258 NOTES ON SOME EARLSTOUN LOCALITIES 



somewhat twisted branches. They grew, I think, at the 

 south-eastern end of the East Moors, between Yarlside and 

 Whitfield ; and as Bromsyde, mentioned in a charter of date 

 1333, was apparently in that neighbourhood, perhaps these 

 grim looking trees might be the descendants of those which 

 then flourished there, and gave a name to the spot. 



There were, in my young days, in Earlstoun many pilferers 

 of the broom, chiefly to sell as walking sticks to natives of 

 the place who had settled in far-away lands. Some of these 

 emigrants, with a passionate love of the old home, had 

 taken away with them both roots and seeds of the broom 

 in the hope of being able to grow them in Canada, the 

 land for which they were bound ; but the climate was too 

 severe, and the frosts of a Canadian winter soon caused 

 them to wither and die. As an illustration of this heart- 

 clinging to home and country, I have quoted the verses 

 below, written — with an explanatory note — by the late Mr 

 William Brockie, and published by him in the Galashiels 

 paper, of which he was then editor. The incident referred 

 to in Mr Brockie's note took place, as far as I can 

 ascertain, in the village life of Earlstoun nearly 70 years 

 ago. 



" The Broom o' the Cowdenknowes." 



"The following lines were suggested to the writer about 

 14 years ago, upon reading in some periodical a short 

 account of the emigration of an old man named Burnett, 

 from the village of Earlstoun. He was a highly respectable 

 tradesman, but, owing to the misconduct of a wild son, he 

 was driven heart-broken to seek a home in America. So 

 dear to him were the associations of his native land that 

 he was said to have taken with him some of the young 

 broom of the Cowdenknowes, 'not knowing,' as Allan 

 Cunningham says, * that it would not grow in the land 

 of his adoption.' This circumstance being told to Sir 

 Walter Scott, affected him so much that his eyes filled 

 with tears." 



