ories； appropriated to so many different uses； lootives； steamers； gas works； &c。； were not likely to fail for want of the mineral fuel； but the consumption had so increased during the last few years； that certain beds had been exhausted even to their smallest veins。 Now deserted； these mines perforated the ground with their useless shafts and forsaken galleries。 This was exactly the case with the pits of Aberfoyle。
Ten years before； the last butty had raised the last ton of coal from this colliery。 The underground working stock； traction engines； trucks which run on rails along the galleries； subterranean tramways； frames to support the shaft； pipes……in short； all that constituted the machinery of a mine had been brought up from its depths。 The exhausted mine was like the body of a huge fantastically…shaped mastodon； from which all the organs of life have been taken； and only the skeleton remains。
Nothing was left but long wooden ladders； down the Yarrow shaft……the only one which now gave access to the lower galleries of the Dochart pit。 Above ground； the sheds； formerly sheltering the outside works； still marked the spot where the shaft of that pit had been sunk； it being now abandoned； as were the other pits； of which the whole constituted the mines of Aberfoyle。
It was a sad day； when for the last time the ine； in which they had lived for so many years。 The engineer； James Starr； had collected the hundreds of
workmen which posed the active a