370 NOTES ON 



solution of every doubt, and many vestiges of antiquity were ascribed 

 them, merely on account of their traditional fame. 



Note XXII. 

 Elliot when famous Leven was surprised in his quarters by the Eng* 



lish cavalry. P. 170. 



Elliot is more commonly termed Alyth. When Charles II. 

 marched towards England in 1651, the Committee of Estates met 

 there, for the purpose of levying forces to support the royal cause, 

 and raise, if possible, the siege of Dundee. They were surprised by 

 Allured, with a body of English horse, dispatched by Monk for that 

 service, from his camp, then laid before Dundee. This sudden on- 

 set dispersed their hasty levies, and many of themselves, including 

 the celebrated Lesley, Earl of Leven, were made prisoners. About 

 twenty-five or thirty years ago, a considerable sum of money was 

 found in the village, supposed to be a part of their supplies, which 

 had been hastily secreted. 



Note XXIII. 

 Martyr fish with the blaze of a wisp and a barbed spear. P. 171. 



The angler is naturally jealous of whatever appears to interfere 

 with his own favourite pastime. But an old spearman may be al- 

 lowed to state, in favour of the picturesque and manly sport of "burn- 

 ing the* water," that the salmon so killed have been too long in the 

 fresh water to rise at a fly ; nor can it be otherwise, as the burning 

 can only be practised when the river is low and the pools very clear, 

 and, consequently, where there are no newly-run fish for the amuse- 

 ment of the angler. 



Note XXIV. 



The brewster-wffe, and Puggy, the cow of Silly Pringle. P. 18.5. 

 For the sake of accuracy, the author ought to have written, 

 " Peggy, the cow of Baillie Pringle." By the way, in page 136, the 

 author assigns Dumblane as the residence of the jovial baillie, whom 

 he has here transplanted to Cupar. The foolish story of Doch an Do- 

 rough, which Captain Franck tells, after the manner of a dull man 

 detailing a jest, is founded upon the ancient Scottish custom of the 



