A2G Mineralogical Ohservalions hi Galloway. [Jcnb, 



found to the eastward of the Louran on the opposite side of the 

 lake of Ken, a great way above its level and at the distance of 3 

 miles from the granite, several rolled blocks of that rock. It is 

 known that no granite rock occurs to the east of Loch Ken in this 

 district. 



On turning northward again along the west side of the granite 

 mountain of Cairnsinuir I came to Kittrick, a place of seemingly 

 little note certainly, but now become interesting by having been 

 the birth jjlacc of the late Dr. Murray, Professor of Oriental lan- 

 guages in this University: a man well known to liave possessed un- 

 rivalled talents for the acquisition of languages and for philological 

 research, having made himself master, it is understood, of no 

 fewer tlian 15 or 20 languages, so as to be able to translate from 

 tliem with certainty, at a very early age, and who was to the in- 

 expressible regret of all who knew him, and of the literary world 

 in general, snatched away by death at the age of 36. Kittrick is 

 the name of a sheep farm belonging to James IM'Kie, Esq. of 

 Bargally, situated in the parish of Monigaff, and includes in it 

 a ]K)rtion of the Cairnsmuir range to the north, called the hill of 

 Kittrick. This hill is little more than an immense mass of bare 

 granite rock, with a little covering of heath here and there; rising 

 suddenly to the iieight of 1000 or 1200 feet. At the bottom of 

 this liiil on the north-west, in as wild and desolate a looking spot 

 as pcrliaps ever human dwelling was seen to occupy, stood tlie 

 cottage or rather hut in which Dr. Murray was born. The cottage 

 was built of granite, and no part of it now remains except the 

 walls. They are situated little more than half a mile from Craig- 

 dews, and within sight of the new line of road which has been 

 made from Newton Stewart to Newgalloway ; and from whicli 

 latter place Kittrick is distant 13 miles. The ruins of the cottage 

 are within a quarter of a mile of the road. Dr. Murray's parents 

 lived here for 14 years, and his mother, who is still alive, tells me 

 that he was born eight months after they came to the place. The 

 occupation of his father was that of a shepherd. On this wild and 

 sequestered spot, secluded one would think almost totally from 

 the intercourse of mankind, did our late great philosophic linguist 

 spend the first 13 years and four months of his life. 



About SO yards from the ruins of the cottage is a large rolled 

 block of granite, ]"> or 20 feet high, with a perpendicular flat 

 face looking towards the high road. It struck n^e that it would be 

 a proper piece of respect to the memory of Dr. Murray, and a 

 monument more lasting perhaps than any other that could be 

 erected, (except his own writings,) to have engraved deeply on 

 this granite block, in large letters, some such inscription as the 

 following : — " Alexander JNIurray, D. D. Professor of Oriental lan- 

 guages in the University of Edinburgh, and the greatest linguist 

 of his oge, was born in a cottage not many yards from this stone, 

 in the year \1']G, and died at Edinburgh on the 2ad of April, 

 ISIS."' 



