II. VACATION NOTES IN CKOMAR, BURGHEAD, AND STRATHSPEY. By ARTHUR MITCHELL, M.D., V.P.S.A. SCOT. Including NOTICE OF ONE OF THE SUPPOSED BURIAL-PLACES OF ST COLUMBA. BY JAMES DRUMMOND, ESQ., R.S.A., F.S.A. SOOT. These notes are founded on observations chiefly made during a holiday monte inth Augusf ho t 1873. They were originally embodie lettea n i dr to David Douglas, Esq., but have since been extended in various direc- tions, preserving, however, their epistolary and discursive character. extensione th n I I shav e mad eI hav e been ofte largeld nan y aidey db Mr Joseph Anderson—so often and so largely that a general acknowledg- ment becomes almos onle th t y thing possible. The notes refer only to those objects of archmological interest which I happened to see, and regarding which—or oftener perhaps regarding what they suggested—I had something to say which appeared to me more or less new. I. CROMAR.1 (1.) EIBDB HOUSES.—The first old thing I had an opportunity of examining was one of those subterranean structures, called Eirde Houses, numerouo s whic e e countth ar h f n Aberdeeni o sy s situatei t I d. Reve Th 1 . Joh nStatisticalw M.'HardyNe e th n i Account, (vol. xii. 1070)p . , describes Cromar as a district of Aberdeenshire, comprehending part of five parishes. 604 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, APRIL 13, 1874. at Mill of Migvie, and has been figured and described by Mr Jervise.1 Towards the outlet, the passage bends sharply on itself, instead of pursuing curvilineae th r sweep whic s usuai h sucn i l h structures wher stonee eth s of the districts in which they occur have not more or less of the character of flags. t Culshe adjoininA th n i , g paris Tarlandf ho othe Eirdw o sa tw reI , Houses. .One of these has been described by Dr Stuart,2 and also by Mr Jervise I a figurems o t a awarer e otherwh ,no fa th s s o t it;s ha , bu 3 yet been described boulderThe . sconstructio usethe din thesnof etwo houses appeare unusualle m o dt y large. Both at Culsh and Migvie the terminal chamber, instead of being pear- shaped, is more or less rectilinear, contrary, I think, to what might have been expected where such building materia beed ha ln employed. (2.) ST WALLACE.—To this illustrious Scottish saint and "first Bishop of Aberdeen, intimatelo s s i o wh y" associated wit e districhth f Cromaro t , my attentio soos d oftennwa an n drawn I propos somethind y sa an , o et g about his stone in Logie; about his well and kirk in Glass ; about the northern peopl labouree eh d amon g; abou house th t livee eh d in; about a possible relic of him in Coldstone ; and, as suggested by the last, about some objects which were occasionally buried with persons who had led saintly lives. t wilI conveniene lb writo t t thesf eo e things under separate headings. In the Old Statistical Account (vol. vi. p. 223), the Eev. Mr Maitland says:— " Cromar is a division of Mar in Aherdeenshire, and comprehends in it the parish of Coul in the east end, the parishes of Tarland and Migvy, of Coldstone and Logy, and e paris th r parJame f f TullicSi o ho e t middlf it.n o th I s wes"d d n h i an een t BalFour's Collections, MS., Croma s thui r s described:—"This prettey little conntrey laye bottoma n si e plai nconsistd e,"an f "fivo s e parochiall churche parishese or s , viz. Loge1 , y Mar . Colstaine2 ; . Migvie3 ; . Tarland4 ; . Coule."—5 d an ; (Collections Shirese onth f Aberdeeno d Banff,an Spalding e Club,e Viewth th . f 86.p o n I ) Diocese f Aberdeen,o again e districth , s thui t s defined:—"Cromare , Th tha , is t Heart of Mar, either because it is the middle or the choicest part of it, is a bottom lying d Donbetweean ,e surroundenDe d with four hills d containinan , g these three whicf cureso o e double—Tarlahar tw , Migvied an n , Logy-Ma Cold ran - "stane callew no , d Logy-Colstane, Cowl."— Collecte Shiresth f n Aberdeeno o , d an Banff, p. 85.) 1 Proe Socf o Antiq.f o . Scotf o . .. 304volp . .v . cit. 2Op . 261 volp . i .. s Op. cit. vol. v. p. 283. VACATION NOTE CEOMAN SI STRATHSPEYD 5 KAN 60 . (a) Wallaeh's Stone.—The stone which carriet e S namth sf o e "Wallach,1 stands just burial-ground outsidol e eth f Logido e Mart I . hears no inscription or sculpture of any kind. Its existence appears to have escaped the notice of the Bishop of Brechin when preparing his Kalendar of Scottish Saints, though it was described by the Rev. James Wattie in a letter to Dr Joseph Kobertson, from which Dr Stuart quotes in his paper on Crannogs.2 handsoma s i t I e monolith fee6 , woule t t on havhigh dd no ean ;bee n surprise learo t d n that tradition mada petrifactio t i e e Druith f do n whom St Wallach dispossessed.3 It is written of the early saints that they sometimes disposed of the priests of the more ancient faith in this lifmannere f Maedh6go eth n I . , Bisho f Fernapo instancer fo ,e ar e w , told that Caillin Irisn a , e hschool-pupi th saint d an , f Maedhogo l , per- forme famoua d s miracle Druidth n o e s whom Fergua, kin f Briefnego , sent against turnehime H . d them into stones, " and, addeds i t "i , " they still remai standins na g stones. date 4 th es "whe A.Dwa 4 n Maedhd62 . g resigned his spirit to heaven,"5 so that we have an approach to the tim f thieo s miracle.6 saine alss 1Th i t o remembere followine th n di g rhyme:—' " Wallach's fair in Logie Mar, The thirtieth Januar.f o y ,da " Though St Wallach "s fair appears thus to have been on the 30th, hia festival day is on the 29th of January. In the parish of Glass his fair was held on the Tuesday before Christmas. (Macfarlane's Geog. Coll.) 2 Proc. of Soc. of Antiq. of Scotland, vol. vi. p. 171. 3 See Legends of the Braes of Mar (Abdn. 1861, p. 3), for a Cromar story of an interview between a Druid and an early Christian missionary. 4 Martyrology of Donegal, compiled by Michael O'Clery in 1630. Published by the Irish Arch, and Celtic Society, p. 87. 6 Martyr, of Donegal, op. cit. p. 33. Druids, too, are believed to have had the power of turning men into stones. In man6 y parts of Ireland this is what the common people believe to be the history of standing stones (Huddlestone's edition of Toland, Montrose, 1814, pp. 130 and 295). And according to Martin, the people of Lewis say of many such pillars there that they are "me enchantmeny nb t turned into stones." (Western Highland, ) 17039. p , This superstition, indeed, appears to exist very widely. The two standing stones near West Skeld are believed by the people of Shetland to be metamorphosed wizards or giants (New Stat. Acct. Shetland, p. Ill), and Unda, in one of his rare books, say sHighlande thaofteth y n ti n ma u hea people syo rth e gravely talf ko VOL. X. PART II. 2 U 6 60 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , APRI , 1874L13 . (6) 'St. Wallace's Kirk and Well in the Parish of Glass.—St Wallach's northern1 missio s describeni havins a d g bee o Mart n , Strathdond an , Balveny—tha e tribeth o t s , inhabitinis t e stretcth g f countrho y thus indicated therr fo , e wer o dioceseen parishesr so understane w s a , d them, n thosi e days r indeeno , d sooner'tha e reign th f Alexandeo n r I.,e th 2 relation spirituaa f so l oversight being primarily rathee clath n o rt tha n to the territory. t Wallach' S Balvene f th o n d I yen s northern missionary district—in the parish of Glass—we find him quite as well remembered as in Logie- Coldstone. There was a "yearly mereat" held there on the Tuesday before Christmas village th t ,a e calle Haughe dth Edinglassief so , nea bridge rth e which spans the burn of Invermarkie, and over which the Barons of Edinglassie use hano dt ge Highlan sucth f ho d thieve s thea s y managed to catchmarke e longeo n Th s .Revi e tr r Duguith held D .t bu , d tells me that fifty years ago, in his own day, it was in full force. He tells me also that the old Pont is still to be seen in the aisle of ruie whaf th no calles i t d Walla-Kirk tha d welbathe d an ,th t an l 3 which bea t Wallach'S r s name, were quite recentl n fam i yr thei fo e r healing qualities. The well, which is about 30 yards below the old kirk-yard, is now dry, except in very rainy weather, in consequence of the drainage of the field frequentes wa t abovI peoply db . eit e with soreo eyes everd wh e an , yon a hol n i e whicn went lef pi i bee d a t eitheo tt h ha n cu natury rb y b r eo these pillars as petrified giants, fiends, and necromancers.