The ballad of _The Douglas Tragedy_ is one of the few, to which popular
tradition has ascribed complete locality. The farm of Blackhouse, in
Selkirkshire, is said to have been the scene of this melancholy
event. There are the remains of a very ancient tower, adjacent to
the farmhouse, in a wild and solitary glen, upon a torrent, named
Douglas-burn, which joins the Yarrow, after passing a craggy rock,
called the Douglas-craig. This wild scene, now a part of the Traquair
estate, formed one of the most ancient possessions of the renowned
family of Douglas; for Sir John Douglas, eldest son of William,
the first Lord Douglas, is said to have sat, as baronial lord of
Douglas-burn, during his father's lifetime, in a parliament of Malcolm
Canmore, held at Forfar.--GODSCROFT, Vol. I. p. 20. The tower appears to
have been square, with a circular turret at one angle, for carrying up
the staircase, and for flanking the entrance. It is said to have derived
its name of Blackhouse from the complexion of the lords of Douglas,
whose swarthy hue was a family attribute. But, when the high mountains,
by which it is inclosed, were covered with heather, which was the case
till of late years, Blackhouse must have also merited its appellation
from the appearance of the scenery.
From this ancient tower Lady Margaret is said to have been carried by
her lover. Seven large stones, erected upon the neighbouring heights of
Blackhouse, are shown, as marking the spot where the seven brethren were
slain; and the Douglas-burn is averred to have been the stream, at which
the lovers stopped to drink: so minute is tradition in ascertaining the
scene of a tragical tale, which, considering the rude state of former
times, had probably foundation in some real event.
Many copies of this ballad are current among the vulgar, but chiefly in
a state of great corruption; especially such as have been committed to
the press in the shape of penny pamphlets. One of these is now before
me, which, among many others, has the ridiculous error of "_blue gilded_
horn," for "_bugelet_ horn." The copy, principally used in this edition
of the ballad, was supplied by Mr Sharpe. The three last verses are
given from the printed copy, and from tradition. The hackneyed verse, of
the rose and the briar springing from the grave of the lovers, is common
to most tragic ballads; but it is introduced into this with singular
propriety, as the chapel of St Mary, whose vestiges may be still traced
upon the lake, to which it has given name, is said to have been the
burial place of Lord William and Fair Margaret. The wrath of the Black
Douglas, which vented itself upon the brier, far surpasses the usual
stanza:
At length came the clerk of the parish,
As you the truth shall hear,
And by mischance he cut them down,
Or else they had still been there.