Yit, thocht thy braunis be lyk twa barrow-trammis,
Defend thee, man!’ Than ran thay to, lyk rammis.”
[750] See Murray’s Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland, pp. 56 and 69.
[751] Rogers’ Poetical Remains of King James I., 1873.
[752] In 1526–27, according to the Treasurer’s Accounts, £13 6s. 8d. was paid “to Johne Murray the Kingis barbour, for corsbowis, windaiss, and ganzies” (crossbows, pulleys, and arrows). And Alexander Scot in his poem “Of May,” circa 1550, describes the merry gathering of archers “To schute at buttis, at bankis, and brais.”
[753] Introduction to The Kingis Quair, Scottish Text Society, 1883–84.
[754] In The Daily News, March 19, 1892.
[755] Beltane, believed to be from the Gaelic Beal-tein, or Baal fire, was the great Druid festival of the first of May. The sports of Beltane, it appears, were celebrated at Peebles till a recent date, when a market was established, known as the Beltane Fair.
[756] when each person sets forth.
[757] By outland.