Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1877-09-04

for their speedy destruction. The gal
liant, one day, brought with him gift TO
his betrothed, which he had purchased
of Jew Pedlar near the town of Perth
1t was either a rich handkerchief or ,
pearl-necklace: but whether one O.
other is immaterial; it was of conside-
| rable value, and the youth bestowed i
on the idol of his heart. She wore i
with fond pride, never thinking that i
was the vehicle of death! Not many
hours had flown when the blooming cir
fell suddenly ill with every symptom o
the Plague! She and her companion
still trusting in the false security of theil
habitatiOn, hoped, as it were, agains
hope. But that fatal souvenir of affec
tion lit had been purloined by the
crafty Jew from the person of a victim
of the Pestilence in the city, and the un-
seen poision clinging to it was commu-
n1cated to the unsuspecting wearer in
the bower of the Almond. The malady
seized upon the other inmate, and aftel
brief term of suffering, placidly borne
as the dispensation of an inscrutable
Providence, both maidens yielded up
their gentle spirits, and lay side by side
in death!
AS already stated, all Plague-inter-
ments were made in ground considera-
bly, removed from church-yards, SO as to
obviate any after-Opening of the graves,
which might give new vent to the con-
tagiOn. In accordance with this prac-
tice, the remains of Bessie Bell and Ma
ry Gray were committed to the earth
not far from the spot where they drew
their latest sighs. Within few hum
dred yards of the scene of death is the
Drodach Haugh, at the foot of a steep
declivity on Almond side: and there
the maidens, sisters in misfortune, were
laid to their rest. A lone spot, where
the murmur of the flowing river, the
song of birds, and the rustic of the
breeze in the foliage, are the only sounds
that break the silence of the Solitude
When the Lynedoch lands were &C.
quired, in the course of last century, by
Major George Augustus Barry, of the
5Oth Regiment, his attention became at
tracted to the grave on the haugh.-
when l first came to Lednock," he
states in communication which he
sent to the Antiquarian Society of Scot
land in 1851, II was shown lin part of
my ground called the Dronach Haugh)
a heap of stones, almost covered with
briers, thorns, and fern, which they as
sured me was the burialplace of Bessie
Bell and Mary Gray" To his lasting
honour be it said that the gallant Major
removed all the rubbish from this little
spot of classic ground, enclosed it with a
wall, planted it round with Towering
shrubs, made up the grave double, and
fixed a stone in the wall, on which were
engraved the names of Bessie Bell and
Mary Gray" The estate of Lynedoch
came into the hands of
another gallant veteran-Lord Lyme
doch, the Hero of Barossa," who caus-
ed some further Improvements to be
made, by placing large stone, with an
over the graves, enclosing
and enclosing some yew trees around it.
The gravestone is thus insclibed:-
THEY LIvED-THEY LOvED-THEY
DIED.
Doubts have been expressed regarding
the paternity of one or both of the he
roines, as given in the traditional story,
which we have faithfully recapitulated.
1t has been suggested that Bessie Bell.
instead of being the daughter of the
Laird of Kinvaid at that time, was
the daughter of a citizen of Perth,
probably connected with family which
had once owned Kinvaid. Mr.. Robert
Chambers, in his Songs of Scotland,
goes step farther, speaking of a ''tra-
dition that the two heroines were the
daughters of respectable citizens of
Perth, and that, on the Plague breaking
out there, they retired to rush-thatch-
ed cot or bower on the braes of Led
noch." In our opinion, however, there
need be no dubiety at all about the re-
of Mary Gray, as the Rental
Of the County of Perth, made up in 1649,
shews that then part of Lednoch be-
longed to Patrick Gray, who was evi-
IDENTIFY the father or brother of Mary -
Methven Parish.
Patrick Gray, for his part of
Leo 1ednock, ,: :..::....';.:'.;;:::. =: y: s7s 8
same Roll, that property is entered as
belonging to Sir William Stewart:
Moneyclie Parish.
Sir William Stewart, for Kim
wade, ............................. e440 0 0
Farther, the following are the only
Lairds of the name of Bell in the Re71-
toU:
Scoon Parish.
Adam Bell, for half of the
Wakemyle of Kincaroq-
DrOn Parish.
Mr.. William Bell. for his
Croft, ,...... ...................... G34 0 O
We have been unable to extend our
researches in the meantime respecting
the proprietorship of Kinvaid; but we
may remark that finding the alleged
paternity of Mary Gray confirmed, we
are inclined to give credence to that of
Bessie Bell as asserted by the same ira
dition.
The romantic story of the unfortunate
beauties took a fast hold of peoples SYM
pathies; and one of those nameless
bards, who commemorated in the sweet
Scottish verse so many incidents of woe
and love, chivalry and patriotism, COM
posed ballad on the Lednoch tragedy,
which only now survives in these STAN
ZaS -
BALLAD OF BESSIE BELL AND 1LARY GRAY"