The following, from the Rev. Dr. Gregor's "Folklore of the North-East
of Scotland," has certainly nothing to do with a saint, but in other
respects, has a bearing on the subject in hand:--"The Pot o' Pittenyoul
is a small but romantic rock-pool in a little stream called the 'Burn
o' the Riggins,' which flows past the village of Newmills of Keith. On
the edge of the pool are some hollows worn away by the water and the
small stones and sand carried down by the stream. These hollows to a
lively imagination have the shape of a seat, and the story is, that
the devil, at some far-back time, sat down on the edge of the pool and
left his mark." Probably at an equally distant date, the devil made
his presence felt, further south, though in a different way. He had
great objections to a church built at Invergowrie, in Perthshire, and,
in order to knock it down, hurled a huge boulder across the Tay from
the opposite coast of Fife. We are not aware that the stone struck
the church. At any rate it can be seen in the grounds of Greystane,
a property to which, according to local tradition, it gave name. Sir
William Wallace, though never canonized, had certainly more of the
saint about him than the last-mentioned personage. We find various
traditions concerning him in the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire. His
connection with Lanark is well known. At Biggar, he is said, by
Blind Harry, to have defeated the English, who greatly outnumbered
his forces. This battle took place on Biggar Moss. A few days before
the fight, he entered the enemy's camp, disguised as a cadger or
pedlar, to discover the strength of the English army. Being pursued,
he turned on his assailants while crossing a bridge over Biggar
Water, a little to the west of the town. A foot-bridge there still
goes by the name of The Cadger's Bridge. A rock with a hollow in it,
lying to the north of Vizzyberry, is locally styled Wallace's Seat,
and a spring near the spot is still known as Wallace's Well.
CHAPTER VI.
HEALING AND HOLY WELLS.
Healing and Holy--Modern Health-resorts--King's
Ease--Poorhouse of Ayr--Muswell--St. Martin's Chapel--Alum
Wells--Petrifying Springs--Peterhead--Moss of Melshach--Well
of Spa--Chapel Wells at Kirkmaiden--Medan--St. Catherine's
Balm Well--The Sciennes--St. Bernard's Well--Non-mineral
Wells--Early Saints--Water for Discipline--For
Baptism--Burghead--Lough Shanan--Tobar-an-easbuig--Poetry and
Superstition--Heljabrün--Trinity Hospital and Well--St. Mungo's
Well--Fuaran n'Gruarach--Spring in Athole--Fiddler's Well--Water
as a Prophylactic.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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