The Sun.
London, England, 1825-07-26 00:00:00

A TRUE STORY.

( Prom the Dumfries Courier.)
On Wednesday last, the 12th curt., a naval
officer, eke a landed proprietor, in an eastern county, left Edin-
burgh for Moffitt, in a phaeton drawn by a powerful horse,
and with every prospect of reaching his destination in good
time. The weather was beautifully calm and clear, and
though rather out of the direct line, the gentleman preferred
travelling via Selkirk, both for the sake of varying a some-
what monotonous route, and with the view of exploring the
highly interesting pass of Aloffatdale, which winds so grace-
fully among long ranges of conical hills, as green even to
their summits as the margin of the rivulet that dances on-
ward below. To those who are fond of pastoral scenery,
more inviting ride is hardly to be met with. For more than
ten miles the pass in question is bounded by ramparts
which divide it from all the world beside, and is withal
so narrow, that, excepting where the hills recede a little,
as if to make way for the fine water-fall called the Grey Mare's
Tail, which in winter cornea roaring and thundering down,
it looks more like a communication formed by human art, as
a safe retreat in the days of " weir," than an opening cleft
through the bowels of hills, amidst some of the sublimer con-
vulsions of nature. The stream already spoken of points out
the path, and tells the traveller that he can only hope for egress
by following its course; on either hand are sunny slopes, un-
varied even by a stunted tree, and with no other shade than
what is afforded by the craggs, knolls, and other irregularities
of their own surfaces—with here and there a solitary shepherd
pausing to gain breath on the brow of the hill, or to gaze on '
the traveller that threads his way through the vale beneath.
If the stranger be curious, he will meet with more than one se-
questered spot, where rest the ashes of martyred covenanters,
and, amidst the loneliness of nature, may cast his thoughts
backward to those unhappy times when the mountain fast-
nesses around and before him proved a city of refuge to God's
people ; when the neighbouring steep and the morass behind
it, interposed as a shield betwixt the persecuted and their per-
secutors, anti hundreds of brave and pious men accounted them-
selves happy if they could moisten a crust of bread with water
from the spring, raise at early more the voice of psalms, and
bivouack at night with the black cock on the morn. But
enough of Moffatdale, anti its pastoral scenery. The gentleman
alluded to pursued his journey until he had arrived at the
southern extremity of the parish of Yarrow, where the road se-
parates, and where he felt quite at a loss which path to pursue.
After considerable hesitation he took the wrong one, and went
right forward until he found, to his surprise, that the road ter-
minated not at an inn, as he had at first supposed, but at the
truly sequestered burying-ground of Megget. And here lie
was fairly put to his wit's-end : not a house was near nor a per-
son he could speak to; and though he lingered at the spot for
some minutes, and looked round and round in every direction,
he seemed to have nothing for it but to retrace his steps, when
the barking of a dog announced that hie toaster was not far off.
In a little time a shepherd appeared, and answered his ques-
tions very civilly ; but still he seemed to eye the stranger with
suspicion, and more than once expressed his surprise, " that in
a place like this, wi' sae few towns .and loanings leading to
them, ony body should mistak' the right toad to Moffat." The
gentleman paid little attention to this remark at the time, and
as lie knew he had still a long journey before him, he wakened
the mettle of his horse with the whip, anti pushed on as fast as
possible. Ely this time the sun was beginning to sink be-
hind the bill, and as his horse gradUally slackened his
trot to a walk, and gave other signs of weariness, the gentle-
man began to wish for the shelter of a friendly roof, however
humble might be its accommodations. He knew that there was
no Inn on the road, and this naturally increased his anxiety; for
by travelling in the dark, he might again miss his way or tumble
over some of those brows of which he had seen such appalling
specimens ; and under all the circumstance, he thought it better to
halt until the morning sun should again lend him the light of
his countenance. AA open shed stood by the way, and here he
might stable and ease his horse a little by removing the har-
ness, while he could himself repose under the apron and top of
his Phaeton, quite as soundly as in a hammock at sea. By
way of experiment, he drew down the covering, and scarcely
had he got this done when ten or twelve sturdy shepherds, arm-
ed with fowling pieces and other lethal weapons, surrounded
the carriage evidently with no peaceful intent. The gentle-
man was, astonished, but one of them immediately took
speech in hand' and thus addressed liiin—" Gentleman—
for ye look like ane—ye are mair than suspecket of being a
resurrection man, and we insist on your lighting and coming
wi' us. We ken ye hae arms, but we have some too"—and
with that a musket was fired to convince him that the ora-
tor spoke in sober earnest. The son of Neptune fretted not
a little at this intrusion but the had seen too much of the
world to be easily intimidated ; and disdaining to rebut a
charge so ridiculous, he threatened to blow out the brains of the
first man that dared to lay hands on him—though, to confess
the truth, his arms consisted of an umbrella and gig-whip, and
his ammunition in a patient undaunted spirit. But the threat
had a very good effect, and the shepherds, after holding a coun-
sel of war, determined to secure the horse by barricading the
door of its temporary stable—and while two of them stood sen-
tinel on the top of some tar-barrels, the rest formed a circle
round the phaeton with their arms presented, and ready to fire,
the moment their prisoner should attempt to escape. Though
little used to be so beleagured, the traveller at last fell fast
asleep, and awoke not till the welcome effulgence of a July
morning was tipping first with silver and then with gold, the
loftier crags of the braes of Yarrow, and anon burnishing the
broad bosom of St. Loch. The shepherds, in the mean time,
bed taken a peep at the vehicle, which, to say truth, is singu-
larly constructed, and had so far satisfied themselves that their
suspicions wereunfounded—that when the gendeman awoke then
looked somewhat abashed, and rather facilitated than opposed
his departure. The traveller, on his part, said nothing that
could undeceive his body-guard; but on arriving at Birkhill,
he communicated to the landlady the advereutes of the night,
who, in torn, informed him, that an honest shepherd had been
interred at Megget a few days before, and " that, the inuckle
fools had nae doubt teen him for ane o' thee Doctor fellows wha
gang rampaging advert the hale country, and winna let the
dead rest i' their graves." Finally, Mr. arrived safely at
the hospitable Manse of and explained what had detained
him, to the no small amusement of the Rev. Gentleman from
whom we derived the above particulars.

When Dr. DUSCOMBE was head master of the
King's School, Canterbury, he at one time gave
great offence to the scholars by enforcing some
strict regulations among the Latin Students. • A
day or two after, the following pun was chalked
upon his front door :
" The colour of a mouse—the trap for a louse—
. " J the name of the man that lives in this house."
The youthful author was soon detected, expelled
the school, and, in a few weeks after, committed
suicide ! The old Tory master possrsied too stern
a nature to applaud