14 The Parish of Luce, 



of Dornock, second son of the first Earl of Queensberrj, and sou 

 of the last Laird of Pornock by a daugiiter of Sir James Johnstone 

 of Westerhall. His father sold the estates of Dornock to the 

 Duke of Queensberry, but bought Castlemilk, which he sold in 

 1768. He was a madman, and dangerous in his cups. Displeased 

 with a ploughman, he immediately whipt off one of his ears with 

 a gullie which he happened to hold in his hand. Another accounr, 

 is contained in a letter to Matthew Sliarpe, Esquire of Hoddom, 

 at Edinburgh : — 



" Dr Sir, — I take the opportunity of the bearer Mr Scot to 

 " let you know from good authority the most deliberate action I 

 *' ever heard in our country. Young Dornock last Thursday's 

 " night in his lady's room and presence ordered his servant George 

 " to sit down on his knees and be sure to pray well, for he was to 

 *' be a dead man in a very few minutes, and his lady begged him 

 " not to shoot the innocent lad but rather shoot her than anybody 

 " else. He fired a loadin pistol on the lad, missed him, and for 

 " all that they could do fired a second, which he had in his pocket, 

 " shot the lad beneath the left arm, run to Pennershaughs, but 

 " could not get John Carlyle's beast to run away on, and told him 

 " he had shot George. A despatch was sent to Doc Maxwell, who 



" told them he was not a surgeon, another to Doc , who told 



" them George was a dead man, a third to William Cranston, 

 " Dumfries, who dressed his wounds, and is in hopes of his re- 

 " coveiy. I am, sir, your most humble servant, William Irving." 



They say the cause was jealousy, and George passed for dead 

 all Friday. His son is described as a " truculent faced squinting 

 •' fellow who was perpetually drunk and armed with pistols, which 

 •' he made very little ceremony of discharging. His cousin Sir 

 •• William ^laxwell never dared to pass the door of his house. He 

 " actually shot one Little, a farmer of his own, and was tried for 

 •• the murder at Dumfries ; but by the htlp of money and abund- 

 •• ance of perjury he was brought in insane and confined at Dum- 

 '• fries till his death. AV^hen drunk he was certainly mad, but not 

 "otherwise. He died during the first decade of this century." 

 So wrote C. K. Sharpe to "Walter Scott, Esq., in 1812. 



Little's tombstone is iu Hoddom churchyard, and has the 

 following inscription : — 



In memory of Archibald Little in Park, victim to the malice of Wm. 

 Douglas, late proprietor of Luce, who, having threatened to murder him. 



