The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-22 00:00:00

A MAGIC WELL.

At the summit of the Touch Stone, a little to the
west of Stirling, and not far from the beautiful cascade
at Gilmer's Linn, there is to be seen a pellucid little
well, which, in days of yore, was said to possess the
remarkable quality of ensuring for a twelvemonth the
lives of all who drank from its waters before sunrise
on the first Sabbath of May. This healing fountain
is called St. Corbet's Well. It is now only about a
foot deep, and three or four feet in circumference ; but
the boggy nature of the surrounding ground shows
that in ancient times the Hygeian Saint had possessed
a more ample chalice for the refreshment of his pil-
grim votaries. It is not very many years since the
superstitious belief in the virtues of this well were
abandoned. Some douce dames and hale caries
are yet alive in the parish of St. Ringan's, who,
in their younger days, made annual pilgrim-
acres to St. Corbet's Well on the auspicious mornings
alluded to ; and they report that splendid were the
gatherings on these anniversaries. Husbands with
their wives, lovers with their sweethearts, young and
old, grave and gay, were wont to cover the hill tops in
the vicinity of the well, long before " Aurora bright
proclaimed the dawn," and each party, as they arrived,
'freely partook of the health-inspiring font. It is even
said, that when the nation began to degenerate,
" mountain dew" of a less sacred character was some-
times doled out amongst the devotees of St. Corbet ;
and that his saintship had rather not have witnessed,
especially on a Sabbath morning, 30M9 of the frivoli-
ties practised among the Touch Hills on these occa-
sions. Some misunderstanding of this kind between
the saint and his votaries is believed to have induced
him to withdraw the virtues from the well.—Scotsman.

THE PROJECTED RAILWAY FROM PAISLEY

TO RENFREW.

We have learned with much pleasure that there is
every probability that the project for building a quay at
Renfrew Ferry, and forming a rail-road from thence to
Paisley, will be speedily carried into execution. We
have seldom heard of a more useful undertaking, or
one that would be more certain of being crowned with
complete success. Steam carriages would run upon
the railway from Paisley to Renfrew in ten minutes, and
the effect of this speedy communication between these
two places would be to convert Renfrew at once into the
port of Paisley, and enable the latter town at last to boast
of its shipping, which, in spite of all that has been lately
said of deepening the river Cart, we much fear it will
never be very able to do while its vessels have to ascend
the Cart to the far-famed Sneddon. To the Pais-
ley folks wishing to visit the coast, this railway would
be a great convenience, as instead of being towed at a
snail's pace down the Cart in a small boat to reach
the Clyde steamers, they would be whirled down in a
few minutes to Renfrew Ferry, where they would step
safely on board the steam-boat from a quay, instead
of risking their lives by approaching the vessel in a
small open boat, as is done at present. For the con-
veyance of goods to and from Paisley, the railway
would likewise be found invaluable. A letter from
Mr. Craig, of Hawkhead Mills, near Paisley, to the
Glasgow Chronicle, sets this in a strong point of view.
We think that not only the inhabitants of Paisley and
Renfrew, but our county gentlemen who feel inte-
rested in the prosperity of these places, ought to do
whatever is in their power to encourage so laudable an
undertaking as the intended railway.---Greenock Intel-
ligencer.