History and traditions of the land of the Lindsays in Angus and Mearns

12 LAND OF THE LINDSAYS.
SECTION II.
" See yonder hallow'd fane ! —the pious work
Of names onee famed, now dubious or forgot,
And buried midst the wreck of things which were :
There lie interr'd the more illustrious dead.
Vt o # # *
Strange things, the neighbours say, have happen'd here:
Wild shrieks have issued from the hollow tombs :
Dead men have come again, and vvalk'd about ;
And the great bell has toll'd, uurung, untouch'd."
Blair's Grave.
The burial vault of the great barons of Edzell, which was
attached to the south side of the kirk, forming the old and im-
portant adjunct of an aisle, is still entire. It is a plain, unos-
tentatious mausoleum, rather incompatible with the wealth and
power of its noble founder ; but in excellent keeping with his
solemn and benign character. It was erected about the middle
of the sixteenth century, by David Lindsay of Edzell, who
became the ninth Earl of Crawford ; and the kirk had, perhaps,
been rebuilt and slated at the same time.
The roof of the vault is covered with grey slates, and has
recently been repaired, and the big window on the south is
guarded by heavy staunchels of iron, which, alike with the fine
grated door at Invermark castle, had probably been dug from
native mines, and smelted in the locality. Earl David was
buried here at his own request, as were his first spouse, Janet
Gray (who pre-deceased him, in 1549), and the most of their
successors. The aisle is entered by a small door on the north,
and a flight of steps, hewn of the soft red sandstone of the
locality, leads to the gloomy chamber. Internally, the vault is
only about nine feet square, and so crowded with rubbish and
bones, that no adequate idea can be had of its real height. The
sides and roof are of solid ashler, constructed with great care,
and the centre of the roof terminates in the mortuary semblance
of four skulls, cut by a bold and vigorous chisel. An iron ring
is fixed in the midst of these for suspending the lamp, which
was believed to light the souls of the departed through the
unknown maze to eternal bliss. But of all the powerful per-
sonages here interred, no memorial exists to perpetuate their
individual characters, or even their names. It is true, that a