28 Trra nsaction s. 



has been written by a gentleman who had the advantage of 

 combining a thorough knowledge of the locality with those 

 scholarly abilities which enabled him to produce a useful and 

 edifying local history, and when we visited Lochmaben some 

 two or three years ago, we had the good fortune of being con- 

 ducted by the gentleman to whom I allude, and to whose 

 intelligence and kindness we are greatly indebted for the 

 very pleasant, and, I hope, profitable day which we spent 

 among the old historic objects of that fine old country — I 

 mean the Rev. Wm. Graham. I asked him about the deriv- 

 ation of " Lochmaben," and he told me at once that when he 

 was writing his history, and not knowing the Gaelic language, 

 he went off to Edinburgh, to consult with a gentleman who 

 was reputed to be the best Gaelic scholar in Edinburgh, 

 and that gentleman told him that ban was white. 



Now, in the first place, ban is not white, but ban is a 

 woman, and ban, (pronounced bawn) is white ; for instance, 

 if you say ban, ban, it means woman, woman ; but if you say 

 ban, ban, it means white woman, &c., &c. ; but, even, if ban 

 was white, what has that to do with Lochmaben ? Well, it 

 seems it has this to do with it, viz., that a white mist or fog 

 hangs over the Loch sometimes, and hence the conclusion 

 that Lochmaben means a Loch with a white mist or fog 

 hanging over it ! 



Of course, after that, it is hardly worth while asking what 

 becomes of the word ma in the centre of " Loch-ma-ben ?" 

 There is not in the whole language perhaps a word more 

 expressive or more full of meaning than that little word ma, 

 and yet, here it is lost in the white fog of Lochmaben. So 

 that we need not go to Scandinavia for " derivations" when 

 we can get them so near home. 



I find that there are several places dedicated by those 

 original inhabitants to their gods and goddesses, and to their 

 warriors, and that there were a great many places consecrat- 

 ed to their religious ceremonies, and sacrificial rites, and so 

 on, but, for me to enter into an explanation of these things 



