214 The Market Cross of Dumfries. 



ground occupied by the original cross, a portion of which, how- 

 ever, may have been merely cobbled or flagged ; (b) the ground 

 as originally fcued in 1575 ; (c) the further addition granted to 

 the feuars before building in 1575 ; (d) the addition granted to 

 Alexander M'Gown in 16%, when an additional storey was 

 added ; and (e) the present size of the buildings less 7 feet 

 6 inches for a passage between them and the Midsteeple. 



The conjectural elevation is offered, with all due diffidence, 

 to assist the casual reader to realise what the appearance of the 

 Cross may have been between the years 1575 and 1680. In 

 detail it is necessarily conjectural. It is probable that the shops 

 had arched roofs, the central one being a little higher inside 

 than the others. It is not likely that the line of the parapet 

 would be broicen by the extra height of the central arch, and 

 would therefore rest upon a front wall which would conceal the 

 arches. It has been assumed that the roof was flagged, except 

 in the centre, where four steps were placed upon the central 

 arch, and led up to a broad base, or sole, for the pillar of the 

 Cross. The position and height of the entrance on the west side 

 are not sufficiently defined. It probably opened on to the 

 flagged portion of the roof at the north end, and may not have 

 been visible from the ground on the east side. There are no 

 details available for the appearance of the shaft. The design 

 of the battlement that is shown is within the bounds of possi- 

 bility. The battlement on the Midsteeple was copied from the 

 battlement of the Cross then existent (M'Gown's erection of 

 1690), and it may be that the latter had been taken from the 

 earlier battlement, which was then removed. 



Note on an Ancient Ash Tree near Dalswinton House, 

 KNOWN AS " Cummin's Ash." By The President. 



I have to thank Mr W. J. H. Maxwell of Munches for his 

 permission to publish the following letter, which was found among 

 the correspondence of Sir William Jardine, the celebrated natural- 

 ist, and which is now in Mr Maxwell's possession. The letter 

 concerns a famous Ash Tree near Dalswinton House, which was 

 traditionally known as "Cummin's Ash." The Comyn family 

 were apparently at their zenith of notoriety in the thirteenth cen- 

 tury, so that if any value is to be attached to the tradition, the age 



