Gala Water 



95 



tured, with the help of two spinning jennies. In 

 1796 the spinning jennies had multipHcd to iS, 

 there were four houses with machiner)- driven by 

 water, and there were 4944 stones of wool con- 

 sumed. £3000 sterling were obtained from the 

 honourable Board of Trustees for Manufactures in 

 Scotland, which were laid out in the purchase of 

 machinery, and in spite of many difficulties the 

 prosperity of the town rapidly increased. There 

 are now about 20 large factories, and the money 

 turned over for manufactured goods is estimated 

 at ;/^6oo,cxDO a year. 



It may be worth while to gather into a focus 

 the rays of light which we possess regarding the 

 condition of Galashiels and its neighbourhood, 

 when Dr Douglas began his ministry, and in 

 doing so we may glance occasionally at the 

 general condition of Selkirkshire, with which the 

 town is naturally connected. Much of the high 

 land is still in pasture, but then there was com- 

 paratively little cultivated. The higher hills 

 were stocked with blackfaced sheep, and in some 

 places 3 acres were required to sustain a sheep. 

 The rent in such a case was about is. 4d. an 

 acre, and the average rent for hill pasture was 

 2s. 9d. Arable land was let for los., and gardens 

 for about 20s. For the sake of comparison we 

 may quote some rentals in the cognate district 

 of Peeblesshire, as they were in 1787, and as 

 they are now. The rent of Easter Happrow, in 

 1787, was ^131, it is now j{^6oo. Wester Happ- 

 row vi'as ^158 in 1787, it, also, is now ^600. 

 Lyne and Lyne Hall were ^94, 4s. 2d. in 1787, 

 they are now ^i 100 ; and Hamildean has risen 

 from ^71, 5s. to ^540. 



The dwelling-houses of farmers near Galashiels 

 in 1770 were generally one storey, low in the roof, 

 ill-built, ill-lighted, and covered with thatch. 

 They were built low lest the tempests which 

 then raged furiously, should make havoc of the 

 roof. The farm offices were meanly constructed 

 and very awkwardly placed, and some stables 

 and cow-houses were so low in the roof that 

 ordinar}' sized animals could hardly find ad- 

 mittance. All the houses received a fresh 

 covering of rushes or sprctt every year to repair 

 the damage sustained by winter storms ; and 

 the accummulation year by year became so 

 great that sometimes the walls were crushed 

 beneath it to the great danger and damage of 

 the inmates. When the desire for better houses 

 arose, the tenants had to bear, in some cases, 

 almost the whole expense. The landlord would 

 furnish timber, slates, and lime, but the tenant 

 conveyed them from the sea-port or kiln, and 

 paid for all the work, though they had short 



leases, and sometimes none at all. The cottages 

 for shepherds and unmarried farm servants were 

 wretched habitations, small, dark, smoky, and 

 insufficient as defences against the wind and 

 weather. Cot-houses for labourers or mechanics 

 were still worse, and were usually built by the 

 first inhabitant, who had it free for one year, and 

 at a small rent afterwards. Each inhabitant had 

 to keep his own house in repair. In the neigh- 

 bourhood of Galashiels and Selkirk a more sub- 

 stantial class of houses was erected, on feus 

 granted by the neighbouring proprietors. In 

 the year 1794 Dr Douglas pointed with pride to 

 the superior houses in Galashiels — the onh- 

 village in the county — as a strong recommenda- 

 tion to all gentlemen who wish to see flourish- 

 ing villages on their estates, to adopt that 

 method, and give feus. With a degree of en- 

 lightment in advance of his age, the worth}-. 

 Doctor made a strong appeal to proprietors and 

 tenants in favour of decent and comfortable 

 dwellings for married servants, labourers, and 

 mechanics. " Convenient and pleasant houses," 

 he says, "besides being favourable to health, 

 may induce many, who now rove from place to 

 place, and change their masters and their habi- 

 tations at every term, to settle, to marry, and to 

 exert themselves for the support of their families, 

 and may encourage both husbands and wives to 

 be cleanly and neat in their persons, their tables, 

 and their furniture, and'to keep their children, 

 their dress, and their gardens in good order. In 

 all these respects, what can we expect but dis- 

 content and disease, reluctant, careless, and 

 slovenly exertions from those who dwell amidst 

 smoke and dirt." 



The farmers of the district down to the close 

 of the century were tenacious of antient usages, 

 and timid about innovations; but they have 

 been described by Dr Douglas as frank, com- 

 municative, and hospitable. Their tables are 

 much better provided than the appearance of 

 their houses affords reason to expect ; and 

 there are, in their looks and manner, a cordial 

 welcome, and an urgency to partake of their 

 meat and drink, which strongly indicate a kind 

 heart. A few of them live in elegance and 

 plenty, have a plain dinner well dressed and 

 served eveiy day, and a bottle of wine, and a 

 cheerful glass of punch for a friend. But none 

 of them keep a chaise and a man-servant for 

 any household purpose. Being all trained up 

 from their infancy to ride, they themselves, their 

 wives, and their children, can manage a horse 

 with some dexterity, and can climb steep moun- 

 tains, either on horseback or on foot, without 



