Year: 1878

In the family picture gallery sc Slams
Castle, near Aberdeen, is the portrait
of dark woman, masculine and reso-
lute,. not beautiful nor like the hand
some race of the Hays, of which she
was yet the last direct representative.
This is the famous Countess Mary. one
of the central figures of the family ira
ditions. The Hays were hereditary
lords high constable of Scotland, and
also one of the few Scottish families in
which title and offices, as well as lands,
are transmitted through the female line.
So the Countess Mary found herself, at
the death of her brother, Countess of
Enroll in her own right, and Lord High
Constable of Scotland. In one of the
two pictures of her at Slams, she is
represented with the baton of her Office,
with which badge she also appeared at
court before her marriage. After this
it was borne by her husband in the
character of her deputy.


Her husband was commoner, Mr. !.
Faiconer of Dalgaty, whose reported
history in connection with her is curl
GUS, and deserves to be told, though the
old tradition is nodded into 80 many
different forms that it is very difficult
to disentangle the truth from its mani
fold embellishments. Toward the be-
ginning of the eighteenth century this
intrepid and independent lady fell in
love with Mr.. Falconer, who at first did
not seem eager to return or notice her
affection. High-strung and chivalric
by nature, she did not droop and pine
under her disappointment, but vowed to
herself that she would bring him to her
feet. Mr.. Falconer left the country
after some time and went to London.
The Countess Mary also travelled south
the same year, and no news of her was
heard at Slams for some time.


Meanwhile, she and Mr.. Falconer met,
but unknown to the latter, who about
the same time became acquainted with
a dashing young cavalier, evidently a
man of high birth and standing, but
absolutely bent on mystifying his friends
as to his origin. The two saw each other
frequently, and were linked by that de-
sultory companionship of London life
which sometimes indeed -ripens into
friendship, but as often ends in sudden
quarrel. Such was the end of this ac-
quaintance, and one day some trihing
conference having occurred between the
friends, cartel reached Mr.. Falconer
couched in very naughty though per-
fectly courteous language. These things
were every day matters in such times,
and very nonchalantly the challenged
went in the early morning to the ap-
pointed place to meet the challenger.


Here the versions of the story differ.
Some say that Mr.. Falconer and his an
tagonist fought, but without witnesses
that the former got the worst of the en-
counter, and remained at the others
mercy; that then, and not before, the
Countess Mary made herself known 10
him and gave him his choiee-a thrust
from her sword or speedy marriage
with herself. Others say that it was be-
fore the duel that she astonish her lover
by this discovery, and that the choice
she gave him was between marriage or
ridicule. The fact of her marriage, and
that it proved happy one, is certain.
Mr.. Falconer dropped his own name to as
sumo that of Hay. The aisle of the old
church of Slams contains the graves OF
Countess Mary and her husband, with
an epitaph in Latin, of which the fol
lowing is a translation: " Beneath this
tombstone there are buried neither gold
nor silver, nor treasures of any kind,
but the bodies of the most chaste welded
pair, Mary, Countess of Enroll, and
Alexander Hay, of Dalgaty, who lived
peaceably and lovingly in matrimony
for twenty-seven years. They wished to
be buried here beside each other, and
pray that this stone may benot moved
or their remains disturbed