Morning journal and courier., 1893-09-30
wAKEMAN,s WANDRRINGs,

The Birthplace and Burial Place of
Thomas Carlyle Ecc1efechan, the
Quaint Scottish Border Village
Which Gave This Century One of
Its Mi2htiest Minds-A Testy Little
Hamlet, Unchanged TIme and
Progress-Carlyle's BoThoOd Eome
and All Material and Social Anvi-
ronment Precisely as he LEFT Them
-Glimpses of the ignorance, Cant,
Kancor and Positive Savagery That
Fiercely Reset His Childhood's
Days.
ECCLEFECHAN, Scotland, Sept. IA.
Tothe Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
Some Easlish tramps were singing for
their breakfasts before the doors of the
grave Scottish villagers of Ecclefeohsn
when I tramped into the hamlet behind
them. There were Eve of them, great,
hulkipg fellows, and their hoarss and sg-
gressive believing was the only sound in
dicative of human life in the village, even
at that late hour of the morning. They
stood beside a melodious bnrn which
dashed from under a covered way and
courssd on through the village street.
At one side of the stream was an an
Client wall On the other wers struggling
houses, and the one before which the vsg-
abon6s lifted up their narrowing voices
was one of the plainest and qusinteat in
Ecclefechan. From its appearance it
might have been au olden stable; an a5an-
doned lodge at the entrance to some gen.
tlemsn's establishment formerly located
behind It; or the ancient Jail of she vii
lage, now snartly whisewashed and trans
formed into lowiy habitation. 1t was a
mite of thing with an srchway through
1t occupying one. third of the lower story.
At each side was a narrow oaken door,
and, nearer each end, a tiny window. In
the second story another little window
above each lower one looked into the
street; and over the center of the archwsy
were two still more diminutive windows,
side by side. 1t was double house of the
dwarf variety, and the one at the north
| end, where the stronglunged sorners sang,
was the birthplace of Thomas Carlyle.
The ballowing had brought mulch
| capped guid-wifes to various windows and
| alley entrances, at safe distances. 1 loi-
tered near enough to hear them discuss
the matin-song of the tramps as we'll as
the house and It's former occupants.
| "rhey medina fash (trouble) theirsels
tao sing there;" croaked one old dame
with a gentle swayipg of her head beto
kenipg reminiscental vein of remark
"They're like mecht roar theirsels black /
the face, afore they e'er wrang bluid frse
that neep (turnipD'
"Oh ave." crooned a still older old wo
man, "Its weel kent nae puir body ivel
saw, syne or soon, the recht side o. the
Csrlyles' sillerl"
BOW Carlyle's hosts of sdorers would
have grosned to hear these, his old neigh
bors go onl One hinted at their prid,
with, They thocht thsirsels nae sheep
shanks" Another, of their thrift with
"They ne'er sell'd their hens on a rainy
day." Another, of miserliness with, "rhey
gae their bsnes to nae dogs" Another, o.
their susterity with, "They werns guild t.
neebor wi" And another bent old body
summed up the feeling of many of tn,
testy villagers with the crisp epitom,
"They were Ill to tholel" That is, 1t wa
hard to get along with the CarlSles. Ant
1t is historic that others besides these din
old souls, some who lived in the ssm
houses with them, found it just that way
, The trsmps got nothing for their offer
, tory, and, after a few vigorous kicks q
the door, departed; giving me opportunit.
to reach the house juss as the huge form
and red, veinous face of Mrs. John Gour
ley, caretaker, appeared at the door
Shaking q fine bludgeen after the vanish
ing vagrants she relieved her indignation
with: "Hoots! It's weary day for aul
Scotland whan there's nae body T. fend
hoose like this frae tina low English beg
parel" and then, in radiant expectancy Q
low English "ssxpences," bade me eDtel
| I doubt If there ever lived q write
| about whom more has been written b
little and great writer's than has bee
penned In criticism or praise of Thoms
Carlyle. And am just as much in dout
whether any one or all of these, fror
passing essayist to stately biographsr, eve
really visited the birthplace of this raI
and royalty rampant genius. Yet ths
should have been every serious biogri
pher's FIRST duty. Interesting as may
every little detail in the msturer career {
the man of genius, when we have lssrne
each one BY heart, and have been give
standard by which to find his place, mea
ure his personality and weigh bis inh'
ence, we are still unsstisfsd. What mao
this man what he vast What were Il
potent forces which sent him on his We
10 or which were overcome, in his upbuil,
70 iret Out of what manner of mold did
comet What was the actual environmel
70 of the babe, the child, the youthi v
ls wish to be shown the ultimate psrsps
ls tive. It Is not to be found In any biogr
g ply of Carlyle.
I. And SO think there is an unusual fs
h cination in coming to this hard little hsr
J. let and seeing with your own eyes pret
i, nearly the same sort of folk and precise
q the same scenes as those the boy Carly
IN knew, hard as It is to believe from bis bl
TO sraphsrs he ever was boy; and, in syi