Midsummer to Michaelmas 
We three served God, lived in His fear, 
And loved Him who bought us dear. 
No expert, however, hitherto has discovered the history of 
this carving. We also acted amateur “ Old Mortalitys ” 
about the churchyard, and made clear sundry inscriptions, 
curious more by their quaint spelling than by their word- 
ing. The following one, long said to be here, I have not 
been able to find : 
Here lies the Laird of Whinkerstanes, 
The de’il has gotten noo his banes, 
He had nae ither God ava 
Than Rosybank and Charterha’. 
These are places in the parish. Julian seems to have 
been a common woman’s name in past days; it is on 
several tombstones. Ninian was an old name for a man. 
There are some of the old tablelike tombstones here. I 
heard a delightful story the other day of some one who left 
an order in his last will and testament that spikes were to 
be stuck on his table-shaped stone to prevent people sit- 
ting down on it ! And I have actually seen such tombstones 
in Suffolk. Shall I own that when I spotted a place where 
a nail had come out I hastened to sit on it ? 
Some epitaphs are very curious. I came across the 
following in Melrose Churchyard, which, I think, is very 
quaint, on a Portioner of Melrose : 
The Earth goeth 
On the Earth 
Glistering like 
Gold 
The Earth goes to 
The Earth sooner 
Than it wold 
The Earth Builds 
On the Earth Cast- 
les and Towers 
The Earth says to 
the Earth all shall 
be ours 
I see the glass-covered painted tin wreaths under glass 
covers, with mottoes, so common on the Continent, are 
21 1 
