1 34 Trditsartioiin. 



of the sub-coininittee (see Appendix) tliat had been appointed to 

 make arrangements and carry out the op(U"ations in connection 

 with the new rooms. On the motion of Mr J. Thomson, seconded 

 by Mr Dods, the report was unanimously adopted, and the sub- 

 committee were awarded a hearty vote of thanks for completing 

 the undertaking so successfully, special thanks being given to 

 Mr Barbour, Vice-President, and to Mr J. Wilson, Honorary 

 Secretary. It was also unanimously agreed to award the 

 Society's thanks to all the ladies and gentlemen who had contri- 

 buted so liberally towards the expense. 



Exhibits. — Dr Grierson exhibited a Japanese magic mirror, a 

 black snake from South Africa, the nest of the trap-door spider, 

 and several Indian curiosities. 



Election of President. — The Chairman intimated that the 

 committee had resolved to recommend Dr Grierson to be their 

 President in succession to the late Dr Gilchrist, and he moved 

 accordingly. This motion was seconded, and unanimously agreed 

 to. Dr Grierson, in accepting office, remarked that the first 

 meeting of the old Society consisted of Dr Gilchrist, Dr Dickson, 

 Mr W. G. Gibson, and himself, and that as the present Society 

 numbered over 200 members, he was much gratified by the 

 honour conferred upon him. 



Communications. 



I. Galloioay Place Names. By Mr J. M'Kie. 



To the greater number of us many of these names convey no 

 intelligent meaning whatever, yet we may be assured that 

 whether they belong to pai'ishes or farms, hills or valleys, lakes 

 or rivers, they are never mere arbitrary sounds devoid of meaning. 

 Though many of them may have become so obscured by the mists of 

 antiquity, and their passage through several languages as to make 

 them but indistinctly visible, yet they ought always to be regarded 

 as records of the past, inviting and rewarding a careful historical 

 research, for they often record events which history has failed to 

 commemorate, and embalm for us the guise and fashion of speech 

 in eras the most remote, and of language that may have long 

 ceased to be vernacular. We owe a debt of gratitude to our 

 semi-barbarous ancestors for the varied and beautifully descriptive 

 names they gave to all the prominent features of the land. The 

 Gaelic place-names in Galloway were word pictures of the 

 country, as it appeared when first behold by the original settlers. 



