Minstrelsy of the Scottish border - National Library of Scotland

THE SCOTTISH BORDER. 131
' Up with the Sutors of Selkirk,
' And down wi' the Earl of Home ;
' And up wi' a' the bra' lads
' That sew the single-soled shoon.'
" It is evident, that these words cannot be so ancient
" as to come near the time when the battle was fought
'f as Lord Home was not created an Earl till near a cen-
" tiiry after that period.
" Our clergyman, in the " Statistical Account," vol.
" II. p. 48, note, says, that these words were composed
" upon a match at foot-ball, between the Philiphaugh
" and Home families. I was five years at school at Sel-
" kirk, have lived all my days within two miles of that
" town, and never once heard a tradition of this imagi-
" nary contest till I saw it in print.
" Although the words are not very ancient, there is
" every reason to believe, that they allude to the battle
" of Flodden, and to the different behaviour of the sou-
'' ters, and Lord Home, upon that occasion. At election
" dinners, &c. when the Selkirk folks begin to getfoii,
" (merry) they always call for music, and for that tune
" in particular.* At such times I never heard a souter
" hint at the foot-ball, but many times speak of the bat-
* A singular custom is observed at conferring the freedom of the
burgh. Four or five bristles, such as are used by shoemakers, are at-
tached to the seal of the burgess ticket. These the new-made burgess
must dip in his wine, and pass through his mouth, in token of respect
for the souters of Selkirk. This ceremony is on no account dispensed
with.
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