136 THE Lower NITH. 
of man to assist the river to aggrade her channel without 
delay. 
The ultimate cure is a simple problem of engineering 
skill, based upon a true conception of the progress of river 
development and a right interpretation of the history of the 
past. 
The Early History of the Farish of Keir. 
By Sir P. HAmMILTon-GRIERSON. 
This valuable paper has had to be omitted owing to lack 
of space. It is hoped that it will appear as a chapter in the 
History of the Grierson Family, which its author has in pre- 
paration. 
The Lost Stone of Kirkmadrine. 
By the Rev. G. PuHiLip ROBERTSON. 
Seven miles south of Stranraer, on the north-west corner 
of the Bay of Luce, is the village of Sandhead, and two miles 
west of it is the old churchyard of Kirkmadryne. In the 
middle of the churchyard stands a church restored to what 
it was seven centuries ago. It is not used now for worship, 
but is the burial place of the Ardwell family. 
Abutting on the outside, at the west end, is an arched 
recess. In this alcove is a collection of sculptured stones 
found in the district. The most interesting by far are stones 
with sculpture and inscriptions that are early monuments of 
Christianity. ‘‘ Nowhere in Great Britain is there a Christian 
record so ancient ’’ as the carving on these blocks. These 
stones are illustrated and described in the Report of the 
Ancient Monuments Commission on Wigtownshire, pp. 
154-156. 
The largest are two monoliths, about seven feet high, 
over a foot wide, and three to four inches thick. On the top 
line of the slightly shorter, more massive block was A ET Q 
(Alpha and Omega, the T being ligatured). When the casts 
were taken by Sir James Simpson in 1861 for the Edinburgh 
