gamekeeper, who swore that he had often hunted hares to Janet's
door; but never could start them again. Under all these circumstances, it
required no common impulse to induce us to enter the den of this emissary
of Satan; but our curiosity was excited by the similarity of the names
"Porter's Grave" and "Porter's Hole," (as the pool was familiarly named,)
and we at length mustered faith, and strength, and courage to thrust
ourselves past a bundle of withered twigs, which served Janet as a door in
summer, and as a door-protector in the blasts of winter. Janet was as usual
at her wheel, and crooning some old Covenanting ditty, about--

"Oh, gin Lag were dead and streekit,
An' that his ha' wi' mools was theekit!"

when, by means of a six-inch-square skylight, our physiognomy became
visible to Janet.

"And what art thou, that's creeping into an old body's dark den, and
leaving ahint thee the guid sunshine?"

We responded by mentioning our name.

"Ay, ay," said Janet, "come away and sit thee down on the creepy there,
beside the heidstane[B]--thou art freely welcome, for thou art o' the seed
o' the faithful, the precious salt of the earth: and the blessing of the
God of the Covenant will rest upon its children, even to the third and the
fourth generation!" Thus welcomed, we took our position as requested,
eyeing all the while the large black cat with a somewhat suspicious regard.

"The beast winna stir thee," said Janet, "it has, like its auld mistress,
mair regard for the martyr's seed."

Having hereupon taken advantage of a pause in Janet's discourse, we at once
stated the subject of our inquiry.

"Ay, ay," said Janet; "and atweel there is a connection betwixt that bonny
angel stane, and the pool ca'ed Porter's Hole. Ay, is there; an an awfu'
connection it is. But what comes thou here for to torment an auld body like
me, wi' greeting and groaning at my time o' life? Gae awa, gae awa--I canna
thole the very thochts o' the story whilk thou ettles to ken."

This only increased our curiosity, and, after some flattering language
about Janet's good nature, retentive memory, and Covenanting lineage, the
old crone proceeded to the following purpose; and, as nearly as we can
mind, (for it is a tale o' fifty years,) repeated it in the following
words:--

"Thou ken's the auld ruin, bairn, the auld wa's out by there. That's the
auld farm-house o' Dalgarno, ere the new one at the path-head was biggit;
and there, within