Gaelic Language of the South of Scotland. 165 



will not attempt to translate that part of the sentence, which 

 stands something like this [he greeted him with] " fisniche 

 fosniche, and soft flowing peaceful words of wisdom." The idea 

 suggested is not unlike that of the blandishments of a cat, 

 and I quite believe fiznick is derived from fimiche. 



These words, of course, are not in the ordinary Gaelic 

 dictionaries. 



Note. — Besides caif, meaning tame, the Shakespearian chief 

 for intimate is in use. 



I find that the Saxon aed, for ford, is still used in 

 Cumberland, in the shape of wath, that is ath, with the 

 addition of the English digamma ; and that, while ath, 

 pronounced aa, is the usual Highland word, clachairan, 

 referring to the stone causeway, is used in Argyleshire. 



A philological point of some general interest may be 

 mentioned, which is quite unconnected with Gaelic, as far as 

 I am aware. The meaning and derivation of Lollard, as a 

 name for the early reformers, is a standing question with 

 scholars, which it is odd that it should be, considering that 

 loll is used for a cat's mewing in Scotch ; they were evidently 

 called the Caterwaulers, as being Psalm singers. The only 

 writer who has got on the track of the word at all, is 

 the author of a paper in the Proceedings of the Scottish 

 Antiquaries, who says that laullen means Psalm singing in 

 Dutch ; while he asks for a further explanation. Lol, in 

 Welsh, I find, is idle chat. 



This list, for the most part of terms used in Selkirkshire, 

 is curiously full in comparison with the small number of 

 Gaelic names of places, even in that country, though they 

 increase rapidly in Peeblesshire. In fact I can only account 

 for the disparity by the circumstance that the north bank of 

 the Tweed must at some time have belonged to Northumbria, 

 as far up as Inverleithen. The terms in which Malcolm 

 IV. confers the right of sanctuary on the church there, show 

 that it must have been one of the outposts of the 

 Archdeaconry of Lothian ; it was to have exactly the same 

 privileges as Wedale ; that is, Stow and Tyninghame, which 

 were ecclesiastically on the borders of Lothian. 



I am inclined to think Eddleston, where the patron saint 

 was St. Finbar, and Kilrubie Hill, that of Maelruba's Church, 

 occurs, has been the furthest point of this ecclesiastical 



