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QUERY. BORDER SURNAME-LAIDLAW. Any informa tion in connection with the origin of this surname is requested. In an MS. Book of Arms in the Advocates' Library, the arms appear as follows:on a field sable, three bezants or. The bezant was a gold coin of Byzantium or Constantinople supposed to have been brought to this country by the Crusaders. In this MS. the name is spelt "Ladylye." In the North of England the name changes to Ladly" and "Laidly," and farther south to "Ludlow." The arms of the name "Ludlow " appear to be :-on a field sable, three bezants or, with a chevron or. Cosmo-Innes includes the name in a list of "Place names," and probably it has some connection with the town of Ludlow in England. It has been long established in the Forest, and I shall be obliged for any information in regard to the settlement of the name there.

REPLIES.

J.K.L.

U.P. Manse,

"LUCY'S FLITTIN'."- Comrie, May 9th, 1896. Dear Sir. I notice in the pages of the B.M., my old school-fellow, "Tweedside Laddie," has raised the question as to the scene of "Lucy's Flittin'." Into all the evidence that can be adduced in favour of the Glen I do not mean to enter, but it may help the solution of the matter if I mention the following facts. My father went from Selkirk to the Glen in the year 1854, and was there employed for many years in laying out the grounds of the estate. The head forester Mr. David Bauld, at that time a man of at least 50 years of age, pointed out the elm tree under which Lucy rested. That tree my father's workmen uprooted, and from it my father had a table made which is still in his possession. My father also tells me, that an old couple of Traquair worthies, viz., "Souter Jock and his sister Effie," and indeed, all the old people who lived in sight of "The Bush aboon Traquair” had no doubt whatever that the scene of "Lucy's Flittin'," was the Glen.

WILLIAM HALL.

If the scenery of a place is to be taken as a proof of the scene of any poem or story, then the Glen near Innerleithen proves itself to be the scene of "Lucy's Flittin'." Anyone who has seen the Glen may be able to say, "there is the road doon the burn-side, there are the birks shedding their leaves in autumn over the stream, and there also in summer the wild-pea blooms in profusion on the hill-sides." Of course, one might argue it to be some other place. Most out-bye places, such as are to be found at the head of Yarrow, have the roads running up to them along the burn-side. On upland braes the wild-pea is sure to be found, and near some solitary shepherd's cot a birk-tree may doubtless shed its leaves.

We think that your correspondent is wrong in his argument. If he is acquainted with the wild heathy hills around the Glen, he will know that

weeps, or is it peesweeps? are as sure to be

seen there as at Douglas Burn; and as for the crows, if there was a potato garden at the house up Douglas Burn, they would be as sure to be seen there as at the Glen. We also think that his argument about Jamie buying the ribbon at a shop in Innerleithen, is weak. It is more probable that Jamie bought it from some pether-a packman. Such is a common custom among country lads when they want to treat their lasses.

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J. R.

THE GONIAL BLAST.-We think that your correspondent is mis-informed concerning the "Gonial Blast," although gonial may be applied to the flock of sheep which have died, yet in Border Scotch, such is not the meaning of the word, "Gonial." 'Gonial," or "A Gonial" means "a blustering, daft sort of fellow"; what one might call a blethering blust. Now, the blast came in such a gusty, blusty sort of way, that people ever afterwards called it "The Gonial Blast," from the nature of it. That this is the true meaning, we have but to refer to the words of those who experienced it. I have heard my father tell that when he was a boy, he was acquainted with an old man, the Laird o' Burnswark, who had passed through it, and such was the reason he said, why people called it the "Gonial Blast." Perhaps the flesh of sheep which have died, takes the name, gonial, from the blast, and not, as your correspondent writes, the blast the name from the flesh of sheep which have died.

But as to the blast, this old man I write of, said that it was not so much the amount of snow which fell that destroyed the sheep, although the amount was great, but the sudden thaw which came close after the snow-storm. Most of the shepherds had their sheep gathered to the stalls for shelter against the fury of the storm. The stalls in those days were mostly all placed, like the houses, on flat ground near a burn-side. The sudden thaw came in the night. The snow stemmed the burns. The burns over-flowed their banks and swept sheep and stalls away. The shepherds who thought they had their sheep safe, found when they awoke in the morning that their sheep were all gone.

There is a story told about the herd of the Woolock. He was boasting to some of his neighbour herds, who had lost a few sheep, that he had all his; but the thaw came in the night, and the flood swept all his sheep and the stall at which they were standing, away; the flood only leaving as it swept on, one pack-hogg, sticking in the cleft of a birk-tree. It was living when the herd found it, but through the exposure it had suffered, it also died, and the herd of the Woolock lost all his sheep. J. R.

TAE. In no part of Scotland is this word used to represent the preposition to. Braid Scots is a most correct language, and does not duplicate words. In speech, we only lightly touch the T when using the word, and no writer of any standing, with the exception of Ian Maclaren whose maltreatment of Scotch spelling is notorious, uses tae except in its proper place, and that is instead of too. One example will suffice-If ye'r gaun to Melrose, I'm gaun tae.”

Leister,

Glasgow: Carter & Pratt, Printers.

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THE pilgrim who has been wandering among

the pastoral solitudes of Yarrow, may, by traversing a mountain pass, reach the beginnings of the Quair, and so enter upon an entire change of scenery. Following the little stream, he passes the two lofty shelving cliffs known as the Glendean Banks, and after giving due attention to these geological curiosities, he descends to one of the loveliest valleys in Borderland. Sunny slopes, verdant meadows, pine woods, and glancing waters, hemmed in on all sides by "the greenest hills shone on by the sun," make a fit setting for that noble specimen of Scottish Baronial architecture known far and wide as "The Glen House."

The inhabitants of this beauteous vale, after expatiating on the grandeur of the "Big Hoose" and the kind heartedness of its owner, will return to the ever-popular topic which has had considerable prominence in the Border Magazine, by asserting that this is the scene of "Lucy's Flittin'." As we are of the same opinion, we will not occupy further space by discussing the question, but will endeavour, in a few words, to place before our readers an appreciation of Sir Charles Tennant, Bart., the proprietor of the beautiful estate upon which we are now supposed to be standing. The whole feel of the place is bright and cheerful, and there is not the slightest taint of feudalism in the atmosphere. owner, while enjoying the privileges of wealth,

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also understands thoroughly its responsibilities, and has bestowed much thought and care on the welfare of those on the estate, the beauties of which he permits the public to enjoy freely. Popular in Belgravia, he is also a persona grata with the people at home, for absenteeism-one of the curses of modern times-finds no place in his rule of life.

The first time I heard Sir Charles Tennant speak at any length in public was about 1868, when he read to an audience in Innerleithen Thackeray's sarcastic essay on George IV. Though I was but a youth at the time, and have never read the essay since, I have a distinct recollection of many of the points in it, and the admirable way in which the reader placed before us the wonderful sarcasm of the author. Since then I have had many opportunities of witnessing Sir Charles Tennant's readiness in furthering the interests of the public by word, deed, or donation.

Like Mr. Andrew Lang, the subject of our sketch is an enthusiastic golfer, as will be seen from the following quotation from a speech recently delivered at the opening of the Innerleithen Golf Club House. After referring to the special excellence of the course over which he had often played, Sir Charles said :

I am the oldest member amongst you, and I am also the oldest golfer. I began golf five-and-forty years ago at St. Andrews, when Allan Robertson

kept the links, and Tom Morris, who is now called "the Veteran Tom," assisted him. That was before Tom had links of his own. There was no club house then, but we used to meet in the old innparlour and arrange our games and matches. The captain of the club was Major Playfair, who was as keen as possible, I believe as keen a golfer as ever held a club. He wore a top hat, and something like a dress-coat with pockets at the sides, and he played golf in this costume. I look back on those days with pleasure. I remember the first time I ever hit a ball, I wrote to my father, who was an enthusiastic golfer, saying I had found a new pleasure. That pleasure has not ceased. I am still as keen a golfer as ever. My eye is not so clear nor my arm so strong, but my interest and pleasure remain unaltered. I am getting old now,

I remember going through all the drills, and how much I enjoyed and appreciated the old DrillSergeant who took care of me. In those days the drill-sergeants were old soldiers. Instead

of the bright red tunics, we were dressed in sombre grey; and we had the old Enfield rifles with percussion caps. Now you have the Martini-Henri, and I understand that you are soon to get even a better weapon. I am quite sure that the time you spend in the Volunteer force will be of value to you all. In the first place it has a good physical effect, and it has also a fine moral effect. It makes men feel their dependence upon one another, and it teaches them obedience. I think every young man should be a Volunteer. My father joined the Volunteers when he was sixty-four years old, and he worked away till he was Colonel of the Volunteers in Glasgow.

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but I trust when I am gone you will think with pleasure of the old man who opened this Club House.

Sir Charles' intense interest in this Scottish game, which has now fairly captured the world, may be seen in the fact that he is President of the Innerleithen Golf Club and of the Border Golfers' Association, while it would be difficult to enumerate all the clubs with which he is connected.

The volunteer movement has always found a warm supporter in Sir Charles Tennant, who assisted in the formation of the Innerleithen and Walkerburn Company, and was appointed its first captain. In presenting the Long Service medals recently to several members of that Company he said :

T. Colledge, Innerleithen.

While the hospitable doors of the Glen House have ever been open to men of all political creeds, many of the prominent politicians, including Mr. Gladstone, Lord Rosebery, Mr. Balfour, and Mr. Asquith, having been honoured guests there, Sir Charles Tennant has ever been a true and consistent Liberal. In 1879

he was elected to fill a vacancy in the representation of Glasgow, and at the General Election of the following year, his return by the same constituency would have been a certainty, but at the request of the Liberal Association he agreed to contest the United Counties of Peebles and Selkirk, which had long been a secure Conservative seat. The fight was one of the stiffest in that stirring election, but the

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