THE LIFE OF JAMES ALLAN. CHAPTER I. The Allan Family---Birth of William, the Father of James--- His Person and Pursuits---Removes to Rothbury, and marries a Gipsy Girl---Anecdotes of his second Wife---His Dogs and Success in Otter Hunting---Anecdote of Lord Ravensworth---Will's Search for his Dog Peachem--- His Independence and Dislike of soft Beds---Made Water-keeper of the Coquet--- His Attachment to that River ---Excels in Pipe Music--- His Minstrel Pride--- His last Days---Dies playing a favourite Air---Poetically described in the Lay of the Reedwater Minstrel. THE name of the family of Allan is familiar to all the inhabitants of the north of England, where the recital of their many singular exploits continues to excite feelings of the most lively interest. Some have doubted whether the Allans were genuine Gipsies. It is certain that they displayed all the peculiarities of that caste; but whether these were acquired by adoption, or by their regular descent from the original stock, is unknown. The latter is the most probable opinion. William Allan, commonly called "old Wull," the father of James, the subject of these memoirs, was born in 1704, at Bellingham, in the parish of Si monburn,* in the west of Northumberland. He was a man of much rustic shrewdness, dry wit, and proud independence. Hating the unremitted toils, and despising the refined comforts of civilized life, he loved to indulge in his own simple feelings of enjoyment, and to resist all powers but those of nature and of necessity. In person he was about six feet high, raw-boned, and agile, with a hardy, weather-beaten complexion. He became, in early life, an expert and skilful player on the bagpipes, which endeared him to his Gipsy associates, and secured him the warm hospitality of the merry and spirited inhabitants of North Tindale. When obliged to seek shelter from the storms of winter in his native hut, he added to his means of subsistence by mending pots and pans, and by making spoons, besoms, and baskets; but when the season and the weather permitted, he was always engaged in travelling, or in his favourite employment, fish This wild, romantic, and mountainous parish, was 103 miles in circumference. The inhabitants, who were divided into clans, were always celebrated for their bold, adroit, predatory exploits; and even so late as the reign of Queen Anne, the industrious paid a kind of protection tribute to the most powerful chiefs. Many of the Incorporated Companies of Newcastle upon Tyne refused to take a native of Tindale for an apprentice. But the rebellion in 1715 removed the more daring spirits from this district. A bold and desperate outlaw, commonly called Sir William Brown, who was hanged at Newcastle in 1743, was the last distinguished head of the Border thieves or Moss-troopers. Hareshaw Common, near Bellingham, contains above 7000 acres, so that this place was excellently well adapted for the rendezvous of wandering vagabonds. In 1811, Simonburn parish was divided into five distinct rectories, and the inhabitants have long since become as honest and nearly as sedate as their neighbours. ing. In this art his skill and dexterity were confessedly unrivalled. This attachment to fishing was so strongly displayed in all the members of his family, that a gentleman well acquainted with their pursuits once observed, "that if any of the Allan family were dying, the very mention of a salmon would bring them to life again." At an early period of Will's life, he and his brother James left the place of their nativity, and took up their station in the romantic wilds of Rothbury.* Amongst other attractions this place possessed, it was the head quarters of a strong gang of Gipsies. At Swindon were several houses, formerly occupied by colliers; but on the working of the adjoining pit being abandoned, the workmen removed, and their cottages were immediately converted into a Gipsy station. Here Will and his pipes were engaged in many a midnight revel. At this place he married a fine Gipsy girl, named Betty, who bore Rothbury parish, which occupies a central situation in Northumberland, consists partly of naked rocks, sterile mountains, dreary morasses, and bleak heaths, and partly of highly cultivated lands, with extensive and fertile haughs, through which The crystal rivulet, that o'er A stony channel rolls its rapid maze, In fact, the Coquet is one of the pleasantest trout streams in England. Previous to the Union, the inhabitants of this district, in consequence of constant feuds and alarms, were fierce, daring, and subtle; and when the authority of law began to operate, they became equally famous for poaching, drinking, gambling, and fighting. During the last century, these habits gradually grew weaker; but a passionate fondness for music retained all its ancient vigour. Considering all these circumstances, Allan shewed much judgment in the selection of his residence. B care. him several children, amongst whom was the extraordinary character that occupies the chief place in the subsequent pages of this work. Betty died in the prime of life, and left some of her children too young and helpless to dispense with a mother's But old Will, during his next summer's excursion into Roxburghshire, found a young woman who readily consented to share in his fortunes. A large party of the Gipsy community witnessed this contract; and four Border pipers assisted, by the high tone of their music, to impart cheerfulness and mirth to the scene. The woman whom old Allan now married was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister. Though well educated, she had been carefully shut out from all intercourse with the world. Her inexperience, and the insufferable harshness of her parents, combined to render her the dupe of an English officer residing at Kelso. With him she fled to the enjoy. ment of riches, honour, and happiness; but her gay seducer soon became tired and disgusted with his conquest, and abandoned her to disgrace and poverty. From the south of England, she travelled to seek the forgiveness and protection of her parents. During her long and painful journey, she subsisted on casual charity. In the north of Yorkshire, she arrived in the evening at a large farmhouse, where she humbly begged for shelter and refreshment. The churlish farmer had just dismounted, having been at a parish meeting. He called her a Scotch thief and vagabond, and threatened to set his dogs upon her. The animals either knew their master's habits, or received a sign of direction; for two fierce dogs instantly attacked her, lacerated her legs, and would have endangered her life, had not a man come out of the stable and called them off. The poor, hunted, desolate girl regained the high road, and travelled on, weary, hungry, and bleeding. The night grew dark, sheets of lightning illumined the heavens, the roll of thunder was tremendous, and the rain fell in torrents. On turning a corner of the road, she heard voices as if coming out of the earth. She fell senseless upon the ground, and, on reviving, found herself in a Gipsy tent. An old woman kindly begged that she would dismiss all fear, said that their voices had, no doubt, startled her, but that after taking some refreshment she would soon recover. The poor unprotected traveller told her sad tale of woe without disguise, and received the sympathy of the humane strollers. The old woman dressed her wounds, and took her into her own tent, which stood parallel with the larger one. Next day she was dismissed, with a small bagful of meat, amongst which was a boiled chicken. From this circumstance, the poor unfortunate conceived a high opinion of the pleasures of a vagabond life; and when her father sternly spurned her from his door, she resolved to join the Gipsy train. At this time, old Allan met her at Swinton, in Berwick shire, and offered her his hand, which she gladly accepted, after stipulating that their marriage feast should be held near to her father's Manse, which she judged to be a just revenge for the unfeeling cruelties she had experienced from her proud and unnatural parents. She never afterwards appeared |