Field Meetings. 181 
re-crossed the loch to the landing stage, and subsequently visited 
the two old bells in the parish church. [For a detailed descrip- 
tion of Bruce’s Castle see Transactions, Session 1883-84. ] 
In reference to these bells, Mr J. Barbour, Vice-President, 
supplies the following note :— 
There are two bells in the tower of the church, only one of which is 
inscribed. This one measures 21 inches in height, and 12 inches diameter 
at the shoulder, and 19 inches at the mouth. Immediately under the 
shoulder two raised lines, 3 inch apart, pass round the bell, forming the 
upper margin of the inscription space, which is 14 inch in breadth; and 
the lower margin is formed of two similar lines. The lip-moulding is 
a semi-torus with a fillet over it, between which and the lower margin of 
the inscription belt the body of the bell forms a hollow curve, increasing 
in flatness as it rises. The bell is not otherwise ornamented except by the 
inscriptions ; it has a plain appearance, and cannot be said to be of elegant 
form or fine workmanship. In these respects it is much inferior to the 
Holywood bell and the Carlyle bell in the Observatory Museum. There 
are two inscriptions. The upper one, with two crosses, which may be 
taken one as the beginning and the other as the end, extends quite round 
the bell in the space between the margin lines before mentioned ; and the 
lower one, which is immediately over the lip-moulding, is arranged—two 
letters on the north side of the bell, two on the south, two on the east, 
and two on the west sides. The letters are of a character usually called 
Saxon ; they are raised, and every letter is upon a separate small square 
slightly projecting beyond the surface of the bell. The letters are delicate 
and ornamental, the crosses particularly so, and the inscriptions appear 
more artistic than the bell itself. The inscriptions run thus (only not, as 
here, in Roman characters) :— + TICEFEMMADASENNAHOI +; and, on one 
side, AI, another RA, the third mz, and the fourth vA. One peculiarity of 
the upper inscription is that there is no separation oF the several words of 
which it is composed, and there is a second, which applies to both inscrip- 
tions they read backwards from right to left, and the letters themselves 
are reversed. The upper inscription, reversed and separated into words, 
reads—+IOHANNES ADAM ME FECIT+ ; and the lower, when reversed and 
arranged, AVE MARIA. [ understand this bell is referred to in the Anti- 
quarian Society of Scotland’s publication. No doubt the bell is an ancient 
one. The companion bell, which is uninscribed, has not received sufficient 
notice. A careful comparison will, I think, show that the two bells are by 
the same maker and of the same age. The uninscribed bell measures 18 
inches in height, and 12 inches diameter at the shoulder, and 21} inches at 
the mouth. Two lines run round the shoulder, of less breadth than on the 
other bell. The fillet of the lip-moulding differs slightly from that of the 
inscribed bell, and the hollow of the body is much greater in this case, 
owing to the greater diameter at the mouth. From the shoulder 
upwards the two bells are exactly alike, the form being an ogee termi- 
nating in a flat top, from which the loops spring for securing the bell to 
the axle. The provision for hanging consists of a centre pillar, oblong 
on plan, with a semi-pyramid projecting on each side and resting on the 
