The Buchanites and Crocketford. 289 



to plod along the weary ways of earth and provide for them- 

 selves both food and shelter as best they could. Well, then, 

 in which direction ought they to travel? What did the Scrip- 

 ture say? " As the lightning cometh out of the East, and 

 shineth towards the West, so shall the coming of the Son of 

 Man be." That surely meant that if they wished to meet 

 the Son of Man when He appeared they must travel East- 

 wards. And so they bent their steps to the East through 

 the level lands of Ayrshire, lodging where they could and 

 living on oatcake and spring water — the " Friend Mother " 

 alone allowing herself after meals the luxury of a smoke ! 



" They went by Logan House on their way heavenward, 

 and Mr Logan seeing a crowd approaching his house, sent a 

 servant to meet them and learn what they wanted. The 

 servant soon returned, and told his master that the people 

 said they had come from Irvine and were going to heaven, 

 and wanted nothing with any one. The laird then remarked 

 to his servant that he was happy to find that Logan House 

 stood on the road to that happy country, a thing he had 

 never known before." 



As they fared on they beguiled the way by singing hymns 

 of their own composition, mostly to the popular tune, " Beds 

 of Sweet Roses." But their pilgrimage was rudely broken 

 in upon, when one of their wealthiest members was arrested 

 bv his Irvine friends on the plea that he was wanted at home 

 for the disentanglement of his business affairs. Others 

 fearing a Hke fate returned with him to put their own house- 

 holds in order. The rest of the company halted at New 

 Cample farm, in the parish of Closeburn, to await the return 

 of their friends. But here they were destined to remain for 

 nearly three years ; for the farmer when he found them ready 

 to work to him for nothing, and at the same time needful of 

 much farm produce, which they always paid for, very natur- 

 ally found it much to his interest to induce them to stay with 

 him. He therefore accommodated them in his barn, and 

 afterwards gave them ground, on which they built Buchan 

 Ha'. Here, while they awaited their " translation," many 

 of their " hymns " were written, and also their Confession 

 of Faith, The Divine Dictionary, which, however, found 



