THE LIBERA.L1S STONE 171 



It has taken nearly a hundred years to decipher the 

 inscription. For many years the" theory which Sir 

 Walter propounded in his Minstrelsy was accepted with- 

 out question, and, indeed, to the present day, in certain 

 circles, it still holds the field. My predecessor, the Rev. 

 James Russell, D.D., the genial and accomplished author of 

 the "Reminiscences of Yarrow," was the first to discover 

 its significance. In 1832 he made out the following 



words: — "Hie memorise et Hie Nudi 



Hie jacent in tumulo duo filii Liberal!." For many years 

 this was practically all that was known about it. But, 

 fortunately, matters were not allowed to rest here. Some 

 twenty-two years ago Principal Rhys, of Jesus College, 

 Oxford, came into the district to try what he could do in the 

 way of making out this puzzling inscription. His success 

 was not immediate. The stone was thickly covered with 

 lichen, and he could make little of the characters. Some time 

 after his visit I had the stone thoroughly cleaned by surround- 

 ing it with a heap of stable manure. Again Principal Rhys 

 appeared, and on this second occasion, owing to the improved 

 condition of the stone, he succeeded in making the inscription 

 more or less intelligible. His reading ran thus: — "Hie 

 memoria leti in bello insignissimi princepes Nudi Dumnogeni. 

 Hie jacent in tumulo duo filii Liberali." (Here to the 

 memory of the slain in the battle of the most illustrious 

 prince Nudus of the Dumnogeni. Here in the barrow lie 

 the two sons of Liberalis.) This reading seemed eminently 

 satisfactory, but there was some doubt as to the phrase 

 "leti in bello," as a part of the stone on the right hand 

 corner had been broken off, and part of the inscription had 

 gone with it. When Principal Rhys returned some three 

 years ago I had the stone covered with flour meal, and had 

 it photographed, put on a slide, and thrown upon the screen. 

 A somewhat disconcerting discovery was made. The reading 

 was not "memoria," but "memorise," the terminal E having 

 been mistaken for the initial L in what was supposed to be 

 "leti." To this extent the inscription is still imperfect, and 

 probably will remain so owing to the loss of the upper right 

 hand corner of the stone. But the meaning is evident, and 

 that is so far satisfactory. 



