124 THE BOEDER ANGLER. 



The old town of Selkirk, whose famous " sutors" 

 bearded the Earl of Home, has in itself no particular 

 claims as an angling station, although the Ettrick 

 immediately above it is, we believe, free, and contains 

 good trout. Below the town the river is damaged for 

 angling-purposes by the factories ; but towards its 

 junction with the Tweed there are some good casts, 

 especially for roe in winter. A little above Selkirk, 

 on the north bank of the river, is the plain of Philip- 

 haugh, where Montrose was so thoroughly routed one 

 misty morning in 1643 by Sir David Leslie and his 

 Covenanters. Below Selkirk, on the south, is the 

 Shaw-burn, specified in the ballad, where Sir David 

 addressed a piece of advice to his army, about which 

 there is some little dispute : — 



" When they came to the Shaw burn, 



Said he, " Sae weel vre frame, 

 I think it is convenient, 



That we should sing a psalm." 



A various reading makes the stout general rather sug- 

 gest that it was convenient " that we should tak a 

 dram;" and considering that it was a raw misty 

 morning, and that the grand object was to come upon 

 Montrose by surprise, we should think commentators 

 ought to have no difficulty in making up their minds 

 which version is the correct one. 



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