THE OLD PLACE OF MOCHNUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2688, 20 September 1905, Page 80

THE OLD PLACE OF MOCHNUM.

The old Castle of Moehrum is m a comer of Scotland a-imost uninvaded by the tourist, and thtrefoic only -,\ ell known, to those whose lot in life li.is led them into the pleasant paths of Galloway and "the Stewartry." Just as Scott made the fama of the TrovSS-achs and Loch Katrine, and as Burns threw the halo of his genius round Nithsdale and the bonnie Doom, so, in a less degree, has Mr Crockett brought pilgrims to Kirkcudbrightshire and Ihe Valley of tne Fleet. Bat Mochrum lies farther afield even than this ; and the moorland and loch scenery which Lord and Lady Bute are now enjoying is practically undiscovered country. Mochrum was bought in 1727 by Colonel Dalrymple. of Glenmuir, from .Sir George Dunbar, an old "moustache" of Marl- j borough's wars, who found that he had^ to sacrifice his lands to his debt*. This Colonel Dalrymplo seems to have been a most fortunate man ; he had not only the wherewithal to purchase Mochrum, but he ■won the heart and hand of lovely Penelope Crichton, a granddaughter of the second Karl of Dumfries — who, on the dyath of her only brother, succeeded to the earldom. This pair h-td mx sons and one daughter. The Earldoms of Stair ar.d Dumfries, together with wide estates in the South-west of Scotland, were Hieiis by heritage. But a curious fate threw the Dumfries succession, three times over, into the female line. Their son William became Earl of Stair and Dumfries, but his only son died before him, his five brotlieis left no lwir*. and Penelope's earldom fell to the son of her only daughter, Lady Elizabeth. This son, Patrick, fiflh Earl of Dumfries, had in his turn an only daughter, Lady Penelope Elizabeth. She married the ron of the Marquis of Bute, and carried the estates of JMochuun and the name ol Crichton into tIK- family of the Stuarts. It i-f very fitting therefore that Lord Bute should' take Iris young bride to that one of his many lioines vhich is linked most closely with the love stories of the past. Stately Mount Stuart, roar Rothesay, is a palace of a place, ->rith its gorgeous marbles and Gothic corridors. Cardiff Ca&tle, grand as it is, is in Hie centre of a grimy town. Falkland, in spite of all that has lately been done to it, is gloomy and ghostly; and/ besides, it is appropriated bo liis brother, Lord Xinann. Dumfries House, in Ayrshire, is not so ideally ■romantic as this old castle on the Kirkcowan Moots, vliere the 'vater-lilip-s rock on the calm lake-water and the fresh airs come across ths pine trees from the distant sea. The late Lord Bute cared greatly for the arckceologicnl interests of Mochrum and its neighbourhood. A short distance to the southward is Withorn. the ancient "Candida Casa," once the most famous shrine in Scotland. Hither to St. Ninian's tomb came mighty kings and queens and warriors bold, Eager to crook proud knees on cold giey y stones, And) heap their vows and spend their hoaidcd gold For the clear grace to kiss St. Ninian's bon-es. Margjict Tudor, the English Queen ol James IV, was taken twice to Whithoin by hei anxious husband — iiist to pray for the lonaed-for heii, and then to leturn thanks, fox his advent. And "Proud Meg liked not at all those long pilgrimages over thn bleak hills of Gallo-nay in the times when roads were not. A cave on tihe shore at Bui row Head still exists, protected carefully now as one of the most precious of British Christum relics. Here St. Nhiian dwelt in tho fifth century, bringing the story of Christ to the panans of the North long before St. Columba came to lorni or Augustine to Canterbury. Lord Bute spent large sums of money oin excavating near the old Abbey of Whithom, hoping to recover trcW6 of the splendid shrine, which once rivalled that of St. Edward at Westminster of St. Thomas at Canterbury. He and Lady Bute named their second son Ninian in memory of the saint they so deeply re vered. Moehnun Castle itself is of very respectable antiquity. It was built about 1470 by Sir John Dunbar, one of the turbulent sons of Sir Alexander Dunbar, hereditary Sheriff of Mor.iy&hire. Times were grim then, and a man's house had to bs a fortress as well o^ a homestead. The Douglases lorded it over Galloway, keeping up almost rega 1 state at Threavs Caste, where .Tamos II besieged them, using the famous cannon Moris Meg to pitch its huge granite balls to "their 'mighty discomfihvre." Dnnbar sided the King, and thereby inclined the Douglas wrath; and when James and Mons Meg had departed to Edinburgh p' or Mothnim had a pretty stoim to face. Tint 400 years ago, and succeeding centuries brought their many troubles. <'nd left many battle !>f\Trs nn the old walls. Whn the late Marquis hemn tie rretomtion of the pioc-e it looked a7mo«-ta 7 mo«-t hopeless work. But 15 years of unfbggin.;effort ended in making the mired ea^'Jc not only habitable, but in. turning ii info what has been rlescribed as "one of the most perfect specimens of a mediaeval mansion in Scotland."