The Republic of Scotland

After this are the regions not of great size, Liddesdale, Ewesdale, and Eskdale, named from three rivers of related names: the Liddel, the Ewes, and the Esk.

The last is Annandale, itself named from the river Annan which divides it nearly in the middle, flowing down toward the Solway into the Irish Sea.

CAMDEN. Commonly Annandale, that is, the valley by the river Annan. What sort of men those who inhabit these border valleys of the kingdoms are, John Leslie, a Scot himself and Bishop of Ross, says: "By night, in troops, they go forth from their own borders through trackless places and many winding paths. By day, in prearranged hiding places, they refresh their horses and their strength until at last, through the darkness, they arrive where they wish. Having seized their plunder, they return to their own lands in similar fashion at night, only through circuits and out-of-the-way paths. Whoever is the most experienced guide through those solitudes, windings, and precipices in the middle of thick haze and darkness, he, as one excellent in natural ability, is held in greater honor: and they are of such cunning that they very rarely allow their plunder to be snatched from them, unless they are sometimes captured by their adversaries, following the scent of the dogs, or by the tracks of the horses." Moreover, if they are captured, they possess such eloquence and the sweetest flowing allurements of words, that they strongly move even judges and adversaries, however severe, if not to mercy, at least to admiration and pity as well.