go forward or turn back, I was relieved from embarrassment by a middle-aged woman appearing upon the scene. Having stated my difficulty to her, the goodwife of Smithstonridgefor such the lady proved to be-invited me forward and in the kindest marner conducted me to the end of her house and showed me the object of my search in the hollow. From her I learned that the old Tarbolton Road, a portion of which winds over a neighbouring hill and is now covered with brambles and wild brier, passed by the farm, and that it was the remains of it I came along. After a kindly goodbye to Smithstonridge I struck through the fields in the direction. of Craigie Castle.

Viewing the ruin from a distance, it seems destitute of that hoary appearance that is so inviting about shattered places of strength, but upon nearing it I was agreeably surprised to find it alike inagnificent in situation and architecture, and if not so noted and extensive as other buildings in a like condition, it at least displays a degree of military science and skill rarely to be met with. The ruin stands upon a knoll between what appears to have been two marshes, and probably ditches were cut between them when the castle was in its entirety. This being the case it would be isolated from the mainland, and an insurmountable barrier raised to besiegers at the period when gunpowder was unknown, and when no missile, save from a height, could be thrown at any great distance with effect. Two crumbling gables, portions of walls, and shreds of battlements yet remain in tolerable preservation, also several underground vaulted chambers are entire, although partly filled with rubbish. In these the fox has now its lair and the bat its abode, and wreck and decay are the chief characteristics of the pile. Picking my steps amongst solid blocks of masonry that lay as time had hurled them from their position, I gained what appeared to have been the principal apartment. The roof had fallen in, but from the appearance of the walls it seems to have converged at the top and been supported by fluted columns. Here lay a shattered and dismantled cornice; there, partly hid by rubbish, pieces of sculpture that bore testimony to the skill and taste of the designer, while stunted trees and shrubs grew in places once trod by the mirthful and gay. To me it is a spirit-depressing task to stray through an old ruin, for

each crumbling stone is a monitor that speaks of death and decay, and points to the futility of all human labour. At this ruin I met with a natural curiosity in the shape of an old tree. Against it lay two huge blocks of masonry that have toppled off the rampart; the trunk was bent and distorted as if the plant had done its utmost to support or throw off the encumbrance, and curious enough, in spite of it, the growth had continued and imbedded portions of the burden in its wood.

Craigie Castle was long the residence of the descendants of the Wallaces of Riccarton, but when or by whom it was built cannot be ascertained with certainty. Previous to that family one of the name of Lyndesay possessed the lands; but the race terminating in a daughter, who became the wife of John Wallace about 1371, the property passed to his family. In 1588 they removed to the Castle of Newtonupon-Ayr, and left the Craigie mansion, which doubtless being tenantless got out of repair, and in the course of time became ruinous.

Amongst the many traditions connected with this Castle, perhaps that of how it became ruinous will interest the reader. It is told by Woodrow, and from that indefatigable writer I quote the following strange story :-"The Lairds of Craigie wer none the best affected to the gospell.

When the ministers wer very strict in discipline, the Laird of Craigie had either some tenants or servants who brought some horses laden with carriages from some distant place, and travelled openly upon the Sabbath day, throw many parishes. The ministers of the places wrote to Mr. Inglish about such ane open and scandalous breach of the Sabbath. He spoke to the Laird of Craigie, and he huffed, and told it was done by his orders, and he would support them in what they had done! The minister caused cite the persons guilty to the session; but being supported by their master they would not compear. When noe other way was left, Mr. Inglish took occasion to bear testimony against it very plainly in a sermon. The Laird was in the church, sitting in his seat before the pulpite, and the minister fell upon it soe flatly that Craigie's malice and spite was soe raised that he rose up, and took up his whinger (a short sword) and threw it at him, when in the pulpite! Mr Inglish, when he perceived him draw it and

going to cast it, gote down in the pulpite and escaped it. The whinger went over his head, and stuck in the backside of the pulpite. After he had risen and composed himself a little, he addressed himself to Craigie, and said-Sir, you have put ane open affront upon God and his ordinances in what you have aimed at me, and now I will tell you what God will doe to you. Your great house, in this place, shall be reduced to a heap of stones, and he that offers to repair it shall lose his pains; and your son now, whom you have such great hopes of, shall die a fool!' And none of Mr. Inglish's words fell to the ground. His son was then in England, in the army, and was at that time a youth of great parts and expectation. Whether by a fall or sickness, within a little time turned fatuous and silly, and died soe. His great house of Craigie fell to be some way out of order, and either he or his son went to repair it, and when the workmen were at it a great part of it fell down and had almost buried them all; and its now, indeed, a ruinouse heap!" About a portion of the castle falling while undergoing repair is borne out by tradition, but the other part of the story is unsupported. Sir Hugh Wallace, the laird referred to in the foregoing, was knighted by Charles I. He was most liberal in his ideas, fought with Montrose at the Battle of Philiphaugh, and was amongst the vanquished insurgents. He died about 1650.

After straying among the ruins of Craigie Castle I crossed the field in which they stand, and soon arrived in the farmyard of Craigie Mains. Here, built into a wall is a curious old stone with some grotesque figures cut on it. It was found amongst the ruins of the castle, and the design was considered by the peasantry to represent wild men engaged in a game of draughts. At first glance it is not unlike a thing of the kind, but upon closer inspection the initiated in heraldic designs finds it to be the arms of the Wallaces of Riccarton and the Lyndesays of Craigie quartered-a circumstance suggesting that a portion of Craigie Castle was built during the lifetime of John Wallace, who, as already stated, married the Craigie heiress.

CHAPTER III.

From Craigie to Barnweill-Barnweill Kirk and Graveyard-The Wallace Monument-Fail Castle-The Warlock Laird-Tarbolton-Willie's Mill-Peden's Pulpit and Cave-Through the Fields to Ayr RoadThe Halfway House-The Estate of Coodham-Peace-and-PlentyBack to Kilmarnock.

FROM Craigie Mains a short walk along an avenue landed me in the highway that runs between Bogend Toll, Craigie, and other places. Turning to the left, I took the first road to the right and directed my steps to the Wallace monument, which is a prominent object on the heights of Barnweill and discernible from a great distance. The road was somewhat steep and rugged, but I liked its rustic appearance, and fairly revelled in the rays of the mid-day sun, as I paused now and again to listen to the rich notes of the lark, or view the wayside flowers as they nodded on their slender stems in the balmy breeze. When nearing Underhill-a small hamlet consisting of a wright's shop and a few detached houses-I observed a well in a shady spot on the dusty highway and sat down by its brink to rest. Producing a drinking cup I dipped it, and quaffed a bumper of cool spring water. How it refreshed-how it invigorated, and made me grateful to the Creator for one of His best and most bountiful blessings! After lingering by the liquid treasure, I ascended Barnweill Hill, pausing now and again to view the monument and surrounding scenery. While thus engaged my attention was attracted by the ruin of Barnweill church, which stands within a belt of trees that enclose a small burying-ground on the north-west side of the hill. Over a field gate, which on trial I found locked, I saw that of the graveyard opposite. By the worn appearance of the rails it was evident that the curious had found admittance by climbing over the barrier; therefore, following their example, I vaulted across, traversed the field, and entered the churchyard, the situation of which is truly picturesque. Reverently treading over the grassy graves I advanced to the ruin, which seems when entire to

have been a moderately-sized one-storied building, and entered the roofless sanctuary by a broken-down doorway, but alas! there was nothing of interest to be seen. All was wreck, the floor being covered with rubbish, out of which grew nettles and rank grass. The outside is more cheerful. The two gables, which are pretty entire, are almost covered with ivy. Up to a recent date a bell hung in one of them, but it is now removed, and in the keeping of a gentleman in the neighbourhood. Little is known regarding the old church of Barnweill. It was, previous to the Reformation, a Roman Catholic place of worship, and at one time within the ruin there was to be seen an inverted holy-water font. At the suppression of the parishwhich Paterson states took place in 1714-the church doubtless would be deprived of its minister, and very likely, being unoccupied, it gradually became ruinous. Be that as it may, the worshippers have long departed, and

"Where of old there stood

The altar and God's shrine, so loved and treasured,
Comes now the blackbird's ceaseless, gladsome hymn,
Poured forth with gratitude and joy unmeasured."

One

The stones in the churchyard are few and scattered, and merely contain the simple announcement that the individuals whom they are meant to commemorate lived and died. tablet bears the date 1661, but there are other stones on which the records are unreadable that have every appearance of being anterior.

Taking leave of the secluded spot, I gained the road by the same means that I left it, and after walking up the steep ascent for a short distance turned to the left. Here I entered what had the appearance of being a piece of waste ground, for portions of rock and loose stones lay confusedly about, and made the surface most uneven. Advancing to the brow of a hill that rises abruptly from the north, and from which a gorgeous view of a great portion of the district of Cunninghame is obtainable, I rapturously gazed upon the scene as it lay spread out like an unrolled map. Tradition states that this height was used by the lords of Craigie Castle as an outlook station, and that it was the site of an old fortress, which doubtless has been the case, for the appearance of the ground indicates that the foundations of a building lie buried