CXCVIII.--_To the_ LAIRD OF CALLY.
[Of JOHN LENNOX, Laird of Cally, near Girthon, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, to whom this letter is addressed, little is now known. He must have died previous to the 26th of January 1647, as at that date John Lennox of Cally is retoured heir of John Lennox of Cally, his father, "in the 20 pound land of Caliegertown, the 10 merk land of Burley, with mill and fishings of the same, within the parish of Girthon."
The modern mansion of Cally may be said, with its woods, to overhang the village of _Gatehouse_, which also is entirely modern, and got its name from the fact that the lodge, or gatehouse, of Cally was the first house built on that spot. The old house has disappeared, any remnant of it being quite hid by the fine old trees of the mansion. It is properly in the parish of Girthon, but borders on Anwoth. The land of "Calie-gerton," mentioned in the above extract, is evidently "Cally in Girthon." _Gatehouse_ is one-half in Anwoth, and one-half in Girthon. The old parish church of Girthon is very like that of Anwoth, and more ivy-covered. It is in shape the same, 64 feet by 20. The martyr _Lennox_ is buried close to the door; a slab marks the spot. It is 2½ miles from Gatehouse. The Free Church of Anwoth is in Gatehouse, the church being on the _Girthon_ side of the stream (the Fleet), and the manse on the _Anwoth_ side. The Fleet (which is navigable by very small vessels thus far) was formerly called Avon, "the water;" and this is the syllable that appears in both Girth-ON and An-WOTH,--the former signifying "the village (or enclosure) on the water;" and the latter, "the _ford_ of the water;" unless "woth" be for "_worth_," village. The meaning of "Cally" seems to be "wood," from the Gaelic, "coille."]