The castle of Lochmaben is said to have been the residence of Robert Bruce while Lord of Allandale. Hence, as a royal fortress, the keeping of it was always granted to some powerful lord. There is extant a grant giving to one of these, Robert Lauder, the office of Captain and Keeper of Lochmaben Castle for seven years, and among his perquisites were "lands stolen from the King"! The inhabitants of four small villages near the castle have each still to this day a right to a small piece of ground. These people are descendants of Robert Bruce’s retainers, to whom he assigned these portions of land in reward for faithful service, and there are still to be found some families (_e.g._ the Richardsons of Lochmaben) who hold their lands direct from the times of Bruce without a break. "O heard ye na o’ the silly blind Harper, How long he lived in Lochmaben town? And how he wad gang to fair England, To steal the Lord Warden’s Wanton Brown? But first he gaed to his gude wyfe, Wi’ a’ the haste that he could thole[#] ’This wark,’ quo’ he, ’will ne’er gae well Without a mare that has a foal.’ [#] Suffer. Quoth his wife, "Thou hast a good grey mare that can jump both high and low; so set thee on her back and leave the foal at home with me." Away went the Harper to England as fast as he might, and when he came to Carlisle gate, who should be there but the Warden himself? "’Come into my hall, thou silly blind Harper, And of thy harping let me hear!’ ’O, by my sooth,’ quo’ the silly blind Harper, ’I wad rather hae stabling for my mare." The Warden looked o’er his left shoulder, And said unto his stable groom— ’Gae take the silly blind Harper’s mare, And tie her beside my Wanton Brown.’" So the Harper harped and sang, the lordlings danced, and so sweet was the music that the groom forgot all about the stable door. Still the Harper harped on till all the nobles were fast asleep, when he quickly took off his shoes, crept softly down the stair, and hied with light tread to the stable door, which he opened and entered. He found there three-and-thirty steeds. He took a colt’s halter which he had hidden in his hose, slipped it over Wanton Brown, tied it to the grey mare’s tail, and turned them both loose at the castle gate. Away they went over moor and moss and dale, and the mare never let Wanton rest a moment, but kept him galloping home to her foal. So swift of foot was she, and knew her way so well, that she reached Lochmaben a good three hours before daybreak. When she came to the Harper’s door, she neighed and snorted. "Rise up," shouted the Harper’s wife, "thou lazy lass, and let in thy master and his mare." The lass rose up, put on her clothes and looked through the lock-hole. "By my sooth," cried she, "our mare has got a fine brown foal!"