| Show written for the desma DEsra tet iET NEWS SCRAPS FROM THE NOTE BOOK OP or AN OLD REPORTER how many men of honest simple hearts tho thol ignorant of god and self have braved the rage rago of bigotry F for or prin prid principles caples they little understood yet persecution dragged them into fame and gave them what the world worl ld admire admira a name LEO the tho mountains hills dales strai straith thes cs glens and heathery heaths deaths of scotland are arc fraught with a thousand reminiscences ot of local interest and form in its annals an endless volume for the pen of the historian and the tales of the tile novelist invasion persecution rebellion resistance feudalism and form the stamina of its records from the tho days of the first roman ronlan invasion down to the pretender in 1745 and to the expulsion of the Covenant ers and from that to the none intrusion party headed by the rev dr chalmers when upwards u p of five hundred ministers le left fi th the r churches by law established in consequence of governmental usurpation all these put together form a broad sheet for speculation the customs toms religion and natural developed ment of the country give a coloring to tile the mental T painter ainger nt avilene the lights I 1 alts und and bialow j are cast in their truthful bearings on life scenery and character traveling on my mission of research ill lil in the tile moorlands Moor lands of Clyd clydesdale edale I 1 came hi in si hight sight tit of a solitary farm house houe around chica for miles xa a nollin noli noll in r to attract attention save 00 ti blat hk ilat uita ig of the sheep the cry of the plover and the inc mournful wail of the the report of a gun occasionally and the whirring sound of a eoy eos coy co ey ef of r t aks boke ka k the tile mud mun tOlly olony cf c the Q C dve ve lon ar ion t lie kie deep x rno rne i js 19 ab t tle bv hoazy avy azy y wild but all outside of t this his there was I 1 nothing to enliven the weary traveler whoso choso laiad imi becomes ty to the picture pic ture of barrenness as lie he wends bends hs lids way oer this tills lonely tract often had I 1 observed a large mound of a strange formation asI as I 1 traveled ly ingin the depth of this morass but now ow as my way the of the tiie farm fain I 1 bi m n t my rny steps towards the house A tw tew tainted trees were the only indications of foliage around the tile place and these were more like mourners over decayed nature than the sturdy elms elins of which they were the representatives A dark colky dog came barking at me as I 1 hed the d day a was sultry and rather th than an enrage t tile e angry cur I 1 sat eat down on the steps of the mound till some soine one would come out of the tilo house presently an old man appeared and silenced the infuriated furia ted animal an linal his white locks and reverend aspect inspired mo me res rea hect when I 1 arose and greeted him which ho he returned in a distant though genteel way I 1 told him that I 1 was gravelin traveling as a canvas cr for an agricultural a hews newspaper paper and as my way was onlo miles nearer to K by taking the moorland road and being curious to learn something of this mound which had often attracted my attention I 1 hoped lie he would satisfy my request if not too impertinent by informing mo me why wily such a pile of earth had been r raised alsed and borwhat for what his reserved serva manner rather cramped my curiosity however after tellin telling him of tile the place of my nativity and t le the name of my fathers family lie he became more familiar giving me to know that my grandfather and himself had been schoolmates school mates some sixty years ago in the tiie parish of blantyre after asking me a hundred questions guest ions lons relating to danits and families of which I 1 had not the most distant knowledge except tile tiie names of a few farm and hamlets in the nel nei neighborhood i of his inquiry lie he told me talat that his forefathers had lived on this farm pointing to his house for some hundreds of years and that he had llad been in the possession of it as proprietor for half a century and continued lie although I 1 am not fre free freo 0 to the ungodly ly professors of religion I 1 will te tell teli I 1 you my friend that this mound is the monument of past antol lerance lc ranco ranee tile the labor of my father and his associates who were persecuted for their religion this mound was their lookout their watchtower watch tower and these glens and hollows among the hills were their gathering places and their tabernacles where they met to worship god when they durst venture out of the caves and noles holes of the steep cairn I 7 mho the aid ald mans eyes glistened moistened with the tears of pity which dropped over his furrowed cheeks as lie he pointed to the dark misty breaks in I 1 the hills and the gray broken crags that frowned over the barren waste was to coffern of fern and heather have you not read lie he inquired t lie the history of the tile Covenant ers when the strong hand of episcopacy thrust out our ministers from their churches and their flocks and put men in their pu pulpits pit by the force of arms and the point of the bayonet have you not cleard heard or read of bloody Claver house and his merciless troopers fiends in in human form who rode through these glens and shot down men women and children I 1 looked at the old mans visage as he paused for breath but the tear was dried and the nash hash of his e eyes es had a scowling withering look as he e pointed to the earth yes sir I 1 lie he continued the very heather aro around und you grows red from the blood they have shed and looks up to heaven from this scored soil crying for vengeance on the government who sent and sanctioned their bloody deeds but said I 1 these days of persecution have passed away and the net act of toleration now allows you and every other in man an no matter what maybe may be their religious opinions the liberty of worshiping god as they please I 1 hold hola there he lie cried interrupting me protest against the present iniquitous latitudinarian established church and the same spirit of persecution will burn hang drown and shoot down god fearing fearin men as it did in the days of bloody Claver house do you think sir that an act of toleration better betters s the te condition of any people what right has any government govern me t to pas acts aco of toleration what go government er ment should dare to meddle with men mens Is religious odit oVit ovations opinions ions lons and let me ask again sir w who io gained for scotland this hypocritical act the covenant ers and why was I 1 it gran granted why because they 1 ie 1 could not kill out the defenders of r n I 1 linicus ig i eus cus rights 0 btag ains papacy AN en catholicism ha had regal p v wa was s treason aud and de death th a at the mke and when king william made protestantism the law of the land then his religion when it prospered obtained the i v name of virtue and put to death the tho adherents to papacy E episcopal Episco I 1 p Is opa pay T 1 ain air although presbyterianism is tho the e oi oa t religion in scotland hlll holds j jurisdiction urise letton over her lier general assemblies aid ald a id sf ads her ildr commissioners commissioner sto to overrule rule ruie any aft act not in unison with their instructions christ is not tile tiie head of that churco churan rember remember that my friend Ms the rint kint king king george the tile fourth if you p please ease easo a geenter w c master mastor than henry the tho eighth lighth at this j juncture puncture of his polemical relation I 1 could not help laugh laughing iii lii at athyl his enthusiasm while whilo 1 I admired gh his is sincerity and historical historical knowledg knowledge e abul nui bui lie he resumed tho tile the T H s of df loch n will never yield to tile oppression press lori iori and suppression of religious liberty libert ilbert if though although ni they give our to tho the flames and our flesh fie to the eakles eagles 3 11 as sir walter says yes whilo grass grows rows and water runs never j never nev will Z the tho solemn league an and d coven covenant nt ba broken uy by the sons and adherents of the camerons Cam crons tile the guthries Gut hrics and who fought and bled at bothwell at drumclog Drum clog arld arid and on the moors of or clydesdale vearnus Mc Me arnus kyle kyie and carrick never will they acknowledge popery or prelacy this mound will stand asa as a monument anda and a witness of their vows the their I 1 r determination ai and d valor ami and should their sons hav have e to take the c old cold arth for their bed and the tile sky for their vering yering cot cering cerl ng as their fathers did and a n d ahm th I 1 mound for their watchtower watch tower they wig will never yield to a second grahame mono moro bloody than more relentless than sharp while I 1 looked at his white locks pa t they shook by the motion of his head lieal fa giving iving 1 ane sanction ahe tion to his protestations I 1 felt feit lt lost lil m tile the sublimity of his patriotism and tile the sincerity of his veneration never shall I 1 forget those white loeks locks that reverend face and uplifted hand VE heaven against usurpation bloodshed bloods hedi and treachery tt against Scot lands rights 49 and who wilo could not but admire wio would not love and follow such an unflinching determination in a more truthful cause and honor lionor a covenant more certainly made for the redemption of not a nation but a a world laboring under the sceptre of universal oppression the old man kindly invited me to his dwelling which I 1 accepted and here I 1 had another another display of family kindness kinanen sincerity and veneration they too took toos st pleasure in showing me the bible of iten lien wick and also the room he slept in tho the chair lie knelt at in secret aia aiu aw family devotion ana and Ms his stair stain these thew relies relics of a good mandere man were held by them in as is much veneration as the coat of joseph was by his father fat lier ller I 1 was shown the cave of three brethren who were taken by Claver house and put to death near the opening of the cave a liti 1111 huse huge pile of rocks marked the tile place of ther then interment another old cairn on tha the side of the hill was the burial place of a whole family who perished by the hands of the ruthless soldiery who first shot the father then his sons and after dei dese crating tile the bodies of tile the mother and daughters put them to death also there said sald the old man is the ca cava cave a of three brothers brot liers by the name of nesbet ne she 1 3 I who were taken to kilmarnock and hanged and be headed their bodle bodie bodies s were burned there in the churchyard and their heads were taken to idin edill burgh and set on spears in the west port I 1 aielt felt feit pained at the recital of cruelty and desired him to take me to the top of the mound which he did I 1 could see for miles in every direction the landscape was an unbroken strath of moss hills and heather far to the west I 1 could see the firth of clyde the highland isles to the west and ailsa alisa ailsa alisa craig craidon era cra igon lgon on tile the bosom hosom of the sunlit waters on the northeast north east side of the mound in the distance lie showed me a solitary house like hs lids own which lie he told me was the birthplace birth place of robert pollock who dad had recently died leaving behind him a boolat entitled the course of time timea ly lve lye VH found our way back to the houe hour where the old woman and her fa family mire vire waltin waiting walting on our return wl who 10 kind hind kindly 1 invited me to partake of their frugal fare the day bel bei being far spent I 1 accepted of their hospital hosp hospitality itaM and enjoyed myself much to my satisfaction in their conversation during the evening the apartment to which 1 was introduced was their kitchen dining room and work shop where the women sat at ta acir little spinning wheels working edlie 71 ille the old man ills lits two cods sons ava and and yov yom if talked falke 1 till bedtime bed bod time on many rei 7 u trie acie tours the nire fire fireplace place lace which w ws s bon bop ia id 1 ecel e centre itze of the room and the chimney above henl heny her occupying nearly one anc aw b of tile tiie roof gave one the loea of velv vely veryn r A great peat fire with a piece apiece of lw tar cori bosl I 1 I 1 abing at the side gave heat and light U I 1 mi in aided by the reflection of a gargu lar raeh rach ravel raie L of yem pem pewter ter plates on the opposite fitle snip of the room yoom on each side site of the d dorway dor o way 1 u iv us s a large box bux bed sut sue i va olg v ts til the e mt ulterior bior of luch Loch gom goin tie tle fai jamed residence and hiding pi i f many great and wor worthy thymen men xvi v h r ler her ier than submit to the oppression 0 tyranny 1 ift tet ift ft V t 7 ir ir elli 41 r it t s and loi hoi homes tes to wah wab I 1 v al angim anllo ni th ahr s A and mrss ra ss haggs of t d it llie lite aej abi wbk N kv found at times a i 1 it in th ir r h V ishm ashmont Ish ment mont nt to rest ti cr ir weary enry eary hours s f r r a night t ia this thia moorlan 3 f r u house hou tiny tales talea adleat pursuit and providen lil val ts s es mere were told and anany in my cruel tirs ties c 0 barbarous related abil was by way of interlude relieved by one of the daughter daugh te k sing singing inga a boxi song f two rw 0 verse verses s of which I 1 ni ember member as s thes th tiit es nae covI cornant cov nant noo lassie lasie Ti aeres xeres nae connant cov nant noo tup solemn league teague and connant cov eov dant nant are a broken through irh Ira pres pees nae noo uio ulo vio theres nae good cargill lri eres nae meetings noo ia e I 1 upon pon the tile martyrs hill hul Scot Sent lands lanas a wrong lassie lassle Scot lands a theres thores but out a baudy sword ti lugs oer 0 ei her tier sharp and lang ut the martyr s fame will rise liable bove vove hove the rocky cairn NN i ile ae swea t s we ule martyrs leep sleep lassie lassle deneath beneath the waving fern at A r r hupper supper u per and before retiring to beij v i P old oid is man brought forth forch a large far i y bible biblo ar I 1 said come let us worship sl 11 1 id he ten vien opened the book and nd rs ii i two of a psalm which was s ng jag by tiu thu whole family a chapter v s read and the tho fain falu ily lly knelt down dov n when he prayed fervently for the alir air i n q i 8 pr t 1 deetion tee ec tion and favor the riel rial ts ot lai lal tal u 1 men the iros pros prosperity perit bof of tte tha tto reign of peace and for the true trpe I 1 h k niage rivage of od the family retired to rest in their se parie c apartments the old oid man and I 1 sk ale T y i in one of the tho box beds the sons in tre trie other in the ii morning orning after the same routine of worship was gone through when their days lubor labor was resumed the sons to the luald to tend their flocks and the mistress and daughters to their spinning I 1 had now become ingratiated with the master and his grown family who invited me to stop with them till the following day but my time being limited I 1 bade them farewell the old oid man led me to the road past the mound where we parted in tears the tho dog licked my hand in dumb kindness and took his stand where he first s saluted me as a ires tres trespasser p asser and there I 1 saw his black form gazing towards me until an intervening boning hill hid me from loeh Loch goin I 1 left the place in the tile falness of my avocation as a reporter to note down what I 1 dared not then submit to the press but which remain as the living memorials of rejected pieces kept in the archives of reflection and and memory till time and opportunity gave them a name and location in the world of letters often have I 1 admired |
