1886-87.] and Other Antiquities. 31 



village forge. Eight in front is the ancient village cross, gener- 

 ally supposed to be a remnant of an old Eonian Catholic foun- 

 dation which at one time occupied the same site, — though 

 Chalmers, in his ' Caledonia,' affects to make merry over this 

 siiggestion, and says "it is obviously the market-place of a 

 prosperous town, in the midst of an agricultural country." ^ 

 Letting the eye wander on beyond this point, there may be 

 discerned in the distance a sign-board thrust out a little into 

 the roadway on the right, which we afterwards find marks the 

 village inn or Hopetoun Arms, and represents the crest of that 

 noble family, with the punning motto, " At Spes non fracta." 

 The vista is closed by a background of foliage, so that altogether 

 the scene is a very pleasant one ; and we almost envy the lot 

 of these villagers in this quiet rural retreat. Here is a picture 

 which is still much the same, in all its details, after the lapse of 

 fully half a century. The minister of the parish, writing in 

 1835, avers that " the great bulk of the people are contented and 

 comfortable in their circumstances ; " yet he has perforce to 

 complain of some " who disturb, by their irregularities, the peace 

 of a place which, from its beautiful and retired situation, seems 

 peculiarly fitted to be the abode of tranquillity and happiness." 

 The sign-board of the village inn reminds us that the 

 Hopetoun family is now dominant in the parish, and we natur- 

 ally inquire how and when they thus came into possession. 

 Ormiston derives its name from a half-mythical Saxon settler 

 called Orme, who dates as far back as the twelfth century, and 

 whose descendants continued to hold " Orme's toun," or Orme's 

 dwelling, down through the thirteenth century. Orme, it has 

 been remarked, was a common name during the eleventh and 

 twelfth centuries, as we know from the chartularies still in 

 existence. From the Ormes the lands passed into the possession 

 of the Lindsays, until, in 1368, the only daughter of Sir Alex- 

 ander Lindsay, Joan, married John, the second son of Sir 

 Alexander Cockburn of Cockburn, and this historical family 

 was then vested in the lands and barony of Ormiston, with 

 several other lands contiguous. The Cockburns continued in 

 possession until 1747, when John, second Earl of Hopetoun, 

 acquired the whole by purchase from the last member of the 

 family, and became the sole proprietor of the parish. 



^ Chalmers's ' Caledonia,' vol. ii. p. 552. 



