206 Antique Spur at Ferney Castles. By l)r Stuart. 



" I stood upon Eyemouth Fort 



And guess ye what I saw, 



Fairneyside and Flemington, 



Newhouses and Cocklaw, 



The Fairy folk o' Fosterland, 



The Witches o' Edincraw, 



The Bogle Bo o' Billie Mire, 



Wha kills o'or bairns a'." 

 Of the names of the places in this rhyme, some are known, some 

 not. Fosterland or Foresterland, refers to a place in Bunkle 

 parish, and a burn of that name drains into Billie Burn, the 

 banks of which, my late colleague Dr Henderson considered, 

 afforded the green wood shade necessary for the dwelling of the 

 fairies, whose sweet pipings in the summer evenings were heard 

 by his informer, who no doubt heard the Sedge Warbler or 

 smaller Whitethroat, or other night singing bird ! 



Edincraw is an old world retired village in the neighbourhood 

 of the mire. Its witches were noted evil-doers, and they were 

 hardly extinct within my memory. All that remains of the 

 weird sisterhood at the present day are the Elder-berry hedges 

 that surround the village, and a bunch of rowans occasionally 

 seen over the byre doors to frighten away Jock o' the Myre, who 

 is still supposed to haunt the neighbourhood. In former times 

 when I was out at night more than I am now, in passing along 

 the dreary and little frequented road between Auchincraw and 

 Chirnside, musing on the fierce skirmishes which must have 

 taken place near Billie Mire in bygone days, I have been often 

 startled by the hoarse croak of the Heron disturbed from the 

 cast, and the uncanniness of the hour adding also to the eeriness 

 of my thoughts, has made me feel a little scared. I cannot say 

 that I have ever encountered "The Bogle Bo" of Billie Mire, 

 but at midnight in passing along, I confess I have often listened 

 for the splash in the water, and " hoarse guller of Jock," who 

 was said to be abroad at that uncanny hour. My late colleague, 

 Dr Henderson, has written many poems about Billie Mire with 

 its wild fire, ghosts, brownies, and water kelpies. The locality 

 was a favourite one with him, " Jock o' the Mire " being always 

 the most celebrated of its inhabitants, so I have by no means 

 exhausted the traditions of this interesting subject, although I 

 may have exhausted my auditors. 



[The precise date of the Spur has not been ascertained. The 

 Club is indebted to Mr John Dickson for the excellent drawing 

 from which the engraving is taken.] 



