TransaclioHs. 43 



later Peggy D 's daughter was, carried a corpse to the same 



churchyard. 



The howling of a dog as a death-warning has already been 

 referred to. It 'is one of the oldest as well as one of the most 

 prevalent of superstitions. " C. W. J.," writing in Cliambers's 

 '* Book of Days," suggests that theie may be some truth in the 

 notion, as a peculiar odour frequently precedes death, which may 

 render the dog uneasy. No one acquainted with the dog's acute 

 powers of scent will be disposed to call this an extravagant sug- 

 gestion. Another widespread belief is that the genius of death 

 announces his coming by means of some mysterious and super- 

 natural noise. Thus, a knock on the door, or on the floor of a 

 room, or in the vicinity of a sick person's bed, is sure to be looked 

 upon as " a call." We have heard of one family to whom the 

 warning came in the form of a sound resembling the smack of a 

 switch against tlie window-pane. This sound was heard three 

 times in succession, and immediately after the tliird repetition an 

 ailing member died. A native of tlie neighbouring parish of Tynron 

 informs me that to hear a cock crow six times before six o'clock is a 

 sign of a death. The magpie is another bird of evil omen, and its 

 chattering near a dwelling is supposed to foretell the decease of 

 one of the inmates. The raven and the owl are even more 

 unpopular than the magpie. Spencer speaks of "The ill-fac'd 

 owle, death's dreadful messenger;" while the raven is invariably 

 associated by our old Scottish balladists witli scenes of death 

 and dolour. 



In addition to tiiese general portents of death, we have death 

 warnings peculiar to certain families of rank. Thus the death of 

 a member of the Craigdarroch family is supposed to be heralded 

 by a sudden and simultaneous peal of household bells, while to a 

 member of the Closeburn family the warning comes in the form 

 of a white swan. The late Dr Ramage says that this omen sad- 

 dened the nuptials of Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick, the tirst baronet, 

 when marrying for the third time. , 



In Glencairn there formerly existed a curious belief that the 

 soul flew out of the mouth of the dying in the form of a bird. A 

 story still lingers in the district of a joiner's apprentice who made 

 this belief the subject of a somewhat ill-timed practical joke. An 

 old man had died in the village, and tlic joiner and his apprentice 

 were busy preparing the coflin. Just as it was flnished a sparrow 



