234 The English Raids on Dumfries in 1570. 



After stating that he had used " persuasion and all other 

 good and gentle means " in vain, for the Dacres had been of late 

 as openly maintained as they were at any time before he " thought 

 he could not, with the discharge of my duty, permit your highness 

 to be irritated, your State of England contemned and myself to 

 be scorned having sufficient force and ability to correct these 

 offences by due revenge, when by other means I could procure 

 no redress. ... I entered Scotland on the 22nd instant and 

 returned hither on the 28th, in which time I threw down the 

 castles of Annand and Hodoun belonging to Lord Herries, the 

 castles of Dromefrese and Carlaverock belonging to Lord 

 Maxwell, the castles of Tynhill [Tinwald] and Cohill [Cowhill] 

 belonging to the Lairds of Tynhill and Cohill, the castles of 

 Arthur Greame and Riches George Greame, ill neighbours to 

 England and of English, now sworn Scots, and some other piles 

 where the rebels have been maintained. And although the town 

 of Domfrese had continually received your rebels, and was wholly 

 fled at my going thither, with all their goods, yet because it 

 seemed good to me, by the report of the Laird of Donlanorick, 

 that their offences grew rather by the enforcement of Lords 

 Maxwell and Herris than of their own ill meaning, I forbore to 

 burn the town, and sent the Laird of Donlamorick's bastard son 

 to them to will them to be better neighbours hereafter, or else 

 I would deal hardly with them. 



In this journey the Laird of Donlamorick and all the gentle- 

 men of these parts who had not committed offence in maintaining 

 the rebels, repaired to me for assurance, which I willingly granted, 

 and so they continued with me the whole journey, in which time 

 I forbad the burning of any towns or corn, or the taking of any 

 cattle except in the lands of the Lairds of Tynhill and Coohill who 

 were not only continual receivers of all your rebels and made 

 their towns daily hostries for them, but also procured Lord 

 Maxwell to do that he did, and are in all his actions his principal 

 advisers. So that, besides the overthrowing of the castles, there 

 has been little hurt done this journey, as will be testified by the 

 good subjects of Scotland who were present ; which I did for 

 three respects ; first, that I hoped by this little smart some better 

 regard would be used hereafter; the second, because I had some 

 scruple of conscience to destroy the simple and poor for the 

 offences of the greater — and third, because, if this chastisement 



