Johnston, and traces of it are still visible in the eastern part of the parish.

The south-eastern division of the parish forms a gentle slope, intersected by several rivulets which fall into Luther Water-a considerable stream, which flows nearly through the middle of the parish, to find its way, after a course of five miles through Marykirk, into the Northesk.

Both sides of the Luther formed an entire morass in times not very remote. It abounded in wild fowl, such as herons, ducks, snipes, and the other species of birds which were regarded as the proper quarry of the hawk or falcon. This rendered it a fitting neighbourhood for the king's hawker or falconer, who received the lands at an early period. The alternative titles of this official were both shortly utilised,one to form the designation of the lands, Haulkerton, or Hawker's Town; and the other, Falconer, to serve as the surname of the family who have been so long in possession of them.

The inhabitants of these parts were subject for centuries to ague--a disease common to dwellers on marshy ground. Tradition asserts that they were frequently driven in consequence from the lower grounds, to make a temporary abode in the more elevated parts of the parish, and on the adjoining lands of Garvock. Traces are still in existence of the huts which were erected in those times of emergency. Little more than a century ago, in the words of an old residenter, "the deuks were quackin' a' the wye frae Blackiemuir to Redmyre." Still earlier, the Howe appeared to the eye of the youthful poet, when viewing it from the uplands in certain condi

tions of the atmosphere, what he afterwards described in "The Minstrel" as

"Lake, dim-gleaming on the smoky lawn."

And the natives of the district, even at a comparatively recent date, had difficulty in obtaining situations as servants until they could furnish satisfactory evidence that they were free from ague. Happily, not a trace of the malady remains, now that agricultural skill and perseverance, characteristic of the "men of the Mearns," have been applied to good purpose.

The process of converting these marshy grounds into arable land, which had gone on gradually for a lengthened period, was at last rewarded with complete success by the deepening and straightening of the channel of the Luther.

In course of the drainage operations on the bogs of Bent, a remarkable discovery was made in the year 1862. A large accumulation of the bones of animals was found in one place. When subjected to scientific examination they were pronounced to be the bones of horses, cattle, deer, and, in one case at least, of a human skeleton, indicating the proportions of a man above the average size. The place in which those relics of many a speedy death were found had probably been a "wal-ee" ("well-eye"), the part of a quagmire most likely to prove fatal to unsuspecting man or beast. There is no tradition as to how or when the human life had been sacrificed. The lower animals had probably met their fate, at long intervals between, when on the way to quench. their thirst at the neighbouring stream-unless, in

Johnston, and traces of it are still visible in the eastern part of the parish.

The south-eastern division of the parish forms a gentle slope, intersected by several rivulets which fall into Luther Water-a considerable stream, which flows nearly through the middle of the parish, to find its way, after a course of five miles through Marykirk, into the Northesk.

Both sides of the Luther formed an entire morass in times not very remote. It abounded in wild fowl, such as herons, ducks, snipes, and the other species of birds which were regarded as the proper quarry of the hawk or falcon. This rendered it a fitting neighbourhood for the king's hawker or falconer, who received the lands at an early period. The alterna

tive titles of this official were both shortly utilised,one to form the designation of the lands, Haulkerton, or Hawker's Town; and the other, Falconer, to serve as the surname of the family who have been so long in possession of them.

The inhabitants of these parts were subject for centuries to ague--a disease common to dwellers on marshy ground. Tradition asserts that they were frequently driven in consequence from the lower grounds, to make a temporary abode in the more elevated parts of the parish, and on the adjoining lands of Garvock. Traces are still in existence of the huts which were erected in those times of emergency. Little more than a century ago, in the words of an old residenter, "the deuks were quackin' a' the wye frae Blackiemuir to Redmyre." Still earlier, the Howe appeared to the eye of the youthful poet, when viewing it from the uplands in certain condi

tions of the atmosphere, what he afterwards described in "The Minstrel" as

"Lake, dim-gleaming on the smoky lawn."

And the natives of the district, even at a comparatively recent date, had difficulty in obtaining situations as servants until they could furnish satisfactory evidence that they were free from ague. Happily, not a trace of the malady remains, now that agricultural skill and perseverance, characteristic of the men of the Mearns," have been applied to good purpose.

The process of converting these marshy grounds into arable land, which had gone on gradually for a lengthened period, was at last rewarded with complete success by the deepening and straightening of the channel of the Luther.

In course of the drainage operations on the bogs of Bent, a remarkable discovery was made in the year 1862. A large accumulation of the bones of animals was found in one place. When subjected to scientific examination they were pronounced to be the bones of horses, cattle, deer, and, in one case at least, of a human skeleton, indicating the proportions of a man above the average size. The place in which those relics of many a speedy death were found had probably been a "wal-ee" ("well-eye"), the part of a quagmire most likely to prove fatal to unsuspecting man or beast. There is no tradition as to how or when the human life had been sacrificed. The lower animals had probably met their fate, at long intervals between, when on the way to quench their thirst at the neighbouring stream-unless, in

deed, the appearance of a spring at the spot had lured them off their course to an untimely end. A number of the bones were transferred to the Montrose Museum, and the following account of them is extracted from the records of that institution: "The bones were found beneath three or four feet of peat, lying in a quicksand, through which a strong spring of water arose, and belonged to man and the following inferior animals-viz., the horse, the dog, the red-deer, and the roe-deer; and three varieties. of oxen-viz., Bos primigenius, Bos longifrons, and a hornless animal resembling the existing Angus breed." It is added that within the memory of persons alive peat had been removed from the

surface.

The village of Laurencekirk covers an elevated and healthy site at the southern extremity of the parish, at an average height of 270 feet above the level of the sea. It is visible from different points at considerable distance, and, from whatever point of view, it presents a picturesque appearance, derived in no small measure from the trees with which the surrounding landscape is adorned. The village is distinguished for its salubrity; and, though disappointed travellers by rail have conferred upon it the unenviable name of "Snowy Terminus," the frequent detention of railway trains, in the time of storms, arises from no special severity of a Laurencekirk winter, but from the peculiar construction of the line, which renders it specially liable to be blocked in the neighbourhood.

The western boundary of the parish is within a mile of the ancient Castle of Kincardine, now a ruin,