388 FIELD AND FERN. 



mode of enjoying a circulating library. Burnswark or 

 those two hills united by a rampart, and Woodcockair 

 were our beacons, and on we went past the little 

 church where one of the monuments seemed to have 

 made itself legs and walked clean out of the wall, and 

 where a husband, who had not been burdened with 

 ''^my spouse Nancy,^^ writes: "And to be short to 

 her praisp, she was the wife Solomon speaks of." 

 Despite this hint, celibacy still exists about here to 

 very^great extent. 



Old Pallinsburn looked well as we met him in 

 sheets for a morning's walk, and everything was 

 thriving at Knockhill. The swallow had come back 

 and built in the porch once more; the brood mares 

 were ; all in-foal, the spotted sheep were all in- 

 lamb, and the burning of Aurora in her stable, which 

 happened the only year the swallow was away, seemed 

 in a fair way of being forgotten at last. Birkie^s 

 bark was heard of course, as we rode up, and so was 

 WilFs reproving voice to her and half-a-dozen more 

 behind. The Ayrshires, with one or two beauties 

 among them, were having their morning's run in the 

 sloping meadoY.^ The black ducks were on the pond, 

 and the white crow on the tree; the Dorkings were 

 strolling in and out of the laurels, or standing on 

 one leg under the Irish yews ; and an aviary was full 

 of the choicest fancy pigeons, principally blues and 

 purples. There had been American turkeys, but they 

 were no sooner let out of their hamper than they 

 winged their flight straight to Woodcockair, and Will 



