29 2 In Coqiietdale. 



See a clatter o' thwacks 



Fa's on sallets an' jacks. 

 Till we've lifted the lifters as weel as oor ain, 

 Then wi' fyce to the crupper they'll ride a gaie mile 

 To their dance frae the Wuddie at merrie Carlisle." 



In the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745 Coquetdale 

 had its own part, and the distress and disturbance 

 experienced by the good folks there are commemorated 

 in these lines, often heard by Mr. Dixon on Coquet 

 Water lines which wonderfully recall one of Mr. 

 Allingham's fine poems, if not indeed, the finest of his 

 shorter poems : 



" Up the craggy mountain, 



An' doun the mossy glen, 

 We daurna gan' a-milkin' 

 For Charlie an' his men." 



Rothbury contains between 800 and 900 inhabitants, 

 and is mainly limited to three streets the Front or 

 High Street (the longest), and Bridge Street and Church 

 Street. 



We learn from Mr. Tomlinson that the name of 

 Rothbury is supposed by some to be derived from the 

 Celtic word rhath, meaning a cleared spot. If any 

 weight is to be laid on the old rhyme which we owe to 

 Mr. D. D. Dixon, it is clear that Rothbury in old times 

 largely put the wild heights about it, unfit for other 

 use, to the rearing of goats, as did many other places 

 in Northumberland : 



" Rothbury for goats' milk, 



The Cheviots for mutton ; 

 Cheswick for its cheese and bread, 

 And Tynemouth for a glutton." 



But our plan, having seen Rothbury and neighbour- 



