Roxburghshire.

the king compelled him to exchange territory with the Bothwells , as he found himself unable to exert any authority over him as long as he retained possession of Liddisdale . There Avere seventeen clans on the Scottish border : of these Liddisdale had tAvo—the Elliots

and Armstrongs . They were all bold , brave men , given or riding , or making sallies into other clans ' territories for the purposes of plunder . The Armstrongs believed themselves to be descendants of one Fairbairn , an armour-bearer to one of the early kings of ScotlandAVIIO rescued his

dis-, mounted sovereign from danger by lifting him by the thigh , and setting him upon his own saddle . The Armstrongs attributed their name to this feat , and their possessions on the border to the king ' s gratitude . Their crest they considered a token of this deedan armed hand and armin the hand a

, , leg and foot in armour , couped at the thigh , all proper . In one of the royal MSS . preseiwed in the British Museum , dated 1590 , it is set forth : — "The chiefe surnames in Lyddesdale stand upon Armstrong ancl Elwoods . The chiefe Armstrong is of Mangerton , ancl chiefe Elwoode at

Lariston . These are two great surnames , and most offensive to England at this daie , for the Armstrongs both of Annendale and Lyddersdale , be ever ryding . " Mr . Jeffery has printed a facsimile of a map attached to the MS . quoted above , which shows that the banks of the rivers Liddel and

Hermitage , and their branches in this valley , Avere studded Avith pele towers . Near the source of the Liddel stood the pele of Martin Crosier . A short distance from this , on the right bank of Helcaldron Burn , was that of John Copshaw . Going southwards , there were the toAvers of Sim Elliot ,

execrated in the ballad of "Hobbie Noble ; " of Ladiesfaine , from Avhose OAvner all the border Elliots are descended ; of Clints ; of Castleton ; of Potterlain Park ; of Whithaugh ; of CopshaAV , the residence of the famous Johnnie Elliot , from whose wound BotliAvell was suffering Avhen visited

by Queen Mary , in Hermitage Castle ; and of Syde , where lived " Jock o' the Syde" : — " He is weel kend , Johne of the Syde , A greater thief never did ride , He never tyris , For to break byris , Ower muir and myris , Ower gude and guyde . "

Only a little to the west of the site of the toAver of this famous Armstrong are the remains of another , the Puddingburn Ha ' , where " Dick o ' the Cow" performed the exploit of stealing back his own stolen horse from the Armstrongs , together Avith one of their best , after tying the rest

with St . Mary ' s knot , or cutting their hough sineAvs to prevent pursuit . This feat is regarded as the more expert because , Avhen it was executed , the Armstrongs Avere feasting upon "the fool ' s own COAV . " Opposite the Syde stood Mangerton Tower ; and near it Green Ha ' . Hermitage Castle ,

the chief " strength" of Liddisdale , is in the same locality . Two miles aboA r e it stood G cranberry Tower , a pele that Avas inhabited by a family haunted by a CoAvie . This supernatural being took great interest in the execution of the various tasks required for the family's comfort , and very

frequently performed very useful offices for them in the night ; but he was most valued for the intimations he gave when death Avas making its approach . He announced this event always a short time beforehand , with wailings of touching intensity . It Avas not until the last representative of

the line was gone that he discontinued the practice . BeloAV Hermitage Castle there was a tower called Milsholm , and another called Hartsgarth , on a burn of that name . Another pele stood at Eoan , and not very long ago , Avhen some alteration was about to be made to it , a slab Avas turned over in the cellar Avhich had the following puzzling lines incised on the under side : —¦

"I am set here baitb . firm aud dry , That stoup and baup may in me lie , * Blame me not when you are cold , For I am neither iu house nor hold . " Between fifty and sixty peles stood in the limited district depicted on this map of Liddisdale .

They Avere for the most part square toAvers , differing only from Northumbrian peles in the Scottish character of the details . Some of them were

on a larger scale than others . They were provided with court-yards inclosed by strong Avails , fortified by battlements and turrets , into which theowners' cattle Avere driven at night , or on alarm . The turrets were thrown out upon corbels and capped Avitli conical roofs . The basement

chambers Avere always stone-vaulted . But feAV of the large numbers mentioned are still standing , owing to the literal interpretation and prompt execution of the mandate of James I . of England and VI . of Scotland . He commissioned Sir Walter Selby to enter Liddisdale and raze every place of strength

to the ground , so that the two countries might be the more effectually amalgamated . In place of the square-set towers that had weathered so many storms and seen so much service , farm-houses began to appear upon the -wild moorland scene . It is probable that many of these were built upon the ;

sites of peles and incorporated their remains . As time passed on , all sense of insecurity vanished , and clay and thatch Avere used as building materials for purposes where stone Avails 4 ft . thick were formerly deemed indispensable . The scores of small dwellings wrought of these frail

substances looked ruinously picturesque before they Avere very old . Under the judicious ownership of the Duke of Buccleugh , they have IIOAV become as scarce as peles , and even the more recent thatched cottages are being superseded by Avholesome slated houses .

There were no roads in Liddisdale a hundred years ago . The traveller had no choice of conr veyance ; there Avas . nothing for him bub the , saddle *