Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-10-28

and brother ina rms, Sir James 81 Doug
las, known as the good Sir James. or
the Back Douglas': but this document
! y, mercy confirmation OF the ancient
/ domains or deeper interest IL another
rel,c proserved at Douglas Castle-a
/ sword which. by tradition, is. averred
/ 10 have been given by the King on his
/ teath-bed to ST. James. Doubtless. the
blade r. genuine. but the legend craven
thereon must be OF later date.
80 mony gvid (h) as of we Dovgias beine.
OF ane svrname were never In Scotland
seine:
So protest in tyne of all my ringe
(reign)
We iyk svbjectis had never ony keng."
The Jaco5te troops occupied Douglas
Castle In their retreat from Derby in
liij. and carried this heirloom away with
them. II cost some troublesome diplomacy
TO get il back. bat there IL lies-a strange
/ ncS-nack in nineteenth century draw
! ing-room.
! The command laid by the dying King
/ upon the gentle knight Sir James or
Z Douglas" forms part OF that inspiring
/ kind of semi-legendaiy history which, as
we are warned, Is To be heard no more
in our board schools howbeit, 1t bears
the stamp Of sterling authority. Barbour
y
In stating that the King left to his mobiles
tho duty Of choosing from among them
selves one who would carry the Bruce
heart To the Holy Land. and that their
choice fell with one accord upon the
DOUGHTY Lord Douglas" He set out on
his expedition in the spring of 1870. with
a retiIue consisting Of one knight-0anne-
, rel. seven other knights. siX-and-twenty
osquires. and others Of the gentlest blood
N nd Alnlnngn * az
and Leon. happened then to be at war
with the Saracen King CT Granada. Dou-
glas I'm a pure spirit of chivalry. resolved
To strike a blow at the Paynim on his
way 10 Palestine. and offered his services
to Alphonsc. There were present at the
Castlliaa Court distinguished soldiers OF
many Christian nations. and great was
their anxiety. says Barbour TO see and
greet the renowned Scottish Chief An
English knight having observed sarcastl-
cally that IT was odd that one who had
fought so many battles bore no scars on
his face Praise be Cod" said Douglas,
my hands were ever able To defend my
head" which boast was soon 10 be dearly
expiated. for in the very first action
thereafter Douglas found himself sepa-
rated from the army. with some half
score Of followers. in pursuit of the flying
MOors. The fugitiyes, perceiving by what
ed on the handful of Scottish knights
outnumbered. and bore them to the
ground. Thus died the valOrous knight,
of whom it is recorded that he engaged
in seventy battles. and was wOrsted in
no more than thirteen.
All this Is pretty commonly known:
what is not so generally reported is, that
those who carried out their Kings com
mand in extracting his heart incurred
arf a..
John for their "inhuman and cruel treat
msnt Of the Kings body"
No prince eyer owed more to the per-
sonal proves OF himself and his followers
than Robert. the truce. Physical strength.
of course. counted for much more in the
warfare Of those days than il does AT
modern long bowls: and there can be no
doubt that the race OF Douglas i'm its two
great branches Of Douglas and Angus.
attained pre-eminence as much by bone
and muscle As by brains. William Douglas.
Lord of Nithsdale. a grandson of Sir
James, was reputed the strongest knight
Of his day no man was ever known 10
survive "A blow from his mace. sword.
or spear. James. second Earl of Douglas,
who fell at Otterburn. welded an inn
mense iron mace beyond the power OF
any other arm; and a prOdigiOus feat is
recorded Of the fifth Earl or Angus This
was Archibald. Bell the Cat" who
earned his sOubrquet at the affair Of
Lauder in 1852. James Ill. had offended
his mobiles by encouraging favOrtes OF low
birth. They resolved to show their dis
pleasure. but hesitated who should make
it known to the king. Angus. taking up
Lord Grays parable. undertook TO bell
the cat Spens of Kilspindle. ii seems,
had spoken at the Kings table in dis
paragement OF Angus'S courage, implying !
that 1t was not equal 10 his splendid bear
ing. Not long afterwards Angus CHANGED /
To meet Spens riding near Fala, and /
called on him to alight and make good /
his words. At the first onset Angus. with /,
a single blow Of his sword. shore off his 4
antagonists leg a the thigh. Spens bled /.
To death. and Angus sent the dead mans ,
servant to the King. saying: "Go thy /
way. tell my gossip the King there was /
nothing here bat fair play. ! know my /
gossip Will be grabbed. but / will get me /
into Liddcsdale. and remain in the nerni- /
tage till he be pacihed." In consequence .
of this Angus was compelled by the King |
to resign the lands OF Liddesdale.
Thus Hume of Godscroft. but there Ia .
some notion that reasonable dealings
with England were at the root of the .
forfeiture of Liddesdale.
or the original stronghold 81 this "a /
nous family little trace now remains. /
great fire in 1858 is not older than the ,
seventeenth century. The frst direct men /
ton of the castle is in l2Ss. when William. I
OF Douglas. surnamed lie Hardi father Of
the good Sir James Imprisoned Sir Hugh, |
of Abernethy therein for the murder OF !
Duncan. Earl Of Fife
In the Scottish war of independence
The adventurous castell of Douglas,
That 10 KEEP peralOus was,
passed. with the lordship. into the hands
OF Edward l.. who conferred it on Sir
Robert de Clifford.
The story OF its recapture has not been
forgotten in the district. Disgusting him
self and his followers as peasants. Doug
las fell upon the English garrison as they
Were worshipping ON sunday in ST. Brides
chapel, put them 10 the sword. entered his
own castle. and sat down TO dinner
Thereafter. having beheaded their prison.
ers. STAYED in the liquor-casks. and piled
furniture, provisions. and dead bodies OF
men and horses in a heap in the central
courS, the band set Iirc 10 the castle and
made off 10 the hills. This CHASTITY deed
Is remembered to this day In the neigh
borhood as the Douglas Larder."
Clifford. whose precarious possession OF
Douglasdale forms the solitary break in
the long succession Of its hereditary lords,
rebuilt the castle. but again James Doug
las captured 1t. and RACED II TO the grOund,
that it might not harbor English YER
min.
The present house is part Of a magnih-
cent design. undertaken by the Duke OF
Douglas, in the eighteenth century. Fired
by that ardOur for building. which has
told 50 banefully on the fortune OF many
a Scottish laird little able - sustain H. /
he commissioned the architect Adam TO
build him castle 10 feet bigger in height.
length. and breadth than the Duke OF
Argylfs. AT Inveraray. All that Douglas
lived To see completed was one wing /
which forms the present house in itself
an imposing pile: but the main block
was never even begun.