"This superstition (he says) is said to have originated in the New Testament story of the Day of Judgment, when the Lord on entering His house (the entrance of the old churches being at the west end, or on the south near the west) would separate the sheep from the goats--the former to His right hand, the south; and the latter to his left, the north. Our forefathers would not see their dear ones among the goats, 'for evil,' said they, 'is there.' This credulous imagining is not exemplified in the kirkyard alone. Many of our old pre-Reformation churches exhibit evidence of the superstition in the entire absence of windows in their north walls; and in general it would appear that in mediæval times there was a common belief in the evil influence of the north, and that thence came all kinds of ill. "In Sanquhar Kirkyard it is evident that the superstition prevailed until comparatively modern times, for there are no headstones on the north side of the kirk earlier than the beginning of the last century, all the older monuments being to the south of the kirk, and at its east and west ends."(78) To the simple earnest dweller in the country there comes at times the thought that brings with it a comfort all its own, that after "life's fitful fever" they will be quietly laid to rest underneath the green turf, within the shadow of the kirk itself. Of this the origin of Carsphairn parish, in the uplands of Galloway, gives telling proof; for in the year 1645 complaint was made to the Scottish Parliament that in the parishes of Dairy and Kells numbers of people had to be buried in the fields, because the houses in which they lived and died were twelve miles from a churchyard. The issue of this was, that the district of Carsphairn was erected into a separate parish, and the indignity of such burials came to an end. Before closing a chapter devoted to "death custom" and "funeral ceremony," the use of the "dead bell" must certainly be referred to. In these old days when methods of conveying news and information were restricted, it was the routine practice when a death occurred for the "beadle" (sexton) to go, bell in hand, around the district, pausing at intervals to ring the "passing bell"[40] more particularly in front of the houses of friends of the deceased, announcing at the same time not only the death but also the day of burial. The usual form of his intimation which, with uncovered head, he delivered was:-- "Brethren and sisters,--I hereby let ye to wit that our brother (or sister), named (name, address, and occupation), departed this life at ----of the clock, according to the pleasure Almighty God, and you are all invited to attend the funeral on ----." Particular reference to this custom in the town of Dumfries is given in the Itinerary of John Ray, naturalist, who visited the town in August, 1662:--