Field Meetings. 353 



was in 1342 conferred on his companion-in-arms, Sir 

 Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie, who had expelled the 

 English from Roxburg^h CasUe. This aroused the jealousy 

 of Sir William Douglas, who with a number of followers 

 attacked Ramsay in Hawick, wounded him, bound him with 

 chains, and carried him off to Hermitage Castle. Here he 

 threw him into the dungeon and left him to perish by hunger. 

 According to tradition Sir Alexander was able to allav the 

 pangs of hunger for some time with grains of corn which fell 

 through the roof of the dungeon from a g-ranary above, this 

 serving to ward off death for about three weeks after his 

 incarceration. The dungeon is still to be seen in the north- 

 east tower of the castle, and was viewed with interest by 

 Saturday's party. Macgibbon and Ross, however, in their 

 Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland detract 

 somewhat from the picturesqucness of the tradition by point- 

 ing out that there is no evidence of there having been a 

 granary above the dungeon. At the same time it is on 

 record that a century ago a mason opened the vault and 

 found in it " sexeral human bones, a quantity of oat husks, 

 a sword, and parts of a saddle and bridle." The King 

 expressed his anger at the lawless deed of Douglas, but the 

 Knight of Liddesdale was too powerful for the weak King 

 David, who soon afterwards appointed him to the offices 

 which had been held by his victim. Subsequently Douglas 

 fell into the hands of the English, and was taken a prisoner 

 into England ; but he obtained his liberty and had his castle 

 of Hermitage restored to him on his entering into a dis- 

 creditable agreeinent to allow the English to pass freelv 

 through his lands at all times and in no way to* assist his 

 fellow-countrymen in Scotland. But the cruelty and treachery 

 of this " Flower of Chivalry " met with their due reward 

 when in 1353, eleven years after he had starxed his old com- 

 panion to death, he was attacked and killed by a kinsman of 

 his own, the Earl of Doug-las, while out hunting in Ettrick 

 Forest. 



After passing through various hands and being in the 

 possession of the Angus family for over a century, the castle 

 was in 1492 given to Patrick Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, by 



