6S2 
These hoary stones, called by some "Men-hirs," i.e., erect 
upright stones (hence the word " Hare-stone," used in Scot- 
land), were at one time very common in Scotland ; so much 
so, that hardly a parish could he found 100 years ago but 
what had several of them still existing, or at least the tradi- 
tion of many that had existed a short time before. Standing 
in various situations, alone and in groups, on hill-tops and 
by the river-side, in stone circles and on the tops of cairns, 
they seemed to proclaim some universal principle, and to be 
co-extensive with the country. As direct historical record^, 
will take us back but a short time comparatively, and as 
the earliest accounts of Britain are derived from those who 
would ridicule its religion and despise its natives as barba- 
rians, and who could judge of its creed only by what little 
they saw, interpreted by their own prejudices (for the Druids, 
it is known, would commit nothing to writing, and were 
very careful to keep their mysteries and their learning 
a profound secret), we must try to gain some glimpse of 
the origin and use of these men-hirs, by comparing the 
superstitions and legends and proverbs of the people still 
existing, with those of other lands, of which we have a 
record. We may feel sure that so universal a custom, as 
that of erecting menhirs, must in some way or other be 
connected with religion — although they might afterwards 
be used for different purposes. This is more evident, when 
Ave consider that these stones are by no means confined to 
Britain : on the contrary, they seem to have been almost 
universal. They were spread through Britain, Ireland, the 
Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, to F ranee (where they are 
most abundant in Brittany), through Spain, the north coast 
of Africa, Asia Minor, Palestine, Phenicia, through Persia 
and Media to India, where they exist in vast numbers, and 
are still erected, through Greece and Italy: they proclaim 
some very general, almost universal, principle, that must 
