Border Memories, Or, Sketches of Prominent Men and Women of the Border

Front matter

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Preface

Previous to his decease in 1874, the late Mr Walter Eiddell Carre had acquired a high reputation for his knowledge of Border men and women who had any claim to historical notice. During a succession of winters his lectures were heard with interest and appreciation in many Border towns and Tillages, as well as occasionally in Edinburgh. In the newspapers, instead of the brief paragraph usually accorded to popular lectures, the productions of Mr Eiddell Carre were always reported more or less fully, and the reports were perused with pleasure by a wide circle of readers. His speeches delivered at meetings of the Edinburgh Border Counties Association were always carefully prepared, and in them, as well as in communications to newspapers, he was often bringing to light some new information regarding Border celebrities of a past generation.

With him it was a labour of love to collect from scattered sources, and place in a compact form before a popular audience, whatever was most characteristic of old Border worthies y and in these pleasant avocations he was engaged when suddenly the strong frame was prostrated with disease, and death ensued after a very short and painful illness.

VI PREFACE.

A desire was very generally expressed to have the lectures of Mr Eiddell Carre, or the substance of them, in a permanent form; and, as they were, in general, fully written, it was easy to gratify the wishes of his many friends. In preparing the lectures for the press, considerable changes have been made, while the general style and structure of the composition has, as far as possible, been retained. Colloquial expressions have been partly expunged, but it was considered desirable to retain in some measure the lecture form, and not altogether to exclude the free-and-easy mode of expression which is more adapted to spoken than to written discourse. Alterations in style have been made occasionally where it could be done with obvious advantage, but these changes have been made only to a limited extent, as it was thought desirable to present the author's works as nearly as possible in the form given them by himself.

Though it has been a general rule to interfere as little as possible with the text, it has in some parts been condensed, and in others expanded. The portion regarding Wat of Harden, and the Mertoun Scotts has been considerably extended, and other parts have been re-written ; but generally, what additional matter was considered desirable, has been put in the form of foot-notes. When one person has been noticed in different lectures, only one of the references has been retained, but supplemented from the others where that seemed to be needful. When one individual has been sketched under more than one heading, the different portions have generally besn conjoined, as that seemed to give the subject greater unity.

PREFACE. VU

The field traversed is extensive, and the notices are consequently brief in each individual instance ; but there will^be found a great amount of information collected from many different sources, and relating to families who have long held a prominent position in the Border land.

HiGHRiDOE Hall, Kelso, September 1876.