| He took the strong fortress of Roxburgh by escalade, 20th March 1342. For this important service King David II injudisciously bestowed on Ramsay the office of Sheriff of Teviotdale, which William Douglas. the knight of Liddisdale, then held. From that moment Douglas, once the friend and companion in arms of Ramsay, became his implacable enemy. According to the duty of his office Ramsay held a court in the church of Hawick. Douglas came with an armed retinue, and was courteously welcomed by the nobleminded and unsuspicious Ramsay, 20th June 1342. Douglas dragged Ramsay from the judgement seat and conveyed his prey tot he castle of Hermitage, where he shut him up in a dungeon, and left him to perish of famine. Ramsay supported a miserable existence for seventeen days. Thus perished one of the barvest and worthiest of the Scottish nation.57 |