Transactions. 81 



On the reverse — 



POSVI • DEVM • ADIVTOREM • MEUM. 



CiviTAS • London. 

 The coin not being found in the well, it is, of course, not quit? 

 certain it was thrown into it as an offering to the tutelary saint, 

 but coins had been picked up in the vicinity of the well from time 

 to time long- before it was thoroughly put in order twenty-one 

 years since, when many hundreds of coins were found. These 

 coins so found had doubtless got thrown out of the well in some way 

 or other. As the well had been long used as a watering-place for 

 cattle on the farm, coins scattered about in the immediate vicinity 

 can easily be accounted for. Not one silver coin was brought to 

 me by the workmen engaged in cleaning out the well. I have no 

 doubt some - it may be a considerable number — were found, as I 

 heard some time afterwards coins had been offered for sale to 

 several persons in Dumfries similar to the ones found in the well. 

 Any silver ones found at that time no doubt went to procure 

 liquid more acceptable to the tastes of the labourers than that 

 provided by the Holy Well of St. Queran. My keeper, a month 

 or two ago, was clearing out the rubbish, leaves, &c., which had 

 got into it, and brought up a number of pennies, halfpennies, and 

 farthings of the present bronze coinage, and two or three of those 

 small brass oval medals of the Virgin, very common amongst the 

 Roman Catholics in the district. I was very much surprised to 

 know that offerings are still made at the holy wells, and have told 

 the circumstance to several Roman Catholic gentlemen, who all 

 expressed their surprise. They had no idea the practice now 

 existed. The well has never been touched smce it was cleared 

 out twenty-one years since till these pennies, &c., were found. 



III.— Foil- Riddles. By Mr John Corrie. 

 The pastime of asking riddles may be traced back to very 

 early times. Samson, we know, propounded a riddle at his mar- 

 riage feast, and when the Queen of Sheba paid her celebrated 

 L visit to Solomon we are told that she tried him with " hard 

 juestions," and he answered all of them. In later times the 

 rreeks and Romans bestowed much attention upon the riddle, and 

 our own country one of the first books published was a collec- 

 ion of riddles entitled " Demands Joyous," a work of which one 

 jpy only is said to be extant. Most of the riddles in vogue 



