The Buchanites and Crocketford. 285 



25th April, 1913. 



Chairman — Dr J. W. Martin, Hon. V.-P. 



The Buchanites and Crocketford.* 



By Dr Archibald Chalmers. • 



" This wicked ane frae Glasgow came 

 In April, eighty-three. 

 An' lodged her spawn among the sawn 

 An' now her fry we see." 



— Attributed to Buhns. 



It was almost noon on the May Fair day, 1784, and the 

 little town of Irvine was quite out of itself with excitement. 

 Nine months previously the rabble had taken the law into 

 its own hands, and had contumeliously dragged Mrs Buchan 

 out of the town. But after a time she had ventured to 

 return, and not alone, but with a considerable and almost 

 destitute following from Muthill. This effrontery had roused 

 the passions of the Irvine people to a white heat ; and at ten 

 o'clock on this fine morning the magistrates had assembled 

 in solemn council to dispose once and for all of the vexed 

 case of Mrs Buchan. Should they have her tried as a dan- 

 gerous exponent of the black art, or simply turn her out as 

 a disturber of the peace? The more enlightened alternative 

 prevailed, and Mother Buchan was ordered " forth of the 



* In the first week of July, 1908, the bulk of the present paper 

 appeared in the DwnfrieH Standard, under the title " Luckie 

 Buchan and tJie Nine-Mile Bar." When I was asked to deliver it 

 before this Society, I thought it advisable that I should revise the 

 whole paper. Scarcely any alterations have been found possible in 

 the portion which deals with the Buchanites ; for. Train's contem- 

 porary history being oin- only authoritative narrative of the sect, 

 the i-edaction of that somewhat higgledy-piggledy work when once 

 carefully done hardly admits of correction. 



The Crocketford portion, however, for which I am almost solely 

 indebted to viva-voce examinations of old residenters, has been 

 brought fairly well up to date. But I regret extremely that as yet 

 I have been unable to complete my plan of including details of the 

 songs and games of the children, and of the traces of superstition 

 which are still lingering in the district. 



