EVIL SPIRITS AT THE WARLD'S EN'.

The "Warld's En' was the name given to a row of cottages that for generations had stood at the west end of Sanquhar, beyond the Lochan. All now are swept away; the last, which for years stood alone, having to give room for Rose Cottage, the handsome dwelling erected some years ago by Mr Alexander Williamson. The cottages were humble dwellings, one storey high, with thatched roofs, each separate abode consisting of a but and ben; and, with a flourishing growth of roses, convolvuli, and other flowers in front of the doors, it was a bonnie place. It is so yet, for perhaps the finest bloom in Sanquhar will be found at Rose Cottage. The Warld's En' no doubt received its peculiar title from its position as the "ultima thule" of Sanquhar town; and regarding its cognomen a story is told of Mr Ranken, a former parish minister, who, in announcing from the pulpit the order of his yearly catechising visitations, would intimate that he would commence first in one place, then in another, and finish at the Warld's En', certainly an appropriate place for a winding-up.

Many years ago there lived at the Warld's En' an old weaver named George Ingram and his wife Violet. Of the two apartments of which the cottage consisted,

one was used as a living room, while the other was the workshop, and was occupied by George's handloom; and, steady, industrious man, the cheery click of his shuttle could be heard all day long. George was a man of striking appearance, tall and well-built, and in his youth must have possessed considerable strength; but sixty years ago, the time of which I write, his frame was bent by the weight of years, and

"His few remaining hairs were silver grey,
And his rough face had seen a better day."

He was a man of strong religious tendencies, and one of whom it might justly be said, "He feared God and eschewed all evil." Altogether he was an intelligent man, a strong Radical, and a firm anti-burgher. His wife, Violet Hislop, was a native of Scaur Water, where her forefathers had been shepherds for many generations; and she often told with a pardonable pride of the hairbreadth escapes and the troubles and trials endured by her Covenanting ancestry during the persecuting times; and she was in every way worthy of being the daughter of such sires. Notwithstanding all this, George and his wife were very superstitious, and their belief in things uncanny seemed to get stronger the older they grew. George himself had often encountered the great enemy of mankind and other imps of darkness. Often while engaged at his work they would disarrange his heddles, and put his warp into disorder, or pull his apron or sometimes pluck at his hair, which protruded from beneath his red Kilmarnock night-cap like a fringe of silver. In the last web of cleading he had wrought for the gudeman of Bogsprack the pattern had been altered three times, and many other things were done which could only be accomplished by the powers of evil. His cottage, too, was

only a gunshot from the "Fairy Knowe," the green hillock overlooking the "Waird," where the little folks, whose name it bears, were wont to gambol amongst the waving broom bushes which then covered its sides. On Hallowe'en and Beltane nights the fairies wiled away the townsfolks' cats, which they transformed into little steeds to ride on in their grand processions. George and his wife had seen them, and had heard many strange sounds and seen other wondrous sights at the Fairy Knowe. As I said before, George was now old, and not so well able for his work as he had been; he had often to leave his loom and rest himself, which he did by sitting with a leg on each side of the little fireplace, with his elbows on his knees, and his head resting on his hands, and in this position he would sometimes dose for an hour at a time.

Now at this time there were two ill-trickie 'prentice lads in Sanquhar-Tam Simson and John Hislop, or "Pat," as he was commonly called. Tam was serving his time at the shoemaking, and Pat was learning the weaving trade. The two lads were close companions, fond of fun and practical joking, and were seldom long together but they were either studying some fresh piece of waggery, or in hands with some previouslycontrived piece of mischief. Their tricks were well planned, and as cleverly executed, so that every now and then the good people of the burgh were amused at some prank or other of the worthy pair. They were in no way particular about the person upon whom they operated, and, when opportunity offered, would play a trick upon their own fathers as fast as on any others. They were often incurring the displeasure of someone or other, but this anger never lasted long, as their tricks were mostly of a harmless nature, and if a person did