Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 07
General
Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 07
Scottish Borders (Scotland) -- Fiction
Judith sank down by the dead body of Walter, and her tears fell upon his
face. Her cries reached the encampment, where her parents and others of
her race were. They hastened to the wood from whence her cries
proceeded, and found her stretched upon the ground, her arms encircling
the neck of the dead. They raised her in their arms, and tried to soothe
her, but she screamed the more wildly, and seemed as one whose senses
grief has bewildered.
"Judith," said her father, "speak to me, bairn--wha has done this? Was
it----"
"Gemmel!--wicked Gemmel!" she cried; and in the same breath added, "No!
no!--it wasna him! It was me!--it was me! It was fause Judith."
Gemmel Græme, however, had dropped his pistol on the ground when he
beheld his victim fall, and one of the party taking it up, they knew him
to be the murderer. Lussha Fleckie, touched by his daughter's grief, and
disappointed by his dream of vain ambition being broken, caused each of
his party to take a vow that they would search for Gemmel Græme, and
whosoever found him should take blood for blood upon his head.
And they did search, but vainly, for Gemmel was no more heard of.
Twelve months passed, and autumn had come again. A young maniac mother,
with a child at her breast, and dressed as a gipsy, endeavoured to cross
the Tweed between Norham and Ladykirk. The waters rose suddenly, and as
they rose she held her infant closer to her bosom, and sang to it; but
the angry flood bore away the maniac mother and her babe. She was
rescued and restored to life, though not to reason, but the child was
seen no more.
For thirty years the poor maniac continued at intervals to visit the
fatal spot, wandering by the river, stretching out her arms, calling on
her child, saying, "Come to me--come to yer mother, my bonny bairn, for
ye are heir o' Riccon, and why should I gang shoeless amang snaw! Come
to me--it was cruel Gemmel Græme that murdered yer bonny faither--it
wasna me!"
It was in January the body of a grey-haired woman, covered with a
tattered red cloak, was found frozen and dead, below Norham Castle. It
was the poor maniac Judith, the once beautiful gipsy. Some years
afterwards, an old soldier, who had been in foreign wars, came to reside
in the neighbourhood, and on his death-bed requested that he should be
buried by the side of Judith, and the letters G. G. carved on a stone
over his grave.
THE DROICH.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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