46 Transactions. 



writers place this St. Queran in the 9th age, but it is proba- 

 ble that they have confounded him with our Irish Saint, who 

 was in that age honoured at Paisley with particular devotion. 

 The festival of the Scotch St. Queran is 9th September, 

 and the date assigned to him is A.D. 876. This date carries 

 us back three centuries anterior to the founding of Dun- 

 drennan Abbey, which is considered one of the earliest of the 

 Romish monasteries in this quarter. But at that time the 

 Abbey of Holywood, in some of its earlier forms, would be 

 in existence. The early ecclesiastical history of this district 

 is, however, little known. 



I here submit to the Society a phial of the water taken 

 from St. Querdon or St. Queran's Well. 



Feasting at Funerals. By Mr M'Diarmid. 



Among some papers which recently came into my hands was 

 an account, dated 1733-4, for some expenses incuiTed at the 

 funeral of Sir Robert Grierson of Lag, Baronet. My im- 

 pression was that this referred to the funeral of the cele- 

 brated or notorious Sir Robert Grierson, the persecutor of 

 the Covenanters, regarding which there is a mass of local 

 tradition. It is said that the horses yoked to the hearse in 

 which the remains of the deceased were placed refused for 

 long to draw, that at last they started off at the gallop which 

 was unchecked until the Church-yard of Dalgarnock was 

 reached, whereupon the animals fell down dead. On refer- 

 ring to Mr J. C. Gracie, our local genealogist, I have been 

 assured that the Sir Robert died in his town house at Dum- 

 fries, a house next and north of the present Commercial 

 Hotel, on the 20th of April, 1723. Mr Gracie says he has 

 this from the family records, but that he has seen many 

 dates given as the demise of Sir Robert, all widely wrong. 



