Statements concerning Sir Walter Scott. 281 



genuine historians of Scotland know that Oswy reigned over 

 the east of Scotland as far as Caithness ; but they had not 

 noticed that the name of his first wife is given in one of 

 the pedigrees. His son Egfrid, the son of Malsneth, might 

 have had a fair chance, in the clash of races and laws, of 

 carrying on the kingdom of the Picts in the male line; but 

 as the husband of St. Etheldreda, who, though a widow 

 when he married her, would not live with him, and eventu- 

 ally retired into the disorderly convent on St. Abbs Head, 

 left no descendants. A chapel of St. Etheldreda was one 

 of the landmarks of the border line, but I do not suppose 

 that had anything to do with these facts; though they 

 probably had something to do with Athelstan's invasion of 

 Scotland. 



The Scotch claim on Northumberland, and the conquest 

 and union of Cumbria — the motive of which seems to have 

 been to weaken the Scandinavian kingdom, which had 

 alternative capitals at Dublin and York — tended to keep 

 up disputes about territory. 



To return to Caddonlee ; it seems an unlikely meeting- 

 place now, but with the old roads it was very central. The 

 men of the south-western counties would come down the 

 Tweed, and those of Lothian across Soutra. Of the two old 

 fords of the Tweed, that at the mouth of the Caddon is 

 still called the King Ford. The fort on Caddonlee seems 

 to be Eoman, from the top of a lava-quern found in it. 



In the Statistical Account of the parish of Yarrow, written 

 by the late Dr Russell, I believe when assistant to his 

 father, the curious circumstance is mentioned that— after 

 the numerous cairns on the moor called Annan's Treat (or 

 more correctly, Annan Street, as part of the road into 

 Anuandale) were removed in the C(mrse of cultivation — Sir 

 Walter began to connect the two standing-stones, which 

 were not interfered with, and are still to be seen, with the 

 duel between Scott of Thirlstane and Scott of Tushielaw, 

 whicli is the theme of the best known of the Yarrow 

 ballads; although it was well known that that had taken 

 place on Dewchar Swire, some way lower down in the 

 valley of the Yarrow. This was a very mild instance of 

 his powers of self-deception compared to that remembered 

 at Traquair, where it used to be alleged that he regrette4 



