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KIRK  PATRICK 


OF 


CLOSEBURK 


KIRKP ATRICK 


OF 


CLOSEBURI 


MDCCCLVIII. 


LONDON: — PRINTED    BY    GEORGE   NORMAN, 
MAIDEN   LANE,    COVENT   GARDEN. 


• 


■^i i  win     pi.w  ■■■■ 


1 


•; 


MEMOIR 

RESPECTING   THE    FAMILY   OF 

KIRKPATRICK    OF    CLOSEBURN, 

IN  NITHSDALE, 
WITH  NOTICES  OF  SOME  COLLATERALS. 


It  appears  certain  that  the  family  of  Kirkpatrick  of  Closeburn  (in  ancient  times 
Kil-Osbern)  possessed  estates  in  Nithsdale  and  Annandale  as  early  as  the  8th  century, 
although  various  circumstances  have  occurred  to  destroy  any  evidence  of  title,  earlier 
than  the  time  of  Ivone  de  Kirkpatrick,  in  the  reign  of  David  the  First,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  12th  century. 

Living  on  the  Border  they  were  engaged  in  continual  feuds  and  fights.  In  1570 
the  Earl  of  Sussex  entered  Nithsdale  with  an  army  of  4000  men,  and  took  and 
sacked  Closeburn.  In  1646  Douglas  and  others  plundered  Closeburn,  and  took  away 
"  what  was  anyway  transportable."  And  in  1748  Closeburn  was  burnt  to  the  ground, 
when  "  all  the  family  portraits  and  furniture,  with  the  greatest  part  of  the  papers  and 
documents  were  consumed."  See  Playfair's  Scottish  Baronetage.  There  are, 
however,  sufficient  documents,  private  and  public,  to  prove  the  Pedigree,  as  set  forth 
in  the  annexed  genealogical  table. 


8^ 


1.  Ivone  de  Kirkpatkick  of  Kilosbern  (Cella  Osberni),  is  the  first  whose  name 
can  be  traced  in  any  known  document.  In  the  reign  of  David  the  First,  King  of 
Scotland,  who  came  to  the  throne  a.  d.  1124,  his  name  occurs  in  a  Charter  of  Robert 
Brus  the  elder  and  Eufemia  his  wife,  granting  the  fishing  of  Torduff  to  the  Monks  of 


2  KIRKPATRICK 

Abbeyholm ;  and  in  another  Charter,  in  which  Brus  grants  to  Ivone  de  Kirkpatrick, 
the  fishing  of  Blawode  and  Eister.  The  family  name  is  derived  from  their  Estate  of 
Kirkpatrick  (Cella  Patricii)  in  the  north-western  Annandale.  Hence  in  old  documents 
the  name  is  sometimes  spelt  Kilpatrick. 

This  Eobert  Brus  was  the  first  Lord  of  Annandale.     He  was  brought  up  at  the 
English  Court  with  David,  afterwards  King  David  I.,  and  ever   after  continued  to  be 
his  intimate  friend.     He  died  in  1141.     In  1290  his  descendant  Eobert   Brus,  upon 
the  death  of  Margaret,  "  The  Maiden  of  Norway,"  who  succeeded  her  Grandfather, 
Alexander  III.,  contested  the  Crown  with  Baliol.     The  question  depended  on  a  point 
not  then  so  clearly  settled  as  at  present.     Erom  Kenneth  Mac  Alpine,  King  of  the 
Scots   (843),  founder  of  the  Clan  Alpine,  the  most  ancient  of  the  Clans,  the  Crown 
descended  lineally  to  Malcolm  III.,  surnamed  Canmore,  who  married  Margaret,  grand- 
daughter of  Edmund   Ironside,  King  of  England.     Their  daughter  Matilda  married 
Henry  I.  of  England.     Their  youngest  son,  David  I.,  succeeded  upon  the  death  of  his 
elder  brothers  in  1124.     He  married  Maud  daughter  of  Waltheof  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land, and  of  Juditha  niece  of  William  the  Conqueror.     Henry,  son  of  David,  died  in 
his  father's  lifetime,  his  eldest  son,  Malcolm  IV.  surnamed  The  Maiden,  succeeded  his 
grandfather,  and  upon  his  death,  without  issue,  Henry's  second  son  William  the  Lion 
succeeded.     By  the   death  of  Margaret,  The  Maiden    of  Norway,  in  her  passage  to 
Scotland  to  take  possession  of  her  throne,  1290,  the  line  of  William  the  Lion  became 
extinct,  and  the  right  devolved  to  the  descendants  of  Henry's  third  son,  David  Earl  of 
Huntingdon,  who  left  three  daughters :    1st.  Margaret,  grandmother  of  John  Baliol, 
2nd.  Isabella,   mother    of  Eobert  Brus,  and  3rd.  Ada,  who  married  Lord  Hastings. 
Baliol  claimed  as  grandson  of  the  eldest  daughter.     Brus  claimed  as  son  of  the  second 
daughter,  and  therefore  one  degree  nearer  to  the  last  occupant.      Hastings  claimed  one 
third  in  right  of  his  wife.     There  were  several  other  claimants,  and  among  them  John 
Comyn  Lord  of  Badenoch ;  but  their  claims  created  little  difficulty.     The  dispute  was 
referred  to  Edward  I.  of  England,  who  properly  decided  in  favour  of  Baliol,  16  Nov. 
1292. 

Brus  married  Isabel  de  Clare,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Gloucester.     Their  son  Eobert 
accompanied  Edward  I.  while  Prince  to  Palestine  1270,  where  by  his  courage  and 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  3 

conduct  he  acquired  great  honour.  Upon  his  return  home,  he  married  Margaret 
Countess  of  Carrick,  in  whose  right  he  became  Earl  of  Carrick.  By  her  he  had  twelve 
children,  of  whom  the  eldest,  Eobert,  born  in  1274,  was  on  27th  March,  1 306,  crowned 
King  of  Scotland. 

The  Annan  and  Nith  being  neighbouring  valleys,  meeting  at  their  southern  openings, 
with  Dumfries  as  their  common  capital,  the  families  of  Bruce  and  Kirkpatrick  always 
lived  upon  the  most  intimate  terms,  and  their  friendship  was  cemented  by  intermarriage. 

2.  William,  son  of  Ivone,  was  slain  in  a  faction  fight.  He  assisted  Gilbert  son 
of  Fergus  in  his  quarrel  with  Holland  son  of  Uchtred  Lord  of  Galloway,  about  the 
year  1187-  After  Gilbert's  death,  Holland  declaring  himself  Lord  of  Galloway,  was 
opposed  by  Kirkpatrick,  who  heading  the  faction  of  his  cousin  Duncan,  was  killed  in 
the  fight.  Henry  the  Second  of  England,  led  an  army  to  Carlisle,  and  with  the  aid 
of  the  King  of  the  Scots,  composed  the  feuds  in  Galloway,  obliging  Rolland  to  bestow 
upon  Duncan  that  part  called  Carrick. 

3.  Ivone,  son  of  William,  married  Eufemia  daughter  of  Robert  Brus,  Lord  of 
Annandale  and  Cleveland  (Family  tree  of  the  Bruces  of  Clackmannan,  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Earl  of  Elgin).  Among  the  writings  carried  away  from  Edinburgh 
Castle  by  Edward  the  First,  a.d.  1296,  was  Una  litera  patens,  &c.  ad  firmam  Domino 
Galtero  Mowbray  per  Eufemiam  Kirkpatrick.  The  Mowbrays  originally  possessed 
the  estate  of  Kirkmichael  in  Nithsdale,  which  in  1484  was  granted  by  the  King  to 
Alexander  Kirkpatrick,  as  hereafter  stated.  Ivone  made  a  settlement  of  the  lands  of 
Kilosbern,  by  surrender  to  King  Alexander  the  Second,  and  Grant  of  Confirmation 
or  Settlement  Charter,  dated  at  Edinburgh,  August  15, 1232.  Shortly  before  this  he 
made  large  additions  to  the  old  Castle  of  Closeburn;  but  it  seems  probable  that  the 
Keep  or  Tower  which  still  exists,  with  walls  twelve  feet  thick,  was  built  three  or  four 
centuries  earlier.  In  the  17th  century  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  pulled  down  every- 
thing except  the  Keep,  and  used  the  materials  in  rebuilding  the  mansion. 

In  the  reign  of  Alexander  the  Second,  Humphrey  Kirkpatrick,  second  son  of  William, 


4  KIRKPATRICK 

obtained  the  lands  of  Colquhoun,  from  Maldwin  Earl  of  Lenox,  and  from  these  lands 
his  son  Ingram  took  the  surname  of  Colquhoun.  Ingram's  son  Robert,  was  father  of 
another  Robert,  who  had  three  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Humphrey,  married  the  heiress 
of  Luss  in  1394.  The  Colquhouns  of  Luss  still  claim  to  belong  to  the  family  of  Kirk- 
patrick. 

4.  Adam  succeeded  his  father  Ivone.  In  Chalmers'  Caledonia,  p.  79j  it  is  stated 
that  this  Adam  de  Kirkpatrick  possessed  the  Manor  of  Kirkpatrick  in  North-western 
Annan  dale,  and  that  in  1264  he  had  a  lawsuit  with  the  Monks  of  Kelso  about  the 
advowson  of  the  Church  of  Kilosbern,  which  was  decided  against  him  by  the  Abbot  of 
Jedburgh. 

5.  Stephen,  son  of  Adam,  in  the  Chartulary  of  Kelso  is  styled,  Stephanus 
dominus  villse  de  Kilosbern,  filius  et  hseres  domini  Ada?  de  Kirkpatrick.  He  entered 
into  an  agreement  with  the  Abbot,  concerning  the  Convent's  right  to  the  Church  of 
Kilosbern,    die    Mercurii  proxima  post  festarn  purificationis,   beatse  Marias  virginis 

1278. 

6.  Roger,  the  eldest  son  of  Stephen,  succeeded  as  Lord  of  Closeburn,  while 
Duncan,  the  second  son,  by  his  marriage  with  Isabel  daughter  and  heiress  of  Sir 
David  Torthorwald  of  Torthorwald,  obtained  that  Barony. 

At  this  time  Scotland  was  involved  in  constant  trouble,  from  the  disputes 
respecting  the  Crown ;  and  Sir  Roger  Kirkpatrick  living  on  the  border,  and  related  to 
Bruce  and  Wallace,  necessarily  took  an  active  interest  in  the  struggle.  Although 
Edward  had  decided  in  favour  of  Baliol,  he  was  greatly  disappointed  that  the  death 
of  the  Maiden  of  Norway  had  defeated  his  plan  of  uniting  the  Crowns  of  England 
and  Scotland,  by  her  marriage  with  his  son,  and  he  never  abandoned  the  hope  of 
effecting  the  union  by  some  other  means.  The  Kings  of  England  had  a  long 
standing  but  fiercely  contested  claim  of  feudal  superiority  over  Scotland,  and  this 
claim  Edward  enforced  so  offensively  against  Baliol,  that  though  timid  and  weak  yet 
not  mean-spirited,  he  was  at  length  driven  to  resent  such  treatment.     War  ensued, 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  5 

1295.  The  Scots  were  everywhere  defeated,  and  Baliol,  after  performing  the  most 
humiliating  acts  of  feudal  penance,  was  compelled  to  make  a  surrender  of  his 
kingdom,  2nd  July,  1296,  just  four  years  after  his  accession;  upon  which  he  and  his 
son  Edward  were  taken  to  the  Tower  of  London,  where  three  years  afterwards  he 
made  a  formal  abdication  of  all  his  rights,  and  retired  to  Normandy,  where  he  died 
1314,  just  after  the  battle  of  Bannockburn.  But  while  Baliol  remained  a  prisoner, 
many  of  the  principal  families  of  Scotland,  resenting  the  attempt  of  Edward  to 
subjugate  their  country,  aided  by  the  general  popular  feeling,  and  taking  Sir  William 
Wallace  as  their  leader,  carried  on  a  sort  of  Guerilla  warfare,  till  the  English,  defeated 
at  Stirling,  11th  September,  1297,  were  driven  out  of  the  country;  whereupon  Wallace 
was  elected  Warden  of  Scotland,  on  behalf  of  Baliol.  Edward,  then  abroad,  returned, 
and  leading  a  powerful  army  into  Scotland,  defeated  the  Scots  at  Falkirk,  22nd  July, 
1298,  with  immense  slaughter.  Upon  this  Wallace  resigned  the  Wardenship,  and 
Robert  Bruce  the  son,  (his  father  having  died  in  1295),  his  rival  John  Comyn  and 
Lamberton  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  were  appointed  joint  wardens  in  the  name  of 
Baliol.  Wallace,  however,  continued  to  take  an  active  part,  till  he  was  betrayed  into 
the  hands  of  the  English,  and  taken  to  London,  where  he  was  executed  with  the  then 
accustomed  barbarities,  23rd  August,  1305. 

Robert  Bruce,  the  grandson,  being  in  the  power  of  Edward,  had  taken  no  active 
part,  though  he  secretly  encouraged  the  opposition ;  but  Baliol's  abdication  and  the 
death  of  his  grandfather  in  1295,  and  now  of  his  father,  having  cleared  his  path,  he 
had  a  conference  with  the  Red  Comyn,  at  which,  after  representing  the  miserable 
effects  of  civil  discord,  he  proposed  that  they  should  henceforth  act  as  friends. 
Support,  said  he,  my  title  to  the  crown,  and  I  will  give  you  all  my  lands ;  or  give  me 
all  your  lands  and  I  will  support  your  claim.  Comyn,  knowing  the  weakness  of  his 
own  claim,  accepted  the  former  alternative,  and  an  agreement  was  drawn  up  accord- 
ingly, sealed  and  confirmed  by  mutual  oaths  of  fidelity  and  secresy.  Comyn, 
however,  perhaps  frightened  at  the  step  he  had  taken,  revealed  the  matter  to  Edward, 
who  having  unguardedly  expressed  himself  determined  on  revenge,  the  Earl  of 
Gloucester,  Bruce's  cousin,  who  fell  eight  years  afterwards  at  the  battle  of  Bannock- 


6  KIRKPATRICK 

burn  the  last  male  of  his  family,  anxious  to  save  Bruce,  but  afraid  to  compromise 
himself,  sent  a  piece  of  money  and  a  pair  of  golden  spurs.  Bruce,  understanding  the 
hint,  instantly  started  for  Scotland,  reaching  Lochmaben  Castle  the  fifth  day.  Here 
he  met  his  brother,  Edward  Bruce,  and  his  kinsman  Sir  Roger  Kirkpatrick,  whom 
Buchanan  calls  '  vetus  amicus '  of  King  Robert  Bruce,  and  whom  Abercromby  calls  the 
constant  friend  of  Sir  William  Wallace.  They  were  joined  by  James  Lindsay, 
Robert  Fleming,  ancestor  to  the  Earls  of  Wigton,  and  Sir  Thomas  Charteris,  com- 
monly called  Thomas  of  Longueville.  Accompanied  by  these  Barons,  he  immediately 
repaired  to  Dumfries,  where  Comyn  then  was,  and  sought  a  private  interview.  Comyn 
perhaps  suspecting  that  his  treachery  had  been  discovered,  appointed  the  Grey  Friars 
Church  in  the  Convent  of  the  Minorites.  Here  Bruce  passionately  upbraided  him 
for  his  treachery,  a  violent  altercation  ensued,  Comyn  gave  him  the  he,  whereupon  he 
instantly  drew  his  dagger  and  stabbed  him.  Hastening  from  the  Church,  he  met  his 
friends,  who  seeing  him  agitated  and  pale  eagerly  inquired  the  cause.  '  I  doubt,'  said 
he,  'I  have  slain  the  Comyn.'  '  Doubt' st  thou,'  said  Kirkpatrick,  '  I  mak  sicker,'  and 
rushed  into  the  Church.  In  the  meantime  the  followers  of  Comyn  having  taken 
alarm,  rallied  round  their  fallen  chief,  but  Kirkpatrick  burst  through  them,  struck 
down  and  slew  Sir  Robert  Comyn  the  uncle,  and  dispatched  the  Red  Comyn  with 
his  dagger,  10th  February,  1306.     Hence  the  crest  and  motto  of  the  family 


'  conferred,'  says  Playfair,  '  by  King  Robert  himself,  and  adopted  from  an  action 
which,  however  sanguinary  and    shocking  it  may  now  appear,    was  highly  admired 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  7 

and  applauded  in  those  ferocious  times.'  It  is  to  this  Sir  Walter  Scott  alludes  in  the 
Lord  of  the  Isles,  where  he  makes  the  minstrel  speak  of  '  Kirkpatrick' s  bloody  dirk 
making  sure  of  murder's  work.'  From  this  period  the  old  crest,  A  Thistle,  with 
motto,  '  Tich  and  I  perce,'  has  fallen  nearly  into  disuse.  In  « The  Scottish  Chiefs ' 
Kirkpatrick  is  described  as  bearing  '  the  device  of  the  hardy  King  Archaius  but  with 
a  fiercer  motto,  Touch  and  I  pierce,'  and  in  a  note  it  is  added  that  Archaius  King  of 
Scotland  having  won  the  love  and  alliance  of  Charlemagne  and  many  other  Christian 
Kings,  found  himself  to  be  so  mighty  that  he  took  for  his  device  the  Thistle  and  Rew, 
and  for  his  motto,  '  For  my  defence,'  the  Rew  denoting  wisdom  in  peace,  and  the 
Thistle  power  in  war. 

The  adopted  motto  appears  on  old  seals  and  documents  in  various  forms.  Some- 
times, '  I'll  mak  sicker,'  or  '  sickar,'  which  were  probably  the  words  originally  uttered. 
This  appears  to  have  been  considered  inconsistent  with  the  crest,  the  drops  of  blood 
intimating  a  deed  done,  and  we  find  it  written,  '  I  hae  made  sicker,'  or  '  sickar.' 
This,  however,  is  evidently  a  bad  form  of  motto,  which  ought  to  be  a  rallying  cry, 
or  the  expression  of  a  family  habit.  For  this  purpose  '  I  mak  sicker,'  or,  as  it  has 
for  centuries  been  used  by  the  head  of  the  family,  '  I  make  sure,'  is  decidedly  the 
proper  form.  When  a  Kirkpatrick  finds  himself  in  circumstances  of  doubt  or 
difficulty,  his  motto  is  his  trumpet  call  to  duty.  '  I  make  sure '  is  the  form  registered 
at  the  Heralds'  office  upon  the  grant  of  the  patent  of  baronetcy  in  1685.  Some 
branches  of  the  family,  however,  settled  in  England,  have  reverted  to  '  I  mak  sicker ' 
as  a  reminiscence  of  their  Scottish  descent. 

This  murderous  affray  in  the  church  soon  created  a  general  alarm.  The  English 
judges,  then  holding  court  in  the  Castle  Hall,  hastily  barricaded  the  doors,  and 
prepared  for  defence.  But  Bruce,  assembling  his  followers,  and  threatening  to  force 
an  entrance  by  fire,  compelled  those  within  to  surrender. 

Bruce  and  his  friends  soon  after  proceeded  to  Scone,  the  ancient  seat  of 
Scottish  inauguration,  and  was  there  crowned,  27th  March,  1306-  But  he  was  not 
permitted  to  retain  his  throne  undisturbed.  He  had  enjoyed  royalty  but  a  short 
time,  when  he  was  defeated  by  an  army  sent  against  him  by  Edward  I. ;  after  which 


8 


KIRKPATRICK 


he  was  obliged  to  live  in  an  obscure  condition  for  a  considerable  time,  during  which 
his  enemies  tried  every  method  either  to  take  him  prisoner  or  to  destroy  him,  and  he 
was  compelled  to  take  refuge  in  various  places,  among  others  at  Closeburn,  where  he 
was  from  time  to  time  effectually  concealed  by  Sir  Roger  Kirkpatrick.  The  place  of 
refuge  was  a  steep  hill,  called  the  Dune  of  Tynron,  upon  the  top  of  which  there  still 
remain  traces  of  a  small  fort  or  habitation ;  and  in  former  times  it  was  surrounded 
on  all  sides  by  very  thick  woods.  This  hill  is  still  shewn  as  the  place  of  refuge  of 
King  Robert  Bruce.  Edward  carried  on  the  contest  with  various  success  till  the 
famous  battle  of  Bannockburn,  24th  June,  1314^  when  Bruce  obtained  a  complete 
victory,  by  which  his  sovereignty  was  established. 

Throughout  all  these  struggles  Sir  Roger  Kirkpatrick  continued  to  take  an  active 
part,  filled  with  those  patriotic  inspirations  so  nobly  embodied  by  Burns,  in  '  Brace's 
address  to  his  army  at  Bannockburn.' 


Scots  wha  hae  wi'  Wallace  bled, 
Scots  wham  Bruce  has  often  led, 
Welcome  to  your  gory  bed, 
Or  to  victorie. 


Wha  for  Scotland's  King  and  Law, 
Freedom's  sword  will  strongly  draw, 
Freeman  stand  or  Freeman  fa', 
Let  him  follow  me. 


Now's  the  day  and  now's  the  hour, 
See  the  front  o'  battle  lour, 
See  approach  proud  Edward's  power, 
Chains  and  slaverie. 

Wha  will  be  a  traitor-knave, 
Wha  can  fill  a  coward's  grave, 
Wha  sae  base  as  be  a  slave  ? 
Let  him  turn  and  flee. 


By  oppression's  woes  and  pains, 
By  your  sons  in  servile  chains, 
We  will  drain  our  dearest  veins, 
But  they  shall  be  free. 

Lay  the  proud  usurpers  low, 
Tyrants  fall  in  every  foe, 
Liberty's  in  every  blow, 
Let  us  do  or  die. 


In  the  preface  to  the  Life  of  Wallace,  it  appears  that  Sir  Roger  Kirkpatrick  was 
one  of  the  assembly  of  Barons  in  the  Forest  Kirk,  who  elected  Wallace,  Warden  of 
Scotland.     He  also  took  part  in  the  subsequent  election  of  Bruce  and  his  Co-wardens, 


OF   CLOSEBUKN.  9 

and  is  mentioned  by  blind  Henry  as  a  partizan  of  Wallace,  when  he  relieved  Sir 
William  Douglas,  besieged  in  Sanquhar  Castle  by  the  English. 

After  the  battle  of  Bannockburn,  Sir  Roger  Kirkpatrick  was  sent  with  Sir  Neil 
Campbell,  ancestor  of  the  Duke  of  Argyll  and  others,  Commissioners  to  treat  with 
King  Edward  II.  in  person,  then  at  Durham.  (Ryiner,  torn  3,  p.  495.) 

Several  interruptions  of  the  peace,  however,  took  place  till  1328,  when  a  permanent 
treaty  was  concluded,  the  principal  articles  of  which  were  the  recognition  of  Bruce's 
title,  and  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  kingdom,  cemented  by  the  marriage  of  his  son 
and  heir  David  to  Johanna  sister  of  the  King  of  England.  In  this  negotiation  Sir 
Roger  Kirkpatrick's  son  was  also  employed,  with  Sir  Roger  de  Soulis  and  Sir  Robert 
de  Keith. 

Had  the  royal  family  of  Bruce  been  perpetuated  in  the  male  line,  the  Kirkpatricks 
of  Closeburn  would  undoubtedly  have  enjoyed  a  liberal  share  of  the  honours  and 
emoluments  in  the  gift  of  the  crown.  Unfortunately  for  them  Robert  Bruce  scarcely 
outlived  the  struggle  which  secured  his  seat  on  the  throne,  and  the  reign  of  his  son 
David  II.  was  one  series  of  misfortunes.  Upon  the  death  of  David,  in  1370,  without 
male  issue,  the  sceptre  descended  to  Robert  II.  the  infant  son  of  Margery,  sister  of 
David,  by  Walter  Stuart,  the  first  of  a  family  noted  for  selfishness  and  neglect  of 
every  one  possessing  any  spirit  of  independence  ;  and  from  them  the  relations  and 
friends  of  the  Bruce  experienced  few  marks  of  favour. 

Duncan,  brother  of  Sir  Roger,  mentioned  above  as  having  acquired  the  Barony  of 
Torthorwald,  was  also  a  strenuous  patriot,  and  exerted  himself  much  in  aid  of  Sir 
William  Wallace,  having  been  compelled  more  than  once  to  take  shelter  in  Esdaile  woods 
and  elsewhere,  from  the  vengeance  of  the  victorious  English.  The  Scots,  well  aware 
that  the  English  excelled  them  in  the  art  of  assaulting  and  defending  walls,  generally, 
in  case  of  defeat,  betook  themselves  to  the  hills  and  woods,  acting  upon  the  advice  of 
Bruce,  not  to  shut  themselves  up  to  be  starved  or  burnt  out,  and  upon  the  maxim  of 
Douglas,  that  '  it  was  better  to  hear  the  lark  sing,  than  the  mouse  cheep.'  In  the 
skirmish  near  Lochmaben,  when  Wallace  was  pursued  by  the  English  garrison,  the 
Baron  of  Torthorwald  and  Sir  John  Grahame,  with  their  followers,  came  most  oppor- 
tunely to  his  assistance. 

c 


10  KIRKPATKICK 

Kyrkpatrick  yat  cruell  was  and  keyne, 
In  Esdaill  wod  yat  half  yer  he  had  heyne, 
With  Inglismen  he  couth  nocht  weill  accord, 
Of  Torthorwald  he  Baron  was  and  Lord, 
Of  kyn  he  was  to  "Wallace  modyr  ner, 
Of  Crawford  syd,  &c. 

Wallace,  book  5. 

The  mother  of  Wallace  was  daughter  of  Sir  Bonald  Crawford,  Sheriff  of  Ayr,  and 
aunt  of  Kirkpatrick. 

The  Scots  gained  this  battle,  in  which,  says  the  Bard, 

Kyrkpatrick' s  douchty  deed  was  nobill  for  to  ken, 

and  for  which  he  received  the  acknowledgments  of  Wallace ; 

Kyrkpatrick  syne  that  was  his  cusin  der, 
He  thankyt  hym  rycht  on  a  gud  maner. 

The  conquerors  repaired  to  Lochmaben  Castle,  which  they  took  by  stratagem,  and  left 
the  following  day,  after  having  placed  a  governor  of  their  own  in  it.  But  it  appears 
that  he  was  again  compelled  to  seek  safety  from  the  overwhelming  English  force  by 
concealment. 

Kyrkpatrick  past  in  Aisdaill  wodds  wide, 
In  saftie  there  he  thocht  he  suld  abide. 

From  this  retreat  he  again  issued  to  join  his  cousin  Wallace  at  the  battle  of  Bigger. 

Tar  came  intill  yar  company, 
Kyrkpatrick  befor  in  Esdaill  was,  &c. 

Wallace,  book  6. 

Umphray,  son  of  Duncan  and  Isabel,  made  a  settlement  and  obtained  a  Confirmatory 
Charter  of  the  lands  of  Torthorwald  from  King  Bobert  Brus,  16th  July,  1322,  who  also 
granted  to  him  that  he  should  hold  his  lands  of  Torthorwald  in  Free  Forest — a  grant 
which  conferred  great  privileges,  and  was  highly  valued  in  those  days.  His  son  Sir 
Bobert  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Dupplin.  Boger,  son  of  Bobert,  obtained  a 
charter  from  John  the  Grahame,  son  of  Sir  John  Grahame  of  Moskesson,  of  an  annual 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  11 

rent  arising  out  of  the  lands  of  Over  Dryffe,  1355.  This  family,  which  had  acquired 
by  marriage  the  Barony  of  Torthorwald,  subsequently  merged  by  marriage  in  the 
Lords  Carliel,  who  thereby  became  Barons  of  Torthorwald  ;  and  the  Barony  not  long 
afterwards  passed  to  Douglas  of  Drumlanrig,  by  the  marriage  of  Margaret,  daughter 
of  William  Lord  Torthorwald,  with  "William  Douglas,  third  Baron  of  Drumlanrig,  who 
died  in  1464,  and  whose  descendant,  "William  third  Earl  of  Queensbury,  was  in  1682 
created  Marquis,  and  in  1684  Duke  of  Queensbury,  Marquis  of  Dumfriesshire,  Earl  of 
Drumlanrig  and  Sanquhar,  Viscount  of  Nith,  Torthorwald,  and  Boss. 

Of  the  castle  of  Torthorwald,  which  was  large  and  strongly  built,  but  a  small 
fragment  now  remains,  though  it  was  repaired  so  lately  as  the  year  1630.  It  served  as 
a  garrison  for  the  King's  troops  during  the  reign  of  Charles  II. 

7.  Sir  Thomas  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  Roger  succeeded,  and  for  his  father's  and 
his  own  special  services  to  his  king  and  country,  got  from  King  Robert  the  Brus,  the 
lands  of  Bridburgh  in  the  Sheriffdom  of  Dumfries,  by  charter  dated  at  Lochmaben, 
24th  May,  in  the  14th  year  of  his  reign  (1319). 

He  contracted  his  daughter  to  Sir  John  Carliel  (ancestor  of  the  Lords  Carliel  of 
Torthorwald)  grandson  of  Sir  William  Carliel  and  the  Lady  Margaret  Brus,  sister  to 
the  King ;  the  marriage  contract  between  the  fathers  of  the  young  people,  is  dated 
8th  March,  1332. 

In  132/  war  broke  out  again,  and  the  Border  Chiefs  were  of  course  involved  in 
the  contest.  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  and  his  followers  took  part  in  the  several 
engagements  which  ensued,  and  in  the  fatal  battle  of  Halidon,  19th  July,  1333,  in 
the  list  of  prisoners  are  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  and  Roger  Kirkpatrick.  And  again  in 
the  still  more  fatal  battle  of  Nevills  Cross  near  Durham,  17th  Oct.  1346,  when  Keith 
the  hereditary  Earl  Mareschal  and  Sir  Thomas  Charteris  the  Chancellor  were  killed, 
and  King  David  himself  with  the  Earls  of  Sutherland,  Fife,  Monteith,  Carrick,  Lord 
Douglas,  and  many  other  noblemen  taken  prisoners,  Fordun  gives  in  his  list  of  killed 
Reginald  Kirkpatrick,  and  of  prisoners  Roger,  taken  by  Ralph  de  Hastings,  who, 
dying  of  a  wound  received  in  the  encounter,  "  bequeathed  the  body  of  his  prisoner, 
Roger  de  Kirkpatrick,  to  his  joint  legatees,  Edmund  Hastings  of  Kynthorp  and  John 
de  Kirkely  for  ransom." 


12  KIRKPATRICK 

Bo^er,  brother  of  this  Sir  Thomas,  inherited  all  the  loyalty  and  valour  of  his 
ancestors.  While  David  II.  son  of  Robert  Bruce  was  in  captivity,  and  King  Edward 
with  his  troops  had  been  driven  back  by  famine  into  England,  he  besieged  and  took  the 
castles  of  Caerlaveroc,  Durrisdeer  and  Dalswinton  (1355),  bringing  all  Nithsdale  under 
the  command  of  its  lawful  sovereign.  (Buchanan's  History.)  The  Prior  of  Lochleven 
speaks  thus  of  him  : 

Boger  Kyrkpatrick,  Nyddysdale 
Held  at  the  Scottis  fay  all  hale, 
Syne  the  castle  of  Dalswynton 
Was  taken  and  dwyn  down, 
Syne  Caerlaveroc  taken  had  he  ; 
He  was  a  man  of  gret  bownte, 
Honorabil  wys  and  ryeht  worthie, 
He  couth  rycht  mekil  of  cumpanie, 

Wynton,  b.  8,  c.  43. 

In  the  Agreement  made  at  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  13th  January,  1354,  concerning 
the  liberation  of  King  David  Brus,  among  the  hostages  to  be  given  for  payment  of  the 
ransom  (which  hostages  were  twenty  youths  of  the  first  quality)  was  the  son  and  heir 
of  Eoger  de  Kirkpatrick.  And  accordingly  Umfred  son  and  heir  of  the  said  Boger, 
together  with  John,  son  and  heir  of  the  Lord  High  Steward  of  Scotland,  was  delivered 
up  to  Lord  Percy  in  the  year  1357.  And  in  the  list  of  Nobles  and  Barons  present  in 
the  Parliament  at  Edinburgh,  2Gth  September,  1357,  to  settle  about  the  King's  ransom, 
is  the  name  of  Boger  Kirkpatrick. 

Caerlaveroc  castle,  situate  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Solway,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Nith,  formerly  a  place  of  considerable  strength,  and  still  an  interesting  ruin,  had  been 
taken  by  Edward  the  First  after  a  siege,  somewhat  famous  in  Scottish  history  for  its 
gallant  defence.  The  celebrated  Boll  of  Caerlaveroc,  among  the  MSS.  in  the  Bodleian, 
gives  the  names  and  banners  of  those  Knights  who  attended  Edward  I.  in  his  expe- 
dition into  Scotland.  The  banners  of  Edward  the  Martyr  and  Edward  the  Confessor 
were  borne  at  the  siege,  and  the  Bishop  of  Durham  sent  150  men  at  arms  under  his 
banner,  charged  with  his  paternal  arms  alone,  without  those  of  his  see.  Three  men 
of  Kent,  Henry  and  Simon  de  Leybourne  (younger  sons  of  Sir  William  de  Leybourne, 


OP  CLOSEBURN.  13 

who  had  lately  entertained  Edward  the  First  at  Leybourne,  near  Maidstone,  now  the 
seat  of  Sir  Joseph  Hawley)  and  Stephen  de  Cosenton  (in  the  neighbouring  parish  of 
Aylesford,  and  adjoining  the  celebrated  Kits  Coty  House,  the  burial  place  of  Catigern) 
were  knighted  under  the  royal  banner  at  Caerlaveroc,  for  their  gallant  conduct  at  the 
siege. 

When  David  the  Second  obtained  his  freedom,  he  not  only  knighted  Eoger  Kirk- 
patrick,  but  as  a  reward  for  his  devotion  and  bravery  in  recovering  the  place,  bestowed 
upon  him  Caerlaveroc  castle  and  lands,  which  had  formerly  been  held  of  the  Crown  by 
the  Maxwells,  to  whom  it  subsequently  reverted,  and  it  is  still  held  by  a  branch  of  that 
family. 

In  his  castle  of  Caerlaveroc  Sir  Roger  Kirkpatrick  was  murdered,  in  fulfilment,  as  in 
that  superstitious  age  was  believed,  of  a  prophecy  of  vengeance  uttered  by  a  spirit  in  the 
Grey  Priars  Church  of  Dumfries,  after  the  slaughter  of  the  Bed  Cummin.  The  corpse 
on  the  night  after  his  death  was  watched  in  the  church,  by  the  Dominicans  indignant 
at  the  desecration.  At  midnight  all  the  friars  fell  asleep,  except  one  aged  priest,  who 
with  the  greatest  astonishment  heard  a  voice  in  distress  exclaim,  "  How  long,  0  Lord, 
shall  vengeance  be  deferred  ?"  and  a  response  in  a  dreadful  tone,  "  Endure  with  patience 
till  the  anniversary  of  this  day  shall  return  for  the  52nd  time." 

"Exactly  52  years  after  the  Cummin's  death,"  says  Playfair,  "  James  of  Lindsay, 
son  of  that  Lindsay  who  had  entered  the  Dominican  Church  with  Sir  Eoger,  was  hos- 
pitably entertained  at  the  Castle  of  Caerlaveroc,  by  Eoger  Kirkpatrick  sprung  from  his 
father's  friend.  At  midnight,  for  some  reason  unknown,  Lindsay  arose  and  mortally 
stabbed  in  his  bed  his  unguarded  host.  He  then  took  horse  and  fled,  but  after  riding 
till  daybreak,  he  was  seized  only  three  miles  from  the  castle,  and  by  command  of  King 
David  suffered  death  for  his  crime  at  Dumfries."  The  affair  is  thus  related  by  the  Prior 
of  Lochleven :  — 

That  ilk  yhere  in  our  kynryk, 

Eoger  was  slain  of  Kyrkpatrick 

Be  Schyr  Jakkis  the  Lyndesay, 

In  til  Karlaveroc,  and  away 

Por  til  have  bene  with  all  his  mycht, 

This  Lyndesay  pressit  all  a  nycht, 


14 


KIRKPATEICK 

Forth  on  hors  rycht  fast  rydand, 
Nevertheless  yhit  thai  him  fand 
Nocht  thre  myle  fra  that  ilk  place, 
There  tane  and  brocht  again  he  was, 
Til  Karlaveroc,  be  thai  men 
That  frendes  war  til  Kyrkpatrick  then, 
Thare  war  he  kepyd  rycht  straytly ; 
His*  wyf  passyd  til  the  King  Dawy, 
And  prayed  him  of  his  realte,f 
Of  Law  that  sche  mycht  serwyd  be, 
The  King  Dawy  than  also  fast 
Til  Dumfries  with  his  Curt  he  past, 
As  Law  wold,  qwhat  was  thare  mare, 
This  Lindesay  to  deth  he  gert  do  thare. 

Wynton  CTiron.  b.  8,  c.  44. 

In  the  4th  Vol.  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border,  this  event 
forms  the  subject  of  a  Ballad  contributed  by  his  friend  the  late  Charles  Kirkpatriek 
Sharpe,     "  The  Murder  of  Caerlaveroc." 

"  Now,  come  to  me,  my  little  page, 

Of  wit,  sae  wondrous  sly  ! 
Ne'er  under  flower,  o'  youthfu'  age, 

Did  mair  destruction  lie. 

"I'll  dance  and  revel  wi'  the  rest, 

Within  this  castle  rare  ; 
Yet  he  shall  rue  the  drearie  feast, 

Bot  and  his  lady  fair. 


*  Kirkpatrick's  wife. 

t  Bealte  or  Begality,  the   exclusive  right  of  administering  justice  within  a  man's  own 
lands.     This,  which  gave  rise  to  great  abuse,  was  put  an  end  to  by  Act  43.  Pari.  1455. 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  15 

"  For  ye  maun  drug  Kirkpatrick's  wine, 

Wi'  juice  o'  poppy  flowers  ; 
Nae  mair  he'll  see  the  morning  shine 

Frae  proud  Caerlaveroe's  towers. 

"  For  he  has  twined  my  love  and  me, 

The  maid  of  miekle  scorn — 
She'll  welcome  wi'  a  tearfu'  ee 

Her  widowhood  the  morn. 

"  And  saddle  weel  my  milk-white  steed, 

Prepare  my  harness  bright ! 
Gif  I  can  make  my  rival  bleed, 

I'll  ride  awa  this  night." — 

"  Now  haste  ye,  master,  to  the  ha'  ! 

The  guests  are  drinking  there  ; 
Kirkpatrick's  pride  sail  be  but  sma', 

For  a'  his  lady  fair." — 

*  #  #  #  # 

In  came  the  merry  minstrelsy, 

Shrill  harps  wi'  tinkling  string, 
And  bagpipes,  lilting  melody, 

Made  proud  Caerlaveroc  ring. 

These  gallant  knights,  and  ladies  bright, 

Did  move  to  measures  fine, 
Like  frolic  fairies,  jimp  and  light, 

Wha  dance  in  pale  moonshine. 

The  ladies  glided  through  the  ha', 

Wi'  footing  swift  and  sure — 
Kirkpatrick's  dame  outdid  them  a', 

"When  she  stood  on  the  floor. 


J  6  KIRKPATRICK 

And  some  had  tyres  of  gold  sae  rare, 
And  pendants  eight  or  nine  ; 

And  she,  wi'  but  her  golden  hair, 
Did  a'  the  rest  outshine. 

And  some  wi'  costly  diamonds  sheen, 
Did  warriors'  heart  assail — 

But  she,  wi'  her  twa  sparkling  een, 
Pierced  through  the  thickest  mail. 

Kirkpatrick  led  her  by  the  hand 
Wi'  gay  and  courteous  air  ; 

No  stately  castle  in  the  land 
Could  show  sae  bright  a  pair. 

0  he  was  young — and  clear  the  day 
Of  life  to  youth  appears  ! 

Alas  !  how  soon  his  setting  ray 
"Was  dimm'd  wi'  show'ring  tears. 

Tell  Lindsay  sicken'd  at  the  sight, 
And  sallow  grew  his  cheek  ; 

He  tried  wi'  smiles  to  hide  his  spite, 
But  word  he  cou'dna  speak. 

The  gorgeous  banquet  was  brought  up 
On  silver  and  on  gold, 

The  page  chose  out  a  crystal  cup, 
The  sleepy  juice  to  hold. 

And  whan  Kirkpatrick  call'd  for  wine, 
This  page  the  drink  would  bear ; 

Nor  did  the  knight  or  dame  divine, 
Sic  black  deceit  was  near. 


OF    CLOSEBURN. 

Then  every  lady  sang  a  sang  : 
Some  gay — some  sad  and  sweet, 

Like  tunefu'  birds  the  woods  amang, 
Till  a'  begun  to  greet. 

E'en  cruel  Lindsay  shed  a  tear, 

Forletting  malice  deep — 
As  mermaids  wi'  their  warbles  clear, 

Can  sing  the  waves  to  sleep. 

And  now  to  bed  they  all  are  dight, 

Now  steek  they  ilka  door  ; 
There's  nought  but  stillness  o'  the  night, 

Whare  was  sic  din  before. 

Fell  Lindsay  put  his  harness  on, 

His  steed  doth  ready  stand  ; 
And  up  the  staircase  is  he  gone, 

"Wi'  poniard  in  his  hand. 

The  sweat  did  on  his  forehead  break, 

He  shook  wi'  guilty  fear  ; 
In  air  he  heard  a  joyfu'  shriek, 

Bed  Cummin's  ghaist  was  near. 

Now  to  the  chamber  doth  he  creep — 

A  lamp  of  glimmering  ray, 
Show'd  young  Kirkpatrick  fast  asleep 

In  arms  of  lady  gay. 

He  lay  wi'  bare  unguarded  breast, 

By  sleepy  juice  beguiled ; 
And  sometimes  sigh'd  by  dreams  opprest, 

And  sometimes  sweetly  smiled. 

D 


18  KIRKPATEICK 

Unclosed  her  mouth  o'  rosy  hue, 
Whence  issued  fragrant  air, 

That  gently,  in  soft  motion,  blew 
Stray  ringlets  o'er  her  hair. 

"  Sleep  on,  sleep  on,  ye  luvers  dear ! 

The  dame  may  wake  to  weep — 
But  that  day's  sun  maun  shine  fu'  clear, 

That  spills  this  warrior's  sleep." 

He  louted  down — her  lips  he  press' d — 
O  !  kiss  foreboding  woe  ! 

Then  struck  on  young  Kirkpatrick's  breast 
A  deep  and  deadly  blow. 

Sair,  sair,  and  meikle  did  he  bleed ; 

His  lady  slept  till  day, 
But  dreamt  the  Firth  flowed  o'er  her  head, 

In  bride-bed  as  she  lay. 

The  murderer  hasted  down  the  stair, 
And  back'd  his  courser  fleet ; 

Then  did  the  thunder  'gin  to  rair, 
Then  shower'd  the  rain  and  sleet. 

Ae  fire-flaught  darted  through  the  rain, 
Whare  a'  was  mirk  before, 

And  glinted  o'er  the  raging  main, 
That  shook  the  sandy  shore. 

But  mirk  and  mirker  grew  the  night, 
And  heavier  beat  the  rain  ; 

And  quicker  Lindsay  urged  his  flight, 
Some  ha'  or  beild  to  gain. 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  19 

Lang  did  lie  ride  o'er  hill  and  dale, 

Nor  mire  nor  flood  he  fear'd; 
I  trow  his  courage  'gan  to  fail 

When  morning  light  appear'd. 

For  having  hied,  the  live-lang  night, 

Through  hail  and  heavy  showers, 
He  fand  himself,  at  peep  o'  light, 

Hard  by  Caerlaveroc's  towers. 

The  Castle  bell  was  ringing  out, 

The  ha'  was  all  asteer ; 
And  mony  a  scriech  and  waefu'  shout, 

Appall'd  the  murderer's  ear. 

Now  they  hae  bound  this  traitor  straug 

Wi'  curses  and  wi'  blows, 
And  high  in  air  they  did  him  hang, 

To  feed  the  carrion  crows. 


"  To  sweet  Lincluden's  haly  cells 

Fou  dowie  I'll  repair ; 
There  Peace  wi'  gentle  Patience  dwells, 

Nae  deadly  feuds  are  there. 

"  In  tears  I'll  wither  ilka  charm, 

Like  draps  o'  balefu'  yew; 
And  wail  the  beauty  that  cou'd  harm 

A  Knight  sae  brave  and  true." 

Lincluden  Abbey  is  situated  near  Dumfries,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Cluden.  It 
was  founded  and  filled  with  Benedictine  nuns  in  the  time  of  Malcolm  IT.  by  Uthred, 
father  to  Boland,  Lord  of  Galloway,  in  opposing  whose  claim  in  1187,  Kirkpatrick  was 
slain  as  above  mentioned.  These  nuns  were  expelled  by  Archibald  the  Grim,  Earl  of 
Douglas. —  Vide  Pennant. 


20  KIRKPATRICK 

Many  years  after  this  event,  the  murderer's  grandson  met  Margaret  Kirkpatrick  at 
the  Court  of  Holyrood,  when  the  young  people  forgot  the  feudal  duty  of  eternal 
hatred.  On  her  return  home,  young  Lindsay,  prowling  about  Caerlaveroc  Castle,  was 
seized  by  Kirkpatriek's  men,  and  thrown  into  the  Castle  dungeon,  from  which,  in  the 
night,  he  was  secretly  released  by  Margaret,  who,  while  refusing  to  quit  the  roof  of  her 
stern  father  and  fly  with  Lindsay,  was  betrayed  into  vows,  which  after  a  time  were  duly 
performed,  her  dutiful  affection  haviDg  melted  the  old  man's  feudal  heart.  Upon 
this  love-tale  Mrs.  Erskine  Norton  founded  her  ballad,  called  "  The  Earl's  Daughter." 

PART  THE  FIRST. 

TJp  rose  Caerlaveroc's  grim  Earl, 

Right  joyful  shouted  he, 
My  foeman's  son  for  ever  now 

My  prisoner  shall  be. 

He  lies  within  my  dungeon  wall, 

And  chain'd  shall  there  remain, 
Or  his  life-blood  shall  wash  away 

Eoul  murder's  hateful  stain. 

"What  brought  the  callant  near  my  towers  ! 

Scarce  armed  and  all  alone  ? 
'Twas  the  hand  of  Heaven  which  gave  him  up, 

His  father's  crime  to  atone. 

The  Lady  Margaret  stood  there, 

Close  by  the  old  Earl's  side, 
"  Alas,  my  Lord,  for  his  father's  sin, 

May  no  ill  to  him  betide. 

"  Spare  his  young  blood,  my  parent  dear, 

Spare  his  young  blood,  I  pray ; 
Oh  set  him  free — the  death-feud  stop, 

And  let  him  wend  his  way!" 


OF   CLOSEBUKN.  21 

"  Now  shame  thee,  Lady  Margaret, 

Out  on  thee,  child,  I  say, 
And  for  that  thou  haat  dared  to  plead 

He  dies  at  break  of  day." 

The  Lady  Margaret  was  good, 

And  wise  as  she  was  fair, 
No  maid  within  a  thousand  miles 

Could  match  Caerlaveroc's  heir. 

Her  sire's  hereditary  foe 

At  Holyrood  she  met, 
The  young  Lord  Lindsay,  and  they  loved 

As  foes  had  ne'er  loved  yet. 

It  was  to  spy  his  Lady  fair, 

Toung  Lindsay  in  disguise, 
"Was  wandering  near  her  father's  towers 

And  taken  by  surprize. 

PAET  THE  SECOND. 

'Tis  midnight,  Margaret  does  not  sleep, 

Nor  yet  her  faithful  page, 
Fearful  the  task,  for  life  or  death, 

In  which  they  both  engage. 

The  Lady  Margaret  steals  along 

The  subterranean  way, 
Known  only  by  her  sire  and  her, 

To  where  the  prisoner  lay. 

She  struggles  on,  and  gains  at  last 

The  secret  aperture, 
Glides  gently  to  his  iron  couch, 

Where  chained  he  lies  secure. 


22 


KIRKPATRICK 

He  starts,  and  almost  shrieks  to  see 

His  Margaret  so  nigh, 
But  finger  on  her  lip  is  laid, 

And  warning's  in  her  eye. 

No  word  they  spoke — the  chain's  unlocked, 

Up  with  a  bound  he  springs, 
And  freedom  to  his  pallid  brow 

The  rushing  life-blood  brings. 

The  loathsome  passage  now  is  cleared, 
The  stars  are  glittering  bright, 

And  to  his  parching  lip  is  brought 
The  fresh  cool  breeze  of  night. 

Down  in  yon  dell  the  page  awaits 

"With  a  courser  fleet  and  sure, 
'  Tis  but  to  mount  and  ply  the  spur 

His  freedom  to  secure. 

"  Now,  dearest  Margaret,  fly  with  me, 

Now  fly  with  me,  I  pray, 
A  victim  to  thy  sire's  revenge 

Here  must  thou  never  stay. 

"  Turn  not  away,  nor  wring  my  hand, 

From  hence  I  will  not  stir, 
If  Margaret  cannot  fly  with  me 

I  must  not  part  from  her. 

"  Put  up  your  steed,  Sir  page,  and  now 

Return  we,  whence  we  came  ; 
Oh  Margaret,  could'st  thou  think  that  I 

Dread  dying  more  than  shame." 


OF   CLOSEBUEN.  23 

Then  Margaret  dried  her  falling  tears, 

And  courage  found  to  speak  : 
"  Lindsay,  I  am  resolved  and  firm, 

Although  my  heart  should  break. 

"  Thy  life  is  saved,  and  thou  art  free, 

And  trust  me,  I  would  brave 
Ten  times  the  peril  of  this  night 

That  precious  life  to  save. 

"  Oh  deem  it  not  a  lack  of  love, 

For  I  would  share  with  thee 
Want,  sickness,  toil,  and  worse  than  all, 

The  harsh  world's  contumely. 

"  Oh  deem  it  not  a  lack  of  love 

If  one  thing  yet  I  name, 
Still  dearer  than  thou  art  to  me 

A  conscience  free  from  blame. 

"  And  ne'er  will  I  desert  my  sire 

Prom  duty's  path  beguiled, 
Though  stern  and  vengeful  to  his  foe, 

He  dearly  loves  his  child. 

"  I  will  not  leave  him  in  his  age, 

But,  Lindsay,  cease  thy  dread, 
He'll  rage  and  storm,  but  never  harm 

A  hair  of  his  Margaret's  head. 

"  I  will  confess  my  love  for  thee, 

And  time  perchance  may  bring 
Some  healing  balm— perchance  root  out 

Eevenge's  festered  sting. 


24  KIRKPATEICK 

"  Leave  all  to  rae — there  still  is  hope, 
Mount,  mount  thy  steed,  away  ! 

Methinks  I  hear  the  early  bird, 
That  harbingers  the  day." 

Lindsay  revered  her  filial  truth 
And  ceased  his  suit  to  press  ; 

He  felt  he  could  not  love  her  more, 
But  might  esteem  her  less. 

One  kiss,  one  long  and  parting  kiss, 
Then  leaped  he  on  his  steed, 

One  look,  one  long  and  parting  look, 
And  he  was  safe  indeed. 

PAET  THE  THIED. 

'Tis  cockcrow,  and  the  dappled  dawn 
Glows  o'er  the  eastern  sky, 

Caerlaveroc's  guard  i'  the  castle  yard 
Are  watching  gloomily. 

What  means  this  sudden  uproar  wild, 
Arms  clash,  deep  curses  rise, 

The  shrill-toned  swell  of  the  'larum  bell 
Salutes  the  brightening  skies. 

And  steeds  are  saddling  in  their  stalls, 
The  drawbridge  rattles  down, 

Eide  hard  ye  may,  my  men,  this  day, 
Tour  captured  foe  is  flown. 

Caerlaveroc's  chief  is  in  his  hall, 
None  looked  on  him  but  feared, 

His  teeth  are  clenched,  and  the  fury  foam 
Whitens  his  grizzled  beard. 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  «0 

Death  flashes  from  bis  keen  blue  eye, 

As  to  bis  feet  is  brought, 
Unarmed  and  bound,  the  sentry  found 

On  guard  o'er  him  they  sought. 

"  Traitor!"  and  glancing  high  in  air, 

The  Earl's  bright  falchion  quivers, 
It  falls,  but  checked  and  dashed  aside, 

In  the  firm  oak  beam  shivers. 

Why  failed  his  arm,  so  firm  and  true  ? 

It  rarely  failed  till  now  : 
And  what  hath  blanched  that  iron  cheek 

And  tamed  the  threatening  brow  ? 

A  gentle  form  has  glided  'tween 

The  victim  and  the  blow, 
Margaret's  fair  neck  it  slightly  grazed — 

The  red  drops  trickling  flow. 

Tes,  there  she  knelt,  his  daughter  dear, 

In  penitent's  array, 
Her  feet  were  bare,  and  her  long  dark  hair 

On  the  stone  pavement  lay. 

All  stood  aghast ;  her  eye  was  firm, 

But  her  cheek  and  lip  were  pale, 
Yet  lovely  shewed,  through  the  waving  cloud 

Of  her  dark  mourning  veil. 

"  Father,  behold  the  Traitor  here  :" 

The  silvery  tone  was  heard, 
By  each  and  all,  in  that  crowded  hall, 

And  every  heart  is  stirred. 

E 


20  KIRKPATRICK 

With  rage,  amazement,  shame,  and  grief, 

The  haughty  Chieftain  gaspt, 
Fierce  was  the  strife,  but  nature  won 

Her  trembling  claim  at  last. 

Well  had  the  maiden  prophesied, 

Her  pleading  wise  and  calm, 
With  time  did  bring,  to  Revenge's  sting 

A  holy  healing  balm. 

For  a  year  had  scarcely  past  away, 

When  from  her  father's  hand, 
Lindsay  with  pride,  received  his  bride, 

In  wedlock's  sacred  band. 

A  happier  pair  were  never  known 

To  grace  Caerlaveroc's  bowers, 
And  soon  on  his  knee,  the  Earl  smiled  to  see 

A  young  Lord  of  its  ancient  towers. 

8.  Winfred  succeeded  his  father  Sir  Thomas.  Playfair  thinks  Nesbit  and  Grose 
are  mistaken,  and  that  this  should  be  Umfred ;  but  Playfair  confounds  Winfred  with 
his  cousin  Umfred  mentioned  above  as  one  of  the  hostages  for  the  King's  ransom. 

9.  Sir  Thomas  succeeded  bis  father  Winfred,  and  died  without  issue.  He  settled 
the  Barony  of  Closeburn,  &c.  upon  his  brother  Roger,  by  a  Resignation  into  the 
hands  of  Robert  Duke  of  Albany,  and  Charter  of  Confirmation  and  Tailzie,  to  himself 
and  his  heirs  male  of  his  body,  "  whilk  failing,  to  his  brother  Roger  and  his  heirs 
male,  &c.     Dated  at  Air,  4th  Oct.  1409." 

In  a  Charter  dated  at  Edinburgh,  1410,  granted  by  Sir  Robert  Maxwell  of  Cal- 
derwood  to  Sir  Alexander  Gordon  of  Stichell,  ancestor  to  the  Viscounts  of  Kenmure, 
Sir  Thomas  appears  as  a  witness,    "  Testibus  magnifico  et  potenti  principe  et  domino 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  27 

Archibaldo  Comite  de  Douglas  domino  Gallovidise  et  val.  Annandie,  Archibaldo 
primogenito  suo,  Jacobo  de  Douglas  germano  dicto  domino  Comiti,  Scutiforis;  Do- 
mino "Willielmino  de  Douglas  domino  de  Drumlanrig,  Domino  Thomo  de  Kyrkpatrick 
domino  de  Kloseburn,  Domino  Thomo  de  Morvia,  militibus,  cum  multis  aliis." 

In  the  year  1424,  Sir  Thomas  made  a  settlement  of  his  lands  of  Aucbinleck  and 
Newtown,  by  Resignation  into  the  hands  of  George  Earl  of  March  and  Dunbar,  and 
new  Charter  in  which  he  is  styled  the  Earl's  dearest  cousin, '  Consanguineus.'  "  This 
George  Earl  of  Dunbar,"  says  Playfair,  "  was  the  last  who  bore  titles  of  nobility  of 
the  mighty  race  of  Cospatrick,  the  sins  of  his  father's  ambition  having  been  visited 
upon  him,  by  a  king  who  overlooked  and  forgot  the  dignity  and  valour  of  his  most 
illustrious  ancestors."  It  may  here  be  observed,  that  the  Earl  of  Dunbar  was  related 
to  the  Kings  of  England.  His  father  writes  thus  to  King  Henry  the  Fourth.  '  And 
excellent  Prince,  syn  that  I  claim  to  be  of  kin  til  yhow,  and  it  peraventur  nocht 
knawen  on  yhour  parte,  I  schew  it  to  your  Lordship  be  this  my  lettre,  that  gif  Dame 
Alice  the  Bewmont  was  yhour  graunde  dame,  Dame  Margery  Comeyne  her  full  sister 
was  my  graunde  dame  on  t'other  side,  sa  that  I  am  but  of  the  fierde  (fourth)  degree 
of  kyn  til  yhow,  the  quhilk  in  aide  tyme  was  callit  neir.' 

On  the  12th  July,  1428,  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  was  one  of  the  Commissioners 
who  met  at  Handen  Stane,  for  mutual  redress  of  injuries  between  the  two  kingdoms 
of  Scotland  and  England ;  at  which  meeting  he  was  named  one  of  the  four,  to  whom 
particular  reference  should  be  made,  in  case  of  any  future  dispute  between  the 
Deputies,  concerning  trespass  done  in  the  Marches ;  and  he  was  also  one  of  the  Pleni- 
potentiaries for  confirming  the  peace  with  the  English  at  Lochmaben  Stone,  1429 ; 
and  again  in  a  truce  concluded  between  James  the  Second  of  Scotland  and  Henry 
the  Sixth  of  England. 

In  1428  he  was  appointed  Conservator,  &c.  together  with  Archibald  Duke  of 
Touraine  and  Earl  of  Douglas,  the  Earl  of  Angus,  &c.      (Redpath's  Border  History.) 

10.  Sir  Roger  succeeded  his  brother  Sir  Thomas,  and  on  10th  June,  1445,  was 
one  of  the  Barons  of  Inquest  serving  his  brother-in-law  William  Lord  Somerville, 


28  KIRKPATRICK 

heir  to  his  father  Thomas  Lord  Somerville.  To  this  Retour  is  appended  his  seal 
bearing  his  arms,  the  same  as  now  used  by  the  family.  The  shield  couche,  and 
thereon  a  saltier  (the  well  known  saltier  of  Annandale),  and  chief  charged  with  three 
cushions  (of  Dunbar).  For  supporters  two  lions  guardant,  holding  up  the  helmet 
on  the  chief  point  of  the  shield  (from  the  old  bearing  of  the  Bruce,  "  Esto  ferox  ut 
Leo.")     Nesbit's  Heraldry. 

The  origin  of  the  use  of  Supporters  is  not  very  clear.  On  private  seals  of  a  date  as 
early  as  Edward  I.  we  find  figures  of  animals  placed  on  either  side  and  above  the  shield 
of  arms.  These  figures  appear  to  have  had  their  origin  entirely  in  the  fancy  of  the 
engraver,  and  are  considered  by  some  to  have  given  rise  to  what  we  now  call  Supporters, 
though  it  is  much  more  likely  that  supporters  originated  in  the  following  custom  which 
prevailed  in  the  olden  time.  "When  Knights  were  about  to  enter  the  lists  at  a  Tilt  or  a 
Tournament,  they  caused  their  banners  or  escutcheons  of  arms  to  be  held  by  their 
pages,  disguised  in  the  form  of  different  animals,  they  are  thus  represented  in  many 
old  MSS.  standing  on  their  hind  legs  and  supporting  the  banner  or  shield  with  their 
paws. 

In  a  curious  treatise  by  Bene  of  Anjou  King  of  Sicily,  it  appears  that  much  cere- 
mony attended  this  exhibition  of  arms.  A  summons  was  issued,  '  To  all  princes,  barons, 
knights,  and  esquires  who  intend  to  tilt  at  this  tournament.  Te  are  ordained  to  lodge 
in  the  city  four  days  before  the  tournament,  to  make  display  of  your  armories,  and  your 
arms  shall  be  thus  ;  the  crest  shall  be  placed  over  a  plate  of  copper,  large  enough  to 
contain  the  whole  summit  of  the  helmet,  and  the  said  plate  shall  be  covered  with  a 
mantle,  whereon  shall  be  emblazoned  the  arms  of  him  who  shall  bear  it,  and  on  the 
mantle  at  the  top  thereof,  shall  the  crest  be  placed,  and  around  it  shall  be  a  wreath  of 
colours,  and  the  heralds  shall  set  forth  unto  the  ladies  to  whom  this  crest  belongeth, 
and  to  whom  that,  and  if  there  be  any  one  which  belongeth  to  any  reviler  of  the  ladies, 
the  ladies  shall  touch  his  crest,  and  on  the  morrow  it  shall  be  sent  away,  and  he  shall 
have  no  tilting  at  this  tournament.' 

When  a  knight  had  once  made  his  appearance  at  these  tournaments,  it  was  not 
necessary  for  him  again  to  make  proof  of  his  nobility,  this  having  been  already 
sufficiently  recognized  and  blazoned. 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  29 

Of  the  sovereigns  of  England,  Edward  III.  is  the  first  who  is  said  to  have  used 
supporters,  but  we  have  no  conclusive  evidence  that  supporters  were  in  use  at  so  early  a 
period.  The  use  of  supporters  is  now  limited  to  Peers  of  the  realm  and  Knights  of 
the  Bath,  although  they  are  sometimes  specially  granted.  Though  thus  restricted, 
many  of  the  old  Barons  of  Scotland,  who  are  not  peers,  and  particularly  the  Cliiefs  of 
names,  who  had  been  in  the  habit  of  using  them,  protested  against  being  compelled 
to  discontinue  them,  as  they  had  been  borne  by  their  ancestors  for  many  centuries,  and 
were  retained  as  marks  of  superiority  over  their  clansmen.  The  matter  was  not  pressed, 
and  their  families  have  since  continued  them  without  opposition.  The  same  custom  has 
prevailed  in  some  of  the  oldest  and  best  of  our  English  families,  till  they  have  acquired  a 
kind  of  possessory  right,  far  more  honourable  than  any  modern  grant  which  might  be 
obtained  from  an  office  of  arms. 

Sir  Roger  was  made  Commissioner  of  the  West  Borders  by  King  James,  1455.  In 
the  MS.  History  of  the  Somerville  family,  compiled  by  Lord  Somerville  in  the  year 
1679,  is  the  following  passage  respecting  the  matches  of  the  first  Lord  Somerville's 
daughters.  '  This  nobleman  being  blessed  with  many  children,  whereof  five  being  alyve 
wer  now  come  to  the  estate  of  men  and  women,  his  eldest  daughter  named  Marie,  this 
year  1427,  he  marryes  upon  Sir  William  Hay  of  Yestir ;  his  youngest  daughter,  named 
Margaret  after  his  own  mother,  he  marryes  upon  the  Laird  of  Closeburn  in  Niddis- 
dale,  of  the  sirname  of  Kirkpatrick,  whose  son  Thomas  named  efter  his  grandfather 
the  Lord  Somerville,  we  will  have  occasion  to  speak  of  in  the  memorie  of  his  cousin 
Lord  John.  What  portion  in  land  or  money  this  lady  had  from  her  father  I  find  not, 
but  it  appears  the  house  of  Closeburn  has  been  very  well  satisfied  with  this  match. 
Thus  we  see  this  nobleman  happy  and  fortunate  in  his  own  match,  and  in  the  match- 
ing of  his  daughters,  being  all  in  his  own  life  time  marryed  to  gentlemen  of  eminent 
qualitie,  two  of  them,  Closeburn  and  Restairig,  chief  of  their  names  and  families.' 

Margaret  Somerville,  Lady  Closeburn,  left  a  widow  with  a  family,  married  her  second 
husband  Thomas  Ker  of  Fernyhirst,  ancestor  of  the  Marquis  of  Lothian.  In  1465, 
Cardinal  Antonius  confirmed  a  Charter  granted  by  the  monastery  of  Melrose  to  John 
Kirkpatrick  of  Alisland,  of  the  lands  of  Lalgonie,  including  Killilago  and  Dempsterton. 


30  KIRKPATRICK 

11.  Sir  Thomas  succeeded  his  father,  and  by  the  Parliament  which  sat  at  Edin- 
burgh, 2nd  April,  1481,  was  made  keeper  of  Lochmaben  Castle.  This  Castle  was  for- 
merly a  noble  building,  situated  upon  a  peninsula  projecting  into  one  of  the  four 
lakes,  which  are  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  royal  Burgh,  and  was  the  residence  of 
Robert  Bruce  while  Lord  of  Annandale.  Accordingly,  it  was  always  held  to  be 
a  royal  fortress,  the  keeping  of  which,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  times,  was 
granted  to  some  powerful  Lord,  with  an  allotment  of  lands  and  fishings  for  the 
defence  and  maintenance  of  the  place. 

He  sat  in  that  Parliament  of  King  James  the  Third,  which  commenced  29th 
January,  1487,  and  continued  till  5th  May,  and  in  that  beginning  1st  October  in  the 
same  year.     (Carmichael  Tracts.) 

He  resettled  his  Barony  of  Closeburn,  his  Barony  of  Bridburgh,  his  lands  of 
Auchinleck,  &c.  by  Resignation  into  the  hands  of  King  James  the  Third,  and  new 
Confirmation  Charter  to  him  and  Maria  de  Maxwell  his  spouse,  which  Maria  was 
daughter  of  Herbert  second  Lord  Maxwell,  by  Isobel  daughter  of  William  Lord  Seton. 
(See  Douglas  Peerage.) 

Alexander  Kirkpatrick,  brother  of  Sir  Thomas,  received  the  Barony  of  Kirkmichael 
from  the  King,  as  a  reward  for  taking  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Burnswark,  James  the 
ninth  and  last  Earl  of  Douglas,  1484.  This  Earl,  weary  of  exile  and  anxious  to  revisit 
his  native  land,  made  a  vow  that  on  St.  Magdalen's  day  he  would  lay  his  offering  upon 
the  high  altar  at  Lochmaben,  of  which  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  was  then  keeper. 
Accompanied  by  the  Earl  of  Albany  he  entered  Scotland  in  a  warlike  guise,  but  the 
Borderers  flocked  together  to  oppose  him,  and  he  was  defeated  at  Burnswark  in 
Dumfriesshire.  Whoever  should  kill  or  take  captive  the  Earl,  was  to  receive  a  thousand 
merks  aud  an  estate  of  a  thousand  merks  yearly  rent.  Alexander  Kirkpatrick  made  the 
Douglas  a  prisoner  with  his  own  hand.  The  Earl  desired  to  be  carried  to  the  King, 
saying  to  Kirkpatrick,  '  Thou  art  well  intitled  to  profit  by  my  misfortune,  for  thou  wert 
ever  true  to  me  while  I  was  true  to  myself.'  But  the  young  man  burst  into  tears,  and 
offered  to  conduct  his  captive  to  England.  The  Earl  refused  his  proft'er,  and  only  desired 
that  he  might  not  be  given  up  to  the  King,  till   his  conqueror  had  made  sure  of  his 


OF   CLOSEBUEN.  31 

reward.  Kirkpatrick  generously  went  farther,  he  stipulated  for  the  safety  of  the  ancient 
Lord.  Accordingly,  while  he  received  the  estate  of  Kirkmichael,  1484,  for  his  own 
services,  Douglas  was  permitted  to  retire  to  the  Abbey  of  Lindores. 

The  son  of  this  Alexander  was  "William  of  Kirkmichael,  who  adhered  to  the  ancient 
creed  of  his  forefathers,  and  thereby  gave  much  offence  to  the  reformers.  At  the  first 
General  Assembly  of  the  reformed  Kirk  of  Scotland,  holden  at  Edinburgh,  20th  Dec. 
1560,  it  was  thought  expedient  to  ask  at  the  Estates  of  Parliament  and  Lords  of  Secret 
Council,  '  for  the  eschewing  of  the  wrath  and  judgment  of  the  Eternal  God,  and  removing 
of  the  plagues  threatened  in  the  law,  that  sharp  punishment  may  be  made  upon  the 
persons  underwritten,  and  other  idolaters  and  maintainers  thereof,  in  contempt  of  God, 
his  true  religion  and  acts  of  Parliament ;  whilk  says  and  confessis  messe  to  be  said, 
and  are  present  there  within  the  following  places  in  Nithsdale  and  Galloway ;  the 
Prior  of  Whithorne  and  his  servants  in  Crugletone,  the  Laird  of  Corswell  in  Corswell, 
the  Lord  Carliel,  the  Laird  of  Kirkmichael,  who  causes  messe  to  be  said  and  images  to 
be  holden  up,  and  idolatrie  to  be  maintained  within  his  bounds.'  (Keith's  History  of 
Scotland,  p.  499.) 

12.  Sir  Thomas,  who  succeeded  his  father  in  1502,  married  the  sister  of  Robert 
Lord  Creghton  of  Sanquhar,  descended  from  a  natural  son  of  King  Robert  the  Second, 
and  ancestor  of  the  Marquis  of  Bute.  In  a  Grant,  dated  29th  Nov.  1509,  Robert  Lord 
Creghton  of  Sanquhar  grants  the  ward  of  the  lands  of  Robertmure  '  to  an  honorable 
man  and  his  brother-in-law,  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  of  Closeburn,  Knight.' 

13.  Sir  Thomas,  who,  on  the  22nd  June,  1515,  got  a  Brief  from  the  King's 
Chancery  to  be  served  heir  to  his  father,  married  Margaret  Sinclair,  daughter  of  the 
second  Earl  of  Caithness,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Flodden,  1513,  and  sister  of 
the  third  Earl  who  was  killed  in  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  obtain  possession  of 
the  Orkney  islands,  to  which  he  alleged  a  claim. 

Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  was  one  of  the  many  leaders,  taken  prisoner  at  the  Flight 
of  Solway  Moss,  in  1542,  and  appears  thus  in  the  list  of  those  compelled  to  give 
pledges  to  keep  the  peace,  published  by  Lodge  in  his  Illustrations  of  British  History  : 


32  KIRKPATRICK 

"Laird  of  Closeburne  of  100  pound  land  sterling  and  more. — His  pledge  Thomas 
Kirkpatrick  his  cosyn,  for  403  men."  A  proof,  as  Playfair  observes,  of  the  then 
opulent  and  powerful  state  of  the  family,  if  compared  with  the  other  high  names 
recorded  in  that  list. 

It  is  difficult  in  our  peaceable  times  to  realize  the  state  of  society  on  the  Borders  of 
England  and  Scotland,  so  lately  as  the  15th  and  16th  centuries.  Previous  to  the 
attempts  of  Edward  I.  to  subjugate  Scotland,  there  were  scarcely  any  symptoms  of  ill- 
will  between  the  two  countries,  and  his  plan  of  uniting  the  two  Crowns  by  the  marriage 
of  his  son  with  the  Maid  of  Norway,  was  eagerly  embraced  by  the  Scottish  Nobility. 
His  subsequent  attempts  roused  the  patriotism  of  the  Scottish  nation,  and  rendered 
hostilities  inveterate.  Bad  as  his  title  was,  his  success  no  doubt  would  have  been  a 
benefit  to  both  nations,  and  saved  centuries  of  bloodshed  and  misery,  which  left  a 
rankling  feeling  of  hatred  long  after  their  devastations  ceased. 

Two  centuries  of  perpetual  border  warfare,  sometimes  between  English  and  Scottish 
Borderers,  sometimes  between  Clans,  sometimes  arising  out  of  personal  quarrels,  bring 
us  to  the  time  of  James  V.,  of  which  Sir  "Walter  Scott  thus  speaks,  in  the  Introduction 
to  the  Border  Minstrelsy :  "  The  minority  of  James  V.  presents  a  melancholy  scene. 
Scotland,  through  all  its  extent,  felt  the  truth  of  the  adage,  that  the  country  is  helpless 
whose  prince  is  a  child.  But  the  Border  Counties,  exposed  from  their  situation  to  the 
incursions  of  the  English,  deprived  of  many  of  their  most  gallant  Chiefs,  and  harassed 
by  the  intestine  struggles  of  the  survivors,  were  reduced  to  a  wilderness,  inhabited  only 
by  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  by  a  few  more  brutal  warriors."  "  Though  in  other 
respects  not  more  sanguinary  than  the  rest  of  a  barbarous  nation,  the  Borderers  never 
dismissed  from  their  memory  a  deadly  feud,  till  blood  for  blood  had  been  exacted  to  the 
uttermost  drachm."  Unable  to  repress  the  depredations  committed  by  the  Scottish  on 
the  English  Borderers,  James  was  inconsiderate  enough  to  agree,  that  the  King  of 
England  should  be  at  liberty  to  issue  letters  of  reprisal  to  his  injured  subjects,  granting 
power  to  '  invade  the  said  inhabitants  till  their  attempts  were  atoned  for.'  This  impolitic 
expedient,  of  committing  to  a  rival  sovereign  the  power  of  unlimited  chastisement, 
increased  the  evil.    For  the  inhabitants,  finding  that  the  sword  of  Bevenge  was  sub- 


OF   CLOSEBUKN.  33 

stituted  for  that  of  Justice,  were  loosened  from  their  attachment  to  the  Scottish  Govern- 
ment, and  boldly  carried  on  their  depredations  in  defiance  of  both  Governments.  And 
in  1532  the  evil  was  further  increased  by  a  breach  between  the  two  Governments  ; 
whereupon  Northumberland  on  one  hand,  and  Buccleugh  on  the  other,  at  the  head  of 
large  forces,  reciprocally  invaded  their  opponent's  country.  A  short  peace  was 
quickly  followed  by  a  war  which  proved  fatal  to  Scotland.  In  1542,  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk  ravaged  the  Borders  with  an  army  of  20,000  men.  Nothing  is  more  remarkable 
in  the  events  of  that  age,  than  the  impromptu  way  in  which  an  army  is  raised  and 
dissipated.  It  forms  itself  on  the  horizon  with  the  rapidity  of  a  thundercloud,  and 
passes  away  as  speedily.  James  went  to  meet  him  with  30,000  men,  and  upon  his 
retiring  determined  to  pursue  him  into  England  ;  but  was  surprised  to  find  that  his 
own  nobility  were  disaffected,  and  opposed  this  resolution.  Enraged  at  this  mutiny  he 
sent  10,000  men  to  the  western  borders,  who  entered  England  at  Solway  Erith,  but 
James  having  deprived  Lord  Maxwell  of  the  command,  which  he  conferred  on  his 
favourite  Oliver  Sinclair,  the  army  in  disgust  retreated  to  Solway  Moss  in  the  debateable 
land,  (that  is  the  barren  tract  of  morass  between  the  Sark  and  the  Esk  claimed  by  both 
countries,  and  consequently  the  refuge  of  outlaws  and  vagabonds  from  each)  and 
threatened  to  disband.  Upon  the  appearance  of  a  small  body  of  English,  not  exceeding 
500  men,  they  began  to  move  off.  But  being  unexpectedly  pursued  while  in  disorder, 
they  immediately  took  to  flight.  Eew  were  killed,  for  there  was  no  fighting,  but  a  great 
many  prisoners  were  taken,  including  Lord  Maxwell,  and  as  above-mentioned  Sir  Thomas 
Kirkpatrick,  with  many  of  the  principal  nobility,  who  were  all  sent  to  London,  and  the 
English  proceeded  to  lay  waste  the  country  with  a  ferocity  of  devastation  hitherto  unheard 
of.  In  Haynes'  State  Papers  the  places  burnt  and  destroyed  in  the  eastern  borders,  amount 
to  7  monasteries,  16  castles,  5  market  towns,  240  villages,  13  mills  and  3  hospitals. 

A  similar  excursion  was  made  on  the  west  borders  by  Lord  Wharton,  who  with 
5000  men  ravaged  and  overran  Annandale,  Nithsdale  and  Galloway,  compelling  the 
inhabitants  to  give  pledges  to  serve  the  King  of  England,  with  their  followers  to  the 
number  annexed  to  their  names.  In  the  list  given  by  Nicolson,  Kirkpatrick  of 
Closeburn  is  again  put  down  for  403  men,  being  more  than  any  other  individual,  and 
Kirkpatrick  Laird  of  Kirkmichael  at  222  men. 

These  men  were  said  to  be  under  assurance,  and  by  virtue  of  their  pledges  were  to  be 

F 


34  KIEKPATRICK 

exempt  from  plunder  or  injury,  but  such  exemption  was  easily  evaded,  when  it  suited 
the  soldiery  to  treat  it  as  a  nullity.  Nor  indeed  were  excuses  wanting,  for  the  Scots, 
greatly  exasperated,  took  every  opportunity  for  revenge,  and  made  dreadful  retaliation 
for  the  injuries  they  sustained. 

A  French  auxiliary  force  compelled  the  English  to  abandon  one  after  another  the 
fortresses  they  occupied.  A  French  officer,  Monsieur  Beaugue,  has  left  some  account  of 
what  he  saw.  He  says,  "  the  lust  and  cruelty  of  the  English  was  such  as  would  have 
made  shudder  the  most  savage  Moor  of  Africa."  And  after  describing  some  atrocious 
barbarities  of  the  Scots,  he  says,  "  I  cannot  greatly  praise  them,  but  the  truth  is,  that 
the  English  tyrannised  over  the  Borders  in  a  most  barbarous  manner,  and  I  think  it  was 
but  fair  to  repay  them  (according  to  the  proverb)  in  their  own  coin." 

There  is  a  curious  manuscript  account  by  Sir  Thomas  Carleton,  of  his  method  of 
carrying  out  Lord  Wharton's  directions  in  1547. 

"  The  first  day  (he  says)  we  made  a  road  into  Tevidale,  and  got  a  great  booty  of  goods, 
and  that  night  we  lay  in  the  old  walls  of  Waucop  Tower  ;  but  for  lack  of  housing  both 
for  ourselves  and  horses,  we  could  not  remain  there,  the  weather  was  so  sore ;  and  so  we 
came  to  Canonby,  where  we  lay  a  good  space,  and  then  went  to  Dumfries,  and  lay  there, 
who  submitted  themselves  to  become  the  King's  Majesty's  subjects  of  England.     And 
the  morrow  after  my  coming  hither,  I  went  into  the  Moot  Hall,  and  making  a  procla- 
mation that  whoso  would  come  in  and  make  oath,  and  lay  in  pledges  to  serve  the  King's 
Majesty  of  England,  he  should  have  our  aid  and  maintenance,  and  who  would  not  we 
would  be  on  them  with  fire  and  sword  ;  many  of  the  Lairds  of  Nidsdale  and  Galloway 
came  in  and  laid  in  pledges.     But  the  town  of  Kirkobree  (Kircudbright)  being  24  miles 
Irom  Dumfries  refused,  insomuch  that  the  Lord  Wharton  moved  me,  if  it  were  possibl3 
with  safety,  to  give  the  same  town  of  Kirkobree  a  precifi'e  to  burn  it.     And  so  we  rode 
thither  one  night,  and  coming  a  little  after  sunrising,  they  who  saw  us  coming  barred 
their  gates,  and  kept  their  dikes,  for  the  town  is  diked  on  both  sides,  with  a  gate  to  the 
waterward,  and  a  gate  in  the  over  end  to  the  fell  ward.     There  we  lighted  on  foot,  and 
gave  the  town  a  sharp  onset  and  assault,  and  slew  one  honest  man  in  the  town  with  an 
arrow.     The  Tutor  of  Bombye  near  adjoining  the  said  town,  impeached  us  with  a  company 
of  men,  and  so  we  drew  from  the  town  and  gave  Bombye  the  onset,  where  was  slain 
of  our  part  Clement  Taylor,  of  their' s  three  and  divers  taken,  and  the  rest  fled.    And  so 


OF   CLOSEBUEN.  3o 

we  returned,  seized  about  2000  sheep,  200  kye  and  oxen,  and  40  or  50  horses,  mares 
and  colts,  and  brought  the  same  towards  Dumfries.  The  country  beyond  the  water  of 
Dee  gathered,  and  came  to  a  place  called  the  Forehead  Ford.  So  we  left  all  our  sheep, 
and  put  our  worst  horsed  men  before  the  nowte  and  nags,  and  sent  30  of  the  best  horsed 
to  preeke  at  the  Scots,  if  they  should  come  over  the  water,  and  I  to  abide  with  the 
standard  in  their  relief,  which  the  Scots  perceiving  came  not  over,  so  that  we  passed 
quietly  that  night  to  Dumfries,  leaving  the  goods  in  safety  with  men  and  good  watch. 
In  the  morning  we  repaired  to  the  goods  a  mile  beyond  Dumfries,  of  intent  to  have 
divided  and  dealt  the  booty.  But  some  claimed  this  cow,  and  some  that  nag,  to  be 
under  assurance.  [That  is,  assured  to  their  owners  by  reason  of  their  having  come  in 
and  given  pledges.]  Above  all,  one  man  of  the  Laird  of  Empsfielde  came  amongst  the 
goods,  and  would  needs  take  one  cow,  saying  he  would  be  stopped  by  no  man ;  insomuch 
that  one  Thomas  Taylor,  called  Tom  with  his  bow,  being  one  of  the  garrison  and  being 
charged  with  the  keeping  of  the  goods,  struck  the  said  Scotsman  on  the  head  with  his 
bow,  so  that  the  blood  ran  down  over  his  shoulders.  Going  to  his  master  there  and 
crying  out,  his  master  went  with  him  to  the  Master  Maxwell.  The  Master  Maxwell 
came  with  a  great  rout  after  him,  and  brought  the  man  with  the  bloody  head  to  me, 
saying  with  an  earnest  countenance,  '  Is  this  think  you  well,  both  to  take  our  goods 
and  thus  to  shed  our  blood  ?'  I  considering  the  matter  at  the  present  to  be  two  for  one, 
thought  best  to  use  him  and  the  rest  of  the  Scots  with  good  words,  and  gentle  and  fair 
speeches,  for  they  were  determined  even  there  to  have  given  us  an  onset,  and  to  have 
taken  the  goods  from  us.  So  that  I  persuaded  them  to  stay  themselves,  and  the  goods 
should  be  all  stayed,  and  none  dealt  till  the  next  morrow  ;  and  then  every  man  to  come 
that  had  any  claim,  and  upon  proof  it  should  be  redressed.  And  thus  willed  every  man 
quietly  for  that  time  to  depart.  Upon  this  we  all  agreed,  and  so  we  left  the  goods 
in  safe  keeping,  and  came  to  Dumfries  about  one  of  the  clock  in  the  afternoon,  giving 
every  one  of  the  garrison  secret  warning  to  put  on  their  jacks,  and  bridle  and  saddle 
their  horses,  and  to  meet  me  immediately  at  the  bridge  end.  And  so  they  did.  I 
sent  42  men  for  the  goods,  and  to  meet  me  at  a  ford  a  mile  above  the  town,  where-  we 
brought  the  goods  over,  and  so  came  by  Lochmaben,  and  divided  them  that  night,  and 
brought  them  to  Canonby,  where  we  remained  before.  And  thus  with  wiles  we  beguiled 
the  Scots." 


36  KIRKPATRIOK 

Afterwards  lie  goes  on— "Considering  Canonby  to  be  far  from  the  enemy,  for  even  at 
that  time  all  Annandale,  Liddisdale,  and  a  great  part  of  Nidsdale  and  Galway,  were  in 
assurance,  and  entered  to  serve  the  King's  Majesty  of  England,  saving  the  Laird  of 
Drumlanricke,  who  never  came  in  nor  submitted  himself,  and  with  him  continued 
Alexander  Carlell,  Laird  of  Bridekirk,  and  his  son  the  young  Laird,  I  thought  it  good 
to  practise  some  way  we  might  get  some  hold  or  castle,  where  we  might  be  near  the 
enemy,  and  to  lie  within  our  own  strength  in  the  night,  where  we  might  all  lie  down 
together  and  rise  together.  Thus  practising,  one  Sandee  Armstrong,  son  to  ill  "Will 
Armstrong,  came  to  me  and  told  me  he  had  a  man  named  John  Lynton,  who  was  born 
in  the  head  of  Annandale,  near  to  the  Lockwood,  being  the  Laird  of  Johnston's  chief 
house.  And  the  said  Laird  and  his  brother  were  taken  prisoners  not  long  before,  and 
were  remaining  in  England.  It  was  a  fair  large  tower,  able  to  lodge  all  our  company 
safely,  with  a  barnekin,  hall,  kitchen  and  stables,  all  within  the  barnekin,  and  was  but 
kept  by  two  or  three  fellows  and  as  many  wenches.  He  thought  it  might  be  stolen  in 
a  morning  on  the  opening  of  the  tower  door ;  which  I  required  the  said  Sandee  to 
practice,  with  as  much  foresight  to  make  it  sure  as  was  possible,  for  if  we  should  make 
an  oifer  and  not  get  it,  we  had  lost  it  forever.  At  last  it  was  agreed  that  we  should  go 
with  the  whole  garrison.  We  came  there  about  an  hour  before  day,  and  the  greater 
part  of  us  lay  close  without  the  barnekin.  But  about  a  dozen  of  the  men  got  over  the 
barnekin  wall,  and  stole  close  into  the  house  within  the  barnekin,  and  took  the  wenches 
and  kept  them  secure  in  the  house  till  daylight.  And  at  sunrising  two  men  and  a 
woman,  being  in  the  tower,  one  of  the  men  rising  in  his  shirt  and  going  to  the  tower 
head  and  seeing  nothing  stir  about,  he  called  on  the  wench  that  lay  in  the  tower,  and 
bad  her  rise  and  open  the  tower  door,  and  call  up  them  that  lay  beneath.  She  so  doing 
and  opening  the  iron  door  and  a  wood  door  without  it,  our  men  in  the  barnekin  brake  a 
little  too  soon  to  the  door,  for  the  wench  perceiving  them  leaped  back  into  the  tower, 
and  had  gotten  almost  the  wooden  door  to,  but  one  got  hold  of  it  that  she  could  not  get 
it  close  to,  so  the  skirmish  rose,  and  we  over  the  barnekin  broke  open  the  wood  door, 
and  she  being  troubled  with  the  wood  door  left  the  iron  door  open,  and  so  we  entered 
and  won  the  Lockwood ;  where  we  found  truly  the  house  well  purveyed  for  beef  salted, 
malt,  big,  haver  meal,  butter  and  cheese.  Immediately  taking  a  short  survey  of  the 
house,  leaving  the  same  in  charge  with  Sandee  Armstrong,  and  giving  strict  charge  no 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  37 

man  to  embezzle  or  take  away  any  manner  of  thing,  until  my  Lord  Wharton's  mind  and 
pleasure  should  he  known,  I  rid  to  his  Lordship  to  Carlisle,  who  willed  me  in  the  King's 
Majesty's  name  to  keep  that  house  to  his  Grace's  use,  and  to  ride  to  Moffat  four  miles 
off,  and  make  proclamation  according  to  the  effect  of  the  proclamation  made  before  in 
Dumfries,  and  whoso  did  others  wrong,  either  by  theft,  oppression,  or  otherwise,  that  I 
should  order  it  among  them,  and  in  all  weighty  causes  to  refer  it  to  his  Lordship  and  his 
council ;  which  I  accomplished  to  the  utmost  of  my  power,  and  so  continued  there  for 
some  time  in  the  service  of  the  King's  Majesty,  as  Captain  of  that  house,  Governor  and 
Steward  of  Annandale  under  the  Lord  "Wharton ;  in  which  time  we  rode  daily  and 
nightly  upon  the  King's  enemies.  Amongst  others,  soon  after  our  coming  there,  I  called 
certain  of  the  best  horsed  men  of  the  garrison,  declaring  to  them  that  I  had  a  purpose 
offered  by  a  Scotsman  which  would  be  our  guide,  and  that  was  to  burn  Lamington  [the 
house  of  Sir  William  Baillie]  which  we  did  wholly,  took  prisoners  and  won  much  good 
malt,  sheep,  horse,  and  insight,  and  brought  the  same  to  Moffat  in  Annandale,  and  there 
distributed  it,  giving  every  man  an  oath  to  bring  in  all  his  winnings  of  that  journey. 
Wherein  truly  the  men  offended  so  much  their  own  conscience,  very  many  concealing 
things  which  afterwards  I  speired  out,  that  after  that  time  my  conscience  would  never 
suffer  me  to  minister  an  oath  for  this.  After  that  I  made  a  rade  in  by  Crawfurth  Castle 
to  the  head  of  Clyde,  where  we  seiged  a  great  vastil  house  of  James  Douglas,  which 
they  held  til  the  men  and  cattle  were  all  devoured  with  smoke  and  fire.  And  so  we 
returned  to  Lockwood,  at  which  place  we  remained  very  quietly,  and  in  a  manner  in  as 
civil  order,  both  for  hunting  and  all  pastime,  as  if  we  had  been  at  home  in  our  own 
houses." 

The  Borders  continued  in  an  intermittent  state  of  war  and  peace,  till  after  the  acces- 
sion of  James  I.  when  the  extremities  of  the  two  kingdoms  became  the  centre  of  the 
United  Kingdom,  and  the  worst  of  the  evil  disappeared,  although  it  took  a  much  longer 
time  to  put  an  end  to  the  system  of  petty  rapine,  to  which  they  had  been  for  centuries 
accustomed,  and  which  was  to  them  the  normal  state  of  existence. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his  introduction  to  the  Border  Minstrelsy,  notices  some  of  their 
peculiar  customs  and  modes  of  life.  "Their  morality,"  he  says,  "  was  of  a  singular  kind. 
The  rapine  by  which  they  subsisted  they  accounted  lawful  and  honourable.  Ever  liable 
to  lose  their  whole  subsistence  by  an  incursion  of  the  English  on  a  sudden  breach  of 
truce,  they  cared  little  to  waste  their  time  in  cultivating  crops,  to  be  reaped  by  their 


38  KIRKPATRICK 

foes.  Their  cattle  therefore  was  their  chief  property,  and  these  were  nightly  exposed 
to  the  southern  Borderers,  as  rapacious  and  active  as  themselves  ;  hence  robhery  assumed 
the  appearance  of  fair  reprisal.  The  fatal  privilege  of  pursuing  marauders  into  their 
own  country  for  recovery  of  stolen  goods,  led  to  continual  skirmishes.  The  Warden  also, 
himself  frequently  the  chieftain  of  a  Border  horde,  when  redress  was  not  instantly 
granted  by  the  opposite  officer,  retaliated  by  a  Warden  Said.  In  such  cases  the  Moss 
troopers  who  crowded  to  his  standard,  found  themselves  pursuing  their  own  craft  under 
legal  authority.  Equally  unable  and  unwilling  to  make  nice  distinctions,  they  could  not 
understand  that  what  was  to-day  fair  booty,  was  to-morrow  a  theft ;  they  called  them- 
selves Freebooters,  but  repudiated  the  title  Thief. 

But  since  King  James  the  Sixth  to  England  went 

There  is  no  cause  of  grief, 
And  he  that  hath  transgressed  since  then 

Is  no  Freebooter,  but  a  Thief." 

This  strange  precarious  adventurous  mode  of  life  was  not  without  its  pleasures.  The 
shifting  tides  of  fear  and  hope,  the  flight  and  pursuit,  the  peril  and  escape,  the  alternate 
famine  and  feast  of  the  savage  and  the  robber,  after  a  time  render  all  steady,  progressive, 
unvaried  occupation  tame  and  insipid. 

To  such  men  may  be  applied  the  Poet's  description  of  the  "  Cretan  "Warrior,"  trans- 
lated by  Dr.  Leyden. 

"  My  sword,  my  spear,  my  shaggy  shield, 

With  these  I  till,  with  these  I  sow, 
With  these  I  reap  my  harvest  field, 

The  only  wealth  the  gods  bestow, 
With  these  I  plant  the  purple  vine, 
With  these  I  press  the  luscious  wine. 

"  My  sword,  my  spear,  my  shaggy  shield, 

They  make  me  lord  of  all  below, 
Tor  he  who  dreads  the  lance  to  wield 

Before  my  shaggy  shield  must  bow, 
His  lands,  his  vineyards  must  resign, 
And  all  that  cowards  have,  is  mine." 


OF   CLOSEBUKN.  39 

The  domestic  economy  of  the  Borderers  was  simple  enough.  The  revenues  of  the 
Chieftain  were  expended  in  rude  hospitality.  His  wealth  consisted  chiefly  in  herds  of 
cattle,  which  were  consumed  by  the  kinsmen,  vassals,  and  followers,  who  aided  him  to 
acquire  and  protect  them.  We  learn  from  Lesley  that  they  were  generally  temperate 
in  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors,  and  we  are  left  to  conjecture  how  they  occupied  the 
time  when  winter  or  accident  confined  them  to  their  habitations.  The  tales  of  tradition, 
the  song  with  the  pipe  or  harp  of  the  minstrel,  were  probably  their  sole  resources 
against  ennui,  during  the  short  intervals  of  repose  from  military  adventure. 

Highly  superstitious,  believing  in  witchcraft,  ghosts,  brownies,  and  fairies,  they 
had  a  tale  of  excitement  for  every  wild  heath,  rugged  cliff,  or  gloomy  woodland.  But 
love  and  war  furnished  the  favourite  themes,  and  above  all,  the  oft-told  tale  of  exploits 
in  which  they  themselves  had  been  engaged,  each  circumstance  remembered  and 
repeated  with  a  minuteness  that  giving  reality  to  the  past,  roused  every  slumbering 
feeling  of  affection,  grief,  and  hatred,  till  starting  to  their  feet  they  mutually  pledged 
one  another  with  wild  shouts,  never  to  forget  the  past,  but  deeply  to  revenge  the  friends 
whom  they  mourned. 

Oh  War,  thou  hast  thy  fierce  delight, 
Thy  gleams  of  joy  intensely  bright, 
Such  gleams  as  from  the  polished  shield, 
Ply  dazzling  o'er  the  battle  field  ; 
Wild  transports  heave  the  bosom  high, 
Amid  the  pealing  conquest  cry, 
Scarce  less  when  after  battle  lost, 
Muster  the  remnants  of  the  host, 
And  as  each  comrade's  name  they  tell, 
Who  in  the  well  fought  conflict  fell, 
Knitting  stern  brow  o'er  flashing  eye 
Vow  to  avenge  them  or  to  die. 

The  inroads  of  the  Marchers  when  stimulated  only  by  the  desire  of  plunder,  were 
never  marked  with  cruelty,  and  seldom  even  with  bloodshed,  unless  when  pressed  to  self- 


40  KIRKPATRICK 

defence.  They  held  that  property  was  common  to  all  who  stood  in  need  of  it ;  but  they 
abhorred  and  avoided  unnecessary  homicide  on  all  such  occasions.  This  humanity  was, 
however,  entirely  laid  aside  in  case  of  deadly  feud,  either  against  an  Englishman  or  any 
neighbouring  tribe.  In  that  case  the  whole  force  of  the  offended  clan,  was  bent  to 
avenge  the  death  of  any  of  their  number.  Their  vengeance  vented  itself,  not  only  upon 
the  homicide  and  his  family,  but  upon  all  his  kindred,  his  whole  tribe,  every  one  whose 
death  or  ruin  could  affect  him  with  regret. 

The  houses  and  castles  of  the  Borderers  were  built  with  more  regard  to  security 
than  comfort,  and  knowing  that  the  English  surpassed  them  in  the  art  of  assaulting  and 
defending  fortified  places,  they  trusted  more  to  their  woods  and  hills  than  to  their 
walls.  The  residence  of  a  Chieftain  therefore  was  commonly  a  large  square  battlemented 
tower  called  a  keep,  with  walls  of  immense  thickness,  placed  on  a  precipice  or  on  the 
banks  of  a  torrent,  or  surrounded  by  a  moat,  and  where  none  of  these  were  available, 
they  were  sometimes  built  without  any  opening  on  the  ground  floor,  and  were  entered 
by  a  moveable  ladder.  An  outer  wall  with  some  slight  fortification  served  as  a  protec- 
tion for  the  cattle  at  night,  the  whole  encompassed  as  far  as  possible  with  pathless  woods, 
morasses,  rocks  and  torrents.  No  wonder  that  James  the  Fifth,  on  approaching  the 
castle  of  Lockwood  in  Annandale,  is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  that  He  who  built  it  must 
have  been  a  knave  at  heart. 

Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  was  one  of  that  convention  of  Prelates,  Earls,  and  great 
Barons,  appointed  to  meet  in  Edinburgh,  24th  June  1545,  (Keith's  History)  which 
led  to  the  signal  successes  of  that  year,  when  the  English  army  was  defeated  at 
Ancram,  their  generals  killed,  and  above  1000  men  made  prisoners;  which  was 
followed  up  by  an  inroad  into  England,  and  avenged  by  the  Earl  of  Hertford,  who 
ravaged  the  western  borders  of  Scotland ;  the  result  being  great  misery  inflicted  on 
both  countries,  without  any  advantage  to  either. 

He  died  in  1560,  without  issue,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew  Roger.  In  the 
following  year  his  widow,  Dame  Margaret  Sinclair  Lady  Closcbum,  granted  a  discharge 
of  her  jointure,  to  her  dearest  and  best  beloved  nephew,  Roger  Kirkpatrick  of  Close- 
burn. 


OF   CLOSEBUKN.  41 

14.  Sir  Roger  succeeded  his  uncle,  and  married  The  Right  Honorable  Lady- 
Jean  Cunningham,  daughter  of  William  Earl  of  Glencairne,  grand-aunt  to  James, 
first  Duke  of  Hamilton,  and  to  William  Earl  of  Glencairne,  Lord  High  Chancellor  of 
Scotland. 

In  1561  he  entered  into  a  contract  with  the  predecessors  of  the  Duke  of  Queens- 
bury  and  Earl  of  Dumfries,  and  with  Sir  Walter  Grierson  of  Lag,  Sir  John  Gordon 
of  Lochinvar,  and  others,  whereby  they  were  bound  to  stand  by  one  another  against 
all  mortals,  to  keep  together  in  all  assemblies,  armies,  and  wars,  and  to  submit  all 
differences  among  themselves  to  the  majority,  &c.  This  Baron  of  Closeburn  came 
speedily  into  the  measures  of  the  Reformation,  perhaps  influenced  by  his  wife's 
relations,  whose  chief,  the  Earl  of  Glencairne,  was  a  most  vehement  convert  of  Knox. 
Yet  he  adhered  to  Queen  Mary  with  due  loyalty.  When  the  rebellious  Lords  of 
Argyll,  Murray,  &c.,  under  the  mask  of  religion,  made  an  attempt  to  overthrow  the 
Queen's  authority,  and  were  compelled  to  fly  into  England,  the  Gentlemen  of  Nithis- 
dale  and  Annandale  subscribed  a  bond  to  defend  the  Queen  and  resist  the  rebels,  &c., 
dated  at  Edinburgh,  21st  of  September,  1565 ;  and  in  this  bond  appears  the  signature 
of  Closeburn. 

On  the  8th  of  May,  1568,  nine  earls,  nine  bishops,  eighteen  lords,  and  others, 
obliged  themselves  by  bond  to  defend  the  Queen's  Majesty,  and  this  is  also  subscribed 
by  the  Barons  of  Closeburn  and  Kirkmichael.   (Keith's  History,  p.  476.) 

His  loyalty  cost  him  dear,  for  the  Earl  of  Sussex  invaded  the  Borders  with  four 
thousand  men,  and  '  destroyed  with  poulder  Cloisburn  and  clivers  utheris  houss,  and 
carried  away  great  spulzie.'  (History  of  King  James  the  Sixth.) 

15.  Sir  Thomas  succeeded  his  father  (1584),  and  was  made  Gentleman  of  the 
Privy  Chamber  by  James  the  Sixth.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  several  children. 
On  her  death  he  married  Barbara  Stewart,  daughter  of  Sir  Alexander  Stewart  of 
Garlies  (ancestor  of  the  Earls  of  Galloway),  by  Catherine,  daughter  of  Andrew 
Lord  Hemes  of  Terregles;  the  marriage  contract  is  dated  17th  of  December,  1614. 
She  was  the  widow  of  John  Kirkpatrick  of  Alisland.  John  Maxwell,  Lord  Herries, 
succeeded  in  1667  to  the  Earldom  of  Nithsdale.     His  son,  having  joined  the  Rebellion 

G 


42  KIRKPATRICK 

in  1715,  was  taken  prisoner,  attainted  and  ordered  for  execution  with  Lords  Derwent- 
water  and  Kenmuir,  but  escaped  the  previous  night  in  woman's  apparel.  The  attain- 
der having  been  reversed,  the  title  of  Lord  Herries  was  claimed  by  William  Constable 
Maxwell,  and  judgment  given  in  his  favour,  23rd  June,  1858. 

On  the  24th  of  May,  1589,  at  the  trial  of  the  Lords  Errol,  Huntly,  and  Bothwell, 
Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  sat  as  one  of  the  assize,  together  with  Lords  Hamilton, 
Angus,  Morton,  Atholl,  Mar,  Marshall,  Seton,  Somerville,  Dingall,  Catheart,  and  the 
Barons  of  Pitarrow  and  Lag.  (Spottiswood,  p.  376.) 

The  same  year  the  King  granted  to  him  a  "Writ  of  Fire  and  Sword,  against  sundry 
persons  who  had  committed  depredations  upon  his  baronies  and  lands  of  Closeburn, 
Bridburgh,  Auchinleck,  Alisland,  &c,  constituting  him  his  Justiciary  in  those  parts. 
And  again,  in  the  year  1593,  he  obtained  another  of  these  dreadful  warrants.  At 
this  time  the  Border  outrages  were  enormous,  and  the  country,  far  and  wide,  was  laid 
waste  with  fire  and  sword.  On  the  6th  of  December  this  year  (1593),  in  a  fight  called 
the  battle  of  Dryffe  Sands,  near  Lockerby,  Lord  Maxwell  was  killed,  and  the  Lairds 
of  Closeburn,  Drumlanrig,  and  Lag,  who  had  joined  his  banner  against  the  Laird  of 
Johnstone,  barely  escaped  by  the  fleetness  of  their  horses. 

Tradition  reports,  that  previous  to  the  fight  Maxwell  had  offered  a  £10.  land  to 
any  of  his  party  who  should  bring  him  the  head  or  hand  of  the  Laird  of  Johnstone. 
This  being  reported  to  Johnstone,  he  answered  that  he  had  not  a  £10.  land  to  offer,  but 
would  give  a  five  merk  land  to  the  man  who  should  that  day  cut  off  the  head  or  hand  of 
Lord  Maxwell.  Willie  of  the  Kirkhill,  mounted  upon  a  young  grey  horse,  rushed 
upon  the  enemy,  and  earned  the  reward,  by  striking  down  their  unfortunate  chieftain, 
and  cutting  off  his  right  hand. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border,  gives  a  fuller  and 
somewhat  different  account  of  this  affair.  In  15S5,  he  says,  John  Lord  Maxwell,  or,  as 
he  styled  himself,  the  Earl  of  Morton,  having  quarrelled  with  the  Earl  of  Arran,  reigning 
favourite  of  James  the  Sixth,  and  fallen  of  course  under  the  displeasure  of  the  Court, 
was  denounced  Bebel.  A  commission  was  also  given  to  the  Laird  of  Johnstone,  then 
Warden  of  the  West  Marches,  to  pursue  and  apprehend  the  ancient  and  rival  enemy  of 
his  house.     Two  bands  of  mercenaries,  commanded  by  Captains  Cranstoun  and  Lammie, 


OF    CLOSEBUKN.  43 

who  were  sent  from  Edinburgh  to  support  Johnstone,  were  attacked  and  cut  to  pieces 
at  Crawford  Muir,  by  Eobert  Maxwell,  natural  brother  to  the  chieftain ;  who,  following 
up  his  advantage,  burned  Johnstone's  Castle  of  Lochwood,  observing,  with  savage  glee, 
that  he  would  give  Lady  Johnstone  light  enough  by  which  '  to  set  her  hood.'  In  a 
subsequent  conflict  Johnstone  himself  was  defeated,  and  made  prisoner,  and  is  said  to 
have  died  of  grief  at  the  disgrace  which  he  sustained.  By  one  of  the  revolutions  common 
in  those  days,  Maxwell  was  soon  after  restored  to  the  King's  favour  in  his  turn,  and 
obtained  the  Wardenry  of  the  "West  Marches.  A  bond  of  alliance  was  subscribed  by 
him  and  Sir  James  Johnstone,  and  for  some  time  the  two  clans  lived  in  harmony.  In 
the  year  1593,  however,  the  hereditary  feud  was  revived  on  the  following  occasion.  A 
band  of  marauders,  of  the  clan  Johnstone,  drove  a  prey  of  cattle  from  the  lands 
belonging  to  the  Lairds  Crichton,  Sanquhar,  and  Drumlanrig,  and  defeated  with 
slaughter  the  pursuers,  who  attempted  to  rescue  their  property.  The  injured  parties 
being  apprehensive  that  Maxwell  would  not  cordially  embrace  their  cause,  on  account  of 
the  late  conciliation  with  the  Johnstones,  endeavoured  to  overcome  his  reluctance  by 
offering  to  enter  into  bonds  of  manrent,  and  so  to  become  his  followers  and  liegemen  ; 
he,  on  the  other  hand,  granting  to  them  a  bond  of  maintenance  or  protection,  by  which 
he  bound  himself  in  usual  form  to  maintain  their  quarrel  against  all  mortals  saving  his 
loyalty.  Thus  the  most  powerful  and  respectable  families  in  Dumfriesshire  became  for  a 
time  the  vassals  of  Lord  Maxwell.  This  secret  alliance  was  discovered  to  Sir  James 
Johnstone  by  the  Laird  of  Cummertrees,  one  of  his  own  clan,  though  a  retainer  to 
Maxwell.  Cummertrees  even  contrived  to  possess  himself  of  the  bonds  of  manrent, 
which  he  delivered  to  his  chief.  The  petty  warfare  between  the  rival  barons  was 
instantly  renewed.  Buccleugh,  a  near  relation  to  Johnstone,  came  to  his  assistance  with 
his  clan,  '  the  most  renowned  Freebooters,  the  fiercest  and  bravest  warriors  among  the 
Border  tribes.'  With  Buccleugh  also  came  the  Elliots,  Armstrongs,  and  Graemes. 
Thus  reinforced,  Johnstone  surprised  and  cut  to  pieces  a  party  of  the  Maxwells  stationed 
at  Lochmaben.  On  the  other  hand,  Lord  Maxwell,  armed  with  the  royal  authority,  and 
numbering  among  his  followers  all  the  barons  of  Nithisdale,  displayed  his  banner  as  the 
King's  Lieutenant,  and  invaded  Annandale  at  the  head  of  two  thousand  men.  In  those 
days,  however,  the  royal  auspices  appear  to  have  carried  as  little  good  fortune,  as 
effective  strength  with  them.  A  desperate  conflict,  still  renowned  in  tradition,  took 
place  at  the  Dryffe  Sands,  not  far  from  Lockerby,  in  which  Johnstone,  although  inferior 


44  KIRKPATKICK 

in  numbers,  partly  by  his  own  conduct,  partly  by  the  valour  of  his  allies,  gained  a 
decisive  victory.  Lord  Maxwell,  a  tall  man  and  heavily  armed,  was  struck  from  his  horse 
in  the  flight,  and  cruelly  slain,  after  the  hand  which  he  stretched  out  for  quarter,  had 
been  severed  from  his  body.  Many  of  his  followers  were  slain  in  the  battle,  and  many 
cruelly  wounded,  especially  by  slashes  in  the  face,  which  wound  was  thence  termed  a 
'  Lockerby  Lick.'  The  Barons  of  Closeburn,  Drumlanrig,  and  Lag  escaped  by  the 
fleetness  of  their  horses. 

In  the  year  1602,  Sir  Thomas's  eldest  son  and  heir  apparent,  obtained  permission 
from  King  James,  to  pass  forth  from  Scotland  to  whatever  parts  he  pleased,  and  to 
remain  forth  thereof  for  the  space  of  three  years,  but  '  the  Appeirand  of  Closeburn 
during  his  absence  furth  of  the  realme,  is  to  behave  himself  as  ane  dewtiful  and 
obedyent  subject  to  us,  and  to  attempt  naething  in  hurte  or  prejudice  of  neither  our 
estate  and  realme,  nor  the  trew  religione  presentlie  professit  within  the  same,  other- 
ways  this  our  licence  to  be  of  nane  avail.' 

In  the  year  1603,  King  James  granted  to  Sir  Thomas,  a  patent  of  free  denizen 
within  the  Kingdom  of  England,  (Rymer,  Vol.  16),  and  in  1618  made  him  one  of  the 
Commissioners  appointed  to  repress  the  rapines  on  the  Borders.  (Ibidem.) 

16.  Sir  Thomas  succeeded  his  father  in  1628,  and  married  Dame  Agnes  Charteris, 
daughter  of  Sir  John  Charteris  of  Amisfield  and  of  the  Lady  Margaret  Fleming, 
daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Wigton,  by  whom  he  had  eleven  children. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Janet,  only  child  of  Colonel  Francis 
Charteris  and  heiress  of  his  great  estates,  married  James  fourth  Earl  of  Wemyss, 
whose  son  the  fifth  Earl  took  the  name  of  Charteris. 

The  oldest  son,  Thomas,  having  died  young, 

17-  John,  the  second  son,  succeeded  his  father  in  1645,  and  died  in  October  1646, 
as  appears  from  his  will,  with  inventory  of  possessions  subjoined,  which  contains  the 
following  passage.  "  And  as  touching  the  inventrie  goods,  silver  work,  and  uther 
vessel  within  the  place  of  Closeburn,  the  samen  were  by  Robert  Douglas  of  Tille- 
quhillie,  Lieutenant-Colonel  to  Sir  John  Brown  of  Fordell,  Knight,   and  Lieutenant 


OF   CLOSEBURN. 


45 


Vauss,  with  others  their  complices,  at  the  direction  and  by  the  warrand  of  the  said 
Robert  Douglas,  plundered  and  taken  away  what  was  any  way  transportable." 

This  Sir  John  Brown  was  the  rebellious  Governor  of  Carlisle,  and  the  same  who 
routed  Lord  Digby  on  Carlisle  sands. 

18.  Robert,  the  third  son  of  Sir  Thomas,  succeeded  his  brother  John  in  1646. 
He  married  Dame  Grizzel  Baillie,  daughter  of  Sir  William  Baillie  of  Lamington  (a 
direct  descendant  of  Sir  William  Wallace)  by  Grizzel  daughter  of  Sir  Claude  Hamilton  of 
Elieston,  son  to  Claude  Lord  Paisley,  and  brother  to  James,  first  Earl  of  Abercorn.  This 
Lady  was  second  cousin  to  Count  Anthony  Hamilton,  author  of  the  delightful  Memoires 
de  Grammont,  to  the  Countess  de  Grammont,  and  to  Sir  George  Hamilton,  who 
married  La  Belle  Jennings,  sister  to  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough  and  afterwards  wife 
to  the  Duke  of  Tyrconnel.     She  died  in  1664,  leaving  her  husband  with  six  children. 


19.  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  (the  first  Baronet)  succeeded  his  father.  He 
married  first  the  Honorable  Isabel  Sandilands,  daughter  of  John  Lord  Torphichen, 
descended  from  Sir  James  Sandilands,  who  married  Joan  the  daughter  of  King  Bobert 
the  Second.  The  marriage  contract  is  dated  25th  April,  1666.  Upon  her  death  he 
married  Sarah  daughter  of  Robert  Fergusson  of  Craigdarroch,  their  marriage  contract 
is  dated  7th  December,  1672.     In  1686  he  married  his  third  wife  Grizzel,  daughter  of 


46  KIRKPATRICK 

Gavin  Hamilton  of  Raploch,  and  widow  of  Inglis  of  Murdistown,  by  her  he  had  no 
issue. 

In  1671  Sir  Thomas  resettled  his  estates  by  Charter  ratified  by  Parliament,  1672, 
including  the  patronage  of  the  united  Kirks  of  Closeburn  and  Dalgarno,  and  in  1681, 
he  obtained  a  Parliamentary  grant  of  the  right  of  holding  a  weekly  market  on  Monday, 
and  two  yearly  fairs. 

"  He  supported,"  says  Playfair,  "  the  importance  of  his  family  with  much  splendour 
and  hospitality,  and  continued  true  to  the  Crown  and  Mitre  through  the  chamelion 
reigns  of  Charles  and  James.  His  efforts  in  the  service  of  his  country  were  so 
acceptable  to  the  throne,  that  the  latter  monarch  created  him  a  Baronet,  by  patent 
dated  at  Whitehall,  26th  March,  1685.  It  is  reported  that  after  the  Eevolution  he 
had  the  offer  of  a  Coronet,  with  the  style  and  dignity  of  Earl  of  Closeburn ;  but  he 
rejected  the  honour,  doubtless  for  some  good  reason  which  is  not  over  apparent  to  his 
posterity." 

It  may  appear  at  first  sight  inconsistent,  that  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  a  staunch 
supporter  of  the  Stuarts,  and  rewarded  by  them  with  a  Baronetcy,  should  have  had 
the  offer  of  a  Coronet  from  AVilliam  the  Third.  But  it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  that 
the  family  had  for  more  than  a  century  been  warm  advocates  of  the  Reformation, 
confirmed  and  strengthened  by  the  marriage  of  Sir  Roger  Kirkpatrick  with  the 
Earl  of  Glencairne,  one  of  the  most  strenuous  supporters  of  the  cause. 

The  Barons  of  Closeburn,  though  by  no  means  holding  the  opinions  of  the 
Cameronians  and  other  wild  fanatics,  had  often  afforded  shelter  to  the  persecuted 
Covenanters,  and  had  permitted  them  to  lie  hid  in  Creehope  Linn,  a  wild  dell  in 
Closeburn,  with  a  waterfall  of  90  feet  at  the  upper  end,  now  much  frequented  for  its 
romantic  beauty.  The  readers  of  Old  Mortality  will  remember  that  it  is  mentioned  by 
Sir  Walter  Scott  in  his  description  of  the  visit  of  Morton  to  Balfour  of  Burley,  in  his 
wild  retreat  at  the  Black  Linn.  In  the  Introduction  to  that  work,  Sir  Walter  says, 
that  Old  Mortality  was  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Closeburn,  and  his  wife  a  domestic 
servant  of  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick. 

Simpson  in  his  Traditions  of  the  Covenanters,  relates  that  a  party  of  troopers  were 
one  day  sent  to  the  mansion  of  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  for  the  purpose  of  demanding 


OF   CLOSEBURX.  47 

his  assistance  in  searching  for  Whigs  in  his  woods.  The  woods  and  heights  and  linns 
and  cottages  of  Closeburn  furnished  shelter  for  many  a  wanderer,  and  afforded  ample 
scope  for  the  strolling  soldiery,  who  spread  themselves  abroad  in  quest  of  those  who 
sought  to  maintain  the  privilege  of  worshipping  God  according  to  the  dictates  of 
their  own  consciences.  Sir  Thomas  was  obliged  to  comply  with  the  demand,  and 
accompanied  the  soldiers  into  the  woods.  In  proceeding  to  the  different  localities, 
which  were  supposed  to  be  resorted  to  as  hiding  places  by  the  Covenanters,  Sir 
Thomas  pursued  the  nearer  routes  by  the  narrow  footpaths  that  led  through  the 
woods,  while  the  horsemen  were  obliged  to  take  the  more  circuitous  roads.  In 
winding  his  way  among  the  thick  trees,  Sir  Thomas  came  upon  a  man  fast  asleep  by 
the  side  of  his  path.  The  man  was  obviously  one  of  the  individuals  whom  the  soldiers 
had  come  to  seek,  but  the  gentleman  in  whose  way  Providence  had  there  placed  him, 
had  too  much  humanity  to  publish  his  discovery.  Near  the  place  where  the  man  was 
sleeping  on  his  grassy  bed,  under  the  guardianship  of  Him  who  never  slumbers  nor 
sleeps,  was  a  quantity  of  newly  cut  brackens,  which  Sir  Thomas  turned  over  with  his 
staff  to  cover  the  sleeping  man  from  the  prying  eyes  of  the  troopers.  The  action  was 
observed  by  one  of  the  horsemen,  who  cried  out  that  the  guide  was  doing  something 
suspicious,  but  before  any  of  the  party  had  time  to  dismount  and  investigate  the 
matter,  Sir  Thomas  turned  round,  and  in  an  indignant  tone  asked,  if  he  could  not  be 
permitted  to  turn  over  the  loose  brackens  and  withered  leaves  of  his  own  forest 
without  their  permission,  and  so  the  matter  ended  and  the  man  remained  undiscovered. 
This  anecdote  (Simpson  adds)  shews  the  power  which  the  military  at  that  time 
assumed,  and  their  insolence  even  to  their  superiors.  Gentlemen  and  Commoners 
were  treated  alike  by  the  lawless  troopers  who  were  let  loose  on  an  oppressed 
country. 

Sir  Thomas  had  a  confidential  domestic  servant,  whom  he  employed  to  give 
warning  to  the  Covenanters  seeking  shelter  on  his  property,  and  for  the  protection 
thus  afforded  by  the  family  they  were  endeared  to  the  whole  country  side.  It  is 
easy  therefore  to  understand  how,  notwithstanding  their  attachment  for  the  Stuart 
Dynasty,  and  their  little  sympathy  with  the  excesses  of  the  fanatics,  they  would  shrink 
from  abetting  any  attack  on  the  reformed  religion. 


48  KIRKPATBICK 

Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  active,  energetic,  and  decided,  did  nothing  doubtfully ; 
and  when  he  saw  the  obstinacy  of  James,  and  the  danger  of  the  cause  which  he  had 
so  much  at  heart,  when  loyalty  to  a  family  was  weighed  against  the  claims  of 
religion,  he  neither  hesitated  as  to  his  decision,  nor  shrunk  from  the  consequences, 
but  threw  himself  warmly  into  the  contest,  which  terminated  so  happily  for  his 
country,  and  his  sacrifices  and  exertions  were  duly  appreciated. 

In  the  month  of  June,  1691,  he  was  by  Act  of  Council  appointed  Lieut.-Colonel 
of  the  Dumfriesshire  Militia,  and  he  represented  the  Shire  of  Dumfries  in  Parliament 
for  several  years.  In  these  offices  he  was  performing  services  suited  to  his  station 
and  useful  to  his  country  j  in  fact,  the  Colonelcy  of  the  Militia,  may  be  said  to  be 
rather  the  continuation  of  services,  than  a  new  service.  The  Barons  of  Closebum 
were  never  Borderers  in  the  conventional  acceptation  of  that  term,  they  never  en- 
couraged Border  outrages,  they  had  much  to  lose  and  little  to  gain  by  such  barbarisms ; 
but  in  conjunction  with  other  Barons,  sometimes  with  and  sometimes  without  a  Com- 
mission from  the  Crown,  they  interfered  to  suppress  raids  and  robberies,  and  he 
could  feel  no  difficulty  therefore  in  accepting  a  Commission  in  the.  Militia,  which  was 
established  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  the  peace  of  the  country. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  easily  understood,  that  he  felt  a  delicacy  in 
accepting  the  personal  reward  of  an  Earldom,  which  might  be  misconstrued  into  his 
having  for  selfish  objects  assisted  William  against  the  Stuarts,  who  had  so  recently 
bestowed  on  him  a  Baronetcy ;  and  it  is  also  a  tradition  in  the  family,  that  he  preferred 
remaining  what  his  forefathers  had  been,  a  leader  among  the  ancient  gentry,  rather 
than  be  lost  as  a  new-made  Peer. 

The  right  to  use  Supporters  being  now  restricted  to  Peers  and  Knights  of  the 
Bath,  a  doubt  may  suggest  itself  as  to  the  propriety  of  representing  a  Baronet's  arms 
with  Supporters.  But  it  was  not  as  a  Baronet  that  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  and  his 
descendants  claim  the  right.  They  claim,  as  old  Scottish  Barons,  who  having  from 
the  earliest  period  used  Supporters,  protested  against  being  compelled  to  discontinue, 
and  were  tacitly  permitted  to  retain  them. 

In  the  original  grant  of  Baronetcies,  their  distinctive  badge  was  represented  on 
a  Canton,  and  the  Supporters  within  the  Canton.     But  in  Patents  posterior  to  1629, 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  49 

the  whole  of  the  clause  relating  to  the  Canton  is  omitted,  and  the  Patentee  is  not 
allowed  to  carry  one  at  all,  but  in  lieu  thereof,  '  Around  his  neck  an  orange  tawny 
silk  riband,  whereon  shall  be  pendant  on  an  Escutcheon  Arg.  a  Saltire,  Az.  therein 
an  Inescutcheon  of  the  arms  of  Scotland,  &c.'  The  Badge  is  now  suspended  below 
the  shield  on  a  riband,  not  placed  upon  it. 

About  this  time  a  great  and  extraordinary  change  was  taking  place  in  the  social,  as 
well  as  political  state  of  the  country.  The  union  of  the  two  kingdoms  had  already 
produced  considerable  influence  on  many  parts  of  Scotland,  where,  as  in  England 
generally,  a  long  period  of  peace  had  wrought  an  immense  revolution  in  the  habits  of  all 
classes.  Thousands  who  in  former  times  would  have  scorned  to  seek  a  livelihood  by 
mercantile  pursuits,  had  settled  quietly  down  to  every  variety  of  business,  not  merely  to 
agricidture;  but  even  the  desk  and  the  counting-house  were  no  longer  despised,  when  it 
was  felt  that  something  must  be  done,  and  it  was  seen  that  these  opened  a  sure  and  often 
rapid  path  to  fortune.  Such  pursuits  were,  however,  utterly  alien  to  the  habits  and 
feelings  of  the  Borderer.  Not  only  the  habitual  marauder,  but  the  Chieftain  who  was 
accustomed  to  repress  his  outbreaks,  looked  upon  war  as  more  congenial  than  the 
pursuits  of  commerce.  The  pacification  of  all  border  feuds  and  predatory  disturbances, 
had  deprived  the  Borderer  of  his  usual  employment,  and  compelled  him  to  abandon 
those  exciting  contests  which  formed  the  business  and  happiness  of  his  life.  But  long 
habit  had  unfitted  him  to  meet  the  change.  For  centuries  he  had  lived  in  a  state  of  wild 
independence  of  all  rule,  carrying  on  petty  warfare  with  his  neighbour  at  his  own 
pleasure,  without  regard  to  king  or  law.  Even  up  to  the  Revolution  such  outbreaks 
were  not  forgotten.  We  have  seen  that  within  less  than  half  a  century  Closeburn  had 
been  sacked  by  the  rebellious  Governor  of  Carlisle. 

Tet  lived  there  still  who  could  remember  well, 
How  when  a  Border  Chief  his  bugle  blew, 
Eield,  heath,  and  forest,  dingle,  cliff,  and  dell, 
And  solitary  moor  the  signal  knew, 
And  fast  the  faithful  clan  around  him  drew, 

H 


50  KIRKPATBICK 

"What  time  the  -warning  note  was  keenly  wound, 

What  time  aloft  their  kindred  banner  flew, 
While  clamorous  warpipes  yelled  the  gathering  sound, 
And  while  the  Fiery  Cross  glanced  like  a  meteor  round. 

When  we  see  the  attractions  of  wild  life,  even  in  its  humblest  form,  it  may  be  easily 
understood  how  fascinating  and  rivetting  was  the  life  of  a  Scottish  Borderer.  But  now 
this  must  be  all  given  up,  the  charm  was  broken,  and  left  nothing  but  trouble  and 
regret  behind.  The  lower  classes  found  themselves  sinking  into  hopeless  poverty,  and 
even  the  Chieftains  discovered  that  the  horde  of  retainers,  which  once  constituted  their 
strength  and  their  pride,  bad  now  become  their  weakness  and  ruin.  The  necessity  for 
some  change  had  arrived.  But  what  was  to  be  done  ?  Difficult  under  any  circumstances, 
to  the  Borderer  it  appeared  impossible.  He  saw  nothing  around  him  offering  any  chance 
of  relief  from  the  pressure  under  which  he  was  irresistibly  borne  down.  Under  such 
circumstances  emigration  seems  to  be  the  only  step  that  holds  out  the  promise  of  escape. 
At  first  the  idea  of  emigration  is  revolting.  To  abandon  for  ever  the  home  of  our 
youth  and  the  haunts  of  our  forefathers,  is  too  painful  to  be  looked  upon  as  relief  from 
difficulty  ;  but  by  degrees  the  necessity  is  admitted,  and  many  alleviating  circumstances 
are  discovered.  When  a  man  is  driven  to  make  a  change  in  his  habits,  when  he  is 
compelled  to  do  that  to  which  he  has  been  unaccustomed,  and  for  which  he  has 
entertained  feelings  of  repugnance,  he  finds  it  easier  to  make  the  change  away  from  his 
early  associations,  and  out  of  sight  of  those  who  participate  in  these  feelings ;  and  when 
the  experiment  has  been  tried,  and  the  emancipated  sufferer  has  felt  the  benefit  of  the 
change,  he  urges  those  he  left  behind  to  hazard  the  trial,  and  the  tide  of  emigration  sets 
steadily  in.  And  so  it  happened  with  the  Scottish  Borderer.  Sometimes  the  whole 
family  broke  up  the  old  establishment,  and  abandoned  for  ever  the  home  of  their 
ancestors.  More  frequently  the  young,  and  strong,  and  hopeful  departed  to  seek  their 
fortunes,  leaving  their  elders  to  wither  away  in  the  places  where  they  were  too  deeply 
rooted  for  transplantation — places  to  which  they  themselves  fostered  a  lingering  hope 
that  they  might  one  day  return  crowned  with  success.  Sometimes,  and  more  particu- 
larly in  the  higher  families,  a  youth,  more  susceptible  than  the  rest,  started  off,  unbidden 
and  unblessed,  to  escape  from  the  hopelessness  that  was  crushing  his  young  energies, 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  51 

and  presented  himself  as  a  candidate  for  employment  in  the  merchant's  counting-house. 
Not  unfrequently  the  son  who  ventured  to  leave  the  paternal  roof  with  any  such 
intention,  was  held  to  have  degraded  himself,  to  have  lost  caste  ;  and  while  he  fostered 
in  his  banishment  the  remembrance  of  that  which  was  still  the  home  of  his  dreams,  he 
seldom  returned  to  a  place  where  he  was  no  longer  welcomed  as  a  son. 

In  a  note  appended  to  his  notice  of  the  first  Baronet,  Play  fair  says,  '  It  is  a  tradition 
that  previous  to  the  decease  of  any  of  the  Kirkpatrick  family,  the  person  about  to  die 
beheld  a  swan  upon  the  lake  which  formerly  surrounded  the  Castle  of  Closeburn.'  The 
last  omen  on  record  is  said  to  have  saddened  the  third  nuptials  of  Sir  Thomas  Kirk- 
patrick, the  first  Baronet.  On  the  wedding  day  his  son  Boger  went  out  of  the  castle, 
and  chancing  to  turn  his  eyes  towards  the  lake,  descried  the  fatal  bird.  Beturning  into 
the  hall  overwhelmed  with  melancholy,  his  father  rallied  him  on  his  desponding 
appearance,  alleging  a  stepmother  as  the  occasion  of  his  sadness.  The  young  man  only 
answered,  '  Perhaps  before  long  you  also  may  be  sorrowful,'  and  expired  that  very  night. 

Playfair  names  Boger  as  the  son  in  this  legend,  a  curious  inadvertence,  since  the 
note  in  which  it  occurs  is  appended  to  the  paragraph  in  which  he  states,  that  Boger,  then 
a  mere  child,  lived  afterwards  at  Alisland,  and  died  a  bachelor ;  whereupon  Alisland, 
which  was  left  to  him  by  his  father,  reverted  to  his  eldest  brother  Thomas,  the  second 
Baronet,  who  bequeathed  it  to  his  son  William,  whose  son  Charles  took  the  name  of 
Sharpe  of  Hoddam,  and  was  father  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  friend,  Charles  Kirkpatrick 
Sharpe,  author  of  the  above  ballad.  Burke,  in  his  Family  Bomance,  gives  the  legend  at 
much  greater  length,  and  says  the  name  is  variously  given  as  James  or  Bobert. 

Alisland,  or  Ellisland,  in  more  recent  times  acquired  a  somewhat  classic  character  as 
the  residence  of  Burns,  and  the  place  where  many  of  his  poems  were  written.  When  the 
poet  had  made  a  little  money,  he  had  a  i'ancy  to  become  a  farmer,  and,  seduced  by  the 
beauty  of  the  situation,  took  a  lease  of  Ellisland.  Burns  was  delighted  with  his  new 
abode,  adjoining  the  grounds  of  Friars  Carse,  one  of  the  loveliest  spots  in  Nithsdale, 
separated  only  by  the  clear  stream  of  the  Nith  from  the  holms  and  groves  of  Dalswinton, 
and  commanding  an  extensive  and  charming  view  of  the  river  winding  between  its 
woody  banks.  He  little  heeded  the  warning  of  his  friend,  who,  in  reply  to  his  enthu- 
siastic admiration,  said,  '  Tou  have  made  a  poet's  choice,  rather  than  a  farmer's.'  An 
observation  which  only  too  soon  proved  prophetic.     In  less  than  two  years  he  writes  to 


52  KIRKPATRICK 

his  brother :  '  This  farm  has  undone  the  enjoyment  of  myself.  It  is  a  ruinous  affair  on 
all  hands.'  But  what  could  be  expected  of  such  a  wild  undertaking  ?  Of  all  employ- 
ments farming  is  not  only  the  most  precarious,  but  that  which  depends  most  on  the 
constant  attention,  exertion,  and  skill  of  the  master.  The  farmer  who  hopes  to  thrive 
must  be  up  early  and  late,  and  eat  the  bread  of  carefulness.  If  he  does  not  hold  the 
plough,  be  must  watch  the  work.  His  gains  depend  on  the  careful  accumulation  of 
small  things  ;  the  neglect  of  trifles  is  ruin.  Hence  the  amateur  often  fails  in  spite  of 
his  superior  intelligence  and  education,  while  the  illiterate  but  plodding  yeoman  secures 
a  competence.  But  what  was  the  inevitable  result  when  the  hours  which  ought  to 
have  been  spent  among  men  and  cattle  were  engrossed  in  books  and  poetry ;  and  still 
worse  when  time  and  money  were  wasted  in  extravagant  debauchery.  If  we  are  to  judge 
the  poet  by  his  writings,  if  the  humorous  but  extravagant  poem,  '  The  Whistle,'  written 
at  this  time,  is  any  clue  to  bis  mode  of  life,  nothing  could  rescue  him  from  speedy  ruin. 
This  poem,  as  appears  by  the  following  extracts,  is  the  story  of  a  contest  which  took 
place  in  the  dining-room  of  Friars  Carse,  between  Sir  Robert  Lawrie  of  Maxwelton, 
Robert  Riddell,  Esq.  of  Grlenriddell,  and  Alexander  Ferguson,  Esq.  of  Craigdarroch,  for 
a  Bacchanalian  Whistle,  which  bad  been  won  in  the  reign  of  James  the  Sixth  from  a 
Dane,  a  matchless  champion  of  Bacchus,  who  had  conquered  the  Bacchanalians  of  all 
foreign  courts,  but  succumbed  to  the  drinking  powers  of  the  ancestor  of  Sir  Robert 
Lawrie.  The  whistle  had  been  subsequently  lost  to  Walter,  the  ancestor  of  Robert 
Riddell,  and  the  three  gentlemen  now  met  to  contest  the  championship,  Burns  being 
the  umpire,  and  the  conqueror  being  he  who  last  retained  power  to  blow  the  whistle. 

I  sing  of  a  whistle,  a  whistle  of  worth, 

I  sing  of  a  whistle,  the  pride  of  the  north, 

Was  brought  to  the  Court  of  our  good  Scottish  King, 

And  long  with  this  whistle  all  Scotland  shall  ring. 

TT  *  ^F  *  * 

Three  joyous  good  fellows,  with  hearts  clear  of  flaw, 
Craigdarroch,  so  famous  for  wit,  worth,  and  law, 
And  trusty  Glenriddel,  so  skilled  in  old  coins, 
And  gallant  Sir  Robert,  deep  read  in  old  wines. 


OF    CLOSEBURN.  53 

To  the  board  of  Glenriddel  our  heroes  repair, 

So  noted  for  drowning  of  sorrow  and  care, 

But  for  wine  and  for  welcome  not  more  known  to  fame, 

Than  the  sense,  wit,  and  taste  of  a  sweet  lovely  dame. 

A  bard  was  selected  to  witness  the  fray, 
And  tell  future  ages  the  feats  of  the  day — 
A  bard  who  detested  all  sadness  and  spleen, 
And  wished  that  Parnassus  a  vineyard  had  been. 

#  #  #  #  # 

Six  bottles  a-piece  had  well  worn  out  the  night, 
When  gallant  Sir  Robert,  to  finish  the  fight, 
Turned  o'er  in  one  bumper  a  bottle  of  red, 
And  swore  'twas  the  way  that  their  ancestors  did. 

Then  worthy  Glenriddel,  so  cautious  and  sage, 
No  longer  the  warfare  ungodly  would  wage  ; 
A  high  ruling  Elder  to  wallow  in  wine  ! 
He  left  the  foul  business  to  folks  less  divine. 

The  gallant  Sir  Bobert  fought  hard  to  the  end, 
But  who  can  with  fate  and  quart  bumpers  contend  ? 
Though  fate  said — a  hero  shall  perish  in  light ; 
So  up  rose  bright  Phoebus — and  down  fell  the  knight. 

Next  up  rose  our  bard  like  a  prophet  in  drink, 
Craigdarroch,  thou'lt  soar  when  creation  shall  sink  ; 
But  if  thou  would'st  flourish  immortal  in  rhyme, 
Come — one  bottle  more — and  have  at  the  sublime. 
***** 

The  bard  drank  bottle  for  bottle,  and  was  quite  disposed  to  take  up  the  conqueror 
when  the  day  dawned.  The  whistle  is  still  kept  as  a  curiosity,  and  was  last  in  the 
possession  of  the  Bight  Honourable  E.  Cutler  Ferguson  of  Craigdarroch,  M.P. 


54  KIEKPATRICK 

Who  can  wonder  that  farming  proved  a  failure,  if  this  is  a  sample  of  life  at  Ellisland ! 

"What  a  curious  picture  does  this  scene  portray,  of  a  state  of  society  happily  long 
since  passed  away,  when  three  gentlemen  of  station  and  education  could  enter  upon 
such  a  contest,  and  engage  the  most  popular  bard  of  the  day  to  blazon  the  achievement ! 
And  what  a  series  of  changes  in  border  life  does  this  short  memoir  disclose ! — "War  and 
bloodshed,  feuds  and  faction  fights,  forays  and  marauding  expeditions,  superstition, 
religious  persecution,  bacchanalian  orgies  !  "Who  that  has  felt  the  blessings  of  Civiliza- 
tion, can  regret  the  days  of  Barbarism,  or  sympathize  with  the  cant  that  raves  about  the 
poetry  of  the  olden  time,  and  sneers  at  modern  Utilitarianism  ? 

Grove,  in  his  Antiquities  of  Scotland,  vol.  1,  p.  146,  says  :  Friars  Carse  in  Nithsdale. 
Here  was  a  cell  dependent  upon  the  rich  Abbey  of  Melrose,  which  at  the  Reformation 
was  granted  by  the  Commendator  to  the  Laird  of  Ellisland,  a  cadet  of  the  Kirkpatricks 
of  Closeburn. 

Under  the  bead  of  traditions  it  may  be  remarked,  that  an  estate  was  lost  by  the 
obstinacy  of  one  of  the  Lords  of  Closeburn,  who  while  at  dinner  would  not  allow  his 
drawbridge  to  be  lowered  to  admit  the  visit  of  his  cousin,  the  Laird  of  Ross.  It  appears 
that  the  irate  Laird  desired  the  porter  to  tell  his  master,  that  by  his  refusal  a  better 
dinner  had  slipped  away  from  his  mouth  than  ever  went  into  it ;  and  rode  on  to 
Drumlanrig,  where  he  altered  his  will,  and  instead  of  settling  the  estate  of  Ross  on 
Kirkpatrick,  according  to  his  first  intention,  bequeathed  it  to  his  kinsman  Douglas, 
ancestor  of  the  Duke  of  Queensbury,  whose  title,  Viscount  Ross,  is  taken  from  this 
estate. 

In  former  times  many  precautions  were  taken  towards  security  during  meals.  In 
'  Orders  for  household  servantes  first  devised  by  John  Harynton  in  1566,'  is  the  following 
ordinance,  '  That  the  Courte  gate  be  shutt  eache  meale,#and  not  opened  during  dinner  or 
supper  without  just  cause,  on  pain  the  porter  to  forfet  for  everie  time  one  penny.'  (Hist. 
Cumberland,  p.  232.) 

20.  Sir  Thomas,  the  second  Baronet,  succeeded  his  father  in  1700.  In  the  year 
1702,  he  married  Isabel  the  eldest  daughter  of  Sir  William  Lockhart  of  Carstairs, 
Baronet,  by  the  Lady  Isabel  Douglas,  sister  of  William  Duke  of  Queensbury.      The 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  55 

children  of  this  marriage  were  Thomas  born  1704,   James  who  died  at  Calcutta  a 
bachelor,  William,  and  Robert,  who,  as  well  as  a  daughter,  died  in  infancy. 

This  Baronet,  who  is  still   remembered   with   warm   affection   as    '  The  good  Sir 
Thomas,'  took  an  active  part  in  repressing  the  rebellion  of  1715. 

In  Rae's  History  of  the  Rebellion,  published  in  17 18,  after  mentioning  that  towards 
the  close  of  Queen  Anne's  reign,  many  attempts  were  made  to  get  the  exiled  family 
restored,  and  that  the  feeling  against  the  House  of  Hanover  was  particularly  strong  in 
Scotland,  he  says, '  To  prevent  such  a  calamity  meetings  were  held  by  the  well  affected, 
and  suitable  measures  adopted.  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  of  Closeburn,  Alexander 
Fergusson  of  Craigdarroch,  and  other  gentlemen  in  Nithsdale  advanced  considerable 
sums  of  money,  and  provided  the  country  with  arms  and  ammunition ;  and  took  care 
to  have  the  men  instructed  in  military  exercises,  that  so  they  might  be  in  better 
condition  to  defend  their  lives,  their  liberties,  their  religion,  and  the  Protestant 
succession,  against  the  attempts  which  the  Popish  and  Jacobite  party  were  secretly 
plotting,  although  they  durst  not  as  yet  openly  avow  their  intentions.  After  the 
death  of  Queen  Anne,  and  when  there  was  re'ason  to  expect  a  rising  of  the  rebels, 
Government  sent  Major  Aikman  to  inspect  the  preparations,  and  on  the  10th  August, 
he  reviewed  such  of  the  Fencible  men  in  the  upper  part  of  Nithsdale  as  were  provided 
with  arms,  at  a  general  rendezvous  on  Marjory  Muir.  He  was  accompanied  by  Sir 
Thomas  Kirkpatrick  and  other  gentlemen,  who  afterwards  adjourned  to  Closeburn  to 
concert  the  measures  proper  to  be  taken  in  view  of  the  present  danger.  At  this  meeting 
detailed  instructions  were  issued,  and  so  well  were  they  carried  out,  that  in  that 
month  and  September  they  rendezvoused  400  effective  men,  besides  100  horsemen. 
In  September  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  Commissioner-in- Chief  for  Scotland,  sent  for 
volunteers  to  join  the  Royal  army  at  Stirling,  and  for  that  purpose  a  review  was  held 
at  Keir  Moss  not  far  from  Penpont,  where  the  people  from  the  neighbouring  parishes 
assembled  in  arms  with  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  James  Grierson  of  Capenoch  and 
others,  when  the  Royal  Standard  was  set  up  and  volunteers  called  for.  The  gentlemen 
encouraged  the  men  to  volunteer,  particularly  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  who  in  a 
handsome  speech  promised  to  such  of  them  as  were  his  own  tenants,  that  he  would 


56  KIRKPATRICK 

defray  their  charges  going  and  returning,  and  give  each  volunteer  eight  pence  a  day 
while  they  attended  the  camp.  At  this  time  Sir  Thomas'  services  were  required  in 
his  own  county,  for  it  was  determined  to  call  out  the  Militia,  and  for  this  end  the 
Marquis  of  Annandale,  Lord  Lieutenant,  appointed  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  Sir 
William  Johnstone  of  Westerhall,  Baronet,  Alexander  Fergusson  and  others,  Deputy 
Lieutenants,  with  instructions  for  convening  the  Fencible  men  in  order  to  raise  the 
mihtia.  Shortly  after  this  the  rebels  rose  in  Dumfriesshire  and  Kirkcudbright, 
headed  by  the  Earl  of  Nithsdale  and  Lord  Kenmuir.  They  threatened  Dumfries,  but 
so  firm  a  front  was  shewn,  that  after  some  time  they  were  compelled  to  retire  into 
the  north  of  England,  and  join  the  forces  under  Lord  Derwentwater.' 

Upon  this  occasion  the  men  of  Closeburn  carried  a  Banner,  still  preserved  by  the 
family,  five  feet  long  and  four  deep,  the  colour  of  the  family  livery  (blue  with  yellow 
facings),  with  the  Baronet's  arms  fully  blazoned,  surmounted  by  an  inscription: 

FOR   KING   GEORGE 

LIBERTY   AND    RELIGION   ACCORDING   TO 

SCOTS   REFORMATION. 

"William,  the  third  son  of  the  second  Baronet,  had  the  estate  of  Alisland  bequeathed 
to  him  by  his  father.  He  represented  the  Boroughs  of  the  Dumfries  district  in  Parlia- 
ment several  years,  and  married  Jean,  third  daughter  of  Charles  (son  of  Sir  Charles 
Erskine  of  Alva,  Baronet)  Lord  Justice  Clerk  of  Scotland,  descended  from  the  illustrious 
family  of  Mar.  John,  Earl  of  Mar,  Treasurer  of  Scotland,  and  the  Lady  Maria  Stuart, 
daughter  of  Esme,  first  Duke  of  Lenox,  being  his  great-grand  father  and  mother,  and  by 
the  said  Lady  Maria,  he  was  related  to  the  Royal  family  of  Stuart.  In  1747,  the  Duke 
of  Queensbury  received  compensation  for  his  office  of  hereditary  Sheriff  of  Dumfriesshire, 
and  Mr.  "William  Kirkpatrick  of  Alisland  was  made  the  first  Sheriff  under  the  new 
regimen.  He  died  in  1777.  His  son  Charles  changed  his  name  to  Sharpe,  according 
to  the  will  of  Matthew  Sharpe,  Esq.  of  Hoddam,  his  mother's  grand-uncle,  who  be- 
queathed to  him  his  whole  estates.   He  married  Eleanora,  daughter  of  John  Benton,  Esq. 


OF   CLOSEBUKN.  57 

of  Larnmerton,  by  Lady  Susan  Montgomery,  daughter  of  Alexander  Earl  of  Eglintoun. 
He  had  four  sons,  Matthew,  Charles  Kirkpatrick,  above  mentioned,  Alexander  and 
William,  and  six  daughters,  of  whom  Susan  married  Captain  James  Erskine,  second  son 
of  John  Erskine  of  Mar,  who  but  for  the  attainder  would  have  been  Earl  of  Mar,  and 
whose  grandfather  was  created  Duke  of  Mar  by  the  exiled  Prince  of  Wales.  Jane, 
his  second  daughter,  married  her  cousin  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  the  fifth  Baronet.  The 
above  mentioned  Lady  Susan  Montgomery,  was  daughter  of  the  beautiful  Susanna 
Kennedy,  daughter  of  Sir  Archibald  Kennedy  of  Colzean,  Baronet,  the  third  wife  of 
Lord  Eglintoun.  She  was  a  woman  of  extraordinary  personal  charms,  but  of  a  wit  and 
vivacity  still  more  surprising.  To  her,  Allan  Ramsay  dedicated  his  inimitable  '  Gentle 
Shepherd.'  In  her  old  age,  as  Boswell  informs  us,  Dr.  Johnson  paid  her  a  visit  and 
expressed  his  admiration  of  her  colloquial  powers.  Her  eldest  son,  Alexander  Earl  of 
Eglintoun,  was  barbarously  murdered  by  Mungo  Campbell,  and  it  is  somewhat 
remarkable  that  this  young  nobleman  made  the  third  of  his  family  who  perished  by  the 
hands  of  assassins. 

21.  Sir  Thomas,  the  third  Baronet,  succeeded  his  father  in  1720,  when  he  was 
only  about  sixteen  years  of  age. 

He  married  Susanna,  daughter  and  heiress  of  James  Grierson  of  Capenoch,  by 
whom  he  had  eight  children,  Thomas,  who  died  young,  James,  George,  William, 
Isabella,  married  to  Robert  Herries  of  Haldykes,  Grizzel,  married  to  her  cousin  the 
Honourable  Robert  Sandilands,  younger  son  of  Lord  Torphichen,  (their  son,  the 
present  Lord  Torphichen,  succeeded  his  cousin  in  1815),  Jean  and  Christian. 

The  Griersons  (Gregorsons)  of  Lag  and  Capenoch,  neighbours  and  allies  of  the 
Kirkpatricks  in  their  Border  feuds,  were  also  connected  by  intermarriage.  They 
claim  to  be  descended  from  Gilbert,  second  son  of  the  well-known  Malcolm  MacGregor 
of  the  Royal  clan  MacAlpine,  universally  acknowledged  to  be  the  most  ancient  in 
the  Highlands.  Malcolm  was  a  descendant  of  Grig,  third  son  of  Kenneth  MacAlpine, 
King  of  the  Scots  (843).  The  descent  of  the  Royal  families  of  Baliol  and  Bruce  from 
MacAlpine,  contributed  to  make  this  the  most  distinguished  of  the  clans.  The  Mac- 
Gregors  rank  next  to  the  above-named  families.     Gilbert  Grierson,  descended  from 


•58  KIEKPATRICK 

the  above  Gilbert,  married  Isobel  Kirkpatrick,  who  died  in  1472.     In  an  old  seal  of 
Sir  Thomas'  we  find  the  Grierson  arms  borne  on  an  escutcheon  of  pretence. 

His  third  son,  William,  had  one  son,  John,  and  two  daughters  who  died  young. 
The  son  John,  was  for  many  years  Chief  Justice  of  the  Ionian  Islands,  and  has  three 
sons,  William,  John,  and  Thomas,  and  nine  daughters,  Annabella,  Susan,  Jane, 
Christina,  Joanna,  Margaret,  Marianne,  Ellen,  and  Charlotte. 

Sir  Thomas  came  into  possession  of  his  patrimony  when  quite  young,  and  wasted 
his  property  in  the  most  thoughtless  extravagance.  He  travelled  on  the  Continent 
spending  profusely  ;  on  his  return  home  he  lived  in  a  style  of  lavish  recklessness.  But 
the  most  ruinous  expenditure  was  incurred  in  political  contests.  Various  members 
of  the  family  and  their  connections  had  so  frequently  sat  in  Parliament  for  the  County 
or  Borough,  that  they  thought  themselves  entitled  to  control  the  elections ;  but  they 
now  found  their  claim  disputed  by  their  powerful  neighbour,  the  Duke  of  Queensbury, 
who  determined  to  secure  the  seats  for  his  own  family.  It  appears  from  Oldfield's 
Parliamentary  History,  that  the  contests  were  constant  and  severe.  In  1725  there  was 
a  double  return  for  the  Borough,  William  Kirkpatrick,  Esq.  and  Sir  John  Douglas, 
Bart.;  but  the  latter  waived  his  return.  In  1735  there  was  a  petition  against  the  return, 
which  was  withdrawn.  In  1741  there  was  another  petition,  but  no  proceedings  on  it. 
The  County  was  also  contested  in  1735,  by  Alexander  Ferguson,  Esq.,  and  in  1741  by 
Matthew  Sharpe,  Esq.,  connections  of  the  family,  and  into  all  these  contests  Sir  Thomas 
plunged,  with  a  disregard  to  expense,  which  ultimately  involved  the  family  in  very 
serious  difficulties. 

In  connection  with  these  contests  may  be  mentioned  an  anecdote  told  by  Cham- 
bers in  his  Picture  of  Scotland.  He  says,  "  The  Baronial  family  of  Kirkpatrick,  which 
is  represented  by  Sir  Thomas,  the  fifth  Baronet,  present  Sheriff  of  Dumfriesshire,  is 
the  oldest  in  the  County.  Charles  the  good  Duke  of  Queensbury  once  testified  his 
respect  in  a  remarkable  manner.  He  was  proceeding  in  his  carriage  along  with  the 
eccentric  Duchess  Catherine  towards  Dumfries,  in  order  to  exert  his  influence  at  an 
election,  when  just  as  he  approached  the  head  of  the  Closeburn  avenue,  the  coach  of 
Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  who  had  taken  a  different  side  in  politics,  was  observed  to 
leave  the  house  on  its  way  to  the  same  place  for  the  same  purpose.     The  Duchess 


OF   CLOSEBUEN.  59 

felt  great  alarm  at  this,  and  thinking  that  priority  of  appearance  at  the  market  place 
would  be  favourable  to  the  Queensbury  influence,  called  out  in  her  usual  lusty  way 
to  the  coachman,  to  drive  with  all  his  might,  '  else  Tam  of  Closeburn  will  get  in  before 
us  and  lick  the  butter  off  our  bread.'  The  Duke  was  scandalized  at  the  nickname 
she  gave  his  friend  Sir  Thomas,  and  said,  '  Let  me  tell  you,  my  Lady  Duchess,  this 
Gentleman's  ancestor  was  Knight  of  Closeburn,  when  mine  was  only  Gudeman  of 
Drumlanrig.' " 

This  Duchess  was  The  Lady  Catherine  Hyde,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Clarendon, 
celebrated  by  Pope,  Swift,  Prior,  and  Gay,  for  her  beauty,  wit,  and  sprightliness. 

On  the  night  of  Monday,  29th  August,  1748,  the  house  of  Closeburn,  built  by  the 
first  Baronet,  partly  with  the  materials  of  the  old  Castle,  of  which  he  left  nothing  but 
the  Keep,  was  burnt  to  the  ground,  through  the  carelessness  of  a  drunken  servant  of 
Sir  Alexander  Jardine  of  Applegarth,  then  a  guest  at  Closeburn.  The  Jardines  were 
neighbours  and  old  friends  of  the  famdy.  Sir  John  Jardine,  the  second  Baronet, 
married  first,  Catherine  daughter  of  Sir  William  Lockhart  of  Carstairs,  Bart.,  aunt  of 
Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  and  niece  of  the  Duke  of  Queensbury ;  and,  secondly,  Jane 
daughter  of  Charteris  of  Amisfield,  into  whose  family  the  ancestor  of  Sir  Thomas 
married  in  1628,  as  above  mentioned. 

In  that  fire  were  consumed  all  the  family  portraits,  the  greatest  part  of  the  plate, 
all  the  furniture,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  few  Charters  quoted  above,  the  whole 
of  the  documents  and  papers  of  any  use  or  curiosity.  After  the  destruction  of 
Closeburn  House  Sir  Thomas  took  up  his  abode  in  the  old  Keep.  And  now  became 
too  apparent  the  fact  that  his  extravagance  had  involved  him  in  serious  difficulties. 
The  blow  was  too  heavy  to  be  retrieved.  There  were  no  means  for  rebuilding  the 
family  mansion,  and  he  died  in  the  old  Tower,  in  October,  1771- 

Grose,  in  his  Antiquities  of  Scotland,  published  1789,  vol.  i.  p.  150,  says,  Close- 
burn  Castle  is  situated  about  twelve  miles  north  of  Dumfries,  and  on  the  east  side  of  a 
lough  of  eight  acres.  It  is  perhaps  the  oldest  inhabited  Tower  in  the  south  of  Scotland. 
From  the  plan  on  which  it  was  built,  and  the  style  of  the  mouldings  of  the  door,  which 
are  the  only  ancient  ornaments  now  remaining  about  the  building,  it  seems  that  the 


60  KIRKPATRICK 

date  cannot  be  later  than  the  beginning  of  the  12th  century,  probably  earlier.  The 
building  is  a  lofty  quadrilateral  tower,  all  vaulted;  the  lower  apartment  was  a 
Souterrarn  ;  the  only  communication  with  the  hall  or  ground  floor  was  by  a  trap-door ; 
the  walls  twelve  feet  thick.  The  entrance  door  is  under  a  circular  arch,  with  the 
zigzag  or  dancette  moulding  rudely  cut  out  of  the  hard  granite.  The  approach  to  it 
was  by  a  ladder,  that  could  be  taken  in  at  any  time,  the  present  outer  stairs  being  a 
very  modern  erection.  The  old  iron  door  is  still  remaining.  The  hall  was  probably 
the  dining-room,  the  guard-chamber,  and  the  dormitory  of  the  garrison  when  invested 
by  an  enemy.  A  small  turnpike  stair  built  in  the  wall  led  to  the  principal  apartments. 
There  is  one  stack  of  chimneys  in  the  centre  of  the  building.  Above  the  hall  there 
are  two  series  of  chambers  with  oaken  floors.  An  arched  roof  crowns  the  whole,  and 
a  way  fenced  with  a  parapet  goes  round  the  top.  There  is  not  any  kind  of  escutcheon 
or  armorial  bearings  on  it,  an  additional  proof  of  its  antiquity. 

Although  Sir  Thomas  by  his  recklessness  involved  his  family  in  difficulties 
amounting  to  comparative  ruin,  and  is  therefore  remembered  by  the  succeeding 
generations  with  embittered  feelings,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  he  had  his  merits  as 
well  as  his  faults.  He  was  talented  and  accomplished,  highly  popular  in  his  manners, 
a  good  neighbour,  and  a  warm  friend.  The  family  still  possess  letters  addressed  to 
him,  subsequent  to  his  misfortunes,  manifesting  the  attachment  and  esteem  of  his 
correspondents.  One  dated  the  20th  of  December,  1770,  only  a  few  months  before 
his  death,  commences : — 

My  dear  Sir  Thomas, 

My  time  since  my  return  to  town  has  been  so  entirely  devoted  to  Indian 
despatches,  that  I  have  not  yet  found  leisure  to  pay  or  receive  personal  visits.  Even 
this  on  paper  to  you  is  amongst  my  first,  and  I  beg  you  will  accept  it  as  expressive  of 
that  esteem  and  respect,  which  I  can  never  separate  from  my  idea  of  your  character. 

The  writer  of  this  letter,  Colonel  James  Kirkpatrick,  son  of  James  Kirkpatrick, 
M.D.,  was  an  officer  of  the  East  India  Company's  Madras  Establishment.  He  published 
in  1769  a  pamphlet  on  the  use  of  Light  Troops,  of  which  the  Monthly  Eeview  of  that 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  61 

date  observes,  '  The  proposal  appears  important  and  very  judiciously  planned.  The 
author  is  an  experienced  Commander  of  Horse.'  He  married  Katherine,  daughter  of 
Andrew  Munro,  1762,  at  Madras.  He  commanded  the  forces  at  Fort  Marlborough, 
Sumatra,  1777.  He  returned  home  about  1779,  and  died  at  his  seat,  Holly  dale,  Kent, 
in  1818,  in  his  89th  year.  His  father,  James  Kirkpatrick,  M.D.,  the  author  of  some 
poetical  and  medical  works,  died  in  1770,  in  his  69th  year.  In  the  Middlesex  Journal 
of  that  day  he  is  thus  noticed,  '  Dr.  Kirkpatrick,  a  gentleman  who  has  left  behind  many 
proofs  of  a  fine  imagination  in  his  poetical,  and  of  great  genius  and  learning  in  his 
physical  productions.' 

Colonel  James  Kirkpatrick  left  three  sons,  "William,  George,  and  James  Achilles. 

William  entered  the  East  India  Company's  Military  Service,  and  soon  distinguished 
himself  by  his  professional  talents  and  literary  acquirements.  He  published  a  Vocabu- 
lary, Persian,  Arabic  and  English,  1785  ;  Select  Letters  of  Tippoo  Sultaun,  1811 ;  and 
in  the  same  year  'An  Account  of  the  Kingdom  of  Nepaul,  being  the  substance  of 
Observations  made  during  a  Mission  to  that  Country  in  the  year  1793,'  the  preface  to 
which  commences,  '  No  Englishman  had  hitherto  passed  beyond  the  range  of  lofty 
mountains,  which  separates  the  secluded  valley  of  Nepaul  from  the  north-eastern  parts 
of  Bengal.'  The  Court  of  Nepaul,  alarmed  by  an  invasion  from  China,  implored 
assistance  from  the  Bengal  Government,  who  sent  Colonel  Kirkpatrick  (assisted  by 
three  other  officers  and  a  surgeon)  as  Envoy  to  the  Court.  His  report  was  written  for 
Government,  and  not  for  publication ;  and  it  was  not  till  several  years  after  it  was 
written,  that,  on  his  return  to  England,  he  was  reluctantly  induced  to  publish  the  work, 
under  the  patronage  of  the  Court  of  Directors.  He  had  already  distinguished  himself 
when  Lord  Wellesley  went  out  as  Governor  in  1798.  In  a  dispatch  to  the  Bight 
Honourable  Henry  Addington,  Eirst  Lord  of  the  Treasury,  dated  Cawnpore,  10th  of 
January,  1802,  Lord  Wellesley  writes  (see  Introduction  to  the  third  volume  of  the 
Wellesley  Dispatches,  p.  x.),  'I  fortunately  found  him  at  the  Cape,  on  my  way  to  India, 
and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring,  that  to  him  I  am  indebted  for  the  seasonable 
information  which  enabled  me  to  extinguish  the  Erench  influence  in  the  Deccan,  and  to 
frustrate  the  vindictive  projects  of  Tippoo  Sultaun.'  He  filled  the  offices  of  Besident  at 
the  Court  of  Scindiah,  at  Nepaul,  and  at  Hyderabad ;  Commissioner  for  the  Affairs  of 
Mysore ;  Confidential  Military  Secretary ;  and  Secretary  to  the  Military  Department 


62  KIRKPATRICK 

of  the  Government.  He  was  also  appointed  Eesident  at  Poonah,  when  failing  health 
obliged  him  to  return  to  England  in  1801,  at  the  early  age  of  forty-seven.  Lord 
"Wellesley,  in  his  dispatch  to  Government,  says,  that  he  had  served  his  country  with  the 
greatest  honour  and  ability,  and  sums  up  his  character  in  these  words  :  '  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Kirkpatrick's  skill  in  the  Oriental  languages,  and  his  extensive  acquaintance 
with  the  manners,  customs,  and  laws  of  India,  are  not  equalled  by  any  person  whom  I 
have  met  in  this  country.  His  perfect  knowledge  of  the  native  Courts,  of  their  policy, 
prejudices,  and  interests,  as  well  as  of  all  the  leading  political  characters  among  the 
inhabitants  of  India,  is  unrivalled  in  the  Company's  civil  or  military  service ;  and  his 
integrity  and  honour  are  as  universally  acknowledged  and  respected  as  his  eminent 
talents,  extraordinary  learning,  and  political  experience.' 

Lord  Wellesley  offered  in  the  handsomest  terms  to  apply  on  his  behalf  for  English 
honours,  which  however  he  courteously  declined.  The  correspondence  is  still  preserved 
by  the  family.  He  died  a  Major-General,  in  August,  1812,  in  his  58th  year,  leaving 
four  daughters.  Clementina,  married  to  Admiral  Sir  John  Louis,  Baronet ;  Barbara, 
married  to  Charles  Buller,  M.P.,  father  of  the  late  Charles  Buller,  Member  for  Liskeard, 
and  of  Sir  Arthur  Buller,  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  at  Calcutta ;  Julia,  married  to 
Edward  Strachey,  late  father  of  the  present  Sir  Edward  Strachey,  Baronet ;  and  Eliza, 
who  died  unmarried. 

George,  the  second  son  of  Colonel  James  Kirkpatrick,  was  in  the  Company's  Civil 
Service  at  Bombay,  and  returned  home  in  bad  health  in  1799.  He  died  at  Hollydale 
in  1838,  in  his  75th  year,  leaving  two  sons,  the  Rev.  James  Kirkpatrick  of  Hollydale, 
and  John  Kirkpatrick  of  Horton  Park,  Kent,  and  one  daughter,  Eleanor,  married  to 
Captain  D.  "West. 

James  Achilles,  the  third  son  of  Colonel  James  Kirkpatrick,  succeeded  his  brother 
"William  as  Eesident  at  the  Court  of  the  Nizam,  and  under  his  immediate  command  the 
French  forces  were  compelled  to  lay  down  their  arms,  and  the  Prenck  influence  in  the 
Deccan  was  finally  and  totally  destroyed.  On  this  occasion  Lord  Wellesley  wrote  to 
him,  '  I  am  happy  to  express  my  entire  approbation  of  the  judgment,  firmness,  and 
discretion,  which  you  have  manifested  during  the  important  transactions,  which  have 
passed  since  the  ratification  of  the  new  subsidiary  treaty  with  the  Nizam,  and  which 
have  terminated  so  satisfactorily  in  the  complete  execution  of  the  secret  and  separate 


OF   CLOSEBUBN.  63 

articles  of  that  engagement.  Your  conduct  in  the  negociation  of  the  treaty  has  already 
received  my  approbation.'  He  died  a  Lieutenant-Colonel  at  Calcutta  in  1805,  leaving 
one  son,  "William,  who  died  in  1828,  and  a  daughter,  Catherine  Aurora,  married  to 
Captain  James  'Winslow  Phillips,  7th  Hussars. 

Had  his  father's  life  been  spared  a  few  years  till  his  character  was  fully  formed, 
and  his  expensive  tastes  controlled,  the  third  Baronet  would  probably  have  proved  an 
ornament  to  the  family,  and  have  been  remembered  with  pride  and  affection. 
Unfortunately,  while  yet  a  boy,  he  found  himself  in  a  position  which  flattered  his 
imagination  and  dazzled  his  judgment.  As  not  unfrequently  happens,  too  much 
prosperity  was  the  parent  of  misfortune. 

When  altered  circumstances  put  an  end  to  the  employments  and  excitements  of 
his  youthful  career,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  his  paternal  estates, 
and  commenced  that  series  of  improvements  by  which  their  value  has  been  enhanced 
tenfold ;  but  unfortunately  the  fruits  of  these  ameborations  are  reaped  by  other  hands, 
and  the  family  now  sees  with  feebngs  more  painful  than  regret,  the  inheritance  of 
their  ancestors,  the  property  of  strangers. 

22.  Sir  James,  the  fourth  Baronet,  succeeded  his  father  in  1771-  He  married 
Miss  Jardine,  and  had  three  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  Thomas,  and 
Roger,  and  four  daughters,  Susan,  Isabella,  Jean,  and  Mary. 

He  devoted  himself  strenuously  to  the  task  of  repairing  the  mischief  done  by  his 
father,  and  endeavoured  to  restore  prosperity  by  avaibng  himself  of  the  aids  of  science, 
in  carrying  out  agricultural  improvements.  It  was  reserved,  says  Chalmers,  for  Sir 
James  Kirkpatrick  to  discover  Hmestone  on  his  estate,  and  to  estabbsh  a  large 
manufactory  of  this  important  mineral,  and  what  was  of  still  more  importance,  to 
conquer  the  prejudice  of  ignorance  against  the  appbcation  of  this  potent  fertilizer  of  a 
wretched  soil.  The  country  gentlemen  followed  his  example.  See  a  letter  from  Sir 
James  Kirkpatrick,  respecting  the  Lime  Husbandry  of  Dumfriesshire,  Agricultural 
View,  1794,  Appendix  No.  3. 


04  KIRKPATRICK 

And  Sinclair,  in  his  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,  Parish  of  Closeburn,  states 
that  the  proprietor,  anxious  to  introduce  agricultural  improvements,  met  with  so  much 
opposition  from  the  prejudices  of  his  tenants,  that  he  found  it  necessary  in  their 
leases  to  compel  them  to  lime  a  certain  quantity  of  their  land,  he  furnishing  the  lime, 
and  even  paying  the  carriage.  And  he  mentions  as  one  proof  of  the  extent  of  these 
improvements,  shewn  by  the  diminution  of  the  sheep  pasture,  and  the  extension  of 
arable  cultivation,  that  there  was  an  account  then  in  existence  of  the  sheep  and  wool 
upon  the  Barony  of  Closeburn,  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  written  in  the 
proprietor's  hand,  from  which  it  appeared  that  there  were  at  that  time  upon  the 
Barony,  6740  sheep,  while  the  number  kept  at  the  date  of  Sinclair's  account  upon  the 
same  lands,  was  only  3940. 

He  greatly  increased  the  value  of  the  estates,  but  his  efforts  to  retrieve  the  injury 
inflicted  by  his  father  proved  vain.  The  benefits  were  prospective  and  slow,  the 
pressure  immediate  and  urgent.  The  estates,  already  diminished  by  marriage  portions 
and  settlements  on  younger  children,  were  now  deeply  involved.  The  depreciating 
effects  of  the  American  War  upon  the  value  of  land  were  at  their  height.  Money 
was  scarce  and  valuable,  creditors  pressing,  and  Sir  James,  a  man  of  nice  honour  and 
refined  sensitiveness,  decided  to  meet  their  wants  by  the  bitter  sacrifice  of  estates  held 
by  his  ancestors  for  more  than  a  thousand  years.  He  made  over  to  Trustees, 
Closeburn  and  about  14,000  acres,  retaining  only  some  outlying  properties,  and 
Capenoch  the  patrimony  of  his  mother.  The  Trustees  effected  a  hasty  sale,  for  a  sum 
scarcely  amounting  to  half  what  he  had  previously  refused.  Could  he  have  foreseen 
the  rapid  reaction  in  the  value  of  land  which  soon  after  took  place,  and  held  the 
property  into  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  he  might  have  been  able  to  avoid 
this  desperate  step,  and  to  replace  his  family  upon  their  ancient  footing.  Sir  James 
Menteth  sometime  since  resold  the  Closeburn  Estate ;  the  mansion  and  principal  part  of 
the  land,  to  Douglas  Baird,  Esq.  a  Glasgow  iron  merchant,  and  two  other  lots  to  other 
parties,  which  produced  altogether  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  money.  The 
rental  is  now  said  to  be  £12,000  a  year,  and  the  railway  which  runs  up  the  vale  of 
ISTith,  with  a  station  at  Closeburrj,  is  daily  enhancing  its  value. 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  65 

Sir  James  died  7  th  of  June,  1804,  and  was  succeeded  by  Thomas  his  eldest 
surviving  son.  His  second  son  Roger  had  four  sons,  James,  H.E.I.C.S.,  Robert  who 
is  dead,  Roger  of  Lagganlees,  who  married  Isabella  Kirkpatrick,  1856,  and  Thomas, 
H.E.I.C.S.,  and  two  daughters,  Jane  and  Mary  Lillias. 

23.  Sir  Thomas,  the  fifth  Baronet,  succeeded  his  father. 

He  married  his  cousin  Jane,  daughter  of  Charles  Sharpe,  Esq.  of  Hoddam,  and 
had  issue,  Eleonora,  married  to  Admiral  Hope  Johnstone,  Mary  Ann,  married  to 
Henry  Lumsden,  Esq.  of  Auchendoir,  James,  a  promising  young  navy  officer,  who 
died  at  sea  in  his  father's  life  time,  Charles  Sharpe,  Margaret,  married  to  John  Ord 
Mackenzie,  Esq.  of  Dolphinton  (of  the  Seaforth  family),  and  Charlotte,  married  to 
Henry  J.  Burn,  Esq. 

Sir  Thomas  was  a  most  amiable  and  excellent  man,  and  well  maintained  the 
regard  and  affection  of  his  neighbours.  For  many  years  the  justly  popular  Sheriff 
of  Dumfriesshire,  he  won  the  respect  of  the  public,  by  his  sound  judgment,  firmness 
of  character,  and  suavity  of  manner.  His  judgments  were  seldom  questioned,  and 
when  occasionally  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court,  the  judges  used  to  remark  that  it 
was  almost  useless  to  appeal  cases  decided  by  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick. 

At  the  request  of  the  Procurators  of  Dumfriesshire,  he  sat  to  Sir  William  Allan  for 
his  portrait  in  his  robes,  which  now  forms  a  principal  ornament  in  the  County  Court 
House  at  Dumfries.  And  the  County  gentlemen  had  another  portrait  painted  by  the 
same  artist  with  his  badge  and  ribbon,  &c.  which  they  gave  to  his  daughter.  That 
the  family  though  now  reduced  in  circumstances  is  not  forgotten,  may  be  ascertained 
by  any  person  who  mentions  the  name  in  mansion  or  cottage.  The  warm  expressions 
of  esteem  and  affection  invariably  elicited,  form  a  gratifying  testimony  to  the  past 
history  of  the  famdy. 

The  following  is  extracted  from  the  Dumfries  Courier  of  4th  November,  1844  : — 

"  The  late  Sir  Thomas  KirJcpalrieJc,  Baronet,  Sheriff  of  Dumfriesshire. 
"  In  our  last  week's  Obituary,  we  recorded  the  death  of  our  respected  Sheriff,  Sir 
Thomas  Kirkpatrick.     On  the  night  of  Sunday  the  20th  ult.  when  he  retired  to  rest, 

K 


66  KIRKPATRICK 

he  appeared,  to  be  in  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  health,  but  on  the  morning  of  the  21st, 
while  dressing,  he  was  struck  with  apoplexy,  and  lingered  till  about  8  o'clock  in  the 
evening  of  the  same  day,  when  he  expired.  By  this  sudden  and  unexpected 
dispensation  of  Providence,  our  county  has  sustained  a  severe  loss.  For  thirty-three 
years  Sir  Thomas  discharged  the  duties  of  Sheriff,  and  throughout  the  whole  of  that 
long  period,  he  justly  merited  and  most  eminently  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  esteem 
of  all  within  his  jurisdiction.  In  his  official  capacity  he  was  no  less  distinguished  by 
the  earnest  and  unceasing  care  with  which  he  watched  over  the  general  welfare  of  the 
county,  than  by  the  sound  and  extensive  legal  knowledge  which  he  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  various  questions  submitted  to  his  decision  as  a  judge.  His  eminent 
acquirements  as  a  lawyer,  were  fully  appreciated  by  those  who  had  the  best  means 
and  opportunities  of  forming  an  opinion, — the  practitioners  in  his  Court, — who 
invariably  received  his  judgments,  with  that  respect  which  they  so  justly  merited ; 
while  his  character  for  unflinching  integrity  and  strict  impartiality,  afforded  a  full 
assurance  to  litigants,  that  justice  was  in  all  cases  scrupulously  administered.  Indeed 
his  judicial  decisions  may  be  said  to  have  given  universal  satisfaction,  not  only  to  the 
Procurators,  who  could  appreciate  the  soundness  of  the  legal  principles  on  which  they 
were  invariably  founded,  but  also  to  the  litigants,  who  confided  with  entire  rebance 
on  the  sterling  uprightness  and  discriminating  judgment  by  which  he  was  so  peculiarly 
distinguished.  To  those  who  have  seen  him  on  the  Bench,  and  witnessed  the  courtesy 
of  his  deportment,  the  unwearied  patience  with  which  he  listened  to  the  conflicting 
statements  of  adverse  parties,  and  the  clear,  unobtrusive,  but  persuasive  manner  in 
which  he  delivered  his  judgments,  it  cannot  be  matter  of  wonder  that  he  should  have 
gained  the  esteem  and  respect  of  all  who  were  more  immediately  connected,  either  as 
parties  or  procurators,  with  the  business  of  his  Court.  Of  his  administration  of 
criminal  justice  it  may  well  be  said,  that  he  tempered  justice  with  mercy,  and  his 
kind  and  feebng  heart  often  led  him  to  wish,  that  he  could  remit  the  sentence  which 
a  stern  sense  of  duty  impelled  him  to  pronounce.  In  the  investigation  of  crime  he 
was  peculiarly  shrewd  and  discriminating,  and  few  offences  committed  within  his 
jurisdiction  were  allowed  to  escape  unpunished.     Those  who  recollect  the  trial  and 


OF   CLOSEBURN.  67 

conviction  of  the  murderer  Gordon,  may  form  some  idea  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  could  track  a  criminal  by  means  of  the  very  finest  chain  of  circumstantial 
evidence. 

"  Of  the  private  character  of  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  it  is  unnecessary  for  us  to 
speak;  it  was  legibly  written  on  the  features  of  his  fine  expressive  countenance. 
The  smile  upon  his  lip,  the  meditative  eye,  the  thoughtful  brow,  proclaimed  at  once 
the  man  of  benevolence  and  intellect,  the  warm-hearted  friend  and  the  cheerful 
companion.  He  was  in  very  truth  a  man  in  whom  there  was  no  guile ;  straight- 
forward honesty,  unbending  integrity,  and  the  purest  philanthropy,  characterised 
every  action  of  his  life.  Throughout  the  whole  of  'the  long  and  active  discharge  of 
his  arduous  duties,  we  firmly  believe  that  he  never  had  an  enemy.  By  rich  and  by 
poor  he  was  at  once  respected  and  beloved.  We  mourn  over  his  loss  as  an  eminently 
useful  public  character.  As  a  private  friend  it  will  be  difficult  indeed  to  supply 
his  place. 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  to  the  friends  of  Sir  Thomas  to  know,  that  about 
a  year  since  he  sat  for  his  portrait  to  Sir  William  Allan,  at  the  request  of  the  Pro- 
curators of  the  Sheriff's  Court.  The  likeness  is  an  admirable  one,  and  when  the 
picture  is  returned  from  Edinburgh,  where  it  at  present  is  for  the  purpose  of  being 
engraved,  we  believe  it  is  to  be  placed  on  the  walls  of  the  Court  House.  Sir  Thomas 
also  sat  to  the  same  artist,  at  the  request  of  a  number  of  his  more  immediate  neigh- 
bours for  another  portrait,  which  was  presented  to  Miss  Kirkpatrick,  and  is  now  we 
believe  at  Capenoch. 

"Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  was  admitted  an  advocate  in  the  year  1798.  During 
part  of  the  years  1809-10-11,  he  was  one  of  the  Commissioners  in  Edinburgh,  which 
situation  he  resigned  in  1811,  upon  his  being  appointed  Sheriff  of  his  native  county." 

24.  Sir  Chakles  Sharpe  Kirkpatrick,  the  present  and  sixth  Baronet,  succeeded 
his  father  in  1845. 


68  KIEKPATEICK 


The  fact  that  a  descendant  from  the  ancient  family  of  Kirkpatrick,  now  sits  on 
the  throne  of  France,  renders  it  necessary  to  enter  more  fully  into  the  history  of  that 
branch,  than  has  been  thought  desirable  with  respect  to  other  collaterals,  some  of 
which  have  been  sbghtly  noticed,  and  others,  having  no  peculiar  interest,  have  been 
passed  over  altogether. 

Mr.  William  Kirkpatrick  of  Conheath,  then  resident  in  Malaga,  married  Dofia 
Francisca  Maria,  eldest  daughter  of  Don  Henrique  Baron  Grevignee.  Their  eldest 
daughter  Dona  Maria  Manuela  became  Countess  de  Montijo,  and  mother  of  Dofia 
Maria  Eugenia,  Countess  de  Teba,  now  Empress  of  the  French. 

When  the  Comte  de  Teba,  second  son  of  the  Comte  de  Montijo,  Duke  de  Pefia- 
randa,  &c.  Grandee  of  the  First  Class,  made  proposals  of  marriage  to  Dona  Maria 
Manuela  Kirkpatrick,  it  became  necessary  for  her  father  to  prove  that  his  ancestry 
was  such  as  to  justify  a  Grandee  of  Spain  in  forming  the  connection.  He  said  to  his 
proposed  son-in-law, '  You  trace  up  to  King  Alphonso  the  eleventh,  if  I  trace  to  King 
Robert  Bruce,  I  suppose  his  Majesty  will  be  satisfied.'  He  laid  before  the  King  a 
Patent  from  the  Heralds'  office  at  Edinburgh,  certifying  his  descent  paternally  from 
the  ancient  Barons  of  Closeburn,  whereupon  it  is  said  the  King  laughing  exclaimed, 
'  Let  the  noble  Montijo  marry  the  daughter  of  Fingal.' 

The  tradition  is  that  the  title  '  de  Teba,'  was  conferred  on  the  Comte  de  Montijo 
as  a  second  title,  in  recognition  of  his  conduct  at  the  siege  of  Teba  in  Andalusia,  in 
1328,  when  the  place  was  taken  from  the  Moors.  By  a  singular  coincidence  a  Kirk- 
patrick of  Closeburn  took  part  in  the  same  exploit.     The  tale  is  told  by  Froissart. 

King  Robert  Bruce  had  made  a  vow  to  go  to  the  Holy  Land,  to  expiate  the  death 
ofComyn.  Upon  his  death-bed  he  regretted  exceedingly  having,  by  the  contests  in 
which  he  was  incessantly  engaged  in  support  of  his  throne,  been  prevented  from  ful- 
filling his  vow,  and  desired  that  his  heart  might  be  taken  to  Jerusalem.  Douglas, 
with  the  heart  suspended  from  his  neck  in  a  silver  casket,  accompanied  by  a  son  of 
Sir  Roger  Kirkpatrick  and  other  Knights,  undertook  the  Commission.  For  want  of 
a  vessel  sailing  direct  to  Palestine,  they  passed  through  Spain,  and  arrived  in  Andalu- 


OF   CLOSEBTJRN.  69 

sia  at  the  time  the  Spaniards  were  besieging  Teba.  Thinking  it  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity to  prove  their  zeal  against  the  Infidel,  they  joined  the  Spanish  standard,  and 
at  the  critical  moment  of  the  assault,  Douglas  hurled  the  casket  into  the  midst  of  the 
Moors,  crying,  '  Noble  heart,  go  as  thou  hast  always  gone,  the  first  into  the  fight, 
Douglas  and  his  Knights  swear  to  follow  or  die.'  "  The  Scots,"  says  the  historian, 
"  challenge  for  the  royal  heart,  the  chief  glory  of  the  defeat  of  the  Moor,  and  the 
capture  of  Teba." 

Not  to  encumber  the  history  of  this  branch  with  too  many  details,  and  commencing 
with  Thomas  Kirkpatrick  of  Knock,  paternally  descended  from  Closeburn,  and  cotem- 
porary  with  the  first  Baronet,  we  find  that  he  left  two  sons.  The  eldest,  James,  follow- 
ing the  tide  of  emigration  then  setting  in  rapidly,  married  and  settled  in  England, 
and  had  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  The  second,  Kobert  of  Glenkeln,  married  his 
cousin  Henrietta,  daughter  of  John  Gillespie,  Esq.  of  Craigshields,  and  had  four  sons 
and  a  daughter.  Of  whom  William  of  Conheath  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John 
Wilson,  Esq.  of  Ketton,  and  had  seven  sons  and  twelve  daughters.  Of  whom  the 
eldest  son  that  attained  manhood,  John,  married  Janet,  daughter  of  Thomas  Stothert, 
Esq.  of  Arkland  and  Areeming,  heiress  in  her  own  right  of  Tarscrechan,  and  had  four 
sons  and  one  daughter,  Maria  Isabella.  Their  eldest  son  William  Escott  Kirkpatrick, 
Esq.,  of  Brussels,  now  the  representative  of  the  Conheath  branch,  married  Eliza  Ann, 
eldest  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Parkinson,  Esq.  and  has  four  sons.  The  second,  Thomas 
James,  married  his  Spanish  cousin  Carlota  Catalina,  sister  of  the  Countess  Montijo, 
and  left  four  sons  and  a  daughter.  The  above-named  Maria  Isabella,  daughter  of 
John  Kirkpatrick,  married  Joseph  Kirkpatrick,  Esq.  of  St.  Cross,  great-grandson  of 
another  James  Kirkpatrick,  who  quitted  Scotland  in  1686.  This  James,  a  youth  of 
18,  took  umbrage  at  his  father's  third  marriage,  and  made  use  of  some  strong  expres- 
sions which  gave  great  offence.  The  dispute  ran  so  high  that  immediately  after 
witnessing  the  ceremony,  he  left  the  church  and  quitted  his  home  for  ever.  Yielding 
to  the  setting  tide  of  emigration  he  went  to  England,  with  scanty  means,  and  little 
else  to  insure  a  livelihood  than  energy  of  character  and  some  native  talent.  Thence- 
forth he  was  lost  to  his  family.     Of  the  next  few  years  of  his  life  his  descendants  at 


70  KIEKPATETCK 

present  have  slight  traditions,  except  that  he  contended  bravely  and  successfully 
against  all  difficulties,  and  having  gained  the  affections  of  Ann  Hoar,  the  only  child 
of  a  clergyman  at  Romsey,  he  married  and  received  with  her  a  dower  deemed  at  that 
time  considerable.  They  removed  to  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  in  1704,  as  appears  by 
the  Title  Deeds,  purchased  '  a  capital  Messuage  or  Dwelling-house,  with  a  large  garden 
and  appurtenances,'  in  the  best  situation  in  Newport.  Here  there  was  little  chance 
of  his  ever  coming  in  contact  with  any  of  his  family.  This  island,  now  the  annual 
resort  of  thousands  of  Felicity  hunters,  as  they  are  there  called,  was  then  an  unknown 
land.  Many  years  afterwards,  Dr.  Johnson,  when  blaming  the  Government  for  their 
mismanagement  of  the  war,  wrote  with  indignation  at  their  permitting  the  troops 
destined  for  Canada,  to  waste  their  time  in  the  pathless  deserts  of  the  Isle  of  Wight. 
The  last  house  in  England  in  which  General  Wolfe  slept  before  his  departure  to  the 
scene  of  his  glory  and  death,  was  the  house  of  James,  the  son  of  this  James  Kirk- 
patrick,  who  entertained  him  during  the  time  he  was  detained  in  the  Isle  of  Wight. 

The  tale  of  this  wedding  day  dispute  and  consequent  self-banishment  and  perma- 
nent alienation,  was  handed  down  from  father  to  son  with  a  tenacity  and  interest 
worthy  of  a  Border  tradition.  Widely  and  completely  separated  from  the  old  home, 
it  was  never  forgotten,  but  fondly  cherished  in  the  memory  of  his  children  and  chil- 
dren's children,  and  in  all  the  struggles  of  life  doubts  were  dispelled  and  difficulties 
vanquished,  under  the  never  forgotten  rallying  cry,  '  I  mak  sicker.' 

James  the  exile  died  in  October,  1719,  leaving  his  only  son  James,  and  daughter 
Jane,  the  wife  of  Matthew  E-olleston,  Esq.  amply  provided  for.  James  the  son;  married 
Esther  Williams,  by  whom  he  had  three  sons,  James,  John,  and  Joseph,  and  a  daughter. 
Anne,  who  married  Dr.  Silver,  and  died  in  1841,  aged  89.  In  her  retentive  memory 
the  flight  from  Scotland  was  but  the  tale  of  yesterday. 

James  the  grandson  died  in  1819,  leaving  several  children;  John  died  in  1810, 
also  leaving  several  children ;  Joseph  died  in  1826,  leaving  two  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom 
married  as  above-mentioned  Maria  Isabella,  daughter  of  John  Kirkpatrick  of  Conheath, 
and  first  cousin  of  the  Countess  de  Montijo.  Their  daughter  Isabella,  by  marrying 
in  1856,  her  cousin   Roger  Kirkpatrick  of  Lagganlees,  grandson  of  Sir  James  Kirk- 


OF   CLOSEBTJKN.  71 

patrick,  the  4tli  Baronet,  has  thus  become  the  link  of  a  fresh  bond  of  union  between  the 
above-named  branches  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  direct  Closeburn  line  on  the  other. 
It  only  remains  to  state  that  the  above-named  William  Kirkpatrick  of  Malaga, 
second  son  of  William  of  Conheath,  married,  as  above  stated,  Dona  Francisca  Maria 
Grevignee,  by  whom  he  had  one  son  and  four  daughters.  The  son  and  one  daughter 
died  in  infancy. 

Of  the  three  surviving  daughters — 

1st,  Dona  Maria  Manuela,  married  the  Comte  de  Teba,  who  upon  the  death  of  his 
elder  brother  became  Comte  de  Montijo,  Grandee  of  the  First  Class,  Duke  de 
Peiiaranda,  &c.  and  succeeded  to  the  ample  possessions  as  well  as  numerous 
titles  of  that  illustrious  house. 
They  had  two  daughters — 
1st,  Dona  Maria  Francisca  de  Sales,  Countess  de  Montijo,  who  married  the 

Duke  de  Berwick  and  Alba. 
2nd,  Dona  Maria  Eugenia,    Countess   de  Teba,    married   to   Napoleon  III. 
Emperor  of  the  French. 

2nd,  Dona  Carlota  Catalina,  who  married  her  cousin  Thomas  James,  son  of  John 
Kirkpatrick  of  Conheath,  and  had  four  sons  and  a  daughter. 

3rd,  Dofia  Henriquita,  who  married  Don  Domingo  Cabarrus  y  Quilty  Count  de 
Cabarrus,  and  had  two  daughters. 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  a  descendant  of  Ivone  de  Kirkpatrick  and  Eufemia  Bruce, 
tracing  lineally  from  Kenneth  MacAlpine,  King  of  the  Scots,  a.d.  843,  through  the 
grand-daughter  of  King  Edmund  Ironside,  and  the  niece  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
now  sits  on  the  Imperial  Throne  of  France. 


THE  IMPERIAL  FAMILY  OF  FRANCE. 

A  common  idea  has  prevailed  that  the  Bona- 
parte* rose  from  a  vulgar  stock,  and  that  the 
"  Little  Corporal,"  who  rose  to  such  a  height  of 
power,  was  a  man  without  a  pedigree  ;  it  will  be 
in  the  memory  of  many  of  our  readers,  that  when 
in  1852  it  became  known  that  the  comely 
daughter  of  the  Spanish  Countess  de  Moutijo 
had  won  the  heart  of  the  French  Sovcreigu  who 
had  lately  been  proclaimed  as  Napoleon  the 
Third,  some  uneasiness  was  felt  at  Court,  and 
efforts  were  made  to  prevent  the  Emperor  from 
forming  what  was  feared  was  a  mesalliance. 
The  uneasiness  was  grounded  on  a  misapprehen- 
sion of  the  facts,  for  the  truth  is,  the  lineage  of 
the  Empress  is  traceable  back  to  a  far  remoter 
period  than  that  of  her  Imperial  husband.  With 
respect  to  the  pedigree  of  the  Bonaparte.-*, 
Bourienne,  the  private  Secretary  of  the  First 
Emperor,  in  his  biography  informs  us  that 
although  the  family  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  was 
ptor  ai\d-he  himself  received  his  education  nt 
the  public  cost,  yet  the  story  of  the  obscurity  of 
his  extraction  was  false,  and  writes  :  "  Bonaparte 
"was  undoubtedly  a  man  of  good  family.  I 
"have  seen  an  authentic  account  of  his  genea- 
"  l°Ry>  which  he  obtained  from  Tuscany.  A 
"  great  deal  has  been  said  about  the  civil  dis- 
"  sensions  which  forced  his  family  to  quit  Italy 
"and  take  refuge  in  Corsica.  On  this  subject 
"  I  have  nothing  to  say."  On  the  other  hand, 
the  ancestry  of  the  Empress  may  be  traced  back 
to  a  very  remote  period,  and  being  British  it 
may  not  be  without  interest  to  our  readers 
briefly  to  describe  it.  The  mother  of  the  Em- 
press, who  still  lives,  was  a  Miss  Kirkpatriek, 
whose  father,  Mr.  William  Eirkpatrick,  had 
settled  as  a  merchant  in  the  Soutli  of  Spain. 
When  her  marriage  to  the  Count  de  Montijo 
was  proposed,  it  was  necessary  to  obtain  the 
consent  of  the  then  King  of  Spain,  and  inquiry 
was  instituted  as  to  the  family  and  ancesiry  of 
the  lady.  The  pedigree  which  was  produced 
seems  to  have  been  rather  too  much  for  the 
patience  of  his  Catholic  Majesty,  for  it  appears 
they  traced  their  descent  as  far  back  as  B.C. 
1100.  which  the  King  seeing,  exclaimed  "Let 
the  Count  de  Montijo  marry  the  daughter  of 
FintjalV  The  complete  pedigree  of  the  family 
is  in  existence  from  Ivone,  the  first  recorded 
ancestor,  of  the  12th  century.  Readers  of 
Scottish  history  are  familiar  with  the  story,  of 
Kirkpatriek,  who  despatched  Comyn  with  his 
dagger  when  Bruco  had  stabbed  him.  and  we 
may  mention  that  this  incident  is  the  origin  of 
the  family  crest  of  "  The  Bloody  Dagger,"  with 
the  motto  "  /  mack  sicker" — ["/  make  sure."  \ 


The  first  Baronet — Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatriek — 
received  his  title  in  1658  and  the  present,  the 
seventh  Baronet,  whose  residence  is  at  South- 
end, is  also  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatriek.  The 
Empress  is  descended  from  Robert,  the  second 
son  of  the  first  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatriek,  whose 
grandson — Willi ani  of  Conheath — was  her  grand- 
father. It  may  be,  perhaps,  not  uninteresting 
to  mention  that  James,  the  eldest  son  of  Sir 
Thomas,  whose  grandson  was  a  Banker  in  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  was  grandfather  to  the  Messrs. 
Benham,  of  London — their  mother  having  been 
a  Miss  Kirkpatriek.  One  of  the  brothers  re- 
moved to  Colchester,  and  consequently  that 
branch  of  the  family  are  cousins  in  the  third 
degree  of  the  Empress's  mother,  a  connection 
which,  we  may  remark,  has  been  rendered  closer 
by  subsequent  intermarriages  in  the  family. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that,  the  Empress  who  is 
the  object  of  the  tender  sympathy  of  the  whole 
civilised  world  has  a  special  claim  upon  that  of 
the  British  people,  not  only  because  she  here 
sought  a  retuge,  and  found  a  ready  welcome  in 
the  hour  of  her  illustrious  husband's  downfall, 
and  has,  since  her  residence  in  England,  en- 
deared herself  to  our  people  ;  but,  because  she 
is  of  our  own  kith  and  kin,  and  with  the  noble 
Spanish  blood  that  courses  in  her  veins  is 
mingled  that  of  an  ancient  and  historic  Scottish 
family.  The  heroic  youth  that  is  laid  by  the 
side  of  his  father,  in  his  modest  tomb  at  Chisel- 
hurst,  is  thus  in  a  double  sense  to  be  regarded 
with  affection — for  it  was  not  only  that  he 
selected  England  as  his  home,  and  exposed  his 
life  in  fighting  for  her  cause,  but  he  is  allied  to 
us,  as  wo  have  seen,  by  the  ties  of  lineage  and 
blood.