Bog-Myrtle and Peat: Tales Chiefly of Galloway Gathered from the Years 1889 to 1895

In Short

S. R. Crockett’s Bog-Myrtle and Peat is a rich, evocative mosaic of regional short stories, character sketches, and verse set primarily in late nineteenth-century Dumfries and Galloway. Moving seamlessly across historical Jacobite rebellion, quiet village romances, comedic kirk politics, and childhood adventures, the collection captures the vibrant pulse of southwest Scotland. Its endurance rests on Crockett's sharp ear for lowland Scots dialogue, his deep affection for his native landscape, and his balanced portrayal of human eccentricity, stern Calvinist piety, and profound romantic longing.

The Story

The book opens with a stirring poetic overture celebrating the Jacobite uprising of 1715, setting a tone of historical romance and fierce regional loyalty. From this legendary past, the narrative shifts into "Adventures," introducing central narrative arcs such as the poignant, tragic romance of Grace Allen at the Black Water. Grace secretly crosses the water to meet her lover, Gregory Jeffray, her heart enveloped in a sweet content, completely blind to the silent pain of Aunt Annie and the sharp reproaches of Barbara. The tranquil summer gives way to the sudden, shattering "sword of God" in mid-September, establishing Crockett's interest in the fragile nature of human happiness.

The narrative lens expands beyond Galloway to include dramatic, far-flung tales—a sinister bedtime story told to children about six lagoon fishermen who set a dead man in the prow of their boat to terrify a young boy, a breathless romantic intrigue set beside a quiet foreign lake involving a injured narrator and an imperious Countess, and even the tense urban chaos of Paris during the Franco-Prussian conflict, where a disguised hussar named Jacob Oertler watches his former sergeant, Strauss, ride coolly through hostile crowds.

Returning home to the Scottish hills, the collection transitions into "Intimacies," "Histories," and "Idylls," exploring the rhythms of daily life. We follow young Simeon Gleg and the fiery Anna as they row into the open sea past the Glistering Beaches toward Suliscanna, hunting for the mythical Great Auk. In the valleys below, the book depicts the strict home life at Drumquhat, where Saunders M'Quhirr leads his family in Sabbath worship from a hairy calf-skin Bible, while young Walter navigates the perils of classroom "trapping." Romance is often treated with dry, local humor, as seen in the awkward courtship of Tammock Thackanraip, who gets rejected by Tibby of the Hilltap for bringing "a weather-glass in the sma' o' his back" to his proposal, only to promptly marry Bell Mulwhulter instead.

As the collection advances through "Tales of the Kirk," it exposes the humorous side of ecclesiastical conflicts, from the tactical maneuverings of school board meetings to the sudden, stick-wielding wrath of an old parish minister driving an overly enthusiastic "helper" out of Whunnyliggate. Yet alongside comedy, gentle tenderness prevails—most acutely in the story of Jaikie, a lame, orphaned boy who crawls across the sharp garden gravel at night to water his friend's dying flowers. The work concludes with an extended prose and poetic epilogue celebrating the natural night-to-dawn cycles of the Galloway woods, closing with Andrew Lang's verses honoring the enduring, fragrant memory of Northern moorlands.

How It Unfolds

The blaze on the braes Poetic verses recall the 1715 Jacobite rising, where Kenmure Gordon rides out to battle for King James across the sea, sacrificing his lands and life for his sworn loyalty.

A cry across the water Grace Allen secretly rows across the Black Water to meet Gregory Jeffray in July's heat, ignoring warnings of heartbreak until catastrophe strikes in mid-September.

The seven dead men A eerie tale unfolds of six fishermen who place a corpse in their boat's prow to trick a young boy, while in a distant valley a lover suffers a gunshot wound before his beloved countess departs for Milan.

Flight through Paris Jacob Oertler hides his true identity as a German hussar during the siege of Paris, weeping with pride as his old sergeant rides stolidly through howling mobs of French National Guards.

The quest for the Gare Fowl Young Anna convinces a skeptical island boy named Simeon to row into treacherous open waters toward Suliscanna to hunt for a rare Great Auk worth a hundred pounds.

The Sabbath at Drumquhat Saunders M'Quhirr gathers his household around a hairy calf-hide Bible for morning prayers, while young Walter plots his academic advancement in the local schoolhouse.

Tammock’s rejected suit Tammock Thackanraip describes his failed proposal to Tibby of the Hilltap, who refuses a man with back pain, prompting him to instantly propose to his second choice.

Midnight in the garden The crippled orphan Jaikie painfully crawls out of bed and across the sharp garden gravel on his bare knees to water the drooping clove carnations and musk monkey-flowers.

Dismissal at Whunnyliggate An old, angry parish minister interrupts a new Sabbath school, striking his young assistant with an oaken stick and banishing him from the parish for "sugarin' the bairns."

The old schoolmaster's revenge A former pupil visits the aging, retired schoolmaster John to reminisce about childhood pranks, violent lickerings, and the night they spilled two water cans over his doorstep.

Dawn in Galloway The book closes with an immersive meditation on the transition from night to day in the Galloway woods, capped by Andrew Lang's verses praising the native moorland air.

The People

• Grace Allen: A gentle, innocent young woman who falls deeply in love with Gregory Jeffray. She spends her summer days in radiant content, oblivious to social shame, familial warnings, or coming tragedy.
• Aunt Annie: Grace’s protective, grief-stricken aunt. She wanders the banks of the Black Water like a grey ghost and repeatedly lies to protect her niece from harsh scrutiny.
• Anna: A fiercely determined, literate young girl who reads her father's books and convinces her reluctant peer to row into dangerous open waters to search for rare birds.
• Simeon Gleg: An island boy of practical, skeptical nature. He doubts Anna's tall tales of steam-boats and expensive birds until she mentions the legendary "Gare Fowl."
• Tammock Thackanraip: A pragmatic Scottish suitor whose physical ailments ruin his romantic prospects with his preferred lady, driving him to quickly secure a willing substitute.
• Jaikie: A brave, frail orphan living at the manse. Despite suffering severe leg pain that keeps him awake all night, his selfless heart drives him to perform quiet acts of kindness.
• David Armitt (The Old Tory): A stubborn, fierce political partisan who flies his yellow flag, busks salmon hooks with a blunderbuss beside him, and gleefully antagonizes his Radical neighbors.

In Its Own Voice

"As she set the boat to the shore and came up the bank bearing the oars which were her wings into the world of love under the green alders, the light in the west, lingering clear and pure and cold, shone upon her and added radiances to her eyes." Grace Allen returns from a secret evening meeting across the Black Water with her lover.

"'Gin ye think that Tibby o' the Hilltap is gaun to marry a man wi' his een in his pooch an' a weather-glass in the sma' o' his back, ye're maist notoriously mista'en,' says she." Tammock Thackanraip recalls the blunt rejection he received from the woman he courted.

"You have no idea how badly gravel hurts your knees when they are bare." The lame boy Jaikie reflects on his excruciating middle-of-the-night crawl to water the garden flowers.

What It's Really About

At its heart, the collection explores the friction between rigid societal structures—be they religious, political, or class-based—and the chaotic, generous impulses of the human spirit. Crockett examines how faith manifests not through formal church dogmas, but through personal loyalty, quiet sacrifice, and steadfast endurance. He contrasts the stern, unyielding Calvinism of the Scottish elders with the natural, unstudied grace of childhood and young love. The book continually weighs the isolation of remote moorland communities against the deep sense of belonging provided by shared memory, local folklore, and an intimate connection to the soil. Ultimately, it argues that human dignity resides in loyalty to one's own truths, whether standing alone in political opposition or silently bearing physical pain for another's sake.

Why Read It Today

Bog-Myrtle and Peat offers modern readers a vivid, sensory gateway into a bygone rural world. Fans of classic regional fiction, historical short stories, and Scottish folklore will find themselves thoroughly absorbed by Crockett's affectionate storytelling. The reading experience feels like sitting by a warm peat fire while an old master raconteur weaves tales that shift effortlessly between melancholic romance, eerie mystery, and laugh-out-loud local comedy.

The collection does present certain hurdles for the casual reader: the heavy use of nineteenth-century Scots dialect requires an adjusting ear, and modern readers may occasionally wince at period attitudes toward corporal punishment in schools or religious sectarianism. Furthermore, because it is an anthology of varied short pieces rather than a single continuous novel, the narrative focus shifts frequently between disparate settings and tones. Yet these minor difficulties are far outweighed by the book’s extraordinary atmosphere. Crockett’s lingering descriptions of the wet heather, the quiet lochs, and the crisp morning air of Galloway stay with you long after the final page is turned.