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This marriage unquestionably gave to the Lords Napier, as Scott of Thirlestane, the lineage of Buccleuch ; but it would be still more interesting to prove that Thirlestane was originally a male cadet of that distinguished and romantic house.

All the genealogical accounts agree in this, and are corroborated by the records, that the Scotts of Thirlestane were in ancient times Scotts of Howpaslot. Their male lineage can be traced upwards from Lord Napier to Walter Scott of Howpaslot, whose name occurs in the records so early as 1493. Nesbit gives the descent of Howpaslot from an Arthur Scott of Eskdale, for whose existence I can find no authority. Walter Scott of Satchells, author of the curious metrical " History of the right honourable name of Scot," in whose rude pages may be discovered a germ or two of the polished Lay of the last Minstrel, repeatedly asserts that Walter Scott of Howpaslot was the son of William Scott, of the house of Buccleuch, which statement is perfectly consistent with unquestionable records. Satchells lived in the time of Sir Francis Scott, in whose person the armorial augmentation was renewed by King William. Sir Francis appears to have been a friend and patron of Satchells, who dedicates part of his book to him, and "To the truely worthy, honourable, and right worshipful Sir Francis Scot of Thirlston, Knight, Baronet, wishes earth's honour and Heaven's happiness." The poet, indeed, by his own account, was nearly related to his patron, for he says, in a short prefatory account of himself, "it is known that I am a gentleman by parentage, but my father having dilapidated and engaged the estate by cautionry, having many children, was

not in a capacity to educate us at school after the death of my grandfather Sir Robert Scot of Thirlstone; my father living in a highland in Esdail-muir, and having no rent at that time, nor means to bring us up, except some bestial, wherefore, instead of breeding me at schools, they put me to attend beasts in the field; but I gave the short cut at last, and left the kine in the corn, and ever since that time I have continued a souldier, abroad and at home, till within these few years that I have become so infirm and decrep'd with the gout, which hath so unabled me that I am not able to do the King nor myself service." In this state, and never having been able, as he tells us, either to read or write, he managed, by means of catching school boys for clerks, to record very minute genealogies of the numerous families of Scott, in an exuberant, fantastic, and sometimes romantic web of mingled verse and prose. Often his verse halts miserably, and is downright doggrel; there are times, however, when it flows as if he had watched the stars, as well as flocks in Esdail, with Spencer in his bosom.

"Oh! for a quill of that Arabian wing

That's hatch'd in embers of some kindled fire,
Who to herself herself doth issue bring,
And, three in one, is young and dam and sire.
Oh! that I could to Virgil's vein aspire,
Or Homer's verse, the golden language Greek,
With polished phrases I my lines would 'tire.
Into the deep of art my muse should seek ;
Meantime amongst the vulgar she must throng,
Because she hath no help from my unlearned tongue."

Be this as it may, his genealogy of Thirlestane is very minute, and so far as I have tested it by records, appears to be essentially accurate. Of the hero of Fala-muir, (whose story, however, he does not narrate) he says,

"And John of Thirlstone, that brave fellow,
Was son to David Scot of Howpaslow,

And David was the first Sir Walter's son."

In another passage he says that the father of the first Sir Walter of Howpaslot was William Scott of the house of Buccleuch.

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He was son to Walter of Howpaslow,

Sir Walter he was William's son,

Of the worthy house of Buccleugh he sprung."

This latter is the link that has hitherto been unregarded, and it is important to verify it from the records.

There is a charter dated 21st November 1476, confirmed under the Great Seal in December following, from Robert Scott of Haining to Thomas Middelmast, the witnesses to which are, David Scott, eldest son and heir-apparent of David Scott of Branxholm, and William Scott his brother. This proves that David Scott of Branxholm, who sat in Parliament 1487 as Dominus de Bukclewch, and died in 1491, had a younger son of the name of William, who lived towards the close of the fifteenth century; and so far Satchells is corroborated. It remains, however, to connect Walter Scott of Howpaslot (whose name occurs in the public records from 1493 to 1513) with the above William of Buccleuch, by some evidence independent of the family bard and chronicler, whose genealogies become valuable and interesting when so corroborated and confirmed. David Scott, the elder brother of the above-mentioned William, died before his father, leaving a son Walter, who was served heir to his grandfather David, 6th November 1492.* Walter's name appears as one of the witnesses to the infeftment

* Crawfurd quotes charta penes Ducem de Buckclugh.

of Queen Margaret in her jointure of the Lordships of Methven, Stirling, Ettrick, &c. in the year 1503. Thus far authentic records. Mr Douglas in his Peerage adds, and is followed by Mr Wood, that "he (Walter of Buccleuch) accompanied King James IV. to the fatal field of Floudon (1513,) where he remarkably distinguished himself, and, though he had the good fortune to come off the field alive, where he left many of his brave countrymen dead, yet he did not long survive it, but died in 1516." Such is the received history of this nobleman, which, however, rendered the following entry in the records of the High Court of Justiciary (a fertile source of border genealogies) somewhat perplexing. On the 19th November 1510, the Lady of Bukcleuche is summoned before the Court at Jedburgh as lawful surety of Belde Robin Scot, as she received him in indenture from the coroner, and not compearing was fined, and the said Robin denounced a rebel. This looks as if the Lord of Buccleuch had been in abeyance at the time, and the matter is explained by another public record, which certainly covers that sorely twitted class of authors, the peerage writers, with shame and confusion. In the records of the acts and decrees of the Lords of Council and Session, there is this entry, dated 2d May 1509; "anent the term assignit be the Lordis of Counsale till Walter Scot, son and heir of umquhile Walter Scot of Bukcleuch, Walter Scot of Howpaslot, TUTOR to the sade Walter, for the proving of the payment of iolx angell nobill clamit on thaim and umquhile William Douglas of Drumlanris Knt. be Margrete Ker, the relict of umquhile John Huime." &c. Thus it appears that the Walter of Buccleuch, who is supposed to have distinguished himself at Flodden and escaped alive, was dead four years before that sad event, and had left a son, Walter, a mi

nor.

This Walter was served heir to his father 27th October 1517, which may have led to the idea that the previous Sir Walter lived to 1516, in which case of course he had not only escaped the carnage of Flodden, but distinguished himself there.

What is of more consequence, however, to the present considerations, is the evidence afforded by the expressions tutor of Buccleuch. This designation is well known to imply that the party was nearest agnate (kinsman to the pupil on the father's side) of the age of twenty-five years; and Walter of Howpaslot's relationship to Buccleuch can now be distinctly traced. William Scott we have already proved to have been the son of David, and the younger brother of another David of Branxholm and Buccleuch grandfather to this minor. Now, "Walter (of Howpaslot) he was William's son-of the worthy house of Buckcleugh he (William) sprung." Thus it would appear that Walter of Howpaslot was the nearest agnate, and tutor of Buccleuch, because he and the minor's father, Walter, were the respective sons of brothers, who were the sons of David Scott of Branxholm and Buccleuch.*

* Some years ago Mr Riddell communicated to myself the new genealogical fact, that he had discovered in some civil suit relative to the affairs of the young Buccleuch in 1509, that Walter Scott of Howpaslot was designed tutor of Buccleuch. The late William John Lord Napier delighted in his forest lineage; and this information, which tended to establish a lineal male descent from Buccleuch, was very interesting to him. I had merely noted, however, Mr Riddell's verbal communication, which was in the above terms, and the difficulty occurred to his Lordship as well as to myself that (following the peerage account) there was no minor Laird of Buccleuch in 1509. Mr Riddell having lately recalled my attention to the fact, by that solemn and somewhat mysterious appeal which has been quoted, (supra, p. 219.) I was induced to exercise my own ingenuity in discovering

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