NOTE IX. Since old Buccleuch the name did gain, When in the cleuch the buck was ta'en.-P. 112. A tradition, preserved by Scott of Satchells, who published, in 1688, A true History of the right Honourable Name of Scott, gives the following romantic origin of that name. Two brethren, natives of Galloway, having been banished from that country for a riot, or insurrection, came to Rankelburn, in Ettricke forest, where the keeper, whose name was Brydone, received them joyfully, on account of their skill in winding the horn, and in the other mysteries of the chase.-Kenneth Mac-Alpin, then king of Scotland, came soon after to hunt in the royal forest, and pursued a buck from Ettrickeheuch to the glen now called Buckleuch, about two miles above the junction of Rankelburn with the river Ettricke. Here the stag stood at bay; and the king and his attendants, who followed on horseback, were thrown out by the steepness of the hill and the morass. John, one of the brethren from Galloway, had followed the chase on foot; and now coming in seized the buck by the horns, and, being a man of great strength and activity, threw him on his back, and run with his burden about a mile up the steep hill, to a place called Cracra-Cross, where Kenneth had halted, and laid the buck at the sovereign's feet.* The deer being curee'd in that place, Then John of Galloway ran apace, Froissart relates, that a knight of the household of the Compte de Foix exhibited a similar feat of strength. The hall-fire had waxed low, and wood was wanted to mend it. The knight went down into the court-yard, where stood an ass laden with faggots, seized on the ani mal and his burden, and. carrying him up to the hall or his shoulders tumbled him into the chimney with his heels uppermost ; a humane pleasantry, much applauded by the Count and all the spectators. The king did wash into a dish, The forest, and the deer therein, And for the buck thou stoutly brought Be John Scot in Buckscleuch." In Scotland no Buckcleuch was then, Because moon and stars, to their arms they bear. Shews their beginning from hunting came; Watt's Bellanden. "Minions of the moon," as Falstaff would have said. The vocation pursued by our ancient Borderers may be justified on the authority of the most polished of the ancient nations: "For the Grecians in old time, and such barbarians as in the continent lived neere unto the sea, or else inhabited the islands, after once they begun to crosse over one to another in ships; became theeves, and went abroad under the conduct of their more puissant men, both to enrich themselves,and to fetch in maintenance for the weak; and falling upon towns unfortified, or scatteringly inha bited, rifled them, and made this the best means of their living; being a matter at that time no where in disgrace, but rather carrying with it something of glory. This is manifest by some that dwell upon the continent, amongst whom, so it be performed nobly, it is still esteemed as an ornament. The same is also proved by some of the an cient poets, who introduced men questioning of such as sail by, on all coasts alike, whether they be theeves or not; as a thing neyther scorned by such as were asked, nar up« The Buccleuch arms have been altered, and now allude less pointedly to this hunting, whether real or fabulous. The family now bear Or upon a bend azure, a mullet betwixt two crescents of the field; in addition to which, they formerly bore in the field a hunting horn. The supporters, now two ladies, were formerly a bound and buck, or, according to the old terms a hart of leash and a hart of greece. The family of Scott of Howpasley and Thirlestaine long retained the buglehorn: they also carried a bent bow and arrow in the sinister cantle, perhaps as a difference. It is said the motto was-Best riding by moonlight, in allusion to the crescents on the shield, and perhaps to the habits of those who bore it. The motto now given is Amo, applying to the female supporters. NOTE X. old Albert Græme, The minstrel of that ancient name.-P. 113. "John Grahame, second son of Malice, Earl of Monteith, commonly sirnamed John with the Bright Sword, upon some displeasure risen against him at court, retired with many of his clan and kindred, into the English Borders, in the reign of King Henry the Fourth, where they seated themselves; and many of their posterity have continued there ever since. Mr. Sanford speaking of them, says (which indeed was applicable to most of the Borderers on both sides), "They were all stark moss-troopers, and arrant thieves: Both to England and Scotland outlawed; yet sometimes connived at, because they gave intelligence forth of Scotland, and braided by those that were desirous to know. They also robbed one another within the main land; and much of Greece useth that old custome, as the Locrians, the Acarnanians, and those of the continent in that quarter unto this day. Moreover, the fashion of wearing iron remaineth yet with the people of that continent, from their old trade of theeving."-Hobbes' Thucydides, p. 4. Lond. 1629. would raise 400 horse at any time upon a raid of the English into Scotland. A saying is recorded of a mo ther to her son (which is now become proverbial), Ride Rowley, hough's i the pot ; that is, the last piece of beef was in the pot, and therefore it was high time for him to go and fetch more."—Introduction to the History of Cumberland. The residence of the Græmes being chiefly in the Debatable Land, so called because it was claimed by both kingdoms, their depredations extended both to England and Scotland, with impunity; for as both wardens accounted them the proper subjects of their own prince, neither inclined to demand reparation for their excesses from the opposite officers, which would have been an acknowledgment of his jurisdiction over them. See a long correspondence on this subject be twixt Lord Dacre and the English Privy Council, in Introduction to History of Cumberland. The Debat able Land was finally divided betwixt England and Scotland, by commissioners appointed by both nations. NOTE XI. The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall.-P. 114. This burden is adopted, with some alteration, from an eld Scottish song beginning thus: She leaned her back against a thorn, The sun shines fair on Carlisle wa'; NOTE XII. Who has not heard of Surrey's fame.-P. 115. The gallant and unfortunate Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, was unquestionably the most accomplished cavalier of his time; and his sonnets display beauties which would do honour to a more polished age. He was beheaded on Tower-hill, in 1546; a victim to the mean jealousy of Henry VIII. who could not bear so brilliant a character near his throne. The song of the supposed bard is founded on an incident said to have happened to the Earl in his travels. Cornelius Agrippa, the celebrated alchymist, showed him, in a looking-glass, the lovely Geraldine, to whose service he had devoted his pen and his sword. The vision represented her as indisposed, and reclined upon a couch, reading her lover's verses by the light of a waxe en taper. NOTE XIII. The storm-swept Orcades; Where erst St. Clairs held princely sway, The St. Clairs are of Norman extraction, being descended from William de St. Clair, second son of Wal derne Compte de St. Clair, and Margaret, daughter to Richard Duke of Normandy. He was called, for his fair deportment, the Seemly St. Clair; and settling in Scotland during the reign of Malcolm Ceanmore, ob tained large grants of land in Mid-Lothian. These domains were increased by the liberality of succeeding monarchs to the descendants of the family, and comprehended the baronies of Roseline, Pentland, Cowsland, Cardaine, and several others. It is said a large addition was obtained from Robert Bruce, on the fol lowing occasion: The king, in following the chase upon Pentland hills, had often started a "white faunch deer," which had always escaped from his hounds; and he asked the nobles, who were assembled around him, whether any of them had dogs, which they thought might be more successful. No courtier would affirms that his hounds were fleeter than those of the king until Sir William St. Clair of Roseline unceremoniously said,he would wager his head that his two favourite dogs, Help and Hold, would kill the deer before she could cross the March-burn. The king instantly caught at his unwary offer, and betted the forest of Pentland, |