g it reduced to a heap of ruins. This destructive
invasion must have taxed the energies of his large army, as it is said
that the Armstrongs and Elliots had fifty keeps and castles on the banks
of the Liddle. It is one thing, however, to destroy the rookeries; it is
another and totally different thing to exterminate the crows. The Border
thieves were not difficult to accommodate. They were inured to hardship.
It was a necessity of their mode of life. Their "peels" and "towers" might
be in ruins, but it never seemed to have occurred to them to go elsewhere,
at least for any length of time. As soon as the avenging army had
withdrawn, they were back to their old haunts, and in a short time had
them as comfortable as ever. When a community has been demoralized by long
continued misgovernment, the mere application of brute force does not go
far in the way of restraining them, or helping them toward a better mode
of life--a lesson which governments are often slow to learn.

But this work of "dauntoning the thieves" was also occasionally undertaken
by the wardens with considerable heartiness, more especially when dealing
with unfortunate culprits from the opposite wardenry. Sir Robert Cary
frequently distinguished himself in this way. In his chatty and
interesting "Memoirs," he tells a story of one _Geordie Bourne_, whom he
caused to be hanged on account of his villainies. It is to be hoped that
the picture he has drawn of this man is not representative of the reivers
as a whole, as it is hardly possible to conceive of a more consummate
scoundrel. We shall let the warden tell the story in his own words. He
says:--"This gallant with some of his associates, would, in a bravery,
come and take goods in the East March. I had that night some of the
garrison abroad. They met with this Geordie and his fellows driving off
cattle before them. The garrison set upon them, and with a shot killed
Geordie Bourne's uncle, and he himself bravely resisting, till he was sore
hurt in the head, was taken. After he was taken, his pride was such as he
asked who it was that durst avow that night's work? But when he heard it
was the garrison, he was then more quiet. But so powerful and awful was
this Sir Robert Car and his favourites, as there was not a gentleman in
the East March that durst offend them. Presently, after he was taken, I
had most of the gentlemen of the March come to me, and told me that now I
had the ball at my foot, and might bring Sir