more details on Armstrong, Buccleuch, and the raid on Carlisle Castle. Armstrong was riding home in Liddesdale when he was pursued by 200 followers of the English deputy, Thomas Salkeld. He was captured after a chase of four miles and taken to Carlisle. The Laird of Buccleuch complained to the deputy and the warden Lord Scrope, and also asked Sir Robert Bowes to write to Scrope. Buccleuch received no reply and interpreted this as an insult to James VI. He sent men to Carlisle to examine a postern gate and the height of the walls. A woman went into the castle as a visitor to identify where Armstrong was held. He mustered 200 men at the Tower of Morton (Sark Tower) on the River Sark with scaling ladders and siege tools. They reached Stanwix Bank to cross the River Eden two hours before dawn. The ladders were too short so his men broke through the wall near the postern gate. They fought with the watchmen and sentinels while Scrope and Salkeld and their men held back, and then withdrew with Armstrong and some other prisoners. According to this narrative, Buccleuch returned the other prisoners and looted goods, and only the gate and prison door were damaged. In July 1596 Armstrong was said to have captured Thomas Musgrave, Captain of Bewcastle, in Scotland and transferred him to royal custody at Hawick. James VI was said to be pleased because Musgrave was a lawful prisoner in comparison with Armstrong's recent detention at Carlisle Castle. In 1600, Armstrong attacked the village of Scotby with 140 riders, burning and taking prisoners and cattle. In 1602 he rode his last foray, south of Carlisle. He was still alive two years later, and his four sons who had helped to get him out of Carlisle Castle are frequently named in the later Border raids. Legend supposes he died in his bed of old age, sometime between 1608 and 1611. The story of the raid on Carlisle Castle is told in the ballad "Kinmont Willie" (Child No. 186). Diplomacy and the English subsidy Since 1586 Queen Elizabeth had sent James VI a yearly sum of money or subsidy. Because of the Kinmont Willie incident, she delayed or refused to give the money to David Foulis who waited in London. James VI wrote to Foulis to continue asking for the money, and pointed to agreements made in 1588