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J O N 
Druids, or rather the common cemetery of the towns-peo- 
ple. Beyond the town are the ruins of the nunnery of 
Auftin canonefles, dedicated to St. Oran, and faid to be 
founded by Columba; the church was fifty-eight feet by 
twenty, and the eaft roof is entire. On the floor, covered 
deep with cow-dung, is the tomb of the laft priorefs, with 
her figure praying to the Virgin Mary, and this infcrip- 
tion on the ledge: Hie facet domina Anna Donaldi Ferleti 
filia, quondam priorejfa de jona, qua; obiit ari o m° d° xi m °, ejus 
animam AUijfmo commendamus. A broad paved way leads 
hence to the cathedral; and on this way is a large hand- 
fome crofs called Macleane's, the.only one that remains of 
three hundred and fixty, which were demolifhed here at 
the Reformation. Rcilig Ouratt, or the Burying-place of 
Oran, is the large inclofure where the kings of Scotland, 
Ireland, and of the Ifles, and their defceiulants, were bu¬ 
ried in three feveral chapels. The dean of the ifles, who 
travelled over them in 1549, and whole account has been 
copied by Buchanan, and publifhed at Edinburgh, 1784, 
fays, that in his time on one of thefe chapels (or “tombes 
of ftain formit like little chapels with ane braid gray mar¬ 
ble or quhin ftain on the gravil of ilk ane of the tombes,” 
containing, as the chronicle fays, the remains of forty- 
eight Scotch monarchs, from Fergus II. to Macbeth, fix- 
teen of whom were pretended to be of the race of Alpin) 
was inferibed. Tumulus regum Scotia: the next was in- 
feribed, Tumulus regum Hibernia, and contained four Irifh 
monarchs: and the third, inferibed Tumulus regum A r orwe- 
gi, contained eight Norwegian princes, or viceroys of the 
Hebrides while they were fubjefl to the crown of Nor¬ 
way. Boetius fays, that Fergus founded this abbey for 
the burial-place of his fucceffiors, and caufed an office to 
be compofed for the funeral ceremony. All that Mr. Pen¬ 
nant could difeover here were only certain flight remains, 
built in a ridged form and arched within, but the inferip- 
tions loft. Thefe were called Jornaire nan Rigk, or the 
Ridge of the Kings. About three hundred inferiptions 
were collected here by Mr. Sacheverel in 1688, and given 
to the earl of Argyle, but afterwards loft in the troubles 
of the family. The place is fn a manner filled with grave- 
Itones, but fo overgrown with weeds, that few or none are 
at prel'ent to be feen, far lefs any inferiptions read. Here 
alfo ftands the chape! of St. Oran, the firft building begun 
by Columba, which the evil fpirits would not fuffer to 
ftand till fome human victim was buried alive; for which 
fervice Oran offered hirnfelf, and his red grave-ftone is 
near the door. In this chapel are tombs of feveral chiefs, 
See. A little north-weft of the door is the pedeftal of a 
crofs; on it are certain fiones that feem to have been the 
fupports of a tomb. Numbers who vifit this ifland fhink 
it incumbent on them to turn each of thefe thrice round, 
according to the courfe of the fun. They are called Cla- 
cha-bralh ; for it is thought that the brath, or end of the 
world, will not arrive till the pedeftal on which they ftand 
is worn through. Originally (fays Mr. Sacheverel) here 
were three noble globes of white marble, placed on three 
ftone bafons, and thefe were turned round ; but the fyned 
ordered them and fixty crofl'es to be thrown into the fea. 
The prefent fiones are probably fubftituted in plac.e of 
thefe globes. The precinCt of thefe tombs was held fa- 
cred, and enjoyed the privileges of a girth or fanciuary. 
Thele places of retreat were by the ancient Scotch law, 
not to fhelter indiferiminately every offender, as was the 
cafe in more bigotted times in catholic countries ; for here 
all atrocious criminals were excluded; and only the un¬ 
fortunate delinquent, or the penitent firmer, was fhielded 
from the inftant ftroke of rigorous juftice. A little to the 
north of this inclofure ftands the cathedral, built in form 
cf a crofs, 115 feet long by 23, the tranl'ept 70 feet; the 
pillars of the choir have their capitals charged with ferip- 
ture and other hiftories ; and near the altar are the tombs of 
two abbots and a knight. A fragment remains of the al- 
tar-ftone of white marble veined with gray. This church 
is aferibed to Maldwin in the 7th century ; but the pre¬ 
sent ftrubture is far too magnificent for that age. Moft 
JON , . 
of the walls are built of red granite from the Nun’s ifland 
in the found. Dr. Johnfon’s reflections upon vifiting thefe 
ruins are given under the article Hebrides, vol. ix. p. 292. 
Two parallel walls of a covered way, about twelve feet 
high and ten wide, reach from the fouth-eaft corner to 
the fea. In the church-yard is a fine crofs of a Angle 
piece of red granite, fourteen feet high, twenty-two inches 
broad, and ten inches thick. Near the fouth-eaft end is 
Mary’s chapel. The monaftery is behind tire chapel ; of 
which only a piece of the cloiiters remains, and fome fa- 
cred black ftones in a corner, on which contracts and al¬ 
liances were made, and oaths fworn. Eaft of it was the 
abbot’s gardens and offices. North of this was the palaoe 
of the biftiop of the ifles after the reparation of Man from 
them. This fee was endowed with thirteen ifiands ; fe- 
veral of which were frequently taken away by the chief¬ 
tains. The title of Seder, which fome explained Soter, 
Saviour, or Soder, an imaginary town, is really derived 
from the diftinftion of the diocefe into the Northern 
Ifiands, or Nordereys (i. e. all to the north of Adnamur- 
chan point), and the Southern, orSudereys; which laft, 
being the moft important, the ^fte of Man retained both 
titles. 
Other ruins of monaftic buildings and offices may be 
traced, as well as fome druidical fepulchral remains. Se¬ 
veral abbeys were derived from this, which with the ifland 
was governed by an abbot-prefbyter, who had rule even 
over bifhops. The place were Columba landed is a peb¬ 
bly beach, where a heap of earth reprefents the form of 
his fliip. Near it is a hill with a circle of ftones called 
Cnoc-nar aimgeal, or “ the hill of angels,” with whom the 
faint held conference; and on Michaelmas day the inha¬ 
bitants courfed their horfes round it, a remain of the cuf- 
tom of bringing them there to be bleffed. In former 
times, this ifland was the place where the archives of 
Scotland and many valuable old manuferipts were kept. 
Of thefe moft are fuppofed to have been deftroyed at the 
Reformation; but many, it is faid, were carried to the 
Scotch college at Douay in France, and it is hoped fome 
of them may ftill be recovered. In the ifland of Iona a 
fchoolmafter is eftablifhed; but there is r.o temple for 
worfhip, no inftruftor in religion, excepting the fchool¬ 
mafter, unlefs it is vifited by the parilh-minilter from ano¬ 
ther ifland. 
JO'NA, a town of Hindooftan, in the country of Delhi: 
thirty-five miles fouth of Delhi. 
JO'NA, [Hebrew'.] The name of a man. 
JON'ADAB, or Jhhonadab, [Heb. one who aCts with 
generofity.] The fon of Recliab, according to the moft 
generally received opinion was the founder of the fe£t of 
the Rechabitcs, fo famous in feripture-hiftory for the auf- 
tere Angularity of their mode of life. He was a defeend- 
ant from the Kenites, who, though they dwelt among the 
I(Vaelites, did not belong to any of their tribes. Thefe 
Kenites, afterwards called Rechabites, were of the family 
of Jethro, otherwife called Hobab, whofe daughter Moles 
married ; for it is faid in Judges i. :6, that the children of 
the Kenite, Mofes' father-in-law, went up out of the city of Palm- 
Trees with the children of Judah, and dwelt among the people ; 
and we read in Judges iv. ir, of Heber .the Kenite, which 
was of the children of Hobab, the father-in-law cf Mofes, who 
had fevered himfelffrom the Kenites, or from the bulk of them 
who fettled in the tribe of Judah, and pitched his tent in the 
plain of Zaanaim. They appear to have fprung from Mi- 
dian, the fon of Abraham by Keturah; for Jethro, from 
whom they are defeended, is called a Midianite in the 
tenth chapter of Numbers. From the fame chapter we 
learn, that Jethro was invited by Mofes, his fon-in-law, to 
leave liis country, and fettle with his family among the 
Ifraelites. At firft he refufed ; but afterwards it feems he 
contented ; fince we find his pofterity fettled among the 
Ifraelites, with whom they continued till their lateft ages. 
In the twenty-fourth chapter of Numbers, we find Ba¬ 
laam celebrating their prudence and happinefs, in putting 
themfelves under the protection of God’s favoured na¬ 
tion, 
