l40 Field Meeti'iKjs. 



tlie top it is not less than six; feet. Tlie construction is of soli 

 masonry througliout, not a facing of large stones filled with 

 rubble between. It is said that when the present windows were 

 formed to make the place suitalile for a dwelling-house, it was 

 necessaiy to use blasting powder to enlarge tlie openings. On 

 the higher stories several of the old windows are still left, with 

 stone seats in the recesses. One of the windows in the top flat 

 is titted with an old-fashioned frame, and on one of the panes a 

 former inhabitant of the Castle has given vent to his feelings in 

 the expression " Charming Grizzle Stewart, J. K." The initials 

 are supposed to be those of Sir James Kirkpatrick, who sold the 

 estate in 1783. But "Charming Orizzie" is not the only lady 

 whose praises have tlms been handed down to posterity, for on 

 the same window we read, " 0, Fine Christy Kirkpatrick," and 

 "Miss Jeanie Kirkpatrick is a charming creature, 1762." A 

 peculiarity about the building is that three of the flats are arched, 

 while seldom if ever more than two are met with in such struc- 

 tures. The old entrance is still in use, but a covered-in stair 

 leads to it. The low doorway still has its trellised iron gate, and 

 also a wooden door with an old-fashioned " sneck." A circle of 

 noble trees now occupy the site of the wall, and the ground 

 which once formed the bed of the loch is clothed with luxuriant 

 pasture. A crack can be traced from the top to the bottom of 

 the Castle, which is supposed to have been caused by a subsidence 

 when the loch was drained in 1859. An old boat which was 

 then found embedded in the moss is now in the museum at 

 Edinburgh. 



Mr Brown very much laments the absence of a haunted 

 chamber to show the many visitors who turn aside to have a look 

 at the old place, or a ghost story to entertain them with. The 

 family of Kirkpatrick, however, was too long associated with the 

 place to be free of the superstitions which attached tliemselves to 

 so many old families. It is said that when a death was to take 

 place in the family a swan appeared on the loch which surrounded 

 the Castle. The last time that this evil omen was seen is said to 

 have been on the day when Sir Thomas, the first baronet, was 

 leading his third bride to the altar. His son Roger went out 

 and saw the ominous sign, and on returning to the house over- 

 whelmed with melancholy his father railed on him for his 

 desponding appearance, alleging the stepmother to be the cause 



