Nov. 5. 1853.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



445 



that of the "Torwood Oak" near Stirling, which 

 was presented to me about thirty-five years ago 

 by an aged lady, whose property it had been for 

 a long time previously, and who placed much 

 value on it as a relic. Though visiting Cruikston 

 Castle in early life, I never heard of there being 

 any feeling of "superstition" connected with such 

 little objects as the crosses, &c. which were long 

 made from the wood of the yew-tree. They are 

 all, I think, to be viewed simply as curiosities 

 associated with the historical interest of the place, 

 and similar examples are to be found among 

 our people in tlie numerous quaichs (drinking- 

 cups) and other articles which have been formed 

 from the "Torwood Oak" that protected the 

 illustrious Sir William Wallace from his enemies ; 

 from his oak at Elderslie, said to have been planted 

 by his hand, two miles to the west of Paisley ; and 

 lately from such scraps of the old oaken rafters 

 of the Glasgow Cathedral as could be obtained in 

 the course of its modern repairs. 



As respects the yew-tree immediately concerned, 

 some notices of its remains may be found in a 

 work entitled The Severn Delineated, by Charles 

 Taylor, Glasgow, 1831, at page 82. The author, 

 who was a very curious local antiquary, died in 

 1837, aged forty-two. As his book is now scarce, 

 I may be excused from subjoining rather a long 

 extract, but which also throws some light on other 

 particulars of this subject : 



" Retreating from Househill (a seat in the vicinity) 

 to Cruikston Castle, the country is rich, and the 

 scenery delightful. The castle itself might be the 

 subject of vohimes, as it has been the theme of many a 

 poet, and the subject of many a painter's pencil. Its 

 name is known all over the world, or may be so, from 

 the circumstance of its once having been the residence 

 of Mary Queen of Scots and Henry Lord Darnly ; 

 and though the famed yew-tree decks not now the 

 ' hallowed mould,' as the poet expresses himself, 



' Is there an eye that tearless could behold 

 This lov'd retreat of beauty's fairest flower?' 



About three years ago a large fragment fell from the 

 south wing of this ruin, despite of all the attention 

 Sir John Maywell paid to keep it up. The founder of 

 this castle was one De Croc ; hence the name Crock- 

 ston, Crocston, or Cruikston. Tliis family (says Craw- 

 furd), falling in ane heiress, she was married to Sir 

 Alexander Stewart of Torbolton, second son to Walter, 

 the second of that name, Great Stewart of Scotland, 

 and of this marriage are descended the families of Darnly 

 and Lorn." 



Cruikston is now the property of Sir John 

 May well of Nether Pollock. Of the trunk of the 



green yew, 

 The first that met the royal Mary's view ; 

 When bright in charms the youthful princess led 

 The graceful Darnly to her throne and bed." — 



Lady Maywell ordered to be made by an ingenious 

 individual, at Pollockshaws, an exact model of the 

 castle, and some table and other utensils, which 

 are still in preservation at Pollock. Before its 

 removal, many are the snuff-boxes, toddy ladles, 

 &c. that have been made of it, and are still in pre- 

 servation by the curious. The following couplet, 

 composed by the late Mr. AV. Craig, surgeon, is 

 inscribed on one of these ladles, which has seen no 

 little service : 



" Near Cruikston Castle's stately tower. 

 For many a year I stood ; 

 My shade was of the hallow'd bower ; 

 Where Scotland's queen was woo'd." 



Another medal of Queen Mary's, of considerable 

 size, of which I have seen a cast many years since, 

 contained the following inscriptions : 



" O God graunt patience in that I suffer vrang." 

 The reverse has in the centre : 



" Quho can compare with me in grief, 

 I die and dar nocht seek relief." 



With this legend around : 



" Hourt not the ^ quhais [heart whose] joy thou 

 art." 



" They all appear [says Mr. Pinkerton] to have 

 been done in France by Mary's directions, who was 

 fond of devices. Her cruel captivity could not debar 

 her from intercourse with her friends in France ; who 

 must with pleasure have executed her orders as afford- 

 ing her a little consolation." 



G.N. 



Mr. Fraser's supposed medal is a ryal (or 

 possibly a | ryal) of Mary and Henry, commonly 

 known as a Cruickstown dollar ; from the idea 

 that the tree upon them is a representation of the 

 famous yew-tree at Cruickstown Castle. It ap- 

 pears, however, from the ordinance for coining 

 these pieces, that the tree is a " palm-tree crowned 

 with a shell paddock (lizard) creeping up the 

 stem of the same." The motto across the tree is 

 " DAT GLORIA VIRES." (See Lindsay's Scotch 

 Coinage, p. 51.) John Evans. 



EARLY USE OP TIN. — BERIVATION OF THE NASIE 

 OF BRITAIN. 



(Vol. viii., p. 344.) 



The reply of Dr. Hiscks app(*ars td require 

 the following. While seeking information upon 

 the first of these matters, I took up one of my old 

 school-books, and at the foot of a page found the 

 following note : " Britannia is from Barat-anac, the 

 land of tin." I do not recollect to have seen it 

 elsewhere ; but it appeared to me so apt and cor- 

 rect that I adopted it at once. 



That the Shirutana of the Egyptian inscriptions, 



