As you perhaps know, golf originated in Scotland. St. Andrews is the place where it started. Some say that it was first begun by the shepherds. It is thought that they used to knock small stones with their crooks as they strolled behind their sheep.
On went Sandy to Melrose. He passed the Eildon Hills where King Arthur and his knights are supposed to be buried. This is the spot where, 'tis said, Sir Walter Scott used to stop his horses every day.
He paused here because he loved to look at the glorious view behind. His horses knew the spot so well that they would stop here of their own accord. On the day of Sir Walter's funeral, when they were taking his body to the Abbey, the horses stopped once more.
In Alloway is the house where the great Scotch poet, Robert Burns, lived. Every day it is shown to hundreds of visitors, who pay to go in and look at the curious old place.
Its quaint furniture and interesting manuscripts and pictures are all connected with the beloved poet. In the gardens are statues representing many of the characters in Burns' poems. "Poosie Nancy," "Tam O' Shanter," and many others are there.
Another town made famous by a Scottish character is Maxwelltown, or Maxwelton, where Annie Laurie lived.
Passing an ancient graveyard, Sandy stops to marvel at some huge slabs of iron. These are still kept to show how, in the seventeenth century, the dead were held down in their graves.
[Illustration: THE HOME OF "THE FAIR MAID OF PERTH"]
These heavy slabs were put on top of the dead. This was done to keep them from being dug up by robbers. The thieves would steal and sell them to doctors and medical students.
The signing of the Covenant was to Scotland what the signing of the Declaration of Independence was to America. It was the beginning of freedom!
James VI of Scotland tried to force the people into his own religious beliefs. They refused to be led. On the first day of March, 1768, in the Old Greyfriars Churchyard, the Covenant was signed.
The signing was done on a flat gravestone, which is there to this day. And so, just as America has a Liberty Bell, Scotland has a Liberty Stone.
As Sandy's old handcart rattles through each little Scottish town, he is impressed with the many bookshops he sees in his country. The Scotch are enthusiastic readers. Their love and desire for education are national traits.