"About 1820 there lived a Farrier of the name of Keane in the villageof Longformacus in Lammermoor. He was a rough, passionate man, muchaddicted to swearing. For many years he was farrier to the Eagle orSpottiswood troop of Yeomanry. One day he went to Greenlaw to attendthe funeral of his sister, intending to be home early in theafternoon. His wife and family were surprised when he did not appearas they expected and they sat up watching for him. About two o'clockin the morning a heavy weight was heard to fall against the door ofthe house, and on opening it to see what was the matter, old Keane wasdiscovered lying in a fainting fit on the threshold. He was put tobed and means used for his recovery, but when he came out of the fithe was raving mad and talked of such frightful things that his familywere quite terrified. He continued till next day in the same state,but at length his senses returned and he desired to see the ministeralone."After a long conversation with him he called all his family round hisbed, and required from each of his children and his wife a solemnpromise that they would none of them ever pass over a particular spotin the moor between Longformacus and Greenlaw, known by the name of'The Foul Fords' (it is the ford over a little water-course just eastof Castle Shields). He assigned no reason to them for this demand,but the promise was given and he spoke no more, and died that evening."About ten years after his death, his eldest son Henry Keane had to goto Greenlaw on business, and in the afternoon he prepared to returnhome. The last person who saw him as he was leaving the town was theblacksmith of Spottiswood, John Michie. He tried to persuade Michieto accompany him home, which he refused to do as it would take himseveral miles out of his way. Keane begged him most earnestly to gowith him as he said he _must_ pass the Foul Fords that night, and hewould rather go through hell-fire than do so. Michie asked him why hesaid he _must_ pass the Foul Fords, as by going a few yards on eitherside of them he might avoid them entirely. He persisted that he_must_ pass them and Michie at last left him, a good deal surprisedthat he should talk of going over the Foul Fords when every one knewthat he and his whole family were bound, by a promise to their deadfather, never to go by the place."Next morning a labouring man from Castle Shields, by name AdamRedpath, was going to his work (digging sheep-drains on the moor),when on the Foul Fords he met Henry Keane lying stone dead and with nomark of violence on his body. His hat, coat, waistcoat, shoes andstockings were lying at about 100 yards distance from him on theGreenlaw side of the Fords, and while his flannel drawers were off andlying with the rest of his clothes, his trousers were on. Mr. Ord,the minister of Longformacus, told one or two persons what John Keane(the father) had said to him on his deathbed, and by degrees the storygot abroad. It was this. Keane said that he was returning homeslowly after his sister's funeral, looking on the ground, when he wassuddenly roused by hearing the tramping of horses, and on looking uphe saw a large troop of riders coming towards him two and two. Whatwas his horror when he saw that one of the two foremost was the sisterwhom he had that day seen buried at Greenlaw! On looking further hesaw many relations and friends long before dead; but when the two lasthorses came up to him he saw that one was mounted by a dark man whoseface he had never seen before. He led the other horse, which, thoughsaddled and bridled, was riderless, and on this horse the wholecompany wanted to compel Keane to get. He struggled violently, hesaid, for some time, and at last got off by promising that one of hisfamily should go instead of him."There still lives at Longformacus his remaining son Robert; he hasthe same horror of the Foul Fords that his brother had, and will notspeak, nor allow any one to speak to him on the subject."Three or four years ago a herd of the name of Burton was found deadwithin a short distance of the spot, without any apparent cause forhis death." {272}
