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(This and the following three
chapters are illustrative of the Gipsies, in their wild state, previous to
their gradual settlement and civilization, and are applicable to the same
class in every part of the world. Chapter VI, on the Gipsies of Tweed-dale
and Clydesdale, might have been taken the first in order, as descriptive of
the tribe in its more primitive condition, but I have allowed it to remain
where it stands. A description of the habits peculiar to the race will be
found, more or less, in all of these chapters, where they ceo be consulted,
for the better identification of the facts given.—Ed.)
THE Gipsies who frequented
the banks of the Forth, and the counties northward, appear to have been more
daring than those who visited some other parts of Scotland.
Within these sixty years, a
large horde, of very desperate character, resided on the banks of the Avon,
near the burgh of Linlithgow. At first, they quartered higher up on the
Stirling side of the stream, at a place called Walkmilton but latterly they
took up their abode in some old houses, on the Linlithgow side of the river,
at or near the bridge of Linlithgow.
'These Gipsies displayed much
sagacity in carrying on their trade, by selecting the neighbourhood of
Falkirk and Linlithgow for their headquarters, as this was, perhaps, the
most advantageous position in all Scotland that a Gipsy band could occupy.
The district was of itself very populous, and a very considerable trade and
bustle then existed at the port of Bo'ness, in the vicinity. All the
intercourse between Edinburgh and Glasgow passed a few miles to the south of
their quarters. The traffic, by carts, between Glasgow and the west of
Scotland, and the shipping at Carron-shore, Elphingston-Pow and Airth, on
the Forth, before the canal was cut, was immense; all which traffic, as well
as that between Fife and the western districts; passed a few miles north of
their position. The road for travellers and cattle from the Highlands, by
way of 'Stirling, crossed the above-mentioned roads, and led, through
Falkirk and Linlithgow, to Edinburgh, the eastern and southern counties of
Scotland, and England.
The principal surnames of
this Gipsy band were McDonald, Jamieson, Wilson, Gordon and Lundie.
Frequently the number that would assemble together would amount to upwards
of thirty souls, and it was often observed that a great many females and
children were seen loitering about their common place of residence. No
protection was given by them to our native vagrants, nor Were any of our
common plunderers, vagabonds, or outlaws suffered to remain among, them.
When at home, or traversing the country, the trade and occupation of this
band Were exactly the same as those of their friends in other parts of
Scotland, viz : making wool-cards, cast-iron soles for ploughs,
smoothing-irons, horn spoons, and repairing articles in the tinker line. The
old females told fortunes, while the women in general assisted their
husbands in their work, by blowing the bellows, scraping and polishing the
spoons With glass and charred Wood, and otherwise completing their articles
for sale. Many of the males dealt in horses, with which they frequented
fairs —that great resort of the Gipsies; and these wanderers, in general,
Were considered excellent judges of horses. Numbers of them were fiddlers
and pipers, and the tribe often amused themselves With feasting and dancing.
(It appears that, at this period, James Wilson, town-piper, and John
Livingston, hangman, of Linlithgow, were both Gipsies. [Formerly the Gipsies
were exclusively employed in Hungary and Transylvania as hangmen and
executioners. Grellmann.--Ed.])
Like their race generally,
these Gipsies were extremely civil and obliging to their immediate
neighbours, and those who lived nearest to their quarters, and had the most
intercourse with them, in the ordinary affairs of life, were the least
afraid of them.
(This trait in the character
of the Scottish Gipsies is well illustrated in the following anecdote, which
appeared in I3lackwood's Magazine. It was obtained by an individual who
frequently heard the clergyman in question relate it.
``The late Mr. Leek, minister
of Yetholm. happened to be riding home one evening from a visit in
Northumberland, when, finding himself likely to be benighted, for sake of a
near cut, he struck into a wild, solitary track, or drove-road, across the
fells, by a place called the Staw. In one of the derne places through which
this path led him, there stood an old deserted shepherd's house, which, of
course, was reputed to be haunted. The minister, though little apt to be
alarmed by such reports, was, however, somewhat startled on observing, as
lie approached close to the cottage, a `grins visage' staring out past a
window claith, or sort of curtain, which had been fastened up to supply the
place of a door, and also several 'dusky figures.' skulking among the
bourtree-bushes that had once sheltered the shepherd's garden. Without
leaving hint any time for speculation, however, the knight of the curtain
bolted forth upon him, and, seizing his horse by the bridle, demanded his
money. Mr. Leek, though it was now dark, at once recognised the gruff voice,
and the great, black, burly head of his next-door neighbour, Gleid Nickit
Will, the Gipsy chief. 'Dear me, William,' said the minister, in his usual
quiet manner, 'can this be you? ye're surely no serious wi' me? ye wadna sae
far wrang your character for a good neighbour, for the bit trifle I ha'e to
gi.'e, William!'—`Lord saif us, Mr. Leek said Will, quitting the rein, and
lifting his hat, with great respect, 'Whae wad hae thought o' meeting you
out owre here-away? Ye needna gripo for ony siller to me—I wadna touch a
plack o' your gear, nor a hair o' your head, for a' the gowd o' Tividale. I
ken ye'll no do us an ill turn for this mistak—and I'll e'en see ye safe
through the chic Stave—it's no reckoned a very canny bit, mair ways nor one;
but I wat ye'll no be feared for the deml, and I'll tak care o' the living.'
Will accordingly gave his reverend friend a safe convoy through the haunted
puss, and, notwithstanding this ugly mistake, continued ever after an
inoffensive and obliging neighbour to the minister, who, on his part,
observed a prudent and inviolable secrecy on the subject of this renconnter,
during the life time of Gleid Nickit Will."
I understand this anecdote to
apply to old Will Fart, mentioned in the Border Gipsies, under chapter VII.-
Ed.)
But the farmers and others at
a distance, who frequented the markets at Falkirk, and other fairs in the
neighbourhood, were always a plentiful harvest for the plundering Tinklers.
Their plunderings on such occasions spread a general alarm over the country.
But that good humour, mirth, and jocund disposition, peculiar to many of the
males of the Gipsies, seldom failed to gain the good-will of those who
deigned to converse with theta with farniliarity, or treated them with
kindness. They even formed strong attachments to certain individuals of the
community, and afforded theta protection on all occasions, giving them
tokens to present to others of their fraternity, while travelling under
night. Notwithstanding the good-disposition which they always showed under
these circumstances, the fiery Tinklers often fell out among themselves, on
dividing, at home, the booty which they had collected at fairs, and excited
feelings of horror in the minds of their astonished neighbours, when they
beheld the hurricanes of wrath and fury exhibited by both sexes, and all
ages, in the heat of their battles.
The children of these Gipsies
attended the principal school at Linlithgow, and not an individual at the
school dared to cast the slightest reflection on or speak a disrespectful
word of, either them or their parent,, although their robberies were
everywhere notorious, yet "always conducted in so artful a, manner that no
direct evidence could ever be obtained of them. Such was the fear that the
audacious conduct of these Gipsies inspired, that the magistrates of the
royal burgh of Linlithgow stood in awe of them, and were deterred from
discharging their magisterial duties, when any matter relative to their
conduct came before their honours. The truth is, the magistrates would not
interfere with them at all, but stood nearly on the same terms with them
that a tribe of American Indians, who worshipped the devil—not from any
respect which they had for his Satanic majesty, but from being in constant
dread of his diabolical machinations. Not a justice of the peace gave the
horde the least annoyance, but, on the contrary, allowed them to remain in
peaceable possession of sonic old, uninhabited houses, to which they had no
right whatever. Instead of endeavouring to repress the unlawful proceedings
of the daring Tinklers, numbers of the most respectable individuals in
Linlithgowshire deigned to play at golf and other games with the principal
members of the body. The proficiency which the Gipsies displayed on such
occasions was always a source of interest to the patrons and admirers of
such games. At throwing the sledge-hammer, casting the putting-stone, and
all other athletic exercises, not one was a match for these powerful
Tinklers. They were also remarkably dexterous at handling the cudgel, at
which they were constantly practising themselves.
The honourable magistrates,
indeed, frequently admitted the presumptuous Tinklers to share a social bowl
with them at their entertainments and dinner parties. Yet these friends and
companions of the magistrates and gentlemen of Linlithgowshire were no other
than the occasional tenants of kilns. or temporary occupiers of the ground
floor of some ruinous, half-roofed houses, without furniture, saving a few
blankets and some straw, to prevent their persons from resting upon the cold
earth. But, nevertheless, these Gipsies made themselves of considerable
importance, and possessed an influence over the minds of the community to an
extent hardly to be credited at the present day. It was well, known that the
provost of Linlithgow, who was much exposed by riding at all times through
the country, in the way of his business as a brewer, had himself received
from the Gipsies assurance that he would not be molested by the band, and
that he was, therefore, at all times, and on all occasions, perfectly safe
from being plundered. Having in this manner rendered the local authorities
entirely passive, or rather neutral, from fear and interest, the audacious
Gipsies prosecuted their system of plunder and robbery to an alarming
extent.
Notwithstanding the fear
which these Gipsies inspired in the mind of the community, there were yet
individuals of courage who would brave them, if circumstances rendered a
meeting with them unavoidable. None, indeed, would dream of wantonly
molesting them, but, if brought to the pinch, some would not shrink from
encountering them, when acting under the influences of those feelings which
call forth the latent courage of even the most timid and considerate of
people. Such a rencounter resulted in the death of the chief of the
Linlithgow band, of the name of McDonald, to whom the others of the tribe
gave the title of captain.
In a dark night, a gentleman
of the name of .[I-, an officer in the army, and a man of courage, while
travelling on the high road, from the eastward to Stirlingshire, to visit,
as was said, his sweetheart, had occasion to stop, for refreshment, at a
public-house near the bridge of Linlithgow. The landlord advised him to go
no further that night, owing to the road being "foul," meaning that the
Tinklers had been seen lurking in the direction in which he was travelling.
Foul or not foul, he would proceed; his particular engagement with the lady
making him reluctant to break his promise, and turn back. He called for a
gill of brandy, which he shared with the landlord, and deliberately loaded,
in his presence, a brace of pistols which he carried about his person. his
courage rose with the occasion, and lie declared that whoever dared to
molest him should not go unpunished. He then mounted his horse and rode
forward. On arriving at a place called Sandyford-burn, a man, in the dark,
sprang out from the side of the road, and, laying hold of the bridle of his
horse, demanded his money. The horseman being on the alert, and quite
prepared for such a demand, with his spirits, moreover, elevated by his dram
of brandy, instantly replied by firing one of his pistols at the robber, who
fell to the ground. He, however, held fast the bridle reins in his
convulsive death grasp, and the horse, being urged forward, dragged him a
short distance along the ground. Hardly had the shot been fired, ere a
voice, close by, was heard to exclaim, "There goes our captain," while a
confused cry of vengeance was uttered on all sides, against him by whom he
had fallen. But the rider, clapping his spurs to his horse, instantly
galloped forward, yet made a narrow escape, for several shots were fired at
him, which were heard by the landlord of the public-house which lie had just
left.
The Gipsies, in this awkward
predicament., carried the body of their chieftain home, and gave out to
their neighbours, the country people, the following morning, {Sunday,) that
he had died very suddenly of iliac passion. His lykewake was kept up in
their usual manner, and great feastings and drinkings were held by them
while his body lay uninterred. After several days of carousing, the remains
of the robber were buried in the church-yard of Linlithgow. (Some of the
Gipsies only put a paper cap on the head, and paper round the feet. of their
dead; leaving all the body bare, excepting that they place upon the breast,
opposite the heart, a circle made of red and blue ribbons, in form something
like the shape of the variegated cockade, worn in the lilts of
newly-enlisted recruits in the army. In England it was customary with the
Gipsies, at one time, to burn the dead, but now they only burn the clothes,
and some of the effects of the deceased.—Ed.]) His funeral was very
respectable, having been attended by the magistrates of Linlitbgow, and a
number of the most genteel persons in the neighbourhood. The real cause of
the sudden death of the Tinkler began to spread abroad, a short time after
the burial, but no enquiry was made into the matter. The individual who had
done the public a service, by taking off the chief of the banditti,
mentioned the circumstance afterwards to his friends, and was afraid of the
band for some time thereafter ; although it was improbable that, in the
dark. they were able to make out, or afterwards ascertain, the person who
had made himself so obnoxious to them.
Notwithstanding this prompt
and well-merited chastisement which the Gipsies received, in their leader
being shot dead in his attempt at highway robbery, in the immediate vicinity
of their ordinary place of rendezvous, they continued their depredations in
their usual manner, but generally took care, as is their custom, to give no
molestation to their nearest neighbours. The deceased captain was succeeded,
in the chieftainship of the tribe, by his son, Alexander McDonald, who also
assumed the title of captain. This man trod in the footsteps of his father
in every respect, and exercised his hereditary profession of theft and
robbery, with an activity and audacity unequalled by any among his tribe in
that part of Scotland. The very name of McDonald and his gang appalled the
boldest hearts of those who ventured to travel under night with money in
their pockets, in certain parts of the country. His band appears to have
been very numerous, as among them some held the subordinate rank of
lieutenants, as if they had been organized like a regular military company.
James Jamieson, his brother-in-law, was also styled captain in this
notorious band of Gipsies, who were connected with similar bands in England
and Ireland.
McDonald and his
brother-in-law, Jamieson, were considered remarkably stout, handsome, and
fine-looking men. By constant training at all kinds of athletic exercises,
they brought themselves to perform feats of bodily strength and agility
which were almost incredible. They were often elegantly dressed in the
finest clothes of the first fashion, with linen to correspond. At the same
time they were perfect chameleons in respect to their appearance and
apparel. .McDonald was frequently observed in three or four different
dresses in one market-day. At one time of the day, he was seen completely
attired in the best of tartan, assuming the appearance and manners of a
highland gentleman in full costume. At another time, he appeared ruffled at
hands and breast, booted and spurred, on horseback, as if he had been a man
of some consideration. He would again be seen in a ragged coat, with a
budget and wallet on his back—a common travelling Tinkler. Both of these men
often dealt in horses, and were themselves frequently mounted on the best of
animals. The. Arabians and Tartars are scarcely more partial to horses than
the Gipsies.
The pranks and tricks played
by McDonald were numerous, and many a story is yet remembered of his
extraordinary exploits. He took great pains in training and learning some of
his horses various evolutions and tricks. He had, at one time, a piebald
horse so efficiently trained, and so completely under his management, that
it, in some respects, assisted him in his depredations. By certain signals
and motions, he could, when he found it necessary, snake it clap close to
the ground, like a hare in its furrow. It would crouch down in a hollow
piece of ground, in a ditch, or at the side of a Tiede, so as to hide
itself, when McDonald's situation was like to expose him to detection. With
the assistance of one of these well trained-horses, this man, on one
occasion, saved his wife, Ann Jamieson, from prison, and perhaps from the
gallows. Ann was apprehended near Dunfermline for some of her unlawful
practices. As the officers of the law were conducting her to prison,
McDonald rode up to the party, and requested permission to speak with their
prisoner, which was readily granted, as, from McDonald's appearance, the
officers supposed he had something to say to the woman. He then drew her
aside, under the pretence of conversing with her in private, when, in an
instant, Ann, with his assistance, sprang upon the horse, behind him, and
bade good-bye to the messengers, who were amazed at the sudden and
unexpected escape of their prisoner. Ann was a little, handsome woman, and
was considered one of the most expert of the Scottish Gipsies at conducting
a plundering at a fair; and was, on that account, much respected by her
tribe.
McDonald and Jamieson, like
others of the superior classes of Gipsies, gave tokens of protection to
their particular friends of the community generally. The butchers of
Linlithgow, when they went to the country, with money to buy cattle,
frequently procured these assurances from the Gipsies. The shoemakers did
likewise, when they had to go to distant markets with their shoes.
Linlithgow appears even to have been under the special protection of these
banditti. Mr. George Hart, and Mr. William Baird, two of the most
respectable merchants of Bo'ness, who had been peddlers in their early
years, scrupled not to say that, when travelling through the country, they
were seldom without tokens from the Gipsies. But if the Gipsies were kind to
those who kept on good terms with them, they, on the other hand,
vindictively tormented their enemies. They would steal sheep, and put the
blood and parts of the animal about the premises of those they hated, that
they might be suspected of the theft, searched and affronted by the
enquiries made about the stolen property.
When McDonald and Jamieson
attacked individuals on the highway, or elsewhere, and were satisfied that
they had little or no money, they were just as ready to supply their wants
as to rob them. The idea of plundering the wealthy, and giving the booty to
the poor, gives the Gipsies great satisfaction. The standard by which this
people's conduct can be measured, must be sought for among the robber tribes
of Tartary, Afghanistan, or Arabia. Many of our Scottish Gipsies have,
indeed, been as ready to give a purse as take one; and it cannot be said
that they have lacked in the display of a certain degree of honour peculiar
to themselves, as the following well-authenticated fact will illustrate.
(Instances have occurred in which an Afghan has received a stranger with all
the rights of hospitality, and afterwards, meeting him in the open country,
has robbed him. The same person, it is supposed, who would plunder a cloak
from a traveller who person one, would give a cloak to one who had
none.--Hugh Murray's Asia, vol. 2, page 508.)
A gentleman, whose name is
not mentioned, while travelling, under night, between Falkirk and Linlithgow,
fell in, on the road, with a man whom he did not know. During the
conversation Which ensued, he mentioned to the stranger that he was afraid
of being attacked, for many a one, he observed, had been robbed on that
road. He then urged that they should return, as the safest plan for them
both. The stranger, however, replied that he had often travelled the road,
yet had never been troubled by any one. After some further conversation, ha
put his hand into his pocket, and gave the traveller a knife, with which he
was desired to proceed without fear. (A pen-knife, a snuff-box, and a ring
are some of the Gipsy pass-ports. It is what is market upon them that
protects the bearer from being disturbed by others of the tribe.) The
traveller now perfectly understood the relation that existed between them,
and continued his journey with confidence ; but he had not proceeded far ere
he was accosted by a foot-pad, to whom he produced the knife. The pad looked
at it carefully, said nothing, but passed on, without giving the traveller
the slightest annoyance. It is needless to say that the mysterious stranger
was no other than the notorious Captain McDonald. The traveller, by his
fears and the nature of his conversation, had plainly informed McDonald of
his being possessed of money —a considerable quantity of which he had,
indeed, with him—and had the love of booty been the Gipsy's sole and
constant object, how easily could he, in this instance, have possessed
himself of it. But the stranger had put himself, in a measure, under the
protection of the robber, who disdained to take advantage of the confidence
reposed in him.
Another instance of a Gipsy's
honour, generosity, or caprice, or by whatever word the act may be
expressed, occurred between McDonald and a farmer of the name of Campbell,
and exhibits a singular cast of character, which has not been uncommon among
the Scottish Gipsies. On this occasion, it would appear, the Gipsy had been
influenced rather by a desire of enjoying the extraordinary surprise of the
simple countryman, than of obtaining booty. The occurrence will also give
some idea of the part which the cautious chiefs take in plundering at a
fair. The particulars are derived from a Mr. David McRitchie, of whom I
shall again make mention.
While Campbell was on his way
to a market in Perth, he fell in with Captain McDonald. Being unacquainted
with the character of his fellow-traveller, the unsuspecting man told him,
among other thins, that he had just as much money in his pocket as would
purchase one horse, for his four-horse plough, having other three at home.
McDonald heard all this with patience till he came to a solitary part of the
road, when, all at once, lie turned upon the astonished farmer, and demanded
his money. The poor man, having no alternative, immediately produced his
purse. But in parting, the robber desired him to call next day at a certain
house in Perth, where lie would find a person who might be of some service
to him. Campbell promised to do as desired, and called at the house
appointed, and great was his surprise, when, on being ushered into a room,
he found himself face to face with the late robber, sitting with a large
bowl of smoking toddy before him. The Gipsy, in a frank and hearty manner,
invited his visitor to sit down and share his toddy with him a request which
he readily complied with, although bewildered with the idea of the probable
fate of his purse, and the result of his personal adventure. lie had
scarcely got time, however, to swallow one glass, before he was relieved of
his suspense, by the Gipsy returning him every farthing of the money he had
robbed him of the day before. Being now pleased with his good fortune, and
the Gipsy pressing him to drink, Campbell was in no hurry to be gone, his
spirits having become elevated with his good cheer, and the confidence with
which his host's conduct had inspired him. But his suspicions returned upon
him, as lie saw pocket-book after pocket-book brought in to his entertainer,
during the time lie was enjoying his hospitality. The Gipsy chief was, in
fact, but following a very important branch of his calling, and was, on that
day, doing a considerable business, Having a number of youths ferreting for
him in the market, and coming in and going out constantly.
But this crafty Gipsy, and
his brother-in-law, Jamieson, were at last apprehended for house-breaking
and robbery. Their trials took place at Edinburgh, on the 9th and 13th of
August, 1770, and " the fame of being Egyptians" made part of the charge
against them in the indictment ; a charge well founded, as both of them
spoke the "right Egyptian Ianguage." It was the last instance, I believe,
that the fact of their being " called, known, repute, and holden Egyptians,"
made part of the indictment against any of the tribe in Scotland, under the
sanguinary statute of James VI, chap. 13, passed in 1609. So cunning are the
Gipsies, however, in committing crimes, that, in this instance, the
criminals, it was understood, would have escaped justice, for want of
sufficient proof, had not one of their own band, of the name of Jamieson, a
youth of about twenty-two years of age, turned king's evidence against his
associates. The two unhappy men were then found guilty by the jury, and
condemned to die. They were ordered to be executed at Linlithgow bridge,
near the very spot where their band had their principal rendezvous, with the
apparent object of daunting their incorrigible race.
Immediately after the trial,
a report was spread, and generally believed, that the Gipsies would attempt
a rescue of the criminals on the way to execution, or even from under the
gallows itself ; and it was particularly mentioned that thirty stout and
desperate members of the race had undertaken to set their chieftains free.
Every precaution was therefore taken, by the authorities, to prevent any
such attempt being made. A large proportion of the gentlemen and farmers of
the shire of Linlithgow were requested, with what arms they could procure,
to attend, on foot or horseback, the execution of the desperate Tinklers.
Indeed, every third man of all the fencible men of the county was called
upon to appear on the occasion; while a company of pensioners, with a
commissioned officer at their head, and a strong body of the military,
completed the force deemed necessary for the due execution of justice.
Besides guarding against the possibility of a rescue on the part of the
Gipsies, it was generally understood that the steps taken by the
authorities, in brining together so large a body of men, had in view the
object of exhibiting to the people the ignominious death of two men who.,
had not only been allowed to remain among them, but, in many instances,
countenanced by some of the most respectable inhabitants of the county; and
that not only in out-door amusements, but even in some of the special
hospitalities of daily life, while in fact they were nothing but the leaders
of a band of notorious thieves and robbers.
These precautions being
completed, the condemned Gipsies were bound hand and foot, and conveyed, by
the sheriff of Edinburgh and a company of the military, to the boat-house
bridge, on the river Almond—the boundary of the two counties—and there
handed over to the sheriff of Linlithgow; under whose guard they were
carried to the jail of the town of Linlithgow, and securely bound in irons,
to wait their execution on the morrow. ("This morning, a little after nine
o'clock, McDonald and Jamieson were transported from the Tolbooth here,
(Edinburgh,) escorted by a party of the military, and attended by the
sheriff-depute on horseback, with the officers of court, armed with
broad-swords, amidst an innumerable crowd of spectators. They were securely
pinioned to a cart, and are to be received by the sheriff-depute of
Linlithgow, on the confines of this county, whither they are to be conveyed,
in order to their execution to-morrow, near Linlithgow-bridge, pursuant to
their sentence."—Ruddiman's Weekly Magazine, vol 9, page 354.) As night
approached, fires were kindled at the door of the prison, and guards posted
in the avenues leading to the building, while all the entrances to the town
were guarded, and all ingress and egress prohibited, as if the burgh had
been in a state of siege. So strictly were these orders put in force, that
many of the inhabitants of Bo'ness, who had gone to Linlithgow, to view the
bustle occasioned by the assemblage of so great a number of armed men,. were
forced to remain in the town over night; so alarmed were the authorities for
the onset of the resolute Gipsies. It was soon perceived, by some sagacious
individuals, that the fires would do more harm than good, as the light would
show the prison, expose the sentinels, and guide the Gipsy bands. They were
accordingly extinguished, and the guards placed in such positions as would
enable them, with the most advantage, to repel any attack that might be
attempted: yet the enemy that caused all this alarm and precaution was
nowhere visible.
On the following morning,
McDonald's wife requested permission to visit her husband before being led
to execution, with what particular object can only be conjectured; a favour
which was readily granted her, in the company of a magistrate. On beholding
the object of her affection, she became overwhelmed with grief; she threw
her arms around his neck, and embraced him most tenderly; and after giving
vent to her sorrow in sobs and tears, she tore herself from him, and,
turning to the magistrate, exclaimed, with a bursting heart, "Is he not a
pretty man? What a pity it is to hang him !"
Arrangements were then made
to carry the prisoners to the place of execution, at the bridge of
Linlithgow, which lay about a mile from the town. The armed force was drawn
up at the town-cross, and those who carried muskets were ordered to load
them with ball cartridge, and hold themselves ready, at the word of command,
upon the least appearance of an attempt at rescue, to fire upon the
aggressors. rf1e whole scene presented such an alarming and warlike
appearance, that the people of the town and surrounding country compared it
to the bustle and military parade which. took place, twenty-five years
before, when the rebel army made its appearance in the neighbourhood. The
judicious arrangements adopted by the officers of the crown had the desired
effect; for not the slightest symptom of disturbance, not even a movement,
was observed among the Gipsies, either on the night before, or on the
morning of the execution. The formidable armed bands, ready to overwhelm the
presumptuous Gipsies, clearly showed them that they had not the shadow of a
chance for carrying out their intended rescue. All was peace and silence
throughout the immense crowd surrounding the gallows, patiently waiting the
appearance of the criminals. In due time the condemned made their
appearance, in a cart, accompanied by Charles and James Jamieson, two
youths, sitting beside their father and uncle, busily eating rolls, and, to
all appearance, totally indifferent to the fate of their relatives, and the
awful circumstances surrounding them.
On ascending the platform,
Jamieson's demeanour was suitable to the circumstances in which he found
himself placed ; but McDonald appeared quite unconcerned. He was observed
frequently to turn a quid of tobacco in his mouth, and squirt the juice of
it around him ; it was even evident, from his manner, that he expected to be
delivered from the gallows by his tribe ; and more especially as he had been
frequently heard to say that the hemp was not grown that would hang him. He
then began to look frequently and wistfully around him for the expected aid,
yet none made its appearance ; and his heart began to sink within him.
Indeed, the overwhelming force then surrounding him rendered a deliverance
impossible. Every hope having failed him, and seeing his end at hand,
'McDonald resigned himself, with great firmness, to his fate, and exclaimed
: "I base neither friends on my right hand nor on my left; I see I now must
die." Jamieson, who appeared from the first never to indulge in vain
expectations of being rescued, exclaimed to his fellow-sufferer: "Sandie,
Sandie! it is all over with us, and I told you so long ago." McDonald then
turned to the executioner, whose name was John Livingston, and dropping into
his hand something, supposed to be money, undauntedly said to him: "Now,
John, don't bungle your job." Both of the unhappy men were then launched
into eternity. Ever afterwards, the inhabitants of Linlithgow pestered the
hangman, by calling to him: "Now, John, don't bungle your job. What was it
the Tinkler gave you, John ?" ("On Friday last, about three o'clock,
McDonald and Jamieson were hanged, at the end of Linlithgow bridge. The
latter appeared very penitent, but the former very little affected, and, as
the saying is, died hard. "Ruddiman's Weekly Magazine, v 19, page 416.)
McDonald's wife had stood by,
a quiet spectator, among the promiscuous crowd, of the melancholy scene
displayed before leer. But when she had witnessed the closing act of an
eventful life—the heroism and fortitude which all she held as dear displayed
in his last moments—and enjoyed the satisfaction which it had given her,
nature, which the odium of her fellow-creatures, not of her blood, could not
destroy, burst forth with genuine expression. The silence attending the
awful tragedy was abruptly broken by the lamentable yells and heart-rending
screams which she gave vent to, as she beheld her husband turned off the
scaffold. Two gentlemen, who were present, informed me that she foamed at
the mouth, and tore her hair out of her head, and was so completely frantic
with grief and 'rage, that the spectators were afraid to go near her.
On the bodies being taken
down from the scaffold, an attempt was made to restore them to life, by
opening a vein, but without effect. It is said they were buried in the moor
near Linlithgow, by the Gipsies, and that the magistrates, of the town
ordered them to be taken up, and interred in the east end of the church-yard
of Linlithgow. However that may be, the bodies were buried in the
church-yard of Linlithgow; but the populace, delivered from the terror with
which these daring Gipsies inspired them, treated with ignominy the remains
of those whom they dared scarcely look in the face when alive. They dug them
out of the place of Christian sepulture, and interred them in a solitary
field in the neighbourhood. A clump of trees, I believe, marks the spot, and
the gloomy pine now waves, in the -rinds of heaven, over the silent and
peaceful graves of the restless and lawless Gipsies.
McDonald, it would appear,
was married, first of all, to a daughter of a Gipsy of the name of Eppie
Lundie, with whom he lived unhappy, and was divorced from her over a horse
sacrificed for the occasion, a ceremony -which I will describe in another
chapter. (This Lppie Lundie lived to the advanced age of a hundred years,
and was a terror wherever she travelled. Without the least hesitation or
scruple, she frequently stripped defenceless individuals of their wearing
apparel, leaving them sometimes naked in the open fields.) He was more
fortunate in his second matrimonial -alliance, for, in Ann Jamieson, he
found a wife after his own heart in every way. Previous to his own
execution, she had witnessed the violent deaths of at least six of her own
nearest relatives. But, if anything could have influenced, in the slightest
degree, a reformation in her own character, it would have been the
melancholy scene attending his miserable end; yet, we find it had not the
slightest effect upon her after career, for she continued, to the last, to
follow the practices of her race, as an anecdote told of her will show.
At the North Queensferry was
a very respectable inn, kept by a Mr. McRitchie, which was much frequented
and patronized by the Gipsies. On such occasions they did not visit the
house in whole families or hordes, fluttering in rags, but as well-dressed
individuals, arriving from different directions, as if by chance. In this
house they were always treated with consideration and kindness, for other
reasons than that of the liberal custom which they brought to it, and, as a
natural consequence, the landlord and his family became great favourites
with them. One of the members of the family, David McRitchie, my informant,
happened one day to purchase a horse, at a fair in Dunfermline, but in
feeling for his pocket-book, to pay for the animal, he found, to his
surprise and grief, that book and money were gone. The person from whom he
bought the horse commenced at once to abuse him as an impostor, for he not
only would not believe his tale, but would not trust him for a moment. Under
these distressing circumstances, he sought out Ann Jamieson, or Annie
McDonald, after her husband's name, for lie knew well enough where his money
had gone to, and the sovereign influence which Ann exercised over her tribe.
Being well acquainted with her, from having often met her in his father's
house, lie went up to her, and putting his hand gently on her shoulder, in a
kind and familiar manner, and with a long face, told her of his misfortune,
and begged her friendly assistance to help him out of the difficulty, laying
much stress on the horse-dealer charging him with an attempt to impose on
him. "Some 'o' my laddies will hae seen it, Davie; I'll enquire," was her
immediate reply. She then took him to a public-house, called for brandy, saw
him seated, and desired him to drink. Taking the marks of the pocket-book,
she entered time fair, and, after various doublings and windings among the
crowd, proceeded to her temporary depot of stolen goods. In about half an
hour she returned, with the book and all its contents. The cash, bills, and
papers which it contained, were in the same parts of the book in which the
owner had placed them. This affair was transacted in as cool and
business-like a manner as if Annie and her "laddies" had been following any
of the honest callings in ordinary life. Indeed, no example, however severe,
no punishment, however awful, seems to have had any beneficial effect upon
the minds of these Gipsies, or their friends who frequented the surrounding
parts of the country, for they continued to follow the ways. of their race,
in spite of the sanguinary laws of the country. A continuation of their
history, up to a period, is little better than a melancholy narrative of a
series of imprisonments, banishments, and executions.
Anti Jamieson's two nephews,
Charles and James Jamieson, who rode alongside of their father and uncle to
the place of their execution, eating; rolls, as if nothing unusual was about
to befall them, and who had witnessed their miserable end, in 1770, were
themselves executed in 1786 for robbing the Kinross mail. It was their
intention to have committed the deed upon the highway, for, the night before
the robbery, their mother, Euphan Graham, to prevent detection, insisted
upon the post-boy being, put to death, to which bloody proposition her sons
would not consent. It was then agreed that they should secure their prize in
the stable yard of an inn in the town, where the post-boy usually stopped.
The two highwaymen were traced to a small house near Stirling, in which they
made a desperate resistance. One of them attempted to ascend the chimney, to
effect his escape; but, failing in that, they attacked the officers, and
tore at them with their teeth, after having struck furiously at them with a
knife. But they were overpowered, and secured in irons. Two females were in
their company at the time, on whom some of the money was found, most
artfully concealed about their persons. So illiterate were these two men
that, in crossing the Forth at Kincardine, they presented a twenty-pound
note, to be changed, instead of a twenty-shilling one. According to Baron
I3ume, the trial of these two Gipsies took place on the 18th December, 1786.
They were assisted in the robbery by other members of their band, including
women and children. Their mother was said to have been transported for the
part which she took in the affair; while another member of the gang was
below the age at which criminals can be tried and punished in this country.
The two brothers, before they committed the crime, measured themselves in a
room in Kinross, kept by a Mary Barclay, and marked their heights on the
wall. The one stood six feet two inches, and the other five feet four
inches. (Perhaps the author intended to say, six feet two inches, and sax
feet four inches. Still, it might have been as stated in the MS.; for with
Gipsies of mixed blood, the individual, if he tales after the Gipsy, is apt
to be short and thick-set. The mixture of the two people produces a strong
race of men.—Ed.) |
