ig6 Craigmillar and its Environs. 



staircase made to it, and fenced with masonry from 

 top to bottom. It Avas, however, completely wrecked 

 by Cromwell's soldiers in 1650, and though after- 

 wards restored, it never appeared again to the same 

 advantage. A black oily substance floats on the 

 surface of the well still, as it did of old, and is trace- 

 able to the exudation of the shale, which, as is well 

 known, is abundant in the district. 



BuRDiEHOusE and Straiton. — Burdiehouse, it is 

 asserted, is a corruption of " Bourdeaux " house, so 

 called from some of the French retainers who came 

 to Scotland with Queen Mary taking up their resi- 

 dence there. An abundance of limestone is found 

 in the district, which is extensively worked by Sir 

 David Baird, and with considerable success. As 

 indicated in a previous chapter, there are found 

 embedded in the limestone numerous specimens of 

 plant and animal remains, which are extremely in- 

 teresting to geologists. Straiton is one of those quiet 

 uninteresting places through which the old coach-road 

 to Penicuik, Peebles, and the South of Scotland 

 passed. As the result of operations carried on by 



