On Chirnside Parish : the Estate of Edington. 101 



instant weir," &c. Elizabeth, of date January 9, 1566, throws 

 back the blame upon the Scots, and tells us all that we shall 

 probably ever know abo\it the particulars of this unneighbourly 

 squabble. " We tak this mater to be the same quhairof we hard 

 in the begynning of December last, quhilkis wes, as we were 

 informed credibly, sa far different from this as ze complane, 

 aucht rather to have bene maid be our subjectis, being first 

 spoyled, robbed, takin, hurt, and careit away be zouris ; for 

 recovery quhairof, some of ouris seeking to apprehend the thevis, 

 quho had not only robbed our subjectis, and spoiled of their 

 victuales quhilk thai had lauchfullie bocht, bot alswa robbed 

 some of zouris, wer by ambusches of men of weir assailed and 

 persewit in suche maner of hostilitie, as fyve or six of our subjectis 

 wer takin lyke presonaris, with their horss and gudis ; and sum 

 utheris wer woundit and hurt to the perell of deith : Quhairupon 

 as followed, as we think, that quhairof the complaint is now 

 maid so grevoue, that a couple of the capitanis of Berwik, with a 

 small ordinarie nowmer, less be ane half than is contenit in zour 

 letter, resortit quietlie to the place quhair oUr subjectis wer 

 kepit as presonaris, to demand thame, and to bring thame home 

 with thair horss and gudis, quhilk they could not fullie nor 

 quietlie obtene, bayth becaus thei wer refusit, and for that thro 

 of our subjectis wer careit as presonaris further in the land, and 

 zit do remane, contraire to the ordour of peace."* From this it 

 is evident that the people of Chirnside and Edington for seconding 

 Bothwell, provoked the chastisement which they deservedly re- 

 ceived. The matter was settled by Commissioners, and so ended 

 the controversy for the present, but not the ill-will.] 



It appears that in 1684, there lived in Edington a number 

 of Covenanters — as we find the following ; " William and 

 John Yeomans in Idington, John Simpson sometime in 

 Idington now in the Berwick bounds, James Cowan farmer 

 in Idington, and Thomas Yeoman in Idington," among the 

 list of fugitives against whom the hue and cry of the 

 iniquitous government of that time was raised. [The same 

 list also includes " Alexander Galbraith, son to Alexander 

 Galbraith in Chirnside," and "David Cowan, servant to 

 William Ker uncle to Greenhead."-f- We also find, 1st Dec, 

 1684, "Cowan, and Reston's tenants beside Berwick are 

 apprehended, and sent in as prisoners as having been at 

 Both well-bridge." | Moreover, in 1676, two years earlier, 

 some thirty or forty in Chirnside and the country thereabout 



* Bishop Keith's " Affairs of Church and State in Scotland," lii. , pp. 353— 

 357. See also Kidpath's '' Border History," p, 619. 

 f Wodrow's "Hist, of the Sufferings,'' iv., p. 26. 

 X Fountainhalfs " Decisions," L, p. 306. 



