands is styled, the writer must have been famil- 
 iarly acquainted with both of these gentlemen. 
 Their names are twice mentioned, and each time 
 with some little complimentary remark. The twice
 
 56 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 recurring phrase, "good at need," refers, apparently, 
 to some special service Gledstone had rendered in 
 a time of difficulty and danger, and which was fresh 
 in the memory of the writer. This, not unlikely, was 
 the security he gave for the men of Hawick a few 
 months before, and it is very probable that the 
 writer went to the raid with little Gledstone, 
 since it is evident he either belonged to Hawick or 
 the neighbourhood. 
 
 About twenty years later we find the name of 
 James Gledstone of Coklaw again as security for 
 an offender. 
 
 Thomas TurnbuU of "Wauchope, with nearly the 
 whole of his clan, had been concerned in a most 
 daring succession of thefts from Margret Turnbull 
 Lady Appotsyde. They stole at different times 
 330 kye and oxen, forty score of sheep, and thirty 
 or forty horses, together with the whole plenishing 
 of Appotsyde and Harwood. They burned down 
 the outhouses and a stable containing two valuable 
 horses ; they cut hundreds of trees, among others
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 57 
 
 500 great oaks. They also murdered one Lyal 
 Brown, servant to the lady, and Hector Lorain and 
 Ills brother, a lad tliirteen years of age, who resided 
 at Harwood. These outrages extended over a 
 period of five years, and it shows a terrible state 
 of things when a lady dwelling peacefully in 
 Eewle Water could be plundered and her ser- 
 vants killed with impunity. Six years after the 
 depredations were commenced the offenders 
 were brought to justice. Thomas Turnbull of 
 Wauchope was admitted to bail, but he failed 
 to appear, and James Gledstones, his security, 
 forfeited his bail of 500 merks, while Turnbull 
 was declared a rebel, and Ms goods confiscated 
 to the Crown. 
 
 In 1616 Gledstone of that Ilk was on the jury 
 for the trial of the rufQans hired by Jean Scott of 
 Satchells and the Lady of Howpaslot to mutilate 
 and kill the sheep and cattle belonging to Douglas 
 of Drumlanrig. 
 
 About the same period a member of the family
 
 58 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 rose to great eminence in the church. This was 
 George Gledstones, Archbishop of St. Andrews. 
 He was appointed by James VI. one of the com- 
 missioners for promoting the union of the two 
 kingdoms. He was a man of great learning but 
 an easy nature, and induced by those he trusted 
 to do many things hurtful to the see, especially in 
 the leasing of tithes and benefices for many ages 
 to come, by which he incurred a great deal of 
 obloquy. 
 
 The following episode, which occurred in his 
 house, it is to be hoped, was not common in the 
 households of clergymen : — 
 
 The good, easy archbishop was taking his usual 
 nap on a Sunday afternoon, when he was awakened 
 by a great outcry from the kitchen, and was horri- 
 fied to find that his sister's son had stabbed the 
 cook, and the poor man fell dead instantly. The 
 archbishop's nephew was committed to prison, but 
 the cook's friends were satisfied with a sum of 
 money, and agreed not to prosecute, and the
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 59 
 
 murderer was cleansed by a white assize and let 
 go free. 
 
 Down to nearly the end of the sixteenth century 
 we hear of no other Gledstones in Eoxburghshire 
 save the family of Coklaw. Whytlaw belonged at 
 that time to one Hercules Stewart, who was in- 
 volved in the treason of the Earl and Countess of 
 Bothwell, who held out against the king in the 
 west border in 1592. All the lairds concerned in 
 this affair either forfeited their estates or had to 
 pay heavy fines. Several of them, including the 
 Laird of Harden, had their houses pulled down by 
 order of the Government, a novel and very singular 
 mode of punishing traitors. 
 
 After this the lands of "Whytlaw came into pos- 
 session of a Gledstone, a branch of the family of 
 Coklaw. The first mention of him is at the Jed- 
 burgh Circuit Court in 1622, when the name of 
 Walter Gledstanes of Whytlaw appears on the 
 jury. Tliese Whytlaw Gledstones were allied by 
 marriage to the House of Buccleuch, as we find
 
 6o • THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 stated by Scott of Satchells, who wrote a kind of 
 rhyming chronicle, entitled A true history of several 
 honour ahle families of the name of Scott, — by 
 Captain Walter Scott. 
 
 He dedicates one chapter to " That valiant and 
 generous gentleman, Gledstones of Coklaw :" 
 
 " Most worthy sir, I send into your view, 
 This little pamphlet, Tuost of it is true." 
 
 And another chapter is inscribed, "To that 
 worthy and much respected gentleman, Francis 
 Gledstones of Whytlaw." 
 
 The worthy captain gives a good deal of genea- 
 logical information, and makes most praiseworthy 
 efforts to unite rhyme with reason, but where he 
 has found it difficidt to combine the two, he has 
 stuck to the rhyme and left the reason or sense in 
 obscurity as profound as the utterances of the 
 Delphic oracle. 
 
 I am not learned enough to tell what is meant 
 by such passages as the following : —
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 6i 
 
 " Then Walter Scott was George Howcoat's son, 
 He married Douglas, a daughter of Whittingham ; 
 And George his son, a hopeful lad, 
 He married Gledstone's daughter to the Laird of Dod." 
 
 The following verse is more intelligible : — 
 
 " The barons of Buccleuch they kept at their call 
 Four and twenty gentlemen in their hall, 
 All being of his name and kin. 
 Each two had a servant to wait on them," 
 
 Then follows the names of these gentlemen 
 with the lands they held for their services. These 
 twenty-three pensioners were all of the name of 
 Scott, says Satchels, the twenty-fourth was "Walter 
 Gledstones of Whytlaw, a near cousin of my lord." 
 
 This passage must have suggested to Sir Walter 
 Scott his lines in Tlie Lay of the Last Minstrel : — 
 
 " Nine and twenty knights of fame 
 
 Hung their shields in Branxholm Hall, 
 Nine and twenty squires of name 
 
 Brought them their steeds to bower from stall. 
 Nine and twenty yeomen tall 
 Waited duteous on them all ; 
 
 They were all knights of metal true, 
 
 Kinsmen of the bold Buccleuch."
 
 62 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 This Gledstone of Whytlaw, cousin to the laird 
 of Buccleuch, held the property of Flex also. 
 These properties lie close together, and it is pro- 
 bable that his residence was at Flex. There is an 
 avenue of fine old trees, and also traces of a garden, 
 and what looks like a tennis ground or bowling- 
 green. The steep banks of the burn are finely 
 wooded ; and altogether Mex bears evident marks 
 of having been the residence of a man of taste. 
 
 Besides the Gledstones of that Ilk and of 
 Whytlaw, the old county valuation-roll mentions 
 also the Gledstones of Dodd, of Colifort Hill, 
 Adderstone Shiels, and Hillisland. This latter 
 property was about one-fourth the value of 
 Whytlaw and Flex ; it was situated near Hillis- 
 land Moss, and about sixty years ago a portion of 
 the garden wall was standing. It was Gledstone 
 of Hillisland to whom the Bible in our museum 
 belonged. This book had fallen into the hands of 
 one Catherine Cheyne, long a domestic servant in 
 the family. At her death it became the property
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA IV. 63 
 
 of her nephew, a cutler in Hawick, who gave it 
 to Mr. Irvine, and it was by him presented to the 
 burgh. There is one extract from the manuscript 
 entries in the Bible given in Wilson's Memories of 
 Havnck, but there are many other entries which 
 had never been read ; and in January last I 
 requested Dr. ]\Iurray of London, who happened 
 to be on a visit to Hawick, to examine the Bible, 
 and see if he could make out anything further. 
 As editor of the Early English Text Society, he 
 has great experience in deciphering old manu- 
 scripts, and at some personal inconvenience, he 
 very kindly furnished me with the following 
 copies of entries. He says, " I spent two awfully 
 cold hours over the Gladstone Bible in the museum 
 on Saturday, and now send the result. As far as 
 time, light, and temperature allowed, I have copied 
 out the entries, some of which are quite illegible ; 
 all ought to be read while they may, they seem to 
 be fast fading.
 
 64 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 On a blank page between the Old Testament 
 and the Apocrapha, are the following six entries, — 
 
 1. Illegible entry. 
 
 2. September 13, 1696. Captains Elliott, my brother-in- 
 lawe dyed att Bruges in fflanderis. 
 
 3. Much blotted entry, difficult to read. 
 
 4. Upon the 14 day of May 1645 my father, ffrancis Glad- 
 stains (1 stanes), being of twentye ane (? nine) years off age & 
 ane leftetennent, was with his Brother, Captaine James Glad- 
 stanes, & other njiie sister sons of Sir William Douglass off 
 Cavers (? Calvers), schjTeff of . , . dale, killed att the battell of 
 Aulderne, fought agst Montrosse. 
 
 Eegarding this entry, Dr. Murray says, "Sister 
 son was a relation often spoken of thus," Douglas 
 to Maclellan of Bomby, " Yonder lies your sister 
 Sonne, but by ill luck he wants the held ; ye are 
 welcome to the body gif ye please." The passage 
 does not distinctly state, or even necessarily imply, 
 that the two Gledstones were sister sons of 
 Douglas of Cavers, though the other nine were. 
 
 5. Upon the 23^1 of Maye 1712 . . . dyde at Jedburgh, and 
 was upon Sunday the 25 buryed yr-
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 65 
 
 6. Upon this twentye eight day of februarie 1713, James 
 
 Haswell [pensioner], In CraUling, Informs me he was 
 
 ane tyme att Barbadoes, and yt my sone, "William Gladstanes, 
 about tenne yeares sen dyed yr, his owne air death in [bed], & 
 was , ... by his mother, who was . . . him ... & under 
 whom he was . . . . as br . . . or (? master) to the ... of 
 
 ane plantatione if he had lived to enjoy it, hot he 
 
 lived only eight months yr. having come thither from Virginia, 
 where for ane tyme he had kepped ane merchands compt books, 
 having first of all, when he went from the (? Hawick t Habkirk) 
 school schoole about fyften year of age, spent two or three years 
 as prentice to Archibald Blyth, wryter & agent in (Edinr ?) yr 
 after went In England and spent some years In ane toun off 
 
 goe from England & take schipping for fflandris 
 
 way the 28 of Apprj-l 169.5 
 
 " This entry made me very curious," tlie Doctor 
 goes on to say, "and I would have liked to have had 
 time to decipher it fully. Barbadoes and Virginia 
 were the ports to which Covenanters were shipped. 
 I hoped to find some such information, though 
 so far as I have read it, it docs not look like that, 
 though the blanks still leave it possible." 
 
 At the top of the page, opposite these six 
 entries, is the following : — 
 
 £
 
 66 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 7. Wpon the 15 of Appryll 1713 Captaine Williame EUott, 
 sone to Captaine Johne [EUott], my wifes brother, dyed of ane 
 (long seikness) at Bruges in fflandris, and was buried in the am 
 (? sam) (? fam. ) . . . with his 
 
 This evidently refers to the son of the Captain 
 Elliot mentioned on the preceding page, who 
 died at the same place. 
 
 8. At beginning of New Test, (back of title-page) is the 
 record of the baptism of Walter Gladstanes himself in Oct. 1642, 
 to which the laird of Gladstanes is a witness ; the record of his 
 marriage with Margt Sinclare at Calder Oct. 1671 ; and of the 
 births of several (? 4 or 5) children, the second being JFilliam, 
 born Oct. 29, 1674 (Thursday), concerning whose subsequent 
 career there is a long memorandum at beginning of the Apocry- 
 pha, showing that he died at Barbadoes about ten years before 
 1713, i.e. soon after 1700, when he would be under 30. 
 
 The entry regarding the eleven men who fell 
 at Auldearn merits some further notice. Tragic 
 though it is, there is no reason to doubt its truth. 
 The Cavers family were zealous friends of the 
 covenant. Indeed, Douglas of Cavers, the Sheriff 
 of Teviotdale, was the first who crossed swords 
 with Montrose, after he took up the royal standard.
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 67 
 
 He was attempting with a body of men to reach 
 the king's friends in the north ; but he was com- 
 pletely defeated near Dumfries, by the Sheriff of 
 Teviotdale. 
 
 Disguised as a groom, and at great peril of his 
 life, for a high price was set on his head, Montrose 
 managed to reach the Highlands and to raise the 
 standard of the king, around which gathered the 
 Gordons and other Highland clans, besides a large 
 number of Irish, commanded by a powerful chief, 
 named Macdonald. The winter was passed amid 
 great hardships ; but, with indomitable courage 
 and daring, combined w^ith his great military 
 skill, he was able with his small and very 
 irregular forces to gain repeated victories. Under 
 these circumstances it became necessary to use 
 every effort to put down this formidable leader. 
 Additional levies were raised for the cove- 
 nant, and Sir John Urry, a good and brave 
 leader, was appointed to the command under 
 the Duke of Argyle. The Duke was no
 
 68 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 doubt a great statesman and a clever diplomatist, 
 but bis talents were not of a military cbaracter, 
 and, as bis judgment was of no use to bim in a 
 battle, be usually fell back on bis instinct of self- 
 preservation. 
 
 Tbe Duke of Argyle, tben, and Sir Jobn Urry 
 were sent into tbe Nortb witb a large body of 
 troops. Montrose migbt well tremble, for bis 
 Higblanders and wild Irish were quite unfit to 
 cope witb well-trained soldiers, especially when 
 accompanied by tbe "musket's motber," as tbey 
 called tbe small field-pieces common at the time. 
 Montrose bad tbe advantage of a strong position 
 on a hillside above the village of Auldearn, and 
 managed to gain a complete victory. Tbe Coven- 
 anters were totally routed, and fled before one of the 
 dashing charges for which Montrose was famous. 
 They were pursued and cut down without mercy by 
 the Gordons, who had been excited to a perfect 
 fury of rage against tbe Covenanters by a most 
 cowardly murder committed by them a few days
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA IV. 69 
 
 before. George Gordon of Eynie, a youth of 
 eighteen, had been wounded in a skirmish, and 
 was removed to the house of a friend, and another 
 gentleman of his clan remained to take care of him. 
 The Covenanters having heard of this, sent out a 
 party under one Captain Smith, who cruelly slew 
 the wounded youth, and left his attendant also for 
 dead. This barbarous deed was fearfully avenged : 
 the Gordons followed the pursuit for miles, and 
 gave no quarter. The Covenanters' loss is vari- 
 ously estimated at from two to three thousand, and 
 of the 12,000 Sir John Urry took with him to 
 the north nearly the whole perished. 
 
 This account of the battle of Auldearn fully 
 corroborates the entry in the Gladstone Bible. 
 
 It is not strange that among the fresh troops 
 raised for the Covenant there should have been 
 some from such staunch friends of the Covenamt 
 as the Cavers family, and of those who went north 
 very few escaped alive. 
 
 The year after the battle of Auldearn, when
 
 70 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 Montrose had been defeated at Philiphaugh, his 
 army cut in pieces, and himseK compelled to seek 
 safety in exile, Sir William Douglas was appointed 
 one of the commissioners to try the Eoyalists who 
 had taken up arms against the Covenant. On the 
 Kestoration of Charles II. Sir William Douglas, 
 his son, was deprived of his hereditary office of 
 Sheriff of Teviotdale for holding to his father's 
 principles. His wife, the good Lady Cavers, as 
 she was called, was one of those who suffered per- 
 secution for their adherence to the Covenant. She 
 was imprisoned in Stirling Castle for two years, 
 and during this period, her husband being dead, 
 and her son a minor, the Cavers estates were man- 
 aged for her by Francis Gledstones of Whytlaw. 
 
 The annals of Hawick contain frequent mention 
 of different members of the family of Gledstones. 
 
 In 1694 Francis Gledstones of Whytlaw gave 
 £20 worth of timber for building the Tolbooth and 
 mounting the steeple where the bell hangs ; and 
 Walter Gledstones, town-clerk, gave £4 in money
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA IV. 71 
 
 for the same purpose. This town-clerk was Gled- 
 stones of Hillisland, the son of the lieutenant who 
 fell at Auldearn, and the owner of the Bible, most 
 of the entries being in his handwriting. He was 
 made town-clerk in 1673, an office which he held 
 till his death in 1718 ; he was succeeded by his 
 son and grandson, and except for a short interval 
 these three Gledstones were town-clerks of Hawick 
 for a period of 110 years. Mr. John Gledstones, 
 the last of the three, kept a public-house, where 
 the civic business of the town was conducted. He 
 left two daughters, but no son. About this 
 time, viz., the beginning of the eighteenth 
 century, the Gledstones gradually disappear from 
 the neighbourhood. Not one of the various 
 properties owned by different branches of the 
 family belong to one of the old name. The 
 Duke of Buccleuch purchased Whytlaw and Hill- 
 island ; Flex became the property of a banker in 
 Hawick ; and we have every reason to believe 
 that these branches of the family became extinct.
 
 72 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 The last authentic notice we have of Gledstones 
 of that Ilk is in 1707, when he obtained leave from 
 the BaUies of Hawick to cart divots off the common. 
 There is also a tradition that he was involved in 
 the Eehellion of 1745, and that his name was erased 
 from the list of those to be tried for treason, through 
 the interest of Mr. Douglas of Cavers. Some 
 members of the family held Jacobite principles ; 
 John Gledstone, town-clerk, was deprived of his 
 of&ce for some time because he would not take the 
 oaths to Government. 
 
 There may have been a Gledstone among those 
 who followed Prince Charlie, but it could not have 
 been Gledstone of that Ilk, who died ten years 
 before. His property passed to heirs-portioners 
 about the year 1734. Hummelknows fell to the 
 share of Scott of Burnhead. Orchard was held by 
 a Mr. Dickson, and was afterwards purchased by 
 Douglas of Cavers. Ormiston passed to Mr. "Walter 
 Elliot, who proceeded to build a mansion-house in 
 1747. I could not ascertain, without a very trouble-
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 73 
 
 some investigation of family papers, which perhaps 
 the owners might not have cared to permit, how 
 these three families came to possess the estate of 
 Coklaw,or what relation they were to Mr.Gledstone, 
 but the inference seems clear that the three heirs, 
 none of them of his own name, were either married 
 daughters or the family of a sister. This would 
 also sufficiently explain the fact that the family 
 aisle at Cavers Clmrch was taken down because 
 no one appeared to claim it. INIarried daughters 
 or sisters would, of course, find their last resting- 
 places among the families into which they had 
 married. "We know how soon the living forget 
 those whom they have laid in the grave ; a few of 
 their nearest and dearest may cherish their 
 memories, but the world forgets them. Their own 
 descendants hear their names with indifference, 
 the old graves are forgotten, the gravestones are 
 neglected, and should they stand in the way of 
 some modern improvement, the ashes of the last 
 generation are ruthlessly and carelessly scattered 
 to the winds.
 
 74 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 The old Church of Cavers, ivy mantled and 
 almost in ruins, stands in an ancient graveyard 
 surrounded by tall, old beech trees, which cast a 
 sombre shadow over the graves even at brightest 
 noon, but in the gloaming it is inexpressibly eerie ; 
 a bird flying to its nest in the branches overhead, 
 or a rabbit scuttling away among the bushes, sets 
 the heart beating quicker, and fills the mind with 
 vague apprehension. The inscriptions on the 
 tombstones are almost obliterated with moss ; the 
 graves hidden with long grass and shrubs. A 
 flight of steps leading to a gallery in the church 
 occupies the site of what was once the Gledstone 
 aisle. For centuries the Gledstones of that Ilk had 
 brought hither their dead — the old man full of 
 years and honours, the youth cut off in his prime, 
 old matrons and little children, and girls "in the 
 bloom of their beauty, all had been laid there ; but 
 at length the old race disappeared, the last of the 
 name had been laid in the hallowed vault ; the 
 relentless yet gentle hand of time began the work
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA JV. 75 
 
 of decay, but its demolition was suddenly com- 
 pleted by the heritors, who swept away the old 
 vault with its poor relics of mortality, to make 
 room for this flight of steps, over which the living 
 unthinkingly trample out the very memories of 
 the dead. 
 
 These notices of the GleJstones, desultory though 
 they are, show that the family had a territorial title 
 600 years ago, derived from an estate in Lanark- 
 shire. They then came into possession of lands in 
 Peeblesshire, and afterwards in Eoxburghshire. 
 
 Gledstones of that Ilk does not appear promin- 
 ently in Border affairs till about the middle of the 
 sixteenth century. About that time the estate 
 of Gladstanes in Lanarkshire passed out of his 
 hands, and became the property of Sir William 
 Menzies. A small property called Arthurshiel im- 
 mediately adjoining the estate of Gledstains, and 
 of which it originally formed a part, was the pro- 
 perty of a younger son of Gledstones of that Ilk, 
 and was still retained by him.
 
 76 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 After this time, Gledstone of that Ilk took up 
 his residence permanently on the Borders, was 
 allied to the most powerful Border families, and 
 took his part in public affairs. He still retained 
 the old title, though, as we have said, the estate of 
 Gledstones, " the Ilk," had passed from him. 
 
 There is not the slightest evidence to show that 
 he held any other property on the Borders save 
 Coklaw, and it will be observed that in all strictly 
 legal documents he is always styled Gledstone of 
 Coklaw, as in the security for the men of Hawick, 
 for Turnbull of Wauchope, etc. In the contract 
 between the Scotts and the Kerrs, Buccleuch in- 
 cludes among his adherents the name of Gledstones 
 of that Ilk ; and in the indictment for the slaughter 
 of Thomas Peebles he is called first by the one 
 title and then by the other, showing beyond a 
 doubt that the two titles belonged to the same 
 person. In the County Valuation-roll the estate of 
 Coklaw is described as the property of the laird of 
 Gladstones, but it never went by that name. We
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA IV. 77 
 
 are therefore driven to the conclusion that the title, 
 " Gledstone of that Ilk," was complimentary rather 
 than substantial — that it was distinctive of the 
 ancient head of the family, and accorded to him 
 by his relations and friends to distinguish him 
 from other branches of the same family, and in 
 remembrance of past dignity, but his proper and 
 lesal title was Gledstone of Coklaw. 
 
 We have seen how the different branches of 
 the family disappeared from our neighbourhood in 
 the middle of the last century, but the line is per- 
 petuated through Gladstone of Artlmrshiel. This 
 was, as I said, a younger son of Gladstone of that 
 Ilk, who remained in Lanarkshire after the elder 
 branch settled on the Borders. William, the first 
 Gladstone of Artlmrshiel of whom we have any 
 record, died about 1565. His son, grandson, and 
 great-grandson, held the property in succession 
 down to the year 1670, when it was sold to James 
 Brown of Edmiston. The son of the last laird of 
 Arthursliiel removed to Biggar, and commenced
 
 78 THE GLEDSTONES AND 
 
 business as a maltman. A very large trade in 
 malting was carried on in Biggar at that time ; the 
 population numbered only about eleven or twelve 
 hundred, yet there were no fewer than fourteen 
 malting establishments in active operation. 
 
 This William Gladstone, the first of the family 
 we hear of in trade, died about the year 1728, and 
 was interred in the old family burying-place in 
 Liberton Churchyard. His son John succeeded 
 him in business. He was much respected in his 
 native town, and took an active part in all public 
 matters. By industry and prudence he acquired 
 means to purchase the farm of Mid Toft Crofts, 
 which he retained in his own possession till his 
 death in 1756, leaving a family of five sons and six 
 daughters. Thomas, the fourth son, left Biggar and 
 settled as a corn-merchant in Leith. He was 
 rather roughly handled by the mob in the bread 
 riots in 1800. He was successful in business, and 
 made a good deal of money. His son John went 
 to Liverpool, where he embarked in the West India
 
 THE SIEGE OF COKLA W. 79 
 
 trade, and after a long and prosperous career lie 
 acquired a very large fortune, purchased the estate 
 of Fasque, and was created a baronet in 1846, thus 
 raising the Gladstone family to their old position 
 among the landed aristocracy of the country. But 
 it remained for the third son of this baronet to 
 render the old name illustrious. 
 
 There is not in the whole civilised world a 
 prouder or more honourable position than that of 
 Prime Minister of England. William Ewart Glad- 
 stone held that high position for years with credit 
 and honour, both to himself and to the great 
 political party of which he was the leader and 
 representative. As a ripe scholar and eminent 
 writer, as an orator and statesman, his name is 
 known wherever the English language is spoken. 
 It would ill become me to make any remarks 
 on the career of a man who is yet in the zenith of 
 his fame. Abler pens than mine will write his 
 biography ; and perhaps the Hawick people may
 
 to THE GLEDSTONES. 
 
 feel proud to claim a distant connection with him 
 through " little Gledstone, good at need," and the 
 old family who for centuries were their near 
 neighbours. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Printed by R. & R. Clark, Eainburgh.
 
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