te an altered man. Mr Lawson,
who lived some years after his death, attended upon him in his last
illness. "God only knows the heart," would he say; "but, to all _outward_
appearance, William Douglas was a cleansed and a sanctified vessel: the
mercy of God is infinite--it even extended to the thief on the cross."

XIII.--PORTER'S HOLE.

In the west corner of the churchyard of Dalgarno--now a section of the
parish of Closeburn--there is a small, but neat headstone, with two figures
joining hands, as if in the attitude of marrying. Beneath is written, and
still legible--"John Porter and Augnas Milligan. They were lovely in their
lives, and in their deaths they were not divided." There is neither date
nor narrative; but, as this part of the churchyard has not been used as a
burial-ground since the union of the parishes, in the reign of Charles the
Second, the date must have been some time betwixt 1660 and 1684. This
beautiful and sequestered churchyard, all silent and cheerless as it is,
lies upon the banks of the Nith, immediately upon its union with the ocean;
and near to the most famous salmon-fishing pool in the whole river, called
Porter's Hole. Whilst yet a boy, and attending Closeburn school, our
attention was, one sunny afternoon, (when the trouts were unwilling to
visit the dry land,) drawn to the little stone in the corner, of which we
have just made mention, and recollecting, at the same time, that Porter was
the name of the pool, as well as of the person buried, we began to
speculate upon the possibility of there being some connection betwixt the
two circumstances--the name of the individual, and the well-known
designation of the blackest and deepest pool in the Closeburn part of the
river. Near to this solitary restingplace of the ashes of our
forefathers--the Harknesses, the Gibsons, and the Watsons of Closeburn from
time immemorial--there stood, at that time, an old cottage, straw or rather
_grass_-thatched, (for it was covered with green chicken-weed,) where
dwelt, in single solitude, Janet M'Guffoch--whether any relation of the
celebrated individual of that name mentioned by Sir Walter Scott, we know
not--but there dwelt Janet, a discontented, old waspish body of one hundred
years of age, according to general belief; and, being accompanied by a
black cat and a broom besom, was marked by us _boys_ as a decided witch. We
never had any doubt about it, and the thing was confirmed by the Laird of
Closeburn's