20O THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



Wlier der isno topshag 

 Topshag, topshag, 

 ' Wher der isno topshag 

 Shakda cole o Gamblie." 



No Shetlander can inform me what those lines 

 mean. I hope the " wise men " may be able to correct 

 them. The following short dialogue is preserved as a 

 specimen of " wir auld tongue " : — 



" Morian, arra dooenya ? " (Marian, are you in ?) 



"Yo!» (Yes.) 



" Skolaug dine ciir fiiren 1 " (Shall I flit your cows with 



mine ?) 

 •' Yd, gerrasso, gerrasso ! " (" Yes, do so, do so.) 



, " Plitting the kye," I may here mention, is a very 

 important duty, for the cattle are always tethered, and 

 soon eat up all the grass within the circle of their 

 chain, so that they require to be often visited and 

 moved to fresh pasture. 



Can any one solve this riddle for me ? 



" Bunye sits upo tappa tirl ; — 

 Calye inta bamba birl, 

 Ba hilkie toonie ; 

 Ladyco hilka tilta, 

 Eoonin oondie cong ga loo ! 

 Ba hilkie toonie." 



Two "bits of rhyme," which we picked up when 

 children, are still quite fresh in my memory. An old 

 woman, celebrated for her uncanny power, assured me 

 that one of these was a potent spell to guard against 

 malediction, and the other ought to be used when 

 children seemed led by the Powers into evil ways ! I 



