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Priesthill
PRIESTHILL, a hamlet in the parish of
Muirkirk,
Ayrshire, a few miles north-east of the village of
Muirkirk. It is in the midst of a wild solitude,
environed by hills covered with heath, which give it
the appearance of a spacious amphitheatre. A green
sloping bank faces the south, with a mountain-stream
silently winding along its bottom. Here, to the east,
stood the hospitable mansion of the celebrated John
Brown, which was ever open to the benighted stranger,
and often a happy asylum to the persecuted saint.
Nothing but its vestiges now remain. The grave of
this good man is about forty yards to the west. It is
covered with a large massy stone. Around its margin
there is a prose description, which encloses an
acrostic in the centre. A little farther onward to
the west, tradition points to the hallowed spot where
this good man calmly uttered his departing prayer,
fondly embraced his wife and children, and with holy
resignation breathed his last on the 1st of May,
1685, shot by the bloody Graham of
Claverhouse -a man whose name cannot be held in
too great detestation by every true -hearted Scot.
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