Vol 13 - Dumfriesshire & Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian ...

THE TRANSACTIONS 

Journal of Proceedings 

Dumfriesshire and Galloway 

''^-^L M.^'-' 

Natural History and Antiparian Society 

Fountlecl Noveinlier, 1SQ3 

SEssioisr i89e-07 

PRINTED AT THE STANDARD OFFICE, DUMFRIES 

1898

-S.^.

No. 13. 

THE TRANSACTIONS 

Journal op^ Proceedings 


Natural History and Antiquarian Society 

UTounded. November, IBQS 

SEssion^ i8Qe-9v 

PRINTED AT THE STANDARD OFFICE, DUMFRIES 

1898

Published as a Supplement to volume 12 

Birrens and its Antiquities 

P.Y 

JAMES MACDONALD, LL.D., 

AND 

JAMES BARBOUR, F.S.A.(Scot.). 

Price 3/6. 

:

^ COU NCI L— 1896-7. •# 

Iptesi&ent. 

Sir ROBERT THRESHIE REID, M.A., Q.C., M.P. 

Ii)ice=ipce6l&ent. 

JAMES BARBOUR, F.S.A. 

WILLIAM JARDINE MAXWELL, M.A., Advocate. 

JAMES GIBSON HAMILTON STARKE, M. A., Advocate. 

PHILIP SULLEY, F.S.A., F.R. Hist. Soc. 

ROBERT MURRAY. 

Seccetarg. 

EDWARD JAMES CHINNOCK, LL.D., M.A., LL.B., Fernbank, 

Maxwelltown. 

Q;rea0urer. 

JOHN A. MOODIE, Solicitor, Bank of Scotland, Dumfries. 

Xibcactans an& Curators ot Museum. 

Rev. WILLIAM ANDSON and JAMES LENNOX, F.S.A. 

Curator of Iberbarlum. 

GEORGE F. SCOTT-ELLIOT, M.A., B.Sc, F.L.S., F.R.G.S. 

Assisted by the Misses HANNAY. 

©tber Members. 

Rev. JOHN CAIRNS, M.A. JOHN NEILSON, M.A. 

JAMES DAVIDSON, F.I.C. GEORGE H. ROBB, M.A. 

WILLIAM DICKIE. Dr J. MAXWELL ROSS, M.A. 

JOHN GUNNING. JAMES S. THOMSON. 

MATTHEW JAMIESON. Rev. ROBERT W. WEIR, M.A.

— — — — 

— 

.x?>c. CONTENTS, x^ 

Pa 

Secretary's Report ... ... ... 2 

Treasurer's Report ... ... ... ... • ••• • •.• 2 

Ancient Egyptian Religion 

Botanical Records for 1896 

The Antiquities of Eskdalemnir 

— 

Grant Bey 4 

James 31'Andrew .. 8 

Rev. John G. Dick ... ..13 

Antiquities of Buittle—^fi'. B. F. Tarhef 27 

Notes on Rerrick 

Rev. Geo. M'Conachie and Mr P. StMey ... .. 31 

Report on the Meteorology of Dumfries for 1896 

The Martyr Graves of Wigtownshire 

Hoddom Old Churchyard (Illustrated) 

— 

— — 

— 

Rev. Wm. Andson ... 33 

Rev. John H. Thorn-ton ... ... 39 

George Irvinij ... ... ..42 

Notice of a Pamphlet by the late Mr John Anderson on tlie Riding of 

the Marches, 1 827— ir. ZleVfe 44 

Emu and O.strich Farming in the Highlands of Dumfriesshire 

Richard 

Bell 46 

Ruins and Stones of Holywood Abbey 

History of the Dumfries Savings Bank 

The Ancient Burial recently discovered at Locharbriggs 

The Antiquities of Girthon 

— — 

Dr J. W. Martin ... ... 67 

James Lennox ... ... ... 70 

Jas. Barbour 74 

Rev. W. W. Coats 75 

Some Historical and Antiquarian Notes on the Parish of Cummertrees 

— Rev. William Johnston ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 82 

Notes of a Naturalist in West Africa 

The Castle of Greenan 

Dr J. W. Alartin.. 95 

Rev. R. SimjMon 95 

Children's Singing Games and Rhymes Current in Kirkbean 

S. Arnott 99 

The Old Clock of Kirkcudbright—/oA?i ilf'îe 113 

Glencairn Folk Riddles 

The Battle of Sark 

The Influence of Habitat on Plant Habit 

John Carrie... ... ... ... 115 

George Neihon ... . ... ... ... .. 122 

G. F. Scott-Elliot 131 

Field Meetings ... ... ... ... ... ... .. .. 139 

List of Members ... ... .. ... ... ... ... j^g

Proceedings and Transactions 

OF TUE 


NATURAL HISTORY 4>NTIQUARIjlN SOCIETY. 

Session 1896-7. 

lOth October, 1896. 

ANNUAL MEETING. 

Mr Philip Sulley, Vice-President, in the Chair. 

New Members.—Mr Edward (J. Wrigley, txelston Castle ; 

Dr J. W. Martin, Holywoo'd. 

Dpnations and Exchanges.—The following- were laid on the 

table:—Proceedings of the Natural Science Association of Staten 

Island—Staten Island Names ; Proceedings of the Ilolmesdale 

Natural History Club ; History of the Berwickshu'e Naturalists' 

Club, Vol. 15 ; Transactions of the Meriden Scientific Association ; 

Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society ; The North 

American Fauna, Nos. 10, 11, 12 (from the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture) ; Transactions of the Canadian Institute ; Proceed- 

ings of the Rochester (N, Y.) Academy of Sciences ; Transactions 

of the Natural History Society of Glasgow ; Proceedino-s of the 

Nova Scotian Institute of Science; Annals of the New York 

Academy of Sciences ; County Eecords of the Name French in 

England, A.D. 1100-1350 (presented by the author, A. D. Weld 

French of Boston, U.S.).

2 

Annual Meeting. 

Secretary's Report. 

The Secretary (Dr E. J. Chimiock) read the annual report 

Forty new members were elected during the outgoing- session, 

of whom two are honorary and the rest ordinary members. The 

Society has sustained the loss of four members :—Dr Grant Bey 

of Cairo, Mrs Gunning, Mr John Stevens, Wallace Hall, and 

Major Young of Lincluden. Grant Bey was a contributor to the 

Transactions. His papers were always scholarly and interesting. 

One was received very shortly before his death, which occurred 

suddenly at the Bridge of Allan, where he was for a short holiday. 

Five members have resigned. 

Nine evening meetings and two field meetings have been held. 

The visit to Eskdalemuir in May was successful in an exceptional 

degree. There is evidently a wide field for antiquarian research in 

that district. Twenty-one papers were read at the monthly meet- 

ings, some of them being of exceptional value. The session has 

been principally distinguished by the papers read by Mr Barbour 

and Dr Macdonald descriptive of the Roman Station at Birrens. 

In the middle of the session the Rev. William Andson was 

associated with Mr Lennox in the office of Librarian. The thanks 

of the Society are due to both gentlemen for the careful discharge 

of the duties of their office, as also to the Misses Hannay for 

continuing to take charge of the Herbarium. 

Treasurer's Report. 

The Treasurer (Mr J. A. Moodie) read the Annual Report 

from the 1st October, 1895, to the 30th September, 1896 : 

CHARGE. 

Balance in Savings Bank at close of last account 

Balance in Treasurer's hands at do. 

Subscriptions from 149 Members at 5s each 

Do. 11 do. 2s 6d ,, 

Entrance Fees from 23 New Members . 

Subscriptions paid in advance 

. 

. 

Carry forward ... .. ... ... £45 5 3i 

— 

:

Arrears paid ... 

Copie.s of Transaction.s sold... 

Interest on Bank account ... 

Annual Meeting. 

Brought forward .. 

Proceeds of Dr Macdonald's Lecture on the Inscribed Stones 

of Birrens ... 

Donation from Mr George Neilson, P.F., Glasgow, towards 

cost of publishing his paper on " Old Annan " in Trans- 

actions ... ... ... 

To balance due to Treasurer at 30th Sept., 1896 £2 11 3 

i/Cs.s - Balance in Savings Bank . ... .. 13 7 

. 

£45 5

4 

Ancient Eoyptian Eeligion. 

Election of Offioe-Hearers. 

The following were elected office-bearers and members of 

the Council for the ensuing Session :—President, Sir R. T. Reid, 

AE.P. ; Vice-Presidents, Messrs James G. H. Starke, William J. 

Maxwell, Philip Sulley, and James Barbour ; Secretary, Edward 

J. Chinnock, LL.D. ; Treasurer, Mr John A. Moodie ; Librarians 

and Curators of the Museum, Rev. Wm. Andson and Mr James 

Lennox; Curators of the Herbarium, Mr George F. Scott-Elliot 

and Miss Hannay ; Members of Council, Rev. Robert Weir, Rev. 

John Cairns, Messrs Robert Murray, John Neilson, James S. 

Thomson, .Tames Davidson, George H. Robb, J. Maxwell Ross, 

William Dickie, and Matthew Jamieson. 

Communication. 

Ancient Egyptian Religion. By GRANT Bey. 

A long and interesting paper on this subject by Grant Bey 

was read by Mr Andson. The paper was too long to be given 

in extenso. But the following abstract will give a fair idea of the 

principal points discussed in it : 

— 

In treating of the Ancient Egyptian Religion, the author 

begins with the Cosmogony, or origin of the world. According 

to the' ancient Egyptian belief there existed from all eternity, 

filling the infinitude of space, both matter and spirit. The material 

was called Nu, which in our language means the " primordial 

waters," and the spiritual part was called by different names at 

the ilifferent periods of Egyptian history and at different religious 

centres. At Heliopolis, the most ancient Egyptian sanctuary, the 

primitive universal but latent spirit was called Atum, meaning 

"darkness;" at Thebes, Amon, the "concealed one;" and at 

Memphis, Phtah, " the one which opens," or " moulder," or 

" carver." After remaining for an incalculable time in a passive 

state, the spirit, or Phtah, moved in Nu—the primordial waters 

an idea probably derived from primitive tradition, and reminding 

us of the similar expression in Gen. i. 3. The result was the pro- 

jection of Shu and Tafrut, the one corresponding with the light of 

the day, and the other with the light of the night. We now find 

that the Lotus plant makes its appearance, and out of the full blown 

Lotus flower the primitive spirit Phtah manifested itself in a material 

—

Ancient Ecjyptian Relioion. 5 

form as Ka, the sun-g-od, and furnished him witli material for the 

further creation of the earth and its contents. When Ka couimenced 

to create, he did not do so by tlie ordinary way of g-eneration, but 

by speaking- and using distinct forraulaj. And according to M. 

iSaville, this is one of the most important points of resemblance 

between the Egyptian and Hebrew Cosmogonies. The creation 

of man now took place, and was pictured by Khnum, the spirit of 

Ka, sitting at a potter's wheel and moulding a lump of clay into 

the form of a human body, which he afterwards animated by 

breathing into it the breath of life. Ka himself at this period was 

represented as enthroned on the Lotus fiower, dwelling on the 

earth, and ruling over man. Ka, therefore, was regarded as the 

most ancient king of Egypt in the mythical period of Egypt's his- 

tory. He had his seat of power at Heliopolis, where he built a 

palace, called Nat-Sar, or house of the great one. Ka reigned 

many years over obedient, peaceful, and happy subjects, but a time 

arrived when they became headstrong and unruly, and ultimately 

they rebelled. So Ka called a council, who advised him to punish 

them. The task was committed to Sekhet (a personification of 

the red chemical rays of the sun), who proceeded to smite man- 

kind, first with a destructive drought and then with a deluge, 

from which only a few people were saved through the interven- 

tion of Ka, who had been appeased with a sacrifice. Here, 

apparently, we have the primitive tradition of the flood. Ka is 

then represented as having withdrawn, displeased, from the earth 

to circle round in the heavens, at an unapproachable distance from 

man, leaving him in a hopeless and helpless condition. But at 

length the gods had pity on him, and as he could no more raise 

himself to the level of the gods, the gods lowered themselves by par- 

taking of his nature,and thus they came again to the earth, to rule over 

and have friendly intercourse with man. The priests taught that 

Seb, the earth, and Nut, the sky, had a family of sons and daugh- 

ters, who were partly celestial and partly terrestrial demi-gods. 

The most prominent among these were Osiris, Isis, and Set. Osiris 

was the personification of all that was good, and Set, influenced 

by undue ambition, having conspired against Osiris and killed 

him, he (Set) became the personification of all that was evil. 

Isis, who i? represented as having been the wife as well as the 

sister of Osiris, wept in great distress over the dead body of her 

husband, and while thus engaged she miraculously became preo--

6 

Ancient Egyptian Religion. 

nant, aud in clue time gave birth to a son, Horus, who was destined 

to wage war against Set. This seems to have been intended to 

explain the continuance of good and evil on the earth, and Horus 

henceforth occupies a prominent place in the Egyptian mythology. 

Osiris before his death was Ka, the sun of the day, but after his 

death he became the sun of the night, and appeared no more upon 

earth in his own person, but in that of his son Horus, who was the 

sun at sunrise, the dispeller of darkness, aud the giver of light and 

life to the world. The death of Osiris appears to have been con- 

sidered as a sacrifice for sin, and it was the only sacrifice of this 

kind in the Egyptian religion. All the others were sacrifices of 

thanksgiving, in which they offered to the gods flowers, fruits, 

meat, and drink, the Egyptians believing that spiritual beings 

lived on the spiritual essences of material things. Osiris, Isis, and 

Horus were universally worshipped as a Triad, and there were 

other Triads that were more or less local in their cultus. They 

had also a moral code, in which the virtues of piety, sobriety, 

gentleness, chastity, the protection of the weak, benevolence 

toward the needy, deference to superiors, and respect for property 

were enjoined. Maspero believes that in the earliest periods the 

relio-ion of the Egyptians was comparatively pure and spiritual, 

but in its later developments became grossly material, a kind of 

nature worship. By degrees animals were introduced as symbols 

of divine attributes, but in course of time the animals themselves 

became the real objects of worship, and each of them was wor- 

shipped as a separate deity. According to the language of 

Paul, they became vain in their imaginations, and changed the 

glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like unto 

corruptible man, and to birds and beasts and creeping things, and 

worshipped and served the creature instead of the Creator. 

The belief of the ancient Egyptians with regard to human 

nature bore a resemblance to that which many modern 

speculators have held, that it was tripartite, consisting of body, 

soul and spirit. They held that man was composed of three 

parts— 1, Sahoo, the fleshy, substantial body ; 2, Ka, the double, 

which was the exact counterpart of the first, only it was spiritual, 

and could not be seen— an intelligence which permeated the whole 

body and guided its different physical functions; and 3, Ba, 

sio-nifying force, the spiritual part of our nature, which fits it for 

union with God. When the Sahoo— the body—died, the Ka and

I 

Ancient Egyptian Religion. 7 

the Ba continued to live, but separated from each other. The Ba, 

after the death of the body, went to the judgment hall of Osiris 

in Amenta, there to be judged according to the deeds done in the 

body, whether good or evil. The justified soul was admitted into 

the presence of Osiris, and made daily progress in the celestial 

life. The Ba was generally represented as a hawk with a human 

head. The hawk was the emblem of Horus, as if the seat of the 

soul was in the head, which was furnished with a hawk's wings to 

enable it to fly from earth to be with Horus, who, before intro- 

ducing it to his father, Osiris, subjected it to the purgatorial fire, 

through which it had to pass to purge it from any earthly dross 

that might still cling to it. The Ka, meaning- double, was repre- 

sented by two human arms elevated at right angles at the elbows 

to indicate that the spiritual body was the exact counterpart of 

the natural or material body, just as one arm is like another, only 

it could not be seen. It was not furnished with wings so that it 

could not leave the earth, but continued to live where it was dis- 

embodied, and more particularly in the tomb, where it could rest 

in the mummy or in the portrait statues placed for it in the ante- 

chamber of the tomb ; and it was for this purpose that the 

Egyptians were in the habit of embalming the bodies of their 

dead. The Ka continued to have hunger and thirst, and was 

supposed to live on the spiritual essence of the offerings brought to 

it. There is some indication of the future union of the Ba or spirit 

to the Ka or spiritual body. But the ancient Egyptians did not 

believe in the resurrection of the Sahoo or material body. The 

Mummy was simply a non- vital resting place for the double or 

spiritual body, and was never quickened again. With regard to 

the future state, the Egyptian priests taught that there were two 

grades of punishment for the condemned Ba. The more guilty 

were condemned to torture and devouring fire until they 

succumbed, and were ultimately annihilated. The less guilty 

were allowed a second probation, and sent back to the earth by 

transmigration int(j the form of some unclean animal. The 

justified soul was assimilated to Osiris, dwelt in his presence, and 

obeyed his commands. It had to take part in the daily celestial 

work, and to be continually attaining more knowledge and wisdom, 

to help it in its progress through the mansions of the blessed. 

The sum of the observations contained in the paper is that in 

the ancient Egyptian religioii, especially in its earlier stages.

8 Botanical Records for 1896. 

there was some reeog-nition of an unnamed Almig-lity Deity, who 

was uncreated and self-existent, but that in course of time the 

attributes of this one God were represented and symbohzed by 

natural objects, which became themselves the objects of super- 

stitious reverence, and were worshipped as separate deities. It is 

interesting to find, however, that in this very ancient religion 

there was a belief in the immortality of the soul, in a judgment 

after death, and in a future state of rewards and punishments 

according to the deeds done in the body. 

13th November, 1896. 

Mr James G. H. Stakke, V.-P., in the Chair. 

Donations and Exchanges.—The Chairman presented three 

Dumfries bi'oadsheets of 1863 and 1865, and also copies of the 

Society's Transactions for 1876-1880. 

The Secretary laid the following on the table :—Annals of 

the New York Academy of Sciences ; Proceedings of the Man- 

chester Microscopical Society ; Proceedings of the x\.cademy of 

Natural Sciences of Philadelphia ; Proceedings of the Sheffield 

Naturalists' Club ; 

Proceedings of the Cardiff Naturalists' Society 

Proceedings of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club. 

I. 

— 

Communications. 

Botanical Records for 1896. By Mr James M'Andkew, 

New-Galloway. 

During my lasD summer holidays (1896) I botanized in three 

different localities, viz., Carsethoru, in Kirkcudbrightshire, and 

Glenluce and Sorbie, in Wigtownshire. In the hope that, as on 

former similar occasions, the results of my work may be interesting 

to other botani.>ts of the Society, I would now desire to make the 

following few remarks : — 

The three south-western counties have now been so fully 

botanized and the results publicly recorded that comparatively 

few new plants are likely to be met with in the district embraced 

in the field of our Society's operations. My list of new finds for 

;

Botanical Records for 1896. 9 

this year is therefore rather meagre and disappointing, and to no 

one more than to myself ; liut ilie next best work to finding new 

records is to confirm old records of the rarer and more interesting 

plants, and to find out as far as one can what plants we now really 

have growing in our district. In this direction there is plenty of 

good, useful, and necessary work to be accomplished in our three 

counties. At Glenluce I was anxious to confirm the existence 

there of some of the rare plants recorded for that parish by the 

Rev. George Wilson. Here I made a new record for Wigtown- 

shire in the grass Milium ejfusum. growing in several places in 

the Wood of Park. The Thalictrum minus on Luce Bay, at the 

east end of the Golf Course, and at the mouth of Luce Water, is 

var. maritimu7n. The Sea Holly, the Horned Poppj', and the Sea 

Bindweed were in abundance at the head of Luce Bay, as was 

also Rtippia rostellata in the lagoons of brackish water round the 

island of St. Helena. On Glenluce Old Abbey I saw Mullein, 

Gromwell, Barbarea, likely praecox, Wall Flower, &c., but I failed 

to find Aru77i jnaculatum and Wall pellitory there, though both of 

these plants have been recorded for the Abbey. Around Glen- 

luce, and principally on the shore, I gathered such rare AVigtown- 

shire plants as Ranunculus sceleratus, Saponaria officinalis and 

Tansy, both outcasts, Malva moschata, Vicia sylvatica, the BuUace 

tree, Galium mollugo, Scabiosa arvensis, Carduus tenuiflorus, 

/uncus maritimus, Scirpus marifi?nus, Spergularia ?ieglecta, and 

rupestris, Sagina apetala, Imt I failed to see Lobelia Dortmanna^ 

Galiu7n cniciatuvi, Teesdalia tiudicaulis (which disappears before 

July), Stachys betonica, and some others. At Whitefield Loch I 

gathered Potamogeton perfoliatus and Fotamogeton lucens, the latter 

being a new record for Wigtownshire. 

At Sorbie the Rev. Mr Gorrie and I paid another visit to 

Ravenstone Loch, which we found much changed since we saw 

it two years ago. It was almost entirely choked up with 

niyriophyllum, so much so that we failed to find even the plants 

we gathered there on the former occasion. This affords a very 

good illustration of how plants, perhaps quite abundant once in a 

certain locality, have got crushed out and have become extinct 

by the overgrowth of ranker and stronger species, or by cultiva- 

tion and drainage and other causes. We looked round the loch 

for Cladium viariscus^ but failed to find it. Typha latifolia grew 

in the loch in great luxuriance and abundance. Thorn apple and


Henbane are spreading, and are now abundant in Rigg- Bay, 

Garliestown. These two, with Black horehound (Ballota nigra) 

and Teasel, are all outcasts from the gardens of Galloway House. 

The two—Chenopodiums and Atriplexes—were in great profusion, 

and among them Atnplex Httoralis, new to Wigtownshire. Beta 

viaritima we also gathered there. In Galloway House Woods 

the Rev. Mr Gorrie gathered Geranium pratense. Further south 

I saw a large bed of Pulicaria dysenterica. At Sorbie I gathered 

Veronica Biixbaumii as a garden weed, and Mentha sativa, var. 

paludosa, by the side of Sorbie Burn. Mr Gorrie finds Utricularia 

intertnedia in Capenoch Moss. To sum up, the following are new 

records for Wigtownshire :— 1, Miliuni effusum, Wood of Park, 

Glenluce; 2, Potamogeton lucens, Whitefield Loch, Glenluce; 3, 

Atriplex Httoralis, Rigg Bay, Garliestown ; 4, Ballota nigra, Rigg 

Bay ; 5, Mentha sativa, var. paludosa, Sorbie Bum ; 6, Carpinus 

betulis (Hornbeam), planted in the woods of Galloway House; 

7, Orobus macrorhizus, var. tetiuifolius, by the Rev. James Gorrie, 

near Moss Park, Sorbie. 

At Carsethorn Mr Samuel Arnott and I had several delightful 

botanical rambles. We were disappointed in not finding several 

of the rare plants recorded for Arbigland, Southerness, and 

surrounding" neighbourhood. Tlie only new record for that 

district and for Kirkcudbrightshire is Potamogeton pectinatus, 

which I gathered in a ditch in the merse west of Southerness. 

In the same ditch g-rew Glyceria or Poa aquatica, the same grass 

which grows in such abundance in the moat of Caerlaverock 

Castle. Now Catabrosa aquatica is recorded for the Merse, west 

of Southerness, and I am almost certain that in this case there has 

been a confusion of names, as the two grasses are very unlike 

each other, though the name aquatica occurs in both. I was glad 

to be able to find and confirm Scirpus Tabernoeinontani in abund- 

ance in the same locality and also north of the mouth of Kirkbean 

Bum. The three plants I was most anxious to find at Southerness 

were Lepturus filiformis, var. incurvatus, the Isle of Man Cabbage, 

and the Sea Bindweed. 1 spent part of two days searching for 

them, but in vain, /uncus Balticus, at Gillfoot, no doubt is a 

mistake, and is an example among several others of plants being 

at first incorrectly named, admitted into a local list, and afterwards 

copied by succeeding compilers. Among plants I gathered 

in the neighbourhood of Carsethorn and Southerness were Hippiiris

Botanical Kecoeds for 1896. 11 

vulgaris, Epilobiums angustifolium, parviflorum. and hirsutum 

Wild celery, Jicncus obtusiflorus, in great abundance, Scrophularia 

aqualica, Gipsy wort, and Ruppia rostellata are still about the 

Needle's Eye in Colvend ; Myrrhis odoraia. Hop plant, Convol- 

vulus, Poteiitilla reptans, Galium cruciatitm, were in abundance; 

on the roadside at Caveus I confirmed Leontodoii hispidus for 

Kirkcudbrightshire. Along the Arbigland shore I gathered Black 

medick, Mullein. Ononis spinosa, Sanguisorba officinalis. Wild 

marjoram, Calatnintha clinopodium, Arabis hirsuia, Horned poppy 

and Sea holly getting very scarce. In the Arbigland Woods I 

saw Moneywort, Teasel, Periwinkle. Epipactis latifolia, Carex 

remota, i&c ; near Southerness, Teesdalia iiudicaulis ; in Kirkconnel 

Moss, Drosera intermedia and Andromeda polifolia ; near Kirk- 

bean, Rammculus floribundus, Allium catinatum, and Claytonia 

alsinoides, a North American plant fast becoming naturaUzed 

near Carsethorn, Genista tinctoria, Blysmus compressus, and Senecio 

viscosus ; Wild succory has been got near Kirkbean ; Valeriatia 

pyrenaica in Kirkbean Churchyard. I did not see Bromus erectus 

in Newabbey Churchyard, neither did I see Inula crithmoides nor 

Puncaria dysenierica from Arbigland. Goat's beard is occasionally 

got. On Criffel, which is rather unproductive in plants, I gathered 

Lycopodium selago, Vaccinium Vitis-ida'a, but not Saiix herbacea, 

which I expected to find there. In Kirkbean Glen I got Campatiula 

lati/olia, Stellaria nemorum, Carex sylvatica, Milium 

effusum, Festuca gigantea, Melica uniflora, Bromus asper, and 

Poiystichum lobatum. On Criffel I gathered the mosses Rhabdoiv- 

eissia denticulata, Racomitrium ellipticuni, ffyp?ium giganteum, 

Byruin alpinum, Zieria julacea, anrl the rare Rhabioweissia cren- 

ulatus and the Hepatics Blepharozia ciliaris, Diplophyllum 

Dicksoni, and Lophozia incisa ; in Kirkconnel Moss, Mylia 

anomala ; in Kirkbean Burn, Anomodon viticulosum, Hypnum 

depressum; and in Preston Mill Glen, Hypnum fluviatile. West 

of Southerness I gathered Hypnimi lutescens, the first record of 

this moss for Kirkcudbrightshire. The Hepatic Lophozia capitata 

is also a new record for the Bennan Ilill, Kirkcudbrig-htshire. I 

may also add Hedivigia ciliata, var. striata, for New Galloway. I 

got Poa trivialis, var. Kceleri^ near New Galloway. 

In conclusion, I would desire to remark that in looking over 

Mr G. P. Scott-Elliot's " Flora of Dumfriesshire," which is a very 

complete record of the plants of the three south-western counties. 

;


there are several points wliich re(iuire elucidation, and I shall take 

the present opportunity of directing the attention of local botanists 

to some of these, in the hope that endeavours will be made to solve 

them. For instance, none of the following seaside plants liave as 

yet been recorded for Dumfriesshire, though many of them are to 

be found in Kirkcudbrightshire on the eastern bank of the Eiver 

Nith, and this fact affords a reasonable probability that some of 

them will yet be get between the mouths of the Nith and the Esk. 

They are Scirpus Taberncemontani^ Senebiera coronbpus^ Ligustiaim 

scoticum., Crithmum jnaritimuin, Inula crit/wioides, Pulicaria 

dysenterica, Mertensia maritima, Beta marititna, Atriplex laciniata, 

Zostera marifta, Ruppia rostellata, Suczda inaritima, Carex aren- 

aria, Raphanus maritiiiius^ Astragalus hypoglottis and glycyphyllos, 

Crambe maritima, Geraftiu?n sanguineum. These give a goodly 

list of eighteen plants to be added to the Dumfriesshire Flora. 

Again, of more inland plants, the following are not yet recorded 

for Dumfriesshire : — Hypericum elodes, Pinguicula lusitanica, 

Scutellaria minor, Vicia lathyroides, Scirpus Jluitans, &c. Brassica 

monensis and Convolvulus soldanella seem to be extirpated from 

Southerness. Perhaps the former is not now to be found in 

Wigtownshire or Kirkcudbrightshire. Such plants as Tofieldia 

palustris, Juncus balticus, /uncus castaneus, Juncus trifidus, /uncus 

biglumis, and a few others, may with all safety be erased from our 

local lists. Trientalis europcea grows at a lower elevation, and 

may occur, but requires refinding. 

Some plants again, in all pi'obability incorrectly named at 

fii'st, are very doubtful records for our counties, as they go back 

fifty or sixty years. Some of these are : Bromus erectus, Fhleum 

arenarium, Lychnis viscaria, Melampyrum sylvaticum, Eriophorum 

latifolium, Bartsia viscosa, Dodder, Lithospermum arvense, Orchis 

pyramidalis, for Kirkcudbrightshire ; Geranium columbinum, Vicia 

gracilis, and Erodimn moschatum, for Southerness ; and Elymus 

arenarius, for Dumfriesshire. Investigation may also proceed in 

the following direction. As some critical species of plants get 

their names introduced into local lists on insufficient grounds 

information about these is necessary, as for instance :— Is Viola 

hirta for Criffel the true plant ? Have true Mijosotiti palustris, 

Bumex sanguineus, Lepidiiiin campestre, been found in the district ? 

*Siwin angustifoUum requires looking into, as Dr Hooker says that 

'" 

— 

Since found near Milnehead, Kirkmahoe.

Antiquities of Eskdalemuik. 13 

it is found only in Wigtownshire in the west of Scotland. Is 

Vicia liitai, from Cluden Mills, the true plant, as it is generally 

found on shingle on the beach? No doubt Q!Jnant/ie pi/npiiteiloides 

and G^naiithe LachenaUi are the same plant, as the former is a 

South of England plant. The same remark applies to Ulex nanus 

and Ulex Gatlii, which are often confounded. Ulex nanus is a 

Midland and South of England plant, but has been gathered in 

Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. Has Aspleninm nian'mim 

been gathered in Dumfries ? Is there any recent account of 

finding Li/copodium aiuwtiuuin in Dumfries? Surely Myosotis 

.^lllmtica for Wigtownshire is a mistake. All the foregoing plants 

require elucidation, and if our botanists, in the absence of finding 

new records, were to turn their attention to some or all of the 

doubtful plants I have indicated, good work would be done. It 

is in this hope, and not in the spirit of any carping criticism, that 

I have made the foregoing observations. 

II.— The Antiquities of Eskdakmnir. By Rev. JoHN C. DiCK, 

Eskdalemuir. 

It is recorded of a certain individual, that on making his first 

acquaintance with Eskdalemuir as it is approached from its 

Western boundary, he scanned the prospect far and wide for 

some sign or trace of human habitation, and presumably finding 

none gave vent to his astonished feelings in the words, " This is 

a country of winch it may be said that its principal inhabitants 

are sheep." This reminds me of another individual, an inveterate 

punster, by the way, who, tog-ether with a party of people he was 

supposed to lead, found himself, after wandering about for hours 

" in endless moorlands lost," suddenly face to face with a peat 

stack, whereupon (as the story goes) he perpetrated the following- 

under the circumstances perhaps pardonable enough pun, " a 

peatiful country indeed." The beauty of these observations lies 

obviously in their truthfulness, for it will cot be called in question 

either that Eskdalemuir is " peatiful," Cz'.e.^ full of peats, or that 

sheep vastly exceed in numbers all other forms of animated 

existences. But while this is abundantly and heartily conceded, it 

will be my pleasing duty and aim to-night to point out to you that 

there are other and more noteworthy objects than peats to be seen 

and studied within the compsss of our moorland Parish, and that.

14 Antiquities of Eskdalemuir. 

as our grenial and candid critic (by implication) himself allows, 

there is to be found (here and there) a sprinkling of liuman beings 

who, I am happy to say, make up in intelligence what they lack in 

numbers. The fact is that that wild stretch of moorland which 

lies between the two Kirks of Hutton and Eskdalemuir, and which 

is unredeemed by a single feature of interest to break its bleak 

monotony, represents but a fraction, and that the least attractive 

fraction, of the whole extent of the parish, which covers an area 

of 66 square miles, and is facile princeps the largest parish in 

Dumfriesshire. But if this five miles of unmitigated moorland be 

in itself the ne plus ultra of dreariness and desolation, it acts as a 

magnificent foil and introduction to the real beauty of the Dale of 

Esk itself—a Dale that rivals in sweetness and pastoral attractiveness 

any of the other great Dales of the Borderland (as Tweed- 

dale, Teviotdale, Liddesdale, Annaudale, Clydesdale). To all 

lovers of the beautiful, to all who would steep their senses in what 

Veitch finely calls " the pastoral melancholy of the Lowlands," 

Eskdalemuir holds out inducements irresistible as they are 

innumerable. The student of ancient lore may here have his 

appetite for the mythical and the marvellous stimulated and 

strengthened by the tales and traditions that hover round and lend 

an indescribable charm to almost every square foot of land he 

treads or looks upon ; while the Archseologist or Antiquarian will 

find in this sequestered vale "far from the madding crowd" a 

veritable happy hunting ground full of objects of interest and 

importance that will call forth all his powers of observation, and 

tax all his ingenuity to explain. Along that far-stretching line of 

river-flow, that extends from the water-shed of the parish down 

to its southern extremity, at the famous King pool, there stand 

out on either bank of the river, camps, forts, rings, and other 

remains, constituting the very earliest inhabited dwelling places on 

the Borders, dating back to the time of the Cymri, who were here 

during the Roman occupation, if indeed they were not here before 

it. These forts, mounds, and rings have been popularly designated 

Roman, though I am persuaded that in the vast majority of 

instances they have little or no claim to the title ; for a careful 

examination of the root forms that enter into the names of many 

of the places and objects of the district would appear to point to a 

Cymric rather than a Roman derivation. As Professor Veitch has 

remarked in his references to the Border valleys generally, and

Antiquities of Eskdalemuir. 15 

my own personal observation bears out in the case of my own 

parish in particular, these forts or mound-enclosures are for the 

most part to be found on the lower hills of the district, or on the 

knowes projecting from the slopes of the higher hills as they fall 

downwards to the valley, through which run the rivers, the 

Tweed, Clyde or Esk, as the case may be; a site or elevation of 

1000 feet is a common enough one ; the form is almost universally 

circular or oval, though in Eskdalemuir we have a very well 

defined example of a rectilinear enclosure at Raeburnfoot which 

is ttrongly suggestive of Eoman construction, and which 

bears a striking resemblance in its general outline, form, and 

extent to the important Eoman Station at Birrens, the opening 

up of which was such a pleasing revelation to all who take an 

interest in Antiquarian researches. As I have just remarked 

regarding these hill-forts in Eskdalemuir, with the solitary excep- 

tion of Raeburnfoot, the circular or curvihnear form greatly pre- 

ponderates. Dr Christison gives the proportion of rectilinear to 

curvilinear as 22 to 206—and certainly as far as Eskdalemuir is 

concerned this proportion is abundantly borne out by facts open to 

the observation of all. These rude hill-forts and camps, so conspicuous 

on almost every height, were evidently planted there by 

the aborigines for purposes of defence, and clearly testify to a time 

when this secluded and pastoral vale was often no doubt the 

battlefield of ancient Briton and Roman invader, or, to come 

down to more recent times when the Vale of Esk as well as the 

other adjoining vales and dales of the Border formed the land of 

foray and of feud— the land of hostile invasions from England and 

relentless retaliations from Scotland all through the Middle Ages 

down to the Union of the Crowns. If open war was not actually 

declared and actively engaged in between the two great rival 

kingdoms, yet there was that incessant petty warfare which 

originated in the deep-rooted feuds and quarrels of the great 

Border families or clans. In portraying this turbulent life of the 

ancient Borderers Scott has gilded not a little of it with the glow- 

ing colours of romance and chivalry. We have only to read his 

" Lay of the Last Minstrel " to discover that its main and govern- 

ing idea is to set forth in poetic and vividly realistic form the 

manners, customs, and traditions that anciently prevailed on the 

borderlands of England and Scotland.

16 

Antiquities of Eskdalemuir. 

And now that you may have a less general and more parti- 

cular idea of the parish than you may have been able to form from 

these few and fragmentary descriptions, I propose starting from 

the head of the parish, particularising as I proceed downwards, 

and commenting briefly upon any object, scene, or locality that 

that may be supposed to possess the smallest degree of interest 

for the Antiquarian. Well ! looking down from our present point 

of vantage upon the spacious glen beneath our feet, we are look- 

ing upon what once formed, on the opposite side of the river, the 

lands given by Robert Avenel to the Monks of Melrose for 

pastoral, hunting, ajid sporting purposes generally. Then the 

wild deer and boar as wild frequented these upland solitudes—for 

Ettrick Parish coupled with Eskdalemuir was once a favourite 

hunting ground of the Scottish Kings. These lands appear to 

have been known by the ancient name of Weid-Kerroc or Weit- 

Kerrock. If a single passage cr two in Armstrong's " History of 

the Debateable Land" are to be relied upon, then, during the 

reign of David First (1124 to 1153) Robert Avenel received from 

that Monarch a Charter of the lands of Tom-loher and 'Weit- 

Kerrock in Upper Eskdale. We are further told that the teinds 

of Eskdale were granted by him to the Monks of Melrose, and it 

is also stated for the repose of the souls of certain individuals 

whose names are given, and for his own soul and for the soul of 

his wife, Sibilla, he granted the aforementioned lands to the 

Monastery of Melrose. It may be proper to mention in this con- 

nection that David I. was uncommonly fond of establishing 

relio-ious or Monastic Houses. As he was the great Benefactor of 

the Church, the clergy willingly bestowed on him the epithet of 

Faint, a character which one of his successors seemed to consider 

rr.thir dubious. The alienation of so much of the Royal property 

led him to remark that " St. David had been a sair sanct to the croon." 

But to return to the name of the lands thus given to the monks at the 

head of Eskdale—viz., Weit Kerrock, I would have you note that the 

term Caer (c-a-e-r) which occurs in the Kerrock is, according to 

Professor Veitch, one of the most frequent names for a hill-fort in 

all the Lowlands of Scotland ; it is a Celtic, even a Cymric term, 

and appears everywhere in the names of places already existing 

before the times of Caesai- and Agricola. This being so, we at 

once look for a hill-fort, and we are not disappointed, for over 

ao-ainst us, on the western side of the river, tliere .stands a fine

Antiquities of Eskdalemuie. 17 

specimen of an old Cymric camp commanding the wliole valley 

both north and south. There is, I am told, an old Roman road 

running through the valley northwards starting from the ancient 

fort, although 1 myself have not been able to discover the faintest 

trace of it ; but as the term Roman was often curiously applied to 

places, to building- structures, and works of all kinds, that simply 

coutiadicted the most elementary canons that ruled all Roman 

handiwork, I have very little faith in the Roman theory as to this 

now " submerged " road. It wants to be discovered first before 

it can be pronounced either British or Roman. But from this road, 

real or traditional, the farmhouse standing immediately behind the 

ancient fort was called " Causeway," or " The Causeway." A 

modern amalgamation of both names, Kerrock and Causeway, has 

turned it into Cassock—and at the present time the Scotcli pro- 

nounciation of the word is simply Cassa. The name Wat Carrick 

survives further down the glen, and applies both to a Chapel and 

Churchyard, as I shall presently show you. Confining my atten- 

tion at present to the upper part of the parish, however, I need 

hardly say that not a few legends and traditions have gathered 

round and clung to these northern glens, cleuchs and gorges— 

specimen or two of which I propose offering to you to-night. 

Naturally in an age when superstition held sway over the minds 

of a simple and ignorant people, it was only to be expected that 

they should pay tribute to their fears and beliefs in the super- 

natural, and that these fears and beliefs should, from time to time, 

find embodiment and expression (ludicrous enough oftentimes) in 

story, tale or ballad. The very names of many of the burns and 

glens are suggestive of the uncanny, and can be only adequately 

described as sanguineous. Glendearg {e.g.) means the red or 

bloody glen, and the upper half of another glen in close proximity 

is ominously called the Blood HoiJe. There or thereabouts it is 

said that many of the poor persecuted Covenanters found shelter 

and hiding. There is a legend that a conventicle held in the 

Cauldrons (and no fitter place could well be imagined for such a 

purpose) was disturbed by the approach of Claverhouse and his 

dragoons—but that the poor wretches thus tracked to their lair 

made a miraculous escape, being in a moment modified into moor- 

fowl. It seems they haunt the place in that shape (dear to all 

sportsmen) still, and must have proof of lead, for, says the bax'd of 

Ettrick. with perhaps a little poetical embellishment : Jamie 

a


Glendiiming has tauld me, and so has Tarn Beattie of Muckledale. 

" These wights, to add to a' their crimes, have shot at them a hunner 

times." Another legend tells of a man Biggar, a staunch sup- 

porter of the Covenanting cause, who concealed on his farm and 

fed from his kitchen the persecuted Covenanters—how he was 

found out, became a marked man, and narrowly escaped being 

shot. The troopers were after him, led by Claverhouse in person, 

but when overtaken Biggar was equal to the occasion, nor for a 

moment lost his self-possession. Claverhouse laid on him with the 

handle of his whip. Biggar, turning round, looked him straight 

in the face, and said, " The devil is in the man ; what are you 

striking at ?" This satisfied the man of blood—riding back to his 

band he said, " There's an honest fellow that can swear ; none of 

your canting rogues." We have yet another legend, of a dis- 

tinctly dramatic order, in which a member of the old Blake family 

is promoted to the role of hero, although the manner in which he 

played his part can scarcely be described as heroic. This Blake 

legend is to me strongly reminiscent of Burns's immortal poem, 

" Tam o' Shanter." You all doubtless recollect that particular 

portion of Tam o' Shanter's ride where he is represented as 

followed by a " Hellish legion " of witches and warlocks in full 

cry at his tail, or rather " Maggie's "—and is, in consequence, so 

panic-stricken that he addresses his old and faithful mare in the 

following terms : 

— 

" Now do thy speedy utmost Meg, 

And win the key stane o' the brig ; 

There at them, thou thy tail may toss, 

A runnin' stream they dar'na cross." 

In Tam o' Shanter's case there was a horse—in our Blake's case 

there was a horse too. Tam had a water to cross, so had 

Blake, for the legend tells us that he was leading a cart load 

of lar on the opposite side of the river from his home, when 

he heard a witch or warlock in the guise of a moor-fowl 

roaring in his very lug, " Blake and the tar ! Blake and the 

tai' !" With one wild exclamation from the terrified man, " Ye'll 

no' get baith Bleak and the terr," he left horse and cart behind, 

plunged madly into mid-stream and drowned his terrors in the 

consolation that witches and evil spirits have no power to fol- 

low a poor wight any further than the middle of the nearest 

running stream. At this point it may be well for me to


mention for the benefit of benighted travellers in moorland 

stretches, that whatever danger there may be in goJîg" forward, 

there is infinitely greater danger in their turning back. Methinks 

this is very g-ood general advice and ought to be acted upon as far 

as possible on all occasions. So let us avail ourselves of it, and go 

forward to the next object of interest. That object is to be found in 

a rude relic of persecuting days commonly called " The Through- 

Stane " (Scottice) stone coffin, which stands in a field on the right 

hand of the road as we come down the parish a little above the 

farmhouse of Craighaugh ; the inscrii^tion on that rude sepulchre 

bears the following : 

" Here lyes Andr. Ilislop, Martyr shot dead 

upon this place by Sir Thamas Johnston of Westerhall and John 

Graham of Claverhouse for adhering to the Word of God Christs 

Kingly government in his house and ye covenanted work of 

reformation agst. tyranny peq'qury and prelacy May 12th 1685 

re: 12.11. Wait passenger, one word with thee or two, why I 

ly here, wouldst thou truly know by wicked hands, hands cruel 

and unjust without all law my life from me they thrust and being 

dead they left me on this spot & for burial this same place I got, 

truths friends in Eskdale, Now triumph then let viz the faithful 

for my seal that got 1 702." 

With a clearness and circumstantiality that leave nothing to 

be desired the eloquent Macaulay thus records the tragic tale : 

" While this was done in Clydesdale, an act not less horrible was 

perpetrated in Eskdale. One of the proscribed Covenanters overcome 

by sickness had found shelter in the house of a respectable 

widow and had died there. The corpse was discovered by the 

laird of Westerhall, a petty tyrant who had in the days of the 

covenant professed inordinate zeal for the Presbyterian Church ; 

who had since the restoration purchased the favour of the Government 

by apostasy, and who felt toward the party he had deserted 

the implacable hatred of an apostate. This man pulled down the 

house of the poor widow, carried away her furniture, and leaving 

her and her younger children to wander in the fields, dragged her 

son Andrew, who was still a lad, before Claverhouse, who happened 

to be marching through that part of the country. Claverhouse 

was just then strangely lenient ; some thought that he had not been 

quite himself since the death of the Christian carrier ten days 

before. But Westerhall was eager to signalise his loyalty, and 

extorted a sullen consent. The guns were loaded, and the youth


was told to pull his bonnet over his face. He refused, and stood 

confronting his murderers with the Bible in his hand. " I can 

look you in the face," he said ; 

" I have done nothing- of which I 

need be ashamed, but how will you look on that day when you 

shall be judged by what is written in this book ?" He fell dead, 

and was buried where yonder slalj keeps the memory of his heroism 

green for ever. 

But now, to pass from " grave to gay," let me tell you something 

about the far-famed " Bogle at the Todshawhill." Todshaw- 

hill is a farmhouse on the Black Esk about three miles in a south- 

westerly direction distant from the Parish Church. According to 

Dr Brown, one of the Bogle's biographers, this creature made a 

stay of a week less or more at Todshawhill farmhouse, disappear- 

ing for the most part during the day only to reappear towards 

evening : its freaks and eccentricities very naturally attracted a 

number of people to the neighbourhood, and among the number 

Thomas Bell from West Side, the neighbouring farmer, who, in 

order to assure himself that it had flesh and blood like other folks, 

took it up in his arms and fully satisfied himself that it had its 

ample share of both. In appearance it resembled an old woman 

above the middle with very short legs and thighs, and it affected a 

style of walk at once so comical and undignified that the Eev. Dr 

aforesaid was compelled to pronounce it " waddling." The first 

intimation or indication of its presence in these parts was given, I 

understand, at the head of the Todshawhill bog, where some young 

callants who were engaged in fastening up the horses of the farm 

heard a cry at some little distance off. " Tint, Tint, Tint," to 

which one of the lads, William Nichol by name, at once replied 

" You shall not tine and me here," and then the lads made off, 

helter skelter, with the misshapen little creature at their heels. 

In his terror one of the lads fell head foremost into a hole or moss 

hag, and the creature " waddling " past him to get at the rest, 

came into violent contact with a cow, which naturally resenting 

such unceremonious treatment, pushed at it with its horns, where- 

upon the creature replied— " God help me, what means the cow ?" 

This expressioTi soothed, if it did not wholly allay, the fears of all 

concerned, for they at once concluded that if the creature had 

been a spirit it would not have mentioned the name of Deity in 

the way it did.


And in many more grotesque and ridiculous scenes did this 

curious little creature play the role of " Deus Ex Machiua." As 

for the name of •' Gilpin Horner," by which it was known throughout 

the Border country, this seems to have been given to it some 

time afterwards, for those who saw it at the time, and those who 

tell the story with the greatest veracity, never call it by any other 

name than the " Bogle at the Todshawhill." To those who are 

acquainted with the " Lay of the last Minstrel," it will at once 

occur that there are points of similarity (both numerous and 

various) between the bogle at the Todshawhill and Lord Cran- 

stoun's " Goblin Page," who figures so prominently in that Border 

ballad of Scott's— points of similarity so strong that they can 

scarcely be accounted for on the theory of mere coincidence. 

Indeed, if we were not expressly told in a note to this poem 

Canto number 2—that the idea of Lord Cranstoun's " Goblin's 

Page " was taken from the legend of " Gilpen Horner " we could 

have guessed it for ourselves. To give you an instance of this 

similai'ity, I will quote to you a few lines from Canto—number 2 

—beginning from line 352—which will powerfully recall to your 

minds the whole incident of the Todshawhill bog'le's first appearance—when 

he scared the lads who were tying up the horses with 

the sudden and startling exclamation, " Tint, Tint, Tint." The 

passage which I mean to quote from Scott's Lay contains three 

words of identical import with the " Tint, Tint, Tint." The words 

in the Lay are " Lost, Lost, Lost." I should perhaps add that 

Cranstoun's " Goblin Page " was equally well-known by the title 

the " Baron's Dwarf." Here is the passage from the Lay 

" Beneath an oak, mossed o'er by eld. 

The ' Baron's Dwarf ' his courser held. 

And held his crested helm and spear : 

That Dwarf was scarce an earthly man. 

If tales were true that of him ran 

Through all the Border far and near. 

'Twas said when the Baron a-hunting rode 

Througli Eeedsdale's glens, but rarely trod. 

He heard a voice cry Lost ! 

Lost 

! Lost 

And, like a tennis ball by racket tossed, 

A leap of thirty feet and three, 

Made from the gorse this elfin-shape, 

Distorted like some Dwarfish ape, 

And lighted at Lord Cranstoun's knee. 

! 

— 

—

22 Antiquities of Eskdalemuie. 

Lord Cranstoun was somewhat dismayed ; 

'Tis said that five good miles he rade 

To rid liim of his company, 

But where he rode one mile the Dwarf ran four, 

And tlie Dwarf was first at tlie Castle door. 

* * * * * 

Use lessens marvel, it is said ; 

This elfish Dwarf with the Baron staid, 

Little he ate, and less he spoke. 

Nor mingled with the menial flock : 

And oft apart his arms lie tossed, 

And often muttered Lost ! 

Lost 

! Lost !" 

One remark before I leave this subject. Whatever may be 

thought of my attempts to identify our once local "• Bogle at the 

Todshawhill " with Scott's poetic creation the " Goblin Page," or 

the " Baron's Dwarf," there can be very little doubt that the 

identity is ther", and I leave you to discover for yourselves 

other points of identity which had I the time I could have 

laid before you. From this little excursion we have now paid to 

the Black Esk, let us retrace our steps to the ^Yhite. I would say 

a word or two about Wat Carrick Chapel and Churchyard, which 

are about a mile straight south of the Church—the names are what 

they are by reason of their proximity to a well -pronounced British 

fort, which overlooks both, rather, I should say, two forts—the one 

on the top of the hill, the other lower down. The term Caer 

occurring in the word Kerroc (as I have already explained) stands 

invariably wherever it occurs for hill fort. This Chapel of Wat 

Carrick belonged originally to the Parish of Westerkirk, and 

served the whole district of Upper Eskdale, not only until the year 

1703, when Upper Eskdale was formed into a separate parish 

called Eskdalemuir, but for nearly twenty years longer, until, in 

short, the new parish of Eskdalemuir was in the position to possess 

itself of a Church of its own, which it was able to do in the year 

1722. Now crossing the river we find ourselves on the farm of 

the term Cote means mud cottage, and occurs in the names 

Cote ; 

Cauldcote, Hoscot. In a field raised some little elevation above 

the level of the Esk, we have two circles of stones, in the form of 

Druicidal temples (as Dr Brown styles them)—the one entire, 

measuring about ninety feet in circumference, the other having a 

portion of it worn away by the water, measuring about 340 feet. 

The interior of this larger one, indeed, is so extensive that I have


myself seen more than once a ploug-hman and liis team of liorses 

busy at work within it. These so-called " Druidical remains " 

(according to one authority) are simply the " standing stones," or 

" stanin' stanes," which are to be found on hill-sides, moors, open 

fields, and all manner of high and unfrequented spots : these 

remains, however, are not always found in such perfect form as 

we have them here, but consist very often of a single stone, with 

one or two other and lesser stones that have fallen down by its 

side, and are half covered in the moss. The well-known " Giant 

Stone " in Tweedsmuir, standing on the Menzion Moss, answers 

exactly to this description. These stones are unquestionably of 

great antiquity, as they are often referred to in the earliest 

charters, and accordingly utilised in them as boundary marks. 

According to Professor Veitch, some of them were originally set 

up as boundary stones, called " Har " or " Her." " Harstane " is 

not infrequently the name of a place, as the Harstane in Tweeds- 

muir. " Harstane " or " Herstan " simply means the stane by the 

burn. In this month's number of the Sundaij Magazine for 1896 

there is an exquisite piece of word painting descriptive of the 

standing stones. In point of antiquity \hey are compared to the 

sky itself, " they are, alike, so old—the ancient sky and the 

pi-imeval stone—both the children of mystery." In another fine 

passage we read— " Of the primeval forest no trace is left—the 

eyes range to the everlasting hills—wide spaces are about the 

mystic circle—the ancient rites are gone with the hoary forest 

their memory even is lost—and the stones are dumb—no record is 

graven there." We now pass down the valley to Castle O'er, 

with its splendidly preserved remains of what at one time must 

have been an encampment of great strength, occupying (as it does) 

by far the most commanding site in the parish ; its mounds and 

ramparts we might almost call gigantic, and its trenches abysmal. 

Its whole appearance, lofty situation, but above all, its marvellous 

extent as shown by its lines of communication, extending not only 

down the Esk to Netherbie, on the one hand, but also down the 

water of Milk to Middlebie on the other, proclaim it to be the farfamed 

Camp of Overbie, one of that celebrated trio of which the 

names are—Overbie, Middlebie, and Netherbie. Mr Bell's mansion- 

house of Castle O'er lies at the base of this camp, between it and 

the White Esk ; 

but his property extends to the lands on the other 

side of the river as well—rising up to the march dyke that divides 

—


his ground from the farm of Billhohu. Immediately over this 

dyke, in what is called Airdswood Moss, there was discovered a heap 

or pile of stones— (a " tumulus " would, perhaps, be the more correct 

and classic name for it)—but whatever be its proper name, I was 

told by Mr Bell himself that no fewer than 150 cart loads of stones 

were taken from it to build a portion of the above-mentioned march 

dyke between Billholm and Castle O'er. In the centre of this 

heap was found a rude slab-formed g-rave or " cist " in which a 

human body had evidently been interred, for some bones, and 

particularly a thigh bone, was long possessed by the late Geo. 

Graham Bell, Esq., of Castle O'er, but is now unhappily non est. 

There was a further find in the shape of a tooth which a local bard, 

William Park, at that time resident at Bridgend, has done his best 

to immortalise in a poem, entitled "Verses addressed to a tooth 

dug' out of the cairn on Airdswood Moss." 

" Tooth of the olden time, I'd wish to learn 

Thy living history what ; age and nation 

Thou represented'st underneath the cairn, 

Fruitful of antiquarian speculation. 

What was thy owner, then ? a warrior dire, 

Who liv'd and died amid the din of battle 1 

Was he some consequential Feudal Squire, 

Who bouglit and sold his serfs like other cattle ? 

'Twere an uncourteous question, did'st thou fare 

On luxuries which modern teeth disable 1 

Thy hardy frame and healthy looks declare 

That no such trash e'er trifled on thy table, 

Thine was the food of undegenerate ages, 

Else never had'st thou figured in my pages. 

And here thou art, a prodigy—a wonder 

A monument of undecaying earth. 

Nor more of thee we'll know, till the last thunder 

Shall from his slumbers call thy master forth ; 

These puzzles which I grapple with in vain 

Shall then be solved—and all thy case seem plain." 

To return to the subject of cist-burial, there were (as far as I 

can make out) two kinds of it ; the one was simple cist-burial 

underground, the other was cairn-burial above ground ; 

— 

both kinds 

seem to have been common enough ; the example I have just 

described is clearly a cairn-burial ; that is to say, the body 

discovered had been buried in a cist or stone coffin on the surface


of the ground and the stones afterwards piled up over it. Of 

course wherever a discovery of this kind has been made we are 

sure to find a legend of some sort or other attaching to the spot, 

and so it is here. Tradition says that a battle between the Picts 

and the Scots was fought over the very ground where the ancient 

sepulchre still lies—that the Picts were beaten and completely 

routed—that their King (Schaw by name) who led them to battle 

having lost his way, either fell into, or was driven into, the pool 

which forms the junction of the two Esks, and has ever since been 

called the " King's Pool."' The body was afterwards recovered, 

carried back to the battle field, and interred in the stone coffin, as 

already described. 

And now that I have taken you as far as the King's Pool, 

which marks the southernmost point of the parish, I wish to detain 

you there for a moment or two while I relate to you a very 

singular custom that once prevailed there. The place where this 

custom was observed is still called " Hand Fasting Ilaugh." 

Here, in days gone by, a fair was held to which the young people 

of both sexes resorted in great numbers ; 

ments were then made by joining hands ; 

between whom engage- 

or, as it was then called, 

" hand fasting." The connection then formed was binding for one 

year only, at the expiration of which time either party was at 

liberty to break up the engagement and form a new one—or in 

the event of both being- satisfied the " hand fasting- " was renewed 

for life. The custom is mentioned by several authors, and was by 

no means confined to the lower classes, John, Lord Maxwell, and 

a sister of the Earl of Angus, being thus " hand fasted " in 

January, 1.572. I may mention that Lindsay in his reign of James 

IL says :— " James (Sixth Earl of Murray) begat upon Elizabeth 

Innes (daughter of the Laird of Innes) Alexander Dunbar, a man 

of singular wit and courage. This Isabel was but hand-fast with 

him, and died before the marriage. In connection with this subject 

Dr Brown has published an extract of a letter he had received from 

the late John Maxwell, Esq. of Broomholm, to the following effect 

" No account can be given of the period at which the custom of hand 

fasting commenced, but I was told by an old man, John Murray, who 

died at the farm of Irving as you go from Langholm to Oanonbie, 

and had formerly been proprietor in Eskdalemuir, that he was 

acquainted with, or at least had seen, an old man (I think his 

name was Beattie) who was gTandson to a couple of people who 

:

26 Antiquities of Eskdalemxtie. 

had been " hand fasted." You perhaps know that the children 

born under the hand fasting eng-agement were reckoned lawful 

children and were not bastards, though the parents did afterwards 

resile. This custom of " hand fasting " does not seem to have 

been peculiar to our parish, for there are instances of its having 

prevailed elsewhere. Mention is made in some Histories of Scot- 

land that Eobert II. was hand fasted to Elizabeth More before he 

married Euphemia Eoss, daughter of Hugh, Earl of that name, by 

both of whom he had children. And his eldest son John, by 

Elizabeth More, his "hand fasted" wife, («.e.) King Robert III., 

commonly called Jock Ferngzear, succeeded to the throne, in 

preference to the sons of Euphemia, his maiTied wife. Indeed, 

after Euphemia's death, he married his former hand fasted wife 

Elizabeth More. 

Now before closing allow me to make a single remark in 

connection with this whole question. I confess that it has more 

than once occurred to me that there is a singular correspondence 

between the site selected for these " hand fasting " contracts and 

the contracts themselves. Perhaps this may be accounted for in 

the following way, which I have seen nowhere stated, and is there- 

fore simply a suggestion of my own which I throw off for your 

consideration. The site selected for these " hand fasting 

ceremonies is (as you may know) the tongue of land which is 

hemmed in by the Black and the White Esks. These streams, 

starting from their separate springs and pursuing tlieir separate 

courses, gradually ajjproach nearer and nearer until at last their 

waters commingle, and they become one stream. Does not this fact 

in outward nature observable to all who have eyes to behold it 

— " 

the separation and then ultimate union of these two streams—but 

typify and set forth the separate and individual lives of two human 

beings until they too are joined together and made one flesh ? 

There is something of this idea surely suggested in the 

following beautiful lines, which, methinks, would not be inappro- 

priate in the mouth of a youthful swain addressing the rustic 

maiden with whom he was about to be " hand fasted " after the 

old fashion long since passed away : 

" Nothing in this world is single ; 

All things by a law Divine 

In one another's being mingle, 

Why not I with thine ?

Antiquities of Buittle. 27 

See the mountains kiss high Heaven, 

And the waves clasp one another ; 

No sister Hower would be forgiven 

If it disdained its brother. 

And the sunlight clasps the earth, 

And the moonbeams kiss the sea ; 

What are all these kissings worth 

If thou kiss not me V 

11th December, 1896. 

Mr James Barboue, V.-P., in the chair. 

Dominions and Exchanges.—The Secretary laid the following 

on the table :—Transactions of the Canadian Institute ; Variations 

of Latitude in New York City (from the New York Academy of 

Sciences) ; Bulletin of the G-eological Institution of the University 

of Upsala, 1895 ; 

Proceedings of the Natural Science Association 

of Staten Island; Ti'ansactious of the Stirling Natural History 

and ArchcTeological Society; The Bow-Pullers of Antiquity, by 

Edward S. Morse (from the Essex Institute, Salem, Massachu- 

setts) ; 

Bagnall's Flora of Warwickshire (presented by Mr George 

F. Scott-Elliot). 

Exhibits.—Mr S. Arnott, Kirkbean, exhibited two celts found 

at Kells, Southwick, and a shilling, the first coined in Massa- 

chusetts, in 1746. 

I. 

— 


Antiquities of Buittle. By Eev. R. F. Takbet, B.D. 

In noticing its topography the Rev. Mr Tarbet mentioned 

that Heston Island, the Isle Rathan of '' The Raiders," is daily 

connected with the parish by a neck of land when the tide recedes 

and from this periodical connection he was for some time in doubt 

whether it was within his spiritual jurisdiction. He ventured to 

call on the one family who reside on the island, thinking they 

might know who was their spiritual father, but he was no wiser 

they told him he was the first minister who had called on them. 

; :

28 Antiquities of Buittle. 

He afterwards ascertained that the island forms part of the 

parish of Rerrick. Paluackie, the one village of the parish, had 

suffered decay in consequence of the introduction of railways, 

which had diverted traffic from its port. There were old people 

still to tell you of strings of carts extending from the little quay 

away up the street, waiting their turn at the vessels' side. At 

this period the village was the seat of a flourishing ship carpentry 

industry, many ships being repaired, and at least one built 

there. But he must not speak of the village as if it was dead. 

There was still considerable shipping, especially at some seasons 

of the year. The average number of vessels arriving was from 

60 to 64 in the year. He had seen as many as seven schooners 

lying in the river at once ; and a steamer sometimes found its way 

up. He found reference to a harbour church. That must have 

been what was known when he went to the parish as " the wooden 

kirk," but the wooden walls of which were then only used to 

shelter a wedding party engaged in their festivities. " To such 

base uses." As if anticipating a revival of the old prosperity, there 

was now in the village a substantial mission church of granite, 

built by his predecessor, the Rev. Mr Grant. Noticing the pro- 

minent heights in the parish, he observed that great part of 

Craignair was now to be found on the Thames Embankment and 

at the Liverpool docks, and its rough rock had made smooth the 

pavement of many a city since the granite-crushing process had 

been developed. Iron had been often sought without success. 

An old tenant on the farm of Barchain, he mentioned, went to 

Munches one day declaring excitedly that at last the metal had 

been found in quantity ; but it turned out to be refuse iron from an 

old smithy. Among the antiquities of the parish first place was 

assigned to Buittle Castle, of which there are now no visible 

remains, which was built by John Baliol in the thirteenth century, 

and from which his widow, the Lady Devorgilla, dated the charter 

of Baliol College, Oxford. It had been said to him that Old 

Buittle farm steading, which is an old building with thick walls, 

formed part of the court of the castle. Reference was made to 

the former existence of a church at Kirkennan and the tradition 

that there was one on East Logan farm, where there is a field 

called the Kirkhill ; but Mr Tarbet was puzzled to know what 

church was referred to as St. Colmonell, Buittle, in a grant to 

Sweetheart Abbey. The only name resembling Colmonell in the

Antiquities of Buittle. 29 

parish was that of a well near the ruins of the old parish church, 

which was called Sancomel. Reference was also made to the 

round tower of Orchardton, to the burial cairn at Courthill, the 

remains of a vitrified fort on Castlegower, and the old mill at 

Buittle, a venerable building which had received its death-blow 

from the modern sanitary inspector. This mill, Mr Tarbet 

observed, appeared to have enjoyed some kind of royal grant. A 

month ago, he mentioned, there was found on Munches Hill a 

bronze implement called a battle-axe, but more resembling a chisel, 

which now lay at Munches. In the church an old custom sur- 

vived in the use of shortbread at the communion. Some supposed 

that this was used because it was unleavened, but he thought the 

real reason would be found in a desire to use on this sacred occasion 

the finer food, at a time when only two kinds were made 

the coarse bread and the shortbread. An odd story was told of 

Mr Crosbie, who was minister of the parish in the early decades of 

the century. A child found by the way-side was taken to the 

manse. The minister thought it proper that it should be baptised, 

and resolved to open the Bible and bestow on it the first name on 

which his eye lighted. This was Nebuchadnezzar. Whether 

influenced by the thought that the child had already had enough 

of grass, or by the general absurdity of the name, he resolved to 

give the child instead the name nearest to it in sound, and called 

it Ebenezer. He had the story from the old woman who brought 

Ebenezer up. 

Rev. W. Andson proposed a vote of thanks to Mr Tarbet for 

his interesting paper. 

Mr Rutherford of Jardington, in seconding the motion, said 

the generally accepted theory about the round towers was that 

they were watch towers. Touching on the subject of the mills, 

he said it would not be an exceptional favour that was conferred 

on Buittle, for by an old Act of the Scottish Parliament the people 

were required to send all their grain to the public mills to be 

ground, and were forbidden under penalties to use the hand 

querns.* That was the reason why so many of the querns were 

* Mr Rutherford has since forwarded the following extract from 

Wilson's "Prehistoric Annals of Scotland" :—The quern was employed 

down to the 13th century, when legal means were employed to compel 

the people to abandon it for the large water mills then introduced. In 

1284, in the reign of Alex. III., it was provided that " Na man sail pre- 

—

30 Antiquities of Buittle. 

found in mosses ; they had been hidden, to prevent the excisemen 

finding them. 

Mr Tarbet said the site of the round tower was not at all 

suitable for watch purposes. 

Mr Sulley said Orchardton had no connection with the ordi- 

nary round towers, such as are found in Ireland. It appeared to 

be a mediseval residence, of the same period as the Scottish keeps, 

but built round instead of square for some unknown reason. 

Mr Barbour said there were traces of other buildings attached 

to Orchardton Tower, and up to the present its purpose had not 

been explained. 

Mr J. A. Moodie referred to the fact that farms were commonly 

" thirled " to the mill of the estate, to which they had to 

pay multures. 

Mr Barbour said there was no more curious instance of thirl- 

age than existed in the town of Dumfries. There were two mills 

in the town. One was said to be built by Devorgilla. The 

'' race " was carried from the weir, which was then at Stakeford, 

down the line of the present Brewery Street, and through the 

abutment of the Old Bridge, and the mill itself was at the end of 

the bridge. It passed into the hands of Lord Herries, and was 

then bought by the town. The town also acquired the Mill Hole 

Mill, as it was called, and which he believed was, like the other, 

connected with the church. The possession of these two mills 

secured to the town the thirlage of the whole district. Much 

trouble arose, because they were not able to grind all the grain of 

the district. They built a horse mill further up the river, on the site 

now occupied by the Old Brewery, and in addition they leased 

Stakeford to help to overtake the work. Then they built the 

mills on the Maxwelltown side of the river (Smeaton, the cele- 

brated engineer, being the architect, but the mills erected to his 

plans were burned down and replaced by the present structure). 

A question arose whether the town could thirl the district to a 

sume to grind quheit, mashlock, or rye with hands milne, except he be 

compelled be storm ; or be lack of mills quhilk sould grind the samen. 

And in this case : gif a man grinds at hand milnes he shall gif the 

threttein measure as imdter, and gif anie man contraveins this our pro- 

hibition he sail tine his hand mylnes perpetuallie." This act was not 

complied with strictly, as the quern was used long after that ; but no 

doubt the majority of them would be laid aside at that time.

Notes on Rereick. 31 

mill on the other side of the water. But it was decided that the 

thirlaoe was legal. Thirlag-e was legal to the present day. A 

case with reference to Gordieston, in the parish of Glencairn, had 

been decided in the Court of Session. That farm was within a 

mile of one mill and a mile and a half of another ; but it was 

thirled to a mill three miles away, and the court decided that the 

farmer must either send his grain to the mill or pay multures to 

the miller. 

II, 

— 

Notes on Rerrick. By Rev. GeO. M'Conachie and Mr P. 

SULLET. 

Mr Sulley laid before the meeting some notes on the parish 

of Rerrick, the joint work of the Rev. G. M'Conachie, M.A., and 

himself. Alluding to the former prevalence of smuggling in the 

district, a traffic for which the caves of Barlocco afforded good 

facilities, he said many smuggling cellars existed in the parish in 

places where they would never be suspected. Not many years 

ago a pig rooting about a ruined house suddenly disappeared, and 

disclosed the existence of a spacious rock cellar, but there was 

then not even an empty brandy barrel in it. There were formerly 

barytes mines on Barlocco, hematite iron mines at Auchenleck, 

and copper mines on Heston ; but none of these are now worked. 

It was said that whenever the directors of the last company which 

worked the Auchenleck mine were expected it was regularly 

" salted " with hematite from Cumberland. Within living memory 

" a stone fire" had been placed in a farmhouse by the tenant who 

was leaving. It was at one time a common custom for a farmer 

who was evicted, or who was leaving his farm under a sense of 

grievance, to fill up the fire-place in every room with broken 

bottles and small stones and cover them over with larger flat 

stones, and to lay on his successor a curse which should never be 

lifted until these fires burned. AVhen the stone fire had been laid 

and the curse said, the doors were locked and the tenant made his 

way out by the window, the curse alighting on the first person 

who entered thereafter. It was a custom also in such cases to 

sow a part of the farm with sand, and to curse the succeeding 

tenant until the sand should grow. This form of cursing was 

carried out in the parish perhaps seventy years ago, and tradition 

said that the incoming tenant did not thrive ; but this was pro-

32 Notes on Reekiok. 

bably due more to the ill-will of his neighbours than to the curse 

of his predecessor. The Rerrick ghost, whose noisy manifesta- 

tions at Ringcroft of Stocking baffled a whole Presbytery in 1695, 

and were the subject of a grave narrative by the Rev. Alexander 

Telfair, minister of the parish, was brought under notice. The 

visit of Queen Mary to the district on her flight from Langside 

was another subject of notice. The writers followed Froude's 

account, according to which the hapless Queen halted first at 

Sanquhar ; then went to Terregles, where she spent the night of 

14th May ; 

from there went on the loth to Dundrennan, spent her 

last night in the Abbey ; and on the morning of Sunday, the 16th, 

sailed from Burnfoot in an open boat, landing- in the evening at 

Workington. The other account, adopted by Mackenzie in the 

" History of Galloway," by Miss Strickland, and by M'Kerlie, was 

shewn to be inherently improbable. This account made the Queen 

ride without stopping from Langside to a hill in Tongland now 

called Queenshill, but which was called Barstobrick until 1800; 

then ride further south, cross the Dee, and then go to Cori-a Castle, 

in Kirkgunzeon, where she spent the night of the 13th (the date of 

the battle) ; 

proceed next day to Terregles, and on the 15th go to 

Dundrennan. Attached to this tradition was a story that she 

spent the night at Hazelfield, near the Abbey, and presented to a 

boy of the family a ruby ring and a damask table-cloth bearing 

the royal arms. It was strange she should have carried that table- 

cloth when, by her account, she was in "a condition not even 

suiting a simple gentlewoman, having saved nothing." It had 

been stated that the ring and table-cloth were preserved at Terregles 

; but no such articles connected with Queen Mary were 

known there. It was further mentioned that Maryport, in 

Cumberland, which is popularly supposed to be the place at which 

the royal fugitive landed, was formerly Ellensport, and was 

changed about a hundred years ago in honour of the daughter of a 

local benefactor ; and that although Portmary, on the Scotch 

shore, undoubtedly received its modern name out of compliment 

to the Queen, it was known as Nether Riddick within the memory 

of persons still living. Some attention was bestowed on " the Nun 

Slab" in the Abbey burial-ground, with its much disputed figure 

and inscription. Mr M'Conachie showed that the animals on 

which the lady's feet rests are dogs, not lambs ; that while the 

figure is that of a nun there is nothing to indicate the rank of a

Meteorology. 33 

prioress ; and, on the supposition that an initial letter which he 

formerly read P may be an 0, he sugg-ested that the stone might 

commemorate a lady of Orchardton. The unset pebble seal dis- 

covered in the parish some time ago was mentioned, with the 

suggestion that it was probably the seal used by one of the dis- 

possessed abbots after the Reformation. 

Dr Ghinnock proposed a vote of thanks to Mr M'Conachie and 

Mr Sulley for the paper ; and further, that the society should 

express its regret that Mr Sulley, one of the vice-presidents, was 

leaving the district, and its high appreciation of his services to the 

society. 

The motion was seconded by Mr Murray, George Street, and 

cordially adopted. 

bright. 

15th January, 7897. 

Mr John Neilson in the chair. 

Ne7i> Member.—Mr R. F. Dudgeon, The Grange, Kirkcud- 

Do7iatio7i.—A copy of the U.S. Geological Survey, 16th 

annual Report, 1894-5, was laid upon the table. 

I. 

— 


Report on the Meteorology of Dumfries for 1896. By the Rev. 

Wm. Andson. 

Barometer.—The most remarkable meteorological fact con- 

nected with the barometrical pressure for the past year was the 

extreme height to which it rose on the 9th January. At 9 A.M. of 

that day the reading was slightly above 31 inches, a reading 

which is believed to have been unprecedented in the British 

Islands during the period when regular observations have been 

taken. The high readings were not confined to a single day. 

From the 5th to the 11th they were unusually high, ranging from 

30-500 in. on the first of these days to 31*016 in. on the 9th, and 

again gradually falling to 30*570 in. on the 11th. The highest 

point reached during the ten preceding years was 30'805 in. in

34 Meteorology. 

•OOT = ?'BS'

Meteorology. 35 

1895, which also occurred in the niontli of January. The readings 

on the last three days of January and the first three of February 

were also unusually high, ranging up to 30-800 in. The lowest 

reading of the year was 28-367 in. at 6 P.M. of the 3rd March. 

This gives the extensive range of 2-649 in. for the year. The 

mean annual pressure (reduced to 32 deg. and sea level) was 

29-979 in., which is above the average of the last ten years by 

0-073 in. Although the extreme range was wide, the weather on 

the whole was marked by the absence of severe storms, and for a 

considerable part of the year was more settled than usual. 

January, February, April, May, July, August, and November all 

had means exceeding 30 in., the highest being May with a mean of 

30-291 in., and the next January with 30-262 in. March, Septem- 

ber, and December had the lowest means, and these were also the 

wettest months and the most marked by cyclonic disturbances 

although the cyclones were not on the whole so numerous or so 

severe as they often are ; and the mean force of the wind for the 

year was decidedly under average. 

Temperature (in shade, four feet above the grass). The 

absolute maximum, or highest single reading of the thermometer 

for 1896, was 84 deg. on the 14th June. The absolute minimum, 

or lowest reading was 20-8 on the 23rd January, showing an 

annual range of 63-2 deg. The next highest reading occurred on 

the 14th May, when 80-7 deg. was registered. And it is noteworthy 

that twice in May and three times in June the maximum 

of 80 deg. and upwards was reached, while in July and Auo-ust, 

which are often the warmest months, the maximum did not rise 

above 72 deg. in the former and 73 deg. in the latter, the explana- 

tion being that these months, and especially July, were largely 

characterised by deficiency of sunshine, and by cloudy and 

showery weather. The warmest month was June, with a mean of 

60-2 deg., which is more than 2 deg. above the average of tlie last 

ten years. But January, Februai-y, March, April, May, and 

November all show an excess above the mean, rangino- from 2 to 

^ 

deg., the greatest excess being in February and May, when it 

was considerably above 3 deg. The months in which a deficiency 

occurred were September and October, and especially the latter, 

which was short of the average by fully 21 deg. It will thus 

be observed that the first half of the year was the most favourable 

in point of temperature. There was an extraordmary period 

indeed, extending from the middle of April to the first week in


June, when auti-cj^clonic weather prevailed, with very lig'ht winds 

and abundance of sunshine, which largely contributed to the 

warmth of the spring and early summer ; while January and 

February were also unusually mild for winter months. From this 

statement no one will be surprised to learn that the mean annual 

temperature of 1896 is above the average, being 48-5 deg. This 

has been exceeded only once during the last ten years, viz., in 

1893, when it was 49'4 deg. It has ranged during these years 

from 46 deg. to 49-4 deg., the average being 47*5 deg., so that 

the past year has been 1 deg. above the average. This excess, 

however, has been due, not so much to an unusual number of 

warm days, as to the mildness uf the winter and spring months, 

and to the limited number of very cold days and nights. To 

illustrate this, it may be mentioned that the number of days on 

which the maximum readings of the thermometer reached 70 deg. 

and above was 42, fourteen of which occurred in May, fourteen in 

June, nine in July, five in August, and three in September. In 

1893 it was sixty-one, and in 1889 forty-six ; but these were 

exceptional years ; 

and the number in 1896 was i-ather above than 

below the average. The number of nights on which the protected 

thermometer fell to 32 degs. and under was 54, six of which 

occurred in January, with an aggregate of 227 degs. of frost 

seven in February with 23-4 degs. ; six in March with 13-G degs. 

one in April with 2-3 degs. ; ten in October with 23-2 degs. ; ten 

in November with 47*8 degs. ; and fourteen in December with 

63"6 degs., showing 196*6 aggregate degs. of frost in all—spread 

over 54 days. This contrasts strikingly with the report of the 

previous year, when there were 100 days, with an aggregate of 

640 degs. of frost. That, however, was an exceptional year, in 

consequence of the extremely low temperature which characterised 

the months of January and Febuary, the aggregate degs. of frost 

in each of which exceeded those of the whole of 1896, and 

amounted in the two months to 495 degs. The only year of the 

past ten to be compared with 1896 in respect to the mildness of 

the winter and spring months was 1889, which had 55 nig-hts of 

frost, and an aggregate of 193 degs. But taking the mean of the 

period, the average is about 78 nights and 360 degs. 

Rainfall.—The amount of rainfall for 1896 was 33-93 in., 

which is short of the average by from two to three inches. The 

number of days on which it fell was 196, on 26 of which, however, 

the fall did not exceed one hundredth of an inch. The 

;

Meteoeology. 37 

number of days is only a little short of the average. The 

heaviest fall iu twenty-four hours was 1*47 in. on 7th October, 

which, happening to coincide with an extremely high spring tide, 

owing to the prevalence of strong south-westerly and westerly 

winds, caused serious flooding along the river bank, by which a 

good deal of damage was done. The wettest month was Septem- 

ber, a rather unusual circumstance, with a record of 4-89 ia, 

being about double the usual average, and with 23 days on which 

it fell. The next wettest was December, which registered 4'87 

in., with 23 days also of rainfall. But March, June, and July had 

likewise an excess above the mean, varying from three-quartei's 

of an inch in July to an inch and a half in March. But these 

excesses were more than compensated by the deficiencies of other 

months, the most remarkable of which were May, August, and 

November. The driest mouth was May, which registered only 

half an inch—0-50 in., less than-fourth of the average, with only 

three days on which it fell. But November, which is often a rainy 

month, was almost equally remarkable, shewing little more than 

one inch— 1*12 in.—as compared with an average of 3 '92 in. 

And August also was two and a half inches short of the mean for 

that month. There was an extended period of drought from the 

16th April to the 4th June, a period of seven weeks, during which 

there were only nine days on which any rain fell, and to the 

amount of no more than 0-89 in., which would be less than a 

fourth of the average rainfall for the period. And it is sufficiently 

remarkable that on the 5th June more rain fell on a single day than 

during the previous seven weeks, 0*99 in., as compared with 

0-89 in. In some parts of the country, and especially in the south 

and south-west England, the drought was more protracted and 

severe, extending into August, with the result of a very early 

harvest, and of a great deficiency of the hay crops and of cereals 

other than wheat, which thrives best in a warm and dry summer. 

In the more northern parts of the country, where the harvest is 

later, the rains which set in in the latter part of August, and con- 

tinued throughout all September and the first ten days of October, 

interfered disastrously with the ripening and ingathering of the 

crops, and led to serious and heavy losses. 

Under the head of rainfall I have said nothing of snow, 

because, in point of fact, there was exceedingly little snow, in the 

lower grounds at least, during the whole year. There was no 

onfall worthy of being called a snowstorm, and only twice—once


in March and again in October—was there a shght covering of it 

upon the ground, which speedily thawed and disappeared. But 

hail fell several times in the end of April and in September. 

Thunderstorms were not numerous during the year. I 

observed only five, two of which occurred in June and three in 

September. The most severe was on the 6th of June, when twice 

during the day—at 11 A.M. and again between 1.30 and 3.30 P.M. 

—there was a thunderstorm of considerable severity. This was 

the accompaniment of the break of the weather after the pro- 

tracted drought and heat which preceded it. 

Hygrometer.—The mean of the dry bulb thermometer for the 

year was 47'8 deg. ; mean wet, 45 '3 deg. Temperature of the 

dew point, 42-6. Relative humidity (saturation being equal to 

100), 83. May had the lowest relative humidity, viz., 68 ; April 

had 74, and June 75. The other monthly values rang-ed from 75 

to 91. The relative humidity of 83 is about the average of the 

last ten years. 

Wind.—With regard to the wind directions of the year, the 

westerly prevailed most out of the eight points reckoned in the 

report. But northerly and easterly winds were more than usually 

frequent. Grouping the N., N.E., E., and N,.W. together, the 

number of days ni which they prevailed was 168 ; while the S., 

S.E., S.W., and W. claimed 178 ; and calm or variable was 18. 

The mean force, however, as might have been expected from the 

more than average height of the barometer, was decidedly imder 

the mean. 

Mr J. S. Thomson, jeweller, proposed a vote of thanks to Mr 

Andson for his valuable report. In doing so he suggested that 

the society should take steps to get the gauge for indicating- the 

height of the river replaced at the New Bridge, it having been 

carried away at the break-up of the ice in 1895.—Mr James 

Lennox seconded the vote of thanks.— Mr Rutherford of Jarding- 

ton suggested that the gauge should be painted on the bridg-e 

itself. 

Dr Maxwell Ross, medical officer for the county, said he 

always followed with interest the observations of Mr Andson as 

they were recorded in the Standard from time to time, and he 

found them very helpful, because there was a relation between the 

state of the weather and the recurrence of certain diseases. This 

had been laid down in the classical observations of Mr Buchan and 

Sir Arthur Mitchell, who, taking the Registrar-General's returns

Maetyk Graves. 39 

for the London districts, were able to shew that there was a 

distinct seasonal prevalence of certain diseases. Scarlet fever, 

which usually had its maximum about November, had not followed 

that course in Dumfriesshire during the past year. It was more 

prevalent in the early part of the year. And diphtheria, which 

was usually most prevalent into the latter part of the year, was of 

most frequent occurrence during the months of September and 

October. In Dumfriesshire, in particular, experience led them to 

fear the occurrence of diphtheria during a wet season, and the two 

months of last year, when there was a prevalence of that disease 

and high mortality from it, were, he thought, wet months.—Mr 

Andson : September was the wettest month of the year.—Dr Ross 

added that the relation of damp and diphtheria did not hold all over 

the world, for the disease occurred in the dry climate of California. 

He was glad there had not been so much typhoid in Dumfriesshire 

last year as in 1 895. They usually found that that disease was more 

prevalent in the autumn than during the earlier part of the year ; 

but in Dumfriesshire in 1896 the conditions were reversed. In 

the previous year, however, there were 51 cases noted in the last 

quarter of the year, and the prevalence in the first quarter of 1896 

was entirely due to the fact that they formed a continuance of the 

epidemic of 1895. Last year they had the pleasing report that in 

Dumfriesshire there had been no cases of typhoid occurring during 

the season when we expected to find it prevalent. During 1896 

only three cases of puerperal fever had been notified, two proving 

fatal. They all occurred during the last quarter of the year, 

agreeing in this respect with the usual seasonal prevalence. A 

large majority of the cases of erysipelas also were recorded during 

the last quarter of the year, showing the intimate relation between 

the seasons and disease. 

II. 

— 

The Martyr Graves of Wigtownshire. By the Rev. John 

H. Thomson. 

There are four Martyr Stones in Wigtownshire ; they are at 

Craigmodie and in Wigtown Churchyard. 

Craigmodie is about eight and a-half miles as the crow flies 

to the north-west of Kirkcowan, but it is at least ten miles by the 

road. The stone is an erect one, about three feet in height by 

two in breadth, and is much the same in appearance as the other

40 Martyk Graves. 

martyr g^ravestones in Galloway. It was put up in 1827, in the 

place of an older one. The original inscription has been preserved. 

It is— 

HERE LYES 

THE BODY OF ALEX 

ANDER LIN, WHO WAS 

SURPRISED AXD INSTAN- 

TLY SHOT TO DEATH 

ON THIS PLACE BY 

LIEUTENANT GENERAL 

DRUaiJIOND FOR HIS 

ADHERENCE TO SCOT- 

LANDS REFORMATION 

COVENANTS NATION- 

AL AND SOLEMN LEAGUE 

1685 

The other stones are in Wigtown Churchyard. They are to 

the north of the site of the old church. The largest of the three 

stones is that of Margaret Wilson. It is a flat stone, five feet in 

length and two feet in breadth. The inscription is : 

HERE LYES MARGRAT 

"mLLSON DOUGHTER 

TO CJILBERT WILLSON 

IN GLENVERNOCH 

WHO WAS DROUNED 

ANNO 1685 AGED 18. 

^ i s s s s ?s 

o 

2 :r 2 o 2 ^ 2 

^ i "^ i § § " « "^ ^ ^ ^ ^ "

Martyr Graves. 41 

Close to tlie .stone to Margaret Wilson is that to Margaret 

Lachlan. It is a small upright stone. Its top edge is waved. 

Upon this waved edge the words '• Memento More " are chiselled 

out. The inscription is upon both sides of the stone. Upon the 

one side it is : 

HERE LYES 

MARGARET LACHLANE 

WHO WAS BY UN 

JUST LAW SENTENC- 

ED TO DIE BY LAGG 

.STRACHANE WIN 

RAME AND GRHAME 

AND TYED TO A 

STAKE WITHIN THE 

FLOOD FOR HER 

On one of the edges of the stone SURNAMED grier, and upon the 

other side 

Cross Bones and Skull. 

ADHERENCE 

TO SCOTLANDS RE 

FORMATION COVE 

NANTS NATIONAL 

AND SOLEMN LEAGUE 

AGED 63 1685 

These two stones are remarkable for the controversy about 

the two Martyrs, denying or asserting their martyrdom that arose 

shortly after the publication of Sheriff Napier's Memorials and 

Letters of Dundee in 1859. The letters in the newspapers and 

articles in the reviews and pamphlets that soon appeared would fill 

several volumes. 

The stones themselves at least existed in 1730, for in that 

year they appear among " the Epitaphs or inscriptions that are 

upon the tombs or gravestones of the martyrs in several church- 

yards and other places where they ly buried " in the third edition 

of the " Cloud of Witnesses." In the first edition of the " Cloud," 

published in 1714, they do not appear. This is the case also in 

the second edition, issued in 1720. It is an exact fac swiile of the 

first, although it is said in the title page to be " enlarged," but the 

title page as a reprint must have been printed at the commence- 

ment of the printing of the volume, when it would be uncertain 

how the book would end. The last page in both editions is

42 HoDDOM Old Chuuchyard. 

priuted down to tlie very bottom, and has the appearance as if 

matter prepared for the vohnne had been crowded out for want of 

space. 

The third stone is within tlie same raih'ng- as encloses the 

stones to the memory of Margaret Wilson and Margaret Lachlan. 

It is an upright stone and waved on its upper edge, and is somewhat 

larger than the gravestone at its side to Margaret Lachlan. 

Upon its upper edge are the words MEMENTO MORI. 

III. 

— 

The inscription is 

: 

N 

HERE LYSE WILLIAM .lOHNSTO 

.fOHN MILROY, GEORGE WALKER 

WHO WAS WITHOUT SENTE 

NCE OF LAW HANGED BY MA 

.TOR WINRAM FOR THEIR ADHER 

ANCE TO SCOTLAND'S REFOR 

MATION COVENANTS NATIO 

NAL AND SOLEMN LEAGUE 

16S5 

Hoddom Old Churchyard. By Mr Geoege Irving, 

Newcastle. 

When strolling about Hoddom a few weeks ago I was told 

that there was an old font at the old churchyard. When I got 

there I found it was not a font but the base and socket of an old 

cross. I found it rolled up at the back of the south wall of the 

churchyard. It was partly imbedded in the ground, but sufficient 

of it above ground to get a correct view of it. It is made of 

coarse, gritty sandstone, four feet high if standing erect, and the 

socket on the top is one foot six inches square and six inches deep. 

The edge or rim of the socket is about seven inches thick, except 

at the four corners, which are rounded off to five inches. A part 

of one side of the rim has been broken off. Half-way between 

the top and bottom of the base there is a plinth of about two 

inches roughly worked upon the stone. 

There is a small fragment of Hoddom Cross in the Museum of 

Antiquities in Edinburgh. Can this be the base ? It is doubtless 

very old. The socket is calculated to hold a shaft, say ten feet 

high. If it is part of Hoddoin Cross it is a most valuable histori- 

cal relic, but if not it is still a valuable memento of the past. It 

lies within a few vards of the site of the old pre-Reformation

f 

HoDDOM Old (Jhurchyaro 43 

churcli, which before the ereetiuu of Iluddom Bridge was ou the 

route to the old ford across the River Annan, where many a 

weary traveller was glad to see its well-known features. 

Base of Old Gross. 

Oi^D To.MB Cover. 

When the present fence wall was erected round the church- 

yard the workmen had evidently left it outside, where it has lain 

for long unheeded and uncared for. It is very probable indeed 

that other fragments may be buried under the surface close by 

I would hke to suggest that it be moved into the enclosure just

44 Riding of the Marches. 

inside the wall opposite to where it lies. A couple of masons 

would do it in a day, and if set erect would be seen by visitors. 

There is also a very interesting and rare old tomb cover lying 

within the railing where the Curries of Newfield and the ancestors 

of the Irvings of Burnfoot are interred. I send herewith a 

drawing- of the base of the old cross and also of the old tomb 

cover. 

IV. 

— 

Notice, of a Pamphlet by the late MrJohn Anderson on the 

Riding of the Marches, 1827. By Mr W. Dickie. 

Mr W. Dickie read a humorous account of the riding of the 

marches by the Dumfries Trades on 23rd April, 1827, by the late 

Mr John Anderson, bookseller. He prefaced it by observing that 

when the system of trade incorporations was in full opei'ation no 

person was allowed to carry on any handicraft or trade within the 

royal burgh unless he was either a freeman by birth or family 

relationship or purchased the privileg-e. Hence the boundaries to 

which this valuable monopoly extended were carefully guarded, 

and it was the custom every year to perambulate the marches, in 

order to impress them firmly in the minds of the generations as 

they grew up. The boundaries also marked the limits within 

which the burgh magistrates had a certain exclusive jurisdiction, 

and they likewise took part in the perambulations. It was a 

custom which had died out with the old trades system ; but m 

some towns, as in Langholm and Hawick, a holiday pageant of a 

somewhat similar nature was still regularly observed. He read 

the following reference to the custom which is embodied in the 

Rev, Dr Burnside's manuscript history of Dumfries, and copied 

from an earlier record, known as " Edgar's Manuscript," viz. : 

On the last day of October every year the whole Town Council, 

Incorporations, with all the freemen belonging to them, accompanied 

by the boys and school and otlier attendants, rode the niarciies. 

They began their march from the Market Cross, or Laigh Sands, 

proceeding up to the Castle, down the Friars' Vennel, up the Green- 

sands, along the High Haugh to the Moat. There they stojjt till the 

town ofl&cers threw among the crowd a bag of apples. They then 

proceeded by the grounds called Longlands and Lochend, on the 

north side of the old chapel [viz., the chapel on the site of the 

present St Mary's Church] to the Stoup, or horse course, where there 

was a race for a saddle and spurs. Thence they went eastward and

I 

ElDING OF THE MARCHES. 45 

uortliwaixl, betwixt the town's property and tne estates of Craigs 

and Netherwood, traversing the marches that they might be able to 

decide in case of dispute. Thus they proceeded to Kelton Well, 

where the burgh's superiority terminated. There the Clerk called 

the roll of the heritors and burgesses, that the absents might be 

fined. From thence they returned to town, with haut-boys, ancient 

trumpets and drums, sounding before them. Some old people now 

living (1792) remember to have seen this procession frequently. 

"The Laigh Sands," the reader explained, would be the AVliitesands. 

The Greensands and Whitesands used to be commonly 

distinguished as the Over Sandbeds and the Under Sandbeds. 

The flat laud in the ueig'hbourhood of the villag;e of Stoop was for 

a long- time the racecourse of the town and was the scene of many 

mounted contests. In 1827 the route of march was somewhat 

different from that mentioned in the extract just read. He learned 

from another contemporary account that " in the morning- the 

trades, particularly the younger members, headed by the Convener 

and Deacons, with drums beating, fifes playing, and colours flying, 

proceeded along the Whitesands, Bridge Street, Greensands, 

Moat, &c., as far as Punfield Burn. From thence they went to 

Nunfield, Marchhill. Stoup, and Gasstown. From this point they 

crossed the country to Kelton Thorn, where refreshments were 

provided. The Provost and Magistrates, with the Town Clerks, 

followed in two chaises the mam battalion of the marchers." It 

was said that from six to eight hundred persons took part in that 

march. To his knowledge there were at least two of the survivors 

now resident in the town. They had a very vivid recollection of 

the proceedings, which were carried through in the midst of a 

violent snowstorm. The extract from Dr Burnside shewed that 

oven towards the close of the last century the riding of the 

marches was falling into disuetude ; and it was stated that before 

the year 1827, to which Mr Anderson's account referred, they had 

only been ridden thi'ee times within the memory of any then 

living. Mr Dickie then proceeded to read the narrative, which 

bore to be printed for private circulation, and was in form a parody 

of the narrative books of the Old Testament, after the manner of 

" the Caldee Manuscript " associated with the name of James 

Hogg. The pageantry of the day was described in burlesque 

terms ; a humorous enumeration of the various trades was given ; 

and the third and closing chapter was occupied with an account of

Emu and Ostrich Farming. 

the banquet that followed in the Trades Hall, the premises now 

belonging- to Messrs Moffat & Turner. 

In course of a conversatioji which followed Mr Thomson said 

in some places a sound whipping used to be administered to the 

children at the various turning points, to impress them upon their 

memory. Mr Dickie said he had inquired at one of the survivors 

of the march of 1 827 whether any such custom was observed here, 

and the reply was—*•• No. That belongs to the ages of barbarism ; 

centuries ago." The Chairman said it might be possible to 

administer the whipjjing once, but hardly a second time. The 

children would next year be conspicuous by their absence. 

The thanks of the society were tendered to Mr Dickie, and 

also to Mr Anderson, bookseller, for the loan of the pamphlet. 

12th Febi'uarf/, 1807. 

Emu and Ostrich Farming in the Highlands of Dumfriesshire. 

By Mr RiOHAED Bell, of Castle O'er, Langholm. 

The object of this paper is not to subject my hearers to a 

dry dissertation on Natural History, in which study, I am sure, 

many among you will be better versed than I am, but rather to 

offer you a few remarks and stray notes on the keeping of sundry 

creatures, zoological and ornithological, in confinement, and more 

particularly on the keeping and breeding in the uncongenial 

climate of Dumfriesshire the Australian Emu and the South 

American Ostrich, or Rhea. 

I once stated in a weekly journal, devoted, among other 

articles, to natural history, that I claimed to be the first person 

who had succeeded in breeding Emus in Scotland, and challenged 

contradiction. As none was forthcoming, I think I may safely 

repeat the boast, and give credit to our own county as the first 

one in Scotland where these birds were bred. I have all iny life 

been a lover of pets, and during my younger days these consisted 

of specimens most easily obtained and most conveniently and 

surreptitiously kept in a bedroom or outhouse. In the same ratio 

as my years increased so increased my ambition and the size of 

my pets, till about the year 1875 these had run from the bulk of

Emit and OsiTRTCTi Faumixg. 47 

a white mouse to snakes, monkeys, kang-aroos. tiger cats, vultures, 

eag-les. kc, up to Eunis and Rheas. In that year, 1875. the 

idea .struck me that I would try my hand withJthej two latter 

birds. The Emu, as you probably all know, is a 'native of 

Australia, where on its vast plains they might have been seen in 

large flocks, when our colonists first settled there, but are now 

becoming- very scarce in the more inhabited parts of the country, 

owing to the ruthless way they have been hunted down by men 

and dogs, and are now only to be found, in diminished numbers, 

at a .safe distance from the settlements. Owing to their growing 

scarcity Emus are rather an expensive stock to lay in. This did 

not deter me from purchasing a pair, as I hoped, if successful, to 

recoup myself the initial outlay of £20, which was the fig-ure 

charged by Jamrach, of Ratcliffe Highway, London, the famous 

dealer in wild animals. When they arrived home the children 

christened them " Tommy " and " Jenny," and by these names they 

will be distinguished in the course of my narrative. In the above 

hope I was not disappointed, as you will understand when I tell 

you that my experiment did succeed, and that I sold my young- 

birds, thirty-one in number, at from £8 to £10 per pair, without 

guaranteeing the sexes, and that when I sold off my birds in 1885 

I received £16 for the original pair, or only £4 less than I paid 

for them, and after gaining for ten years the profit from the sale 

of young birds and extra eggs. The eggs of both Emus and 

Rheas are worth 5s each, and as between both species they laid 

somewhere about 240 in all, you must allow that these birds are 

fairly profitable—certainly more profitable than sheep—and 

perhaps it might be advisable for farmers in these times of de- 

pression to introduce on their farms this novel Australian and 

South American stock. Let me here remark, however, as a warn- 

ing to farmers or even to others, that to procure a breeding pair is 

a risky and difficult matter. The distinction of sex in the Emu 

can only be determined by an expert, the plumage of either sex 

being of the same colour in the adult state. There is a decided 

difference of colour when the young are in the " down," some 

having the stripes much darker than others, and at this stage 

colour may mark the sexes, but so soon as feathers are put on this 

distinction is lost. The sex of the Rhea is easily distinguished, 

even at a distance, the male being much darker than the female. 

It is only after long and minute observation that an amateur can

48 Emu and Ostrich Faemino. 

be certain that he is iu possession of a male and female Emu. My 

first two Rheas were sold to me as a breeding pair, as I was 

ig-norant of the differences in colour ; but in course of time I 

found they were both females. I purchased three different birds, 

guaranteed as males, with no better result than adding to my 

stock of females. This guarantee of sexes is not of much value, 

and for this reason, that though you may purchase a bird at or 

near one breeding season, it frequently happens that owing to its 

inborn restlessness and its new surroundings it will not settle 

down in its new home, and it may be a year before you can tell 

which sex you have got—too late to return it to the seller without 

• difficulties." As I failed in my attempt to procure a male Rhea, 

I cannot from experience pride myself as being able to distinguish 

their sex. I had not the same difficulty with my Emus, after 

their being in my possession some time. There is a difference in 

their " countenance," with which you become familiar after close 

observation, but the peculiar and loud drumming noise of the 

female leaves no doubt. This sound is quite wanting in the male, 

whose voice is a loud, hoarse grunt. When the bird is excited 

this sound has a very terrifying effect upon strangers, though I 

myself, owing to my familiarity with it, was not afraid of 

•' Tommy." When he had young ones beside him he would 

" come for me " from the furthest corner of the field, grunting and 

striking out his feet in front as if he meant mischief, but I had 

only to stand my ground and seize him by the neck, when he at 

once stopped his fuss, though continuing- to run round and round 

me in a great state of excitement. I must confess that this 

standing firm and shewing a bold front required some nerve at 

first, but the truth of the saying, " familiarity breeds contempt," 

was vividly impressed upon my mind, and " Tommy " and I were 

always good friends. On one occasion a lady visitor nearly had 

a fit of hysterics when she witnessed one of his apparent attacks, 

fearing T was going to be annihilated on the spot, and was only 

consoled when she learned that his supposed attack was mere 

" bounce." It would have been a different affair if she herself 

had been in the field, and I never allowed strangers to approach 

the birds during the breeding season without my presence also, 

and never allowed a lady to enter the field at that time whether 

accompanied or not. I have read of a gentleman, who was on a 

visit to Government House, near Sydney, having had his lungs

Emu and Ostrich Farming. 49 

lacerated by the kick of an Emu in the back when he entered the 

park to view the birds. The kick of an Emu is a serious, if not a 

dangerous one, and is delivered in a forward direction and not 

from behind like the kick of a horse. When sporting they spring 

up in the air, kicking sideways and backwards, more like a cow. 

In addition to the blow the large claws make a lacerated wound. 

When trying to catch these birds one should always be provided 

with a shield of wicker-work, so as to guard themselves against 

serious, if not fatal mjury. As previously stated, I purchased my 

parent birds from Jamrach in October, 1875, but as they fought 

so persistently on their arrival home, I was afraid at first that 

they were both of one sex. The one which I came to know was 

the female was so harassed by the other that she could get no 

food, and the points of her wings, or rather wing bones, were so 

lacerated by dashing against the fence in her endeavours to escape 

from her mate that they bled for about ten days, and I thought 

the veins were opened and that she would bleed to death. I 

therefore ran a fence across the field and separated them. They 

remained so during all the winter of 1875-1876, which was the 

cause, 1 have no doubt, of my losing a brood that year. In 

April, 1876, on my return from Edinburgh, where I had spent the 

winter, I again allowed them to run together. I was afraid they 

would again fight, but was gratified to find that they were most 

peacably disposed towards each other. During all that summer 

and up till February, 1877, there was nothing in their appearance 

or otherwise to enable me, in my ignorance, to distinguish their 

sex, but on February 17th my shepherd, under whose special care 

the birds were placed during my absence in town, found three 

eggs lying together in a corner of the field. As I had been in the 

country on the previous day, and being on the look out for eggs 

had searched the field for them, and had, as I thought, looked into 

this very corner, I concluded from the fact of three eggs being 

found at once that both birds were laying. I found I was mistaken, 

however, and my hopes of securing a brood were now 

increased. The female laid regularly every third day at first, but 

afterwards a period of four days elapsed between the deposit of 

each egg. Altogether 19 were laid that season—the second year 

she laid 42—and when I saw from certain symptoms that 

" Tommy " wished to sit, I made an artificial nest in the corner 

where most of the eggs had been laid, and built a bower of spruce

50 Emu and Ostrich Farming. 

branches over it. Eleven eggs were placed in the nest, and he 

immediately began to cover them up with leaves, &c. On April 

1st—not a very auspicious day—he sat down in the nest, but till 

the 5th he never allowed twenty-four hours to pass without 

having the eggs all scattered round him outside the nest. This 

appeared to do them no harm, and the first young were hatched 

58 days from the first day be sat down. At Billholm, her first 

I'esidence, " Jenny " laid her eggs anywhere about the small 

enclosure, but when she was removed to Castle O'er, and to a 

larger enclosure, her habits changed. This enclosure was bounded 

on one side by a hedge 300 yards long, and was visible from the 

front windows of the house. When her day for laying arrived— 

which was generally about every third one—her preparations were 

of a most peculiar description. Almost exactly at 3 P.M. she 

began running along the hedge from end to end at full speed, and 

in the highest state of excitement, shortening her journey at each 

end by a few yards. This continued the whole afternoon, and the 

journey got shorter and shorter at each turn till towards the 

finale it consisted of a few steps only each way, and even degenerated 

into a mere swaying of the body from side to side for a few 

minutes, as if she were " ringing in," after which she sat down, 

and, pressing herself up against the hedge, dropped her tigg. As 

this took place generally, if not invariably at 6 P.M., she had run, 

without ever ceasing, for three hours, and, judging from her 

gaping mouth and heavy panting, she must have been pretty well 

exhausted. The laying season commenced in January or Febru- 

ary, and as hard frost often prevailed, I generally went to the 

field at the time I expected the egg was due, or had been already 

laid, to secure it from being frozen. The first time I went she 

left the hedge and came up to me, walking round and round, at 

the same time pressing against me in a peculiar manner. I did 

not know at first what she meant, though she evidently wanted 

something, so I put one arm round her body, upon which she sat 

down, and dropped her egg. I now saw that what she did want 

was to have a better purchase than that afforded her by pressing 

against the hedge. After this discovery I went to her oftener 

before than after the egg was laid! I daresay you all know the 

colour of an Emu's egg. They vary a good deal in the depth of 

their colour, some being a vivid green and some darker, and when 

freshly laid the tints are beautifully clear and bright, but soon


become toned down, as you will see from the specimeu produced. 

I have one at home of quite a blue colour, and the shell is per- 

fectly smooth, not granulated like the one you see. When the 

egg-s are exposed to full daylig'ht for some time they become a 

dirty grey colour. Their laying season lasts from January till 

April m this climate. 

At Castle O'er the Rheas had two large fields to roam in, as 

well as the grounds round the house. They laid their eggs some- 

times in strange places, as you will hear presently. When they 

laid in the fields I never noticed any preliminary symptoms, and 

their laj'ing season being in summer, and the eggs being free from 

the risk of frost, were not so particularly looked after as those of 

the Emus, but when one was siqrposed to be due the whole house- 

hold turned out to look for them. We went in a line along the 

fields, and as, owing to their colour, they were easily seen, I do 

not think we ever missed one. As a corbie could not easily carry 

one away, and we never found a "sucked" one, I presume these 

robbers either did not know what they were, or suspecting they 

were " made in Germany," despised such foreign produce. Their 

eggs when newly laid are more of a very pale orange colour than 

the creamy tiut they fade to when they are exposed to the light. 

When one lay over night the upper half was cream coloured, 

whereas the under half retained the darker yellow, being shaded 

from the light by itself and the grass upon which it lay. The 

average weight of Rheas eggs is just upon 1 lb. 9 oz ; to be 

exact, 1 lb. 8f oz. At least, that is the result from six I weighed 

together. I have no written note of the average weight of Emus' 

eggs, but I am quite sure, in my own mind, that they averaged 

1 lb. 10| oz. I know for certain that one balanced fourteen hen's 

eggs. Average size of twelve eggs : Rhea—5| in. by 3| in. 

Emu— 5| in. by 3f in; big one—6| in. by 3| in., 1 lb. 9;^ oz. 

There are two birds of the same family, one of which at least 

should have had a first place in a paper treating of the "Oursores." 

I allude to the African ostrich and the Cassowary, a native of 

Malacca ; but as I have never been the fortunate possessor of 

either, and as I have wished to confine my remarks to those only 

which have come under my own personal observation, I shall make 

no special reference to them or their habits. This can be found 

in any elementary work on Natural History. The chief of the 

whole group is the African ostrich, but I shall not take up your 

;

52 Emu and Ostrich Farmhstg. 

time further than to shew you one of its eggs, I got it from a 

friend, who had it in his possession for thirty years. His father 

got it from an Indian surgeon. When my friend gave it to me 

he hoped it might remain under my roof-tree as long as it had 

been under his. He also stated that he had compared it with all 

the eggs in G-oi'dou Cumming's collection, and it was larger than 

any of his. I have kept it for forty-two years, and if its greatgrandfather^ 

i.e., the Indian surgeon, had it for thirty years it may 

have seen the light a century ago, and has therefore almost become 

an object of interest to the antiquarian members of our society, 

as well as to those on the Natural History side. Then, through the 

kindness of my friend Mr Bartlett, superintendent of the Zoological 

Gardens, London, I am enabled to shew you a rarer egg than any 

of them, viz., that of the Cassowary, as well as some feathers 

from the back and two quills from the wing of that bird. These 

quills are curious appendages, and their use is not very obvious. 

There are five of them on each wing. The colour of the egg in 

daylight is a fine olive green, quite a different shade from those 

of the Emu. Size— of in. by 3i in. I have only one story of the 

Cassowary. It is very short, so perhaps you will allow me to 

tell it, but as the tragic event did not take place in my presence 

I do not vouch for its truth. There are several versions of it, 

but the one I know runs like this : 

— 

" There was once a Cassowary 

On the plains of Timbuctoo 

Who ate up a missionary, 

Carpet bag, and hymn book too." 

The belief in that story is quite optional. As I said, when the 

Rheas had access to the grounds, they laid in queer places. On 

one occasion a lady was on a visit, and on our going to sit out on 

the lawn she spread a shawl on the ground but did not use it, pre- 

ferring to sit on the grass. Great was her astonishment when a 

Rhea joined the party and laid an egg on the shawl. Again, a 

gentleman, who had just returned from Chi>ia, was staying with 

us. Among his paraphernalia he had brought with him a pair of 

Chinese slippers, made of plaited grass. One morning, when 

going out for the day, he was putting on his walking boots at the 

front door. He sat on the door step, and placed his slippers on 

the gravel in front of him, when, to his amazement, a Rhea 

dropped an egg in one of them. Once more, two of my men were


engaged in some work near the glass range. They went into the 

potting shed to eat their dinner, leaving the door open. They sat 

on the floor, with their backs against the wall, when presently a 

Rhea entered the shed and, crushing herself in between them, 

laid an egg on the floor. The men had no fire handy, or probably 

I would nob have seen that eg-g, as it arrived at a hungry and 

tempting moment. The laying season of Rheas is from June to 

August here. I do not mention these things as trivial re- 

miniscences only, but rather to bring home to you the contrast 

between these wild and wary birds kept in confinement here 

familiar with man and their roaming at large on the Pampas of 

South America. They would not probably find, or take advantage 

of, tartan shawls, Chinese slippers, or even potting sheds there, 

and I am certain they would give a wide berth to two " gauchos '' 

sitting eating their dinner of dried meat, each with a "bolas" or 

lasso lying handy by their side. I have been told by friends who 

have lived in South America that a dainty meal is made by cutting 

off the top of an egg, puttmg in herbs and spices, and roasting it 

on a fire. I once gave the cook one and told her to try it in an 

omelette. The result would have been fairly good had she not 

used the whole egg ; it tasted of little else. I never felt valiant 

enough to tackle a plain boiled one for breakfast, but my shepherd 

once tried a fried one, and he told me he got quite a " fricht 

when the whole bottom of the pan was filled with egg. The 

maternal duties of Emus cease so soon as the female finishes 

laying, and I always shut her off from the nest when the male 

began to incubate, as she only disturbed him by laying more eggs 

in the nest than were wanted. The male sits from 58 to G2 days, 

and during all that time he never touched food or water, though 

he always had a supjaly of both beside him. Besides the incubating 

he does all the rearing, and it is an interesting sight to see the 

huge bird striding along with the young all about his feet, and 

never treading on one. 

The young are beautiful creatures when in life, much more 

so than the stuffed specimen I now shew you. The colours are 

very much faded. I fed the young on hard-boiled eg-g for the 

first few days, mixed with bread and biscuit crumb, then oatmeal, 

lettuce, and greens ; but they begin very soon to graze like their 

parents, so their keep is not a very expensive affair. The old 

ones graze like geese, but I always gave them in addition a feed 

"


of such mixture as the pigs got, varying this with maize. The 

bones of Emus bred in confinement are apt to become very brittle 

if the young- birds are not supplied with lime, and many losses are 

sustained by breeders who are not aware of this fact. I dis- 

covered for myself the necessity of giving- them lime by observing 

the young birds picking some off a wall. Ever afterwards I had 

lime rubbish in their " run," of which they consumed a great 

quantity. I only lost one from brittle bones ; on running through 

a hole in a hedge, when frolicking, it broke its thigh bone, when 

six months old. I put its leg in splints, but it was no use, so I 

put it out of pain, got it stuffed, and presented it to the Edinburgh 

Museum of Science and Art, where it remains to be seen by 

anyone interested or desirous of studying a young Emu at an 

older stage of life than the one you have just seen. 

As a proof of the hardihood of these birds, I may say that 

out of thirty-six hatched none ever died a natural death, and 

that I only lost five, all from violence, viz., the one mentioned 

before, three starved to death, and the one you have seen, 

which was killed by a log of wood falling upon it. None 

died from the rigour of our climate alone. Young Emus 

are most amusing creatures, as, from a few weeks old, they 

perform all sorts of antics, such as throwing themselves on 

their backs, then leaping a considerable height off the ground, 

meanwhile kicking in the same way as they do when adult and 

mean mischief. One performance which they went through was 

of another character, being admirable from its solemnity and the 

graceful attitudes of the performers. It consisted of a dance in 

the nature of a quadrille. They would practice some preliminary 

steps, then all meet in a common centre, with their breasts 

brought close together and their heads and necks stretched 

straight up in the air, then they would open out, change places, 

and repeat the manoeuvre over and over again. This dance 

caused much more sober wonder to the spectators than the mere 

amusement derived from the ridiculous antics before described. 

Baby Emus, however, are indued with the same cantankerous 

nature as human babies, when mama wishes them to "show off" 

before female visitors ; they sometimes won't " work," and when I 

wished to " set the machinery goiug " I had frequently to call in 

the aid of my children, who knew what to do. This consisted in 

throwing themselves about on the g-rass in the same convulsive

Emu and Ostrich Fakmin*}. 55 

throes in which the birds were in the habit of indulging. The 

hint was generally taken, and the visitors delighted, though no 

extra charg-e was made for the exhibition. 

We have all heard of some folks having the " digestion of an 

ostrich." As the subjects of this paper are of the same order of 

birds, their powers of digestion are ecjually good. A good 

appetite and a g-ood digestion are blessings to poor suffering- 

humanity, but we must not be jealous if the miscellaneous substances 

in which Emus delight are beyond our powers. One day 

the carpenter came to repair the fence, and he told me he had 

seen " thae queer birds, the 'A-moos,' busy swallowing chips of 

wood." He intimated this discovery with as much pride as Columbus 

might have done when he discovered America, but I, being quite 

aware of this propensity, was not much astonished. A few 

minutes later he proceeded to the place where he had deposited 

his bass of tools to get some nails, a paper parcel of which he had 

previously opened and placed beside his bass. When he found 

the paper empty he asked me if I had "lifted" them, strong'ly 

suspecting me of kleptomania. When I asked him if he had seen 

the " A-moos" near his bass he said he had, and I very soon told 

him where his nails had gone. He seemed to think I was 

"e-musing" myself at his expense, and stared at me incredulously, 

as much as to say, " I'm no' that easily gulled," but when I 

pointed out " Tommy " at that moment struggling in the vain 

endeavour to swallow his chisel he was convinced, and remarked 

that " there micht be something in't." Whether he meant in the 

fact or inside the bird I failed to learn. Everything is " grist that 

comes to their mill," whether it be nails, coals, potsherds, small china 

dolls, or collars and cuffs. Many a tear has been dropped by 

members of the household over the loss of the latter, as well as 

other small articles of female attire, when the birds got access to 

the bleaching green. Their curiosity, or I should say their 

inquisitiveness, equals their voracity, and I could give many 

instances of this propensity generally, though I believe wrongly, 

attributed to the human female, but one will suffice. On one 

occasion the nurse was crossing their enclosure, carrying in her 

arms one of the children, then a baby in long clothes. This was 

too much for " Jenny," who wished to see what the bundle con- 

sisted of. The nurse was already sufficiently alarmed by the 

proximity of the '' two monsters," but her terror was increased


when " Jenny " proceeded to pnll the veil off the baby's face, and 

she offered up a prayer of gratitude when she found herself, she 

could not tell how, on the outer side of the fence, whilst the 

" two monsters " wei'e still in the field, grunting and drumming a 

fond farewell. 

I took advantage of this vice at the time a photograph was 

being taken. It is almost impossible to " take " these birds ex- 

cept by " snap shot." I threw down a handkerchief on the ground 

and directed the photographer to " fire" the moment they stopped 

to investigate the attraction, and the result is what you can see 

for yourselves in the book of photographs I now hand round for 

inspection. You will recognise the one alluded to by the white 

blotch in the foreground. Once " Tommy " escaped from Bill- 

holm, and he probably would not have gone very far from 

" Jenny," but when the man in charge tried to drive him into the 

field again he became excited, and his temper was not soothed 

when his keeper sought assistance. " Tommy " promptly took to 

the hills, and, when the hue-and-cry was raised that he was off, 

all the men and collies in the neighbourhood joined in hot pursuit. 

I was from home at the time, but the run was described to me as 

a most brilliant affair, and certainly equal to any fox-hunt on 

record up to that day. The ground covered was about 20 miles, 

and it was many hours before he was " run to earth " at Castle O'er, 

five miles from home. Having had quite a nice "outing" he had 

reached this point on his way home to Billholm. Men and dogs 

had enough of it, and a cart was requisitioned, in which he was 

carried home in triumph to his paddock, from which he never 

again tried to escape unless pressed. Another escape took place, 

but it was a Rhea this time, and happened at Castle O'er. She, 

wishing to have a more extended view of the surrounding 

country, " climbed " the fence, and, taking " Tommy " as her ex- 

ample, carried out her intention by also taking to the hills. I 

heard of her from time to time, as having visited sundry farm 

houses and herd's cottages, many of them several miles away, as 

also of many a good hunt after her with collie dogs. Eventually, 

having been about fourteen days "at large," she appeared at Crurie, 

two miles from Castle O'er. I enlisted the aid of one of my 

servants, whom I shall call " John," and we started off to try to 

capture the delinquent. We found her in one of the fields, and I 

sent John to the farmhouse to borrow a piece of scone as bait. I

I 

Emit and Ostrich FARMiwi. 57 

arrauffed the following- plan of campaig-n. As the bird knew me 

well, I was to feed it. WHien busy with the bread I was to rush 

treacherously in, and, seizing her suddenly, throw her down, 

when, if the feat was successfully accomplished, John was, in his 

turn, to make a dive and get hold of her leg, I at the same time 

warning him to " look out for squalls " and hold firm. He gave 

me a look of scorn, mixed with pity, remarking that there was 

"ganging to be an unco fash to catch sic a wee beast as that." 

The operation was successful, and having caught her round the 

body before she had time to kick. I threw her over and lay on the 

top of her. John seized her legs, and a fierce struggle ensued on 

the part of all three. In a few minutes, John, with the perspura- 

tion streaming from his face, gasped out that " the sma' cratur 

had the strength and spite o' the Deevil." He was quite ignorant 

of the mass of muscle in the thigh of one of the " Cursores." I 

sent him to the farm for a wool bag, consenting to remain Ij'ing 

on the bird till his return. This consent I would not have given 

had I not been aware that she was pumped out with the struggle 

to a perfectly safe degree, still I hoped John would not be long. 

When he returned with the bag we shoved the " beast" in, and, 

rolling it up into a very decent parcel, sat down to take a rest 

after our exertions. In the meanwhile the "parcel " had rested also, 

and presently we heard a series of rents taking place in the cover, 

and saw " legs and airms a' walloping " through many holes in 

the bag, which was thin and worn from much use. John was 

now despatched for another bag, and again I " reclined upon my 

feather bed." The bundle was repacked in a double envelope, and 

the question arose, how was it to be conveyed home ?—the farm 

hands and carts being all out at work. John consented to carry 

it on his back if I would help to " heez't " up. This was done, 

and we proceeded on our way. AYe had not gone half-a-mile till 

another " screed " was heard, and a leg, but fortunately one only 

this time, was seen waving in the air in a most menacing manner, 

and ominously near John's head. Having seen and felt a fair 

sample of the beast's powers, he cried out " For gude sake, sir, tak' 

hand o' that leg or it'll hae aff my lug." This I did, and we 

reached home without further mishap, though my arm was much 

cramped " wi' haudin' " that struggling leg for a mile and a half. 

These birds are deprived by nature of the power of flight, 

but the enormous amount of thigh muscle provides them with a

")H Emu and Ostrich FARMiN(r. 

ready iiieaus of e-^rnp" by nuiniiig-. In the Emus the wiiig-s are 

quite rudimentary, being merely bones about ten inches long, 

though consisting of the usual joints of a bird's wing, but they 

appear as if they had been arrested in their growth. These bones 

are covered with the same sort of feathers as those which cover 

the body, and are of no use for enabling them to escape from 

their enemies. The feathers are quite unlike any we see on other 

birds. They are very ugly to look at, are harsh to the touch, 

and are double shafted, rising- from a single quill. The Rhea, on 

the other hand, has large wings, covered with large feathers, but 

as they are long and soft, they are quite unsuited for flig-ht. 

They use their wings as rudders ; and it is quite marvellous how, 

by raising one in the air, the bird can shoot off from its course 

at a sharp tangent when going at the speed of a race-horse. 

In 1879, when I left Billholm and went to reside at Castle 

O'er, I flitted my birds along with my other " furniture," and there 

they led a happier life than they had previously done. They had 

more space to roam about in, and, in addition, had a plantation in 

which they could shelter in cold weather, at least in cold rain or 

sleet. They did not seem to mind any other kind of weather, and 

their hon Imuche was a piece of ice. I may here give you some 

idea of the amount of cold both species can suffer, and you will 

appreciate the information better if you will mentally compare the 

climate of ^ôuth America, or even of Australia, with the winter 

temperature of the highlands of Humfriessliire The Rheas 

arrived upon the 17th November, 1874, when the first few days 

were wet and cold. I put them in a small enclosure, in which 

there was a wooden shed, but they never entered the shed unless 

driven in. By the 28th I had fenced in a larger space of g-round 

as a run for them ; at the same time the weather had changed to 

snow, followed l)y severe frost. On that day I gave them their 

lilierty in their new enclosure, not without considerable misgiving 

I must confess as to how they would stand the cold. 1 watched 

them all day and up till 1 1 P.M., when I retired for the night. It 

was bright moonlight, and I could see them stalking up and down 

among the snow, and I feared their feet would Ije frost-bitten. 

That night the thermometer fell to 26°. I was up by daylight 

next morning, and was much relieved to find they were still alive 

and moving about with complete composure. I could see from 

their tracks that they had never entered the shed. The weather


fontinued to increase in severity for some rime, till the thermo- 

meter reached 13°, and as they showed no symptoms of suffering;-, 

my mind was fairly well set at rest with regard to their standing 

the rigours of a Scotch winter. 

I got my Emus upon 2()th October. 1S7.T. or just a year after 

the Rheas. and any further remarks upon cold applies to both 

species. The pair of old Emus sometimes, though not always, 

went into a shed at night, but I have seen them oftener '• roosting " 

in the snow. None of my young birds ever entered a shelter, and 

fre(|uently. when they were only a few weeks old and newly 

featliered. I have seen them on hard frosty mornings lying on the 

ground with the tips of tlieir feathers frozen to the soil. When 

they were disturbed they suddenly rose up, leaving a ring of torn 

out feathers all round the spot of their night's resting place. 

When I tell you that both species survived the terrible winter of 

1880-81, you will agree with me in thinking th:it these birds will 

stand any amount of cold they are likely to encounter in this 

climate provided then


aiid might resent my exposure in public of the chagrin he must 

have experienced. He came accompanied with a handsome and 

valuable collie. Before entering- the enclosure I suggested the 

propriety of his leaving his dog outside. He, evidently thinking 

that I vpâs alarmed for the safety of my pets, said his dog was 

very gentle and would not harm them. I retorted that 1 had no 

fear for my pets if he had none for his, and told him to " come on.'' 

No sooner had the dog leapt over the style than " Tommy" and 

" Jenny," wjio had a young- brood beside tliem, went for the poor 

beast, and the scene that followed would have been ludicrous 

enough had it not been for the mortal terror of poor " bow-wow." 

He rushed round and round the enclosure, too closely followed by 

the whole pack to have time for a spring over the fence, but in his 

mad endeavour to escape trying- to get through the bottom I'ails. 

The fence was an ordinary barred paling, 6 feet high, but backed 

by three feet of wire netting- to confine the young ones. After 

trying in vain at every point to find an exit, and never getting a 

moment's respite he became quite exhausted and sought refuge in 

a corner where the fence joined a shed. Here "Tommy" 

promptly began to " perform the war dance" on the top of his 

vanquished foe, and had I not seized '' Tommy " by the neck and 

pulled him away his foe would have been in a few minutes a dog 

with no name, good or bad. 

When I sold off my birds in 1885, preparatory to my leaving 

the country for some years, I had th3 original pair of old ones, 

which by the way reared more young ones that season than ever 

they had done before, viz., 12, and though they were at least 

eleven years old. I had them, as previously stated, ten years, and 

how old they were when I got them I cannot say—they were 

certainly adult. Besides them I had five young ones full grown. 

The catching of so many at one time being a serious and laborious 

affair, ten men were gathered together to act as hounds, there 

being no other means of catching them except by running them 

down or putting up a large amount of fencing, at least 7 feet high. 

I have seen them scramble on to the top of one 6 feet high, with- 

out being pressed to do so. Their " run " consisted of a fiat field 

of six acres with a smaller one of two acres. In the latter was a 

wood covering a steep bank, and running them down when this 

rough bank had to be negotiated was no easy matter. When we 

a-ot each bird hemmed into a corner several men rushed in and


floored it, and it took the united streng-th of six men to carry it 

from the point of capture to the part of the field where the large 

travelling- cases were ranged. During the fun " Tommy " escaped 

over the fence, an ordinary wire one, and got into the river, and 

I shall never forget the scene of the huge bird careering down the 

centre for a quarter of a mile with fountains of water splashing all 

round and over him. As the hunt had been carried on with con- 

siderable danger to all taking part in it, I was relieved when the 

roll was called after it was over to find that no more serious 

accident than a few cuts and bruises and the destruction of certain 

garments, both upper and nether, had occurred to mar the day's 

amusement. 

In 1869 I built a large room and heated it with hot-water 

pipes, and in it was installed a small menagerie, the inmates of 

which formed a most miscellaneous collection. I regret very 

much that I did not keep daily notes of all the curious and interest- 

ing things I observed during the seven years of its existence. I 

might now have been able, if not to write a book myself, at least 

to furnish material for one, which would have been of some value 

to those whose hobby lay in the same direction as my own ; but 

no notes were kept, and I can only now call to mind certain 

incidents which are more vividly impressed upon my memory. 

One among them, if you will allow me to narrate it, is the story 

of a monkey. I noticed in a local newspaper an advertisement 

intimating that there was to be held in this town of Dumfries a 

sale by auction of sundry foreign birds and animals, the latter 

including several species of monkeys. As I had long- wished to 

add a certain kind of monkey to my collection, I started off with- 

out telling anyone the object of my journey, having serious and 

cowardly misgivings as to what my friends would say if they 

knew I was going to invest in a " pug-gy." On arriving in Dumfries 

I went straight to the saleroom, and among the " pugs " was 

the very species I wanted, to wit, a Sooty Mangabey. As its 

name implies, the colour of this animal is black or nearly so all 

over, something similar to a " faded chimney sweeper," the face 

is jet black, and its eyelids are white. As the colour has some 

connection with the denouement of the story please remember 

it. The " lot " was duly knocked down to the person whose 

determination to possess it defied all competition, and that person 

was myself. I proceeded to the nearest grocer's shop and borrowed

62 Emu and Ostkich J^'ARMiNiJ. 

an empty soap box, in which " Jacko" was securely confiued. 

I hailed a cab, and with my sable friend on the front boot, drove 

to the I'ailway station. Here 1 handed the box to the tirst porter 

I saw, telling him to be sure to put it in the van when my train 

arrived. He deposited it on the platform, maliciously, as I 

thought, and it had not been long- there till a jeering crowd was 

attracted by unwonted sounds proceeding from inside the package 

and two black paws protruding throug'h the chinks of the lid. Tiie 

i-emarks of the crowd were, to say the least of it, sarcastic in the 

highest degTee, and when a nasty .small boy wanted to know 

•' wha owned the puggy," and when I saw several enquiring faces 

searching- among the spectators for some indication of ownership, 

I nearly sank into my boots, and pretended that it '• wasna me that 

owned it,'" and to further ensure myself against identification, 

ventured also to utter a few disparaging remarks such as I had 

heard, and specially addressed to the unknown " bauldy " who was 

so weak-minded as to possess such a nonsensical and villainous 

beast. When the train entered the station I hastily secured a 

seat with the risk of leaving poor " Jacko " behind, but hoping the 

porter would be "true to his charge." I had previously "tipped" 

him, and this foresight saved me the discomfiture of my owner- 

ship being declared at the last moment by the man coming to the 

carriage door, putting in his hand in the way we all know and 

exclaiming', ' The puggy's a' richt in the van, sir." When the train 

reached its destination I found the porter had been faithful and 

fairly earned his " tip." It was now dark, and I escaped any 

further public demonstration under the cover of night. It was 

10 P.M. when I reached home, and my assistant and '* fidus 

Achates " in matters zoological was in bed. I did not care to 

rouse him in case he also " smiled," and I was at a loss as to where 

I could house *' Jacko " for the night. The heating apparatus of 

the greenhouse was in the potting shed, and I resolved to put him 

in the shed as it was warm. This apparatus consisted of a hot 

water boiler encased in a scpare building of brick- work with a flat 

top projecting from the back of the greenhouse wall. ''Jacko" 

was already provided with a chain, one being included in the " lot 

when knocked down to me at the sale. With a nail I secured the 

" lot" to a post, put down some straw on the top of the brick- 

work, and went to bed, satisfied that he would have a warm bed 

for the night. Next morning my man, who was gardener as well 

"

lUIt; AMI OSTIUCH FAliAHNd. 63 

as mena^'erie kt uper, met uie witli a lace as white as a sheet, 

saying he had seen soiiiethiag " awfu' " in the stoke hole. He 

had gone to stoke the fire in the morning twilight, and when he 

was stooping to open tlie furnace door he heard an unusual noise 

overhead. On h)oking up his gaze met what he described to me 

as the " Deevil glowerin' doon o' the top o' him." He was so 

terrified that he did not 7'emain to verify the fact of its really 

being >' Hi? Satanic Majesty." iiut rusht'd out of the shed to (iaii 

for uiy assistance to exorcise the '' fiend of dai-kness." Upon my 

explaining matters he >;'?/>/ nothing, but 1 could see from his face 

that he thoitiiht some of the gibing- remarks I had heard at the 

Dumfries railway station. 

Some monkeys have a bad habit, arising from idleness, of 

iiibliling their tail, which becomes so sore that it causes them much 

pain. Jacko was addicted to this habit, and the resulting sore 

became so bad that the tail broke through at one of the joints, 

about six inches from the " far end." and kept dangling about in 

a most uncomfortable-lookiug manner. This loose piece became 

"dead" and required cuttiug away, but I dirl not like to perform 

the operation myself, simple though it was. It happened, however, 

one day that the local doctor had l)een assisting to amputate a 

poor man's leg in the ueiglibourhood. He called on me on his 

way home, and I asked him, " as his hand was in," would he cut 

off the monkey's " tail piece." He readily consented. Jacko was 

placed in a sack, with his tail outside, and I held him under my 

arm. When the piece was amputated the stump was seared with 

a red-hot iron. The doctor stayed to dinner, and after the meal 

was over I went tc see how the " patient " was, and brought him 

into the dining-room. As was his wont, he sat on the fender bar. 

I suggested he should have a glass of wine to freshen him up 

after the opei-ation. This he got. He held the glass in one paw 

and the tail stump in the other. He would first look at his stump, 

emitting at the same time a most melancholy whimpering sound, 

and then take a sip of wine, repeating the action over and over 

iigain. The scene loses in the telling, but the whole thing was 

so ludicrous and still so human-like that the worthy doctor nearly 

fell off his chair with laughing. 

Among m}^ other possessions was a Boa Constrictor, eight 

feet long, and a young African Python. This Python was about 

two and a half feet long, and very thin in propoi-tion to its length,

H4 Emu and Ostrich Farming. 

indeed its neck or throat was no thicior than a man's little finger. 

I could never induce the Boa to feed, thoug'h I tempted it with all 

the delicacies I could thmk of, such as rats, fowls, pigeons, and 

rabbits. These snakes are subject to a fungoid growth on their 

gums, which prevents them from feeding, and possibly this one 

had the disease, but. for obvious reasons, I never cared to examine 

its mouth. The teeth are very slight, and when the reptile bites 

the teeth are apt to break and cause a nasty festering wound. I 

kept the snakes in a large box, the front, ends, and top being of 

plate-glass, and inside were a pair of blankets. Though their 

room was heated, I thought this refusal to feed was owing to the 

want of sufficient warmth rather than diseased gums. All 

tropical snakes should be kept in a temperature of ninety degrees, 

and this I could not easily afford them. To give them as much 

heat as I could I introduced hot- water tins below their box. With 

this view I made another shallow box or frame, open at the top. 

in which the tins were placed, and on this frame stood their box. 

So as to allow the heat from the tins to ascend to the snakes I 

bored holes in the bottom of their cage. To facilitate the work 

of boring the holes I turned the box containing the snakes on its 

side. So soon as I did so I was startled by hearing a sound like' 

a railway engine letting off steam. This sound proceeded from 

the Boa, who was in a " fearsome temper," and was rushing about 

" hissing like mad." When he saw me looking at him he struck 

at me with such force that one could have heard the sound of his 

" snout" striking the glass at a considerable distance off. I never 

was afraid of his breaking the glass, but was often afraid he 

would break his own neck. This he failed to do, but ever after 

was so fierce that he never failed to dash himself ag-ainst the 

glass whenever I nij^self or visitors approached his cage. Before 

this change of temper I had been in the habit of '• doing the 

showman" before visitors by taking him out of his cage and 

allowing him to twine round my neck and body, at the same time 

having a tight hold of his neck and seeing that he got no purchase 

by coiling his tail round any piece of furniture. When his temper 

broke I never dared touch him again, and prevailed upon myself 

to believe that his performance was much more entertaining than 

mine, and infinitely more safe for myself. He cast his skin more 

than once, and when he emerged from his old one, " beautiful for 

ever," one would have imagined that he had paid a recent visit to

Emu and Ostrich Farmino. 65 

the famous Madame Rachel. The fresh and bright colours of the 

new skin were in vivid contrast to those of the old faded one. 

Still the cast-off skin is a pretty enough object, as you will see 

from the one produced. One, whicli was shed in a perfect state, 

was so fine that the late Frank Bucklaud, who was on a visit to 

me, asked me to present it to him, which I did with pleasure. He 

told me afterwards that he had produced it at a wedding break- 

fast in London to entertain the guests, and that a lady took it 

away as a copy for lace-work. This Boa lived in my pos'êssion 

for 360 days without touching food, and how long he had fasted 

before coming into the hands of ]Mr Cross, of Liverpool, from 

whom I purchased it, no one can say. 

But to return to the Python. One evening I put a rabbit of 

about two months old into the box, intending it for the Boa. As 

neither snake seemed to be hungry, I was going into the house to 

write some letters. As I was shutting the door of the room, 

which was detached from the dwelling-house, I heard the squeal- 

ing of the rabbit, and on going back I found it was the Python 

which had seized it. It had merely the nose of the rabbit in its 

mouth, and I left with the mental remark that it was attempting 

rather too much. I returned in about half-an-hour, and great 

was my amazement when I found the feat accomplished, and the 

Python reduced m length from 2| feet to about 18 inches, with a 

huge bulge in the middle, which was the rabbit's tomb. I 

could distinctly see the shape of poor bunny under the distended 

skin of the snake. A few days afterwards I was going to show 

this wonderful sight to some visitors, but on opening the lid of 

the cage a disagreeable odour rose from it, and I found the rabbit 

among the blankets, and that the Python had evidently under- 

gone the " Banting treatment." The swallowing was a serious 

undertaking, but the disgorgement must have been as bad, if not 

worse, considering that a snake's teeth point in the direction of 

the throat, and lie in the mouth like hooks. I was sorry that my 

visitors missed the sight, as they might have corroborated my 

assertion. Witnesses were not wanting among my own family 

and servants, but some independent testimony would have been 

more satisfactory If any person had told me that that snake had 

swallowed that rabbit, I could not have swallowed his story. I 

would simply not have believed him, and I can only place myself 

in your hands, gentlemen, to be judged, asking you beforehand

Cfj Emu and Ostrich Farminc;. 

this question, ' Have ifon any good reason to doubt my veracity ? " 

To that question I shall not pause for a reply, in case it might 

cause you some embarrassment to give one, but shall with it finish 

my already too lengthy and prosy paper, humbly apologising for 

having tried your patience so long. I shall be glad, however, if 

any of you have picked up a few crumbs only to add to your 

previous knowledge of Emus a.nd Rheas. If my reminiscences 

and anecdotes have afforded to others even the smallest atom of 

amusement I shall be equally pleased. 

Rev. Mr Andson moved a very hearty vote of thanks to Mr 

Eell for his extremely interesting and instructive paper. He had 

shewn a great deal of enterprise in rearing these birds in a climate 

so unsuitable for their natural habits. 

Mr J. S. Thomson, jeweller, seconded the motion, which was 

supported by Mr R, Murray, George Street, and Mr Rutherford 

of Jardington. 

Mr Bell, in replying to questions put by Mr Rutherford and 

others, said when the Emu was standing at rest his height would 

be about five and a half feet ; but when he put up his head it 

would be about six feet. H could lift his (Mr Bell's) hat off his 

head quite easily, and his height was 6 ft. 2i in. When he first 

kept them, he had them in a small enclosure and the fence was a 

high one—six feet ; but after he removed to Castle O'er, where 

they had more space, the fence was simply an ordinary palling, 

four feet high. He never saw them attempt to go over it unless 

they were hunted. He repeated his warning that it was very 

precarious to procure a breeding pair, and also to get a good male, 

who would sit ; although his own experience had been most for- 

tunate. It was very difiicult to say the possible profit. Some- 

times he had only five young birds, and he might have perhaps 

twenty eggs in a season. To get five birds you perhaps had to 

set about twelve eggs, selling the extra eg-gs and the young birds. 

It was often difficult to get the young birds sold, although he did not 

experience difficulty. It was not a thing to go in for as a specula- 

tion. He had known many failures. He would not seriously 

advise that it should betaken up as a new industry. The feathers 

of the Emu, he mentioned, were of no value whatever. Their 

principal food was grass ; but in this climate they must always 

have some extra food.

I 

liUiNS AND Stones ok Holywood Abbey. fi7 

Dr Martiu, Holywood, asked if the plumage was mucli modi- 

fied to enable them to stand the climate better. 

Mr Bell : I don't think the plumage was modified in any par- 

ticular form. 

At a subsequent business meeting of the Society, Mr R. 

Murray, George Street, was elected a vice-president in room 

of Mr Sulley, removed to Cupar. 

12th March, 1897. 

Mr James Barbour. V.-P., in the chair. 

Donations and Exchanges.—The Secretary laid upon the table 

the following:—The Report of the British Association for 189G ; 

U.S. Geological Survey, 2 vols. ; Proceedings of the Philadelphia 

Academy of Natural Sciences ; Transactions of the Botanical 

Society of Edinbui'gh. Vol. xx., pts. 2 and 3 ; Transactions of 

the Banffshire Field Club, 1894-5 ; Thirtieth Report of the Pea- 

body Museum (Harvard University). 

I. 

— 


Ruins and Stones uf Holyivood Abbey. By Dr J. W. MARTIN. 

Dr Martin excused himself from going into the literature of 

the subject, as it had been already dealt with in the transactions 

of the Society, and confined himself to an examination of its 

remains, which are to be found chiefly in the stones built into the 

parish church, the churchyard wall, and neighbouring buildings. 

The present minister of the parish (he said) informs me that his 

church was built in 1779 from stones taken out of the old abbey, 

without the facing stones. There is a stone in the tower with 

1779 upon it. There are stones at one of his gates taken from the 

abbey. Mr Brown, farmer, GuUyhill, tells me his father has men- 

tioned to him that there is a subterranean passage leading some- 

where from the ruins of the old abbey, which are known to exist 

at the south-east corner of the churchyard. He could not say 

where it begins, but he has seen the old wall of the abbey at the 

place where the Nelsons' grave of Portrack was dug. There are

68 Ruins and Stones of Holywood Abbey. 

undoubtedly ruins. James M'Greg-or, 23 years bellman, but now 

retired, says : The place went by tlie name of the old abbey or 

nunnery. There are stones above the surface to shew where it 

was. Once, when digging a child's grave, he came on an opening 

leading downwards, at one end of the grave, and he might have 

fallen through. The child's grave was sunk a long way next 

morning. He took a stick six feet long and a rope as long, and 

let it down, and it did not reach bottom. He says it was the subterranean 

passage. In digging three feet further over he came 

upon a fireplace and grate which belonged to the abbey. The 

grate contained ashes. He came to flooring, and on lifting up a slab, 

4 feet by 3, saw causeway work made of small stones, like pebbles, 

and there was figuring ; he could not say what the " figuring " 

was ; perhaps a date. He also came upon a great many old bones 

— ^buckets of them , as he expressed it—decayed almost to powder, 

which he says are the bones of the monks that were buried there. 

He once came upon " a wall arranged in steps," which was prob- 

ably a buttress to the side of the abbey. It was very sohd and 

firm. He found a halbert, made of brass, which the late Mr Max 

well of Gribton got possession of. He is positive about the 

chamber with the causewaying and the subterranean passage. 

There is some one buried right in the middle of the flags referred 

to. He once fell through while digging at the spot, and was only 

prevented from going deeper by his arms holding on to the banks 

where he was digging. He says if he was driven down to the 

place he could point qut where the flooring is. In the wall around 

the churchyard the stones peculiar to the abbey are seen to be 

mixed with other stones, but the former predominate. They are 

for the most part square and oblong blocks—the square 8 and 9 

inches, the oblong from one to two feet, up to four and five feet. 

They are for the most part smooth, sometimes polished, and of 

one kind of freestone. The main building of the church is wholly 

Ijuilt of these ; but except for a certain ancient appearance there 

is nothing remarkable to note about them. In the churchyard 

wall, however, are some stones of special character, which the 

lecturer described, and of which he exhibited very careful draw- 

ings. One about the centre of the south wall has carved on it a 

rich floral design, and was such as you might expect to see over 

or at the side of a principal doorway of a monastry. Three plainly 

carved stones, in the same wall ; one in the east wall with the

EuiNS AND Stones of Holywood Abbey. 69 

remaius of a cross carved upon it ; a stone to the left of the 

principal gateway, with the representation of a dragon carved 

upon it ; and a stone inserted in the south wall upside down, 

bearing the legend Margarat Wilson—evidently a stone from the 

old abbey or its burial g-round—were among other relics men- 

tioned. Also a stone in the garden wall of the nearest of the 

Kirk Houses, with two weather-worn human figures upon it; 

and the side pillars of the lesser manse g'ate, which had been 

taken from the old abbey. This is disputed by some. 

Many of the stones of the churchyard wall have the original 

shell and lime mortar adhering to them, which, of course, 

bespeaks their origin. At the site of the abbey or chancel, 

which was standing rather more than a hundred years ago (and 

of which Dr Martin exhibited a contemporary drawing, borrowed 

from Edinburgh), there is still a portion of wall, running east and 

west, just appearing above the surface for a distance of three 

feet, though a neighbouring enclosed burial-ground encroaches 

upon nearly half of it. It is composed of ordinary stone and lime, 

and goes down for several feet, as has been shewn w'hen digging 

graves beside it. It is no doubt at the site of the ancient chancel. 

It is near to this that the vault and subterranean passage are sup- 

posed to be. At the Abbey farm many of the stones of the abbey 

are built into the outhouses, having been carted over from the old 

farm-steading beside the ruins thirteen years ago ; but none of 

them are carved or smoothed. From what he had seen of the 

stones and remains, the abbey must have been a structure of no 

mean dimensions and beauty. What remains are underneath the 

ground could only be brought to light by careful excavation, and 

there was an unoccupied piece of ground close to the ancient wall 

described, which he should recommend to be first explored. This 

might be fitting work for the Society to undertake, and at no 

distant date. 

Mr Barbour expressed his sense of the value of Dr Martin's 

paper. The drawing of the chancel, he observed, shewed it to be 

of Early English architecture, accompanied as that often was by 

the rounded Norman doorway, and it might belong to the thirteenth 

century. The dimensions of the chancel did not seem to indicate 

that the buildings had been very extensive. He was doubtful 

about the pillars at the manse gate having come from the abbey, 

as the style of architecture to which they belonged was the

70 History of Dumfries Savings Bank. 

Rennaisance. The stone with the two carved figures upoii it 

might possibly, he sugg-ested, have formed part of an ancient 

cross like that of Ruthwell. 

II. 

— 

History of the Dumfries Savings Bank. By James 

Lennox, F.S.A.Scot. 

In 1814 the Rev. H. Duncan published a pamphlet on the 

Parish Bank of Ruthwell, which he had founded in 1810, and in it 

he showed the advantages the labouring classes had derived there- 

from by causing a love of thrift. He stated that for the four 

years they had deposited a sum of £1150, and he recommended 

other parts of the country to follow the example of establishing 

such banks. Edinburgh, Kelso, Inveresk, Lochmaben, all took the 

idea up and founded banks. In December, 1814, the Society for 

the Improvement of Sacred Music in the New Church of Dumfries, 

considering that such an institution would benefit this parish and 

district, asked the brother of the founder of savings banks to call 

a meeting. Dr Thomas Tudor Duncan intimated from the pulpit 

of the New Kirk [of which he was minister] that a meeting of the 

public would be held there on 10th January, 1815, to consider the 

advisability of forming a bank. I also see from the file of the 

Courier that such a meeting was to be held. At this meeting 

Provost Gass presided, when Dr Duncan explained the purpose of 

their being called together, and stated that his brother was present 

and would explain the working and advantages that had accrued 

to Ruthwell by the establishing of the first bank. The meeting 

thereafter voted its thanks to the Rev. Henry Duncan " for the 

zeal and intelligence with which he had come forward to establish 

an institution which possesses such important advantages to the 

community, and for the luminous exposition of its principles which 

he has made on the present occasion." The meeting appointed a 

committee to draw up rules and report to a future meeting. It 

included Provost Gass, three bailies, two bank agents, Dr Duncan, 

Rev. H. Duncan, the president and clerk of the musical society, 

and several merchants. On 30th January, 1815, the committee 

reported and submitted a set of rules, which rules, subject to slight 

alterations, have been those under which the bank has been conducted 

until now ; and at that meeting the Dumfries Parish Bank 

become an accomplished fact. The meeting unanimously elected

History of Dumfries Savings Bank. 71 

" Rev. rieni'y Dinican an lionorary and extraordinary member for 

life for his philanthropic exertions for the establishment of parish 

banks in general and this society in particular." The office-bearers 

then chosen consisted of: Governor, Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick of 

Closebui'n, Sheriff-Depute of Dumfriesshire; depute governor. 

Provost Gass ; trustee, D. Staig. agent in the Bank of Scotland ; 

directors—W. Baillie, Sheriff-Substitute for Dumfriesshire ; Samuel 

Denholm Young, Esq., of Gullyhill ; W. Thomson, Esq., of Castle- 

dykes ; John Commelin, Esq., of Troqueer Holm, agent for the 

B.L. Coy.'s Bank; John Staig, collector of H.M. customs; and a 

committee ; seci'etary. Rev. Thomas Tudor Duncan, M.D. ; and a 

paid treasurer, John Hill, accountant in the B.L. Coy.'s Bank. 

The auxiliary fund was at once started to provide working 

expenses, pay interest and premiums, and to aid this the New 

Church Musical Society gave a concert. Annual subscriptions 

were asked for both by circular and by canvas, and these con- 

tinued until 1826, when the directoi-s thought they could dispense 

with charity. The bank opened its books for depositors on 

Saturday, 4th February. 1815, on which date there was lodged 

=£8 Is; but the book states that this might have been much 

greater had the officials not run out of receipt forms. The 

business was conducted in the New Church Session House, and 

continued to be carried on there until that place was rebuilt in 

1827, when, owing- to the awkward entrance in the dark, it was 

found verj^ inconvenient for the depositors, and the then treasurer 

offered a room in his house in Chapel Street. The offer was 

accepted, and a rent paid of £7 a year ; and in this place the 

business was conducted until 1849, when the present offices were 

built. A description of the furnishings of this office is rather 

peculiar at the present day. The counter or telling table consisted 

of two planks placed over a couple of barrels and lit by dip 

candles ; so that the depositors must have seen a great change 

when the bank was removed into its permanent home. On the 

death of the Rev. Henry Duncan, D.D., it was resolved that a 

memorial of him should be erected, and after consideration it was 

decided that this should be a bank with a statue in front of it. 

A committee was appointed to look out for a site ; and after con- 

siderable difficulty the ground belonging- to the Hepburn Trust, 

and occupied by Mr Dunbar as a timber yard, was purchased at a 

cost, including transfer fees, of £176 19s, on 27th July, 1846.

72 History of Dumfries Savings Bank. 

Competitive plans were asked for, and on the 1st June, 1847, the 

one submitted by Mr J. Gregan, of Manchester, was selected as 

" A bank and Duncan monument." Estimates were accepted for 

the building- of the bank on the 3rd September, 1847, amounting 

to £1046 ; and in August, 1848, Mr Crombie's estimate for the 

statue was accepted at £120, to be made of Cove sandstone. Mr 

Crombie did not execute the work himself, but employed Mr 

Corrie, a local sculptor, to whom he paid £80 19s, leaving about 

£40 for the stone and his own fees. A committee had been 

appointed to collect subscriptions for the Duncan Memorial. They 

raised £217 lis 6d, and after paying the cost of the statue the 

balance was applied to the building of the bank. The whole of 

the rest of the cost of building and furnishing the bank was paid 

from the auxiliary fund ; but the amount of this not being great 

enough at the time, the balance was borrowed at interest from the 

depositors' account and repaid as the auxiliary fund again increased. 

The only other part that was not paid in this way was a gift by Mr 

Caldow of the telling table. The total cost of the building and 

statue completed was £1214 Is 4d. A few years later some slight 

additions were made at the cost of £51 18s, and larger safes and 

board room were added a year or two ago. The Rev. Thomas 

Duncan, the first secretary, continued to fill that honorary post till 

his death in 1857 ; and to him the bank must be for ever grateful 

for placing it on its sound basis. The treasurers have been : John 

Hill, from its start in 1815 to 18:8 ; John Gibson, 28th February, 

1818, to June, 1843 ; James Caldow, 6th June, 1843, to March, 

1866; William Biggar, March, 1866, to March, 1894; John 

Symons, the present treasurer, from March, 1894. Mr Biggar 

was appointed Mr Caldow's assistant in March, 1844, so that he 

served the bank for 50 years. The whole deposits were first 

lodged in the Bank of Scotland at 5 per cent, interest ; but they 

being unable to continue that interest, and this becoming so low, 

it was resolved to lend on landed security. Before doing so the 

directors took the opinion of counsel. The first money they lent 

in this way was in June, 1826 ; and in 1853 they granted the first 

loan over rates, and it is on security of rates of different classes 

that a very considerable portion of their money is now invested. 

The auxiliary or reserve fund is now so great that the interest on 

it is sufficient to pay the working expenses, leaving the gross 

amount earned by the depositors to be divided in interest among-st

History of Dumfries Savings Bank. 73 

them. In 1816. at the first balance, there was deposited £1410 

2s 5d ; in 1827, when thej removed to Chapel Street, £562.") 9s ; 

in 1849, at the opening of the bank offices, £31,380 lis 3d ; and 

at the balance in January last there was £233,003 13s 3d— giving 

an average this year of £44 14s id for every depositor. The 

interest paid the first year was 4 per cent., but it fell in 1826 to 

2 per cent., when the directors found it necessary to lend money 

over land in order to keep up interest to the depositors. In 1848 

it rose again to 4 per cent., and it has since fallen to 3 per cent., 

at which it now stands. The amount of interest paid at the first 

balance was £27 13s 3d, and at the last balance £6727 5s 6d. 

From the start until 1891 premiums were paid to regular deposi- 

tors, but it was found that these were not passing into the hands 

of those for whom the bank was started, and the practice was 

discontinued. The first year there were 288 depositors, and last 

year there were 5233. In the cash book there are some rather 

strange remarks. Under date 29th September, 1832, the deposits 

being small, there is this note : " Awful visitation of cholera. 

This last week 250 cases ; 65 deaths." Next week it is noted that 

there were 294 cases ; 155 deaths. This last week there was one- 

fourth more drawn than deposited. At the annual general meeting- 

held on 24th Fegruary, 1821, it is stated: -'The meeting having 

taken into consideration the recommendation of the committee to 

take such steps as shall secure to this institution the benefits of the 

late Act of Parliament for the Protection of Banks for Savings in 

Scotland, unanimously approved thereof, and g-ave instructions to 

their secretary to take such measures as are requisite for the 

accomplishment of that object in terms of said Act." There is no 

minute shewing this was done ; but by the old rules I see that the 

rules were certified before the Justices of Peace for the County of 

Dumfries in Quarter Sessions, within the Court House of Dumfries, 

on the 6th day of March. 1821. The doquet is signed "John 

Kerr, C.P." The results of this bank have been the fostering of 

thrift amongst the working classes, and that to a greater extent 

than is the custom in other towns, as I am informed that, although 

this bank has gone on increasing both in amounts deposited and 

number of depositors, the Post Office Savings Bank has fully as 

large a turnover compared with places of a similar size. So the 

good the Rev. Henry Duncan's institution has done we will never 

be able to estimate. The average per depositor is now £44 Is 7d,

74 Ancient Burial at Locharbriggs. 

and for each 1000 of population there is deposited ia this bank 

£11,500. 

III. 

— 

The Ancient Burial recently discovered at Locharbriggs. By 

Mr James Barbouk. 

The red sandstone of Dumfriesshire is widely and favourably 

known, and the reputation is shared by the neighbouring quarries 

at Locharbiiggs. These are worked in a piece of rising ground 

opposite the village, designated on the Ordnance Map " The Quarry 

Hill." The summit, which is round in form and slightly peaked, 

is the highest point in the vicinity, and commands a very exten- 

sive and beautiful prospect, embracing the whole vale of the Nith 

and the Lochar, encircled with hills, except on the south, where 

are seen the town of Dumfries, and in the distance the waters of 

the Solway. All Lochar Moss, twelve miles in length, lies within 

view, and the head of the moss, round which armies were wont 

to approach and leave the town of Dumfries and the district of 

Galloway, there being no safe passage across it, is dominated by 

the hill. On 12th February last, when engaged tirling this 

ground, for the extension of the quarry, a workman came upon a 

structure which it is supposed was an ancient grave. Unfortu- 

nately it was broken up and destroyed before any examination had 

been made of it. According to information given me, it consisted 

of a cist composed of six undressed freestone slabs, viz., two sides, 

two ends, a bottom, and a cover The stone forming the bottom was 

about three inches thick, and the others were about four inches. 

The cist, which lay east and west, and at a depth of 18 inches 

below the surface of the ground, measured outside four feet two 

inches in length, and two feet six inches in width, and the depth 

inside was 18 inches. Inside the cist a little sand lay on the bot- 

tom, and it contained also some bones, fragments of a vessel, 

probably an urn, and a piece of whinstone which was partly 

artificially shaped. These articles, with a description of the cist, 

were forwarded to Edinburgh, and probably Dr Anderson's views 

on the matter will in time be forthcoming. My purpose is, in 

view of the site being broken up, to notice the surroundings. 

The land has been under cultivation, and no cairn or mound 

remains to mark the burial ; but it is significant that the cist should 

occupy the peak of a hill such as I have described. Known for-

Antiquities of Girthon. 75 

merly as " Locharbrig'gs Hill," the place is not without note in 

history and traditional story. It was a rendezvous for troops. 

The Commissioners of Supply of the County of Dumfries being 

called upon by the Government for a levy of soldiers, they, accord- 

ing to a minute of date loth April, 1672, "appoint that there be 

expended on each man £24 Scots in mounting him with a good 

blue cloth coat well lined with sufficient stuff or serge, a pair of 

double-soled shoes, stockings, and a black hat ; two shirts and 

two gravats, and honest breaches and coat ; all which mounting 

is to be examined narrowly when the men meet at Locharbridge 

Hill on the 21st instant." It is added "that the leaders of the 

different districts are to have their men ready on the said 21st under 

pain of imprisonment and other censure, as his Majesty's council 

may think fit." This was during the time of the persecution, and 

many of the leaders did not give their services willingly. Tradi- 

tion assigns to this hill the importance of being the noted tryst 

of the Nithsdale and Galloway warlocks and witches, some of 

whom rode to the gatherings on broomsticks shod with murdered 

men's boues. Others, however, were provided with steeds of flesh 

and blood, as at one of the meetings, or Hallowmas rades, as they 

were called, some of these were swept away and drowned by the 

swell of the turbulent tide, and in reveng-e the arm of the sea 

which reached the head of the Lochar was, by deep incantation, 

transformed into a great quagmire or moss, so to remain for aye : 

Once a wood, then a sea ; 

Now a moss, and aye will be. 

The following is a fragment of the witches' " Gathering Hymn," 

preserved by Allan Cunningham : 

When the grey howlet has thrice hoo'd, 

When the grimy cat has three times mewed, 

When the tod has yowled three times i' the wode, 

At the red moon cowering ahin the clud ; 

When the stars ha'e cruppen deep i' the drift, 

Lest cantrips had pyked them out o' the lift, 

Up horses a', but mair adowe, 

Ryde, ryde, for Locharbriggs Known. 

l\.—The Antiquities of Girthon. By Rev. W. W. COATS, B.D. 

It is with some hesitation that I venture to offer any remarks 

on a subject to which I have not given special study. But, as I 

!

76 Antiquities of Gikthon. 

have been invited to contribute a paper on the Antiquities of 

Girthou, it has occurred to me that tliere are, unfortunately, not 

many people able to say much more on the subject than myself. 

And it is possible that even the ievf imperfect and unlearned 

hints I am able to offer may lead to a deeper investigation by some 

more competent person. 

Girthon is not a parish that figures largely in history. Celtic 

scholars say that the name is an abbreviation of " Girth-avon " 

" the enclosure or sanctuary on the river." It has passed through 

various forms—Gerthoiin, Girthton, Girton, are all found. It is 

certainly difficult to say what enclosure or sanctuary can have 

suggested the name, for the ancient church, which is now in ruins, 

is not near the river Fleet. A curious instance of the tendency 

of the uncultured mind to invent a myth to account for a name is 

to be found in a tradition repeated by old people till within a few 

years ago. That old church, they said, was the third that has 

stood on the same spot. This may be true enough. But they 

added that the first had been built on the place because a gentleman 

had been killed there when hunting, through the slipping of his 

saddlegirth. There may be some foundation for the story, although 

I have never been able to find a trace of it. But it looks as if it 

had been invented to give a derivation for the name, which is, of 

course, absurd. 

The church, now in ruins, is undoubtedly ancient. That it is 

a pre-Reformation building- is quite evident from the piscina in the 

south wall at the east end. I cannot hazard a conjecture as to 

its date, and I have been quite unable to find out to what saint it 

was dedicated. It was used as a place of worship down to 1817, 

when the present parish church was built in Gatehouse, which is 

quite a modern town. The ancient bell—cast iu Bristol—and 

given to the Kirk by Murray of Broughton in 1733 (as a Latin 

inscription sets forth), was removed to the new building, and has 

been disused only within the last 18 months. At the east end of 

the old church is buried Robert Lennox, a Covenanter, shot in 

1685. He was a relative of the Lennoxes, who were then the 

lairds of Gaily, and it may be claimed that his tombstone is 

undoubtedly the work of Old Mortality, on the authority of Sir 

Walter Scott himself, who tells a very curious story of the old 

man working in the Kirkyard of Girthou, at the end of the Intro- 

duction to his famous novel. 

—


The farmliouse of " Girthon Kirk," adjoining- the churchyard, 

was formerly the luanse, and the residence of the Rev. John 

M'Naug-ht, whose case was (according to Lockhart) far tlie most 

important business in which Sir Walter was employed just after 

he became an advocate. 

About three-quarters of a mile from Old Girthon Kirk, in front 

of Enrick House, and not far from the Kirkcudbrig'ht and Gate- 

house road, is Palace Yard. I do not know what to make of it. 

M'Tag'gart, in his Gallo vidian Encyclopedia, describes it thus :— 

" A deep ditch surrounds a level space, containing about two 

acres. On this stands the ruined edifice. Over this ditch, which 

is about 30 feet, and filled with water, a drawbridge yet remains 

in perfection. This palace is thought to have belonged to our 

olden Scotch kings." 

There is, indeed, a comparatively level space, about 100 

yards long by 60 broad, surrounded by a ditch. But there is no 

" ruined edifice," and no water in the ditch, and no drawbridge ; 

and I have not been able to find any person who remembers them. 

The author of the " Statistical Account" of 1845 says :— "At 

Enrig there was a house dependent on the A bbacy of Tongland, 

and which, it is supposed, formed the occasional residence of its 

abbots, and after the Reformation, of the Bishops of Galloway. 

Its site is still known yet as the ' Palace Yard.' Some old plane 

trees are growing, having a foliage different from those now pro- 

pagated. The Palace had apparently been surrounded by a ditch 

and a wall, one of the arched gates having been standing within 

the memory of a person intimately known to the present writer." 

So, between M'Taggart (1824) and the Statistical Account 

(1845), the " ruined edifice," the drawbridge, and the water have 

disappeared. There remains the memory of an arched gate, which 

in 1845 was apparently growing rather faint. That there were 

some plane trees I know, for I remember them. They were cut 

down within the last ten years. The tenant of Enrick tells me 

that there are still some wild fruit trees in the neighbourhood 

which look like the remains of an orchard. The statements about 

the ownership of the " Palace" evidently rest on conjecture, and 

are inconsistent. In M'Taggart " it is thought to have belonged 

to our olden Scotch kings." In the Account " it is supposed" to 

have been the residence of the Abbots of Tongland and Bishops of 

Galloway. There may be some foundation for these conjectures,

78 Antiquities of Girthon. 

at least for the latter, but I do uot kuow what it is, and in the 

absence of any authoritative statement I am disposed to accept 

the suggestion made by Sir Herbert Maxwell in his recently 

published " Histoiy of Dumfries and Galloway." " From Kirk- 

cudbright," he says, '• the King " {i.e., Edward I. in the year 1300) 

" advanced as far as Cally, where his sojourn is perhaps commemo- 

rated in the name of a field on Enrick, called Palace Yard." 

The present state of the ground is, I think, what we might 

expect on the site of a royal camp, for Edward resided in the parish 

for some days, fined the miller, and made an offering at the altar 

of the church. But in that case it is, of course, difficult to account 

for the " ruined edifice," the " arched gate," &c. (if they ever 

existed), for these all point to a structure of a more permanent 

character. 

There are several remains of what have been apparently 

ancient fortifications, but of what periods I am not able to say. 

On Enrick, for instance, and within sight of Palace Yard, there 

are traces of what is reported to have been a clearly defined 

Roman camp. It has been very nearly obliterated by agricultural 

operations. 

Within Cally grounds there is a square fortification of no 

great extent, surrounded by a ditch, which I take to have been 

British. 

Opposite Barlae Mill there is a place on some rising ground, 

which appears to have been " improved " at some distant date for 

purposes of defence, and the miller reports that small balls of 

some hard substance have once or twice been discovered on the 

slope, a little under the surface. 

Castramont, two miles further up the same road, is a tempting- 

subject, but I really do not feel competent to say much about 

it. The name, of course, points at once to a Roman camp, but 

the etymology is just too easy. I am inclined to think that in 

its present form it is a fancy name of comparatively modern 

origin. It may be, of course, a revival of the true ancient name, 

but in the Session Records, under date December 3rd, 1701 (the 

earliest I can find), it is written " Carstramin." I cannot find 

" Castramont " until the present century, and I am inclined to 

think that form has been invented or resuscitated (1) for the sake 

of euphony, and (2) from an idea that it gives better sense than 

the old " Carstramin." Sir Herbert Maxwell does uot accept the


theory of a Latin origin of the name, or connect it with a " Camp 

HUl " at all. Rightly or wrongly, he believes it is Celtic, and 

means " the Foot of the Elder Tree." 

That there has been some ancient fortification at Castramont 

is, I suppose, certain. But it is very difficult to say at the pre- 

sent day how much of the appearance of the ground is due to it, 

and how much to the levelling* when the present mansion-house 

was built. The author of " Lands and their Owners in Galloway " 

regards it as a piece of Roman work, and even suggests that a 

mound in the garden marks the site of the Prsetorium. Such a 

sug-g'estion is hazardous when one remembers Edie Ochiltree, and 

indeed there is at present living in the neighbourhood a person 

whose grandfather is said to have "minded the bigging o't" from 

some rubbish which could not be otherwise disposed of. For these 

reasons I venture to think that no one is entitled to speak with 

certainty on the subject of Castramont without a more careful and 

exhaustive surve3^ than has yet been made. 

Far up the parish, in the moors near Loch Skerrow, there is 

a stone, which I take to be an " Old Mortality," erected over the 

grave of Robert Fergusson, shot on the spot by Claverhouse in 

1684. 

These are the only ancient remains which I remember, for I 

do not consider a mere fragment of the ancient mansion-house of 

Cally (which is the only one named in the last " Statistical 

Accoimt ") of any interest at all. It is very probable that others 

might be found by some one who had the genuine antiquary's 

eye, and more leisure than I have enjoyed, in the remote and now 

uninhabited parts of the parish. There can be no doubt that at 

one time the population was much moi-e equally distributed over 

its great extent than it is at present. The town of Gatehouse is 

modern, the first house having been built about 1760. There is a 

"town of Fleet" referred to in the History of Edward L's inva- 

sion, but where it was situated tradition does not say. Symson in 

1684 refers to •' a place called Gatehouse-of-Fleet." As usual, 

there are ever so many suggested derivations of the name 

— 

e.g.^ 

the House at the Gate of Cally (which is absurd), the House where 

the Gaits (goats) were gathered (which is far-fetched), the House 

on the Gate, meaning the Road, which is more likely than either. 

But judging from the situation of the church and the old 

parish records, the chief centres of population were on the one

80 ANTIQUITIES OF GiRTHON. 

haud nearer the sea, and on the other further up the parish 

inland than the present villag-e. There are many signs of former 

cultivation in the most remote and barren parts of the hills, and 

districts were solemnly assigned to elders two hundred years ago 

where now not a single soul is to be met for miles. 

The only ancient Kirk-Session Records in existence are fi'om 

1694 to 1701, and again some fragments (apparently jottings) 

from 1730 to 1742. They are very curious as a picture of the 

life and church discipline in Galloway between the Revolution and 

the '4.T, but they are probably not greatly different from similar 

Records in other parishes. I cannot find any passages that touch 

on matters of wider than parochial interest, except, perhaps, an 

entry in 1700 receiving John M'Millan, chaplain to Murray of 

Broughton, as an elder. This was the famous Cameronian who 

became minister of Balmaghie shortly after. 

There is written into the Session book—apparently in the 

year 1700 —a form of "Oath of Purgation," which may not be 

unique, but is so much more terrific than that given in the " Form 

of Process " approved by the General Assembly of 1707, that I 

venture to transcribe it %erbatim : 

— 

"Whereas I in of Girthon have 

been and am accused by the Presbytery of Kirkcudbright and 

Session of Girthon of the horrid sin and scaudall of Adulterj' 

alledged to be committed by me with I hereby 

declare myself Innocent of the said guilt, and in Testimony of my 

Innocence I swear by the Eternall God the Searcher of all hearts, 

Invocating him as Witness, Judge, and Avenger, wishing in case 

I be guilty that he himself may appear ag-ainst me, as witness, and 

fix the guilt upon me ; he himself may proceed as judge against 

me, who hath witnessed that whoremongers and adulterers he will 

judge (Heb. 13, 4), he himself may avenge his own cause who 

hath declared he will not hold them guiltless that taketh his 

name in vain (Exod. 20, 7), and that the Roll of God's curse which 

enters the house of false swearers (Zech. 5, 4) may enter my 

house if I be guilty and remaine in the midst thereof untill it consume 

the timber and stones yof (thereof) and root out the remembrance 

thereof from the earth, and that the righteous Lord may 

make me ane Example and Terror to all false swearers before I go 

off this world—and finally that all the curses written in the book 

of God from the beginning of the Genesis to ihe end of the


Revelation may fall upon me, particularly that I may never see the 

face of God in mercy, but be excommunicat from his presence and 

have my portion vsîth divels and reprobats in hell to all eternitie 

if I be guilty ; which forsaid oath I take in its true, genuin and 

ordinary sense, without equivocation or mentall reservation, and 

that this paper may stand as a witness against me if I be guilty," 

&c. 

Perhaps it may be worth adding that there is in the Girthon 

Session records a passage which throws some light on the relations 

between the Pi'esbyterian clergy and their Episcopalian predecessors. 

In 1701 there was living in Girthon a Borgue man 

named James Dallzell, who seems to have been regarded as a 

suspicious character. The Session " appoints the minister to ask 

at Mr Mouteith " (minister of Borgue) "at meeting what's the 

reason why this man gets not a testimonial." A fortnight after 

" the minister according to appointment spoke to Mr Monteith 

anent James Dallzell, who told him that he was not well looked 

upon by the people of Borg since the abuse he committed in Mr 

Hasty's House, late Incumbent at Borg." 

Now, this Mr Hasty was an Episcopal curate, inducted to 

Borgue in 1682, and "rabbled" out in 1689. Hence probably the 

word " incumbent," unusual in Scotch church records. They 

would not admit he was " minister." Perhaps they looked upon 

" curate " as an illeg-al—at anyrate a very odious—title. " Incumbent" 

was neutral. One would like to know what the "abuse" 

committed in his house was. If it refers to the " rabbling," it 

would seem that Mr Monteith and his people (strong Presbyterians 

though they were) did not approve of the violent and lawless 

expulsion of the curate. On the other hand, Monteith was himself 

an instigator of the mob in the dyke-levelling riots of 1724. 

Perhaps an explanation of the mysterious " abuse " may be 

found in a minute of Session of the same year, 1701— "Appoints 

John Aikine and John M'Knay to wait on Fryday at the Gatehous 

mercat to take notice and delate such within this Parish as shall be 

found swearing or drinking, drunk, or committing- any other abuse. 

And the rest of the Elders jjer vices thereafter." So after all the 

" abuse committed in Mr Hasty's house " may have been some- 

thing of the nature of undue festivity. And I am afraid the 

zealous Presbyterians of 1700 were no" likely to look with favour 

on a man who had been a companion of an "incumbent" before 

the Revolution.

82 Notes on Cummertkees. 

2nd April, 1897. 

Mr MuEEAY, V.-P., in the chair. 

JVezv Metnbers.—Mr W. H. WilUams, Inland Revenue, Thistle 

Mr John M'Naught, Royal Bank. 

Cottage ; 

Donations and Exchanges.—The Secretary laid the following" 

on the table :—Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries in 

Scotland ; Smithsonian Report for 1894 ; Bulletin of Minnesota 

Academy of Natural Sciences ; Transactions of the Geological 

Society of Glasgow. 

COMMUNECATIONS. 

I.—So7ne Historical and Antiquarian Notes on the Parish of 

Cutnmertrees. By Rev. WILLIAM JOHNSTON, Ormiston. 

The parish of Cummertrees, situated on the shores of the 

Solway, is about 12 miles distant from Dumfries and 18 from Car- 

lisle. In appearance it is flat and uninteresting, its highest eleva- 

tion being Repentance Hill, 372 feet above the level of the sea. 

The name has been spelt differently at different times. The 

following are the forms it has assumed, namely, Cumbertres, 

Cummertaies, Cumertreis, Cumbertrees, and Cummertrees. 

According to Chalmers the name is derived from a Cymric 

word, Cum-ber-tre, signifying " the hamlet at the end of the short 

valley " (Caledonia). A somewhat similar view is that of J. A. 

Pictoii. " At first sight," he says, " it would seem natural to suppose 

that the Cumber in Cumberland and Cummer in Cummer- 

trees are derived from the same source ; but a little further 

examination will throw doubt on this. Cumberland is, of course, 

the land of the Cymry or Cumbri, so named by the Angles before 

it was conquered by them. Now, if Cummertrees, or Cumbertre, 

is derived from the name of the inhabitants, it must mean the 

abode or dwelling of the Cymry. It is scarcely likely that, dwell- 

ing in the midst of other Cymric settlements, the inhabitants 

themselves would have given it that name. On the other hand, 

their Anglian or Norse neighbours, if they wished to invent a 

name, would certainly not have adopted a foreign tongue. We 

must, therefore, look to another source for the origin of the name. 

All, or nearly all, Celtic names of places have a direct reference to 

\

Notes on C'itmmertrees. 83 

the physical peculiarities of the locality. Cum-ber-tre is a g'enuine 

Cymric word, meaning " the dwelling in the short hollow " (Notes 

and Queries, Oct., 1873). This view would seem to derive sup- 

port from the physical peculiarities of the site of the ancient 

village of Cummertrees, which stood a little further to the 

south than the present village, on a "piece of level ground 

at the end of a short valley, formed into an angle by two 

streams "—the Hitchell burn and the Pow burn— " meeting 

in front" (New Statistical Account). It is doubtful, however, 

whether it can be accepted as correct. It appears at least 

as probable that Cumbertre signifies the hamlet at the meet- 

ing of the streams. Taking it for granted that tre is the root 

of trees in Cummertrees, it is certain that tre or trefia. Cymric 

means a dwelling-. The question is as to the signification of 

Cumber or Cummer. Chalmers, followed by Picton, makes two 

words of it, Cum-ber, both interpreting Cum as a short valley or 

hollow. While the former gives to ber presumably the sense " at 

the end of," the latter also presumably gives to it the sense of 

" in," neither of them furnishing any special interpretation of it. 

Taylor, an excellent authority, maintains that Cum does not mean 

a valley, short or otherwise, but a trough or depression in the 

hills, and that it is the root of such words as co!)ib, a measure of 

com, and comb in honey-comb. The likelihood is that Cumber is 

one word, and comes from the Cymric Cymmar, which signifies a 

confluence of streams. This same Cymric word occurs in the 

Cumber in Cumbernauld, which, according to the writer of the 

New Statistical Account of that parish, is in Celtic Cumar-an-alt, 

which it is said means the meeting of streams, the name, it is 

added, being descriptive enough of the situation of the place, as 

several streams unite their waters a little below the village of 

Cumbernauld. Another form of Cymmar, namely, Hymyr, is 

found in Humber, the river of which name is formed by the conflu- 

ence of the Trent, the Ouse, and the Don. 

No mention of the parish occurs, so far as I know, before 

about the middle of the 12th century. It is well known that 

Robert de Brus, son of the first of the name who came to England 

with William the Conqueror, held a very large part of Dumfries- 

shire. Having formed an intimate acquaintanceship with David I., 

while Earl of Cumberland, he received at or shortly after David's 

accession to the throne a charter from that monarch conferring

84 Notes on Ctimmertrees. 

upon him " Estrabannent et totam terrain a divisa Dunegal de 

Stranit usque ad divisam Randulphi Meschines." He died in 1141. 

and was interred in the priory of Gysburne, whicli he had previously 

built and endowed. His son Eobert succeeded to his estates. 

Out of respect and affection for his father, Robert added to the 

endowments of Grysburne priory by bestowing upon it the lands 

and tithes of the Churches of Annan, Cumbertres, Graitenhou 

(Grraitney), and of some others in the neighbourhood. If it is not 

certain in what precise year these gifts were made, they must have 

been made between the time of his father's death and the year of 

his own death, 1171. 

A little further on we come upon the first known dweller in 

Cummertreea to whom lands, &c., were granted by the Brus. 

The following charter is by William de Brus, son of the Robert 

who bestowed on Gysburne the lands and tithes of the churches 

just named, and though without date, must be somewhere between 

1191 and 1215, in which latter year he died. It is found in the 

MSS. history of " Lord Carlyle of Torthorwald," by the Rev. 

Peter Rae, minister of Kirkconnel at the beginning- of last century, 

and is translated thus : 

— 

" William de Brus to all his friends, French and English, and 

that I have given 

those who will be hereafter, greeting : Know 

and granted and by this my charter confirmed to Adam de Carleol, 

son of Robert, and his heirs, for his homage and service of the 

increase of his fourth part of one knight, which he holds of me in 

Kinnemid, one free salt-pan below Prestende, and one fishery and 

one net (stake) on the shore of the free sea between my fishery of 

Cummertaies, which belonged to my father and Cocho, wherever it 

may please him most, with all its just rights freely as it is the 

custom to the salt-pan and fishery, so that no one shall interfere 

with his salt-pan, stake net, or fishing, unless through my forfeit- 

ure, yet saving to me and my heirs, Strion and Oraspeis. Witnesses 

: William de Heriz, then steward, Hudard of Hoddom, 

Hugh de Brus, Hugh de Cori, Gilbert son of John, Hugh Matuer, 

William de Hoyneville, Adam de Dinwoodie, Richard Fleming, 

Richard de Bass, Roger son of Udard, and some others." 

(Appendix A.) 

This Adam de Carleol was an ancestor of the Torthorwald 

Carlyles. It is probable that the Carleols or Carlyles were orig-i- 

nally Anglo-Norman colonists brought to Scotland by Robert de

Notes on Cttmmertrees. 85 

Brus, who got the grant of Annandale from David I. They held 

possessions not only in Annandale but also in Cumberland, and 

perhaps took their name from its county town. One of them, a 

Sir John Carlyle, was made Lord Carlyle of Torthorwald for 

inflicting a defeat on the English at Annan, and to him, Froude 

relates, that a Dumfries antiquary traced with apparent success, 

through ten generations, the ancestry of the greatest who has yet 

borne the name Uarlyle, when he became famous, aud that 

although they laughed a good deal about it in the house in Cheyne 

Row, Carlyle himself was inclined to think that upon the whole 

the genealogy was correct. 

" Kinnemid," where Adam de Carleol was settled, is now 

known as Kinmount. It is named with more distinctness in another 

charter of William de Brus in Drumlanrig muniment room. There 

the inventory states that there are two charters to Adam de 

Carleol, son of Robert, of the land and mill of Kynimmount, with 

the woods and pasture grounds there described with precision. 

The inventory also shows other charters in favour of later Carlyles, 

granted by Thomas Ranulph, Earl of Murray and Lord of Annan- 

dale, and conferring upon them certain other subjects at Kinmount. 

Being without a knowledge of the contents of these charters, it is 

impossible to say what extent of property in the parish was held 

by the Carlyles in those early times. Whatever it comprised it 

remained with them for hundreds of years. The Kinmount pro- 

perty was in the hands of the Torthorwald Carlyles up to the 

beginning of the 17th century. Then fortune frowned and a 

change came. Having got entangled in difficulties through law 

suits they had to part with it in 1613 to Sir Robert Douglas, 

master of the horse to Henry, Prince of Wales. The property 

passed from Sir Robert Douglas in 1633 to William, First Earl of 

Queensberry. Kinmount continued in the possession of his 

descendants till within the last few months, when the whole of 

the estate, with the exception of two or three farms, was sold to a 

neighbouring proprietor. 

In reference to the Prestende mentioned in the charter, it 

may be assumed to answer to that portion of the parish which lies 

along the Solway and is now known as the Priestside. This is the 

first notice we have of salt-pans in that place. In this connection 

there used to be a tradition that the right of making salt was 

granted to the people in the Priestside district by Robert the

86 Notes on Cummeetrees. 

Bruce. " It is said," to (]uote from tlie New Statistical Account of 

the parish, "that when Bruce was on the shore at a place called 

Priestside, being- weary and exhausted by hung-er and fatig-ue, a 

farmer's wife fed him with bread and eg-gs, but without salt. On 

hearing that the people along the Priestside were not allowed to 

make salt, Bruce, with his usual generosity, immediately granted 

to the people in that quarter a charter to make salt duty free. 

Several years before the salt duty was removed the excise tried 

the validity of the Priestside, or rather Annandale, salt charter at 

Edinburgh, when, after much litigation, it was found to be good 

and sufficient ; but that it was granted according to the circumstances 

handed down by tradition cannot be clearly proved. The 

exemption from salt-duty along the coast of the Solway in Annan- 

dale depends at present on an Act of the Scottish Parliament 

passed in the time of Charles II., but that Act records that it was 

a privilege enjoyed from time immemorial till invaded by the 

usurper, Oliver Cromwell." (Appendix B.) 

To pass from salt-making, there was another occupation 

carried on in that locality which, if less legitimate, was more 

lucrative. If the parish is bare and monotonous along its Solway 

side, it yet derives some interest from the circumstance that it 

forms one of the scenes in Sir Walter's " Redgauntlet " and sup- 

plied him with the name at least of the Laird of Summertrees. 

There, as at other places on the Solway, smuggling was wont to 

go briskly on. A house at Powfoot called Hillhouse was specially 

built with a view to the trade, and provided with cellars for con- 

cealing the contraband goods. In a row of houses now away, but 

situated near Hillhouse, there was another house which did duty 

as a similar receptacle. The fields round about were thickly 

covered with whins, among which casks of brandy were deposited 

for the time being, and removed when favourable opportunities 

presented themselves. So plentiful was brandy in that quarter 

that the road leading from the high road to Powfoot got the name 

of the Brandy Loaning, and such a dish as " brandy porridge " 

was then not unknown. The farmhouse of vStonebriggs, about a 

quarter of a mile to the west of Cummertrees Village, was also a 

place noted for receiving smuggled articles. There was a cellar 

in the house, and at some distance from the house there constantly 

stood a peat stack, under which was another cellar, the two being 

connected by a curious subterranean passage. On one occasion

Notes on Cummektrees. 87 

the farmer's wife saw approaching- two excisemen, coming as she 

suspected to pay them an early visit, and leaving her husband, 

who had not got out of bed, to deal with them she quickly slipped 

out by the back door. After some talk with the farmer they dis- 

covered the cellar under the house, but while they were parleying 

above the wife was busy below removing some articles to the 

cellar under the peat stack, and coming in when the men were 

proceeding to inspect the cellar she was indignant that a douce 

farmer and his wife should have fallen under their evil and 

unwarranted suspicions. 

The name of William de Heriz, the first witness to the 

charter of William de Erus to Adam de Carleol, takes us to the 

opposite or north side of the parish, where Hoddom Castle and 

Repentance Tower are situated. The former, with its spires rising 

among the surrounding woods, stands near the north-east corner 

and not far from the river in one of the most beautiful spots in the 

vale of the Annan. With respect to the history of this building 

there is an apparent discrepancy in the accounts that come down 

to us. There was an older house on the other or Hoddom side of 

the river which was inhabited by some of the Bruce family about 

the beginning of the fourteenth century. By the fifteenth century 

the Herries family had large possessions in Dumfriesshire, among 

them being the half-barony of Hoddom ; and the old house referred 

to having been destroyed in a border foray, John Herries of 

Herries built with its stones the old part of the present castle, 

about the middle of that century. On the other hand, it is stated 

in an old family history which is printed in the Herries peerage 

case that John Maxwell, Lord Herries, son of Robert, fifth Lord 

Maxwell, " built the house of Hoddomstaines in Annandale and the 

watch tower of Repentance to be a beacon." This Lord Herries, 

who was a great friend of Mary Queen of Scots, lived a century 

after the John Herries just mentioned. Though these accounts 

appear contradictory both may be correct. In a raid of the 

English in 1572 or 1573, conducted by Lord Scrope and the Earl 

of Sussex, and directed principally against the Maxwells, Hoddom 

was one of a number of castles that suffered greatly. To use 

Scrope's own words, he " took and cast down the Castles of Caer- 

laverock, Hoddom, Dumfries, Tinwald, Cowhill, and sundry other 

gentlemen's houses, dependers on the house of Maxwell, and 

having burnt the town of Dumfries, returned with great spoil into

88 Notes on Cummertrees. 

Eng-Iand." And therefore, when it is said that Lord llerries built 

" the house of Hoddomstaines," it may be taken as meaning that 

he rebuilt it after its demolition on that, occasion. ' The Castle," 

it is stated in the additions to Camden, " was soon after surrendered 

to the Regent Murray, and before the accession of James 

VI. was one of the places of defence on the borders :— ' To be 

keeped with one wise stout man, and to have with him four well 

horsed men, and these to have two stark footmen servants to keep 

their horses, and the principal to have one stout footman.' " The 

walls are of great thickness. Additions have been made to it from 

time to time, tlie most important being- those carried by General 

Sharpe and the present proprietor. 

Repentance Tower stands on the crown of a hill directly to 

the south of Hoddom Castle, and may be reached by a quarter of 

an hour's walk from that place. Its walls are 6 feet thick and 

about 30 feet high ; 

and it measures 23 feet 9 inches by 21 feet fi 

inches. On the top there is an erection for holding the alarm 

fires. In the old family history referred to, it is said to have 

been built by Lord Herries to be a beacon. There may have 

been something of the kind on the spot previously; at auyrate 

it is certain that there was a beacon there a good while before 

his day. For immediately after the sudden and unexpected raid 

which the English made into Dumfriesshire in 1448, when they 

burnt Dumfries, William, eighth Earl of Douglas, summoned a 

convention, which met at Lincluden Abbey, at which the whole 

question of the beacon fires was considered, and among the arrang-e- 

ments adopted for putting matters in that respect on a more 

satisfactory footing, Trailtrow (now called Repentance Hill) was 

one of eleven places in Annandale where the Sheriff was appointed 

to see that men were employed to erect and light the beacons. 

The name Repentance came afterwards, but as to how it origi- 

nated no authentic account exists. Human ingenuity has been 

much exercised to discover its origin, if one may judge from the 

number of fables it has invented. One story is that Lord Herries, 

having used the stones of the old Chapel of Trailtrow in buildiug 

the house of Hoddomstaines, and having afterwards been sorry for 

the sacrilegious act, raised the tower as a memorial of his repent- 

ance. Another is that when returning by sea from a raid into 

England, and being in great danger of shipwreck, he vowed that 

if he escaped he would, as an atonement for his misdeeds, build a

XOTES ON CUMMERTREES. 89 

tower and keep a watch in it to light a beacon to announce the 

hostile movements of the English on the border. And so on. 

Probably the correct explanation is that the name was given in 

jest, as the object evidently was to bring the thieves of Annan- 

dale and the English side to give up their lawless proceedings. 

Connected with the name of the building there is a bo7i fnof, as 

it has been called, which has come down from Reformati(m 

times. A Sir Richard Steel, when one day iu the neighbourhood 

of the tower, came upon a herd-boy lying on the ground and 

reading the Bible. On asking if he could tell him the way to 

Heaven, the toy replied " : Yes. sir, you must go by that tower " 

— Repentance. Some years ago a preacher, who had made some 

use of the story in a sermon on repentance, had it suggested to 

him by a learned friend immediately afterwards that the gentleman 

was not really asking the way to Heaven, but only to 

Hoddom, when to his chagrin he felt that something of the hon 

had departed from his discourse. 

A very little to the west of the tcjwer. and on a lower level, 

stood the ancient Chapel of Trailtrow. Nothing remains of it to 

show what it was like, or even where its site was. Trailtrow was 

one of the preceptories jsf the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, but 

apparently a very poor one, and though there was a parish of the 

name, it does not seem that the preceptors had possession of the 

benefice unless as mere lay patrons. It was probably a perpetual 

vicarage. This Order having been put an end to at the Reforma- 

tion, the house and lands at Trailtrow passed into the hands of 

Lord Herries, and the parish was united to that of Cummertrees 

in 1609. 

Before quitting Repentance Hill it may be noticed that Thomas 

Carlyle spent one of the most important years of his life there. 

During- his visit to London in 1824, growing weary of the great 

city and liking its literary society less and less, he conceived the 

idea of getting a farm near home, where he could have quietness, 

plenty of fresh air, and full liberty to do as he hked. Having 

seriously broached the idea in a letter to his mother, the farm of 

lloddom Hill, the house and isteading of which were at a short 

distance from Repentance Tower, and looked towards the Solway, 

was taken for him at a rent of £100 a year. When he returned 

from London in the spring of 1825 he found them putting in the 

crops, his brother Alexander and some other members of the family

90 Notes on Cummertkees. 

having- trausported theuLsel ves from Maiuhill to manage the farming- 

operations, while he devoted himself to literary work. He 

did a good deal at German Romance, and meditated on other things 

that took outward sliape afterwards. In his IJeminiscences he 

says :— " My translation (German Romance) went steadily on, the 

pleasantest labour I ever had ; and could be done by task in what- 

ever humour or condition I was in, and was d y by day (ten pages 

a day, I think) punctually and comfortably so performed. Inter- 

nally, too, there were far higher things going on; a grand and 

ever joyful victoiy getting itself achieved at last. The final 

' chaining- down, trampling home for good,' home into their caves 

for ever, of all my spiritual dragons, which had wrought me sad 

woe, and for a decade past had made my life black and bitter." 

And so it was at Repentance Hill that his spiritual campaign, the 

first battle of which was won in Leith Walk four years before, 

came to a close. 

Some have been inclined to think that besides the Ohapel of 

Trailtrow there A\as another old chapel, nearer the centre of the 

parish, and there are one or two things which seem to lend some 

countenance to the supposition. On the farm of Wintersheugh 

there is (or was) a well called Chapel well, and near by pieces of 

finely wroug-ht stone have been dug up from the ground. More- 

over, in a field on the adjoining- farm of Ciiarlesfield portions of 

what looked to have been tombstones liave been found. AVhile 

these things may appear to indicate the existence of a chapel in 

that locality, there is no tradition of it, and no mention is made of 

it in any document that has come under my notice. 

Up till 1 743 the united parish of Cummertrees and Trailtrow 

was, along with the parish of Ruth well, in the Presbytery of Loch- 

maben. In that year the Presbytery of Middlebie, which con- 

sisted of the parishes of Annan, Dornock, Hoddom, Middlebie, 

Kirkpatrick-Fleming, Graitney, Langholm, Ewes, Westerkirk, 

Eskdalemuir, and Canobie, petitioned the (general Assembly to erect 

the first six of these, with Cummertrees and Ruthwell, into a new 

Presbytery, to be called the Presbytery of Annan, setting forth as 

their reasons foi- asking the change the distance of many of the 

parishes from the Presbytery seat and the badness of the roads. 

The petition was granted, and the Presbytery of Annan met for 

the first time on the first Tuesday of November, 1 743.

Notp:s ox Cummertreks. 91 

There is notliiu^' notewortliy eitlier as regards the ministers of 

Cunnner trees or its church. Two of its incumbents do stand out 

among the rest in a way—John Turing, in having deserted his 

charge at the lievolution. and Gilbert Ramsay, in ha\ing deserted 

his cliarge in 1700. and in being- deposed in 170'J for enlisting as 

a private dragoon. The church is a plain cruciform building, 

destitute of all ornamentation. In 17.5.') the Presbytery reported 

to tiie Synod that the Church of " Cumbertrees was and had been 

for a long- time by-gone in a ruinous state, to the great discourage- 

ment and marring of the public worship of Uod in that parish." 

It does not ajjpear whetlier anything followed immediately on this 

representation. It is likely enough that the heritors were in no 

great hurry to move, and that little or nothing was done till 1776 

or 1777, when the church was renewed. 

There have been several finds in the parish, but scarcely any 

of the finders would seem to have had enough of the antiquarian 

spirit to preserve them or to put them into hands that would be 

likely to preserve them. 

With the exception of a stone-celt found by a labourer when 

clearing out the foundations of a house on the farm of Charlesfield 

about 35 years ago, nothing- in the shape of prehistoric or Roman 

remains is known to me as having been discovered in the parish. 

It used to be in the possession of the late Mr Charles Carruthers, 

farmer there, and is now in the possession of his son, Mr Peter 

Carruthers of Portrack. 

A great many English and Scottish coins were turned up 

on the farm of liurkledale in 1833. About 28 years ago I saw 

one of the English coins, and am not able at this distance of time 

to describe it accurately, but from the description given of both by 

the writer of the New Statistical Account, who evidently had the 

opportunity of examining- them and has described them minutely, 

I take it that they were English and Scottish silver pennies of the 

reigns of Edward I. and Alexander III. respectively. Many years 

after coins of the same description were found on the farm of 

Nethertield, and one also of silver and of the reign of Edward I., 

but of the size of a florin, was picked up near Moorbeck. I am not 

aware of anyone who is more likely to have one or more of these 

coins than Mr Carruthers of Portrack. (Appendix C.) 

Considering the situation of the parish it was to be expected 

that some traces would be left to speak of battles fought between

92 Notes on Cummeetkees. 

our forefathers and the Enghsh. Whether the village of Cummer- 

trees was one of those which were destroyed along with the town of 

Annan by Sir Henry Percy and Sir Robert (Jlifford about the 

beginning of the year 1297 is uncertain. Lord Scrope was at 

Cummertrees in 1570, and the village likely suffered then. That 

it was burnt in some of the English raids derives considerable 

cei'tainty from the fact that charred wood, remnants of the rough 

timber erections which, covered with turf and heather, formed the 

houses of the common people in those days, has been dug up from 

the site which the ancient village occupied. On the farm of 

Broom is a Bruce's field, near by which swords were once found, 

and on the farm of Corrieknowes about 1830 there was turned 

up a large number of swords, spears, horseshoes, and a brass 

battle-axe. The farmer, the finder of these last named, seems to 

have been a thoroughpaced utilitarian, as it is said that he had 

them all converted into farming utensils, with the exception of the 

battle-axe, which being- of brass would not serve his purpose, but 

the fate of which I have not been able to ascertain. (Appendix D.) 

Willelmus de Brus, omnibus hominibus, suis amicis, Francis. 

et Anglis, et futuris, salutem : 

Sciatis me dedisse et concessisse et 

hac mea charta cuntirmasse Ade de Carleolo filio Roberti et 

heredibus suis pro liomagio suo et servicio de incremento sue 

quarte partis unius militis quam de me tenet in Kinuemid unam 

salinam liberam subtus de prestende (sic) et unam piscariam et 

unum rete in litore maris libere inter piscariam meam de Cummer- 

taies, quae fuit patris mei et Cocho (sic), ubi ipse melius voluerit, 

cum racionalibus (sic) et sufficientibus uecessariis libere sicut de 

Cessessio (sic) de prestende et de more ad salinam et piscariam, ita 

quod mellius poterit (pistura aut rete secum ?) vel piscariam suam, 

nisi per ilium super forisfacturum meam, salvo tamen mihi et 

heredibus meis, Strione et (Jraspeis. Testibus, Willelmo de Ileriz. 

turn Senescaldo, Hudardo de Hodelmo, Ilugone de Brus, Hugone 

de (Jori, Gilberto filio Johaunis, Hugone Matuer, Willelmo de 

Hoynville, Ade de Dunwithie, Ricardo Fleming. Ricardo de Basso, 

Rogero filio Udardi et nounuliis aliis.

Notes on Cummeutrees. 93 

B. 

The following- is an extract of the Act referred to, which is of 

date 12th July, 1671 :— 

" The Estates of PaKliaiueut ha\iiig heard a supplication pre- 

sented to them by Adam Newall, in behalf of some tenants and 

people in Aunandale, who, by their industry and wholesome 

labour, do from sand draw salt for the use of private families in 

that bounds ; 

and who, in reg-ard to the painfuluess and singularity 

of the work, have ever been free from public imposition or exaction, 

until the year one thousand six hundred and fifty-six or thereby, 

that the late usurper, contrary to all reason, equity, or former 

practice, forced from them an exaction to their overthrow and 

ruin, and thereby dispossessed them that they are in a starving- 

condition. 

" Humbly therefore desiring that they may be freed from 

that unwarrantable exaction, and also having heard and considered 

the report from the Commissioners for trade and bills, with their 

opinion thereaneut : the King's Majesty, with the advice and con- 

sent of the Estates of Parliament, declares the said salters, winning 

and making salt within Uie bounds specified, in manner above 

written, to be free of any excise, and therefore discharges all 

collectors, or others, from any uplifting or exacting the same in all 

time coming." 

(J. 

" The Scotch coins have on the right side the following inscrip 

tion :—Alexander Dei Gra + encircling the profile of a king's head 

crowned with an inverted sword placed in front of the head. On 

the reverse side there is in very distinct characters Rex Scotorum, 

encircling a cross and. four stars, one in each angle of the cross. 

On the right side of the English coins there is a front view of a 

king's head crowned, which is encircled with the following letters, 

Edw R. Angl Dns IVB + , 

and on the reverse a cross with twelve 

balls, three forming a triangle in each angle of the cross. The 

inscriptions round the cross on the English coins are various. On 

on others, Civitas 

some the words Civitas London are very distinct ; 

Cantor ; on others, Civitas Ebrocae ; on others, Civitas Dublinie ; 

and on others, Civitas ^Yaterford, probably to specify the different 

places of their coinage. The English and Scotch coins are nearly 

of the same weight and size, and two pieces are scarcely eiûal in

94 Notes on Cummertrees. 

weight to one sixpence. There is no date on any of the coins, 

and as there are no numerals after either of the kings' names, it is 

likely that the Scotch are of thereig-u of Alexander I. of Scotland, 

and the English of Edward I. of England The brow of Alexander 

as marked on the coins is lofty, and the countenance fierce, agree- 

able to the epithet ' acer ' given to that king in history ; while 

the countenance and bushy locks on the coins of Edward bear a 

strong resemblance to the portraits of that monarch." (New 

Statistical Account, Cummeitrees, 1834.) 

D. 

" The farmer who found the arms, considering them of no 

value to the public, had them all but a brass battle-axe converted 

into husbandry' utensils. He says that the swords were about two 

feet in length, edged on the one side to the handle, and on the 

other for the half length of the blade ; that the spears were long, 

but were nearly all broken, and were more injured by rust than 

the swords ; 

that in the same field he also found a number of horse 

shoes, some of which were an entire circle, and others curiously 

turned in at the heel, while none of them were exactly in the form 

of the present horse shoe. The arms were scattered over the 

field, and not more than eight inches from the surface." 

" It would seem from this that the arms had not been buried 

nor hid there, but that each lay on the place where it had fallen 

from the hands of its owner. But if this supposition be correct, 

the battle must have been fought previous to the founding- of the 

Burgh of Annan, which is within a mile of the field and when the 

surrounding country was an almost entire wilderness ; for, upon 

anj' other supposition than that of almost total destitution of 

inhabitants in the neighbourhood, it would be difficult to concei%'e 

how such a great quantity of arms was permitted to remain 

unmoved till the natural accumulation of debris on the earth's 

surface formed a covering over them. The subsoil of the field in 

which they were found is a hard till, almo.st as impenetrable as 

rock, otherwise they would no doubt have been sunk much deeper 

than they were." (New Statistical Account, Cummertrees, 18o4.)

II. 

— 

Castle ok Greenan. 95 

Notes ofa Naturalist in West Africa. By Dr J. \V. Maktin, 

Holywood. 

Dr Martin, HoIywof)d, submitted some " Notes of a Naturalist 

in West Africa," the result of his observations during- a residence 

of seveial years when acting as medical officer at one of the trad- 

ing- stiitions ; 

and he exhil)ite(l an extensive and interesting- collec- 

tion of natural history specimens, including' a beautiful python skin, 

scorpions, lizards. Goliath and horned beetles, and large land shells. 

Ul.—T/ie Castle of Gree/ia/i. \^y Rev. R. SiMPSON, H.D.. 

Dunscore. 

The ancient land of Carrick. extending- from the banks of Doon 

to the borders of Galloway, is yradualh^ becoming better known. 

Time was when the tourist stopped short of it, thinking- that nothing 

woithy of his attention lay beyond what he chose to call the Land 

of Burns. The knowledge of the Burns pilgrim is not always 

commensurate with his enthusiasm, and he sometimes forg-pts that 

a most important part of the poet's life was spent with his mother's 

people at Kirkoswald, in the rery heart of Carrick. There is great 

wealth of historical association, along- with vast treasure of anti- 

quarian lore, bound up with the old castles of which the district is 

full. These feudal fortresses make the country between the Doon 

and the Stinchar I'esemble a bit of the Rhineland, where every 

height bears some ancient ruined tower, each with its own grim 

legend of war, or sweet, sad story of human passion to tell. 

Near the northern boundary of Carrick stands the ruined tower 

of Greenan. It is perched on the summit of a rock, rising- abruptly 

from the level fields near the Doon. The tide comes up to the very 

base of the cliff. The castle commands an extensive view. Westward 

across the sea are the peaks of Arran, always majestic in 

their appearance. To the north is the grand sweep of the Bay of 

Ayr, with an almost unbroken line of houses extending- from the 

•' auld toon " itself to the busy seaport of Ard'-ossan. Over the 

low hills may be seen, if the day is clear, the shadowy form of 

Ben Lomond. Inland lies the fertile strath watered by the Doon 

and to the south the view is closed by the perpendicular cliffs of 

the Heads of Ayr, the haunt of hawk and sea fowl. 

Centre of this delightful scene stands the ruined tower, lonely 

and grim, reminding- one in its appearance and situation of the

96 Castle or Greenan. 

cas^tles that frino-e the banks of the Rhine, but looking much stei'uer 

and more severe than they. Our chmate is less careful of the 

relics of the past than that of the Rhineland ; and though the 

Drachenfels and Rolandseck and the Mouse Tower of Bingenhave 

withstood for centuries all the i-avages of the elements, the goodly 

Castle of Greenan, not yet three hundred years old, is rapidly 

mouldering away. Every winter sees some portion of its masonry 

thrown down on the sands at the base of the cliff. It gîieves one 

to see such utter destruction, and to think that nothing is done to 

preserve such a fine memorial of the times of old. 

The tower, which is almost all that remains of a much more 

considerable building, is not itself of very great antiquity. Over 

the doorway the date 1603 is still legible, along with the letters 

J. K., the initials of John Kennedy, the proprietor who built it. 

From the evidence of various records there can be no doubt, however, 

that a stronghold existed on the spot centuries before. The 

chartulary of Melrose contains an entrj^ regarding a grant of the 

Doon fishings, made in the reign of William the Lion by Roger de 

Scalebroc, vassal of Duncan, Earl of Carrick—he was a M'Dowall, 

and ancestor of the M'Dowalls of Logan and Garthland, in Gallo- 

way—to the monks of Melrose. These " holy friars " seem to 

have had the knack of g-aining possession of some of the richest 

land in the Lowlands of Scotland. In the same monarch's reign 

they obtained a grant of Friars' Carse and other monk lands in 

Nithsdale from the Lady Affrica of Stranith, who afterwards 

became the wife of Olaf, King of Man. It was of them that the 

evidently truthful rhyme was composed : 

— 

" The monks of Melrose made good kail 

On Fridays when they fasted, 

Nor wanted they good beef and ale 

As long's their neiglibours' lasted." 

We need not be astonished, then, at the fact that shortly afterwards 

they were in possession not only of the rights of fisln'ng in 

the Doon—which presumably they valued as a provision for their 

Fridays' fare—but also of the whole lands of Greenan. Passing 

from the hands of the Church into those of the Lords of the Isles, 

the barony of Greenan was in 1475 feued to John Davidson, wliose 

descendants—known as the Davidsons of Penuyglen, near Cul- 

zean—retained it until 157(5. In that year it was transferred to 

Paul Reid, a burgess of Ayr, in a deed which mentions a tower

Castle of Greexan. 97 

and a fortalice. Reid does not appear to have held possession 

long', for in 1591 we find that the owner is John Kennedy of Bal- 

tersan, holding the lands direct from the Crown. Baltersan is 

close to Crossraguel Abbey, and its owner was connected not only 

with the " kings of Carrick," but with the scarcely less distin- 

guished families of Blairquhan and Auchindrane. It was this John 

Kennedy who carved his initials over the doorway, and it seems 

lie built the tower in addition to, or in place of, buildings already 

existing. The date 1G03 cannot be taken as that of the first erec- 

tion of a castle at Greenan. In 1642, the year of the outbreak of 

the Civil War, the estate passed into the hands of Sir Alexander 

Kennedy of Culzean. The Culzean family was then distinct from 

that of Cassillis, though they both belonged to the same clan and 

bore the same name, and though the two houses are now united. 

The barony was held for a time by the Honourable David Kennedy 

of Newark, who disposed of it, in 1766, to his brother, Thomas 

Keimedy, Earl of Cassillis. It has remained in his family ever 

since, and the present owner is his descendant, the Marquess of 

Ailsa. 

The history of Greenan is on the whole peaceful. There are 

few records connected with it as with Turnberry and Ounure, few 

legends like those told of Cassillis and the Coves of Culzean. 

Notwithstanding this, several writers of fiction have made it the 

scene of their stories, encouraged no doubt by the situation of the 

tower, so suggestive of romance. On one occasion, however, it 

was closely connected with one of the tragedies so frequent in the 

history of the Kennedys. Shortly after the fight near Lady Cross, 

in which the Laird of Bargany was slain by the Cassillis faction, 

the eldest son of the Laird of Culzean died abroad. He was 

provost of the Collegiate Church of Maybole, and the office thus 

became vacant. The Earl of ('assillis was patron, and Culzean 

hoped that his second son would be appointed. But, probably 

because Culzean had been heard to express disapproval of the plot 

that ended in Bargany's death, the Earl gave the post to one 

Gilbert Ross, a notary. Culzean was greatly offended at this, and 

a coolness ensued between him and the head of the clan. Mean- 

time the friends of the slain laird of Bargany were taking measures 

to avenge his death, seeking the hurt of all the Earl's friends, of 

whom Culzean was reckoned one. The most energetic of the 

avengers of blood was Thomas Kennedy of Dinmurchie, the dead

98 Castle of Greenan. 

man's brother. Hearing that Culzean was meditating- a journey 

to Edinburgh on some law business, he arrang-ed to way-lay him. 

With Walter Mure of Cloncaird and four attendants he waited at 

Ayr till he heard that the journey was commenced. 

On the 12th of May, lfi02, the Laird of Culzean set out, 

attended only by a single servant, Lancelot Kennedy. His route 

lay along the coast from the Cove of Culzean to (xreenan, thence 

across the Doon and on towards Holmston Ford, where he would 

cross the river Ayr about two miles above the town. Dinmurchie 

and his followers saw Culzean alight at Greenan Castle, and 

immediately placed themselves in ambush behind the ruined chapel 

of St. Leonard's, overlooking a stream which flows into the Doon. 

From this point there ^vas a view of the whole route from Greenan 

nearly to Holmston. After a considerable time Culzean and his 

single attendant were seen to leave the castle and ford the Doon, 

making straight for St. Leonard's Chapel. Here the six conspira- 

tors, as the old historian says, " Brak at him, and slew him maist 

cruellie with schottis and sti-aikis." The body was plundered, and 

Dinmurchie and his men departed, leaving Lancelot to convey the 

remains to Greenan, whence they were carried on a litter to May- 

bole, and buried in the Collegiate Church. Dinmurchie fled to 

France, and though he made bold in the lapse of time to live in 

Ireland, he never dared return to his own country. 

Such is a specimen of the doings of these old times, and it is 

the only one of the sort connected with Greenan. For the subse- 

quent developments of the plot—for the death of Culzean was by 

no means the end of the hostilities—reference may be made to Sir 

Walter Scott's " Auchindrane, or The Ayrshire Tragedy," and to 

one or two novels of the present day, including William Eobertsou's 

" The Kings of Carrick," and S. R. Crockett's " The Grey 

Man." The author of " The Raiders " makes an exceedingly 

interesting story out of the feuds of the Kennedys, but his foot is 

not so firm and sure as on his native heath of Galloway. He does 

not know the topography of the Carrick land so well, and his im- 

perfect acquaintance with the history leads him into occasional 

anachronisms. The town of Girvan had no existence three hundred 

years ago, though he speaks of it as a considerable place, and the 

seat of a court which should rather have been held in Maybole. 

Then golf as now understood was not played among the dunes of 

the Ayrshiie coast in the reign of King James VL although it was

Children's SiN(aN

100 Children's Singinc; Games. 

help of some of the young folks of the parish, who kindly furnished 

me with the words and other particulars. To them my best thanks 

are due. 

In the following-, which is done by two girls facing each 

other, both strike the palms of their hands against those of the 

other, and then give one clap with their own hands : 

Mistress Brown went to town 

Riding on her pony. 

When she came back 

She had a brown hat. 

And called her Miss Maloney. 

— 

Where have you been all this time ? 

Down the valley courting Sally, 

Down in the valley courting me. 

The rose is red, the violet's blue, 

The honey's sweet, and so are you. 

When we meet we'll have a kiss, 

When we part we'll have another 

That's the way to love each other. 

So are they that sent me this, 

When we meet we'll have a kiss. 

Sandy Toe. 

Sandy Toe, Sandy Toe, 

; ; 

Sandy teedle-um, teedle-um, Toe, 

Was a man, a man, indeed, 

Sowed his garden full of seed ; 

When the seed began to grow. 

Like a diamond in the snow ; 

When the snow began to melt, 

Like a ship without a belt 

When the ship began to sail, 

Like a bird without a tail 

When the bird began to fly, 

Like a diamond in the sky ; 

When the sky began to roar 

Like a lion at my door ; 

When my door began to crack, 

—

Children's Singing Games. 101 

Like a stick across my back ; 

When iny back began to bleed, 

It was very sore indeed. 

Pop g-oes one, pop goes two, 

Pop g"oes my hand over you. 

The motions in this are very similar to those of the foregoing. 

The movements in the next are almost the same, except that 

only one hand of each girl is used when clapping each others 

hands, the hands being used alternately, i.e., the right hands of 

both and then the left :— 

My wee cheety pussy, 

Cheety pussy, cheety pussy, 

My wee cheet}- pussy 

Likes new milk. 

This is frequently repeated. 

In the next two girls stand opposite each other and clasp 

hands, the arms being outstretched. A row of others, holding on 

by the dress of the one preceding, pass under the arms of the 

two while the following words are sung- : 

Broken bridges falling down, 

Falling down, falling down, 

Broken bridges, falling down, 

My fair lady. 

Breakfast time, dinner time. 

Tea time, supper time, 

Catching time. 

At the words '' catching time " the two girls enclose with their 

arms the one who is passing under them at the time and occa- 

sionally, with a swaying movement of the arms, sing : 

Here's a prisoner we have got, 

We have got, we have got. 

Here's a prisoner we have got, 

My fair lady. 

Then the following words are sung : 

— 

— 

What's the prisoner done to you, 

Done to you, done to you. 

—

102 Children's Singing Games. 

What's the prisoner done to you, 

My fair lady ? 

The next verse is the reply : — 

Broke my locks and stole luy g'old, 

Stole my gold, stole my gold, 

Broke my locks and stole my gold, 

My fair lady. 

The question is then asked : 

The reply is : 

— 

— 

What will you take to set her free, 

Set her free, set her free, 

What will you take to set her free, 

My fair lady ? 

A guinea and a half to set her free, 

Set her free, &c. 

The ransom demanded is too high, so the others say : 

A guinea and a half you shall not get, 

Shall not get, &c. 

The gaolers then sing : 

— 

Then off to prison she must go, 

She must go, &c. 

And convey the prisoner away to a place selected. When she is 

thus in custody she is asked which of two things she prefers, 

e.g.^ a gold or a silver watch. When she makes her choice the 

prisoner is placed to one side or other, according to her selection 

of the article, one of the captors representing, say, the silver and 

the other the gold. The game is then repeated. 

For the following, four girls stand clasping each others hands, 

forming as it were a Maltese cross. They then sing, pulling 

back and forward in time with the music : 

— 

Draw buckets of water, 

Upon a lady's daughter 

One in a bush, two in a bush, 

A pretty young lady come under my bush. 

At the words " one in a bush " one twists herself round with her 

back to the centre, and so on until all are in that position, still 

; 

—


grasping- hands. When all ai-e in they jump up and down and 

sing : 

— 

A bunch o' rags, 

A bunch o' rags, 

A bunch o' rags. 

A rather familiar singing game, usually known as " We are 

three brethren come from Spain," appears in Kirkbean as " Here 

are two Jews just come from Spain." The version varies greatly 

in other respects from that given in " Popular Rhymes in Scot- 

land." The suitors are sometimes one, sometimes two or three, 

and these advance towards the other party, which is supposed tu 

consist of a mother and her daughters. It opens thus :— 

We are two Jews just come from Spain 

To call upon your daughter Jane. 

The other party reply : 

— 

My daughter Jane, she's far too young', 

I cannot bear your flattering tongue. 

The suitors retire, but the others, apparently relenting, sing : 

Come back, come back, your choice is free. 

And choose the fairest one you see. 

The lovers return, saying' : 

— 

The fairest one that I can see 

Is bonnie wee (Jenny), will ye come tae me ? 

Jenny refuses in a very curt fashion by saying " No," and the 

suitors join hands and dance round singing, in a very uncompli- 

mentary way : 

— 

She's a dirty wee slap, she wadna come in, 

She wadna come in, she wadna come in ; 

She's a dirty wee slap, she wadna come in 

To help us wi' the dancin'. 

The maiden named, though proof against flattery, cannot resist 

the disparaging references to herself, and joins the party of 

suitors, who, with this addition, dance in a circle, singing : 

Now we've got a beautiful maid, 

A beautiful maid, a beautiful maid ; 

Now we've got a beautiful maid 

To help us wi' the dancin'. 

—


Tlie same routine is followed until the mother and her daug'hters 

become absorbed in the other party. 

One frequently played appears to be a variation of a wide- 

spread and ancient one, known in most places as " Here's a 

poor widow from Babylon." In Kirkbean it takes the following 

form :—One of the g-irls sits or stands alone, and another, repre- 

senting- the widow, with her children on either side, alternately 

advances and retires, the whole singing- : 

— 

Here's a pooi- widow from Sandy land, 

With all her children in her hand ; 

One can knit and one can sew. 

And one can make the lily-white row ; 

One can sit by the fire and spin. 

Please take one of my daughters iu, 

Please take one of my daughters in. 

The solitary girl takes one of the children, without naming her, 

however, as seems to be the ordinary way, and the others sing : 

Now poor (Maggie) she is gone. 

Without a farthing in her hand, 

Not so much as a guinea gold ring. 

The " widow " then shakes hands with the daughter she has handed 

over, the song going on : 

— 

Good-bye (Maggie), good-bye. 

Good-bye (Maggie), good-bye. 

Rosy Apple. 

The movements in this are the same as those in " My Wee 

Cheety Pussy " except that at regular intervals the children vary 

the striking of hands together by lowering them to a little above 

the knee and striking their pinafores. 

Rosy apple, lemon pear, 

A bunch of roses she shall wear, 

Gold and silver by her side, 

I know who's her bride (pride ?) ; 

Take her by the lily-white hand. 

Lead her to the altar. 

Give her kisses, one, two, three. 

For she's a prince's daughter. 

—

Children's SiN(iiN(i Games. 105 

In the next one the children stand opposite each other striking- 

the palms of their hands together, at regular intervals clasping 

hands with their vis a vis and raising and lowering their arms : 

Hot ci'oss buns, hot cross buns, 

One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns ; 

If you have no daughters give them to your sons. 

If you have none of these little elves, 

Then you may eat them yourselves. 

Jemima. 

— 

In the following a number of girls stand in a row, and one, 

representing Jemima, conceals herself behind. Another comes 

forward and says : 

The others reply : 

The lover says : 

— — 

I've come to see Jemima, 

Jemima, Jemima, 

I've come to see Jemima, 

And how is she to-day ? 

She's up the stair washing, 

Washing, washing. 

She's up the stair washing, 

You can't see her to-day. 

Very well, ladies, 

Ladies, ladies, 

Very well, ladies, 

I'll call another day. 

It is unnecessary to repeat the lover's words or the replies in full. 

The next time he calls Jemima is up the stair Starching., the next 

Ironing, the following time Dressing. A change takes place when 

in reply to the usual inquiry the lover is told 

She was comin' doon wi' a basin 

— 

An' she fell an' broke her big tae. 

You can't see her to-day. 

The next time when he returns the news is given with great glee 

She's dead, she's dead, 

She's dead, she's dead.


The lover then says : 

The others say : 

— 

— 

What shall we dress her in ? 

Dress her in, dress her in, 

AVhat shall we dress her in ? 

Dress her in blue. 

Blue for the sailors, 

The sailors, the sailors. 

Blue for the sailors. 

And that won't do. 

Red is then suggested, but rejected with the reply that " Red is for 

the soldiers," &c. Black is the next, but that is said to be " for 

the mourners." White is then suggested, and this meets with 

approval from the others, who say : 

— 

White for the dead people, 

Dead people, dead people, 

White for the dead people. 

And that shall do. 

The one who represents Jemima then runs away, the one who 

succeeds in catching her taking her place. 

This seems to be a version of one which appears in " Popular 

Rhymes of Scotland " as " Janet Jo," the characters in which are 

a father, mother, Janet and a lover. In this Janet lies on her 

back behind the scenes, and the lover comes forward singing : 

And the reply is 

I'm come to court Janet jo, &c. 

She's up the stair washin', &c. 

Ye canna see her the day. 

In this version she is afterwards bleaching, drying, and ironing 

clothes. At last it is : 

Janet jo's dead and gane. 

Dead and gane, dead and gane, 

Janet jo's dead and gane, 

She'll never come hame. 

She is carried off to be buried, the others weeping. Sometimes 

ahe revives. This version, said by Chambers to be current in 

Kirkcudbrightshire, I can hear nothing of. 

—

I 

Children's Si.vdiNci Games. 107 

The following- has apparently more sound than sense, and I 

cannot make out what the words mean : 

— 

If you want a seeking- William 

Take a soldier to the cross. 

There you'll see a noble lady 

Riding on a big white horse. 

Tra la la la la 

Tra la la la la 

In this one the children form a circle and sing the first four lines. 

At the chorus they go into the centre and, one taking the next for 

a partner, gallop round singing 

Tra la la la la. 

Tra la la la la. 

In the succeeding one the children form a circle, going round 

as they sing the words. At the words " she sank " all sink to their 

knees : 

— 

Three times round went the old gallant ship, 

And three times round went she, 

Three times round went the old gallant ship. 

And she sank to the bottom of the sea. 

Immediately after sinking to their knees they rise again, the last 

to do so being condemned to stand in the centre and to tell the 

name of the boy she likes best. She begins by sajnng 

The others say 

— 

The centre one says 

— 

What'll ye give to tell his name, 

Tell his name, tell his name ? 

What'll ye give to tell his name. 

And round about merry ma tansy ? 

I'll give a gold watch to tell his name, 

To tell his name, to tell his name, &c. 

Perhaps G is his first letter, &c. 

The others guess the name of the boy, and if they are not correct 

the one in the centre gives the second letter of the Christian name 

(using the same words otherwise), and so on until the name is 

discovered. 

—


The Farmer. 

One known as " The Farmer " is rather a merry g-ame. The 

children form a circle, one standing- in the centre being the farmer. 

The others dance round him singing : 

— — 

The farmer's in his den, 

The farmer's in his den, 

Oh ! I'm a dearie, oh ! 

The farmer's in his den. 

The central figure then takes one of the others into the middle, and 

the others revolve round, singing : 

The farmer takes a wife, 

The farmer takes a wife. 


The farmer takes a wife. 

The " wife " then chooses another, and the words, 

The wife takes a child, 

are sung with the usual refrain. The next introduction is 

Then— 

The child takes a nurse. 

The nurse takes a dog. 

The stage of the game is then concluded by all clapping the dog 

on the head and singing : 

— 

We all clap the dog, 

We all clap the dog. 


We all clap the dog. 

Should the game be continued the one who was the dog takes the 

position of the farmer. 

The next is incomplete, as I have been unable to learn all the 

words. Three of the players advance towards the remainder, who 

stand in a row. The latter say to the three 

— 

Will you have some bread and wine, 

Bread and wine, bread and wine ? 

Will you have some bread and wine, 

On this fine and frosty morning ? 

—

— 


The three accept the hospitable offer, saying 

But the others say 

The three sing 

The others retort 

— 

Yes, we'll have some bread and wine, &c. 

Bread and wine you shall not get, &c. 

Then we'll tell the policemen, &c. 

Do you see yon battlefield, &c. 

What care we for the battlefield, &c. 

The whole ends with a general boxing match, in fun, of course. 

Red Apples. 

This is sung to a rather agreeable tune. A girl is placed in 

the centre of a ring formed by the others holding hands. They 

move round keeping time to the tune and singing the following- 

words. It will be observed that the last words are hardly in 

keeping with the other lines : 

Red apples I red apples ! by 

— 

night and by day. 

There stands a valley, a valley away. 

There stands poor (Maggie) with a knife in her hand, 

You dare not touch her, or else she'll go mad 

Her cheeks were like roses, but now they're like snow. 

Oh ! (Maggie), oh (Maggie), you're dymg I know. 

We'll wash her in milk and we'll dress her in silk, 

And we'll write down her name with a gold pen and ink. 

Tee-o-mi-tanzy-oh (Maggie) likes her brandy, oh. 

In this game the children sit on their knees a little apart so 

as to allow of the one chosen for the purpose going between. 

This girl in her progress winds in and out between the others 

while these sing 

Round about the village. 

Round about the village, 

Eound about the village. 

As you have done before. 

In and out the windows, 

In and out the windows, &c. 

;

110 Children's SiNGrNc; Games. 

At the next line the ofirl who passes along- stops at the words, 

" stand and face." The line is 

— 

Stand and face yoiu* lover. 

The one chosen rises to her feet and follows the other, while the 

following- words are sung- 

— 

— 

Follow her to London, &c. 

The following are the words used in the familiar g-ame of " I 

sent a letter to my love " : 

I sent a letter to my love, 

And by the way I dropped it. 

I dropped it once, I dropped it twice, 

I dropped it three times over. 

Blaw oot the can'le, blaw oot the can'le. 

Shut your eyes and look at the skies. 

An' don't see where the hanky lies. 

All look behind you. 

All look behind you. 

In the following- the children stand in line, all but one who 

kneels, and then stands at the words, " stand up." At the con- 

clusion of the words the one chosen during- their progress takes 

the place of her selector : 

Kneel down on the carpet, you must kneel. 

Grass grows, grass grows on yon field, 

Stand up. stand up upon your feet, 

And show me the girl you love so sweet. 

Now they are married, I wish them joy. 

First was a girl and second was a boy. 

Seven years after, seven years to come. 

Just give a kiss and then be done. 

Water, Water, Wallfloiver. 

This is a very familiar one in the district. It seems almost 

superfluous to describe it. The children form a ring moving round 

to the words 

— 

Water, water, wallflower. 

Growing up so high. 

We are all maidens,

I 

And we must all die, 

Excepting (Polly Perkins), 

She's the only one, 

Children's Singing Games. Ill 

She can dance and she can sing and she can play the organ. 

Fie, fie, fie, for shame, 

Turn your back to the wall again. 

The one named turns her back upon the centre, and the game pro- 

ceeds until all are in the same position. 

Here is a rhyme in which the characters appear to be in a 

jovial mood : 

— 

The morn's the fair an' a'll be there. 

An' a'll hae on my curly hair, 

A'll meet my (lass or lad) at the fit o' the stair. 

An' a'll gie (her or him) a glass and a wee drap mair. 

Dowft in yon Meadow. 

Down in yon meadow where the green grass grows, 

Where (Maggie Tamson) bleaches her clothes. 

She sang, and she sang, and she sang so sweet, 

She saw a bonuie laddie across the street, 

He cuddled her, he kissed her, and bocht her a ring-, 

A feather for the kirkin'—a peacock's wing. 

Up the streets and down the streets, the windows full of glass. 

Is'nt (Maggie Tamson) a braw young lass ? 

Is'nt (Jamie Johnstone) as braw as she ? 

And when they do get married I hope they will agree. 

Agi-ee, agree, agree, and when they do get married I hope they 

will agree. 

Six pair o' blankets, six pair o' shoes, 

Half a yard o' moleskin to men' Jamie's breeks. 

The following appears to be the same as in " Popular Rhymes 

of Scotland" with the exception of the first verse, in which 

•' Blackberry bush" is substituted for " Mullberry bush." The 

girls join hands in a circle and sing as they move round : 

Here we go round the blackberry bush, 

The blackberry bush, the blackberry bush. 

Here we go round the blackberry bush, 

And round the merry ma tanzie. 

—


In the next verse they walk singly along', mimicking- an affected 

lady, and sing 

— 

This is the way the ladies walk, &c. 

At the last line they again join hands and repeat " Here we go 

round the blackberry bush," &c. The other verses are 

This is the way the gentlemen walk, &c. 

This is the way we wash the clothes, 

and several other things of a similar nature. 

Nuts in May. 

In this game the children are arranged in two rows facing 

each other. One girl is chosen from each side. We shall call 

these Maggie Black and Annie White. These at the words, " A'U 

send Annie White to take her away," try which shall draw the 

other over a handkerchief laid between them. The loser is taken 

to the side to which the winner belongs, and so on ad fin. 

Here we come gathering nuts in May, 

Nuts in May, nuts in May 

Here we come gathering- nuts in May, 

On a cold and frosty morning-. 

Whose nuts will you gather away % &c. 

Gather Maggie Black's nuts away, &c. 

Who will you send to take her away ? &c. 

A'll send Annie White to take her away, &c. 

In selecting those who take the leading part at first in these 

games, a favourite way is by means of the following rhyme. The 

children each put a finger in a cap, and one repeats the words, 

touching the fingers as she speaks : 

— 

Me and the minister's wife cast oot. 

Guess ye what it was aboot ? 

Black fish, white troot, 

Eerie, orrie, ye're oot. 

Sometimes the last one left in after the rhyme has been repeated 

several times is the chosen one, sometimes the one to whom the 

words, " ye're oot," comes in the first round. 

I may close with a rhyme in use by the boys. They some- 

times dance on a coffin-shaped rock in the bed of the stream in the 

; 

—

KlKKCUDBKIGHT OlD ClOCK. 113 

beautifully wooded gleu known as Kirkbean Gill. This rock is 

known as the " Deil's Coffin." In the rocks further down are 

some water-worn holes called the " Deil's Pots and Pans," but 

nothing takes place there so far as I can learn and no tradition is 

attached to these. I suppose it is by way of insult to his Satanic 

majesty that the following is sung- as the urchins dance on his 

" coffin" : 

— 

Some say the deil's deed, the deil's deed, the deil's deed, 

Some say the deil's deed, an buri't in Kirkcaldy. 

Some say he'll rise again, rise again, rise again, 

Some say he'll rise again an' dance the Hielan' Laddie. 

II.— 7%^ Old Clock of Kirkcudbright. By Mr JoHN M'KlE. 

This quaint horological machine, whose working parts were 

originally all of malleable iron, exhibits excellent workmanship in 

the forging of its wheels and in the cutting of their teeth, but 

when it was made minutes were not held to be of such account as 

they are in the present day ; consequently it had no minute hand 

— one to indicate the hours being then considered sufficient. It 

had two dials—one facing- east, and the other north—that could 

be seen from any part of High Street, which at that time com- 

prehended the whole town. There is no authentic record when or 

where it was made. There is a tradition that it came from 

Holland, and may, in all likelihood, have been presented to the 

burgh by William Maclellau, the first Provost, an ancestor of the 

Lords Kirkcudbright. The first authentic notice of the town 

clock, or, as it was then quaintly styled, the " kuok," is to be 

found in the earliest existing records of the Town Council, and 

is dated 1576, wherein, after a narrative of the election of 

magistrates and office-bearers, it is set forth that one, John Hall 

is appointed keeper of the " knok," and subsequently he and others 

continue to be made custodiers of the old timepiece from year to 

year. The following excerpt from the Council minutes shows the 

existence of a curious regulation, namely, that every burgh was 

bound to maintain and uphold a town clock ; and from the same 

excerpt it will be seen that, in 1642, the question was not one of 

erectuag a new clock, but of transferring the old one to a new 

steeple.

114 Kirkcudbright Old Clock. 

" Att Kirkcudbright, the ffourt day of January, the yeir of 

God JmVIC, ffourtie twa years (1642). The qlk day the Proveist, 

BailHes and Counsell of the Burgh of Kirkcudbryt, with advyse 

and consent of the remanent burgess and coramunitie of the said 

burgh. Having takin to thair serious consideracun the los and 

want of thaii- ' knok ' throw the fait of ane steiple and bel hous to 

put thair knok and bellis in (the auld tolbuith qlk of befor keepit 

thair knok and bel being now ruinous and decaiyit), and of haveing 

takin to thair considerauu the uecessitie of ane steiple and bel 

hous to keip their knok and bel, qlk is ane speciall ornament 

belanging to every burgh ; and qlk they are bund be the antient 

lawes of the burrows of this kingdoine to mantein and uphauld 

and lykewayes they takeiug to thair serious consideraun the decay 

of thair comon guid and that it is superspendit upon the comon 

effaires of this burgh. Thairfoir the said Proveist, Baillies and 

Counsell of the said burgh with advyse and consent of the 

remanent burgess and comunitie of the said burgh. Have all in 

ane voice cheirfullie and voluntarily offered theimselff is to be 

stentit in their guids for buying of aue piece of grund qr it may 

be maist and best convenientlie had for biggin of the said bell 

hous and steiple and for fournishing of materialls and paying of 

workmen to big the saym and for that effect they by yir pnts do 

nominate and appoynt certain members of the Uouusell, or the 

maist pairt of theme to convene wt the magrats of the said burgh 

qu soevir they should be requyi't for setting of the foresaid stent. 

Quha being couveint and haveing acceptit the foirsaid charge 

upon them. Have all in ane voyce (qa war pret) maid and set 

down the stent efter. Spcit to be payit by the haill burgess and 

inhabitants to the said burgh to William Halliday and Geo. 

Callander or any ane of thame. Collectors appoyntit for uplifting 

of the said stent and qa ar obleigt to be comptable thairfoir to 

the Proveist, Baillies and Counsell of the said burgh in manir efter 

mentionat." 

The steeple was shortly afterwards built, and the " knok 

and bells placed thereui, where its single hand continued to point 

out the fleeting hours till i72o, in which year a serious fire 

occurred in the steeple, by which much damage was done to the 

clock and bells. In those days there was no watch or clock maker 

resident in Kirkcudbright, and the clock was sent to Ringford, to 

a blacksmith named Law, who was noted for his ability in the art 

"

Glencairn Folk Riddles. 115 

of cleaning' clocks and watches. It lay in the Ring-ford smithy for 

six months before being thoroug'hly overhauled. It was then 

restored to its old quarters, and for more than a hundred years 

continued to be the only standard by which the time in the district 

was regulated ; but after the two-handed clock was put into the 

parish church, the old timekeeper came to be looked upon with 

less reverence, and its occasional erratic movements became more 

noticeable, which had previously passed undetected, but were now 

brought into prominence by the steadier action of its new 

neighbour. It, however, kept moving on with wonderful regularity 

under the doctoring care of several tradesmen, among 

others, F. Walker, A. Millar, W. Law, and J. M'Skimming, until 

this the diamond jubilee of Her Most Giacious Majesty, when 

Provost Cowan, much to his honour, has commissioned Mr 

M'Skimming to replace it with a splendid new illuminated-dial 

clock; and, by resolution of the Council, the " Auld Knok " now 

finds a fitting resting place in the Stewartry Museum. 

III. 

— 

Glencairn Folk Riddles. By Mr JOHN CORRIE. 

Publication of the short and fragmentary paper (m Folk Riddles, 

contributed during Session 1891-92, was instrumental in making me 

acquainted with numerous riddles not included in my collection. 

These, together with several others completed from fragments pre- 

viously possessed, are contained in the present supplementary paper. 

A few noticed by the late Mr Shaw, in his incursion into the same 

field, are not included ; but with this exception, I believe the col- 

lection will be found to embrace almost all that are worth preserv- 

ing. Numerous examples have no doubt perished. I have sought 

in vain, for instance, for references to the crusie, the flail, the 

strike-fire—all objects at one time familiar in every home. It 

seems probable that some at least of these might yet be recovered, 

and I may perhaps be allowed to suggest that any met with should 

be communicated to the Society for preservation. 

Resuming the record of my gleanings, precedence may 

fittingly be given to an example which has Eve, the mother of 

the race, for subject : 

— 

The fairest flower in a' the garden, 

That e'er the sun shone on,

116 Glenoairn Folk Riddles. 

Was made a wife the first day of her life, 

And died before she was t)orn. 

This novel presentation of facts can scarcely be cavilled at, for, 

according to a strict interpretation of terms, Eve nerer «•«.< born, 

and her wifely relationship was undoubtedly co-incident with the 

day of her birth. The example is interesting in another connec- 

tion, for it recalls, and that in a very striking way, two Imes in 

the song of " Annie Laurie." It will be remembered that the 

third verse of Lady John Scott's modernised version of that 

famous lyric commences : 

— — 

Her face it was the fairest 

That e'er the sun shone on. 

The resemblance here, alike in thought and expression, is extremely 

close, and leaves one disposed to attribute to imitation rather than 

to accident. 

I have to thank Mr James Conchie, shoemaker, Moniaive, for 

the following interesting example, which is also of the Biblical 

type :— 

In times of old, the Scripture doth record. 

There lived one who never did offend the Lord, 

Who spoke the truth and never did sin commit, 

Yet in God's presence he shall never sit. 

Aus., Balaam's ass. 

My earlier gleanings contained a riddle on the prophet Jonah. 

Here is another, communicated by a (ârsphairn lady, on the same 

subject :^ 

There was a man o' Adam's race 

Which had a strange dwelling place, 

'Twas neither in Heaven, earth, nor hell, 

Now tell me where that man did dwell. 

A comparison of the two forms is not without interest. 

Of my additional examples from animated nature, perhaps the 

most valuable, alike from a zoological and an antiquarian point of 

view, is the following : 

What's as white's milk, 

And as sleek's silk, 

And hops Hke a mill shillin' ?

Glencairn Folk PaDDLES. 117 

Aus., A magpie. I need scarcely observe that a mill " shillin " is 

no longer a familiar object, and in most districts the magpie is now 

one of the rarest of bii'ds. 

What is't that Stan's oot o' the wud and eats in it ? Ans., A 

sow eating out of its trough. This possesses an antiquarian value 

also, for it indicates that such articles were commonly made of 

wood, and not of stone or fire-clay, as at present. 

We come now to an important class—the domestic. Here 1 

am able to supplement my previous gleanings with a number of 

additions. The crooks, a half-forgotten fireside adjunct, figures 

in several of these. Thus we have :— W^hat'.s a' holes and carries 

water ? Ans., The crooks. In another example we have the 

crooks, together with a three-legged pot, described as follows : 

figure : 

— 

— 

The sma' lean faither, 

The big bag-git mither, 

And the three sma' bairns. 

A little pot with wooden lid presents rather a grotesque 

Ans., A peat fire. 

Hoddy-poddy, wee black body, 

Three legs and a timmer hat. 

What scatters a' day 

And rows at e'en ? 

Faither and mither, sister and brither, 

A' lie in ae bed, and never touch ane anither. 

Ans., The bars of the grate. 

Here is a quaint description of the once familiar '' greybeard 

" :— 

As roon as a riddle. 

As black as a coal, 

A lang neck, and a pumping hole. 

This is finer : 

Hip-chip-cherry, a' the men in 'Derry 

Couldna climb (like) hip-chip-cherry. 

Ans., The reek. I am indebted to Mr John Crinean, registrar, 

Moniaive, for what is perhaps one of the best examples of this 

class. He learned it from his mother, and in all probability it is 

much older : 

—

118 Glt:ncairn Folk Riddles. 

The luill bulled me, 

The cow calved me, 

The smith made me, 

And I grew in the wud. 

Ans., The bellows. Here the component parts of bellows—the 

hide, the iron, and the wood—are all very ino-eniously and accu- 

rately described. Some may consider the freedom of the language 

objectionable, but this at least can be said, it does not overstep the 

canons of the period to which it belongs. 

It seems probable, as already indicated, that recreation was 

the primary aim of the riddle-maker. Many riddles possess an 

educative value, however, and a return to folk-riddle methods of 

instruction might do something- in the direction of genialising 

present-day school life. 

There was a man who had no eyes. 

And he went out to view the skies ; 

He saw a tree wi' apples on't. 

He took nae apples oft 

And he left nae apples on't. 

Ans., The man had one eye, and he took one apple off a tree which 

had two on it at first. 

Pass now to arithmetic. " I met a man wi' a drove o' sheep. 

I says, ' Gude mornin' to you wi' your score o' sheep.' He says, 

' I havena a score, but if I had as many more, and half as many, 

and two sheep and a half, I would have a score.' How many had 

he?" Ans., 7. 

In an arithmetical work by Thomas Dilworth, published 

towards the close of last century, I find a very similar question to 

this, only geese take the place of sheep, and the numbers are 

different. 

A numerous class, less valuable perhaps from an antiquarian 

point of view, but nevertheless interesting, depend upon some 

verbal quibble or play upon words more or less cunningly hid 

away in the text. The following will serve as examples of this 

class : 

— 

The Queen o' Sheba had a ship 

An' her daughter sailed in it.

Glencaibn Folk Kiddles. 119 

I'm aye telling ye. but ye're uo kenuin' 

The name o' the daughter in that ship sailin'. 

Ads., Ann was the daughter's name. 

Ans., Yet-he was his dog. 

There was a man rode up the toon 

And yet he walked it. 

There was a man rode up the toon, 

Great Grizzels was his name, 

His saddle-lap was gilt with gold, 

That's thrice Vve told his name. 

The word , '' was," which occurs three times, gives the name. 

There was a king met a king in a short lane, 

Cooriekiug, tooriekiug, where hae ye been ? 

I have been in the fields hunting- the roe, 

An' lend me your little dog an' I'll do so. 

Call on him, call on him ; what is his name ? 

An' I've called him thrice, call you him again. 

lAns., Ann was the name of the dog*. 

" There was a joiner made a door and it was ower big ; he 

3ok a bit otf , and it was ower wee : he took anither bit off and it 

answered." Ans., The piece taken off at first was too small a piece, 

^nd on taking another piece off the door fitted. 

Riddles of a curiously involved character are not uncommon 

lere are typical examples : 

— 

In comes two legs, carrying one leg, 

Lays down one leg", on three legs. 

Out goes two legs, in comes four legs. 

Out goes five legs, in comes two legs. 

Snatches up three legs, flings it at four legs. 

And brings back one leg. 

The solution is almost as intricate as the riddle ; in giving it I make 

free use of parenthesis for the sake of clearness. Ans., A 

roman (two legs) brings in a leg of mutton (one leg), places it on 

stool (three legs), as she goes out (two legs) a dog (four legs) 

iters and runs off with mutton (five legs), woman returns (two 

3gs), throws stool (three legs) at dog (four legs), and brings back 

piece of mutton (one leg).

120 Glencairn Folk Riddles. 

Here is another of this class ia which the riddUst effectively 

invokes " apt alliteration's artful aid " : 

— 

As I stood on my timper tillies, 

And looked through my wimper willies, 

I saw a muckle big bag 

In the whirly-whig-whag, 

I sent my little tig-tag 

To bring the muckle big bag 

Got o' the whu'ly-whig-whag. 

Ans., A woman on tiptoes looking through a window sees a cow 

among the turnips, and sends her little dog to bring the cow out. 

Subjoined are a few others of a more general character. In 

some the merit as riddles may not be great, but the least meri- 

torious in that respect not unfrequently stand highest in anti- 

quarian value : 

— 

What is't that's neither withoot nor within and it's aye on the 

dyke dryin' ? Ans., The window. 

I gaed away abune grun and I cam hame below't. Ans., A 

man goes to cut a sod and returns carrying the sod on his head. 

What gangs away wi' the carriage, comes back wi' the 

carriage, is of no use to the carriage, and yet the carriage cannot 

do without it? Ans., The sound. 

There is a wee hoose that's fu' o' meat, 

And there's neither door nor window in't. 

Ans., An egg. 

Ans., A star. 

Ans., Two guns. 

As wee as a mouse, as high as a house, 

And yet it canna get into the kirk door. 

Doon in yon meadow there lies twa swine, 

Ane's my faither's, the aither's mine; 

The mair ye gie them the mair they cry, 

The less ye gie them the quater they lie. 

Two brothers we are, great burdens we bear, 

By which we are sorely oppressed.

Glencairn Folk Riddles. 121 

Its strang-e to say we are full all the day. 

And empty when we are at rest. 

Ans., A pair of boots. 

elegant : 

— 

A meal-mill is described in languag-e more vigorous than 

Aycmt yon dyke, a dusty dyke, 

I heard a fellow rout, 

And aye he spewed, and aye he spat, 

And aye he turned about. 

Here is rather a gruesome example : 

— 

There was a man in London, 

Who learned his weans to read, 

He was rotten before he was gotten, 

And buried before he was deid. 

Ans., The man was buried in a coal mine. London as the scene of 

a colliery explosion is certainly a novel conception. Then the 

information conveyed in the second line strikes one as scarcely 

germane, but, as some one has observed, the exigencies of rhyme 

are great. 

As a rule, prose is despised by the riddle-maker, but this, like 

most rules, has its exceptions. Instance the following :—As I 

went ower yon muir I met a wee boy who was roaring and greet- 

ing. I asked him what was wrang wi' him, and he said his faither 

had died seven years before he was born, and he got bread and 

cheese at his burial. Ans., The boy's father was a dyer. This 

example is interesting, because of its reference to the once 

familiar dole of bread and cheese at funerals. The custom is now 

obsolete in Griencairn. I am told tlmt the last occasion on which 

it was observed was the funeral of Sir Robert Laurie of Maxwel- 

ton, in 1848. 

My last example with a solution has the national emblem for 

subject, an interesting addition, for which my acknowledgments 

are due to Mrs M'Gill, Moniaive, a native of Carsphairn ; 

Ans., The Scottish thistle. 

Nine taps, nine tails, 

Nineteen score o' nails, 

Ae elbow, ae fit, 

What a gruesome beast was it 

! 

—

122 Battle of Sark. 

In conclusion, 1 have a riddle for which no solution is forthcoming. 

If any of the members can make g-ood this defect may 

I beg- to be favoured with the answer : 

— 

A blind man saw a hare, 

A dumb man cried " Where ? " 

A legless man ran andcatched it, 

And a naked man put it in his pocket. 

This is said to be a " catch " riddle, to which no answer can be 

given. 

IV. — 77zf Battle of Sark. By Mr G-EORGE Neilson. 

The county of Dumfries has seen a fair share of fighting in its 

day, yet never within the clearly defined historic period has it fur- 

nished the site for a really first-class battle. That of Sark was 

one of the most considerable ever fought on Dumfriesshire soil. 

Unfortunately, the i-ecord of it is confused in the last degree ; its 

very date is with difficulty to be determined ; and the most circum- 

stantial account of it comes from Hector Boece, a historian regard- 

ing whom the main problem always is how much of him one is safe 

to believe. The worst of it is that there appears to be no evidence 

from English sources to clear away the obscurities on this side of 

the Solway. 

The Asloan MS., written soon after 1460, contains a series of 

memoranda of public events, in narrating which chronological 

sequence is too often disregarded, although its authority is reckoned 

of the highest. Next, after an entry dated " the yer of God 

J^'iiij'^xlviij., the xxv. day of Pebruar," occurs the following in- 

valuable passage on page 18 of the print of the chronicle : 

" That samyn yer, the xxiii. day of October, was the battell 

of Lochmabeue Stane, within the perrische of Sanct Patrick. 

Quhar Hew of Douglas, erll of Ormond, was chiftaue on the Scottis 

syd, and with him schir Jhon Wallace of Oragy, the lord of Jhon- 

stoun, the lord Somervellis son and air, David Stewart of Castell 

Myll, the schireff of Air, with uthir syndry gentillis of the west- 

land, and thair men was callit four thousand. And on the Ynglis 

syde the younger Persye, schir Jhon of Pennyntoune, schir Jhon 

Herntoun war chiftanis, and with thaim sex thousand of Ynglis 

men, quhar thar chiftanis war tane and fifteen hundred men with 

thaim slane, drownit five hundred. And on the Scottis syde xxvi. 

—

Battle of Sark. 123 

slaae and tane, but na mau of reputacioun war tane nor slane, 

but schir Jhon Wallace deit efter that he come hame throu mis- 

governance." 

The late Dr Georg-e Burnett, Lyon King of Arms, in his pre- 

face to volume vi. of the Exchequer Rolls (p. Ix.), quotes from 

Law's MS. a passage regarding a battle of Lochmaben in October, 

1458, which he suggests " seems to imply that on the 23rd of that 

month there was an unsuccessful invasion in the Douglas interest, 

and 600 English slain and 1500 captured." He, however, hints 

that it is probably an incorrect transcription from some earlier 

chronicle. The passage in question as printed runs thus : 

1458, xxiij. Octobris. Bellnm de Lowchmaban commissum est, ubi 

Scoti superiorem partem habuerunt et capitaneus castri Anglus junior 

. . . captus est. Lesi sunt Angli in illo bello vi*^- Anglorum. Acta 

sunt hec per Douglases. 

A year or two before his death I called on Dr Burnett to 

consult him about this extract, and to ascertain where Laws MS. 

was. He then told me that in printing a line of type had dropped 

out, thus explaining- the fact of his preface giving fuller informa- 

tion than the citation. The MS., it proved, was one belonging to 

Edinburg-h University ; but as it has been amissing now for several 

years, I have not been able to look at it. It seems, however, to 

be practically certain that the allusion was not to an invasion by 

the Douglases, but to the battle of Sark, and that wherever the 

error crept in, whether by dropping out an x or otherwise, the 

date of the episode has been misrepresented by nine or ten years. 

For " Lowchmaban " it is easy to read Lochmabenstane, the name 

given with so much appositeness by the Asloan MS. 

Variety is pleasing perhaps in most things, but not in dates. 

One prefers uniformity for chronological purposes. Here is yet 

another account :— 

" A.D. MCCCCXLV. bellum de Sark ubi Scoti victores exstiterunt multis 

Anglieis captivatis." 

This we owe to a continuator of Bower (ii. 515), and it is 

repeated with only verbal changes in the Extracta e variis Cronicis 

(p. 238). 

Tjater historians throw no excess of illumination on the chrono- 

logical crux thus presented. John Major, worthy man, had never 

heard of the battle. Hector Boece, however, had, and his flamboy- 

ant but well corroborated and—as 1 see no reason to doubt 

— 

—

1^4 Battle of Sark. 

substantially truthful account of it has been the chief source of 

information for all writers subsequent. Boece (edition of 1574, 

p. o71) relegates the truce which followed the "recent battle " to 

the year 1450. Buchanan (xi., 29-0 1) declares that this truce was 

in 1448. Leslie dates the battle itself explicitly 145U. Holinshed 

and Pittscottie, closely following Boece, are indefinite as to the 

year of the battle. So there is a rather pretty problem of histori- 

cal arithmetic to decide between 1445, 1448, 1449, and 1450, to 

leave 1458 out of count altogether. The state of the evidence 

could not well be worse : three possibly contemporary testimonies 

with three scarcely reconcilable verdicts—Bower's continuation 

speaks for 1445; Law's M.S. for 1458; the Asloan MS. leaves 

open to debate whether it means 1448 or 1441). Interpreted by 

the letter it is for 1448, because the year at chat time was usually 

computed as ending on 24th March. On the other hand, when we 

remember that the 25th FeV)ruary, 1448, was really 1449 by the 

modern style, and note that the seiûence is a notice of an event 

in Februar"y, 144§, followed by notice of an event in October of 

the same year, it becomes natural to think (apart from occasional 

undoubted confusions in the computation of the ecclesiastical and 

the public year) that the reference to October may, much prefer- 

ably, be read to mean October, 1449. 

A factor in the case is the great conference of borderers held 

under William, Earl of Douglas, at Lincluden on 18tli December, 

1448, when the code of tactics and military regulations was 

adjusted for the defence of the West March. Was it after or 

before the battle of Sark that it occurred to Earl William thus to 

assemble in council the experienced warriors of the West Border ? 

An important Dumfries episode calls also for a definitive 

assignment of its place in the series of events associated with the 

story of the battle. The Asloan MS. version of the matter runs 

thus : 

— 

The yer of God Jîiij Cxlix.—The birnyng of Dunbar be young Peisie 

and Sir Robert Ogile in the month of May, and that samyn yer Drumfres 

was brynt be the erll of Salisbery in the moneth of Junij. 

Boece, whose evidence here, as in the battle of Sark, is specially 

important because all the subsequent historians gained their infor- 

mation from him alone, states (p. 367) that in 1448 hostilities were 

renewed on the expiry of the truce, and tiiat in the course of them 

" the town of Dumfries was shamefully plundered by the Earl of


Salisbury and consumed with flame," a fortune shared by Dunbar, 

after which a truce of seven years was arranged. In the municipal 

records there is no corroboration of the burning-. The burgh's 

annual ferme to the crown fixed under feu charter at £20 Is wai 

duly accounted for during all the years from 1445 until 1451 with- 

out any deduction for waste or disturbances, so that iu the one 

quarter where assistance might have been expected we appeal in 

vain. 

Interpreted as I have proposed—that is, reading October, 

1449, as the sense of the date-reference to the battle of Sark—the 

Asloan MS. gives it to us in the same order as Boece, following the 

burning of Dumfries, the burning in June, 1449, the battle in 

October ensuing. A C(jllation of these events and dates, with the 

ofificial records of the relations between Scotland and England, 

shews tha.t they fit in very exactly—indeed, that they explain 

adequately the various events in the F


After this test the reasonableness, if not the accuracy, of the 

Asloan MS. as now interpreted can scarcely be disputed, and it is 

time to turn from chronology to the battle itself. It has been 

described with such admirable clearness, fulness, and vigour by 

our own M'Dowall that in going" over it again the chief purpose to 

be served is to point out divergences in the authorities and to 

emphasise aspects not dealt witli by the industrious and eloquent 

historian of Dumfries. 

The Lincluden conference we can now see as a sign of the 

times. War was expected, and the western border was being put 

in a posture of defence in case of invasion. This was December, 

1448 ; there was war in the spring ; in May, 1449, Percy burnt 

Dunbar ; early in June Douglas retaliated by burning Alnwick 

that same month the enemy came to the west march, and all the 

beacons from Trailtrow hill to Cor.sincon failed to summon a power 

in time to secure Dumfines from fire. In July Douglas retaliated 

once more, singeing the whiskers of the Percy lion by burning 

Warkworth. So the cruel game of tit for tat went on, and one is 

almost forced to infer that this antagonism between Douglas and 

Percy was a main reason of the difficulty in making truces and the 

still greater difficulty of keeping them when made. In England, 

as in Scotland, there was, as Hall said, much '• domesticall division 

within the realme," and Percy under Henry VI. was almost as 

absolute a potentate as Douglas under James II. Despite the truce 

of 18th September, Percy was evidently bent upon revenge in the 

West for the injuries he had suffered in the East. Accordingly in 

October an inroad into the West March was planned. 

The expedition was led by Percy. The Asloan MS. names 

only the younger Percy, grandson of tlie famous Hotspur. Boece, 

however, names also the elder Percy, Earl of Northumberland, as 

himself present in the battle. With the Percies were Sir John 

Haryngton and Sir John Pennington, as well as—according to 

Boece—an officer of great experience trained in the wars of 

France, whom, on account of his long beard, the Scots termed 

in derision Magnus with the Red Mane.* 

The English force is stated by the Asloan MS. at 6000 men, 

Boece characteristically vouching the higher figure of 40,000. 

There wiis, however, in the 14th century a Cumberland family called 

Redmane. Bain iii., 911, 1464, Rotuli Scotfe i., 658. 

;

Battle of Sakk. 127 

The Scottish force under Hugh Doug'las, Earl of Ormond, 

uumbered 4000 in liorse and foot, which can by no means be 

considered a large muster. The presence of Sir John Wallace of 

Graigie, the Master of Somerville, and the Sheriff of Ayr, 

however, is a probable indication that some hint had g-ot abroad 

of the intended expedition, and that there had been at least time 

for some hasty preparation. " Sundry gentles of the westland" 

are mentioned by the Asloan MS. ; Boece is more express in his 

allusion to " Maxwell and Johnstone with a choice body of Scottish 

youth," words rendered by Buchanan as "Maxwell and Johnstone 

with their clansmen." There seems, therefore, no good ground for 

Hume of Godscroft's aspersion upon the county, that Maxwell and 

Johnstone's company consisted of "many inland gentlemen saith 

the manuscript, because they had no great confidence in their own 

Annandale men, who were more set upon spoil than victory." 

(House of Douglas [1743], p. 329.) Stewart of Castlemilk is the 

only other local chief named. 

Ormond learned from his scouts, as Pitscottie—here as else- 

where faithfully if freely Scotticising Boece— words it with 

accustomed vigour, '• that the Inglismen war cum in Annerdaill 

and had transported their armie over the water of Sulway and 

had stented their palliones on the water of Sark." Still more 

definite was the localisation in the Asloan MS., which dubs the 

engagement the battle of Lochmabenstane. They had thus 

encamped close to the Scottish end of the ancient ford of Sol way, 

from which the estuary took its name. They lay there over 

night, and early next morning set out to foray and plunder. 

They "harried and slew quhom evir they fand." On the approach 

of the Scots, who probably came upon them somewhat un- 

expectedly, they were recalled by trumpet, falling back upon 

their camp, where they were marshalled in battle order. 

The Lochmabenstane—in Gretna parish, which includes the 

ancient parish of Rainpatrick, misnamed St. Patrick in the Asloan 

MS.—still stands wind swept on the Solway shore where the 

waters of Kirtle and Sark unite, a solitary granite boulder, the 

last survivor of a great stone circle. For several centuries it was 

a famed place for border meetings, warden courts, and the like. 

Amongst the least known of all the ancient monuments of Dum- 

friesshire, it is perhaps without a parallel in the multiplicity of its 

historic memories. It is a standing memorial of the old days of


division and strife. By that lonely stone the Bng-lishmen stood 

in battle array. It may have been au excellent place for their 

encampment, but was ill fitted as fighting- ground. Did the tide 

ebb or flow, were the waters of the Solway otherwise than at full 

ebb, it is obvious that the spot selected by Percy to give battle 

wliether by deliberate choice or in consequence of some surprise 

—was particularly unsafe. With the Kirtle on his left Hank, the 

Sark on his right, and the Sark and the Solway itself at his I'ear, 

he had the odds tremendously ag-ainst him in the event of a 

reverse. It is perhaps not unfair to postulate that the Scots had 

in some measure surprised him ; but even in that view it was 

surely bad generalship to pitch camp on such a dangerous spot. 

Redmane took command of the right wing or vanguard. 

Pennington, or Openeron as he is sometimes styled, had the rear- 

guard, with a contingent of Welshmen. I'ercy himself had the 

middle ward. There were many archers in the English ranks. On 

the other side •' the Scotismen," says Pitscottie, " placed tham- 

selfBs verie craftielie." Sir John Wallace of Craigie in Ayrshire 

was on the right wing. Herbert, Lord Maxwell of Oarlaverock, 

and Sir Adam Johnstone of Lochwood, with their tribesmen, not 

yet divided by deadly feud, were in the left wing. Ormond him- 

self had the middle ward. 

Ormond was in the midst of a few cheering words to his men 

when the combat began in earnest with a hail of bolts and arrows 

upon the Scots so deadly that the vanguard staggered beneath it 

and was on the point of flight. But Wallace, woi"thy of the name 

he bore, with a brief and strenuous appeal nerved the hearts of his 

detachment with the consciousness of a good cause and a great 

hope of victory. " His men," says Pitscottie, " war so iuraged 

and rushed so furiouslie upoun tliair enemies with aixes, spearis, 

and halbertis, and maid so great slauchter at the first to-cuming 

that they pat the Inglismen cleane aback from thair standard and 

compelled thame at the last to tak the tlyght." Redmane, deter- 

mined to retrieve the impending disaster, dashed forward, too 

daringly, says Boece, to assail Wallace, but, hemmed in by the 

files of Scots, he was slain himself. A great triumph shout rose 

amongst the Scots that he had fallen ; it echoed, carrying dismay 

as it went, through the Eng'lish ranks. '' Thair cam sick fear and 

dreadour upoun thame that they might not long susteane the preas 

of the Scottismen bot gave backs." The Scots followed up their 

—


g-ain and pressed hard upon the bi'oken foe. History has more 

than once had somewhat to say of the long spears of Nithsdale and 

Annandale. Here they played a distinguished part. Buchanan 

tells that the enemy was discomfited by the long spears of the 

Scots wielded both by horse and foot—long spears for which 

Buchanan had ample warrant in Boece. Many were slain in the 

thick of battle ; more in the flight. Then was seen the disadvan- 

tage of the place which Percy, unused to Solway warfare, had 

selected for his battle-line. The tide had risen , so that the English 

were in a very real sense between the devil and the deep sea. The 

water, as Pitscottie, after Boece as usual, quaintly records, 

" boldinit with the filling of the sea, caused many to lose their 

lyves and perisch in the watteris. Utheris, sieand this, doubted 

quhidder they would fight and die with honour or live with schame, 

and preferring the on to the other, were cruellie slaine ,'ipoun the 

water bankis." 

The fight wâs very bitter— " foughten with great ciueltie." 

On the defeated side the Asloan MS. states the slain at 1500 and 

the drowned at 500 ; Law's MS. that the dead were 600 and the 

captives 1500 ; Boece and those after him that the English lost 

well nigh 3000, including 11 knights, besides whom were the 

prisoners— " a great multitude of men whom sword and tide had 

spared." Pennington, captain of the Welsh, and Haryngton, as 

well as young Percy himself, were among the prisoners. The 

elder Percy, Boece says, effected his escape through the gallant 

devotion of his sou, who helped him to horse. The Scottish loss 

was probably slight. According to the Asloan MS. it was only 

26 ; according to Boece, 600. Wallace of Craigie received his 

death-wound, though he survived long enough to grant a deed to 

the Abbey of Paisley, which is the most interesting of documents 

for the story of the battle. The Scotch made a rich spoil in gold 

aud silver and furnishings— " so great a booty," says Boece, " as 

scarce ever happened before within the memory of man." It was 

divided, he adds, amongst the soldiers, according to the law of the 

land, that law of custom, no doubt, of which a valuable part was 

written down at the Lincluden conference— " the statutis, ordi- 

nancis, and use of merchis that wes ordaiuit to be kepit in blak 

Archibald of Douglas dais and Archibald his sonnis dais in tyme of 

weirfare." Ormond returned in triumph to Lochmaben, where the

130 

Battle of Sark. 

chief captives were lodged in the castle. So ended one of the 

greatest battles ever fought in Dumfriesshire. 

Buchanan assures us that the Englishmen, relying upon the 

number and quality of their troops and the discords of the Scots, 

had come as secure as if they were marching not to a battle but 

to a triumph, so great was their self-confidence and so great their 

contempt of the enemy. Hume of Godscroft was equally unable 

to resist an opportunity for a chuckle at the English expense. 

Redmane, "too confident of his own sufficiency," was —as indeed 

Boece tells us— said to have stipulated as a reward for his services 

for a grant of all the lands he could win from the Scots. " A 

notable example," comments Godscroft, " to teach men not to be 

over confident in things of such uncertain event as are the wars ; 

and, as our proverb is, 

' Not to sell the bear's skin before he be 

slain.' 

" 

It was a battle serving, of course, no national purpose, with- 

out so much as a respectable reason of State, probably begotten 

of sheer pride, sudden and fierce as a storm of April hail, without 

real cause, and with no result except that of probably inducing the 

immediate peace that followed. But from the standpoint of Dum- 

friesshire, as repelling an invasion, it was indeed a famous victory 

in a sense other than the sarcastic poet's. The glory has never 

been as exactly apportioned as doubtless the ransoms of the 

prisoners and the shares of plunder were—according to the law 

of the land. Godscroft is jealous for the renown of Ormond, the 

gallant young Douglas, destined to die by the hands of the execu- 

tioner within seven years' time. The Kirkconnell MS. History of 

the Maxwells unblushingly claims all the laurel for Lord Maxwell, 

telling how the Scots were all but utterly discomfited by the host 

of England till "the said Lord Harbert came in with the rear 

guard and wan that feild by his vallor." The old Scottish 

historians with one voice, however, have remembered with 

generous praise the services rendered by the laird of Craigie. 

Sir John Wallace, as we have seen, did not die on the field, 

but " efter that he come hame throu misgovern ance." According 

to Boece :— " Carried home on a litter he succumbed to the fates 

in the third month after." Tertio post rnense ; the words prove 

curiously illustrative. On 28th January, 1449, old style, that is 

1450, Sir John made before a notary express confession and 

acknowledgment that he had done divers wrongs to the monastery

Influence of Habitat on Plant Habit. 131 

of Paisley, had disturbed and troubled the monks, and had by unjust 

spoliation deprived them of their rents. He remembered it, he 

said, with sorrow, and it gave him many a pang-. Clitod referens 

dolemlo mi(/t)plicitei- [xvuitiilt (Reg'. Passelet, 82-83). So now, on 

28th January, he and his son togêther renounced all the claims 

formerly put forward under which these wrongs had been done 

and these rents uplifted. It is scarce possible to mistake this. It 

is a death-bed act, the dying man's i-estitution, that great pre- 

requisite to the absolution necessary before the soul even of a 

victorious hero can pass into everlasting peace. We do not know 

what was the exact day of his death, although it is on record that 

he was dead before 15th May following. We can well suppose 

that the last hour was drawing near, the extreme miction soon to 

be administered, when on 28th January, 1450, just three months 

after 23rd October, 1449, he made this pathetic confession. 

Capable of being viewed in many lights—a justification of priestly 

right, an abuse of priestly power, an example of mediaeval super- 

stition, or a true case of a repentant conscience—it is even less 

dubiously historical than that splendid share in the battle of Sark 

which in a measui-e still lives on the lips of men. In the " Wallace 

Papers," the modest " Genealogie," dry and brief though it be, 

seems to linger for a moment of pride in telling how the Ayrshire 

family cherished as a monument and heirloom " the standard 

which he carried at the feig'ht." 

V. 

— 

The Influence of Habitat on Plant Habit, ^y Mr G. F. 

Scott-Elliot. 

After a botanical expedition to Egypt, it seemed to me that it 

might be possible to show the dependence of Habit upon Habitat 

by a statistical method. I therefore, with the kind permission of 

Mr Carruthers, examined the Ranunculacese, Papaveracese, and 

Cruciferte in the British Museum, and also those in the Kew 

Herbarium, for which I have to thank the authoi'ities. Unfortu- 

nately the number of specimens in which the habitat admitted of 

tabulation was very small ; the labour of collecting is greatly 

increased by making notes of the habitat of each specimen, and 

very few consider such notes of any importance. In these 3 

orders I only found 230 species in which both habit and habitat 

could be arranged under definite, distinct headings. The work

132 Influence of Habitat on Plant Habit. 

was suddenly interrupted, as I was urgently requested by Mr 

Thiseltou Dyer to go to Sierra Leone, so that I was unable to finish 

the Compositae which I had commenced. 

The first habit of which I took note, the " rosette-type," 

consists of those plants in which all the leaves are radical and the 

stem forms no internodes whatever. 

I found 33 plants belonging to this type in the 230 examined. 

These are shown in the first table. 

Cerastium macranthum 

„ scaposum . . 

,, campanulatum 

Iberis, 19* 

Lychnis alpina 

Thlaspi, 6, 8, 10, 20, 21, 23 

Sisymbrium, 32 

Arabis, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13 

Cardamine, 13, 14, 15 

Alyssum, 5, 6, 7 

Diplotaxis, 3, 5, 6t ... 

Sinapis, 10 

10 

11 

13 

Brassica, 24 ... 

Lepidium, 21, 22, 23... 

. 

Table 1. 

ROSETTE PLANTS. 

Rocks, Algiers 

Rocks, Crete 

Sand, Naples 

Dry places 

Rocks ? 

Rocks 

Desert 

Rocks 

Rocks, Alps 

Athens 

Exposed places 

Sandy waysides 

Seaside 

Midian Desert 

Calcaire aride 

Algeria 

Stony mountains. 

It will thus be seen that of these 33 species 16 grow on rocks, 

13 in dry countries, and 4 in sandy places. 

All these habitats involve more than an average amount of 

exposure, or in other words, the plants growing- in them are 

subjected to more than tlie usual amount of transpiration ; I have 

myself noticed the abundance of the rosette type of plant in 

such places, e.g., as the " baiTancos" of the Canary Islands, on the 

dry sandy shores of South-Eastern Madagascar, at the junction 

* The numbers are species in Nyman's Conspectus, 

t The rosette form in these 3 occurs only in exposed habitats.


of the Sahara and the alluvium of the Nile ; Lindmann has also 

pointed out that it is very common at Cadiz (1), Meigen found 

this type prevalent in the (Hiilian Desert (2), &c. 

But when we find a plant becoming a rosette in a habitat of 

great exposure only and not taking on this habit when it is not 

subjected to great transpiration, then it is better evidence of the 

effect of habitat. 

I found that Diplotaxis 3, 5, 6, and Thlaspi 3, 12, 13, 14, 15, 

16, 19, all have internodes in sheltered places but become rosettes 

in exposed habitats. Wiesner was able to form internodes in the 

Shepherd's Purse, Capsella by growing the plant in moist air, but 

this was not possible with the Dandelion (3, 4). This is what we 

should expect if the habit is at once a result of habitat, but may 

become fixed by heredity if long- enough continued. 

In order to see the effect of rocks more clearly I re-examined 

the orders named to find how many other species weie noted as 

growing on rocks. There were 14 so described. (See table 2.) 

Table II. 

OTHER PLANTS GROWING ON " ROCKS." 

Farsetia, 1, 2, 3 

Sinapis, 4 ... 

Fumaria, 27 

Iberis, 18 ... 

Euromodendrou 

Matthiola, 7 

Very woolly 

More hairy 

Fleshy leaves 

Fleshy leaves 

Ericoid shrub 

Very woody 

Turritis | (Not specially 

Arabis, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5j (Xerophytes 

The Turritis and Arabis spp. are probably not xerophytes, but 

all the others show the characteristic modifications of a dry 

climate v. Tschirch (5), Volkens (G), Henslow (7), &c. 

I also tabulated the number of woolly or very hairy plants, 

and found that 21 out of the 230 species could be fairly included. 

As shown in Table 4, li grow in such dry countries as Greece, 

Syria, Spain, and Algiers, 4 are true desert forms, 6 prefer rocks 

or stony places, one is a seaside form, and the last is an Alpine 

species of which I have no further details.


Table III. 

HAIRY AND WOOLLY PLANTS. 

Ranunculus, 6 (variety) 

Delphinium, li... 

,. 

Matthiola, 5 

Vella 

7 

Farsetia, 1, 2, 3 

Aubrietia 

nanum 

Alyssum, .5, G, 7 

8 

Sisymbrium , 32 . . 

Malcolmia, 9, 10 

11 

. 

I )eserts 

Greece 

Stony places 

Deserts 

Mont. Calc, Spain 

Dry rocks 

Arid places, Syria 

Athens 

Fragments calcaireaux 

Deserts 

Spain. Algiers 

Maritime sands 

Cerastium latifolium 

Alpine 

„ tomentosum 

Mountains, Greece 

„ pedunculatum 

Now Volkens (fi), Lindman (1), Areschoug (8), Henslow (7), 

and others have shown that hairy and woolly plants are more 

abundant in the dryer parts of the Mediterranean, South Africa, 

Australia, and South America. 

Moreover, within one genus one can often find that the moist 

habitat species liave lost their hairs whilst the dry habitat forms 

have retained them. This has been shown by St Alder for the 

British species of Myosotis and Veronica (9), and for Oxalis in 

Chili by Meigen (2 t). But as hairs are commonly used by plants 

for at least 8 diffei-eut purposes it is not surprising that there are 

many exceptions. 

The variation within the limits of one species according to 

habitat are more convincing. On this point Linnaeus says, 

" hirsutiem plantse ssepius exuunt a loco vel cultura" (10). A 

very good example is the common Polygonum amphibium. 

Buckman (11), Battandier (12), Henslow (7) give an account of 

five different species which vary in this respect. To these I 

would add the cases of Ranunculus (11) and Roemeria (1), which 

are more hairy than usual in dry and sunny places. Mm. Vesque 

and Viet (13) have also found that when plants are sown sparsely


the development of hairs is favoured ; this is au indirect confirma- 

tion of the result of exposure. The researches of Wollny (14). 

A recent paper bv Keller (1")) ends with the conclusion that a 

hair-covering-, or the rudiment of one, exists in almost all plants ; 

this is the case with, for example, the young leaves of the ivy, 

Aucuba, Magnolia, &c. If this is true, the hairy coat if useless 

will vanish wiih maturity, but if of some advantag-e it will be 

preserved. One miglit almost trace the stages of fixation ; for, m 

Polygonum amphiluum, the hair-covering varies with the exposure 

of the individual plant ; in Daucus carrota it may be gradually 

reduced by cultivation ; but, in the common garden plant, 

Cerastium tomentosum, the down persists even in the moisture of 

the British Islands. 

Among.st the 230 species I found 9 wiiich were either of the 

very thorny type of Sonchus spinosus or of that representîd by Zilla 

myagroides. All these, as one would expect, vide Linnaeus (19), 

Stapf (16), fiubbock (17), Lothelier (18), Mittmann (19), &c., are 

from dry and arid places. There is also some direct evidence, for 

Rolfe states that pruning increases the number of spines (20), and 

Ilenslow found that Ononis lost its spines when cultivated in 

moist condition.s. 

Table IV. 

AFTER THE SONCHUS SPINOSUS AND ZILLA TYPE. 

Lepidium, 15 ... Palestine 

Matthiola. 11 Greece and arid countries 

Oudneya Algerian Desert 

Farsetia linearis Egyptian Desert 

„ Aegyptiaca Egyptian Desert 

Sisymbrium, 17 ... ... .. Australia 

Zilla ... ... ... ... Egyptian Desert 

Delphinium, 10 Waste places, Dardanelles 

,„ anthoideum Sandy, dry places 

Another type of plant very common in South Africa has no 

very good example in this country ; it may be called the Aptosimum 

type. It is a low-growing densely branched tiny shrub, often not 

more than a few inches in height, and forms a sort of matted 

cushion well adapted to arid conditions. 

Belonging to this type. I found 7 species amongst the number 

examined.


Table V. 

AFTER THE APTOSIMUM TYPE. 

Sisymbrium, 20, 21 ... ... ... Spain, Syria 

Alyssum, 2fi, 27 ... ... ... ... Sunny places. Orient 

Matthiola acauis ... ... ... ... Deserts, Egypt 

„ humilis... ... ... ... „ ,, 

Fumaria, 20 ... ... ... ... Greece 

There were also 15 species in the 230 examined with leaves 

distinctly smaller than usual. In some cases the leaves were 

entirely absent, and the jjlant had rig-id. leafless, often grooved 

or furrowed branches like the Retama. 

These are given in Table 6. 

Table VI. 

SMALL LEAVES OR RETAMA-LIKE. 

Delphinmm, 14 ... ... ... ... Deserts 

„ nanum ... ... ... Stony places 

„ Balansse ... ... ... Deserts 

,, virgatum ... ... ... Sandy waysides 

„ 'J ... ... ... ... Deserts 

Lepidium, 15 ... ... ... ... Palestine 

Farsetia linearis ... ... ... ... Egypt 

„ 

oegyptiaca 

Cardamine, 12 ... 

Sisymbrium, 3 ... 

Iberis, 23 

„ 9, 11 

Plaines marecageuses 

Syria 

Spain 

Arabia, Palestine 

Calcareous soil 

As we should expect from the conclusions of Tschirch (5), 

Johow (21), Volkens (6), Lindmaun (1), Meigen (2), Areschoug 

(8), Heuslow (7), and myself {^22), the majority grow in dry 

places. 

There is an exception, for the Cardamine is said to grow in 

" plaines marecageuses." If this means estuarine mud, it can be 

understood, for seaside plants are subjected to strong transpiration, 

but I have not gathered the plant myself. 

There is also direct evidence, for Stahl (23), Dufour (24), 

Sorauer (25), and myself (22) have shown that leaves are reduced 

in surface by exposed conditions.


I have tried t» show that the geueial conclusioiis obtained in 

the field may be verified botli by statistical comparison in the 

herbarium and by culture experiments so far as these have been 

attempted. Tt is not easy to see what else is required to show 

the dependence of habit upon habitat. Moreover, the evidence is 

more convincing than it appears at first sight, for each additional 

example is not merely another probability but it doubles the 

probability. To prevent misunderstanding I must state first that 

this work was finished before the appearance of Professor 

HensloVs Ijook, though I have quoted 5 of the authorities cited in 

that work. Most unfortunately his work denies the existence of 

any struggle for existence ; to me it seems as if the struggle is 

more intense amongst desert plants than it is anywhere else. 

I camiot deny that this reasoning involves the inheritance of 

acquired characters, but as Professor Weismann himself admits 

the possibilitj^ of such inheritance (26), although his followers in 

this country still deny it, this does not affect the results. Even if 

Professor Weismann still maintained the position which was 

insisted upon most strongly in his first puViIication, it seems to me 

that this direct evidence by many independent observers ought to 

prevail against speculations without any evidence at all. It is 

perhaps injudicious of me to introduce the name of Professor 

Weismann at all, for Jager seems to have been the first to speak 

of the continuity of the Keimplasma and Nussbaum claims priority 

for the idea that the Keiracellen are immortal (27). 

I should not have mentioned these facts if it were not that, in 

the discussion following my first paper on this subject, I was told 

that my facts must be wrong because they did not suit 

Weismann's theory. 

Literature Cited. 

1. Lindman—Botan. Centralblatt, Bd. 28, 1886, p. 250. 

2. Meigen— Engler's Botan. Jahrb., Bd. 18, p. 394. 

3. Wiesner—Biologie d. Pflanzen Wien, 1890, and Ber. d. 

deut. Bot. Ges., Bd.. 9. 

4. „ —Botan. Centralblatt, Bd. 61 and 63. 

5. Tschirch—Linnea, Bd. 43, 1881. 

6. Volkens—Flora Aegypt., Arab,, Wuste and Jahrb., d. k.k., 

7. Ilenslow 

— 

Bot. Gart., Berlin. 

'' Origin of Plant-structures," London, 1895. 

8. Are.schoug—Engler's Botan. Jahrb., Bd. 2, Heft 5, p. 511.

138 Special Meeting. 

9. St Alder—Nature Notes, vol. 2, p. 19. 

10. Linnaeus— Phil. Bot., pp. 215, 247 (see Henslow I.e.). 

11. Buckman—Henslow, I.e., p. 60. 

12. Battandier— Bull., d.l. Soc. Bot., France, 1887, p. 193. 

13. Vesque and Viet. Ann. d. Sci. Nat. Tom., 12, p. 167. 

14. Wollny—Forschungen, Bd. 4, p. 85. 

15. Keller— Inaug. Diss. Halle, 1891. 

16. Stapf— Sitz. d.k.k. Ges. z., Wien Bd. 37, 1887. 

17. Lubbock— " Flowers, Fruits, and Leaves," London, 1888. 

18. Lothelier—Comptes Rend. Tom., 112 and other papers. 

19. Mittmann— " Pflanzen-stacheln," Berlin, 1888. 

20. Rolfe—Nature, vol. 39, p. 600. 

21. Johow—Pringsheim's Jahrb., Bd. 15, 1884. 

22. Scott-Elliot—Journ. Linn. Soc, Vol. 28, p. 375, and Trans. 

Bot. Soc, Edin., Nov., 1889. 

28. Stahl— Sitz. Jenai. Ges., 1882. 

24. Dufour—Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot. Ser. 7. Tom. 5, 1887. 

25. Sorauer—Botan, Zeit., 1878, p. l,and Bot. Oentralbl., 1886, 

P- 3. 

26. Weismann— Ueber Germinal Selection Jena, 1896. 

27. Nussbaum—Botan. Centralblatt, 1893, p. 39. 

30th July, 1897. 

A Special Meeting was held for the purpose of presenting Dr 

Chiunock with a testimonial on his retiral from the Secretariate. 

On the motion of Mr John A. Moodie, Mr William J. Maxwell, 

V.-P., was called to the chair. Mr Maxwell made some eulogistic 

remarks upon the way in which Ur Chinnock had carried out his 

duties for over eight years, and then presented him with a purse 

of st)vereigns, collected by the Hon. Treasurer, Mr J. A. Moodie. 

Mr Chinnock made a suitable reply, and then the Rev. William 

Andson proposed that, in consideration of his services, Dr Chinnock 

should be elected an honorary member, which was carried 

unanimously.

139 

FIELD MEETINGS 

5th June—Kirkcudbright. 

On Satui'day about a dozen members visited Kirkcudbright. 

Tliere they were joined by a few kindred spirits, and drove in a 

Highland brake from the Commercial Hotel in the direction of the 

Lake and Torrs heughs. The drive led by St. Mary's Isle gate 

and Park House, the old road to Kirkcudbright, abrogated by 

Lord Daer, being passed on the left. At the Look-out a fine view 

was got of the lighthouse on Little Ross Island, and of the spur 

of St. Mary's Isle, where Paul Jones landed in the course of his 

famous escapade. The Black-Murray Well, connected with a 

well-known legend involving more or less mythical incidents, only 

received a hurried passing glance. It is said that at this spot 

not only was a noted robber drowned with brandy where he 

expected water, but ghosts have been seen by respectable persons. 

The drive ended at the warning post at the commencement of the 

Lake Wood, from which a six or seven mile walk was undertaken. 

The pace had thus to be rather hurried. Shortly after enteriug 

the Lake Wood the remains of a faintly-outlined Druidical circle 

were noted just opposite the handsome new lifeboat house. 

Further on, on the left, a hill was shewn which is marked on the 

Ordnance Map as King William's Battery, a description, it should 

be said, which is received with pronounced scepticism by many 

inquirers. It has to be said, however, that Dr Muter, in his 

Satistical Account of Kirkcudbright (1794), states that King 

William erected a battery on Torrs to protect his fleet while it 

was weather-bound in the Lake. It was incidentally mentioned 

that the famous Willie Marshall, the centenarian Galloway gipsy, 

served in King William's army. The famous oyster rock, or 

" Long Robin," was next passed, just opposite a grove of trees 

planted at the instance of Lord Daer, than whom no one has left 

on the landscape of that side of the Stewartry more indelible traces

140 Field Meeting—KiRKcunBRioHT. 

of his personality. A fiue view of the enchanting-ly wooded Sen- 

wick shore was got here, with the towering hills of Gatehouse in 

the distance. The pleasant prospect, the calm waters of the Lake, 

the soft note of the sea-gull, all called for a halt that the scene 

might be thoroughly enjoyed. Near by is the Torrs Cave, which 

some of the party visited and were somewhat disappointed with 

on account of its shallowness. 

The company then made a detour toward Balmae, passing 

on the way some old-fashioned- luiiket holes in the dykes. Through 

the courtesy of the Countess of Selkirk, the party were shewn round 

and through the beautiful and beautifully kept gardens by Mr 

M'Gruffog, the gardener, and his principal assistant, Mr Cochrane. 

The members next walked to Townhead, passing- on the way 

Caerbantorigum. At Townhead School the conveyance awaited 

them and drove back to Kirkcudbright, where they had tea in the 

Commercial Hotel. 

The Kirkcudbright party included Mr M'Kie, R.N. ; Mr 

Hornel, artist ; Mr James Nicholson, antiquarian ; and Mr William 

Thomson, the shoemaker botanist. The latter furnished the 

following notes of the botanical plants he noted on the route : 

The first plants picked up were in a field at the Lake, the 

Bladder Campion^ Silene infata, and a specimen of the wild carrot, 

Dancnu. In the Lake Wood the wild hyacinth flourished with the 

purple orchid. An abundance of the beautiful sea pink grew on 

the shore, and in the wood there were observed the Dog- Mercury 

and a profusion of the greater Stitchwork Stc.llariax; and just on 

leaving the wood fine specimens of the Adder's Tongue fern were 

got. While at Torrs Point the botanist of the party was requested 

to indicate the locality of the Sea Kale, which appears in various 

lists of the plants of the district. He unhesitatingly replied that 

to his own personal knowledge there had been no such plant on 

Torrs shore during the last fifty years, although he understood it 

had once made its home in Flint Bay on that coast. Specimens of 

Samphire are to be got between Torrs Point and the Cove, but 

the excessive heat and condition of the tide prevented the botanist 

securing" a specimen. The flora of the Torrs shore may not be 

considered a rich one as compared with a more sandy shore, but 

the cliffs are rich with the sea liladder. pinks, stone-crops, rock 

rose, and the striking blue milk wort. A fine specimen of the 

Scotch Loavage was got in the cliffs, and the common hemp 

—

FiKLD Meeting—Rttrnfoot. ]41 

agrimony, Enpatorinm Carnmbinnm. In Balraae gardens Mr 

M'Guffoo- pointed out two nice Alpine plants growing profusely 

on the southern exposure of the garden wall—one the Arenaria 

Alpina. and the other growing in festoons, Linaria Cymhnlaria, or 

locally better known as " Wee Wandering Tailor." On leavino- 

the gardens fine examples of the Moonwort were picked up. 

Srd July— To Burnfoot, in Eskdfile. 

By Mr W. Dickie. 

On the invitation of Colonel W. E. Malcolm, the society paid 

a visit to his residence of Burnfoot, in the parish of Westerkirk. 

There they had the pleasure of seeing not only the many interest- 

ing memorials of a distinguished family that are in the possession 

of Its present honoured representative, but also treasured relics of 

the battle of Otterburn and of the combat of Earl Douglas and 

Harry Hotspur, which are in the keeping of Mr Malcolm's 

daughter, Mrs Palmer Douglas, of Cavers. The journey as 

arranged involved a circular drive of some forty-seven miles, with 

Annan as its base, and traversing the parishes of Annan, Midd'lebie, 

Langholm, Westerkirk. Canonbie, Half-Mortou, Kirkpatrick- 

Kleming, and Dornock. 

Starting from Annan, the first part of the drive was by the 

Kirtlebridge road, through a bit of pleasantly wooded country, 

skirting the policies of several mansions, passing the extensive and 

busy Corsehill freestone quarries, and on to Kirtlebridge station 

and the thriving village of Eaglesfield, with its cottages scattered 

m picturesque irregularity among well-stocked gardens. Charm- 

ing views opened up as the party proceeded. Burnswark on the 

one hand dominated a stretch of gently sloping land diversified in 

colour by bright green corn fields and the bare brown of turnip 

land, and freely dotted with timbar clumps. In the foreground 

stretched the fine old woods about Springkell, which encircle the 

graves of " Fair Helen " and her lover Fleming. Away in the 

distance the tapering monument to Sir John Malcolm was seen like 

a beckoning finger crowning the Whita Hill, just over the town of 

Langholm. Pushing on by Waterbeck—the cosy and busy village 

associated with the enterprise of the Messrs Carlvle—the valley of

142 Field Meeting— Buenfoot. 

the Kirtle and its tributary streams was ascended, first by easily 

wiudiug- stages, amid fields from which the population of distant 

Dundee draws its daily milk supply. Disused lime quarries at 

several points indicate the nature of the geological formation. 

As the road winds past West Linnbridgeford and the hamlet of 

Laurie's Close, we get among purely pastoral regions, bleak and 

treeless, and the ascent becomes so toilsome that the vehicles are 

lightened. A short halt is called at the little moorland inn named 

Callister Hall, that sits on the dividing line of the watershed, some 

seven hundred feet above sea level ; and here we look back over 

a beautiful panorama of hill and dale and stream that is closed 

with the Solway's silver streak and Criffel, its sentinel hill. 

Thence at a smart pace we run down the Wauchope valley, tracing 

first the course of its upper tributaries, the Bigholm and the Logan 

burns ; 

and a spin of six miles brings us to the town of Langholm, 

where the Wauchope joins the Esk. But first we make a halt at 

Wauchope old churchyard, which is still one of the burial-places 

for Langholm, and view in its immediate vicinity the site of the 

ancient castle of Wauchope. Tlie Rev. Mr Buchanan, the parish 

minister, Mr Scott of Arkinholm, and Mr Hyslop, chairman of the 

Langholm Parish Council, here awaited the party and pointed out 

the scanty remains of masonry which mark the foundations of the 

castle, the line of the moat where it can still be traced, and the 

remnant of an abutment for the drawbridge. The castle wall has 

been built on the precipitous bank of the Wauchope, that is at this 

point a rugged ravine. At the other side the entrenchments are 

now intei'sected by the public road. The history of the stronghold 

is almost au entire blank ; but it is said to have been the seat of 

the Lindsays, who were a formidable family on the borders in the 

fourteenth century, as we may infer from a reference to them in 

the ballad of "•• Chevy Chase." 

The Gordons gay, in English blude 

Tiiey wat their hose and shoon ; 

The Lindsays flew like fire about 

Till all the fray was done. 

A Lindsay was also associated with Bruce and Kirkpatrick in the 

slaughter of Comyn at Dumfries. Among the debris with which 

the ground is cumbered there was picked up some time ago a 

metal hasp curiously worked in serpent pattern, which was pur- 

chased from the finder for the national museum of antiquities in

Field Meeting—Burnfoot. 143 

Edinburg'h. A little further alcng- the banks of the stream, and 

just at the foot of the manse g-arden, is another piece of ancient 

masonry, which has obviously been part of the abutment of a 

bridge. It has been a narrow structure, about ten feet in breadth, 

the north and south sides being still well defined. There are also 

some of the surface paving stones still in position. It lies on the 

line of a Roman road, and this naturally leads to the conjecture 

that it may have been constructed by the legionaries and the 

craftsmen who accompanied them. This, however, is not a necessary 

inference, as it may be the work of later generations who 

used the Eoman way, and the 

some colour to this hj'pothesis. 

narrowness of the structure gives 

Driving through the new' town of Langholm, past the 

Academy, and skirting the ducal demesne, the horses had another 

bit of stiff collar work as they threaded their way among the 

moorland that overhangs the upper valley of the Esk, among 

which is Craigcleuch, the residence of General Sir John Ewart. 

Soon afterwards Burnfoot mansion came into view, nestling cosily 

among a wealth of umbrageous trees in a little circular plain in a 

cup of the hills by the side of the streamlet, " the Burn," from which 

it has received its name. Colonel Malcolm here awaited his 

visitors, accompanied by his son-in-law, Captain Palmer Douglas 

of Cavers, Mrs Palmer Douglas, and several other relatives. He 

extended to them a cordial welcome ; and after a short walk in the 

grounds and a peep into the conservatories, they were conducted 

to a marquee, in which the people of the parish, old and 

young, had been feted on the previous day in honour of the 

royal diamond jubilee. Here a substantial luncheon was served. 

Before rising from the table Mr Murray, Dumfries, voiced the 

thanks of the company to Colonel Malcolm for his kindness in 

inviting them to his charming residence and for the generous 

hospitality extended to them. Colonel Malcolm assured them that 

it afforded him great pleasure to receive the visit, and remarked 

on the good to be derived from a study of the works of God 

in nature and from antiquarian pursuits, recalling the saying 

that there is nothing in the present which has not its roots in the 

past. 

Adjourning to the museum, which forms an annex to the 

mansion-house, the visitors had pointed out to them many of the 

more interesting objects in the extensive and valuable collection.

144 Field Mekting—Burnfoot. 

Colonel Malcolm's father, Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm, G.C.B., 

was one of four brothers who by high service to the State 

individually won the honour of knighthood, and who collectively 

became known as " the four knights of Eskdale." Ak captain of 

H.M.S. "Donegal." he took a Spanisii three-decker immediately 

after the battle of Trafalgar. It was in the same ship in which 

the Duke of Wellington (then Sir Arthui- Wellesley) was conveyed 

to Lisbon to assume the command of the Peninsular army 

on the death of Sir John Moore, and Captain Malcolm received 

from him the gift of a volume, an Indian registei-, which is here 

preserved. The fly-leaf bears the inscription :— " Oapt. Malcolm, 

Donegal, from Sir A. Wellesley. August, 1809." For naval 

services in the West Indies Sir Pulteney received the thanks 

of both Houses of Parliament. He was also Admiral of the 

fleet which had charge of the island of St. Helena while it 

was the place of Napoleon's exile ; and his diary, which is 

soon to he published, may be expected to throw fresh light on 

Napoleon's life during his period of captivity. Among other 

mementos of the fallen Emperor there are here a lock of his 

hair, a piece of cloth from his coat, and a coloured portrait- 

sketch. Sir Pulteney is commemorated in Langholm by a statue, 

the work of the Dumfries sculptor. Mr David Dunbar. Sir John, 

third in point of age of the knightly (juartet, was disting-uished 

as a diplomatist, representing this country repeatedly as Minister- 

plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia ; as a soldier and a 

statesman ; as an historian of Persia and India ; and as an Oriental 

linguist. In India he held the position of Governor of Bombay. 

His work as one of the founders of our Eastern Empire called 

forth a warm eulogium from Canning in the House of Commons ; 

and is commemorated by a statue in the " statesman's aisle " of 

Westminster Abbey, where it stands by the side of Lord Beaconsfield's. 

It is also to the memory of Sir John that the monument 

has been erected on Whita Hill in his native Eskdale. Among 

the relics in Burnfoot museum associated with his name is the 

official seal which he used at the Persian Court. It is a massive 

piece of silver, somewhat bell-shaped, and quite the size of a brass 

pound-weight such as you find on a grocer's counter. There are 

also in the museum memoiials of Sir James, who served with 

Nelson and Howe, and of Sir Charles, a naval officer, whose most 

illustrious service was given to India. The collection includes

Field Meeting—Burnfoot. 145 

numerous handsome examples of Indian and Persian arms and 

articles illustrative of native habits ; and the staircase is covered 

with skins of lions, tigers, leopards, and zebras, trophies of the 

chase accumulated during residence in Eastern lands. A choice 

collection of Eastern antiquities includes a brick from Babylon, 

with cuneiform inscription in seven lines, setting forth the name 

and titles of one of the Kings Nebuchadnezzar; an Assyrian 

marble, with figures in relief ; Egyptian and Indian carved work. 

Native antiquities also are represented, among one of the objects 

being a fine example of the old British targe ; and there are 

numerous zoological specimens and a good collection of minerals. 

An unexpected treat was afforded to the party by the sight 

of the Otterburn relics from Cavers, Captain and Mrs Palmer 

Douglas having very kindly brought over the treasured heirlooms 

for their inspection. First in natural sequence we ought to 

mention the gauntlets. The story attaching- to these is that Earl 

James Douglas, having in 1388 made a raid across the border, 

penetrated as far into Northumberland as the town of Newcastle, 

and before its castle walls he hurled a personal defiance at Earl 

Percy, who was in command of the garrison. 

" If thou'rt the lord of this castel. 

Come down and fight wi' me, 

For e'er I cross the Border fells 

The tane o' us shall dee." 

He took a long spear in his hand. 

Shod with the metal free, 

And forth to meet the Douglas then 

He rode richt furiouslie. 

But oh, how pale his lady look'd 

Frae atf the castle wa', 

When doun before the Scottish spear 

She saw proud Percy fa'. 

Thus sings the ancient minstrel in the voluminous stanzas of 

" Chevy Chase." This Earl Percy was the Hotspur whom 

Shakespeare makes Henry IV. describe, with envious praise, as 

A son who is the theme of honour's tongue ; 

Amongst a grove the very straightest plant. 

When he came down to encounter the Douglas in single combat 

he carried on his lance his lady's favour, after the chivalrous

146 Field Meeting— Burnfoot. 

fashion of the time. This favour was in the form of a pair of 

lady's gauntlets, on which the white lion, the Percy cognizance, 

was several times outlined in pearls, and which were richly fringed 

with filigree work in gold. When he was borne to earth the 

Douglas carried off this trophy. Tradition represents the victor 

as boasting to the Percy that he would carry it home to his castle 

of Dalkeith, but intimating that he would place it for three nights 

in front of his tent to give him an opportunity of recovering it if 

he could by force of ai-ms. We know that Percy did not succeed ; 

for here are the identical gauntlets, remarkably well preserved, 

still in possession of the Douglas family, the rows of pearls intact, 

the silk lining still retaining its pink hue, although the outward 

material is necessarily much faded. The Scots were certainly 

pursued, and the battle of Otterburn, among the Cheviot hills, 

was the sequel. Douglas, according to the balladist, had presage 

of its issue. 

" But I ha'e dreamed a dreary dream. 

Ayont the Isle of Skye 

I saw a dead man win a fight, 

And I think that man was I." 

He fell in battle ; but his friends obeyed his behest to "hide me 

by the bracken bush," and carry his standard still in the thick of 

the fio-ht, rallying his men with the victorious cry— 

" A Douglas 

A Dou^-las !" The standard-bearer was Archibald Douglas, 

ancestor of the family of Cavers, who became hereditary Sheriffs 

of Teviotdale, and the standard, together with the gauntlets, 

remains in their possession to this day. It is a green flag thirteen 

feet long, of the tapering pennon shape, having a lion emblazoned 

in the centre of the Held, together with the heart and the three 

stars of the Douglas arms. The Norman-French legend, in bold 

lettering — " Jamais arryere," " Never behind "— is the mediaeval 

equivalent of the modern Douglas motto, " Forward." The flag 

is in somewhat frail condition and requires to be handled with 

great care. One rent in it had been mended by Sir Walter Scott 

when on a visit to Cavers, and the white stitches which he had 

been induced to put in it further enhanced the interest in the 

precious relic. 

Descending to the dining-room, the visitors had an oppor- 

tunity of seeing the family portraits. These include two by 

Raeburn George Malcolm, who farmed Hurnfoot before it had 

!

Field Meeting— Burnfoot. 147 

been purchased by the family, and his wife, Margaret Pasley 

of the Craig, an Eskdale pn^perty, sister of Sir James Pasley, a 

distinguished naval officer. These were the parents of the four 

knights of Eskdale, and of six other sous and seven daughters 

besides ; conseijuently the grandparents of Colonel Malcolm. 

The four knights figure, of course, in the portrait gallery, as do 

also another brother (Gilbert), who was an English clergyman 

and two sisters—Agnes and Mina, the latter of whom Colonel 

Malcolm characterised as the genius of the women of the family. 

The Hon. William Elphiustone, Colonel Malcolm's maternal grand- 

father, and Sir (jeurge Elphinstone (Lord Keith) are also repre- 

sented by portraits ; and there is a portrait painting of the Court 

of Persia, in which Sir John Malcolm is a prominent figure. 

Bidding adieu to their most kindly host, the party resumed 

the journey, proceeding this time towards Langholm through the 

beautiful policies of Langholm Lodge, the seat of the Duke of 

Buccleuch. The drive along the Esk to Canonbie presents a 

remarkable wealth and variety of sylvan beauty, and pretty peeps 

of river scenery, and takes us past Johnnie Armstrong's old tower 

of Gilnockie. At the Cross Keys Inn tea awaited the company. 

Thus refreshed they entered on the last stage of the journey— 

fifteen mile drive across country to Annan, passing the hamlet of 

Glenziers, the larger village of (Jhapelknowe, and after a run 

through Solway Moss emerging on a tract of rich arable land, 

with the old tower and modern mansion of Stapleton as one of the 

features of the landscape. 

a^

149 

LIST OF MEMBERS 

As at 1st October, 1897. 

Honorary Memhers. 

E. Or. Baker, F.L.S., British Museum. 

J. G. Baker, F.R.S., Royal Herbarium, Kew. 

Arthur Beunett, F.L.S., Croydon. 

J. Harvie Brown, F.L.S., Larbert. 

William Carruthers, F.R.S., British Museum. 

E. J. Chinnock, LL.D., London (former Secretary). 

Frederick R. Coles, Edinburgh. 

Dr Anstruther Davidson, Los Angeles. 

AVilliam Galloway, Wlaithorn. 

Peter Gray, Dumfries. 

James Macdonald, LL.D., Edinburgh. 

Alexander M'Millan, Castle-Douglas. 

Sir Herbert E. Maxwell Bart, M.P., F.S.A. 

Alexander D. Murray (former Secretary), Newcastle. 

Dr David Sharp, F.R.S., Cambridge. 

Robert Hibbert Taylor, M.D., Liverpool. 

William Thomson, Kirkcudbright. 

Joseph Wilson (former Secretary), Liverpool. 

John Adair, Rotchell Park. 

Members. 

Sir Andrew N. Agnew, Bart., M.A., Lochnaw, Stranraer. 

John Carlyle Aitken, Gatehouse. 

Miss Margaret Aitken, St. Albans, Maxwelltown. 

William Allan, Irving Street. 

Rev. William Andson, Newall Terrace. 

Joseph J. Armistead, Newabbey.

150 List of Membees. 

Samuel Arnott, Carsethorn. 

William Barber, M.A., Tererran. 

James Barbour, F.S.A.. St. Christopher's. 

Mrs James Barbour, St. Christopher's. 

James Barbour, Glendarroch, Dairy. 

Robert Barbour, Belmont. 

Robert Barbour, Solicitor, Rosemount Terrace. 

Thomas Beattie, Daving-tou, Langholm. 

Richard Bell, Castle O'er, Lang-holm. 

Mrs Bell, Penfillan House, Penpont. 

Colonel Edward Blackett, Arbigiand. 

Jonathan E. Blacklock, Solicitor, liosemuunt Terrace. 

John Borland, Auchencairn, Closeburn. 

William Bowron, Marchmount. 

Thomas M. Brown, Closeburn Castle. 

Sir James Crichton- Browne, M.D., LL-D., E.R.S., Crindau. 

Alexander Bryson, Irish Street. 

Duke of Buccleuch and Queeusberry, K.T., Lord-Lieutenant of 

Dumfriesshire. 

Rev. John Cairns, M.A., Ivy Lodge. 

George Campion, B.A., Sheriff- Substitute. 

James Carmont, Bank Agent, Irish Street. 

Frank J. C. Carruthers, Architect, Lockerbie. 

Rev. Alexander Chapman, M.A., St. Mary's. 

Dr Frederick It. Clarke, Buccleuch Street. 

W. A. Coats, Dalskairth. 

Miss Copland, Newabbey. 

John F. Cormack, Solicitor, Lockerbie. 

Adam J. Corrie, Senwick, Borgue. 

John Corrie, Moniaive. 

John J. Cowan, Eliock, Sanquhar. 

John M. Crabbie, F.S.A., Duncow. 

John Cumming, Albany Lodge. 

James Davidson, F.I.C., Summerville. 

John Davidson, Crichton Cottages. 

Rev. John R. Denham, S. John's. 

Rev. J, C. Dick, Eskdalemuir. 

William Dickie, Laurieknowe. 

William A. Dinwiddle, Buccleuch Street. 

John W. Dods, St. Mary's Place.

Bernard Drummond, Moffat. 

Charles R. Dubs, Cargen. 

Robert F. Dudgeon, Kirkcudbright. 

AVilliam Duncan, Rotchell Park. 

John 11. Edmondsou, Riddiugwood. 

List of Members. 151 

George F. Scott-Elliot, F.R.O.S., F.L.S., Newton. 

Mrs Scott-Elliot, Newton. 

Captain Robert Cutlar-Fergusson, Craigdarroch. 

Joseph Gillon Ferg'usson, Isle. 

James Fingland, Thoi'nhill. 

Rev. James Eraser, D D., Colvend 

Thomas Eraser, High Street, Dalbeattie. 

Mrs Gilchrist, Lin wood. 

William Gillespie, Solicitor, Castle-Douglas. 

Robert Gordon, London. 

William M. Graham, Mossknowe. 

John Grierson, Town Clerk. 

Robert Grierson, Castle- Douglas. 

John Gunning, Victoria Road. 

Miss Hamilton, Victoria Road. 

Miss Hannay, Calder Bank. 

Miss Jane Hannay, Calder Bank. 

Miss Hardy, Moat House. 

John Henderson, Claremont. 

Lord Herries, Lord-Lieutenant of the Stewartry. 

Alexander Young Herries, Spottes. 

James Herries, Loreburn Park. 

James Hiddleston, Dean of Guild, Nithbank. 

J. J. Hope-Johnstone, Raehills. 

Rev. Joseph Hunter. M.A., Cockburnspath, Dunbar. 

Reginald Kirkpatrick Howat, Mabie. 

George Irving, Newcastle. 

Matthew Jamieson, Craigelvin. 

Mrs Matthew Jamieson, Craigelvin. 

David Jardine Jardine, Applegarth. 

J. E. Johnson-Ferg-uson, M.P., Springkell. 

John Thorburn Johnstone, Moffat. 

Mrs Johnstone, Victoria Terrace. 

Duncan James Kay, Drumpark. 

John Kerr, Blountfield, Ruthwell.

152 

Rev. Thomas Kidd, Mouiaive. 

List of Members. 

Rev. Roger S. Kirkpatrick, B.D., Dalbeattie. 

Thomas Lamg, Noblehill. 

Rev. Sir Emilius Laurie, Bart., M.A., Maxwelton House. 

James Lennox, F.S.A., Edenbank. 

James M'Andrew, New-Galloway. 

James M-Call, Caitloch. 

James M'Cargo, Kirkpatrick- 1 >urham. 

William M'Clure. Lockerbie. 

Miss M'Cracken, York Place. 

James C. R. Macdonald, M.A.. Maryville. 

Mrs James H. M'Gowan, Ellaugowan. 

Thomas M'Gowan, Rotcheil. 

Colonel Edward Mackenzie, Aucheuskeoch. 

William I). Mackenzie, Fawley Court, Henley-on-Thames. 

Matthew S. M'Kerrow, Boreland, of Southwick. 

Thomas C. M'Kettrick, Viewfield. 

John M'Kie, Anchorlea, Kirkcudbright. 

Thomas M'Kie, F.S.A., Advocate, Edinburgh. 

Miss M'Kie, Moat House. 

Rev. John D. M'Kinnon, Newall Terrace. 

Dr James MacLachlan, Lockerbie. 

John M'Naught, Royal Bank, Dumfries. 

Alexander Malcolm, Priestlands. 

William E. Malcolm, Burnfoot. 

Mrs M'Tier, Ladyfield. 

Dr J. W. Martin, Holywood. 

Wellwood H. Maxwell, F.S.A., Munches. 

Wellwood Maxwell, F.S.A., Kirkennan. 

William J. Maxwell, M.A., Terraughtie. 

William J. Maxwell, Terregles Bank. 

William M. Maxwell, Rotcheil Park. 

Frank Miller, Annan. 

Miss Milligan, Irish Street. 

James Moffat, Annan. 

John A. Moodie, Solicitor, Irish Street. 

Thomas A. Moryson, Montague Street. 

Miss Agnes Mounsey, Thornhill. 

Benjamin Rigby Murray, Parton. 

Robert Murray, George Street.

Mrs Kobert Murray, George Street. 

List of Members. 153 

William Murray, M,A., Advocate, Muiraythwaite. 

Georg-e Neilson, Glasgow. 

John Neilson, M.A.. Catherine Street. 

John Neilson, Mollance, Castle-Douglas. 

John Nicholson, Stapletou Grange. 

Walter Ovens, Torr, Auchencairn. 

Charles S. Phyn, Procurator- Fiscal. 

Rev. Patrick M. Playfair, M.A., Glencairn. 

John Primrose. Arundel House. 

John Proudt'oot, Moffat. 

David W. Raunie, M.A., Couheath. 

Frank Reid, St. Catherine's. 

Rev. H. M. B. Reid, B.D., Balmaghie. 

Sir Robert Threshie Reid, M.A., Q.C., M.P., Mouswald. 

Richard Rimmer, M.A., F.L.S., Dalawoodie. 

Geoi'ge H. Robb, M.A., Nithmount. 

Miss Robb, Castle Street. 

Dr J. M. Robertson, Penpont. 

^^^lliam D. Robinson-Douglas, M.A., F.L.S., Orchardton. 

John Robson, Clerk to the County Council. 

Dr James Maxwell Ross, M.A., Victoria Road. 

John Rossie, M.D., Newabbey. 

James Rutherford, M.D., Crichton House. 

John Rutherford, Jardington. 

William Sanders, Rosebank, Lockerbie. 

Colonel Patrick Sanderson, Glenlaggan, Parton. 

Henry Sawyer, Greenbrae. 

Alexander Scott, Annan. 

Alexander Scott, Erkinholm, Langholm. 

Rev. James Hay Scott, M.A., Sanquhai-. 

Robert A. Scott, Kirkbank. 

Walter Hemy Scott, Nunfield. 

Rev. Richard Simpson, B.D., Dunscore. 

Adam Skirving, Croys, Dalbeattie. 

James Smith, Commercial Bank. 

Samuel Smith, M.P., Liverpool. 

Earl of Stair, K.T., Lord-Lieutenant of Wigtownshire. 

James G. Hamilton Starke, M.A., Advocate, Troqueer Holm. 

Sir Mark .J. M'Taggart- Stewart, Bart., M.P., Southwick.

154 

List of Members. 

(Japt. William Stewart, Shaiubellie, Kirkbean. 

Peter Stobie, (Queen's Place. 

John Symons, Solicitor, Irish Street. 

John Symons, Royal Bank. 

Philip Sulley, P.S.A., F.R.HistS., Cupar. 

Mrs Philip Sulley, Cupar. 

Miss Tennant, xlberdour House. 

Alexander Thompson, Chapelmount. 

Miss Mary Thompson, Chapelmount. 

James S. Thomson, High Street. 

Rev. John H. Thomson, Hightae. 

Alexander Turner, Terreg-les Street. 

Miss Wallace, Lochmaben. 

Miss Amy Wallace, Lochuuib(;)i. 

Robert Wallace, Erowahall School. 

Thomas Watson, Castlebank. 

James Watt, Noblehill. 

Rev. Robert W. Weir, M.A., Castle Street. 

David Welsh, Waterloo Place. 

James W. Whitelaw, Troqueer Moat. 

W. H. Williams, Inland Revenue. 

John H. Wîlkinson, Annan. 

James R. Wilson, Sanquhar. 

Colonel James Maxwell Witham, Kirkconnel. 

Mrs Maxwell Witham, Kirkconnel. 

Miss Maud Maxwell Witham, Kirkconnel. 

Dr John Maxwell Wood, Irish Street. 

Edward C. Wrigley, Gelston Castle, Castle-Douglas. 

William M. Wright, Charnwood. 

Robert A. Yerburgh, M.P., Chester. 

2 y MAY. 1906

Vol 13 - Dumfriesshire & Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian ...

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