Note 21 — Chapter VI
Reading edition
The chapel was built in the fourteenth century, by Sir William St. Clair of Roslin, in consequence of a vow which he made in a curious emergency. One day, hunting with King Robert I., he wagered his head that his hounds, Help and Hold, would kill a certain beautiful white deer before it crossed the March burn. On approaching the boundary, there seemed little chance of his hounds being successful; but he went aside, and vowed a new chapel to St. Catherine if she would intercede in his behalf; and she, graciously accepting of his offer, inspired the hounds with supernatural vigour, so that they caught the deer just as she was approaching the other side of the burn.