LINLITHGOWSHIRE GIPSIES.[86]
[86] 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 can 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.[87]
[87] 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.[88] 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 them with
familiarity, or treated them with kindness. They even formed strong
attachments to certain individuals of the community, and afforded them
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.
[88] This trait in the character of the Scottish Gipsies is well
illustrated in the following anecdote, which appeared in Blackwood'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 he
approached close to the cottage, a 'grim 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 him 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 Neckit 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 gripe 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 eirie Staw--it's no reckoned a very
_canny bit_, mair ways nor ane; but I wat ye'll no be feared for the
_dead_, and I'll tak care o' the _living_.' Will accordingly gave his
reverend friend a safe convoy through the haunted pass, 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 rencounter,
during the life time of _Gleid Nickit Will_."
I understand this anecdote to apply to old Will Faa, mentioned in the
Border Gipsies, under chapter VII.--ED.
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 parents, 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 some 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 H----, 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 he 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 Sandy-ford-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 he 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 lyke-wake 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.[89] His funeral was very respectable,
having been attended by the magistrates of Linlithgow, 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.
[89] 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 hats 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.]
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, make 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 hedge, 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.[90]
[90] 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 had 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, he put his hand into his pocket,
and gave the traveller a knife, with which he was desired to proceed
without fear.[91] 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 stronger had put himself, in a measure, under the protection
of the robber, who disdained to take advantage of the confidence reposed
in him.
[91] A pen-knife, a snuff-box, and a ring are some of the Gipsy
pass-ports. It is what is marked upon them that protects the bearer
from being disturbed by others of the tribe.
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 things,
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, he 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 he 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. He 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 he saw pocket-book after pocket-book brought in to his
entertainer, during the time he 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
language." 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 bringing 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.[92] 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.
[92] "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 384.
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. The whole scene
presented such an alarming and war-like 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 have 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?"[93]
[93] "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_, vol. 9, page 416.
McDonald's wife had stood by, a quiet spectator, among the promiscuous
crowd, of the melancholy scene displayed before her. 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 winds 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.[94] 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.
[94] This Eppie 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.
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 he 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, he 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 the 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.
Ann 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 Hume, 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.[95]
[95] Perhaps the author intended to say, six feet two inches, and six
feet four inches. Still, it might have been as stated in the MS.; for
with Gipsies of mixed blood, the individual, if he takes after the
Gipsy, is apt to be short and thick-set. The mixture of the two people
produces a strong race of men.--ED.