Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-10-05

ECCLEFEoHAN, SCOTLAND, Sept, a.
Some English tramps were singing for
their breakfasts before the doors of the
grave Scottish villagers Of Ecclefechan
when / tramped into the hamlet behind
them. There were FIVE Of them, great,
hulking fellows, and their hoarse and
aggressive believing was the only
sound indicative of human life in the
village, even at that late hour OF the
morning. They stood beside melodi-
Gus burn which dashed from under
covered way and coursed on through
the village street.
At one side of the stream was an an
Gent wall. On the other were strag-
Cling houses, and the one before which
the vagabonds lifted up their narrowing
voices was one Of the plalnest and
quaintest in Ecclefechan. From its ap-
pearance 1t might have been an olden
stable; an abandoned lodge at the en-
trance to some gentleman's establish
ment formerly located behind II; or the
ancient Jail of the village, now smartly
whltewashed and transformed into a
lowly habitation. 1t was a mite of q
thing with an archway through II &C.
cupying one.third of the lower story.
At each side was narrow oaken
door, and, nearer each end, tiny
window. In the second story another
little window above each lower one,
looked into the street; and over the
centre of the archway we're two still
more diminutive windows, side by side.
1t was q double house of the dwarf
variety, and the one at the north end,
where the strong-lunged sorners sang,
was the birthplace OF Thomas Carlyle.
The believing had brought mulch
capped guidwives to various windows
and alley entrances, at safe distances. /
loitered near enough TO hear them dis
cuss the matin-song of the tramps, as
well as the house and its former occu-
pants.
"They medina fash (trouble) theirsels
tae sing there" croaked one old dame
with gentle swaying Of her head, be-
tokening reminiscental vein of remark.
"They're like mecht roar theirsels black
i the face afore they e'er wrang bluid
frae that neep (turnip y"
"Oh, aye" crooned a still older old
woman, "lts weel kent nae puir body
liver saw, syne or soon, the recht side O
the Carlyles' sillerp
How Carlyle's hosts of adorers would
have groaned to hear these his old neigh.
bors 20 on One limited at their pride
with, "rhey thocht theirsels nae sheep.
shanksw Another of their thrift with
''They meier selld their hens on q rainy
day." Another, of miserliness with
"I'hey gaze their banes to nae dogs. y
Another, of their austerity with, "They
warna guild to neebor VIII" And another
bent old body summed up the feeling Of
nf hn fhs
crisp epitome "They were i'll to thole r
That is, 1t was hard to get along with
the Carlyies. And 1t is historic tina
others besides these dim old souls, somt
who lived in the same houses with them
found it just that way.
The tra1nps got nothing for their offer
tory, and, after a few vigorous kicks a
tine door, departed; giving me oppor
tunity to reach the house Just as tn,
huge form and red, veinous face of Mrs
John Gourley, caretaker, appeared a
the door. Shaking fine bludgeon afte
the vanishing Migrants she relieved he
indignation with: "Hoots It's WEAR
day for auld Scotland whan there's ma
body q fend hoose like this frae th;
low English beggarsv' and then, il
radiant expectancy of low Englisl
/ doubt if there ever lived write
about whom more has been written b,
little and great writer's than has beef
penned in criticism or praise of Thoma
Carlyle. And / am Just as much Il
doubt whether any one or all Of these
from passing essayist 10 stately biog
rapher, ever really visited the birthplace
of this rare and royalty rampant genius
Yet that should have been every seriou
biographer's first duty. Interesting O
may be every little detail in the mature
career of the man Of genius, when W
have learned each one by heart, an
have been given standards by which I
find his place, measure his personalit
and weigh his influence, we are still un
satisfied, What made this man what h
was2 What were the potent force
which sent him on his way, or whic
were overcome, in his upbuilding? Or
of what manner of mold did he come
What was the actual environment @
the babe, the child, the youth? w
wish to be shown the ultimate perspet
tive. Il Is not to be found in any bios
raphy of Carlyle.
And so l think there is an unusuG
fascination in coming to this hard littl
pretty nearly the same sort of folk an
precisely the same scenes as those th
boy Carlyle knew, hard as 1t is to b.
lieye from his biographers he ever was
boy; and, in sympathy and feeling, &c
ting as far as possible into the sam
framing and setting as those throug
which his eyes had their earliest GU
look upon the close material an
spiritual horizon about him. No tru,
hint of all this could be given than
that morning incident of the grim o.
danes and their tongue wagging abol
the singing beggars and the house b
fore which they sung. 1t was in itse
simply bit out of Carlyles fami
time. i almost felt the Carlyle TO
were "glowerin' ahint tn door" II
but two years less than one hundrt
since Thomas Carlyle was born In th
)ittls stone cottage. There is no pla
In Britain where less change has con
In that period than in stern and til
Eoclefechan.
Indeed the changelessness of oil the
ancient border towns and hamlets is OF
of their most impressive characteristic
From Yetholm to Dumfrles along Il
Scottish border, and from Berwick
Carlisle along the English border IL
lust the same. They are all as th,
were; only little more asleep. IL
railway stations are about all the stru
lures in them that have large windo'
Or smell of paint. They remain chief
rs they stood when the border raids we
snded. They are gray, battle-scarre
ancient, They were built in fghtil