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the battle of Ulundi became useless owing to the dulness of the weather. At the same time it was highly important that a certain communication should be made, and in these circumstances Lieutenant Scott-Douglas started to ride through the enemy's country to deliver it. He was accompanied by an escort, but the horses of the escort being tired out, he decided to send them back, and himself pushed on upon his pony, accompanied only by a corporal of lancers. The message was duly delivered, but on his return journey Lieutenant Scott-Douglas and his companion were fallen upon by a band of Zulus, and, after gallantly defending themselves, were slain with assegais. The bodies were recovered and buried at Kwamagwasa, Zululand, which was visited, after peace had been made, by Sir George Douglas, the

father, who

erected me

morials to

mark their resting place Lieutenant Scott-Douglas was widely mourned, being respected by all who knew him for his high and spotless character, and beloved for his kindly, unselfish, and affectionate disposition.

The young- Photo by Mackintosh and Co., er son, on

HOPE.

It will not be in this life, love;

Who knows that it will not be? There are regions below, there are realms above, For the souls that Death sets free: Who can tell but our spirits, separate As long as these lips have breath, May rush together-free to mate,

On the other side of Death?

In 1881, he published a novel, now disowned, of which he has not told me so much as the name. In 1886 appeared "The Fireside Tragedy," a play with appended poems, a well written, smoothly going tale of love and intrigue, at the commencement of which, we have a very seasonable and dainty picture of an interior of a North Country kitchen of an old-fashioned farm

SPRINGWOOD PARK WITH RUIN OF ROXBURGH CASTLE.

the death of his father, subsequent to that of his brother, became the proprietor of Springwood Park. A young lad about 20-at the time alluded to above, having been born on the 22nd of December, 1856-he is now the subject of this short sketch. I little thought then that I was preaching to a lad who was to write for me when I was Editor of The Scots Magazine, with graphic intensity, fidelity, insight into nature, and delightful descriptive power "The New Border Tales": any more than I thought I would twenty years afterwards write a sketch of him in a new Border Magazine. Sir George Douglas' first publication was "A Love's Gamut," a little volume mainly composed of love-poems, from which I quote this fine aspiration named

Kelso.

house at Christmastime, where we see Davy snatching a kiss under the misletoe

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from

Prudence and receiving back a box on the ear"There's to teach 'ee manners

Davy, my lad, and a proper respect for your betters.' And we

hear Davy as he rubs

his cheek soliloquising-"It's a proper piece o' woman's flesh, and that's the truth; but there's a sharp tongue along with it, I doubt, and a heavy hand; that there is and no mistake." "The New Border Tales" ran through The Scots Magazine, as I have mentioned under my Editorship in 1893, and appeared as a volume immediately after. immediately after. The book is dedicated in a charming piece of writing to George Landels, Sir George's gamekeeper at Springwood Park, to whom he expresses his indebtedness, asking "are not several of the tales yours as much as, if not more than, mine?" They were companions in sport, and companions in story-telling and folklore; and I give these pleasant words to show Sir George as a country gentleman as well as

a story-teller: "Wading, angle in hand, in the shallow streams of Teviot, wandering on Sundays on their well-beloved sylvan banks; watching beside a rabbit burrow, by some tree root in the grass-parks, when your ferret Nean, persistently 'lay in;' tramping over many a sea of turnips coloured like the ocean and not much less wet; seated in the cabin by the pheasant-rearing ground in summer, or as we worked together twisting wire for snares upon a winter's night, we gave these stories their shape."

Besides these Sir George Douglas has edited, with charmingly written introductions and the cunning power of an expert Anthologist, "Scottish Minor Poets," Contemporary Scottish Verse," "Burns' Love Songs," "Scottish Folk and Fairy

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the Border land gained in walking, riding, and driving-tours and in cruises between the Farne Islands and St. Abbs in a tiny yacht. Besides being a most accomplished scholar, a born storyteller, a fine poet, an able critic, Sir George is a very popular country gentleman. Classical literature is his delight, and he is passionately fond of nature and country life in general. cultivates, this goes without saying, the most pleasant relations with his tenants, servants, and the peasantry. Altogether he is a charming man leading a charming life, full of learned leisure yet crowded with the incessant studies of his special pursuits. Long may he, and such as he, adorn the dear and beautiful Border land.

He

The Edinburgh Borderers' Union.

INSTITUTED 1874.

BY STUART DOUGLAS ELLIOT, S.S.C.,

SECRETARY.

DINBURGH being conveniently situated and having a variety of outlets for pushing and ambitious young men, naturally attracts the more enterprising youth of the Borders, and here we find settled a very large number of Borderers. As might be expected from the old Border spirit and traditions which they inherit, they have made their mark as citizens and are to be found well to the front in all ranks and in all professions. Four, if not five, of the Judges of the Supreme Court have

Border ancestors, two of them,—Lord Stormonth-Darling, and Lord Low,-being true Borderers. A late Lord Provost, Sir John Boyd, was of Hawick ancestry. No fewer than six of the present Town Councillors and the Town Clerk are Members of this Union, while several other Councillors, including a Bailie, are eligible for membership, and on its roll are three Ex-Bailies and several Ex-Councillors. Many of the leading ministers, doctors, and lawyers, as well as University professors, teachers, merchants, contractors and tradesmen are connected with the Borders. Besides these, there is a large number of Border men and women pushing their fortunes and earning a livelihood in the city.

With such a large field to work in, it was only natural that the proverbial clannishness of the Scottish Borderer should assert itself, and no doubt many canty gatherings of old friends took place in the city long prior to 1865, in which year the Edinburgh Border Counties Association was established. That association did, and is still doing much good work, but it was felt that it did not occupy the whole field. Prior to 1874 a desire was frequently expressed to have an Annual Social Meeting at which Borderers of both sexes and of every age and class might gather round the festive board. Accordingly Mr. John Telfer, the present highly respected president of the Union, after ventilating the subject in a series of letters to the Border newspapers in the autumn of 1874, called a meeting at which an enthusiastic committee was formed with the result that a most successful soiree was held in the Waverley Hall, on 9th December, 1874. The late Thomas Knox, Esq., J.P., a well known public man, an enthusiastic Borderer, and, at the time, Chairman of the Council of the Border Counties Association, presided, and it was then resolved to form this Union.

The objects of the Union, are:-1, To promote friendly intercourse among Borderers residing in or near Edinburgh. 2,To cultivate a kindly interest in young Borderers who come to reside in Edinburgh; to assist those who may be in search of employment, and to make such friendships as shall be conducive to both their temporal and spiritual interests. 3, To afford assistance to Borderers whether members or not, who may stand in need of assistance and advice; and 4, To further the Educational interests of the Borders by the distribution of school prizes or otherwise. All who are

natives of, or relatively connected with the Counties of Roxburgh, Berwick or Selkirk, or the Town of Berwick-on-Tweed are eligible for Membership.

The success of the Union has far exceeded the expectations of the promoters. The membership at present considerably exceeds 800 and is being constantly added to. The increase last year was over 200. Besides giving pecuniary and other aid to those in difficulty, the Union in 1875 published a centenary edition of Leyden's Poems which met with a large and speedy sale. In 1881, it was the means of prompting the publication of a cheap edition of Mrs. Gordon's "Home Life of Sir David Brewster" which was well received by the members and the general public. At various times prizes for essays and school prizes have been distributed. For 22 years in succession an Annual Soiree has been held in the beginning of December, and the attendance at the last nearly reached 700. General Meetings have also been held in March, July and October during these years, and lectures have been delivered on many interesting subjects by, amongst others, the late Professor Blackie, Professor Geikie, Professor Hislop, Dr. David Pryde, &c. The July meeting takes the form of a picnic at some interesting place in the vicinity of Edinburgh, at which Border games are played and prizes competed for. The attendance has steadily risen until in 1895, it reached 400. In 1889, Monthly Social Evenings during the winter months were instituted, and these have gradually increased in importance until the average attendance is not much short of 200. Special and interesting programmes of songs, recitations, lectures, etc., are now arranged for these evenings, and one, and sometimes two of these meetings yearly are specially devoted to children. In the same year, and in connection with these meetings, a reference Library of Border Literature was established. A number of volumes has been presented, but others would be welcome. In 1890, Annual Border Excursions, on the Queen's Birthday holiday, were introduced and have been extremely popular. All the most interesting Border districts are being visited in turn. In 1893, a scheme was inaugurated for giving prizes to encourage the younger members, and Border children generally, to read and study Border literature. In 1894, achoir was formed in connection with the Union, and on 1st November, 1895, Reading Rooms were opened in St. Cuthbert's Hotel, 73 Lothian Road, at which all the Border newspapers and a number of the leading weekly and monthly publications are to be found, and to which members have free admission every night from 7t010 o'clock. The Annual Report, with list of members, last year extended to 48 closely printed pages.

The yearly subscription is 2/6 for adult male members, and 1/6 for ladies and young men under 21. When more than one of a family are members, the subscription for each after the first is I/. Life Members are charged £2 2s. for gentlemen, and LI IS. for ladies. The ordinary subscriptions last year amounted to £50 11s. and the Life Members subscriptions to £4 4s.

The management is in the hands of a President, two Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, and a Committee of 15.

Each Member or committee takes charge of a city district and is assisted in the collection of subscriptions by a lady collector or collectors. There are also a number of Patrons, and Honorary President, and Vice-Presidents, and a Council has recently been established as a sort of Second Chamber to which Members of Committee and others who have done good service may retire. The President, Mr. Telfer, has been an office-bearer from the commencement, and is recognised as the Father and Founder of the Union. To his wise counsels and constant watchfulness much of its success is due.

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A Tweedside Village.

HE Borderland! What a host of old-world tales and romances the word brings to our mind, of the time when it was the true debateable land-not of some vague thought or theory, but of stern, and more often, bloody fact. The land of battles, sieges, raids, and robberies, when every man learned of necessity to know not only the best means of making war against, and driving back the common enemy, the Southron, but how to keep his byre and hearthstane intact from the very pressing attentions of his own countrymen.

The ordinary stranger's first visit to a Border district is to a certain extent a surprise. Instead of the barren and desolate landscape he had expected to see, dotted here and there with grim and ruined keeps, he feasts his eyes on stretches of rich pasture-land, well wooded and watered, and for the most part cultivated by the dwellers in the many thriving farm-houses he beholds in every direction.

One of the most typical of Border villages is the little fishing centre of St. Boswells, situated some mile and a half from Newtown Station on the main line between Edinburgh and Carlisle.

Newtown itself is purely a business place, being not only an important junction, but the scene of some of the largest lamb sales held in the country, mainly owing to the facility with which dealers from the various farming districts are able to meet and transact business. But in the village of St. Boswells proper, such disturbing elements are practically unknown, save when occasionally a flock of sheep being driven from the sale across the village green to some outlying farm, serves to remind the villagers that, after all, they are not altogether removed from the busy haunts of men.

The village itself is one which, for picturesque beauty, has few rivals. It has one characteristic which even the inhabitants themselves do not realise, namely, the Tweed. For a native to talk intelligibly for half-an-hour without mentioning the historic stream, is as great an impossibility as it is for a camel to pass through the eye of the proverbial needle.

Thus when we leave the village green and begin to enter the village itself, do not imagine because you are ascending a rather steep incline, that you are going up the village. By no means you are proceeding down the village. Feeling considerably mystified myself as to the origin of this, I consulted a local oracle, only to have my curiosity rudely shaken, and my ignorance exposed at one and the

same time by his most contemptuous remark, "Man, do ye no see, it's doon Tweed"? The bare idea of imagining anything in direct opposition to the rule of Tweed, was in the eyes of this rustic philosopher a species of sacrilege.

Further, should you feel disposed to take an interest in the commercial welfare of the village, and ask one of the local tradesmen how things in general are progressing, you will probably be told that "There's no much doin'. She's ower heavy, an' ye canna get wadin'."

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She" here stands for the Tweed. The strangeness of this species of water-worship speedily passes off, however, and in an incredibly short time the stranger accepts the new creed, and from that time forward looks upon the river as a mysterious influence governing the actions and morals of the community. Above all he must never forget to allude respectfully to the liquid deity as "She."

In the evenings when sitting in the back kitchen of the little public-house, the conversation runs eternally on the same lines: "the flees that are takin'," or when "the flees that are no takin' the noo wull be takin'." Whether Jock Robson really got "twal pun" the preceding night, whether "onybody saw the tak'' or in other words"whether or no Jock's a leear." It is not so much that they can't get away from the subject, as that they don't wish to get away.

In order to appreciate this to the full, and understand in part what is indefinitely called the sadness of a summer evening, it is necessary to seek Tweed in the gloaming. Leaving the village by a footpath running through a field of corn, we presently find ourselves on the Braeheads from which one of the finest views in the country is obtained.

Abler pens than ours have described the panorama, but it is impossible to put into words the influence exerted on our minds by the surroundings. It may be, as our glance is arrested by the sight of Dryburgh, that the feeling is intensified when we remember that there lies the dust of one who loved better than most the beauty of the Borders, but even the most cynical of us lowers his voice involuntarily, as if in the presence of some unknown power.

The mysterious twilight, and the incessant murmur of the stream beneath our feet, seem also to have subdued the villagers themselves, as they lounge about slowly, just as they have done for years. Their conversation even is carried on in semiwhispers. Scrambling down through a little wood we find ourselves on the haugh, where probably three or four of the village anglers, assembled for the night fishing, are indulging in a smoke and a chat before commencing.

One by one, however, they stroll off either up or down stream. Leaving them to their solitary vigil we betake ourselves back to the village. In many cases these men will fish all night for three or four consecutive nights, and although we may scoff at them and what they call pleasure, in all probability they derive more wholesome amusement from the exercise, and solitary communion with their own thoughts than we do who dwell in cities, and take our exercise in the over-heated atmosphere of a crowded ballroom.

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A Poet of the Yarrow.

IKE Cæsar's Gaul and the generality of Scots sermons, the poetry and song of the Scottish Border may fitly be said to be divided into three parts. There is first the great collection of old ballads, the origins of many of which are lost in antiquity, but which have been handed down by oral tradition through many generations-ballads which at one time only precariously existed in the memories of "the old wives of Liddesdale" and were crooned over by the light of smouldering peat fires to while away the winter evenings, and which Sir Walter Scott made it one of his early literary efforts to collect and permanently record.

The second consists in that great outburst of poetry which characterised the last three decades of last century and the first three of the present.

Engendered, hangs o'er Eildon's triple height.
Spirits of power assembled there complain
For kindred power departing from their sight,
While Tweed, best pleased in chanting a blythe strain,
Saddens his voice again and yet again.

Lift up your heads, ye mourners, for the might
Of the whole world's good wishes with him goes.
Blessings and prayers, in nobler retinue
Than sceptred king or laurelled conqueror knows,
Follow this wondrous potentate. Be true,
Ye winds of ocean and the midland sea,
Wafting your charge to soft Parthenope."

For forty years after the decease of Scott a literary dearth existed in Scotland, and the lean kine of literature were in the land, but the last few years have shown signs of a revival and now we have a school of writers so much concerned with "the little things of life" in so far as they relate to the Scottish peasantry, as to have received at the hands of a caustic Scotsman the appellation of the "Kail

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Photo by Valentine and Co., Dundee.

These sixty years were a period rich, not only in the literary annals of the Borders, but of Scotland itself. Sir Walter in his little room at Ashiestiel was writing "Marmion," James Hogg pursuing his avocation on the breezy uplands of Ettrick was imbibing the inspiration which produced "The Queen's Wake;" William Laidlaw, Scott's amanuensis, was writing "Lucy's Flittin';" that strange rugged genius John Leyden was writing his wonderful imitations of the old ballads and his "Scenes of Infancy;" and William Wordsworth was making those excursions which gave us his fine poems on Yarrow, and the equally fine sonnet which he wrote on the eve of Sir Walter Scott's departure for Italy on what turned out to be a fruitless search for renewed health.

"A trouble, not of clouds or weeping rain,
Nor of the setting sun's pathetic light

yaird School." Concurrent with this revival there has arisen a new group of Border poets. The writers who compose that group may not be Wordsworths and Tennysons, and they may not have seen

"That light which never was on land or sea." but, nevertheless their work has many pleasant qualities which place it far above what Canon Ainger has termed "literary confectionery;" qualities which, to pursue the simile further, make it almost a part of the solid loaf of good literature.

Among these writers may be mentioned John Campbell Shairp the author of the "Bush aboon Traquair"; Professor Veitch the poet of "The Tweed"; Andrew Lang who has written with the enthusiasm of affection, of "the elms of Yair" and "the streams that circle Fernilea"; Thomas Davidson the Scottish Probationer, and many other lesser lights.

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