120 Field Meetings. 



of them in blossom, and all of them clothed with freshest foUage. 

 The larg-e sawmills of the Messrs Callander were at our feet. 

 The air was impregnated with " Sabean odours as from the spicy 

 shores of Araby the Blest." Every thick bush held its blackbird, 

 and on a few of the higher trees were perched thrushes mingling 

 their melody with that of lesser songsters, as the hedge sparrow 

 and chaffinch. The colour of the streams suggested angling at an 

 advantage. The churchyard of Minnigaff was next inspected. It 

 contains many interesting monuments. The oldest was a small 

 triangular stone, bearing that it was in remembrance of A. Murray, 

 1416. There was a surmise that the lettering was more modern 

 than the date. Another gravestone bearing appropriate sculpture 

 was over the grave of J. M'Callum, master of the foxhounds. A 

 most pretentious monument was over the grave of Patrick Heron. 

 The sculpture showed two herons opposite each other, and 

 reminded one of the totems of the tribes of America or Australia, 

 who fancy themselves descended from animals, and sometimes from 

 plants, which consequently they adore, and stitch into their dresses 

 on court occasions. Another, but a very modest gravestone, was 

 a big slate-stone, erected over the grave of Patrick M'Caa, 

 waulker (of cloth), 1653. The letters were rude and straggled 

 over the stone, but were kept legible by the finger-nails of the 

 careful local antiquarian. We next approached the two gable- 

 Avalls, ivy-covered, of the old paiish church. It is more than 

 half-a-century since worship was conducted in it, and it now 

 contains several graves in the interior. But there are preserved 

 within the walls a very fine Maltese cross, granite, erected on an 

 ornamental pedestal, and of unknown date. It has been surmised 

 that it was in honour of the four Evangelists, and certainly a 

 human figure is sculptured on one of its sides. A cross of ruder 

 form and older date was excavated out of the walls of this old 

 church, and is now to be seen beside the other. A sculptured slab 

 over the grave of an ecclesiastic, inserted in the church wall, has 

 been removed. We only hope that it is somewhere in careful 

 keeping. Crossing to the modern church, one of the party dis- 

 covered a fine plant of Chelidoiihim iiiajus in full bloom. There 

 was also a yew tree, estimated to be at least eight hundred years 



old. 



Leaving the church and churchyard, the party next proceeded 

 to Kirroughtree, a house and estate belonging to cadets of the 



