Transactions. 25 



into disuse as, on certain occasions, it possessed sundry advan- 

 tages, especially for ladies, over the modern vehicles on wheels. 



The elderly ladies in those days frequently went out to tea 

 with their neighbours at an early hour in the afternoon, preceded 

 in winter by a " lass with a lantern," and in rainy weather both 

 mistress and maid wore "pattens," a kind of shoe with a rim of 

 iron beneath, which raised the foot a couple of inches from the 

 ground. The six o'clock evening bell was always rung from the 

 steeple of the New Kirk, and often indicated the hour for tea, as 

 well as called the labourers from their daily work — an ancient 

 custom associated with many pleasant memories, and probably 

 continued still. 



In former years floods in the Nith were not infrequent, 

 especially at the fall of the year, and sometimes they were both 

 sudden and unexpected. In the course of twelve hours, or less* 

 the river would rise and overflow its banks to a great extent, 

 and flood the streets and houses in the lower part of the town. 

 I remember to have seen a boat navigating what was the Brewery 

 Street, and rescuing the inhabitants from their dwellings ; and a 

 worthy son of " Crispin," who bore the appropriate name of 

 Shanks, informed me that on getting out of bed one dark autumn 

 morning he found himself nearly up to his knees in water, from a 

 sudden spate in the Nith which had flooded his dwelling. Quan- 

 tities of debris, of a very miscellaneous character, were often 

 seen on these occasions floating down the stream — remnants of 

 hay and peat stacks, sheaves of grain, yards of wooden paling, 

 with an occasional sheep, were swept along by the current, and 

 finally shattered as they plunged over the cascade of the Caul. 



I cannot bring these brief sketches of the former manners and 

 customs of Dumfries to a close without some reference to the 

 aquatic performances of the boys who used in summer to throng 

 the banks of the mill-dam on the Galloway side of the river. 

 Hundreds of youths must have acquired the useful art of swim- 

 ming in that rapid current, and some of the young adepts always 

 stood ready to dive, on the short&st notice, for any small coin 

 which might be thrown for their benefit into the water. 



Another memory of later date occurs to me in the existence of 

 a notable character in the town, usually known as Jock Brodie. 

 He was a tall, dark, handsome-looking man, and had an evil 

 reputation as a poacher. However that may be, he was at least 

 a dealer in game, and much patronised by those who were in 



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