No witches or warlocks here....

Taking a wee while off worrying about blip to go for a walk in Manor Churchyard.   The is the grave of David Ritchie, who lived in a tiny house in the valley.   His lower limbs were very distorted and shrunken (he was operated on by Mungo Park the famous African missionary, who was at the time a surgeon in Peebles.)

Maybe not surprisingly, he was exceedingly misanthropic.  He treated his neighbours with contempt, and the superstitious locals feared he could cast the evil eye on them, blamed him for any problems with their livestock, and generally avoided him.    


When he died (in 1811) he was buried here in the churchyard - with a Rowan tree planted at the head in order to ward off witches and warlocks.


Sir Walter Scott wrote a novel about him called "The Black Dwarf".