e opposite frontier. The gothic grandeur of
Alnwick, of Raby, and of Naworth, marks the wealthier and more secure
state of the English nobles. The Scottish chieftain, however extensive
his domains, derived no advantage, save from such parts as he could
himself cultivate or occupy. Payment of rent was hardly known on the
borders, till after the union[37]. All that the landlord could gain,
from those residing upon his estate, was their personal service in
battle, their assistance in labouring the land retained in his natural
possession, some petty quit-rents, of a nature resembling the feudal
casualties, and perhaps a share in the spoil which they acquired by
rapine[38]. This, with his herds of cattle and of sheep, and with the
_black mail_, which he exacted from his neighbours, constituted the
revenue of the chieftain; and, from funds so precarious, he could
rarely spare sums to expend in strengthening or decorating his
habitation. Another reason is found in the Scottish mode of warfare.
It was early discovered, that the English surpassed their neighbours
in the arts of assaulting or defending fortified places. The policy of
the Scottish, therefore, deterred them from erecting upon the borders
buildings of such extent and strength, as, being once taken by the
foe, would have been capable of receiving a permanent garrison[39]. To
themselves, the woods and hills of their country were pointed out,
by the great Bruce, as their safest bulwarks; and the maxim of the
Douglasses, that "it was better to hear the lark sing, than the mouse
cheep," was adopted by every border chief. For these combined
reasons, the residence of the chieftain was commonly a large square
battlemented[40] tower, called a _keep_, or _peel_; placed on a
precipice, or on the banks of a torrent, and, if the ground would
permit, surrounded by a moat. In short, the situation of a border
house, surrounded by woods, and rendered almost inaccessible by
torrents, by rocks, or by morasses, sufficiently indicated the
pursuits and apprehensions of its inhabitant.--"_Locus horroris
et vastae solitudinis, aptus ad praedam, habilis ad rapinam,
habitatoribus suis lapis erat offensiones et petra scandali, utpote
qui stipendiis suis minime contenti totum de alieno parum de suo
possidebant--totius provinciae spolium_." No wonder, therefore, that
James V., on approaching the castle of Lochwood, the antient seat of
the Johnstones, is said to have exclaimed, "that he who built