Then came to Dysert moor, wheir we saw the coal pits burning, which will ever burne so long as it hes any waste, but will die when it comes to the maine coall for want of air.  In Dysert toun, hard by the church, which is a very old one, is a great cave which they call the Hermitage, and I imagine the toune hes bein called Desertum from it, yea, the most of the houses of the toun holds of it, and the parson of Dysert is designed rector rectoriae de Dysert.  Then came to Revenscraig (alias Ruthvenscraig, of which name they seem to have bein of old), the lord Sinclars dwelling, and so to the Links, which is 6 miles from Kennoway, and so 18 from the Bischops house.  Scotscraig was no old heritage to the lord Ramsay, but was acquired lately from Dury of that ilk by him.  Balmayne had once Gorgie and Gorgiemilne, but Otterburne of Reidhall, by a gift of non-entry, evicted it from them.  See of the E. of Bothwell and house of Balmaine largely alibi.

    [590] So pronounced, now Kilconquhar.

    [591] This seems obscure, though distinctly written.  It may mean, ’ye
        can see built there.’

    [592] Now Kemback.

The Bells wrongs themselfes in wearing bells in their armes, for certainly ther name is from France, in which language it signifies fair and bueatifull, hence it was the surname of one of their Kings, vid.  Philip le Bell, yea, in the old Latine Bellum was that same with pulchrum; and war was called bellum, ironice, quasi minime bellum, id est, minime pulcrum.

My Lord Twedale’s predecessors have acquired all their fortune by marriages, so that all the original writs he hes in hes charter kist are only contracts of marriage.  He was a cadet of Erroll, and the 1 heritrix he married with was one Macfud, and by her he got his land in Twedall; then he married one of the aires portioners of the Lord Frazer, and got some lands in the north with hir; then got Yester and many other lands with the only daughter of the Lord Giffart (tho my Lord Lauderdale sayes he can find by no record wheir ever he was a Lord).  He got also Beltane by marieng the heritrix theirof, called Cunyghame.  And now in this age he hes as much expectation to raise that way as ever.  By his Lady he hes a claime to the estate of Baccleuch, failzeing of aires of this present Dutches hir body, tho the King hes somewhat inverted the straight succession heir.  By his eldest sone he hes ane eye to my Lord Lauderdale’s estate, providing he play his game weill, and is in hopes of getting the estate of Erroll entailled upon his 2’d sone.

In the beginning of August, having gone to eist Louthian, saw Langnidrie; then a mile from it Reidhouse, the one was a Lord of the session and Tom of the Cowgate’s brother; then Ballincreiff, belonging to my Lord Elibank; then Congilton, and on the brae above Ethalstanefoord, Byres, from which my Lord Hadingtone’s eldest sone takes his title.

My Lord Madertie’s stile is truly Mater Dei, from some cloyster so named in the tyme of poperie:  he should be induced to take some other denomination, this seeming to[593] blasphemous like.