[12] Halldykes, in the parish of Dryfesdale, Dumfriesshire, where the writer passed some years of his boyhood, was formerly the seat of a branch of the Herries family; and, with three or four adjacent farms, formed almost the last remnant of their large border estates held by the descendants of that anciently powerful and noble house; one member of which is immortalized as the builder of the Tower of Repentance, and another as Queen Mary’s “loyal and brave Lord Herries!” Sir Robert Herries, founder of the great London banking house of Herries, Farquhar, and Co., and the Right Hon. J. C. Herries, once Chancellor of the Exchequer, were both scions of the old stock of Halldykes. Like most old family seats in the same district, Halldykes possesses, numerically speaking, a highly respectable corps of bogles (as the writer knew to his great and frequent tribulation); the origin and mode of developement of one of the most prominent of which is related pretty faithfully, according to local tradition, in the preceding rhyme.
[13] Friends of the author introduced anachronically, as also is Wullie Smyth, who flourished at Lockerbie during the author’s “school-day time.”
[14] Bessie’s Well was not far from the foot of “Cuddie’s Lane.” The writer has been informed that the well was drained or filled up by operations connected with the formation of the railway. This ancient fountain, the destruction of which is to be deplored, had the traditional reputation of attaching all who drank of it with a lasting affection to the town of Lockerbie.
[15] The existence of “closes mirk” in Lockerbie may be disputed; but the writer holds one or two in his recollection well suited to the taste of those who love the darkness rather than the light.
[16] The town drummer and bellman, one of whose functions was to parade the streets, drumming the lieges of Lockerbie to bed at ten p.m., and out of bed at six a.m.—a custom which some thought “more honoured in the breach than the observance.”
[17] Harrington Town, the ancient village about half a mile inland, is so called in distinction from Harrington Harbour, the small sea-port, which is modern. The heiress of the family which took its name and title from Harrington was mother of the Lord Bonville and Harrington, brother-in-law to the king-making Earl of Warwick. The manor was forfeited by the attainder of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, great-grandson of the said Lord Bonville, and father of Lady Jane Grey, and given by the Queen (Mary), to the Curwens of Workington, who still hold it.
[18] Should this compendium of topical applications seem at all overcharged, I would state that it consists of well known popular remedies, mostly of some use, and falls far short, whether in variety, extravagance, or repulsiveness of the multifarious nostra recommended by amateurs of the healing art in Cumberland and the adjacent counties. The “poultice of o’ maks” is not, as its name seems to imply, a compound, but a simple substance, which it is unnecessary to indicate more distinctly than to mention that it was generally turned to when pleasanter applications had failed. I have frequently heard old people extol its virtues as a promoter of suppuration, but I trust its use may now be classed with the “many precious rites and customs of our rural forefathers,” which, as Wordsworth has said, “are gone or stealing from us.“
[19] This alludes to the popular belief, not altogether unfounded, that readiness in healing is connected with an easy disposition.
[20] A delusion common enough after amputation.
[21] The stone stood—I believe stands—behind the hedge which on the western side fences the lane called Scaw-lonning, near High Harrington. When I last saw it—many years ago—the subjoined inscription was quite distinct upon it—plainer, indeed, than any of similar date in the churchyard:—