THE AYR 373 



were hunted so mercilessly because of their staunch religious convic- 

 tions. It would be as impossible to find men of this particular type 

 here now as it would be, thank God, to find the type of the bloody 

 moss-trooper. None the less Scotsmen may well honour the memory 

 of the Covenanters, if only for their loyal bravery. In these shallow 

 glens have now sprung up the tall chimneys of many coal pits, the 

 glare of iron works, and in places the smoke of the lime-kiln. 

 A short distance below Sorn, at the village of Catrine, are large 

 spinning and dyeing works. These do not exist without their influ- 

 ence upon the river, but of this later. 



At Muirkirk, about 31 miles from the mouth, the river is about 

 700 feet above the sea, the gradient is very gradual, and therefore 

 the general character of the river is easy flowing, with grassy banks, 

 and through many beautiful woods in its lower reaches. There is, 

 however, a good deal of rock in the river bed, and often excellent 

 gravel, although through the ease of the current, the lightness of the 

 soil, and no doubt the convenient pipes of the various works in the 

 head waters, the bottom rather easily becomes foul, and floods are 

 very dirty. Under ordinary conditions, however, the Ayr is a 

 beautiful and most attractive river for many miles from the sea. 



The actual mouth is confined between the piers of the town of 

 Ayr, and, as is so apt to be the case in such circumstances, the water 

 is very impure, although a certain amount of the town's sewage goes 

 into the sea rather than the river. The purifying influence of the 

 tide is felt, moreover, in that part of the river which passes through 

 the town. 



Spanning this section is the venerable Auld Brig of Ayr, about 

 which Scotsmen have seen much recently in the daily press. This 

 quaint and beautiful old structure, with its four lofty arches, is now 

 substantially fortified against the attacks of the river and of Time. 

 The New Bridge a thing of yesterday in the eye of the old structure 

 only 150 yards away was built in 1785-88 by the energy of the 

 Provost Ballantyne to whom Burns dedicated his famous poem, 

 " The Brigs of Ayr." More than ever now the Auld Brig, with its 

 new lease of life, may shout to the New : 



" Conceited gowk ! puff'd up wi' windy pride ! 

 This mony a year I've stood the flood and tide ; 

 And though wi' crazy eild I'm sair forfairn, 

 I'll be a brig when ye're a shapeless cairn ! " 



Immediately at the back of the town, on the left bank, the old 

 Nether Mill stands, and here a weir occurs with a fish-pass. A 



