It parish of Ordiquhill, Banffshire, lying adjacent to Cornhill, where the well-known Cornhill markets are held. was long noted for the industry of its inhabitants and the thrift of its women, which no doubt gave rise to the above saying.'-Correspondent. WESTERN ISLANDS. IONA. THE inhabitants of Iona entertain a belief that the desolate shrine of St Columba shall yet be restored to its primitive glory and sanctity; and, in support of the notion, quote no less credible authority than that of Columba himself, expressed in the following lines: An I, mo chridhe! I mo ghraidh ! An aite guth mhanach bidh geum ba; Thus literally translated— In Iona of my heart, Iona of my love, Instead of the voice of monks, shall be lowing of cattle; Iona shall be as it was. Implying, says Paterson, author of the Legend of Iona, that the island, after ages of ruin and neglect, shall again be the retreat of piety and learning. This sentiment seems to have struck Dr Johnson, without any knowledge of Columba's prophecy. Perhaps in the revolutions of the world, Iona may be some time again the instructress of the western regions.'-Jour. to West. Islands. In illustration of the above rhyme, it is necessary to state that I (pronounced Ee) is the popular local appellation of Iona. The inscriptions on some of the tombstones among the ruins of the monastery, of a very ancient date, designate it Hi or Hij. I signifies island, and is synonymous with inch. Icolmkill, the name given to the island in honour of its celebrated resident, literally interpreted, signifies The Island of Columba of Cells. Iona, which may be called the classical appellation of the island, since it was adopted by Dr Johnson, signifies in Gaelic, The Island of Waves-what must appear a most appropriate etymology to all who have seen the massy and frequent waves of the Atlantic break upon its shore. Another prophecy, still more flattering to Iona than the above, affirms that seven years before the end of the world, the sea at one tide shall cover the Western Islands, and the green-headed Isla, while the Island of Columba shall swim,' or continue afloat:— Seachd bliadhna roimh'n bhra a Thig muir thar Eirinn re aon tra' Ach snamhaidh I cholum chleirich! Dr Smith of Campbeltown has translated this prophecy, with peculiar elegance, though with latitudinarian freedom, in two English ballad verses :— Seven years before that awful day, The green-clad Isla, too, shall sink; Eirinn,' the word in the Gaelic rhyme for 'Hibernia's mossy shore' in Dr Smith's version, signified, anciently, the Western Islands in general, Ireland included, though now the popular and poetical name of the sister island alone. In its more extended ancient sense, there is good reason for believing that it also included that part of the mainland of Scotland-namely, Argyleshire and its adjacent territorywhich was certainly peopled from Ireland at an early period by the tribes whose sovereign eventually extirpated the Picts, extended his dominion over the Lowlands, and was the founder of the Scottish monarchy. The island of Iona is separated from Mull by a strait about a mile broad. An islet close to the Mull shore, immediately opposite to the ruins of Iona, is called Eilean nam ban; that is, The Women's Island. The name gives some countenance to a tradition of Columba, that he would not allow a woman or a cow to remain on his own island. The reason said to have been assigned by him for this ungracious command, is characteristic of his well-known sanctity; and, as is generally the case with remarkable sayings preserved by tradition, it is couched in a distich— Far am bi bo bidh bean 'S far am bi bean bidh mallachadh. Literally signifying— Where there is a cow, There will be a woman; There will be mischief. The saying has settled into a proverb, and is generally repeated as a good-humoured satire on the fair sex. CHARACTERISTICS OF PLACES AND THEIR INHABITANTS. THE COUNTRY AT LARGE. The Land o' Cakes. FROM an affectionate remembrance of the oaten fare of the bulk of the people, Scotland is often toasted at public and private meetings, at home and abroad, as The Land of Cakes. There is reason, from the following passage in a book written a century ago, to believe that the appellation is not of ancient date. It [the province of Buchan] so abounds with oats at this day, though not of the richest kind, that it is sometimes called proverbially The Granary of Scotland, and at other times The Land of Cakes.'—View of the Diocese of Aberdeen. MERSE (Berwickshire). Perhaps owing in part to alliteration, and partly to a consideration of their robust and warlike character, the grown male population of Southern Berwickshire are characterised from old time as The Men o' the Merse. DUNSE. Dunse dings a'. That is, beats or surpasses all other places; but in what respect, it would be difficult to imagine. It may be mentioned that this is only the opinion which the people of Dunse entertain of the town, as their neighbours, in general, scout the idea with great indignation. The Lads o' Dunse are celebrated by a lively Scotch tune bearing their name. AE-(Dumfriesshire). The Lads of Ae. 'Ae is a river in Dumfriesshire, having of course a glen, called Glenae, the male inhabitants of which were long famed for broils, battles, and feats of activity, whence called "The Lads of Ae"-a phrase in some measure expressive of their wild and daring character. At every fair and wedding, in those days, it was customary to have a fight; and the Lads of Ae were ever foremost in the fray. 'Before carts were used, or roads made in the country, and yet within the memory of man, the goods of merchants were all conveyed from one place to another on the backs of horses; and the farmers of Ae, who were almost all employed in this business, often transported merchandise in this manner from Glasgow to Carlisle, Manchester, and various other towns in England. Wherever they went, through England or Scotland, their names were famous for cudgel-playing, boxing, and similar exercises. 'A number of the Lads of Ae, under one of the Dalziels of Glenae, fought at the famous battle of Dryfe Sands, where almost all were killed; and not a man of them, it is said, would have escaped, had not young Kirkpatrick of Closeburn (who was to have been married to Dalziel's daughter) come to their assistance. A little after this instance of heroism, Kirkpatrick himself fell, greatly lamented.'—Note to 'The Battle of Dryfe Sands,' by William M'Vitie. Dumfries: 1815. VOL. VII. AYR. Auld Ayr. 'Auld Ayr! wham ne'er a toun surpasses E INHABITANTS OF GLASGOW, GREENOCK, AND PAISLEY. Glasgow people, Greenock folk, and Paisley bodies. These words are understood to convey the popular sense of the comparative social importance of the inhabitants of the three great towns of the west: the inhabitants of Glasgow being called people, on account of their wealth and citizenly dignity: the Greenockians folk, as expressive of their homely respectability: while the Paisley bodies (how far deservedly, would admit of much question) are at the bottom of the scale. Some years ago, when a public dinner was given to Professor Wilson of Edinburgh in Paisley, which is his native place, on his speaking of it as a town containing such and such a number of souls, his friend Thomas Campbell, who sat by his side, whispered- Bodies, you mean.' GLASGOW, LINLITHGOW, AND FALKIRK. Glasgow for bells, Lithgow for wells, Falkirk for beans and pease. The numerous churches of Glasgow account for its share in this old rhyme. Linlithgow, lying in a hollow beside slopes which abound in springs, has several copious public fountains in the principal street, particularly one near the East Port, with a figure of St Michael, the patron saint of the town, over it, and the inscription, 'St Michael is kind to strangers; having evidently been designed for the refreshment of weary travellers. Another is of very complicated and rather elegant architecture, with many quaint figures carved in stone-being the substitute and facsimile of a previous structure built in 1620. Falkirk, situated close beside the rich alluvial lands called the Carse of Stirling, was from early times noted as a market for beans and pease. MUSSELBURGH. The honest toun o' Musselburgh. The motto to the armorial bearings of Musselburgh is 'Honesty.' In the New Statistical Account of Scotland, |