Ayrshire's Little Castle .sx BY VICTORIA GAUL .sx When the last leaf 2draps fae the 2auld aish tree , The Boyds o' Penkill maun cease tae be .sx SO RUNS AN OLD RHYME WHICH CAME SADLY true when , in 1897 , there died Miss Alice Boyd , 15th Laird of Penkill and the last of the Boyds .sx Her brother , Spencer Boyd , 14th Laird , last in the direct line , and descendant of James Boyd , second son of John Boyd of Penkill and Trochrig , had died in 1867 .sx He left Penkill to his sister , with instructions that , when she died , it was to go to the children of his mother's second marriage to Mr. Henry Courtney .sx Thus , in 1897 , a grand-daughter of his mother's , Eleanor Margaret Courtney , became owner of Penkill and assumed the name " Courtney-Boyd , " which name the present owner , her half-sister , Miss Evelyn May Courtney , also assumed on succeeding to the estate in 1946 .sx Penkill Castle sits , perched on a hill about three miles from Girvan , so hidden by trees that it is almost invisible from the road .sx It was built by Adam Boyd , grandson of Robert , Lord of Kilmarnock , around 1450 , on land granted to him by Alexander =3 for assisting him at the Battle of Largs .sx Penkill was a tall keep with corner turrets pierced with loop-holes for defence .sx The living-room above the basement where the cattle were housed was paved in red and yellow tiles , while , above this , was the Lady's Bower .sx Deep glens made a natural moat and there was a drawbridge and portcullis ( found years later lying in a blacksmith's yard) .sx The castle fell into disrepair , and when , in 1628 , Thomas Boyd brought his young love , Marion Mure of Rowallan , to view his heritage , they found it in a sorry state .sx Yet , we can imagine Marion , fired by its ancient beauty , crying , " Thomas , we maun bide in Penkill .sx We'll make it a bonnie hame .sx " And together they did .sx With Marion's dowry , walls were repaired , rooms added , and an outside stair built .sx Above its doorway was inserted a plaque uniting the heraldry of both families .sx Oak chairs ( still to be seen today ) were carved with their initials and the date , 1628 .sx Though Penkill descended from father to son till 1750 , the house was neglected , and when , in 1827 , Spencer Boyd inherited Penkill it had been a deserted ruin for nearly a hundred years .sx However , when he came of age , his maternal English grandfather , William Losh , proud of his grandson's Scottish heritage , provided the necessary money to restore it , and , with his mother and sister , Spencer Boyd made it their home .sx So , in the 1800's rose the Penkill we know .sx Probably influenced by the Victorian taste for heavy architecture , Spencer caused to be built a great tower to enclose a handsome circular staircase .sx The ruined staircase and doorway were swept away and passages and ante-rooms joined the staircase to the rooms of the keep .sx Oak trees on the estate were used in the renovations .sx His sister , Alice , a woman of fine , artistic perception , had the deep windows of the keep , with their stone seats , glazed with clear glass so that the views from each appear like framed pictures .sx When their mother died , Alice Boyd , wishing to further her interest in painting , went to Newcastle School of Art , where she met one of the executive , William Bell Scott , painter and poet .sx Thus began a close friendship with him and his wife .sx Later , the families divided their time between Penkill and London , where Scott was appointed decorative artist at South Kensington .sx During their stay in London , the families met many famous people , Holman Hunt , Swinburne , Tennyson , William Morris and Dante and Christina Rossetti .sx Spencer Boyd died in 1867 , and was buried on a wild day of snow in Old Dailly churchyard .sx After her brother's death , Alice Boyd commissioned Scott to paint a mural on the circular staircase .sx He chose to illustrate " The King's Quair , " executing it with oil pigments , the medium being wax dissolved in turpentine .sx Some of the painting , which took four years to complete , was ruined by the lime of the thick walls having not yet dried out , and Scott repainted part in zinc .sx Though he wrote later in his autobiography , " Most probably the pictures will now remain without change , " part has again corroded , but enough remains to show the brilliance of colour and design .sx In 1868 , Dante Gabriel Rossetti , in despair because of failing eyesight , was invited to Penkill .sx Here he found tranquillity in its worn battlements , and in the rolling meadows and deep glens .sx Christina Rossetti came also to Penkill , and wrote some of her poems in " Windy Room , " a bedroom at the top of the keep .sx She described Alice Boyd as " perhaps the prettiest , handsomest woman I ever met .sx " Penkill is not a pretentious castle .sx It is a well-loved , comfortable home ever open to those who love the countryside .sx With no rich furnishings , it yet retains , with its priceless tapestries , a harmony befitting its ancient grey stone .sx The deep windows in the low-roofed library , with its grey velvet settee drawn up to the fire , look towards the west , the glowing colours of orange , red , and blue , in the carpets , seeming to vie with the hues of the sunset as it burns over Ailsa and Kintyre .sx Above is the square drawing-room , with rose carpet and wine curtains contrasting with the deep blue panelled roof .sx The Flemish tapestries on the walls make a fitting background for the gilt furniture .sx The roof of the Laird's bedroom , in the 1628 part of the house , was painted by Alice Boyd , whose work , with that of William Morris , appears in some of the rooms .sx The dark oak furniture was carved by Spencer Boyd .sx To the right of the tower which dominates Penkill is the long addition which William Bell Scott designed in 1883 as a gallery for his paintings and those of Dante Gabriel Rossetti .sx Now an attractive dining-room , it is approached by a passage hung with William Morris tapestries .sx It contains many fine paintings and drawings by Rossetti , David Scott ( whose fine portrait of his brother William is in the National Gallery ) , and William Bell Scott .sx The latter's " Una and the Lion " hangs here .sx This room , panelled in pitch pine , contains the Chippendale chairs and gate-legged table belonging to the grandfather Losh who helped to redeem Penkill .sx MacDougall Chief and the Robber .sx BY SETON GORDON .sx JOHN MACDOUGALL OF MACDOUGALL , CHIEF OF THE CLAN , LIVED IN the early 18th century .sx He was usually known as Iain Ciar , which may be translated in English as Dark-complexioned John .sx He was a leading figure in the first Jacobite rising in 1715 , and on the suppression of that rising was an outlaw for a number of years .sx During his wanderings in disguise , he crossed the sea to Ireland in order to visit the Earl of Antrim , his kinsman .sx At the edge of a wide and dark forest , he was advised by a woman he met to continue his journey through open country , for she said that a noted robber lived in the forest , and waylaid anyone who should pass that way .sx She told Iain Ciar that , so great a menace was the robber , the Earl of Antrim had offered a reward of +1000 to anyone who should slay him and bring him his head .sx The MacDougall chief , penniless and anxious to cross the sea to France to be beyond the reach of his enemies , thought that this was an opportunity not to be missed .sx He and his trusty companion , Livingstone by name , therefore entered the forest , and as they followed a faint and devious track through the dark undergrowth and beneath old and gnarled trees , it was not long before they saw the famous robber standing before them .sx He demanded from Iain Ciar his money or his life .sx The Highland chief was without more than the proverbial sixpence , but that was the last thing he wished the robber to know .sx Telling the highwayman that he was prepared to part with neither , he challenged him to mortal combat .sx Both men were expert swordsmen and the fight was long and hard , but the victory was at last gained by Iain Ciar , who carried the robber's head to the Earl of Antrim , and received from him the +1000 reward .sx The robber's whistle is one of the heirlooms at Dunollie Castle , Oban , the ancestral seat of the Chiefs of MacDougall , where the family still reside below the ancient stronghold on its rock looking out towards the Isle of Mull .sx Beneath the ivy-grown castle is an old and weather-beaten Scots fir .sx This tree is now upwards of 150 years old .sx It was planted to commemorate Captain Alexander MacDougall of MacDougall , of the 72nd regiment ( later the Seaforth Highlanders ) , eldest son of Patrick MacDougall , Chief of the Clan .sx Captain Alexander was killed , at the age of 27 , at Cuidad Rodrigo in Spain , in 1812 .sx His miniature , by William Englehart , is preserved at Dunollie .sx The name of Captain MacDougall is well known to pipers of the present day , for a celebrated composition in Ceo@3l Mo@2r , the Great Music of the Highland bagpipe , was written in his honour by almost the last of the hereditary MacDougall pipers to the chiefs , Ronald MacDougall .sx The hereditary MacDougall pipers , while not so famous as the MacCrimmons of Skye , were players and composers of distinction , and the tune , " Lament for Captain MacDougall , " is one of delicacy and feeling .sx These pipers lived at Moleigh , near Oban , and their portion of land was known as Croit nam Piobairean , the Piper's Croft .sx Like the MacCrimmons , the MacDougalls had their College of Piping , the last who presided at this college being Ronald Ba@3n MacDougall , who was the grandfather of Ronald Mo@2r , the last hereditary piper to the clan .sx " THE DUKE " .sx BY HUBERT FENWICK .sx The Story of James , Duke of Albany and York , as Lord High Commissioner at Holyroodhouse .sx THE VISIT OF HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN TO the General Assembly last October was unique in many ways .sx The occasion was , of course , the Quatercentenary of the Scottish Reformation , but besides this Her Majesty was the very first Sovereign Lady to honour the " Fathers and Brethren " with her presence , a circumstance not lacking in significance , especially when one recalls John Knox's well kent fulminations against women in general and female rulers in particular .sx The last reigning monarch to attend the Assembly was actually James =6 , before he became the King of " Great Brittany , " and before the appearance of his Authorised Version of the Bible ; and he did so in order to discipline the members , not to praise or encourage them .sx It was he , too , who instituted the office of High Commissioner , so that the Crown could keep a good eye on the proceedings ; and ever since Jacobean times the Sovereign has been represented at the Assembly by a royally appointed representative .sx The office of Lord High Commissioner is now more ornamental than functional , at least in the sense that the holder is no longer a " spy " in the pay of the Crown , which itself has changed beyond all recognition and is completely above politics or religious faction .sx Curiously enough , however , the first purely Scottish Bill of the present Parliament proposed an increase in the allowance made to the Queen's representative to the General Assembly , and in doing so drew unexpected attention to the altered meaning of that role , showing how it too had lost its controversial flavour .sx Many Commissioners have come from the ranks of the aristocracy and professional classes , some have been personally associated with the work of the Kirk , while one , James , Duke of Albany and York , brother of Charles =2 , was a convert to Roman Catholicism .sx Unlike the " Merry Monarch , " the future James =7 and =2 stubbornly refused to subscribe to the " Test Act , " which required all holders of office under the Crown to declare themselves Protestants .sx He found himself excluded from the Court , removed from the Navy Office , and banished , first to Holland , and then , in 1679 , to Scotland , where the law was less rigorous .sx