O'er beaten tracks, with men and beast distain'd,
Unerring he pursues; till, at the cot
Arrived, and seizing by his guilty throat
The caitiff vile, redeems the captive prey:
So exquisitely delicate his sense!
SOMERVILLE'S Chase.
Methinks it's the Captain of Newcastle, &c.
Coming down by the foul steps of Catlowdie's loan.—P. 256. v. 2.
According to the late Glenriddell's notes on this ballad, the office of captain of Bewcastle was held by the chief of the Nixons.
Catlowdie is a small village in Cumberland, near the junction of the Esk and Liddel.