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—an uncongenial climate and a sterile soil—struggling, too, against 
the invasions of the Southron, again and again renewed, some of 
the most prized and valuable characteristics of the sterner side of 
the Scottish character took their rise. There, at least, in part, was 
nourished and grew strong, the indomitable spirit, the unflinching 
courage, the stern individuality and stubborn independence that, 
at a critical moment in our history, saved England from the 
Stuarts, and, in the face of thumbscrew and of rack, made Scotland 
the most Protestant country in the world. There was born that 
instinct for self-rule—that sense of politicalZindependence which 
characterize none more than the people of the Border. And 
these sentiments amongst us these Ballads are calculated to 
maintain. There was truth in the saying—‘ Give me the 
making of a nation’s ballads, and you may make its laws,” and 
certainly, if ever there should again arise amongst us a condition 
of affairs, that threatened the liberties of this country, in no 
way would the instinct for freedom and independence be more 
likely to be awakened than by the memories that our Ballads 
would recall. They breathe the very air of freedom, and are 
instinct with the spirit of independence. But in them too, as I 
said, on the other hand, is also found that vein of tender and 
pathetic sentiment, that note of sweetness and sadness, which 
lingers round the Border hills and streams, making sacred the very 
names of Yarrow, and Annan, and Kirtle, and Liddell, and has 
stirred, and purified, and inspired the heart of many a dweller in 
the district. Wan water, says one of them— 
Wan water, from the Border hills, 
Dear voice from the old years, 
Thy distant music lulls and stills, 
And moves to quiet tears. 
We cannot unlock the charm: we cannot, we do not wish to 
analyze it, but we know that it is there—we know that 
Here was poetic impulse given, 
By the green hills and clear blue heaven, 
