He instantly flew upon Dickie,
and was about to poniard him, when the marauder, with the address
noticed by Lesley, protested that he would never have touched a
_cloot_ (hoof) of them, had he not taken them for Drummelziar's
property. This dexterous appeal to Veitch's passions saved the life of
the freebooter.]
The inroads of the marchers, when stimulated only by the desire
of plunder, were never marked with cruelty, and seldom even with
bloodshed, unless in the case of opposition. They held, that property
was common to all who stood in want of it; but they abhorred and
avoided the crime of unnecessary homicide.--_Lesley_, p. 63. This was,
perhaps, partly owing to the habits of intimacy betwixt the borderers
of both kingdoms, notwithstanding their mutual hostility, and
reciprocal depredations. A natural intercourse took place between
the English and Scottish marchers, at border meetings, and during the
short intervals of peace. They met frequently at parties of the chace
and foot-ball; and it required many and strict regulations, on
both sides, to prevent them from forming intermarriages, and from
cultivating too close a degree of intimacy.--_Scottish Acts_, 1587,
c. 105; _Wharton's Regulations, 6th Edward VI._ The custom, also, of
paying black-mail, or protection-rent, introduced a connection betwixt
the countries; for, a Scottish borderer, taking black-mail from
an English inhabitant, was not only himself bound to abstain from
injuring such person, but also to maintain his quarrel, and recover
his property, if carried off by others.
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