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FROM THE LIBRARY OF
KONRAD VON MAVRER
OF MVNICH
HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY
THE GIFT OF
ARCHIBALD CARYCOOUDGE — CLASS OF 1887 —
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY
1904
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9
AN
HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL
ACCOUNT
07 THK
ISLE OF MAN,
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DATE;
WITH A T1KW 0» ITS
ANCIENT LAWS, PECULIAR CUSTOMS, AND POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
BY JOSEPH TRAIN, F. S. A. Scot.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
DOUGLAS, ISLE OF MAN:
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY MARY A. QUIGGIN, NORTH QUAY;
LONDON, SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., STATIONERS* HALL COURTi LIVERPOOL, CHEGWIN & HALL, AND G. PHILIP; GLASGOW, J. LUMSDEN A SON.
MDCCCXLV.
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CONTENTS.
VOLUME THE SECOND
CHAPTER XIII.
MISCELLANEOUS CHURCH HISTORY.
Singular Fealty performed by the Bishop and other Ecclesiastical Dignitaries— Abbots' Right of holding Courts of Leet and Baron—Peculiar Enactments— Clergy exempted from Insular Imposts—Tithes, Corpse-presents, and Mortuaries —Duties and Fees of the Parish Clark—Rapacity of the Manks Clergy—Restrained by Act of Tynwald—Modern Appropriation of Tithes—Jurisdiction of t he Bishop—Of the Archdeacon—Ecclesiastical Courts—Ancient Form of proving a Debt on Deceadant’s Grave—Appeal from Spiritual Court—Appendix.	.	1
CHAPTER XIV.
ECCLESIASTICAL ANTIQUITIES.
Temples appropriated to Religious Worship—Cursory view of the Cairns, Altars, and Druidical Circles in the Island—Druidical Stones decorated with Symbols of Christianity—Crosses set up at an early period as Landmarks—Battle, Market, Begging, Weeping, and Monumental Crosses described—Runic Inscriptions— Girth Cross—Consecrated Wells—St. Maughold's Spring—Old Chapels— Cronk-na-Keilan—The Treen Places—St. Mary, St. Trinian, St. Patrick, and St. Germain's Churches in Holm Peel—The Nunnery—Chapel of Rushen— Friary of Bowmaken—Abbey of Rushen—Privileges of the Monks—Eminent Persons interred in the Abbey of Rushen—Image Tombs—Rushen the last Monastery dissolved by Henry VIII—Account of the Episcopal Palace—Appendix. 25
CHAPTER XV.
MONUMENTS, TREASURE TROVE, AND MINTAGE.
Monumental Effigies—Image Tombs of Danish Warriors—Monumental Inscriptions—Relics of Brass and Gold—Treasure Trove—Ancient Coins— Leather Currency—Ducketoons—Butcher's Brass Money—Johnnie Murray's Pennies—The Eagle and Child—Promissory Notes—Present State of the Currency—Armorial Ensign of the Island—Arms of the Bishopric—Appendix	. 64
CHAPTER XVI.
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.
Review of the Manners and Customs of the Scandinavians, when Masters in Man—(Singular Treatment of their Children—Military Education—Dress, Weapons, and Accoutrements of the Danish Infantry—Appointments of the Cavalry—Construction of their Gallies—Number of their Vessels occasionally employed in hostile Expeditions—Sports and Military Exercises instituted by Olaus, a Norwegian Vikingr—Mountebank Performance—Fire Dance—Ring Dance—Use of the Bow—Hawking—Forest Laws—Appendix	.84
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CHAPTER XVII.	‘
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. Retrospective glance at Manks Chivalry—Sports and Pastimes—Prize Shooting and Horse Racing encouraged by the Earl of Derby in the seventeenth century— Costume of the Peasantry—Carranee—Sunday Blanket—Character of the People —Formerly governed by arbitrary Laws—Yarding, a singular custom—Rural Tribunal-Choice Children—Peculiar Laws relating to the employment of Servants—Minor Puniihment»—TheQuaaltagh—Festivals of Laa’l Breeshey—Shrove Tuesday—Good Friday—Laa Boaldyn—Vigil of St. John—Gule of August— Sanative Wells—The Mheillea—Halloween—The Hunting of the Wren—Christmas Usages—Marriage Customs—Peculiar Observances at Births and Baptisms —Funeral Rites and Ceremonies—Appendix..................  102
CHAPTER XV11L
POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
Attachment of the Manks to ancient Customs—The hair halter Riot—Fabulous Story of the Discovery of the Island—Mermaids on land—Freaks of the Tarroo Ushtey of Lhanjaghyn—The Sea Glashtyn—Wail of the Doinney Oie—The last Phynnodderee— Some Peculiarities of the Manks Fairies—Spectral Illusions— The Lhiannan-shee of Ballalietcher—Hom Mooar, the Fairy Fiddler—Occult Infections—Seer Teare, the Fairy Doctor—Mystical Properties of the Cross-bone of the Bollan’s Head—The Chasms at Spanish Head—Sorcery and Witchcraft— Fascination of an Evil Eye—Submarine City—The Second Sight—Enchanted Palace—Death of the Dark Smith Maclibhuin—Appendix	.	.	.	.142
CHAPTER XIX.
CONSTITUTION.
Historical Sketch—Feudatory Prerogatives of the ancient Kings of Man— Ceremonies observed at the Great Tynwald—Instalment of the Governor—Council of State—Historical Sketch of the House of Keys—Deemsters, of great antiquity—Peculiar Oath of Office—Breast Laws described—The Bonnock, a singular Custom—The Deemster's Court—The Coroners—Their Duty—Office Silver—Lockman, an inferior Officer of the Crown—The Office of the Coroner of Glenfaba described—The Great Inquest—The Moar, a ministerial Officer of the Manorial Courts—Civil Officers vested with high Authority—Court of General Gaol Delivery—Ancient Mode of Punishment—Remarkable Ceremony—Anecdote of two convicted Felons—Courts Leet or Baron—Durability of the Constitution-Appendix ........... 185
CHAPTER XX.
TENURES, SUITS, AND BEQUESTS.
Ancient territorial Jurisdiction—Fiefs—Custom of Gavelkind—Quarterlands —Tenure of the Straw—Conveyance of Property—Noncupative Wills—Right of Inheritance—Fuel—Enclosures—Multure, Suit, and Soken—Ways of Ease and Sufferance—Bridges—Use of Lime introduced by Governor Greenhalgh— Old Implements of Husbandry—The Fodder Jury, a singular Tribunal—Laws for the Protection of Farm Stock—Condition of the Peasantry in the last Century —Description of a Manks Cottage—Progress of Agriculture since the time of the Revestment—Tenures of the Impropriate Fund—The Academic Masters' and Academic Students' Fund—Burning of King William’s College—Appendix . 225
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CHAPTER XXI.
ANCIENT COMMERCE.
Mona supposed to have been more populous in the tune of the Druids than it is at present—Political Doctrine of Tacitus—Policy of the Danes—Revenue of the ancient Kings of Man—The Island impoverished by the many hostile Invasions of Foreigners—Restrictions generally usurious to Trade—Peculiarities of the Manks commercial Regulations—Annual Anointment of Traffickers to truck with Merchant Strangers—Market Towns—Fairs—Articles of Commerce most general in the Island—The Herring not emigratory Animal, as formerly supposed —Sea Birds mark the Arrival of the grand Shoals—Regulations under which the Herring Fishery is conducted—Bad Effects of a Hurricane—Manner of curing Herrings for Exportation—The Manks Fisheries encouraged by the British Government—Fund for maintaining the Sea-ports of the Island—Appendix 274
CHAPTER XXII.
MODERN COMMERCE.
State of the Peasantry in the Seventeeth Century—Contraband Trade commenced by a small Band of Adventurers from Liverpool—The Islanders engage deeply in the illicit Traffic—Commodore Thurbt commences his seafaring career as a Manks Smuggler—The Run-trade of the Island proves injurious to the Revenue of Great Britain and Ireland—All the Measures taken by Government to suppress this clandestine Commerce prove, for a time, ineffectual—Commissioners appointed by Parliament to visit the Island—Management of the Insular Revenue revised—New Laws enacted—Fiscal Ordinances amended—Import Duties rescinded—And Harbour Duties abolished—Appendix.	.	.	. 306
CHAPTER XXIII.
GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY.
Sheading of Rushen—The Calf Isle—Ruins of Bushel's House—The Split Rocks of Spanish Head—Villages on the Coast—Castletown—House in which the Keys meet—Law Courts and Prison—Sheading of Ayre—Ossified Man— View from the summit of Snafield—Sheading of Michael—Fossil Elk—Ballaugh —Bishop's Court—Sheading of Garff—Villages—Ramsey—Sheading of Glenfaba —The Sacred Mound—Peel—The Fishing Fleet—Middle Sheading—Country Seats—Kirk Rraddan Church and Churchyard—View from Douglas Bay—The Lighthouse—Tower of Refuge—The Pier—Pullock Rock—Douglas—Parochial Distribution—Modern Institution*—Cholera Doctors—Life-boat Association— Churches—Courts and Post Office Department—Miscellany—Appendix .	. 333
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HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
CHAPTER XIII.
MISCELLANEOUS CHURCH HISTORY.
Singular Fealty performed by (he BiJiop and other Ecclesiastical Dignitaries—sib bats' Bight of holding Courts of Leet and Baron— Peculiar Enactments—Clergy exempted from Insular Imposts— Tithes, Corpse-presents, and Mortuaries—Duties and Fees of the Parish Clerk—Rapacity of the Mauks Clergy—Restrained by Jet of Tynwald—Modern- Appropriation of Tithes—Jurisdiction of the Bishop— Of the Archdeacon*—Ecclesiastical Courts—Ancient Form of proring a Debt on Deceadanfs Grave—Appeal from Spiritual Court.	■
In few countries of Europe was the feudal system maintained with more state than in the Isle of Man; each baron had his vassals or retainers, who were obliged to render themselves subservient to his interest, and to yield him that homage and fealty, which belonged to a feudal superior. The barons held their lands of the king, as lord-proprietor of the soil, and were obliged to serve him in all his wars, whether waged in prosecution of his private quarrels or in defence of the institution of the state.1
The baronial territories of Man seem all to have fallen into the grasping hands of the clergy. The bishop was a baron, in right of his territorial possessions in the Isle,
1	“ On the death of a vassal, the baron was entitled, by ancient custom, to obtain from the heirs, as an acknowledgement for the protection he afforded his family, the best horse, the best ox, the best cow, in short, the best beast that pertained to the deceased.”—Wallace's Nature and Descent of Ancient Peerages, Edinburgh, 1785, p. 104 ; Miller's Distinction of Ranks, London, 17 73, p. 208.
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as was the abbot of Rushen, the abbots of Bangor, Sabal, and St. Trinian’s; also, the abbot of Furness,1 the prior of Whithorn in Galloway,’ and the prior of St. Bead in Copeland. Even the prioress of Douglas was a baroness, in right of her lands; she held courts in her own name, and possessed temporal authority equal to a baron.3
The barons were all summoned occasionally to the Tynwald Hill, to do homage and fealty to the lord superior for their landed possessions in the Island. It was the bishop’s duty to hold the stirrup of the king’s saddle as oft as his majesty mounted his horse, when attending the Tynwald courts, and the other barons had similarly menial offices assigned them. If any one refused to attend, he forfeited his temporalities.4
The abbot, in right of his lands, was authorised to hold courts of “ Leet and Baron,” in which his seneschal or
1	“ In the year 1176, Goddard, King of Man, presented the lands of Mirescoge, in the Isle of Man, to Syvan, Abbot of Furness.”—Johnstone’s Celto Normanica, Copenhagen, 1786, page 150; Chronicles of Man, ap. Camden.
2	The Bishop of Galloway had, of old, the patronage and tiends of two parishes in the Isle of Man, “ yea, and as I am informed, was in possession of them since the reformation; but at present they are worn out of possession of them.”—Sym-son’s Description qf Galloway, written in 1684, first published in 1823, Edinburgh edition, p. 108 ; Chalmer’s Caledonia, London, 1824, vol. iii, p. 418. “ The religious society of St. Bees was possessed of some valuable property in the parish of St. Maughold. I believe there is an annual sum still paid out of that parish to St. Bees* school, on which account the parish claims the right of sending two boys there gratis.”—Townley’s Journal, Whitehaven, 1791, vol. ii, p. 237 ; Feltham, p. 159.
3	Willis’s Survey qf Cathedrals, vol. i, p. 372 ; Wood’s History of Man, p. 113. The Abbot of Rushen was of the order termed Mitred Abbots; the other four abbots, above mentioned, were consecutively of the orders termed Crosiered, Cardinal, Regular, and Commendatory Abbots.^Buck's Theological Dictionary, London, edition 1827 ; see 4 Abbot.’ .
4	“ If any of your barons be out of the land, they shall have the space of forty days. After that, they are called in to come, to show whereby they should not claim lands within your land of Man, and to make faith and fealty, or else to cease their temporalities into your hands.”—Lex Scripta, p. 2 ; Camden’s Britannia, edit. 1695, p. 1068. This was an ancient law in Wales, and was probably introduced into the Manks code, by some of the Welsh kings of Man,—” If a clergyman shall hold any lands of the king, he shall give service, and be held to answer in the Royal Court for the same, and unless he shall answer personally, the said lands shall return to the King.”—Woton’s Laws of Wales, London, folio, 1730, p. 337.
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steward sat as chief judge; but as some of the bishop’s tenants had to pay rent customs, boons, suits, and services to the king, the deemster of the south side, with the comptroller and king’s attorney, were likewise bound to attend, “to take notice of anything that might happen concerning the lord’s interest.” The deemster and the comptroller were each to have a fee of eight shillings and four pence, “ for every such day as they sat in that court, to be paid out of abbey revenue.”'
Such a division of authority gave rise to some singular enactments. “ If an abbey tenant transgressed the law so as to forfeit either life or goods, if he paid rent to the lord to the amount of one penny, (although he held an estate under the abbot) the forfeiture fell to the lord, and not to the abbot.*
“ If an abbey tenant committed a capital crime, and was committed for the same in the lord’s court, the steward of the abbey lands could annul the sentence, and challenge the criminal from thence, to have his trial and confiscation in the abbey court.”’
If a mere hedge or ditch divided the abbey or baron’s lands from the possessions of the lord of the Isle, the baron’s tenant was not only bound to uphold it, but was obliged “ To leave as much ground on the lord's side of such fence, as a man could cut, joining his heel to the said fence, and reach with his spade, holding his foot thereon."
1	Besides large domains in the Island and the ordinary revenues of the church, which were great in former times, the Abbey of Rushen was possessed of considerable wealth. Magnus, king of Man, it appears, not only made large donations to the abbot and convent of Rushen himself, but collected money from others for that purpose ; and the kings of Norway made a 44 Confirmation and Donation to the monastery of Rushen in Man.”—Calendars of Ancient Charters with Rolls and Schedules qf Fealties done in the Isle of Man, London, 1772, pp. 344, 421. The number of computed quarterlands formerly belonging to the monastery of Rushen, was 991; and the number of abbey cottages, 77.—Feltham, p. 272.
* Appendix, Note i, 44 Deodands.”
* This was a law in Wales in the time of Howel Dha. See Warringtons History ef Wales, p. 66.
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HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
By tin ancient customary law it was provided that if any abbey tenant removed from the ecclesiastical lands, he might, by law, “ Take away the roof of his house, with all doors and windows, as well those that hung on iron hinges as otherwise” This statute being more favourable to the abbey tenant than to the vassal of the king, was repealed by the Earl of Derby, anno 1669.1
If any of the lord’s tenants should want servants, and can find none, the servants of the abbey tenants are to be taken from them, and put to work upon the lord’s lands. If any strangers come into the Island, they are to be placed on the lord’s ground, if there be occasion for them, and not on the lands of the baron.2
If any of the lord’s liege tenants committed treason or felony, and fled into any of the barons’ liberties for protection, and was not given up to the civil magistrate when demanded, the barons, for every such offence, forfeited the sum of £5; and if he retained or sheltered any outlaw, he forfeited his temporality. Nor was he allowed to entertain any stranger within his house, without giving information to the lieutenant-governor, “shewing who the stranger was, from whence he came, and whither going;” and no baron was allowed to hold an inquest upon any tenant of the lord proprietor, on pain of life and limb, that being the lord’s prerogative.3 Such was the line of cir-cumvallation drawn by the lord proprietor to check the arrogance of the ecclesiastical dignitaries.
On their first appointment to office, the bishop, archdeacon, and vicars-general were required, by law, to take the prescribed form of oath for the faithful performance of their duties; this was done at the Tynwald Hill, in presence of the king: “ To the utmost of my power,
1 MS. Statute Book, ‘ Customary Law/ folio 18.
2 Statute Book, folio 17, 23, ap. Parr's MS. p. 3.
3 Statutes, anno 1422 ; Lex Scripta, pp. 22, 25, 26, 29.
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I shall defend and maintain the ancient laws, statutes, and customs proper to, and belonging unto this Isle. And with my best advice and council, be aiding and assisting the governor of this Isle for the furtherance of the government of the said Isle, so help me God.”1 They were each empowered, respectively, to administer the spiritual law, with such limitations as were provided by the ancient, continued, and accustomed constitution of the Island; to hold circuit and consistory courts for citations, suspensions, excommunications, probate of wills, and making of decrees; and to assist the lord’s council when called to do so upon any emergent occasion.2
In right of their several offices, the clergy were exempted from many of the insular imposts. It was provided by law, that the bishop and archdeacon might each keep, “ freely and frankly,” a herring scout of four tons burden, free of any tithe within the Island.3 That every parson, vicar of Third, or Pencon instituted, might choose a fishing boat, at Easter time, for the purpose of receiving the tithe of herrings caught by the crew of such boat, during the succeeding season, whether they fished on the coast of the Isle of Alan or elsewhere.4 That every vicar of Third and Pencon might have “ his bridge and staff,* that is to say, his man or woman servant shall not be taken from him either by yarding or by any jury of servants ;” and that every instituted vicar of Pencon “having five marks stipend, should have four nobles in tithes.”
“ All hyred curates, from Easter to Easter, or longer, shall give a quarter of a year’s warning, before Easter day, to his master, in case his will be to depart and go
1 Ward*9 Ancient Records, p. 114.	'
2 MS. Statute Book, pp. 32, 36, 81.
1 MS. Statute Book, ‘Spiritual Men/ p. 31, a.d. 1577, 1610; Lex Scripta, page 51.
4 Dugdale^ Monaeticon, vol. i, ‘ Isle of Man.’
5 Statute, anno 1577 * Lex Scripta, p. 64.
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away from him; and, in like manner, the master shall give a quarter of a year’s warning to his curate, in case he will put him away, provided always that the ordinary shall always place and displace such curates at his discretion,”1 ,
It was the ordinary’s due to receive for each citation, sixpence; for every suspension, one shilling and sixpence; for an excommunication, four shillings and sixpence; for an absolution and receiving into the church again, five shillings.
Before the year 1643, the Manks clergy wielded with merciless rigour, the Druidical weapon of excommunication,’ in order to enforce the payment of tithes. The tithe of butter and cheese was required to be paid at the parish church, on the first Sunday of each month, from May to October ;* and the tithe of flax and hemp was required to be brought to the church with the seed on. For an in-calf cow, twopence was required; for a farrow cow, one penny; for every eight sheep, twopence; for every four goats, one penny; for every hen, an egg; and for the only cock, two eggs. All persons who received the communion, paid twopence every Easter, as an offering for the four seasons of the year; “ but in case it be the first time he doth receive the sacrament, he payeth only one half-penny, which the curate is to have, because he is to examine all such as to their faith.”4
1	Lex Script a, pp. 51, 59, 60, 64, 149.
* When a person excommunicated did not, within the space of eleven weeks, return with contrition to be admitted into the church, the ordinary had the power of delivering him over to the Lord “Body and Goods/9 such being the Lord’s prerogative, as in the case of Captain Robinson, a.d. 1638.—MS. Statute Book, * Excommunication/
s “ We enjoin that from every house, of whatever description, there be given, in summer as tithes to the church, eighteen of the best cheeses, and eighteen made in autumn, clean, salted, and well-prepared; and in the houses where butter is made, let there be given a tithe of the butter, without any fraud or diminution of the milk.” —Synodical Constitution of the Church of Sodor in a.d. 1291, sec. viii, op. Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. i.
4	Statute Book, p. 35.
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Any person having wild sheep and purrs which could not be brought to the fold, were required, at Easter, to make oath to the number, on a book, before the proctor, and to pay for the same at the rate charged on calves and colts?
There was a tithe on ale; and after the “ honey and wax is purified, the tyth thereof shall be justly and truly taken;” also, “ every person engaged in any occupation, although it should be only thrice in the year, shall pay twopence.” The tithe of herrings was required to be paid as soon as they were brought “ above fuU sea mark;” and the owner of every boat employed in the fishing of grey fish or herrings, on the coasts of the adjoining kingdom, were required to pay half of the tithe thereof to the vicar of his parish in Man, although he brought no fish to the Island. Money, as a tithe, was claimed of such clothes and goods as were given at marriage to a man with his wife.
It was the sumner's duty to collect these tithes, but it would appear he was sometimes assisted in the execution of his duty: “ When the sumner, parson, and clarke take pains in gathering wooll and lamb, having with them one horse a piece, and, in like manner, one sack for the carriage of the wool, then either of them to have one choice lamb, and one fleece of wooll paid out of the tythe.” As his due for collecting the tithe of grain, the sumner received from the husbandman within the parish, “ as much corn as three straps of the principall corn could encompass ;” and, in like manner, “ a principall cheese,” from each person, for collecting the tithe on that article? ‘
The sumner is the parochial officer of the consistorial court, and is nominated by the sumner-general. “His
1	Synodical Constitution of the Church of Sodort 1291, sec. viii, ap, Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. i.
8	Book of Spiritual Laws and Customs; Lex Scripta, pp. 31, 54 , 56, 60.
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duty is to attend the ordinary in bringing offenders to the ecclesiastical prison, to call within the church all things required of him by the parishioners, and to stand at the church door during the time of divine service to whip away the dogs!!”
Not contented with fleecing the living, these harpies of the insular church claimed part of the property of persons newly deceased, under the name of corpse-presents, or mortuaries, which was the cause of great discontent among the laity.*
The church was kept in repair, and the ornaments, books, and other necessaries provided by the parishioners. The parson was bound only to maintain the chancel.
Four church-wardens were elected annually in each parish, whose duty it was to see good order kept in the church yard, and to report those that used witchcraft and sorcery.1
The office of parish clerk was, in old times, held by a person of respectable character, whose education had not been wholly neglected, and who, generally, with the exception of the sexton, or sacrist, was the best chronicler in the vicarage. He was not, however, one of those persons who were overpaid for their services, yet some of his perquisites appear, in our times, very singular.
It was his duty to attend the parson to the chancel, put on his surplice, and cover the communion table; likewise to attend the parson on each visitation, for which service, together with his usual duty, he was entitled to receive fonrpence per annum for every plough in the parish, although it had made only three Jins within the
♦’Appendix, Note ii, “Corpse-presents.”
1	I find only one act in the Statute Book against witchcraft. “ Any person suspected of witchcraft is to be committed to the bishop’s prison, and all the offences or crimes that the jury can find or prove, the ordinary shall write, and if the jury can bring or prove any notorious crime, then the bishop is to deliver him out of his prison to the lord’s jail and court, where he or she is to be tried, as a felon.”— Statute 1617.
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year; from persons who had not such an implement, hut who kept a fire, a smoke penny; and for persons newly deceased, he claimed by law, a “ full corpse-present” of twenty-one pence,1 or else his apparel.
The clerk’s silver or head penny was, on the north side of the Island, fifteen pence, and on the south side, only twelve pence. The curate received of that sum, seven pence; the parish clerk, three pence; and the parson’s clerk, two pence.2 If the person deceased did not leave wherewithal to defray the corpse-present or head penny, it fell to the nearest of kin to do so, on the ground that “ if the deceased had been wealthy, the nearest relation would have profited thereby.”3
If any person remove from one parish to auother, and remain there three days and three nights, or till the crowing of the cock on the third morning, and then depart this life, the spiritual dues shall be paid to the parish in which he died, and not to the parish which he left.4
The duty of the sacrist of Rushen is thus minutely detailed in an old manuscript account of the abbey, now in my possession :—“ The sacrist shall cause his beadle to ring the bells on holy-days and festivals throughout the
1	Spiritual Laws and Customs; Lex Scripta, pp. 57, 58.
2	“ Whereas it is a complaint of the country, that the Lord of the Island makes clerks of the parishes by his special grants, whereas the parishioners pay the clerk his dues, his lordship is graciously pleased to order that the parishioners, and the parson, and vicar of the parish shall henceforth nominate the clerk, who is to be approved of by the bishop. Given at the Castle of Rushen, 30th October, 1643.”—Lex Scriptat pp. 121, 122.
3	MS. Statute Book, folio 35, 1616, u Parish clerks—how elected—his dues and duties.” If the following statement be correct, the parish clerk is not yet well paid for his trouble:—” I have been a subaltern in the service of the church many years. On Sundays and other holy-days, I have the church doors to open in proper time, the bell to ring at the hours of eight, nine, and ten forenoon, and twice in the afternoon; to put the surplice on the clergyman, mark the lessons for him, raise the tunes and sing the psalms at times when almost out of breath with ringing the bell, and all the compensation I receive is sixteen shillings yearly.”—Extract of a Letter to the Editor qf the Mona’s Herald, dated Point of Ayre, 16th April, 1834.
4	Lex Scripta, p. 53.
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year, for matins, in the morning, at five o’clock. The matins being performed, he shall ring a little bell for the mass of the blessed Virgin Mary; and at eight o’clock, he shall ring the little bell again, for the souls of the faithful departed. He shall provide fresh water, if need be, every day, in the morning, throughout the year, for holy water and the baptismal font, and fire for kindling the candles at the high altar, when needful. He shall keep a lamp burning day and night before the holy sacrament. He must see washed, at least six times a year, the vestments of the high altar of the blessed Virgin Mary, and of the holy cross. He must go before the chair, in procession, with a wand in his hand; must provide psalms on Palm Sunday, and keep clean the holy embossed Evangel.”
The histories of all ages exhibit to us the selfish encroachment made by the priesthood. There seems to have been no end to the artifices which they used in order to obtain power and riches. The Manks clergy arrogated to themselves the right of making all wills, and by this means often obtained an influence over the minds of weak superstitious persons, which was far from being advantageous to their descendants or relatives. When persons died intestate, they frequently interfered to make unjust distributions of the property, never forgetting, however, to urge that, “ for the welfare of the soul of the deceased, the church should not be neglected.”1
Although the constitution of the church of Rome warranted such imposition, yet it was only in the reign of Queen Elizabeth of England, that sin-money and all its accompanying absurdities were brought into ridicule.2 It was not,' however, till the reign of Charles I, that the Manks people, in imitation of their neighbours, came to the resolution of resisting the payment of a claim which interested motives had introduced into religion.
1	Bacon’s Discourse on the Laws and Government qf England, part i, cap. Ixvi.
2	Hume’s History of England, chap. xxix.
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When the Earl of Derby visited the Isle of Man, in 1643, he found such a violent aversion engendered in the minds of the people against the clergy, that it became necessary, for the tranquillity of the Island, to restrain the priesthood, by an act of Tynwald, from interfering in laical affairs; and from levying either under the name of corpse-presents, mortuary, head-money, or any other name whatever, any tax from his subjects, in the diocese of the Bishopric of Sodor and Man.1
These matters of contention being adjusted, no opposition was offered to the clergy exercising their spiritual functions, in the modulated manner, which had become necessary by the inquiring spirit of the age.
At the commencement of the eighteenth century, the inferior clergy of the Manks church are described as being so poor and ignorant, and so inattentive to the instruction of the laity, as to entitle them to the appellation of “ the most ignorant people of the British Isles ;2* but such a stigma, if ever true, has been long since removed, both as respects the clergy and the laity.3
A great part of the tithes have now passed into the hands of the lay proprietors, which a late writer on the subject thinks favourable to the interest of the Manks cultivator?
1	Bullock’s History of the isle of Man, p. 95. “ Whereas there has been a very indecent and irreverent use by the clergy, when they collected the offerings money and tithes, at Easter, to demand the same at the time the people were to receive the communion, and sometimes would stop the people from receiving the blessed sacrament, because they had not paid their said dues. It hath been therefore ordered and redressed, that the ministers to whom such oblations and tithes belong, shall sit in the parish church, upon Monday and Tuesday in Easter week, after the people have received the communion, to receive the same.”—Statute Book, p. 84.
8	Waldron’s Description of the Isle of Man, folio, 1731, p’. 114.
♦ Appendix, Note iii, u Funeral Service.”
3	“ The clergy are generally natives, and have their education in the Island. They are not anywise taxed with ignorance or debauchery. They have always a competent maintenance of at least £,50 or £60 a-year. The ministers always have the addition of ‘ Sir* to their names, unless they be parsons of parishes, and then they are called ‘Mr.’”—Camden’s Britannia, edit. 1795, p. 1070.
4	Quayle’s General View of the Agriculture tf the Isle of Man, p. 26. Certain
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In the year 1811, about three thousand acres in the parish of Braddan were titheable to the estate of the Nunnery, and such part of these tithes as were not payable out of the estate itself, were then let to the occupants respectively, by private agreement.
At that time the annual amount of the tithes of the Duke of Atholl, upon lease, amounted to £408 18s. 6d., and the estimated annual value of the tithes sold by the Atholl family, amounted to £489 10s.
The mode sometimes taken by the Duke of Atholl’s agents, (the grantee or lessee under the crown of the property of the dissolved abbey of Rushen,) and by those of the Bishop of Man, to convert their tithes into money, was thought to produce considerable injury to the agriculture of the Island, and being imitated by some of the incumbents, was thought to retard its improvements. A public auction was fixed, and the tithes of the parish were let to the highest bidder, who, either afterwards dealt with the farmer privately, or by sub-auction, let the tithes in small parcels, in the manner practised by the middlemen in Ireland. The tithes of the parishes in which these practices prevail, are said sometimes to have far exceeded their intrinsic value. The tithes of the small parish of Jurby, which had been let for £17 3s., by the Bishop of Man to the incumbent, as then generally practised, were raised in 1755 to £20, and continued at that rent till 1792. In 1811 they were let by auction for £231, so that in less than forty years, the tithes of this parish were raised in amount above eleven fold.1
The Bishop of Man is not only a baron of the Island,*
parts of the property of the Island is exempted from the payment of tithes, by an ancient fixed commutation, in the shape of a modus or prescription. This system, Bishop Wilson considered a violation of justice. He paid tithes, from which he was legally exempted, and prevailed on many to renounce the benefit of the modus.— Stowell's Life of Bishop Wilson.
1	Quayle's View of the Agriculture of the Isle of Man, p. 28.
’ Camden's Britannia, edit. 1695, p. 1070.
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but has also a seat in the Council, in the Court of Chancery, and in the Exchequer. All ecclesiastical affairs, relative to wills,* administrations, debts and credit of deceased persons, minors’ effects, and alimony are heard and determined either by his lordship in person or by his vicars-general, who are kind of chancellors to the bishop. The power exercised by the Bishop of Sodor and Man, is of a more direct and stringent character than what is exercised by any other bishop in the British dominions. He has a civil jurisdiction through his consistory, chapter, and vicars-generals’ court, which no bishop ought to possess, and which would not be tolerated in any other protestant country. He appoints the judges of the ecclesiastical courts, and can remove them at pleasure.
These judges are obliged frequently, in the common course of their official duty, to decide suits wherein the bishop himself is plaintiff. Since the existence of the bishopric, there has been only two instances of a vicargeneral having been bred to the law; yet persons filling’ this office decide the nicest points of common and equity law, often to the no small amusement of the regular advocates. The bishop had the jurisdiction of life and limb, with the right of erecting a cross or gibbet on his land, for the execution of malefactors.
In right of his barony, he was also entitled to a seat in the House of Lords, although not to a vote, as he held his appointment from a subject of the king; but since the Duke of Atholl has disposed of the patronage of the bishopric to the British government, the right of appointing the bishop is vested in the crown.
This admixture of civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, which appears so antiquated, particularly to persons unconnected with the Island, is extolled by Bishop Ward, in a letter addressed to the clergy of his diocese, in
* SeaAppendix, cap. xxiv, Note ii, “ Wills extracted from the Parish Registers.”
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November, 1837:—“ In our small but favoured Isle, the prayer of our blessed Lord seems to have been fulfilled, for among us our temporal rulers have been in full communion with the spiritual, and the spiritual rulers have brought their advice and blessings to the counsels of the temporal. Thus have those counsels ever been hallowed by the presence of God’s ministers; and thus has our ancient church been ever one. Each succeeding year do we see a practical illustration of this, when, after ancient custom, we assemble to promulgate a new law; this, with us, is strictly a religious ceremony, and one too, in which all unite in holy fellowship. The bishop, with his clergy and the principal laity of the church, which includes the whole of the legislative body ; the governor and his council, in which are included the bishop and principal clergy; and with the council, the ancient and honorable House of Keys, all forming one estate spiritual, and one estate temporal.”1
Notwithstanding the vaunted supremacy of the Manks church, it appears, by the records of the Island, to have been always under the complete control of the lord superior. All disputes between the clergy and laity were “ chancelarised, decided, and settled” according to his pleasure.2 This is called the Lord's Prerogative Royal.3 All fines and forfeited bonds in the spiritual courts, fall to the lord, such being his prerogative ; and all persons excommunicated by the church were formerly delivered over to him, body and goods*
So early as the year 1422, when the church of Rome was at the zenith of its power, the Bishop of Man was not permitted by the Lord of the Isle, to “ receipt” any stranger or other person into his house, without giving notice to the governor. Nor was he allowed to employ
1 Ancient Records, by Ward, p. 76.
2 Lex Scripta, pp. 119—122.
8 Sacheverell’s Account of the Isle of Man, p. 86.
4 Lex Scripta, p. 59.	•
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permanently any monk or priest, without a license from the lord for that purpose.' Neither was he at liberty to carry more than five pounds out of the Island at one time;* nor to remain absent from his diocese more than four months in any year, on pain of forfeiting for the first offence, the full value of one half-year’s profit of his benefice ; and for the second offence, the full value of a whole year’s profit of said benefice; such forfeitures to be applied by the governor and council in such manner as the lord may direct.3 But the bishop holding the stirrup of the king’s saddle, while he mounted his horse at the Tynwald Hill, was the most decided mark of the submission of the church to the secular power.
So well was Bishop Wilson aware of the superiority of the civil power, over that possessed by himself, that he did not consider the ecclesiastical constitutions, approved at the convocation of the clergy, at Bishop’s Court, in Feb. 1703, binding on his people, till sanctioned by the governor and Keys, and allowed by the lord superior to be proclaimed as law, in the ordinary manner, on the Tynwald Hill.4	,
It is asserted by Bishop Ward, that “ the temporal and spiritual estates of the Isle of Man, hare ever held together in perfcet unify.5” It seems to have escaped the venerable prelate’s memory, that one of the most distinguished of his predecessors in the see of Man, with his two vicars-general, were, by order of the governor of the Island, cast into the common jail of the Castle of B.ushen ; and that the bishop excommunicated the governor’s wife, and committed one of the members of his council to the ecclesiastical dungeon in Peel Castle.®
1	Lex Scripta, p. 26.
2	MS. Statute Book, p. 12.
3	Lex Scripta, pp. 180, 181.	.
4	Ward’8 Ancient Records, p. 65.
6	Ibid, p. 75.
6	Bullock’s History of the Isle of Man, pp. 106, 170, 171.
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There was more vanity displayed by the Manks prelates, formerly, than was compatible with the tenets of the Christian church. By one of the canons, enacted at Kirk Braddan, in 1291, the parish clerk was subjected to severe punishment, who did not cause the bells of the church under his charge to be rung in honour of the bishop, at whatever time he might happen to pass that way;1 nor was it till after the death of Bishop Wilson, that the degrading homage of approaching the bishop on the knee, was discontinued.
An act to prevent clandestine marriages, was passed by the insular government, in 1757, which confirmed and continued to the bishop and his successors, the ancient “ right of granting special licenses to marry at any convenient time or place,”2 a power possessed in England, only by the Archbishop of Canterbury.3
The Archdeacon is the second spiritual officer in the Island, and has in all inferior cases alternate jurisdiction with the bishop. He holds his court either in person or by his official deputy.
The vicars-general hold a court every Friday; the consistorial court is held on the last Thursday of every month; and the clergy are annually assembled in convocation at Bishop’s Court. The sumners execute the decrees of the spiritual court.
The ecclesiastical judges formerly possessed great power over the person of the subject. For a slight offence any one might be confined in the ecclesiastical prison (which was a subterraneous dungeon in Peel Castle already described), until a jury of six men was empan-nelled, to examine if he should be delivered to the civil power for further trial and punishment. In the year 1737, the power of the clergy was so much diminished
1 Dugdale'8 Monasticon, ap. Ward's Ancient Records, p, 138.
* Lex Scripta, p. 371.
8 Ward's Ancient Records, p. 118,
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that they could no longer imprison, except in a very few cases, and in these only for a very short space. Imprisonment for contempt of court was no longer discretionary?
The spiritual judges take cognizance of marriages, probates of wills,* granting letters of administration and tuition of children’s goods, and that, in many instances, in a way quite peculiar to the Island. Prior to the year 1757, persons of every age might intermarry without either license or publication of bands; even the prohibited degree of affinity was never prohibited by any act of Tynwald ; and at the present time no legal disabilities exist? In latter times, no person can marry till he has received the sacrament, without leave from the ordinary? An alien is not permitted to marry till he has been three months in the Island. If a native marry a couple contrary to law, he is thereby subject to transportation for fourteen years; but “ if such person be an alien, foreigner, or stranger, and not of the ministry of this Isle, and convicted as aforesaid, such alien shall be publicly exposed with his ears nailed to a pillory, to be erected for that purpose at Castletown cross, there to remain for the space of one hour, when his ears are to be cut off, and remain on the pillory. The said offender to be returned to the prison of the Castle of Rushen, there to remain till he pay a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, at the pleasure of the governor, and abjuring this Isle.”5
It was an old spiritual law, “ That every man or wife which depart this life, upon the south side of this Isle, do stand in one effect, that is to say, the man to have one
1 Lex Scripta, pp. 59, 277 ; Woodie History, p. 268.
* “ It was ordered that the probate of every will should be perfected and effected within three months after the decease of the party; and the legacy bequeathed by the will, to be paid within fourteen days after, if within the Isle?'—Statute Book, page 32.
8 Wood’s History ofthe Isle of Man, p. 238.
4 Statute 1703.
4 Statute, anno 1757, ap, Lex Scripta, p. 372.
VOL. II.	C
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halfe, and the wife the other halfe, provided always, that the debts temporall be paid out of the whole, and the debts spiritual out of the part of the dead.” “ But in case there be issue, lawfully begotten, then if the man depart, all the goods moveable shall be divided into three parts, one part to the executors, another part to the dead, and the third part to the wife.” But on the north side, the wife hath the half,1 a boon conferred for assisting their husbands in the day of battle.’
A widow had one-half of her husband’s estate if she was his first wife; but if she was his second, she was only entitled by law to one-quarter of his estate of inheritance.
A marriage contracted between the parties within a year and a day of the birth of a child renders the child legitimate, if the character of the female is otherwise unimpeachable. Children arrive at the age of majority when they complete their fourteenth year, so far as relates to personal property; but must attain the age of twenty-one before they can enter into the possession of landed estates, or make any disposition of the same.
“ When a child cometh to the age of fourteen years and craveth restitution of his goods, the spiritual judges are to grant him a certificate from the spiritual register to the deemster, with directions to put the same into execution.”3
In the year 1603, a man and wife died and left two children under age; one was committed to the tuition of the father’s kindred, and the other to the relations of the mother; the former died, and it became a question of law
1 Lex Scripta, Douglas, 1819, pp. 51, 52. There was a law in Ireland, couched in equally curious terms:—“ We ought not to pass by what we find in an ancient Irish synod, concerning the rights of a dead body, in these words : Every dead body has a right to a cow, a horse, and a suit of clothes, and the furniture of his bed; nor can these be taken in satisfaction of other debts, because they are peculiar to his body.”—Ware's Antiquities of Ireland, Dublin, 1705, p. 153.
* See chap, iv, p. 84, a.d. 1098.
3 Customary Laws; Statute Book, pp. 31, 50, 58, 450.
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who should have the tuition of the latter; “ Whereupon the deemster and twenty-four keys, on a request from the lord bishop of the Isle, pronounced the law in that case, ‘ that the child surviving should be taken, with his goods, from the mother’s kindred and given to the father’s.’ ”‘
When a person dies insolvent, all his debts in the Island are to be paid in full, “ before strangers can receive any part of theirs, according to the rule and practice of this Isle, held in such cases.”*
Some of these laws have, however, been repealed. All property, except landed estates of inheritance, is possessed by the husband and wife in common; with this difference that the busband may bequeath his share of the property to whom he will; the wife, if she make a will, may leave the property only to her children by the present husband ; but if she have none, she cannot make a will. On the death of the husband, the widow enters upon her share of the property; on the death of the wife, if she has not made a will, the husband enters upon the whole.*
In ancient times, a singular method was adopted for establishing the proof of a demand for or against the estate of a person defunct. It was provided by a law of the spiritual court, that the person charging or denying the debt was obliged to visit the grave of the deceased at midnight, alongst with two witnesses, or as they were called in the statute book cumpurgators, where, stretching himself on the grave with his face towards heaven, and with an open bible on his breast, he emitted a solemn oath, as to the validity of his claim or otherwise, which, in the absence of more positive proof, was sustained by law. This custom was in force till the year 1609, when as
1	Seacar, 1603 ; Statute Book, folio 41.
* Statute, anno 1675 ; Spiritual Customary Law.
’ Statute, anno 1777 ; Lex Scripta, p. 424.
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it was held that “ the manner of swearing upon the graves of the dead with cnmpurgators is not fitting or christian-like,” it was ordained, “ that it should not be hereafter used; but that such controversies shall receive hearing, and be tried according to law by witness or otherwise; first in the spiritual court, within a twelve month and a day, and then in the temporal court as aforesaid.1
If any person found himself aggrieved by any censure in the spiritual court, he had the power of applying to the “ staff of government,” who might prohibit further proceedings in the ecclesiastical tribune, or to the Lord of the Isle, who might commission his officers to determine the same, even though it was a case of suspension or excommunication. And “ if any person, whatsoever, shall presume to make his appeal in any other cause than is before prescribed, from any spiritual court, by urging or preferring an appeal to the Archbishop of York, he is to be punished at the Tynwald court, and pay a fine to the Lord.” In the most ancient records, the Lord is styled the “ Immediate Metropolitan Chief of the Holy Church within the Island.”’
1 Lex Scripta, Douglas, 1819, page 91. This singular custom was of Scandinavian origin. The Cnmpurgators were not supposed to have any knowledge of the affair in question, but they were simply to swear, they were persuaded the accused spoke true.—Mallet'9 Northern Antiquities, vol. i, cap. viii. See also Camden** Britannia, edit. 1795, p. 1066.
8 Statute, anno 1541; MS. Statute Booh, p. 130 ; Spiritual Men; SachevereWs Account qf the Isle of Man, p. 86.
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APPENDIX.—Chapter XIII.
NOTE I.-Pagb 3.
DEODANDS.
The forfeitures to the lord proprietors, called deodands, are so singular, that I will here make an exact copy of them from the Statute Book :—
“ If an ox, bull, cow, horse, or any other beast whatever, shall kill or be the immediate cause of the death of a man, woman, or child, that beast, although the same belonged to any baron’s tenant, or to the baron himself, doth fall, and become proper and due to the lord proprietor.
“ And if a horse should throw the rider off, so that the man die thereby, what> ever furniture the horse had on him, as saddle, bridle, and the like, is to be forfeited to the lord, as well as the horse himself.
“ And if any person be riding a horse through a river, and happen to be drowned, if it may be discovered, that it was rather in the weakness of the horse not being able to carry his rider, than by the greatness of the flood, the horse is to be reputed a deo-dand, and to be forfeited to the lord.
** Also, if a man go from his own house to any dangerous place or hough, to look for his stock, as sheep or the like, and he meet an accident in the hough, the stock or goods that he went to look for there, fall as deodand to the lord, because they were the cause of that accident.”—MS, Statute Book, * Deodands Customary Law/ 37 Acts of 1561, 1570, 1600. From these early enactments, all flowing from the Salic .Law, the origin of deodands, well known in the Manks law, may be clearly seen.— Monteequieu’e Spirit qf Lowe, b. xxx, c. xx; Murphy* e Note* to Tacitue, page 230.
NOTE II.—Pagb 8.
CORPSE-PRESENTS.
44 Thie Indenture, made the last day of July, a.d. 1532, between the Right Rev. Father in God, John, Bishop of Sodorensis and the Isle of Man, and all the clergie and spiritualitie of the said Isle, on the one part; and William Stevenson and M’Gawne, of the sheading of Rushen; Rowland Cross and Bartholomew Stevenson, of the sheading of Glenfaba; William Moore and John M’Cleare, of the middle sheading; Wm. M’Fayle and Gilbert Corrin, of K. Michael sheading; Wm. M’Urwyn and James Rent of the Garffe; Huan M’Christian and Marek M’Christian, of the Ayre,
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on the other part; Witnesseth, That whereat variance and discord hath arisen between the said bishop and clergy, and the persons abovesaid, and all other—the temporal inhabitants of the said Isle and commonalitie, for, when taking of mortuaries was called, in the said Isle, corse-presents, and other exactions and wrongs which the said commonalitie alledgeth, the said spiritualitie did unto them :—for the appeasing and ordering of the said controversie and variance, the Right Hon. Edward Earl of Derby, soveraigne and liege lord of the same Isle, by his writing of commission, nnder the seal of Man, dated at Manour, of Colham, the xxvi of June last past, assigned, appointed, and authorized Thomas Sherbourne, Esq., lieutenant of the said Isle; Thurston Tyldesley, Esq., his receiver-general; Morgan Jones, his auditor ; John Fleming, captain of Man ; Thomas Tyldesley, water-bailiff; John Gardener, comptroller of Man; Edward Corchill, one of the deemsters of Man; Robert Calcoats, receiver of the Castle of Man; Piers Anderson, receiver of the Peel in Man ; to be his commissioners for the hearing, ordering, and reforming the premises according to equity and justice. By force of which commission, upon summons and warning given by the said commissioners to the said parties, the aforesaid bishop, and Thomas, Abbot of Rushen, with divers others, the clergie of the same Isle, and all other persons above named, of the other party, and a great multitude of the said Isle, appeared in their proper persons, before the said commissioners, at the chapel, in the town of Rushen, the 24th of July last past, at which time it was alledged (by the said bishop, abbot, and clergie) that if any person, whether it be man or woman, wife or child, dwelling in the same Isle, have goods at his or their deaths, shall pay to the clergie the value of 20s., besides all debts, which are called free goods ; and, having power, by the custom of the said Isle, to make a will of the said goods, that the executor or administrator of every such person shall pay to the church, for the corse-present of every person so deceased, the best beef or horse that he or she had, or else 6s. in money, at the election of the said executor or administrator, and shall pay to the corse-present, such of the best cloaths or apparel of the person deceased as the church have used to take, or else 3s. 4d. in money, at the election of the said church and clergie.
44 Moreover, the said clergy alledge, That they had taken and ought to have, of right and custome, qf every person brewing any ale, in recompense qf the tithe thereof, certain pottles of ale.
44 Alsoe, the said clergy alledge, That they ought to have certain money qf such marriage goods as is given to any man with his wife at their marriage, in recompense of the tithe thereof. And over this, the said bishop alledgeth, That he and his successors ought to have, for the probation of every testament, 2s. 8d. rebating thereof; for every poor person’s testament, a parcel of his own good will and discretion.
44 Alsoe, the other party, and all the commonalitie abovesaid, (that was specified) said that the church ought to have, by the old custome for corbes (for every person as is above named), 6s. 6d., and no more. And, alsoe, they deemed that the church ought not to have such pottles of ale, or any money for the marriage goods, as is above rehearsed. Moreover, the said commonalitie deemed that the bishop ought to have no more than 6d. for the probation of any testament; and for a poor man’s testament, no more but a penny or twopence. And in all variances and controversies abovesaid, the parties above rehearsed, (for the avoiding of all ambiguities and doubts) before a final unity be had amongst them, by means of the said commissioners, to be agreed and constituted for them and their successors for ever, and either of the said parties conditioneth and agreeth, in such manner and form as hereafter ensueth:—
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“ Pint, the executors and administrators of such person as hereafter shall depart, having free goods the value of 20s., shall pay to the church, for mortuaries, 8s., in full recompense of all the said mortuaries, corse-presents, and cloathes and apparel, (and no more) within a fortnight after the burial of the said party so deceased.
“ It is/urMer agreed, That the executors and administrators of every such person, when they shall pay the sum of 8s. for the mortuaries and corse-presents, shall pay to the bishop, for the time being, for the insinuation and probation of the testament of the person so deceased, and for all manner of things touching the same, within the space of one fortnight, Is., and no more.
“Alsoe, it is agreed, “ That if any person departed, having houseing goods under the value of 20s., free goods, the old custom has been, that the church hath had (in recompense of the corse-present of the same person) the first part of the same goods; to which custom both parties agree to stand for ever. And, as touching the probation of the testament of such persons, and for all manner of charges the same concerning, the same parties be now agreed, That the bishop shall have (for probate and other charges for every such testament) 4d., except it please the bishop, of his own free will to take less.
“ And, furthermore, the said parties are agreed that, from henceforth, the bishop is not to have any recompense for brewing ale, nor any tithe for any such marriage goods as is above named.
“ And it is said and agreed, That the church and clergy shall take for their corsepresent, and other, the premises of some men which is now deceased, whereof no agreement nor recompense heretofore had or made for the same after the rate of this agreement, and none otherwise. Alsoe, it is agreed, That the commonalitie shall reasonably agree with the priest or clerk, doing divine service at burials or weddings, or else to have or recompense them for their labour and diligence according to the old custom used in the said Isle.
“ In witness whereof, the said parties to this present indenture of agreement have interchangeable put their hands and seals; and in proof of the abbot and some others of the clergy whose names be hereafter subscribed, and alsoe the said commissioners were present and hereto agreeable, every one of them hath written with their proper hands their own names.*’—Townley, vol. ii, p. 256.
These ecclesiastical heriots were, from the circumstance of their being carried to the church along with the corpse, called mortuaries or corpse-presents. The custom arose from posthumous bequests being rendered in lieu of neglected tithes. These, by frequent usage, in course of time, were converted into regular church dues, and in both England and Scotland, bore the same name as in the Isle of Man.
When a heriot was accepted by a feudal lord, in satisfaction of the right which he claimed to the property of a deceased tenant, by virtue of the dominion assumed over his person, the clergy were also willing to accept a similar compensation in requital of the demands which they had upon his soul for undischarged oblations. Hence a mortuary was termed in the laws of Canute, Soul Scot, or symbolum animae. Owing perhaps to the very rich endowments of the ecclesiastical establishments of England, by which they were rendered less dependant on casual bequests, these mortuaries were never collected so rigorously in the Isle of Man as in Scotland, as appears by the following extract from the ancient poem of the Monarchy, by Sir David Lindsay, of the Mount, edition 1776, p. Ill:—
“ And eke the vicar, as I trow, He will not fail to take a cow And upmost cloth, though babes them ban, From a poor silly husband-man.
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When that he lieth for to die. Having small children, two or three. That hath three kine, withoutten ma, The vicar must have one of tha, With the grey clokethat haps the bed, Albeit that he be poorly clad ;
And if his wife die on the morn, Though all the babes should be forlorn, The other cow he cleeks away, With the poor coat of raplock grey j And if, within twa years or three, The eldest child happen to die, Of the third cow he will be sure, When he them all hath under cure;
And father and mother both are dead, Beg must the babes without remead: They hold the corpse at the kirk style. And then it must remain a while, Till they get sufficient surety For their church right and duty. Then comes to the landlord, perforce, And decks to him an hired horse.
Poor labourers! would these laws were down, Which never founded was by reason I heard them say under confession, That law was brother to oppression.**
NOTE III.—Pagb 11.
FUNERAL SERVICE.
Townley, in his usual strain of sarcasm against the clergy, gives this account of the funeral service, as performed at the interment of a young man who was drowned on the coast:—
“ The burial service should have been read by the minister of the place of interment, but I am certain if the great apostle of the Gentiles had been there, he would have disclaimed having any concern with the burial service that was galloped over upon that melancholy occasion ; and good King David must have been in high wrath with the horrid mutilation of two such noble psalms as make a part of the service. Moses, the clerk, had a strong clear voice, * and would have made something of it/ as Sterne says, but his master mumbled it over in shameful haste, to the tune of titup-a-titup-a-tee.”—Journal in the Isle qf Man, vol. i, p. 220.
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CHAPTER XIV.
ECCLESIASTICAL ANTIQUITIES.
Temples appropriated to Religious Worship—Cursory view of the Cairns, Altars, and Druidical Circles in the Island—Druidical Stones decorated with Symbols of Christianity—Crosses set up at an early period as Land Marks—Battle, Market, Begging, Weeping, and Monumental Crosses described—Runic Inscriptions—Girth Cross— Consecrated Wells—St. Maughold's Spring—Old Chapels—Cronk-na-Keilan—The Treen Places—St. Mary, St. Trinian, St. Patrick, and St. Germains Churches in Holm Peel—The Nunnery—Chapel of Rushen—Friary of Bowmaken—Abbey of Rushen—Privileges of the Monks—Eminent Persons interred in the Abbey of Rushen— Image Tombs—Rushen the last Monastery dissolved by Henry VIII. —.Account of the Episcopal Palace.
In ages far remote from our times, temples for acts of religion were erected which continue to command the admiration of each succeeding generation. The cairn altars and circles of the Druids were, in some instances, formed of such large blocks of stone, as to leave it doubtful by what means human ingenuity and ability, although aided by the mechanical power of the lever and the screw, could have moved such weighty rocks to the situations to which they were destined.
The Orkneys and the ancient kingdom of the Isles, abound with such rude monuments of antiquity. The Thrushel stone of Lewis,* and the Dwarfy stone of Hoy are both remarkable for their magnitude?
1	“ The Thrushel stone in the Isle of Lewis, supposed to have formed the altar of a Druidical circle, is twenty feet high, and nearly as much in breadth/'—Tolands History of the Druids, p. 85.
2	4 4 The Dwarfy stone in Hoy, one of the Orkney Isles, is thirty-six feet long, and eighteen feet broad. It is scooped by human art, having a door two feet square, with a stone of the same dimensions, intended no doubt to close the entrance when
vol. n.	D
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HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
The remains of Druidical circles in the Isle of Man are very numerous, but they are of inferior dimensions to many in the Western Isles, where the people generally believe them to be men transformed into stones, by the magic of the Druids. The temple of Classerniss, in the Island of Lewis, is the largest in the Ebudse.*
The stone circles in the Isle of Man are generally situated in places difficult of access. That on the brow of the hill of Ballown is, however, an exception from this observation. The stones forming this temple, called in Gaelic clachan,' are large, irregularly shaped masses of white quartz, and enclose an area of about thirty feet diameter; on the eastern side of the circle are placed, in advance, two large stones like the pillars of a portal. The clachsleachda, an immense table of granite stood formerly in the centre of this temple, but it was removed by a late proprietor? A little to the south of the temple is a mound one hundred feet in diameter, which had probably some connection with the circle.
A small circle, apparently Druidical, stands perched in a recess on the margin of the precipitous cliffs at Spanish Head, which are upwards of two hundred feet in perpendicular height above the surface of the water; it is close
required. Within, there is cut out the form of a bed capable of holding two persons, with a pillow; and at the opposite end, there is a couch, very neatly done; above, at an equal distance from the bed and from the couch, is a round hole, which is supposed to have been designed, when the door was shut, for letting in light and air, and for letting out smoke from the fire, for which there is a place made between the two beds. The tradition of the vulgar is, that a giant and his wife had this stone for their habitation.”—Toland, p. 116.
♦ Appendix, Note i, “ Druidical Circles.”
1	The word clachan literally signifies * stones/ and is still the Gaelic term for * a place of worship.’
2	“ Near the centre of these circles, were stones of an immense size, as a kind of altar, called clachsleachda. When stones of striking dimensions could not be found, they took a large oblong flag and supported it with pillars. On these altars, were first offered cakes of flour, milk, eggs, herbs, and simples; afterwards, noxious animals, as the bear, boar, or wolf, and finally, human victims.”—See Introduction io Ramsay’t Genite Shepherd, Edinburgh, 1808, vol. ii, p. 482.
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to the tremendous chasms which split the face of that
promontory.
Another of these ancient circles stands on the top of a cultivated hill in Kirk Maughold parish, which is bounded on the north-east by the mountain torrents of Ballaglass and Conray, being one of the most primitive districts in the Island. The circle is composed of massive stones about ten yards in diameter. The natives call it Castle Corry, or according to the accentuation of their language, Castle Chorry. Orry, whose name it seems to bear, was king of Man in the tenth century. The natives associate with his reign the origin of their laws, and the commencement of many of their civil ceremonies.1
Glen Darragh.
On the northern extremity of the hill of Mount Murray, stands one of the most perfect specimens of Druidical remains to be met with in the Island The stones which
form the circle are not large, but they are placed perpendicularly, at regular distances, and seem to occupy the places in which they were originally fixed, forming a cir-
cle of forty feet in diameter. A stream of water ran on each side of the temple, issuing from two fountains farther up the hill, which were held sacred by the Druids. To the east of the enclosure are two walls or mounds, con-
structed of stones and earth, bending round the temple, forming a semicircle, about fifteen feet distant from each
1 MS. in the library of the Society of Scottish Antiquaries, Edinburgh, communicated by Dr. Oswald, of Douglas, Isle of Man, a zealous and ingenious antiquary, to whose kindness I am indebted for information on several points of Manks antiquities.
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other. The name of this vale indicates that the oak once surrounded this temple,—Glen Darragh, in Manks, signifying the ‘ Vale of Oaks.’
A dilapidated cairn and Druidical circle called Gritch-veg, may be traced on the hill north-east of the village of Laxey, in the former of which were found the remains of a kistvaen. Another small circle may he seen at Balla-kelly, adjoining Oatland, in the parish of Kirk Santon.
When the religion of the Druids had fallen, an idea of peculiar sanctity was attached to crosses set up in public places. They owed their origin to having been marked on the Druid stones, in order to change the religion without breaking the prejudice.* These ancient emblems of Christianity were very numerous in the Western Isles. In Iona, 360 crosses2 were destroyed under the act of convention, passed in 1561, by an order from the synod of Argyle.3 Many fine specimens of monumental pillars were thus broken to pieces, and not a few carried away. That erected to the memory of many heroes of the family of MaAgyUechomghan became the market cross of Inverary, and now decks the principal entry to the demesne of Inverary Castle. Maclean’s cross in Iona, is now the only one there remarked by travellers4 which escaped the general destruction, and which may, perhaps, have owed
1 Toland's History of the Druids, London, 1726, p. 85.
* Description of lonm MS. 1693, in the Advocates' Library; Pennant's Tow, a.d. 1769; M1 Lean's Iona, p. 11; Macculloch's Highlands and Western Isles, London, 1824, vol. iv, p. 160. The extraordinary number of these crosses may be thus accounted for:—“ The graves and sepulchres of our noblemen had commonlie as many obelisks and spires pitched about them, as the deceased had killed eucauea before time in the field.”—Hollinshead's Chronicles of Scotland, cap. xiii.
3 This act of the Scottish parliament was as follows :—“ That none go in pilgrimage to kirks, chapels, crosses, wells, or the like; keep saints* days, sing gar-rales, or observe any other superstitious papistical rites, under the pain of an hundred pounds, the landed man ; an hundred merks, the unlanded man ; and forty pounds, the yeoman; and the offenders not responsible, to be imprisoned for the first fault, and for the second, that the offenders be punished with death, as idolaters.”—/asset VI, part vii, cap. civ, p. 445.
4 Pennant's Tour, 1769; WLean's Iona,
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its preservation to the principal lands of the monastery having fallen into the hands of Maclean, of Duart, at the reformation.
Iona contained the mortal remains of so many saints, kings, and warriors, that it was called the Rome of Scotland. In the time of popery, monumental and religious crosses accumulated there to a far greater extent than was to be found in the Isle of Man, although fewer escaped the destroying hands of the reformers of the seventeenth century.
Soon after the introduction of Christianity, crosses were set up as land marks.1 The sacred emblem of the cross was assumed in the hope that no person, for conscience’s sake, would remove it. The cross of Ivar, that stood near Ballasalla, on the line dividing the king’s lands from those belonging to the monastery of Rushen, was one of this description.* In like manner, people who could not write were required to make the sign of the cross, which was considered like calling Jesus to witness the truth of the transaction.’ The cannon on the third wall of the rampart of Castle Rushen, were, also, for some such superstitious purpose, planted on stone crosses.4 There having been a cross erected at Ballachross, in the parish of Arbory, it evidently derives its name from this circumstance; from the number of warlike weapons found in that neighbourhood, it is supposed to have been erected in commemoration of some great battle fought there, the account of which has been lost in the lapse of time.
1 Britton’s Antiquities of England.
* There landmarks seem to have been set up and much relied on in the north of Europe, at an early period ; perhaps the Manks imitated their invaders, in setting up such stones. “ These are high stones set up, directing the boundaries of provinces, governments, and communities, to continue every man in peace, without laws, suits, and arbitration, giving an example to other nations that there is more right to be found in these stones than elsewhere in great volumes of laws.”—History qf the Goths, Swedes, and Vandals, by Olaus Magnus, London, 1658, p. 12.
* Brand’s Observations on Barnes’s Antiquities, Newcastle edition, 1777, Appendix, cap. xxxi.
♦ JFoMros, p. KM.
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Another of a similar description was erected at Tingualla, (Tynwald) where the brothers Dufgald and Mormor fell in combat, in the year 1238; but this has long since disappeared?
In almost every town that had an abbey or other religious endowment in it, one of these crosses was set up in the market place, as a monitor of truth and honesty, and a guide to upright dealing. These market crosses varied from a slender shaft to large and very ornamental buildings. That of Castletown, stood in the market place, exactly under the portico of St. Mary’s Chapel?
Crosses were likewise placed on the highways usually leading to the parish church, where religious processions or funerals had to pass. One of this description was lately to be seen at Port-le-Vullin, on the way-side leading from Ramsey to St. Maughold, and another near Port Erin, in the parish of Rushen. The corpse, in conveyance to the church yard, was usually set down at these stones, that all the people attending might have an opportunity of praying for the soul of the deceased? Mendicants stationed themselves there to beg alms for Christ’s sake, whence the ancient proverb, “ He begs like a cripple at a cross.”
In the midst of a small square court, behind the chapel of the Nunnery, in the neighbourhood of Douglas, on a pyramid of reddish stone, formerly stood a cross, which, I suppose from the great flow of tears shed there by the nuns, when at their devotions, was called the weeping cross.*
A cross was always placed near the entrance of a parish
1	Camden^s Britanniat article * Isle of Man.’
* Oswald, p. 89.
3	In “ Articles to be enquired of within the Archdeaconry of Yorke, by the churchwardens and sworn men, a.d. 163—/’ (any year till 1640), I find the following:— “ Whether, at the death of any, there be praying for the dead at crosses, or places where crosses have been, in the way of the church.”—Ellie'a Antiquities edition 1841, vol. ii, p. 156.
4	Waldront p. 150.
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church, round which the Mauks usually carried the corpse thrice before entering the church.1 These crosses were for the purpose of inspiring holy recollections,4 and for the purpose of devotion, particularly on Good Friday.3
Under the direction of the late Duke of Atholl, many runic stones were shipped for Scotland, which may, perhaps, account for many of the crosses mentioned by Waldron, being now nowhere to be found.
In Bishop Wilson’s days, the Island is said to have presented more ancient monuments and runic stones than any other country.4 Toland, the celebrated historian of the Druids, aware of this fact, announced in a letter to Lord Molesworth, dated July 1718, his intention “of visiting the Isle of Man, for the purpose of examining all the ancient remains.”5 Had this learned antiquary lived to accomplish his design, much historical information might probably have been rescued from oblivion, now lost for ever.* In the year 1789, professor Torkelin, by order of the King of Denmark, visited the Island, in search of Scandinavian antiquities; but he only remained two days, when he translated a few of the runic inscriptions.®
1	Waldron, p. 170.
2	Forlocke’s Encyclopedia of Antiquities.
8	The old Popish ceremony of “creepinge to the crosse” on Good Friday, is given from an ancient book of the ceremonial of the Kings of England, in the Notes to the Northumberland Household Book. The usher was to lay a carpet for the King to “ creepe to the crosse upon.’* The Queen and the ladies were also to creepe to the crosse. In an original proclamation, black letter, dated 26th February, 30th Henry VIII, in the first volume of a collection of proclamations, in the Archives of the Society of Antiquaries of London, p. 138, we read:—“ On Good Friday, it shall be declared howe creepinge of the crosse signyfyeth an humblynge of ourself to Christe before the crosse, and the kyssynge of it a memory of our redemption made upon the crosse.” See, also, Bonner’s Injunctions, a.d. 1555, 4to, signature A 2, in 4 short Description of Antichrist, fyc.; see Herbert, p. 1579, the author quotes the Popish custom of “ creepinge to the crosse with egges and apples.” “ Dispel-inge with a white rodde,” immediately follows ; though I know not whether it was upon the same day. ” To holde forth the crosse for egges on Good Friday,” occurs among the Roman Catholic customs censured by John Bale.
4	Waldron, ap. Camden.
6	Toland’s History of the Druids.
* Appendix, Note ii, “ Runic Monuments.”
* Feltham, p. 61.
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In the summer of 1839, Mr. William Bally, of King Street, Manchester, visited the Isle of Man, and took casts, in plaster of Paris, of all the runes in the Island. From these casts, accurate readings have been obligingly made for this work, by the learned John Just, Esq., of Chesham Green, Bury, Lancashire, which will be afterwards given.
At the entrance of Kirk Braddan church yard, on the edge of a stone forming a stile,1 is a runic inscription, thus read and translated by Mr. Beauford:—
“ DURLIFR NSACI RISTI KRUS DONO AFTFIAC SUNFIN frudur sun safrsag. For Admiral Durlif this cross is erected, by the son of his brother (the son of) Safrsag." Dr. Hibbert thinks this translation by no means clear, nor can a satisfactory explanation be given of it. It seems to have been equally obscure upwards of a hundred years ago, when copied for Gibson's Camden, where it is given p. 1458. It is probably erroneously copied, owing to the stone being damaged or worn.* According to Mr. Just, this translation appears to be not quite correct.
^a Of the monuments in Kirk Braddan church-yard, he thus writes from Guy Hill, Tatham, Lancashire, 7th January, 1843: Ji® —a ^n ^e cen^re °f the church yard, ’ S ^r’ Bally found an upright stone cross, its k H base, a sort of tomb-like erection, and so ma<^e that the flat stones at the foot of ^e cross’ form a seat, which is frequently, ' , M- particularly in the summer season, occupied as such. This cross is 58} inches in height—he took a full cast
Ancient Monument.	O
1 There is an engraving of this stone in the Archalogia Scotica, printed 1822, part 2nd.
* Gough'a Camden, vol. iv, p. 510; Tranaactiona qf the Society qf Antiquariea of Scotland, vol. ii, part ii, edition 1831, p. 492.
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of it. After carefully cleaning and washing the lime and dust out of the indentations of this stone, the inscription was found to be as follows :—
MRtHfcra^ftZffiWMr:
THURLIOR : NIAKI : RASTI: KRUS : THONO : AFT : FIAK :
WMKOP:DR:W:MRf^ sini : aruth : ur : sun : iaors. x Thurlior Niaki raised this cross for his-Aruth ur, son
of Jaor.”
Fiak or Fiag seems to be some relative term, the meaning of which, at present, I do not know. Aruth : ur : seems to be intended for one word; the deep cutting of the stone, however, shows the division plainly; or ur may be an epithet. Two sculptured fragments were found at the base of the pedestal of this cross, bearing the following inscriptions:—
fRTOinAIMM-WrB
OROSKITIL : UILTI *. I : TUKKU :
On another part—'IIWMRWMK
AITHSOARA : SOIN :
“ Outside of the church, at the foot of the steeple, attached to the wall, and resting upon an uninscribed stone sunk in the earth, is a large circular shield which has no runes, but is ornamented with various devices. It is thirty-eight inches in diameter at the broadest part, and thirty-seven at the narrowest.”
There is, also, an erect stone, about
four feet high, at Kirk Andreas, with an ornamented cross on each side, surrounded by various animals and devices, on one edge of which is a runic inscription, thus deciphered by Mr. Beauford:
SONA. ULF. SUI. SVAUDTI. RAISTI. CRUS. DONO. AFTIRARIN,
FINIUE. CUNNA. SINA J
VOL. II.
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34	HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
which he thus translates:
The son of Ulf, of the Swedes, erected this cross to ths warrior Aftirarin, the son of Cunna.
In Gough's edition of Camden's Britannia, plate No. 7, the inscription on this stone is given:—
“ Sontulf the Black engraved this stone to the memory of Arin Oiniuf, his wife."
It is also in Gibson's edition of Camden, plate 4, p. 1458.
The reading and translation on this cross, according to Mr. Just, is as follows:— sont : ulf : ein : suarti : raisti : krus : thona : aftir: arno : oniurk : kuinu : sini.
Sont Ulf the Black raised this cross for Arno Oniurk, his wife.
The same gentleman thus gives the reading of a cross in the middle of the green of Kirk Andreas, where the villagers sport, and against which the cows rub themselves. The latter part of it is very obscure: thina: if: ufaik: fauthur: sin: in: kautr: kirthi: iunr: aurnar: fuoakuli:
Mr. Bally took casts of several runes on fragments of stones, found in the walls of the old church at Kirk Michael, which had been removed into the school-house for preservation. Mr. Just has given the following readings and translations upon three of them.
“No. 1 is beautifully cut and clear, but only a fragment: itra : es : laifa : fustra : kuthan : than : son : ilan * Abroad is left the good foster mother *	*	* The
terminating words not intelligible. The runes are of a different character, and the dialect different.1
“ No. 2 is an inscription on a slate stone, with the lamina peeled off, and therefore very obscure:
mal: lumkun: raisti: krus: thana : eftir: mal: muru:
1 Thu fragment is in plate No. 6, in Gough’t edition of Camden, and plate No. 1 m Vitnn’t edition, p. 1458.
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fustra: sini : kota: raufkars : kona: is: athisi: ati h Mal Lumkun raised this cross for Mal Muru, his foster mother; Goda, wife of Raufkar * * The remaining part is not clear.
“No. 3. Mail: orikti: sunr: athakans: smith: raisti:
KRUS : THANO : FUR : SALU : SINA : SIN : 0RUKUIN.
GIART )
KIAUT \
+ kirthi: thano: auk. On the other side, ati: imaun+ Mail Orikti, son of Athakan the smith, raised this cross for his soul. After Orukvin made
.I • house 1	*
this >and * • * garth )
* The word giart is con-
jectural, V being both k and g, and R being almost indis-
tinguishable from ^. The word, however, occurs fre-
quently in other runes, before ‘ kirthi’ or ‘ garthi.’— The end is obscure.”
Opposite the entrance to Kirk Michael church-yard, there stands upright, forming the centre of a horse block, a piece of clay slate nearly eight feet high, eighteen inches wide, and between four and five inches thick.1 On the side farthest from the church, a cross is engraved, the length of which extends to nearly t]iat of the whole stone. On each side are various devices of horses and riders, and of stags being seized with dogs. The other side, more defaced, is somewhat different, but partakes of the same character. On the top of the cross, is the effigy of a warrior, with beard, spear, and shield, astride upon a battle axe. On the right hand edge, are some runes which, according to Sir John Prestwich’s reading, stand thus:— JUALFTR : ! UJNR : THURULF ! : EJN ! : RAUTHA : RI I kru!: thono: aft: frithu: duthur:! jao. His translation is, “ Walter, son of Thurulf, a knight right valiant, Lord of Frithu. The Father, Jesus Christ''
1 There is an engraving of this stone in the Archalogia Scotica, printed 1822, part 2.
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Mr. Beauford renders it, “ .For the sins of Ivalfar, the son of Dural, this cross was erected by his mother Aflride.”
According to Professor Torkelin, it is, “ Thulson carved (or erected) this monumental crossover Fridu, his mother.”
Referring to Sir John Prestwich and Mr. Beauford’s translations, as above, Mr. Just says, “I am of opinion that both of them are inaccurate, which I conceive to have arisen partly through incorrectly decyphering the runic characters, and partly through ignorance of the language in which the inscription is written. The true reading I believe to be the following, having been carefully decyphered from the casts in Mr. Bally’s possession:— VOALFAR: sunr: thurulfs: eins: rauthA: rasit: KRUS: THONO: AFT: FRITHU : MUTHUR : sino : This is pure Norse of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and, literally translated, means, * Voalfir (or Joalfr), son of Thurulf the Red, raised this cross for Frithu, his mother.' With the exception of the first word, the runes on the cast are perfectly plain and legible.”
At the door of the church of St. Maughold is to be seen an admirable specimen of the Danish cross, sculptured on a large flat( stone. Near to the church gate stands a pillar, surmounted by a cross of very superior elegance and workmanship. The shaft of th'e column, including the capital, is about five feet in height, and the cross over it is fully three feet; the breadth of the lower part of which is nearly equal to the projection of the capital. One face of the cross is sculptured with a representation of the crucifixion, and the other with figures of the Virgin and child. Both of these bass reliefs are enclosed above with circular bands, resembling equilateral arches, with notches around them, seemingly meant for crockets, and each of the arches is ensigned with a figure apparently intended to represent a human heart. On the lower part of both faces of the cross is cut an
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escutcheon; that beneath the crucifixion bears the arms of the Isle of Man, viz. three legs armed, conjoined in the centre at the upper part of the thighs, and flexed in triangle. The other shield is charged with a rose or cinquefoil, cut within a circle. The sides or profiles of the cross are also ornamented
St. Maughold’s Cross.
with various carvings, but are much more wasted than those just noticed. On one of them is sculptured a male figure in a devotional attitude; above which is a small shield I charged with a form resembling a fegs wa-
vy ; and on another shield below the figure is a reticulated square, not unlike a heraldic portcullis. There are some other minute carvings on this side of the cross, but they are all so weather-worn as to render it impossible to say what objects they once represented. The other profile, besides two shields, one of which bears a large rose, and
the other, what appears to resemble a garb or sheaf of grain, has been ornamented with a running pattern of oak or other leaves, now almost entirely obliterated; but the drawing from which the vignette was cut having been taken in 1798, it was probably at that period a little more distinguishable. This ornament, notwithstanding
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HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
the traces of it still visible, has been moulded by the fancy of some into a representation of Maughold himself, and the kneeling figure has also been conjectured to be that of St. Bridget, the celebrated nun who came over from Ireland to receive the veil.1
The crockets surrounding the arches, together with the Manks arms, show that this interesting memorial is at least as late as the Scottish conquest, and that it is consequently not of Danish erection.
This was the only girth cross* in the Island, the precincts of the adjoining consecrated ground, having constituted the sanctuary. That these crosses were worshipped with a kind of idolatrous veneration, is scarcely to be doubted.
Besides the crosses yet retained on the consecrated precincts there are others scattered throughout the Island unappropriated; whilst others are used either as paving flags or stiles. With a few exceptions they are blocks of fibrous clay slate, in which the Island abounds. The emblem of Christianity is generally made by four holes being perforated through the stones at right, angles, and connected by two grooves crossing at the centre. It is supposed that these rude crosses respectively belonged to the old ruins called in the Manks language cMalyn, once so exceedingly numerous in all parts of the Island. One of these edifices, called Keeill Abbin, in Baldwin, parish of Braddan, retained its ancient cross till within a few years
1 This description of Maughold’s Cross is extracted from a communication, made at my request, by my highly valued friend, William Dobie, Esq., Grange Vale, Beith, Ayrshire, whose heraldic knowledge is extensively known.
8 The word girth, in Gaelic, signifies sanctuary. These crosses were first appointed in imitation of the cities of refuge, under the law, to which the man-slayer who had killed one unawares might flee for safety.—Numbers, xxxv, 15 ; Duet, iv, 41, and xix, 2. The first mention made of these girths is in the statutes of William the Lion, king of Scotland, and they continued in Scotland as well as in the Isle of Man till the Reformation in the seventeenth century. See Acts James III, Parliament v, cap. v, sec. xxxv. .
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since, when a chapel of ease, named St. Luke’s, was erected on its site; the other edifices are said to have been decorated in like manner.
The seeming neglect of so many remnants of high antiquity is occasioned by a superstitious feeling, that prevents most people removing them ;* even the fonts used by the Romanists remain on the ground to this day.— The veneration of the natives for such objects is very great in adherence to the ancient saying, Cloyh na kielagh ayns corneil dthy me; which is “ May a stone of the church be found in your dwelling.”
Crosses were formerly placed at the entrances of churches and church-yards to inspire holy recollections. Two or more are yet to be found at almost every parish church in the Isle of Man. They are generally made of stones found in the Island. The crosses are sometimes decorated with convoluted net work of carving, and rude representations of animals.1 Many are now lying in scattered fragments near the spot where they stood for ages, and where they might still have been standing, but for the destructive spirit of the Danish invaders; the few that have escaped their barbarous havoc, exist to this day nearly entire.
There is a cross in every church-yard; “ but I cannot forbear taking notice that there is not a church-yard in the Isle of Man that does not serve as a common to the parson’s cattle, all his horses, his cows, and his sheep graze there perpetually, so strangely is religion and rusticity mingled together in this Island.” 8f
In the Isle of Uist, the inhabitants formerly erected a water cross, which was a stone in the form of a cross, opposite to St. Mary’s Church, for procuring rain, and
* Appendix, Note iii, “ Attempt to remove the Cross at Ballafletcher.”
1 Whitaker thinks “ Crosses with scroll work are antecedent to Norman conquests/
* Waldron, page 171.
f Appendix, Note iv, “ Churchyards.”
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when enough of rain had fallen, they placed it flat on the ground. But in Martin’s time this practice had become obsolete?
Crosses were likewise erected in commemoration of battles? In the court behind the chapel of the Nunnery, in the neighbourhood of Douglas, stood a monument which I suppose to be of that description. It was different from all others found in the Island, being built of reddish stone in the form of a pyramid, and surmounted by a cross?
The sepulchral crosses now to be met with in the Isle of Man as well as in Scotland,* are of great antiquity. In the church-yard of Kirk Bride and in Kirk Michael village, there are two fine specimens of the Carrthabh or monumental cross. There was also a kind called weeping crosses, at which penances were finished. One of these stood at Kirk Braddan, and another at Kirk Maughold.
The veneration with which the pagan deities were regarded, having been transferred, along with their fanes and fountains, to Christian saints, sanctified and sanative wells became the resort of the pious pilgrim and the credulous invalid. Libations and devotions were, according to ancient practice, performed at these holy springs, which were supposed to be guarded by presiding powers, to whom offerings were left by the visitants.f There were formerly many wells in Scotland famous for the sanative virtues ascribed to them. Many a wonderful cure is said to have been effected by the water of the balm well of St. Kate-rine? The public statute of the year 1579, already quoted, prohibited pilgrimages to wells, as being a “ Papistical rite,” under certain heavy penalties?
1	See an engraving of this stone in Archalogia Scotica, Edinburgh, 1822, part ii.
2	Britton's Architect. Antiq. of England.
3	Waldron, p. 16.
♦ Appendix, Note v, 44 Monumental Crosses.”
t Appendix, Note vi, 44 Sanative Wells.”
4	Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. i, p. 324.
6	Act, James VI, Parliament vii, cap. civ.
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Such wells were formerly held in great estimation in the Isle of Man. Miraculous tales are yet related of that dedicated to St. Patrick, in Peel; hut the most celebrated in modern times for its medicinal virtues, is the fine spring which issues from the rocks of the hold promontory called Maughold Head, and which is dedicated to the saint of the same name, “ who, it appears, had blessed the well, and endued it with certain healing virtues, which it yet retains, and on that account it is still resorted to, as was the pool of Siloam of old, by every Manks invalid who believes in its efficacy. On the first Sunday of August, the natives, according to custom, still make a pilgrimage to drink of its waters; and it is held to be of the greatest importance to certain females to enjoy this beverage when seated in the saint’s chair, which the saint, for the accommodation of succeeding generations, placed immediately contiguous.”
The old chapels are principally interesting, as being the orfly index in existence of the condition of Christianity in the early ages. In themselves they are so small and miserable as only to attract the attention of the antiquary. In some parts of the Island, they are very numerous.1 In the low grounds of Marown, three or four may be pointed out in as many miles. Some of them are like barrows, having an excavation on the top, of which Cronk-na-Kielain, near Peel, is an example. Others appear to have been built of large stones and mud. For the most part, they are surrounded by an enclosed space of small dimensions, which, in all that have been discovered, contained bones in stone coffins regularly ranged from east to
1	Old chapels appear to have been very numerous throughout the Western Isles and even in Orkney. Dr. Wallace informs us 44 That beside the cathedral, there are thirty-one churches, all built in the olden times, and upwards of one hundred chapels in these Islands,’* (Wallace's Description of the Orcades, edition 1700, page 82) ; and thirty of these kinds of hermitages in the Isle of Bute, which are distinguished by the addition of K before the name of the place, as Lamont.”—Campbell's Political Survey, cap. viii, sec. iv.
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west.1 Some of these bones have been of an extraordinary size.’
The Cronk-na-Kielain, I would believe to be an example of the most ancient kind, were it not for the association of its name, and the mode of interment it exhibits. It is so like an ordinary barrow, that it could not be supposed to be the ruins of a Christian place of worship. The extent of the ground around it, containing graves, is an indication of its having been connected with a more numerous population than its size would warrant us to suppose. Its name occurs in an idiomatic expression of the natives. When intimating that “ there will be no service at church,” they say, “ there will be neither clag nor kielain,” i.e. “ there will be neither large nor little bell;"—kielain signifying a little bell, and clag a large or tolling bell.3 ,
It has been found that every treen of land, which is a kind of old baronial division, had one of these chapels in it; in which case their number must have exceeded a hundred. Although they are denominated chapels, I am fully of opinion that they were tombs where periodical masses were said for the dead, such as is described by the Dean of the Isles, who wrote his description of Iona, a.d. 1549: “ Within this Yle of Kilmkill, is an sanctuary or kirkyaird,
1 Oswald's MS., in the Antiquarian Library, Edinburgh.
2 Of this we have the following corroboration in Waldron:—l* Here, in justice to these poor people (of the Isle of Man), I must acquaint my reader, that however strange their tradition may seem of the Island being once inhabited by giants, my own eyes were witness to something that does not a little keep it in countenance: As they were digging a vault in Kirk Braddan church-yard, there was found the leg-bone of a man very near four feet in length from the ancle to the knee. Nothing but oc-cular demonstration could have convinced me of the truth of it; but the natives seemed little to regard it, having, as they said, frequently dug up bones of the same size. They told me that but a few months before my arrival (about 1710), there was found in Kirk Carbra church-yard, a human head of that monstrous circumference that a bushel would hardly cover it J!”—Waldron's Description of the Isle of Man, London, 1731, page 171.
• Transactions qf the Society qf Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. ii, part ii, p. 504, edition 1831.
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in whilk there are three tombes of staine formit like little chapels, with an braid grey marble or guhin stane in the gavill of ilk ane of the tombs,” Such buildings were likewise common in Norway?
I admit, however, that my conjecture of the ancient cabbals having been only tombs where mass was said for the dead, is not entirely free from controversy; as the names of many places in the Island would seemingly lead us to suppose that they were places of regular worship. There is in the parish of Kirk Germain, an estate called Ballakilworreg, a name evidently derived from a church there, which had been dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In the parish of Bride, there is Ballakilmean, and, also, Keill Vael, the former seemingly having been dedicated to St. Matthew the apostle, the latter to St. Michael the archangel, or to St. Mael, the disciple of St. Patrick. There was, likewise, a place called Keill Pharlane, the last word being the Manks for Bartholomew, the burying ground of which church was, in the course of the last century, totally swept away by the sea?
The ruins of other old chapels of great antiquity are yet to be seen in various parts of the bishopric of Man. In the little Isle of St. Michael, on the south side of Derbyhaven bay,3 stand the ruins of an old chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and supposed to have been the original
1 Referring to the same subject, Buchanan says, “There are in Icolumkill, three tombs more eminent than the rest, at a small distance one from another, having little shrines looking to the east, built over them.”—Hist, of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1762, vol. i, p. 36.
2 The Rev. Charles Radcliffe, in a MS. sketch of several of the cabbals of the Island, with which I have been favoured, and from which I have taken several extracts, says, u I wish any Manksman well acquainted with his native language, and who could give the names of places accurately, would be at the pains to procure a list of all the cabbals in the Island, with the situation and dimensions of each, we might thereby ascertain the number of persons the whole could contain, and, from that circumstance, form a conjectural estimate of the number of inhabitants in the Island at a very early period.
1 In Bleaurs Map of the Isle of Man, forming part of his Atlas published at Amsterdam, 1658, this Isle is called “ St. Mighill’s Island.”
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cathedral1 of the Island, where the early bishops were consecrated; but in the absence of all authentic documents, such conjectures are not to be relied on. Townley, who surveyed this ruin in 1789, says the chapel had more of the ancient rude style of building than any edifice he had seen in Mona’s bounds ; and the inside furniture gave him a stronger credence, consisting of an altar piled up with rude stones, in the form of a table ; and in the right corner, near to the ancient altar, a block of stone piled up in the same rude style, with four steps of advance, exactly resembling a common horse-block. He therefore believed it was either made for that purpose, or the place for the chief or first magistrate of the Island to receive his religious appointment or inauguration.2
St. Trinion’s Chapel.
In the parish of Marown, about mid-way between Douglas and Peel near the road side are the walls of another old chapel, dedicated to Saint Trillion or Tranion,who was
archbishop of the Picts, and ordained by St. Pallidus, a.d. 455.3 The architecture, although very rude, is somewhat after the Gothic style; each window forming an arch by
the meeting of two curved stones at the top.*
The old rule of building religious houses in a line with the point of the horizon where the sun rose on the day of the saint to which the place was dedicated, will be found,
1 Wood’s History of the Isle of Man, p. 137; Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. ii, part ii.
2 Townley’s Journal, vol. i, p. 187, Whitehaven, 1791.
3 Keith’s Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, p. 377.
* Appendix, Note vii, “The Buggane of St. Trinion.”
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on examination, to have been strictly attended to, as well in the case of St. Trinion’s, as in that of all others in the Isle of Man. This was the true cause why, in general, they did not'stand due east and west.1
“ Peel Castle,” says a former historian, “ is encompassed by four churches. Three of which, time has so much destroyed that there is little remaining beside the walls and some few tombs that have been erected with so much care as to perpetuate the memory of those buried in them till the final dissolution of all things.” “ Some of these churches,” continues the former author, “ were doubtless once the temples of Pagan deities, though since consecrated to the worship of the true divinity; and what confirms me more strongly in this conjecture is, that there is still a part of one remaining where stands a large stone directly in manner and form like the tripos, which, in the days of ignorance, the priests stood upon to deliver their fabulous oracles.”’
Waldron was, however, probably mistaken as to the exact number of old churches within the walls of Peel Castle, as the whole area is full of ruins of various buildings. Grose, who wrote his account of these remains of antiquity not more than sixty years afterwards, mentions only the ruins of two churches; the one dedicated to St. Patrick and the other dedicated to St. Germain.3
1 This seems to have been understood by Chauncy : “ One end of every church doth point to such place, where the sun did rise at the time the foundation was laid, which is the reason why all churches do not directly point to the east.”—Chauncy'9 Herefordshire.
2 Waldron, pp. 104, 106.
8 Germain, the patron saint of this church, was Bishop of Man, a.d. 447. It was here where the Scottish princes were generally educated, prior to the accession of the house of Stuart to the throne of Scotland. Here, also, from an early period, the perfects of the Manks church were interred. Wymundus, Bishop of Man, who was expelled, and had his eye put out in 1151, was interred in this cathedral church, as was, also, John, who succeeded to the Bishopric in the same year. Bishop Mark, who died in 1303, was likewise buried at St. Germain’s.—Willies Survey qf Cathedrals, vol, i, p. 369; Keith's Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, pp. 29 7, 300, 301.
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The windows of St. Patrick’s church were of a circular form; and, according to Waldron, there were places for penance beneath, consisting of dark and horrible cells, dreadful enough for the punishment of almost any crime to which humanity is capable of being guilty.1
St. Germain’s church2 is built in the form of a cross, like most other Catholic edifices; the dimensions are seventy-six feet by twenty. The walls are of coarse gray stones; but the angles, window cases, and arches are coigned and formed of a reddish stone. The whole building is so extremely ruinous, that, for many years it has not been occupied as a place of worship.3 Bishop Wilson was the last diocesan enthroned in this cathedral. Beneath the eastern part of it, is the ecclesiastical prison. “ This is certainly one of the most dreadful places that imagination can form. The sea runs under it through the hollows of the rock, with such a continual roar, that you would think it every moment breaking in upon you, and over it are the vaults for burying the dead.” The descent into this vault is by eighteen steps; the roof is vaulted by thirteen ribs, forming as many arches, and supported by an equal number of short semi-hexagonal pilasters, only about twenty inches above ground. In one corner is a well or spring, which must have made a deplorable addition to the natural humidity of the place, where
1 Waldron, p. 105. “These subterranean places of punishment are either filled up or otherwise demolished, the ciceroni of the place not being able to give us the least account of them in 1774.”—Grose’s Antiquities of England, vol. iv.
2 The following passage leads us to the date of the erection of this cathedral:— “ Symon, Bishop of Man, a native of Argyleshire, died at his palace of Kirkmichael, in the Isle of Man, a.d. 1239, and was buried in St. Germain’s cathedral, at Peel, which he had began to rebuild.”—Keith’s Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, Edinburgh edition, 1824; Johnstone’s Celto Normanicce, Copenhagen, 1786, p. 151.
8 The lead with which the church was covered, was, by an act of Tynwald, on the 20th October, 1710, granted to Bishop Wilson, to assist in the erection of the church of Kirk Patrick.—Mills’s Ancient Ordinances, p. 192. A silver chalice bearing the following inscription, which formerly belonged to the cathedral, is yet preserved in the parish church :—“ Ecclesice Cathedralis Sti. Germani Peel®, in insula Monse, sacro usui d.d.d., Suns humilis minister Henricus Bridgeman, a.d. 1670.”
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neither light nor air is admitted, but through a small hole in the wall.1 This was the place where Bishop Wilson confined the clerk of the rolls for non-payment of tithes, without hearing and without redress.2 The well, however, which was said to have been at the north-west corner, is now covered up by the falling in of the wall of the west end. Waldron says that in his time a superstitious notion was entertained by the Manks people, that if any person, that was led by curiosity to visit this cavern, neglected to count the pillars, he would, for some breach of the ecclesiastical law, soon be confined there.3 To quote the eloquent words of an ingenious friend who visited Peel in 1828 :—“ Though the inhabitants of Peel claim a right of interment within the cathedral, the burying ground within and around the walls of St. Germain’s Church, is now set apart as the exclusive resting place of friendless sailors drowned at sea. Numbers of those are here reposing soundly, far from their homes and the graves of their kindred. Plain slabs, taken from the surrounding ruins, press the sods more closely on their breasts, and amid such kindred desolation, overlooking the sea on which the sleepers met their fate, those simple mementos speak a tale more touching and impressive than the most pompous lettered marble. Relations and dependants only weep over the home-buried dead, but all weep over the spot in which the far-come stranger sleeps in deserted loneliness.”4
1 Waldron, pp. 104, 105. There was a similar vault in the cathedral church of Iona; and it appears that such dungeons were common in castles as well as in churches, throughout the Western Isles: “The prisons were dark vaults, without beds or the smallest crevice to introduce light, where no friend was permitted to comfort the criminal, who, after a long fast, was often killed with a surfeit. This was the case of Keitchen, the son of Archibald Clench, a traitor against the family of McDonald, who died in a vault at Duntulm, of a surfeit of salt beef, being afterwards refused any kind of drink.”—Macqueen’s Dissertation on the Government of the People in the Western Isles, in Pennant, vol. iii, p. 422.
* Bullock1 s History of the Isle of Man, p. 166.
3 Waldron, p. 105.
• Bennet’s Sketches of the Isle qf Man, London, 1829, p. 78.
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In the beginning of the ninth century a nunnery was founded by St. Bridget,1 in the vale of Douglas; but the only vestige of these fine old edifices that now remains, is part of the chapel of the one alluded to, with its gothic windows, and arched gateway, half dilapidated, over which hangs the convent bell. When the daughters of piety dwelt within its precincts, this principal gate was only opened at the initiation of a nun, or at the death of the Lady Abbess. That this venerable remnant of ancient architecture should have fallen into the hands of such a person as he who took it down, will, I think, be lamented by every one who reads the following description of it:—“ Few monasteries ever exceeded it either in largeness or fine building. There are still some of the cloisters remaining, the ceilings of which discover they were the workmanship of the most masterly hands ; nothing, in the whole creation, but what is imitated in curious carvings on it. The pillars supporting the arches are so thick as if that edifice was erected with a design to baffle the efforts of time, nor could it in more years than have elapsed since the coming of Christ have been so greatly defaced, had it received no injury but from time; but in some of the dreadful revolutions this Island has sustained, it doubtless has suffered much from the outrage of the soldiers, as may be gathered by the niches yet standing in the chapel, which has been one of the finest in the world, and the images of saints reposited in them being torn out. ' Some pieces of broken columns are still to be seen, but the greatest part have been removed. The confessional chair also lies in ruins.”*
There were, likewise, a number of caverns under ground used as places of penance. If the nuns themselves, how-
1 Willis’s Survey of Cathedrals, vol. i, p. 372 ; Tanner’s Not. Monas., article • Bishopric of Man.’
* Appendix, Note viii, *• Religious Ceremonies.”
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ever, were even suspected of falsifying, they were not confined there, hut had to undergo a different kind of punishment. Over the Howe of Douglas, there is a steep rock of considerable height, immediately above the sea; about half-way up this rock, was a hollow resembling an elbow chair, and near the top another cavity somewhat similar. On the slightest accusation, the poor nun was brought to the foot of this rock when the sea had ebbed, and was obliged to climb to the first chair, where she had to remain till the tide again flowed and ebbed twice. Those who had given a greater cause of suspicion, were obliged to ' ascend to the second chair, and to sit there for the same space of time. Any one who endured this trial, and descended unhurt, was cleared of all aspersion that had been thrown upon her.1 Such a lengthened exposure to the elements, so far above the level of the sea, probably occasioned the death of many of these unfortunate creatures. We are elsewhere told that if sentence of death was passed against a female, she was sewed up in a sack, and thrown from the top of the rock into the sea.2 This must have been the Turpeian Rock of the Isle of Man.
Waldron says there were many curious monuments in the chapel of the Nunnery, “some of which, although almost worn out, yet still retain enough to make the reader know that the bodies of very great persons have been re-posited here. There is plainly to be read on one of them,
* Rlustrissima Matilda filia Rea? Mercia.'
I think there is great probability that this was Matilda, the daughter of Ethelbert, one of the kings of England
1 Waldron's Description of the Isle qf Man, pp. 148—152.
2 Gibson's Camden, London, folio, vol. ii, p. 1442. The editor adds in a marginal note, “They are now hanged, except witches, who are burnt.” Thia practice reminds us of the punishment for parricide among the Romans. The person convicted of that crime was hooded, as unworthy of the common light, sewed up alive in a sack, with an ape, a dog, and a cock, and in that condition thrown into the sea, or into the nearest river or lake.—Murphy's Notes on the Manners qf the Ancient Germans, by Tacitus, London, 1807, p. 226.
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of the Saxon race, since both Stow and Hollinshead agree that the princess died a recluse. I am, also, of opinion that Cartesmunda, the fair nun of Winchester, who fled from the violence threatened by King John, took refuge in this monastery, and was here buried, because there is upon a monument,
‘ Cartesmunda Virgo immaculata, A.D. 1230.’ These words remain so legible that I doubt not the whole inscription would have been so, had not some barbarous hand broke the stone, leaving only a corner of it, which is supported by a column; and on the base the date is yet perfectly fresh.”1	.
On these monuments there were also several hieroglyphical figures, which, according to the same author, had been both the “ ornaments and explanation of the tombs;” but they were then so much demolished as only to cause a regret that they had not met with a better fate? '
The prioress of the Nunnery of Douglas was a baroness of the Isle. She held courts in her own name, and possessed temporal authority equal to a baron. Her vassals were not subject to the jurisdiction of the lord’s court, as she claimed the privilege of trying them by a jury of her tenants. Her revenues were large, her authority great, and her person was held sacred.
The chapel of Rushen was dedicated to the Virgin Mary in 1200, or, according to some writers, 1257, by Richard, Bishop of Man, although it must have been built at least eight years before this period, as Reginald, the son of Olave the Black, was buried there in 1249? According to another authority, Magnus Olaveson was also buried there in 1265? The ruins of this building were pulled down some years ago, and a commodious edifice erected on
1 Waldron, p. 150.
5 Waldron, p. 150.
’ Chronicler of the Kingr of Mant ap. Camden.
* John*tone'* Celto Normanica, p. 152.
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its site by subscription, assisted by a grant out of the funds provided by parliament for building churches.
There was formerly a house of Friars Minors, at Bow-maken, which was a small establishment of the Cistercian order, but of which little is now known?
On the bank of a pleasant stream descending from the mountain of South Barrule, at the village of Ballasalla, may still be traced some vestiges of the ancient Abbey of Rushen.
“ Fallen fabric ! pondering o’er thy time-traced walls.
Thy mouldering mighty melancholy state, Each object to the musing mind recalls The sad vicissitudes of varying fate.”
According to Sacheverell and some other writers, this abbey was founded a.d. 1098, by Macmanus, or, more properly, Mac Magnus, the son of Magnus, governor of the Isles; but existing documents prove this statement to be incorrect?
The lands of Ballasalla and Russyn were granted to the abbot of Rievalle before there was a religious esta-blishment at Furness, “but they did not build there.”3
After the conquest of Man by Goddard Crovan the lands appertained solely to the king? He was paramount superior—the whole property in the Island being vested in him. Olave, therefore, not wishing to recognise the encroachment made by the usurper Mac Magnus on the royal prerogative in 1134,8 granted the lands of Ballasalla and Russyn to Iro or Evan, abbot of Furness, in Lancashire,6 “ who built the abbey there in honour of
1 Seacome’s History of the Isle of Man, p. 38.
8 Ballasalla is a considerable village. Here formerly stood the Abbey of Rushen , founded 1134, upon land given by Olave, King of Man.—Wilson’s Survey of the Isle of Man, in Gibson’s Camden, vol. ii, folio 1474.
3 Camden’s Britannia, edition 1722; Mon. Angl., vol. i, p. 710.
4 Johnstone’s Celto Normanica, p. 150.
6 MS. Register of Furness, in the office of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; Lelland’s Collection, p. 357; Johnstone’s Celto Normanica, p. 151.
6 Dugdale’s Monasticon, vol. i, p. 711 ; William (f Newbury, vol. i, b. i. c.xxiv.
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the blessed virgin,” made it a cell depending on the mother church, and established the Cistercian discipline.— He retained, however, to the monks of Furness, the right of appointing the bishop of Man.1
The original establishment at Rushen consisted of an abbot and twelve monks. The distinguishing dress of the order was a black cowl and scapular with white vestments. They wore neither shirts nor shoes, and only ate flesh-meat when on a journey. Although they were the public almoners, they supported themselves chiefly by manual labour.9
The Cistercian order of priesthood originated in the monastery of Citeaux in Burgundy, a.d. 1098. The monks’of that fraternity were sometimes called Bernar-dines, from St. Bernard, who founded one hundred and sixty monasteries of the same order. They were divided into thirty provinces; the Abbey of Rushen formed part of the twenty-seventh division.8
Goddard, king of Man, having married Fingala, daughter of Mac Lauchlan son of Murchard, king of Ireland, without the accustomed ceremonies of the church, Vivian, cardinal legate of the apostolic see, came to Man in the year 1176, and caused the marriage ceremony to be canonically performed by Sylvanus, abbot of Rushen, to whom the king, as an expiation of his errors gave a piece of land at Mirescoge, in Kirk Christ Lezayre, to build a monastery, which was afterwards granted to the Abbey of Rushen.4
In 1192, the monks of Rushen removed to Douglas,
1 The Abbey of Furness was founded in 1127, by Stephen, afterwards King of England, who “ commendedit to the patronage of the blessed Virgin Mary.” When the abbot and thirty monks surrendered it on 9th April, 1537, it was endowed with £805 16s. 5d. per annum, according to Dugdale; and according to Speed, £966 7s. 6d.—Willie’s History of Abbeys, vol. ii, p. 106.
* Buck’s Theological Dictionary, London, edition 1827.
8 Spottiswood’s Religious Houses, cap. ix.
4 Chronicles of Man, ap. Camdeni Johnstone’s Celto Normanica, p. 151.
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where they remained four years, and then returned to their former quarters. The cause of this movement has not been explained, neither has the nature of their establishment at Douglas been referred to.
This abbey was endowed by king Olave with great privileges and immunities.1* The abbot received one third of the tithes of the kingdom for the education of youth and the support of the poor ;• and large bequests were also made to it by Magnus, king of Man, and by the kings of Norway.3 Thus enriched, the style of living of these monks underwent a revolution equal to their fortune. The abbot became a baron, so that his authority, in some respect, “ clashed with the lord.”4 But while we condemn the weak superstition which conferred such exorbitant power on ecclesiastics, or blame them for ambition, indolence, and sensuality, let us not forget that the monastic orders were the depositaries of learning and science when these lights were banished from the rest of the world; and that the victims of want and misery frequently partook of their spoils. The monks of Rushen are said to have written the first three sheets of the Chronicles of Man, as published to the year 1266; but Johnstone is of opinion that this work is of Norwegian origin, of which there is internal evidence.8
Kings and bishops were interred in the abbey church.8 Reginald, bishop of Man, who died a.d. 1225, was buried there.7 In 1229, the monks of Rushen conveyed the body of Reginald, king of Man, to the Abbey of Furness.8
1 Catalogue qf Ancient Charters.
* Appendix, Note ix, “ Ancient Limitation of Church Lands.’1
1 Dugdale* s Monasticon, vol. i, p. 711.
8 Calendars of Ancient Charters in the Tower of London, 1722, p. 344.
4 Gibson*s Camden, 1722, p. 1449; Celto Normanica, p. 151.
5 Tanner*s Notitia Monastica, Cambridge, 1787, 4 Bishopric of Man?
8 Camden*8 Britannia, folio edition, 1695, page 1069.
9 Keith*s Catalogue qf Scottish Bishops, p. 299.
9 Johnstone's Celto NormaniccB, p. 151.
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HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
In the year 1237, Olave Goddardson, king of Man, was buried in the Abbey of St. Mary of Rushen.1 In 1240, Gospatrick, the celebrated Norwegian general, died at Kirk Michael, and was buried in the Abbey of Rushen?
Richard, bishop of the Isles, in the year 1257, consecrated this abbey church, which had been one hundred and thirty years in building.3 It is here where the image tomb of an abbot is to be seen, distinguished by the pastoral staff and a broad-sword, emblems, it has been said, of his spiritual and temporal power; but neither the date nor inscription is now visible. I differ, however, from the opinion that the sword was placed on the tomb-stone of this abbot as an emblem of his temporal power. It is plainly not the tomb of any of the bishops who held both the office of bishop and governor. We have already seen that Wymund, a military bishop of Man, died 1151, and was buried in the cathedral church of St. Germain’s.4 Thomas Stanley, who was both bishop and governor of the Island, died and was buried in Lancashire.5 Isaac Barrow was bishop and governor of Man from 1663 to 1668, at which time he was translated to the see of St. Asaph, where he died, and was interred; so that none of the remains of these governor-bishops were deposited in the Abbey of Rushen. John Myrrick was sword-bishop of Man from 1577 to 1600; but as we cannot find that he ever held any civil appointment, we have no grounds even to conjecture that the tomb in question was erected to his memory.® Before the eleventh century, there is no vestige of armorial figures to be seen upon tombs. Nothing appears but crosses and gothic inscriptions. The tomb-
1 Chronicles of Man, ap. Camden; Macphersons Dissertations, p. 284.
2 Chronicles of Man.
3 Keith1 s Catalogue, p. 300 ; Seacome1s History of the Isle of Man, p. 44.
4 Keith, page 297; Le Neve1s Tasti, page 356.
5 History of the House of Stanley, page 161.
* Seacome1s History of the Isle of Man, page 47.
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stone of Pope Clement IV, who died in the year 1268, is presumed to be the first on which a coat of arms can be found? Those who engaged in the holy wars, it is known assumed coats of arms to themselves; and out of these expeditions to Palestine, arose the various orders of knighthood. One of the most distinguished of these was the Knight-Templars. Although it was a religious order, the sword was the badge of distinction carried by its members, which, in the spirit of the times, they even placed upon their graves. Hence, when the figure of a monk is seen upon an image tomb, with a sword by his side, it is merely to denote that he was a knight-templar. This, in my opinion, is the explanation of the Rushen tombstone, afterwards referred to.
The reformation not having commenced so early in the Isle of Man as in England, the Abbey of Rushen was the latest monastery dissolved in these kingdoms? By the act 33d Henry VIII, cap. 31, this abbey was dissevered from the province of Canterbury; the endowments thereby reverted to the crown of England; but in 1610 they were granted by king James to William, earl of Derby, and his heirs for ever, to be held under the manor of East Greenwich, paying the accustomed rent to the lord thereof?
The ecclesiastical government of the Island, like that of the civil department, is regular but very strict. The bishop, as before stated, is appointed by the Lord of the Isle, and approved of by the king; and although no peer, he acknowledges the archbishop of York as his primate,4
1	Borthwicks British Antiquities, Edinburgh, 1776, page 65.
* Ward’s Ancient Records, page 109.
3	Wood, page 122. The estate of Rushen Abbey was purchased, in 1838, by the Rev. W. P. Ward (son of the late bishop Ward), and a few gentlemen in London, for the purpose of erecting a splendid church on the site of the old abbey. The building has not yet been commenced.
4	Camden's Britannia, p. 839; Lord Coke’s Fourth Institute, cap. ix; Willis’s History of Cathedrals, vol. i, page 369; Chaloner’s Treatise on the Isle qf Man, cap. vi.
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and with his clergy is summoned to the convocation of that province.
The episcopal palace is situated in the parish of Kirk Michael, at a place, in ancient times, called Torkelstadt, which was changed to Kirk Michael in the early ages of the Christian era; hut it was only in the seventeenth century that the place was first called hy the modern name of Bishop’s Court. “Simon, bishop of Man, died at his palace of Kirk Michale in 1239;"” how long it was inhabited before that time is not known. The original form of the house was a massive tower, surrounded by a deep fosse; but many additions have been successively made to it. The principal part of the old growing timber was planted by bishop Wilson.2 Bishop Murray made many additions to the palace, modernized the grounds, and reared a beautiful little chapel on the site of the old one.3
1	Keith9s Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, Edinburgh, 1824, p. 299.
* Oswaldos Isle of Man Guide, p. 107.
* For a more particular account of Bishop’s Court, see Cap. xxiii.
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APPENDIX.—Chapter XIV.
NOTE I.—Page 26.
DRUIDICAL CIRCLES.
The temple of Classerniss, in the Island of Lewis, consists of twelve obelisks about seven feet high, and six feet distant from each other. In the centre, stands a stone thirteen feet high, shaped like the rudder of a ship. Directly south from the circle, stand four obelisks running out in a line ; another such line runs due east, and a third to the west, the number and distance of the stones in each of these wings being the same, so that this temple, the most entire that can be, is at the same time both round and winged. But, by way of avenue to the north, there are two straight ranges of obelisks of the same size and distances with those of the circle; yet the ranges themselves are eight feet distant, and each consisting of nineteen stones, and the thirty-ninth being in the entrance of the avenue. This temple stands astronomically, denoting the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and the four principal winds subdivided each into four others; by which, and the nineteen stones on each side of the avenue, betokening the cycle of nineteen years, I can prove it to have been dedicated principally to the sun, but subordinately to the seasons and the elements, particularly to the sea and the winds, as appears by the rudder in the middle. In the greatest Isle of Orkney, commonly called the Mainland, there are likewise two temples, where the natives believe, by tradition, that the sun and moon were worshipped. The greater temple is one hundred and ten paces in diameter. They know not what to make of two green mounds at the east and west end of it, a matter, nevertheless, for which it is not difficult to account.—Toland's History of the Druids, pp. 89—91.
NOTE IL—Page 31.
RUNIC MONUMENTS.
Monuments of a similar description are yet seen in the northern parts of Europe. The Scandinavians believed that Runic characters were possessed of mysterious and magical properties. Imposters early persuaded the credulous people that these letters, dispersed and combined after a certain manner, could work wonders. Odin, who was the first inventor of these characters, was believed to be able, by their means, to raise the dead to life, and to procure victory over his enemies.—Northern Antiquities by Mallet, London, 1777, vol. i, p. 149. They wrote them either from right to left, or from top to bottom, or in a circle, contrary to the course of the sun. It
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was the practice also, for both old and young to carry a staff marked with these Gothic characters, so engraven that they knew the influence of the sun, moon, and stars ; “alsoe the signs of the daies, by infalliable experience, as if they read it out of a book.”—Olaus Magnus's History of the Northern Nations, London, 1658, pp. 11, 171.
The Laxdalla saga makes mention of one Olaf Hiardarhult, who had a large house, on the beams and rafters of which, remarkable stones were said to have been marked with Runic characters, in the same manner as Torkel Hake cut an account of his deeds upon the bedstead and chair. That Runic characters were made use of before the introduction of Christianity, may be proved by Olaf Trygwarron, saga, where he makes mention of a man whose name was Oddina, and who, being dumb, made use of Runic characters that he had been insulted by Ivar, his father’s guest.—Von Trail's Letters from Iceland, London, 1780, p. 159. In the Royal Library, at Copenhagen, there is a parchment code of the Scanian law, in Runic characters of the fourteenth century.—Geijer, vol. i, p. 169. Nearly one thousand three hundred Runic stones have been found between the tenth and fourteenth centuries; and of these, one hundred and fifty belong to Sweden.—Crighton's Scandinavia, vol. i, page 183.
NOTE III.—Page 39.
ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE CROSS AT BALLAFLETCHER.
In the early ages of the Christian church, crosses being held to be of great effect in the expulsion of demons and in the working of miracles, were emblazoned on almost every monumental stone.—Waddingham's History of the Church, cap. iii, London, edition 1833.
“ In a wild and barren field between Ballafletcher and Lahnclegere, there was formerly a large stone cross ; but, in the many changes and revolutions which have happened |n this Island, it has been broken down, and part of it lost; but there still remains the cross part. This has several times been attempted to be removed by persons who pretended a claim to whatever was on that ground, and wanted this piece of stone; but all their endeavours have been unsuccessful, nor could the strongest team of horses be able to remove it, though irons were clapt about it for that purpose. One day, says tradition, a great number of people being gathered about it, contriving new methods for the taking of it away, a venerable old man appeared among the crowd, and seeing a boy about six or seven years of age, he bade him put his hand to the stone, which the child doing, it immediately turned under his touch, and under it was found a sheet of paper, on which were written these words, * Fear God, obey the priesthood, and do to your neighbour as you would have him do to you.’ Every body present was in the utmost surprise, especially when looking for the old man, to ask him some questions concerning the miraculous removal of the stone, he w as not to be found, though it was not a minute that they had taken their eyes off him, and there was neither house nor hut in a great distance where he could possibly have concealed himself. The paper was, however, carefully preserved and carried to the vicar,
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who wrote copies of it, and dispersed them all over the Island. They tell you that they are of such wonderful virtue to whoever wears them, that on whatever business they go, they are certain of success. They also defend from witchcraft, evil tongues, and all efforts of the devil or his agents ; and that a woman wearing one of them in her bosom, while she is pregnant, shall by no accident whatever, lose the fruit of her womb. I have frequently rode by the stone under which they say the original paper was found; but it would now be looked upon as the worst sacrilege, to make any attempt to move it from the place.”—Waldron’s Description of the Isle of Man, pp. 175, 176.
According to Dr. Oswald, this stone is no longer visible.—MS. Papers, in the Library of Scottish Antiquaries, Edinburgh.
NOTE IV.—Page 39.
CHURCH-YARDS.
The unseemly custom of allowing sheep and cattle to pasture in the church-yard, still prevails. In 1836, the fattest sheep I saw in the Island were feeding among the graves in Malew church-yard; and I counted upwards of a score of black cattle in the church-yard of Maughold. In Scotland, it has been settled by law, “That the minister of the parish has a right to the grass of the church-yard ; but he cannot put cattle into it to pasture, that being an ‘ outrage on decency.’ He is merely entitled to cut the grass.”—Hay versus Williamson, 1778 ; Morrison’s Decisions, 5148. According to an old decision, it seems that the grass of the church-yard belonged to the parish, and that it might be let by them.—Ban v. Young, 25th July, 1609, M. 8019. This opinion was confirmed by Lord Hails, in the case of Greenock, 4th July, 1777 (758). He observes that no doubt the church-yard belongs to the heritors subject to the single burden of interring the dead. The grass is theirs, and, also, the trees planted in the church-yard; (p. 69, ap. Dunlop’s Parish Law of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1830, p. 68). These laws ought certainly to apply to the Isle of Man ; and the clergy should be prevented from outraging decency. How can the Manks people submit to have the graves of their ancestors pastured by cattle ?
In the days of the Danish vikingr, when a hostile fleet appeared on the coast of Man, the most valuable property was stowed in the churches, and the cattle were brought in the adjoining church-yards, for the purpose of securing them from the grasp of the enemy; as even these fierce robbers would seldom dare to carry their spoliation into the consecrated precincts of the church ; but, as that necessity no longer exists, why is the barbarous custom of allowing cattle to feed in the churchyard continued ? The church-yard of St. Maughold contains three acres, and, as the most venerated sanctuary of the Island was there enclosed, the greatest number of cattle were there secured. In the year 1158, “when Somerled was at Ramsey, Gil-Colun, a very powerful chieftain, observed to him, that he did not see that it was any breach of the peace against St. Machutus, if, for the sustenance of the army, they should drive off the cattle that were feeding in the church-yard. Somerled objected to the proposal, and said he would not allow any violence to be offered to St. Machutus.”—Johnstone’s Celto Normanicte, Copenhagen, 1786, p. 70.
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NOTE V.—Page 40.
MONUMENTAL CROSSES.
There is a sculptured obelisk in Ruthwell church-yard, in Dumfriesshire. This remarkable monument was broken into three pieces before Gordon inspected it; (see his Itinerarium, p. 161). “ It is in form,” he says, “ like the Egyptian obelisks, at Rome. Its sculptures shew that it was erected by zealous Christians ; and its inscription that it was inscribed by Danish hands.” The cross of Merkland, a lofty pillar with sculptures, which stands on the east side of the Kirtle water, likewise in Dumfriesshire, is not of such high antiquity. It is reported to have been erected upon the spot where the master of Maxwell, then a warden of the marshes, was assassinated, after he bad defeated the Duke of Albany, in 1483; but others say it was erected on the death of Lord Cronby, who was slain there.—MS. Macfarlan, Advocates’ Library; Caledonia, vol. iii, p. 62.
Camden*8 Britannia, article ‘ Man.’ One of these monumental crosses was erected on the banks of the Cart, near Renfrew, in commemoration of the following singular circumstance, well known in Scottish history:—
“ Margery, daughter of king Robert Bruce, a.d. 1316, proceeding from Paisley to the Castle of Renfrew, lost her life by a fall from her horse. Being in the family-way, the Caesarian operation was performed, and the life of the child thereby saved ; but he was wounded in the side by the point of the incision knife, from which he was afterwards called Blear-eye. To perpetuate this memorable event, a cross, called ‘ Blear-eye's Cross,’ was erected on the spot where the operation was performed, and the place is known by that name to this day.”—Guthrie’s History of Scotland, London, 1767, vol. iii, p. 88 ; Crawford’s History of Renfrewshire, p. 41.
NOTE VI.—Page 40.
SANATIVE WELLS.
The best remembered of these springs, are those of Trinity, St. Anne, and St, Maughold, with those of Chibbyr-launch, Lharghey-grawe, and Ballabrooie.— In Symson’s Account of Galloway, written in 1684, and published in 1823, from the MS. in the Advocate’s Library, by Thomas Maitland, Esq., Yr. of Dundrennan, Sanative Wells are thus described :—“ In the parish of Buittle, about a mile from the kirk, is the Rumbling Well, frequented by a number of sick people, for all sorts of diseases, on the first Sunday of May. There is another well about a quarter of a mile from it, the water of which is made use of by the country people when their cattle are troubled with a disease, called by them the connoch. This water they carry to many distant parts and wash their beasts with it, and give it them to drink. At both wells, the people leave behind them something, by way of thanks offering. At the first, they leave either money or clothes; at the second, they leave the bands or shackles wherewith their beasts are usually bound,” (p. 16). At the Gout Well of Larg, Symson says, “A piper once stole away the offering of money left at the well, and spent it in ale; but as he was quaffing the last drop, he was seized with the gout, which never left him till he refunded the cash to the spirit of the well,” (page 31).
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NOTE VII.—Page 44.
THE BUGGANE OF ST. TRINION.
This religious edifice is said to have been erected in fulfilment of a vow made by a person when in a hurricane at sea, (Wood'8 History of the Isle of Man, p. 177); but, according to tradition, it was never finished, (Tour in the Isle of Man in 1836, p. 127). This was through the malice of a mischievous Buggane or evil spirit, who, for want of better employment, amused himself with tossing the roof to the ground as often as it was on the eve of being finished, accompanying his achievement with a loud fiendish laugh of satisfaction. The only attempt to counteract this singular propensity of the evil one, which tradition has conveyed to us, was made by Timothy, a tailor of great pretentions to sanctity of character. On the occasion alluded to, the roof of Saint Trinion’s Church was, as usual, nearly finished, when the valorous tailor undertook to make a pair of breeches under it before the Buggane could commence his old trick. He accordingly seated himself in the chancel, and began to work in great haste; but ere he had completed his job, the he^d of the frightful Buggane rose out of the ground before him, and addressed him thus :—“ Do you see my great head, large eyes, and long teeth ?” “ Hee! hee!” that is, “ Yes 1 yes I” replied the tailor, at the same time stitching with all his might, and without raising his eyes from his work. The Buggane, still rising slowly out of the ground, cried in a more angry voice than before, “ Do you see my great body, large hands, and long nails ?” “ Hee ’ hee I” rejoined Tim., as before, but continuing to pull out with all his strength. The Buggane having now risen wholly from the ground, inquired in a terrified voice, “ Do you see my great limbs, large feet, and long—1” but ere he could utter the last word, the tailor put the finishing stitch into the breeches, and jumped out of the church, just as the roof fell in with a crash. The fiendish laugh of the Buggane arose behind him as he bounded off in a flight, to which terror lent its utmost speed. Looking behind, he saw the frightful spectacle close upon his heels, with extended jaws, as if about to swallow him alive. To escape its fury, Timothy leaped into consecrated ground, where, happily, the Buggane had not power to follow ; but, as if determined to punish him for his temerity, the angry sprite lifted its great head from its body, and with great force pitched it to the feet of the tailor, where it exploded like a bomb-shell. Wonderful to relate, the adventurous Timothy was unscathed; but the church of St. Trinion remained without a roof.	-
NOTE VIII.—Page 48.
RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES.
The religious houses in the Isle of Man, seem to have been all built in the old Scandinavian style, richly ornamented piles covering loathsome dungeons. The northern nations vied with each other in erecting gorgeous temples; but none was more famous than that of Upsal, in Sweden. It glittered on all sides with gold; a chain of the same metal, or at least gilded, ran round the roof, although the roof was
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not less than nine hundred ells. Hacon, Earl of Norway, built one near Drontheim, which was not inferior to that at Upsal. When Olaus, King of Norway, introduced the Christian religion into that country, he caused this temple to be razed to the ground, and broke in pieces the idols it contained. He found great riches, particularly a chain of great value. Iceland had likewise its temples. The Chronicles of that country speak of two, one on the south side of the Island, the other on the north. In each of these temples, there was a chapel that was regarded as a holy place. There they placed the idols upon a kind of altar, round which they ranged the victims that were to be offered up. Another altar stood opposite to it, plated with iron, in order that the fire that burnt there perpetually should not damage it. Upon this altar, was placed a vase of brass, in which they received the blood of the victims ; behind stood a brush with which they used to sprinkle with blood the bystanders. There hung up, likewise, a great silver ring which they stained with blood, and which, whoever took an oath upon any occasion, was required to hold in his hand. In one of the temples, there was, also, near the chapel, a deep pit or well, into which the victim was cast.—Malle ft Northern Antiquities t London, edition 1770, vol.i, page 128.
NOTE IX.—Page 53.
ANCIENT LIMITATION OF CHURCH LANDS.
I.
This is the line that divides the king’s lands from those belonging to the monastery of Russin ; it runs along the wall and the ditch which is between Castleton and the monk’s lands; it goes to the south, between the monk’s meadow and MacEwen’s farm, ascends the rivulet between Gylosen and the monk’s lands, turns to Hentneth ; goes round Hentneth and Trollo-toft, along the ditch and wall, descends by the ditch and wall to the river near Oxwath; turns up the same river to a rivulet between Aros-rin and Stein-a, goes down to the valley called Franc; mounts up the ascent of the hill called Wardfell; descends to the brook Mourou; ascends from the brook Mourou, along the old wall, to Ross-fell; descends along the same wall, between Cornama and Tot-man-by; descends obliquely along the same wall, between Ox-raise-herard and Tot-man-by, to the river called Corna. Coma is the boundary between the king and the monastery in that quarter, to the ford which lies in the highway, between Thorkelstadt, otherwise Kirk Michael, and Herinstadt; the line then passes along the wall which is the limit between the above-mentioned Thorkcl’s estate and Bally-sallach. It then descends obliquely along the same wall, between Crossiver, Builthan, and so surrounds Bally-sallach. It then descends from Bally-sallach, along the wall and ditch, to the river Russin, as is well known to the inhabitants ; it then winds along the banks of that river in different directions, to the above mentioned wall and ditch, which is the limit between the abbey land and that belonging to the Castle of Russin.
II.	.
This is the line that divides the king’s lands from those of the abbey, towards Skemestar. It begins from the entrance of the port called Lax-a, and goes up that
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river in a line under the mill, to the glynn lying between St. Nicholas’ chapel and the manor of Greta-stadt. It then proceeds by the old wall, as is known by the inhabitants along the winding declivities of the mountains, till it comes to the rivulet between Toftar-as-mund and Rancuslin. It then descends to the boundaries of the manor called Orinshouse, and, as is known to the country people, descends to the sea.
' By virtue of the Act 27, Henry VIII (a.d. 1536), for the general dissolution of monasteries, these lands became vested in the crown. By letters patent, dated 17th March, 1606, all the lands which formerly belonged to the “ monastery and priory of Rushen and Douglas, the Grey Friars of Brymakcn, and rectories and churches of Kirkecrist in Shelden and Kirklovan, with their appurtenances,” were let to Sir Thomas Leigh and Thomas Spencer, with the exception of the woods and underwoods, for forty years, at the annual rent of X101 15s. lid. By letterspatent, dated 2nd May, 1610, James I. granted to William Earl of Derby, and liis heirs for ever, at the accustomed rent of £101 15s. lid., with £20 17s., in consideration of lordships, manrills, mines, and minerals, to hold of the manor of East Greenwich. This superiority was purchased from the Melbourne family by the late Duke of Atholl.—Mills's Ancient Ordinances, Douglas, p. 526 ; and Act 5th George III, cap. 26.
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CHAPTER XV.
MONUMENTS, TREASURE TROVE, AND MINTAGE.
Monumental Effigies—Image Tombs of Danish Warriors—Manu-mental Inscriptions—Relics of Brass and Gold—Treasure Trove— Ancient Coins—Leather Currency—Ducketoons—Butcher's Brass Money—Johnnie Murray's Pennies—The Eagle and Child—Promissory Notes—Present State of the Currency—Armorial Ensign of the Island—Arms of the Bishopric.
We are always inclined to regard with veneration those objects of antiquity which are in anywise associated with the heroic deeds of our ancestors. Among these, monumental effigies of the illustrious dead are calculated to kindle in our breasts feelings equally favourable to virtue and to patriotism. It was perhaps a conviction of this kind, added to the advice of the Norman earl, which induced William the Conqueror to cause all the funeral monuments in England to be destroyed, in order that, by their means, no membry of ancient pedigrees might be presented to incite the people to disaffection and revolt.
From the superstitious notions prevalent in ancient times, it was the practice not only to inter the dead, but also to die in the dresses of their respective stations. Hence it is that we meet with so many effigies in sacerdotal robes, and so many warriors in panoply, on the ancient tombs. Sigurd, Earl of Northumberland, being sick, rose in his bed and put on his armour, saying, it was meet that a man of his rank should die in mail.1
1	Borthwick^ Remarks on the British Antiquities, Edinburgh, 1776, p. 123.
° To them that die in habit of a friar, Rome hath granted full remission To pass to heaven straightway, withoutten wear. Is there such virtue in a friar’s hood I I think in vain Christ Jesus shed his blood."
—Sir David Lindsay's Monarchy, book iii, Edinburgh, edition 1776, p. 114.
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If we can place implicit reliance on the statement of Simon of Durham, Henry II, of England, was borne to church for interment in his regal robes, with his crown on his head, his sceptre in his hand, and his spurs on his heels. It was the practice, too, when a person of rank died, to have his effigy cut in stone, and placed over his grave. Examples of this may still be seen in the Isle of Man, as well as in the burial places of many of the ancient families of Great Britain. Near the abbey church of Rushen, there is a tomb, with an effigy of a prelate in a sacred vestment, holding a crosier in his hand, and having a broad-sword at his side, as described in the preceding chapter.
Ancient monumental remains appear to have been formerly very numerous in the Isle of Man.1 So’long as the power of the Danes was respected or dreaded in the Island, the effigies of their warriors were allowed to remain within the limits of consecrated ground ; but when their piratical incursions were no longer feared by the inhabitants, Danish or Norwegian images were no longer tolerated. They were either defaced, removed to a place of obscurity, or carried off by the people, as it were to wipe away all remembrance of their former task-masters. Colonel Townley thus describes one of these monumental stones which he discovered outside the wall of the churchyard of St. Michael:—
“ I had not gone far, till I stumbled on a venerable stone, displaying, by rude chiseling, the figure of some mighty Danish chief in complete steel. The stone has received some little injury, but is not so mutilated as to prevent the intention of the artist from being fully expressed. He has clothed his warlike figure in complete
1	“ Many of these stones have on them the figure of a cross, with divers knots of grotesque scroll work, vulgarly denominated Danish tangles, with a kind of hieroglyphic.”—Grose’s Antiquities of Scotland, vol. i, p. 5.
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armour, with a helmet on his head, and a tremendous broad-sword hanging before him by two straps from a studded belt, with which he has properly girded his warrior, to make him invulnerable at all points. He has represented him with his arms uplifted and his fingers gripped in a supplicating posture.” The colonel rescued the figure from its ignominious concealment, and, placing it in his carriage, conveyed it to more respectable quarters in his own gallery.1
Another of these stones, representing, in rude carving, the figure of a Danish warrior in complete armour, is to be found at the entrance of Onchan church-yard.
Such monuments as bore the signs of the cross, were, out of respect to that sacred symbol, longer preserved than the rude image tombs; yet many of those mentioned are now nowhere to be found,2 although, in Bishop Wilson’s time, the Island is said to have presented more ancient monuments and runic stones than any other country?
In the absence of written records, the views of the historian are often assisted by the discovery of ancient relics. During the time of Bishop Wilson, there were found in the Isle of Man, under ground, brass daggers and other instruments of the same metal. They were all well formed, and as fit for doing execution as if made of steel. Very lately, there were also found some nails made of pure gold, having rivets of the same metal on the small end. Their make shewed evidently that they had been made to stud a royal target.
Relics of this description are still to be found in the Island? “Weapons of pure gold were found in the Calf of Man, and a large silver crucifix was found there
1 Townley’8 Journal, vol. i, pp. 167, 176.
1 Waldron’8 Description of the Isle of Man, p. 175.
8 Ibid; Camden’s Britannia.
4 Wilson’s New Survey of the Isle of Man, ap. Gibson’s Camden, vol. ii, page 1455.
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some years ago.’ What is still more singular, “ a pair of brass shoes was found sixteen yards below the ground, of such -monstrous length and thickness, that they would have overfitted the giant’s feet set up in the Guildhall, in London.”2
Had the various remnants of antiquity, hitherto discovered in the Island, been preserved and deposited in a place fitted for the purpose, they would ere now have formed an interesting collection of antique curiosities. Might not the runic monuments taken sacrilegiously from every church-yard in Man, and converted into stiles, gate-posts, and such like purposes, be yet laudably collected and placed in an apartment in the college ?
It is certainly in the power of the governor to do so; •and, likewise, to claim for the same purpose, all the treasure trove found within his jurisdiction. The crown would, in that instance, undoubtedly forego its right for the establishment of such an institution as a public museum, tending to illustrate the ancient history of the Island.
From an early period, all treasure found in the Island, was claimed by the lord superior.3 In the year 1586, the Earl of Derby, in a letter to his nephew, Richard Sher-bourne, then captain-general, says, “ One Edwardson, of my Isle of Man, hath, as I am informed, found certain gold hidden, which, by ancient laws of that my Isle, and by my prerogative of right, appertaineth to me.” On investigation,'it was found that the person here alluded to, had discovered gold to the amount of thirty-three pounds and
1 Wood’9 History of the Isle of Man, p. 102 ; Description of England and Wales, vol. iii, p. 56.
2 Waldron, p. 184.
3 In these countries, where men were continually afraid of the violence of their superiors, they frequently buried a great part of their wealth in the earth. All manufactured metals found concealed out of doors, were called treasure trove, and as such, were claimed by the king. In early times, treasure trove “formed no contemptible part of the revenue of the greatest sovereign in Europe.”—Smith’s Wealth of Na* Hons, edition 1819, vol. ii, pp. 14, 15; vol. iii, p. 387. At present, it would not make an important branch of the revenue of a private gentleman of good estate.
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upwards; but whether coin or bullion, does not appear. This treasure was awarded by the governor and twenty-four Keys, to the lord, in virtue of his prerogative; and, that no doubt might be. entertained on the subject in future, it was given for law, that “ any treasure whatsoever, being found hidden under ground, either within the house, or without in the fields, or in the thatch of the house, or in any covert place, shall be due to the lord by the laws of this Isle.”1 This was called, “ Treasure Trove.”
It is highly probable that many valuable relics of high antiquity have been found in the Island, and secretly disposed of,2 lest they should be claimed by the constituted authorities, as appertaining to the lord proprietor. From the time of Waldron, till the following discovery recorded by Dr. Oswald, more than a century had elapsed without any account of ancient utensils having been found:—
“ In February, 1824,” says Mr. Oswald, “ There was discovered, about six feet below the surface of the ground, at the village of Balloch, part of a broad-sword, the guard hilt of which, and the breadth of the blade had a striking resemblance to those delineated by Meyrick, as ancient British weapons.”3 It may be proper, however, to observe that no lance heads of bone, arrow heads of flint, or battleaxe heads of stone,* have ever been found in the Island. Hence it may be presumed that neither of the two great nomadic tribes, the Cumnerii and the Celtic, who wandered from the shores of the Thracian Bosphorus to the northern coasts of Europe, or passed from Gaul across the channel, ever reached the shores of Man?
1	Statute, anno 1586; Lex Scripta, Douglas, 1819, pp. 81, 82.
s In 1313, when Richard de Mandeville, at the head of a band of Kerns, from Ireland, had plundered the Island, and stript the Abbey of Rushen of its flocks and herds, and even of its furniture, they dug up much silver which had been buried under ground, in various places.—Johnstone*s Celto Normanicte, 1786, p. 152.
* Communication from Dr. Oswald, Douglas, Isle of Man, September, 1824, in the Library of the Antiquarian Society of Scotland.
4 Archalogia, vol. xv, book ii.
• Planchers British Costume; Ancient British Period.
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In May, 1836, a large iron gauntlet was dug up in the ancient battle field of Ronaldsway, and formed part of the curious collection of antiques formerly belonging to Mrs. Looney, of Maugherakew, near Ramsey. Since that period, another iron gauntlet has been found in the Island, and is now in the possession of my friend Colonel Colomb, late of Rushen Abbey.
In October, 1835, two urns were found in a stone coffin, near the church of St. Maughold; these remnants of antiquity were broken by the workmen who discovered them, in the hope of finding treasure; but only a small quantity of dark ashes was found in each.
A great variety of coins and medals have, at different times, been discovered in the Island. Not many years ago, a coin of Ethelred II,1 who succeeded his half brother Edgar, in 979, was found in the north end of the Island. In 1789, when Professor Torkelin visited the Island, “a gentleman of Castletown, presented him with three or four Danish coins or medals found in that neighbourhood: one of them of Canute, the Dane, who ascended the English throne in 1017.”’
In the year 1780, a number of silver coins of William the Lion, who began his reign a.d. 1165, was dug up in the Isle of Man; the coinage of that reign was not known to antiquaries, before that time. The learned Snelling3 thinks these coins were struck in the Isle of Man; but Cardonnel, the celebrated Scotch antiquary, is of a different opinion.4 Near the church of Lonan, in 1786, two hundred and thirty-seven pieces of silver were found by a person digging; and several others had been previously found at the same place;5 whereupon an information
1 Communication from Dr. Oswald, of Douglas, July, 1830.
* Townley’s Journal, vol. i, pp. 156—158.
3 Snelling’s Descriptive View of the Coins struck by English Sovereigns in France,
4 Cardonnel’s Numismala Scotia, p. 41.
4 Wood’s History of Man, p. 175; Feltham’s Tour, p. 243.
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was filed by the attorney-general, and the whole were adjudged by the Court of Exchequer, to belong to his majesty.
About the middle of the seventeenth century, as some workmen were enlarging Lord Derby’s wine vault, many Spanish pieces of eight were discovered? When St. Mary’s Chapel, of Castletown, was pulling down, three Roman coins of Germanicus and Agrippina, were found carefully deposited in a square scooped out of freestone, near the place where the ancient cross stood, and exactly under the new portico.3
In 1828, on taking down a small wall in Kirk Marown, several silver coins, made under Edward I, by Stephen de Fulborn, while justice of Ireland, were detected among the rubbish; and in April, 1834, a large gold coin was turned up by the plough in a field near Kirk Andreas, having on one of the sides tliree rampant lions, and supposed to be of the reign of Richard Coeur de Lion. In Waldron’s time, many ancient coins were found in the Island: “ I had,” says that author, “ the privilege of taking the draught of some which I looked upon as being the most curious, thinking some learned and ingenious antiquarian in England, might, by the inscriptions and figures, be able to judge more truly of the form of government of these people and their rulers, than those traditions which pass for historical truths. I must acknowledge myself unable to comprehend them, although I have spent a great deal of time and pains in the endeavour.”3 On one of these medals is a female bust, with a cross in her hand, on the reverse is a magic square surrounded by runic characters. On another, nearly two inches and a half in diameter, is a gothic castle surmounted by a Norman cross, and on the reverse, a sheaf of arrows. On the next was an angel, reverse, three half moons. But none of the legends have
1 Waldrons Description of the Isle of Man, p. 184.
* See vol. i, p. 43, of this work.
3 Waldron.
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been deciphered? At all events they do not agree with Le Brune’s general description of ancient coins, as cited by Stowe:—	.
“ On the king’s side, is his head, And his name round it written ; On the cross side is the city Where the coin it was smitten.”
The Danish coins presented to Torkelin, with those of William the Lion and Edward I, were all, probably, in circulation in the Island when it was under the dominion of these powers respectively ; but sufficient evidence has not been adduced to show that any of them were of Manks mintage. Several old coins were dug up in June, 1836, at Kirk Michael, near the old Tower of Refuge, which, I am informed, arc in the possession of Mr. Skillicorn, painter. About the same time, a large gold coin was found in the harbour of Castletown, at least a foot below the bed of the river. It was a coin of one of the early English kings; but I had not an opportunity of observing it, the gentleman in whose possession it was, being from home at the time of my visit.
In 1835, a large quantity of silver coins was found near Balnabarna, in the parish of Maughold, by some men employed by Mrs. Rachel Looney, when working a stone quarry. These ancient relics were disposed of in England, for fear of detection.
In December, 1842, in ploughing a field on the Howe, near Douglas, about two hundred silver coins, struck in the reign of the Norman Edward, were found; nearly equal portions of them appear to have been struck in London, York, and Canterbury.
A few years since, a pure gold coin was found on the estate of Slegaby, in the parish of Onchan. It is in a perfect state of preservation, and is supposed to be a
1	Waldron, p. 144.
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noble of the reign of Edward the Third. On the obverse side is a representation of king Edward seated in a ship of war, with his sword of state in his right hand, and on his left arm, a shield, with the arms of France and England quartered, the fleur-de-lis appearing on the dexter side. The following words surround the entire of the obverse:—edward $ dei | gra $ rex $ angl J dns J hyb J z $ aqvt J On the reverse, the centre is occupied by a magnificent cross, surmounted at each extremity by the fleur-de-lis, and in the intermediate spaces are the English lions, surmounted by coronets formed of the fleur-de-lis ; the words surrounding which are :—ihe $ autem t transiens £ per I mediu J illorum J ibat J This coin weighs two grains less than the standard sovereign. It is at present in the valuable collection of Sam. Sandilands Rogers, Esq., of Douglas.
The copper piece struck about the year 1338, when Martholine, who had previously been almoner to king Robert the Bruce, was governor of Man, was, so far as I have yet discovered, the first essay of a coinage appropriate to the Island. It was “ a copper coin with the king’s effigies on one side, and a cross on the other, with the inscription, ‘ Crux est Christianorum gloria,’—‘ The cross of Christ is the glory of Christians.’”1 From Bishop Merrick’s letter to Mr. Camden, written about 1580, there appears to have been a coin then in circulation peculiar to the Island: “ Their language is peculiar to themselves, and likewise their laws and money, which are signs of a distinct sovereignty.”s
The money coined at this early period, was circulated only at fairs and markets. At other times, cattle and corn were oftener resorted to as a common measure of value; and where a local circulating medium was required, leather
1 Sacheverell's Account of the Isle of Mant London, 1702, p. 72; Seasons’* House of Stanley^ Liverpool, 1741, p. 543. .
2 Britannia, edit. 1695, p. 1052.
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was used for that purpose. Formerly, this leather money formed the currency of the Island, which every man of substance was entitled to make. These tokens had no other impression than the maker’s name and date.1
To a currency of leather, succeeded one of brass; but of silver or gold pieces, the Manks had little knowledge, till the troubles of England, in the reign of Charles I, induced many persons of great wealth to seek shelter in the Island, carrying with them specie to a large amount.2 The prosperity of the Island was greatly advanced by the amount of coin then put into circulation, and a striking improvement in the manners and habits of the society took place from that era.’
In the year 1646, “ certain men came out of England, and did coyne and utter false moneys called ducketoons, in such base metal as pewter and the like,” whereupon, in compliance with a petition from the twenty four keys to the Earl of Derby, it was enacted, “That any person who should thereafter falsifie, forge, counterfeit, clip or diminish any kind of current coyne, or bring false money into the Island, with the intention of deceiving the people, upon conviction of the offence, was to be guilty of high treason, and to suffer accordingly.” Thus it was treason in the Isle of Man,4 to execute forgeries on a copper coinage, while in England it was confined to a coinage of gold and silver. Indeed the offence was unknown in the Island till the year in which the act was passed. Although the lord had the prerogative of coining, the money was not considered current until sanctioned by an Act of Tynwald.
> Waldron, p. 183.
2	Ibid, p. 184.
8	Camden99 Britannia, folio edition, 1695, p. 1064.
4	Lex Scripta, p. 133. To such an extent had the clipping the current coin of the realm been carried by the Jews in England, that Edward I. caused two hundred and eighty of them to be hanged in one day, for that offence.—Campbell’s Naval History, vol. i, p. 163.
vol. n.
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Towards the close of the seventeenth century, a quantity of base coin, called Butcher's brass money, had got into circulation, which the insular government deemed necessary to suppress.' At a Tynwald court, therefore, held on the 24th of June, 1679, it was enacted, “thatno copper or brass money, called Butcher's halfpennies and farthings, nor any other of that kind, shall pass in this Island after the first day of January next, provided, always, that this shall not be prejudicial unto, or hinder the passing of the king’s halfpence and farthings set forth by authority, or the brass money called Johnnie Murray’s pennie.”*
In 1710, the Earl of Derby, at the request of his Manks subjects, put into circulation a large supply of copper pence and halfpence; but, upon a further issue, in 1733, the coinage of 1710 was declared to be no longer a legal payment, although its intrinsic value was little more than half its nominal value.3 By the next copper coinage, in 1757, the currency of the preceding one was not affected. The coinage of 1733, amounted to three hundred pounds in pence, and that of 1757, to two hundred and fifty pounds in pence, and one hundred and fifty pounds in halfpence. To prevent counterfeits, all persons were ordered, once a year, to bring to the respective captains of their parishes, such copper money to be examined and counted, and the
1 Butcher’s brass money was probably smuggled into the Island from Ireland, as about the year 1079, “ There were certain brass tokens current in the city of Dublin commonly called Butcher's halfpence, for the exchanging of which, the undertaker who coined them had given sufficient security to the Lord Mayor and corporation. But this undertaker privately counterfeited his own halfpence, in so much that for one of the original stamp, ten or more of the counterfeits were in circulation; and when any of these were brought to him to be exchanged, he alleged that he was not bound to do so, because they were counterfeits ; and having so cunningly managed the matter, that the cheat could not be brought against him ; the city lost, perhaps, little less than £1000 thereby.—From a pamphlet in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, marked RR. 22. 57, ap. Scott's Life of Swift, appendix Ixxvii, edition 1814.
2 Statute anno 1679; MS. Statute Book, ‘ Money ;’ Smith's Wealth of Nations, edition 1819, vol. i, p. 52.
3 Wood's History of the hie of Man, p. 271.
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account thereof was returned by them to the governor or receiver-general.1
The impression on the mintage of 1710 and 1733, was the arms of Man, with the letters J.D. between the bending limbs; the motto, “ Quocunque leceris Stabit.” On the reverse, was the Eagle and Child,* the armorial bearing of the Derby family, a chapeau motto, “ sans charger,” with the date under the chapean. I have in my possession a Manks brass coin of 1732, not hitherto mentioned by any author, exactly resembling that just described, with this difference, that the date, instead of being under the chapean, is divided—the figures 17 being in front of it, the 32 behind it. I mention this merely to show that the best account of the Manks coinages has been incorrect. On the copper coinage of 1757, was the impression of a ducal coronet, with the letters A.D. and the date under the reverse. In the years 1786, 1798, and 1813, copper coins were put into circulation by the British government, having the usual impression of the British copper coinage on one side, and on the reverse, the Manks arms with the usual motto.
Copper being the only circulating medium peculiar to the Island, and the balance of trade not being in favour of the Manks, gold or silver was only brought into circulation by persons from other countries, who had settled there under protection of the Act 1737, which provided that no person should be prosecuted for a foreign debt, within the royalties of the Lord of Man? In 1814, when this act was repealed at the request of the British government, and the decrees of the court of Great Britain and Ireland were consequently made recognisable in the Island,3 the currency became thereby so much affected, that, to obviate
1 Lex Scripta, p. 210, anno 1710.
* Appendix, Note i, “The Eagle and Child.”
* Lex Scripta, Douglas, 1819, p. 281.
3 Lex Scripta, p. 485.
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the great want of specie, the shopkeepers and merchants found it necessary to issue promissory cards of the respective value of one shilling, two-shillings-and-sixpence, five shillings, and seven shillings each, payable in British coin, on demand;1 but these were found to be attended with so many inconveniences, and with such risk to the public, that, in the year 1817, it was found necessary to restrain, by an Act of Tynwald, all persons from issuing promissory notes, with the exception of such as should be licensed annually, by the governor and council, for that purpose.* It was, also, provided that no note should, in future, be issued under the value of twenty shillings.
The reason assigned for the passing of this act, was that promissory notes had been issued by divers persons for the fractional part of a pound sterling, whereby the public credit of the Island had been materially injured, the crime of forgery greatly facilitated and increased, and the legitimate currency nearly banished. On the 5th July, 1836, a bill was read in the council and agreed to, making it imperative on bankers to take up their cash notes by bills, at a date not longer than twenty-one days.
A silver coinage was struck by the last Earl of Derby who was Lord of Man; but it is questionable whether it was ever put in circulation? The silver coinage of Great Britain is now plentiful in the Island; but the bulk of the circulating medium consists of the notes of private bankers.
The greater part of the copper currency of the Island, between the years 1830 and 1838, was of foreign min-
1 Wood thus describes the notes in circulation when he visited the Island in 1808: “ The merchants and manufacturers are very desirous of preventing any inconvenience that might arise from the scarcity of silver, by issuing as many as they can of their small tickets or cards. The form of engagement on the card generally runs thus:— ‘ I promise to pay the bearer, on demand (so many shillings as the case may be), on hit bringing the change of a one pound note.’ ”—p. 66.
♦ Appendix, Note ii, “ Banking.”
1 Oswald’t Isle of Man Guidet p. 55.
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tage,1 which, in a great measure, displaced the copper pence and halfpence struck in the tower of London, and designed solely for circulation in the Island, being of less value than the copper coinage of Great Britain. A British shilling was equal to fourteen pence of Manks copper; and one pound three shillings and fourpence Manks was equivalent to one pound sterling. All nego-ciations for money, therefore, if intended to be according to the British standard, were so expressed, otherwise Manks currency was understood.
Such an immense quantity of base copper was in circulation in 1838,’ that the insular legislature deemed it necessary to prepare a bill to assimilate the copper currency with that of the United Kingdom, which, having received the royal assent on the 3rd January, 1840, was promulgated at St. John’s on the 17th March following.
The new coinage, which is very beautiful, the obverse bearing the impression of her majesty’s head, and the reverse, the arms and motto of the Island, arrived in Douglas, on the 24th April, 1840. It consisted of £332 in pence, £446 in halfpence, and £222 in farthings, amounting in all to £1000. The following month, the lieutenant-governor issued a proclamation calling in the old copper, which was to be completed on the 21st September 1840, on and after which, the copper currency
1 The following extract from the Mona’s Herald of 2nd May, 1834, shows the state of the copper currency :—“ We find and experience that the Island is being overrun with the basest coin that could be brought from any of the lowest states of Europe.”
2 “ Very recently, an inhabitant of this Island, when on a tour in Wales, found at a large smelting work, two casks of base coin, which were about to be smelted. He, however, purchased them for £30, and sent them to the Island for circulation, by which imposition he derived a nefarious profit of 200 or 300 per cent. To such a degree has this nuisance extended, that many of the retail tradesmen in Douglas are daily in possession of from £20 to .£40 nominal value of this trash, taken in the way of business; the necessary consequence of which is, that there is no getting change for a sovereign or local note without taking one half of it in copper.”—Manx Sim, September, 1838.
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of the Island was to pass at the rate of twelve pence to’the shilling.
So great was the excitement caused by this alteration, and such was the hostility to the innovation, manifested by the lower orders of the inhabitants, that, upon its introduction, a riot took place at Douglas and other parts of the Island. The windows and doors of the houses of the legislators, and of those shopkeepers who were favourable to the change, were demolished; the riot act was read, the military called out, and the principal portion of the respectable inhabitants sworn in special constables ; but it was not until a company of soldiers had arrived from Liverpool that the Island was restored to its wonted tranquillity. The new copper now circulates quite freely, and is looked upon by the inhabitants as a great benefit in facilitating commercial intercourse.
An act was passed at the same time, to introduce the imperial measure and sell bread by weight.
In the year 1647, an act was passed by the insular council, regulating the interest of money. It was then fixed at £10 per cent, per annum; but in the year 1691, it was reduced to £6 per cent, per annum, which is the legal interest at the present time.
From the earliest record extant, it appears that every nation, tribe, or family had its peculiar standard, under which they went to battle. The children of Israel pitched under their own standard with the ensign of their father’s house.1 Our ancestors fought under their own peculiar banners. The Carians, again, were among the first people who bore marks on their shields ;a while coats of arms are not to be seen on coins older than the tenth century.3
1 Numbers, cap. ii, v. 2.
2 Borthwick’s British Antiquities, Edinburgh, 1776, page 64.
8 “ The most ancient coin now known with a coat of arms impressed on it, is a golden denier of Philip de Valois, on which he is represented as holding a shield in his lefthand/’—Borthwick, p. 66.
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The ancient kings of Man of the Norwegian race, had for their arms, a ship with its sails furled; motto, “ Rex Mannise et Insularum.”1 This emblem was peculiarly
symbolical of the whole northern vikingr.
The present armorial bearing of Man, as represented on all the coins of the Island, are three armed legs,* proper, conjoined in fess at the upper part of the thighs, fleshed in triangle, garnished and spurred topaz. Each knee is bent as if performing a genuflection. This ensign
was evidently intended as a symbolical representation of the relative position of the Island, with respect to England, Scotland, ‘and Ireland, when each was a separate kingdom. The legs in mail denote the power of self defence, and the spurred heels, speed to resent any insult that might be offered by any of the surrounding neighbours. The motto around the design, is, “ leceris stabit quocunque,”—“Whatever way you throw me, I will stand.” No transposition of these words can change their true meaning, neither can the altitude of the three legs be changed. This is an ingenious allusion to the three alternatives possessed by Mona, when an independent state, of leaning for support, as occasion might require, on one or more of her powerful neighbours: for in whatever posture the insignia are placed, one of the legs only can assume the attitude of kneeling, the other two always remaining upwards, thereby intending to sig-
1 The word motto is derived from an Italian word which signifies saying. Anciently, in Scotland, it was called ditton. The motto generally relates to some part of the armorial achievements, particularly the crest, and from thence arises a comparison: the one explains the other; but some relate to the supporters.—Borthwick, p. 95.
* The arms of the ancient kings of Sicily were, likewise, “ Three naked legs of a man, linked together and bending in the hams.” And were formerly stamped on the coins of Sicily, to signify the three promontories, with the motto, “ velo complicate.” —Gough't Camden Britt., article ‘ Man;’ Pennant’s Tour, vol. ii, p. 286.
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nify, that should the Island be attacked by any one of the three surrounding kingdoms, the other two would rise in its defence. This emblem is remarkably significant with regard to the relative situation of Man and the neighbouring kingdoms, and of its dependence on them for aid. It has also been said of the three legs, that they represent the Manks as with the toe of one foot spurring at Ireland, with the spur of the other as kicking at Scotland, and with the knee of the third as bowing to England.— The motto also proved very prophetic of the fate of the little territory, by the changes which occurred in the sister states. Were we to moralise on the armorial ensign of the Island, we would JEsop them thus : There are individuals both in the political and religious world who, when tossed about in the vortex of' social life have, like the three legs, a wonderful aptitude to fall on their feet.
The rapidity with which the sovereignty of Man passed from one family to another, in the latter end of the fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth centuries, seems to have occasioned some confusion, by raising competitors for the right of precedency in bearing the arms of Man emblazoned on their escutcheons, particularly in foreign parts. When Sir John Stanley became sovereign of Man, in 1407, he assumed the arms of the Island, as others had done before. John Lord Scroope, whose ancestor had, in 1395, purchased the sovereignty of Man from William de Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, presented a memorial to the king, in 1475, complaining of the heraldic intrusion of Sir John Stanley upon the arms of his family.1
Randolph, Earl of Moray, was created Lord of the Isle of Man, in 1313, by King Robert Bruce,’ and he
1 Seacome's History of the House of Stanley, Liverpool, 1741, p. 32 ; Speed9* History of Great Britain, p. 896 ; Daniel's Collections of the History of England, page 212.
1 Chalmer’s Caledonia, vol. iii, p. 67 ; Anderson's Royal Genealogies, p. 807.
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placed on his escutcheon the arms of the Island. The Duke of Albany, brother to Robert II, King of Scotland, was the next Lord of Man; and the ruins of his castle of Dunbar still exhibit over the gateway, several shields with armorial bearings, amongst which are those of the Isle of Man.1 These arms were subsequently borne by the Earls of Nairn and Cromarty, and are still borne by the Duke of Atholl.
The piety and superstitions of the middle ages greatly enriched the science of heraldry. The Crusaders to the Holy Land, occasioned the invention of an infinite number of crosses to distinguish the various nations and families that engaged in these expeditions. Devotions and pilgrimages supplied it with the images of angels and saints, with escalop shells and pilgrim’s staves.
The ancient sign armorial of the see of Sodor and Man, was Azure St. Columba at sea in a cock-boat, all proper in chief, a blazing star or.* The present arms of the bishopric are, on three ascents, the Virgin Mary, her arms extended between two pillars, on the dexter a church, in base, the present arms of the
Island, ground an ornamented shield, surmounted by a bisbop’s mitre.
1	Grated Antiquitiee qf Scotland, London, 1797, vol. i, p. 88; Sir Walter Scott*e Proee Worke, vol. vii, p. 410.
* Keith*e Catalogue qf Scottieh Biehope, Edinburgh, 1824.
VOL. II.
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CHAPTER XVI.
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.
Review of the Manners and Customs of the Scandinavians, when Masters in Man—Singular Treatment of their Children—Military Education—Dress, Weapons, and Accoutrements of the Danish Infantry—Appointments of the Cavalry—Construction of their Gallies—Number of their Vessels occasionally employed in Hostile Expeditions—Sports and Military Exercises instituted by Olaus, a Norwegian Vikingr—Mountebank Performance—Fire Dance—Ring Dance—Use of the Bow—Hawking—Forest Laws.
National manners and customs are not the production of momentary caprice and peremptory adoption. They flow spontaneously through the slow course of ages, forming from adventitious circumstances the character of a people. Things that are composed of such flimsy materials as the fancies of a multitude do not seem calculated for long duration; yet these have, in many instances, in the Isle of Man, preserved at least some form and colour of identity, during a repetition of changes, both in the religious opinions and civil polity of the islanders.
The Scandinavians, when rulers in Man, had many peculiar customs, which, in the course of time, became blended with those of the native inhabitants. Yet, by discriminate investigation, most of the singular observances of the Norsemen there, may still be traced to their proper origin.* The treatment and education of their children, destined to follow the profession of arms, could only be practised by a barbarous people.* When
1	Crichton^ Scandinavia, vol. i, cap. iv.
8	In Annandale and other places along the Scottish border, it was the general custom, prior to the union of the two kingdoms, to give every male infant the first aliment it received on the point of a sword, thereby indicating its future dependence on that weapon.
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newly-born, they were exposed to the frost and then placed before a fire ; besides being immersed in both hot and cold water, “ That their limbs might be more composed to endure heat and cold.” They were likewise whipt at the altar by the priests till they could endure severe punishment without crying, “ so they drank in the severity of life with their mothers’ milk.” Their meat was strong, and they lay on planks rather than on feathers.
“ Parents teach all their children of both sexes, but chiefly their boys, how to hold, raise, depress, or turn obliquely their hand-bows to shoot their arrows with, and if a dart or arrow missing the mark is lost among the snow or grass, or fall down between shrubs or trees, that it cannot be found, to recover it they shoot one or more arrows after it at length or upright to find it, for that which was first shot is to be found not far from it. That children may hit the mark, they lay down for the boys a white girdle or new bow, and for the maids a linen garment; and they grow so skilful that at a great distance they will hit a half penny or a needle infallibly, so far as they can see it.”*
Norwegian youths were carefully instructed in the art of horsemanship, and were taught to wield the spear, dart, and throw the javelin? Of their pride of having long hair, and the care which they took of it, there are many instances recorded. “ The sons of princes and kings were never polled from their childhood, that their locks might fall down upon their backs, they were divided, and hung down likewise on both sides before.”— A young Danish warrior when going to be beheaded, begged of the executioner that his hair might not be touched by a slave, or stained with his blood.’
1	Olaus Magnet History qf ths Northern Nations, London, edition 1658, pp. 60, 106.
1	Ibid, p. 106.
’ lomtwihinga Saga, lib. i, cap. ▼.
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It appears from various passages in old Danish sagas, and from the Welsh chronicles, that the general colour of the ancient Danish dress was hlack. In the Danish ballad of “ Childe Dysing,” that person is represented as riding even to a bridal feast in “ black sendeU:”1 black bordered with red is still a common dress of the Northern peasantry. Caradoc, the Welsh bard, repeatedly calls them “ the black Danes ;” and throughout the Welsh chronicles they are termed “ the black army.”
The Norwegian “ Resolutes,” who infested the British Isles, and took possession of the Isle of Man in the tenth century, wore more complete defensive armour than either the Scotch or Anglo-Saxons of that period, whose weapons consisted only of a small shield, a spear, and a sword.* According to one of their own historians, the uniform of the Danish foot soldiers was a coat so short as scarcely to cover their haunches, and so “ chequered and slashed above that it would not cover the shoulders.”3 They wore also corslets of sea-calves’ skins, tanned with lime, and elks’ skins with the hair on. If the war was in winter these corslets were frozen by pouring cold water on them, “ nor will the ice that sticks on the hair melt by the sweating of him that carries it.” Some used helmets of thick green skins boiled in lime; while moist, they were drawn upon wood after the form of the head, which drying by degrees in the open air, proves a good safe-guard for the head; but that they may not flag when the head gets hot, they fortify them with fish-lime and thin bark which resist all moisture.4 “ They also wore long boots with great tops turned down, vainly enough for no purpose.”3 The skin corslets were covered with a net-work of wire, as were the flawkerties or armour for the legs.
1 Danish Kampe-Vizer; Illustrations qf Northern Antiquities, 4to edition.
1 Guthrie9s History qf Scotland, vol. i, p. 61.
8 Olaus Magnus, p. 108.
4 Olaus Magnus, p. 137.
8 Olaus Magnus, p. 108.
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They had very long fir-tree spears that were dried in the sun, the points of which they sharpened with nails or by burning. With these, they first repulsed the force of light horsemen; and when they came to close quarters, they defended themselves with stones tied to their girdles, which they could throw at the enemy with such art, that they never missed their aim. “ Some use cords that they can cast on high and draw them in again, as nets for wild beasts: for, when they fight with their enemies hand to fist, they cast these cords over their heads, and will draw a horse or man to them. Some, also, that have neither iron nor leaden bullets, nor chains, bind a stone as big as a man’s fist to a cord that is a foot long, and which is fastened to a staff, and with these they involve the riders’ arms or horses’ legs, and draw them, to make them fall suddenly.”*
At a later period, their armour consisted of slings, lances, swords, arrows, and cross-bows, which descended to their posterity by right of inheritance,2 “ as a more rich furniture than silver;” a law which continued in the Isle of Man till near the middle of the eighteenth century.’ Such were the habiliments, accoutrements, and weapons of a Norwegian foot soldier. The officers were more splendidly attired. The helmet of one of the lowest class, was of iron, others were of gilded brass, and some even of gold.
In the description of the battle of Slicklastadt, where king Olaf, of Norway, called the saint, was slain, a.d. 1030, that monarch is said to have worn a tunic of ringed mail—“ hringa brynio”—a sharp sword, a white shield, and a helmet of gold.4 The ornamental belt, called the
1 Olaus Magnus, p. 136.
2 Olaus Magnus, page 95; Mallet’s Northern Antiquities, vol. i, cap. ix.
2 Lex Scripta, p. 319, statute of 1747; whereby a firelock is substituted for the ancient weapons of war, which were, by various statutes, required to descend to heirs at law and assigns, as “ corbes.”
4 Heimskringla, book ii, p. 352.
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Silffschena,' was only worn by such as could afford to purchase it; and the soldiers’ arms were regulated by the law of Gula, said to have been established by Hacon the Good, who died in 963.’
The military dress and accoutrements of the Danes were sometimes very splendid. Earl Goodwin presented to Hardikanute a magnificent vessel, on board of which were eighty soldiers armed with coats of gilded mail, their shields embossed with gold, and their helmets richly gilt. Each of them had two golden bracelets, one on either arm, weighing sixteen ounces. The hilts of their swords were of the same precious metal, and every man had a Danish axe on his left shoulder, and a spear in his right hand.3
The Danish shields were either circular or lunated. By the laws of Gula, the possessor of six hundred marks was required to furnish himself with a “ red shield of two boards thickness.” Persons of distinction, however, ornamented theirs with gilding and various colours.4 In Saemond’s poetical “ Edda,” mention is made of a red shield with a golden border. The shield was just the height of the bearer, in order to protect him from arrows, darts, or stones; and when they had occasion to encamp in an open field in bad weather, they sheltered themselves by placing several shields together, and by locking one
1 Olaus Magnut, p. 108.
2 Thorstein’s Vikings sons Saga, with Reenheislm’s Notes, Leipsic, 1680, cap. x, page 78.
3 Florence of Worcester, p. 403 ; MS. Chron.; Cotton Tiberius, books i and iv ; History of British Costume, London, 1834, p. 47.
* Archaologia, vol. xxiv. “The Anglo Saxon shields in the illuminations, are generally white, with red or blue borders and circles painted upon them ; but we find no crosses depicted on them before the eleventh century, which leads to a conjecture, that they were introduced in the North at least, by St. Olaf.”—History of British Costume, p. 47. The ancient Scots used round targets, generally made of oak, and covered with strong leather; but there is one of iron preserved in the Castle of Dunvegan, which, even in its decayed state, weighs nearly twenty pounds.—Grosses Antiquities of Scotland, vol. ii, p. 298.
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into another, they formed a rampart which surrounded the whole army.
Nor was the shield of the Danish soldier less useful in naval encounters. If the fear of falling into the enemy’s hands induced him to leave his ship, he cast himself into the sea, and sailed away on his shield. When not made use of in war, great pains were taken to embellish them with emblematical figures expressive of the exploits of their owners. They were suspended on the walls of their houses, as the finest decorations with which they could be adorned; and at last they were even used as a bier to carry the dead to their graves,* a custom continued in the Isle of Man till the commencement of the last century?
A Scandinavian horseman, when fully equipped for battle, carried a long spear ornamented at the top with the tail of a fox or other animal, as a symbol of contempt for his enemies. He carried, likewise, a cross-bow, either of horn or of steel, with a broad two-handed sword; also, an iron mallet,’ crooked at the end, to penetrate his opponent’s helmet, or to beat out his horse’s brains. The covering of the horse was either an iron corselet, leather steeped in lime, or wire to keep off the cut of the sword. When thus equipped, they went to war as merrily as they did to a dance.4
From the situation of the Isle of Man, a knowledge of the art of navigation must have been coeval with its being first inhabited. The vessels of the ancient Caledonians were a species of open boat, of which the skeleton was light timbers, ribbed with a texture of smaller pieces of wood covered with hides. These were furnished with
1	Mallet'9 Northern Antiquities, London, 1770, vol. i, p. 241.
* Waldron's Description of the Isle qf Man, p. 170.
* The spear, the bow, the two-handed sword, and the leaden mallet, were also the principal articles of defensive armour used in war by the ancient Scots.—Z/um^’* Battle of Flodden; ap. Grose's Antiquities qf Scotland, vol. ii, p. 298.
4	Olaus Magnus, pp. 98, 109.
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masts and sails, the latter being of extended hides, which were never furled, and their tackle was composed of leathern thongs. The thongs, however, were laid aside for a texture composed of small twisted rushes, and hence the remnant of an old cable is still called by sailors, “ a piece of old junk,” from jiincu^, a rush.
It is probable that these rude vessels fell gradually into disuetude soon after the Roman invasion, and that our ancestors then began to fashion them after those of the invaders;' but they were in general use in the ninth century, and were, frequently, so small that two ox hides and a half were sufficient for the covering of one of them? The pirates of Greenland, likewise, used leather ships of very small dimensions. Olaus Magnus saw two of them hung up in the cathedral church of St. Halvard, in the year 1505.®
From the figures on ancient monuments in the Western Isles, the prow and stern of the Caledonian vessels seem to have been equally high. A single mast in the middle of the vessel sustained a square sail, and a flag was borne on a small mast at the prow. Crafts of a similar description are to be seen on the armorial bearings of some of the Scottish nobility, particularly on those of the Duke of Argyle, Marquis of Breadalbane, Earl of Selkirk and Earl of Orkney. Goddard Crovan, after conquering the Isle of Man, brought the Scots under such subjection, that they durst not build a ship with more than three nails in it ;* but this restraint was soon disregarded.
The Hebridean gallies as well as those along the coast of Scotland, were generally of twenty-four oars each. Every baron having lands within six miles along the shore, was obliged, by law, to contribute for every merkland pos-
r 1 Whitaker’s History, vol. i, p. 380.
* Arnot’s History qf Edinburgh, 1788, p. 47.
’ History of the Northern Nations, London, 1658, p. 20.
4	Chronicles of the Kings qf Man, ap. Camden.
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sessed by him, one man with an oar, towards the equipment of the said gallies, with a proportional part of the expense of maintaining them.1
Somerled, the mighty Thane of Argyle, set out with a fleet of fifty-three sail in the year 1158, to conquer the Isle of Man; but in his next expedition, in 1164, his fleet consisted of one hundred and sixty ships? About the year 1204, Reginald, king of Man, fitted out a fleet of one hundred ships to assist his brother-in-law, John de Courcey, to recover his estates in Ireland.
In the year 1224, Allan, Lord of Galloway, equipped a fleet of one hundred and fifty ships, for the purpose of deposing the king of Man.3 When the Manks submitted to Alexander III, king of Scotland, they engaged to assist him, when required, with ten vessels, manned with five hundred men, which were large vessels for those times. But what were these fleets in numerical strength to the three thousand six hundred ships which historians have placed under the command of Hacon, king of Man.4 ?
The small vessels of the Scandinavians were called scouts.5 They were not like those of the Caledonians and Irish—made of hoops covered with leather—but were formed of fir boards, either fastened together with roots of trees or with the nerves of the reindeer, and “ being smeared all over with pine pitch, they yielded to the motion of the waves like a sack of leather, because they were not fastened with hard unconquered iron, but with soft twigs and nerves, which lasted long enough against the injury of the elements, because of the imbibed pitch.”8
1 Acts qf the Scottish Parliament, James I, part ix, chap. cnvi.
2 Sacheverel? s Account of the Isle of Man, London, 1702, p. 41.
3 Anecdotes of Olave the Black, King of Man, printed 1780.
4 See ante, vol. i, p. 66.
6 H They had likewise a small light kind of bark, called a snekkar, containing besides the steersman and rowers, one man-at-arms with an archer.1’—Crichton's Scandinavia, vol. i, cap. vi.
6 Olaus Magnus, p. 59.
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Scout is still the common name of small vessels chiefly employed in the herring fishery in the Isle of Man, throughout the Western Isles, and along the coasts of Scotland.
Scouts were chiefly employed on the northern coasts. The galleys were fitted out for more distant expeditions, with such speed, that, “ in the space of one month, they could make of wood not yet framed, sixty ships or more, to go to sea, provided with arms and provisions.”
Such was the facility with which the northern barbarians obtained the means of prosecuting their piratical excursions. Magnus Barefoot left the shores of his kingdom with one hundred and sixty sail, to subdue the Western Isles; but Haco was surrounded by the “ largest forest of floating pines that ever left the shores of Norway.”' The king’s ship, however, was formed of oak : it contained twenty-seven benches of oars, and was ornamented with the heads and necks of dragons beautifully overlaid with gold; yet this vessel was surpassed by one of an earlier date.
Harold Harfager had a ship which the chronicles mention with admiration, under the name of “ The Dragon.” King Olave Tryggeson3 had one of the same kind, named “The Long Serpent.” “It was very long, high, and of most desirable construction; as a wooden serpent was carved on its poop, and both that and the prow was gilded. It carried thirty-four benches of rowers, and was the largest ship ever seen in Norway.”3 But the great ship “Michail,” was larger than any of these.*
1	Poem of Snorro Sturlson, who accompanied King Haco on his expedition in 1263, translated from the Flategan and Frisian MSS., by Johnstone,
8	“ Olaf Tryggeson was stronger and more nimble than any man in his dominions. He could climb up the rock of Smarlserhorn and fix his shield upon the top of it, and he could walk round about the outside of a boat upon the oars, while the men were rowing, without disturbing any of them.”—Pontoppidan' 8 History qf Norway, page 248.
3	Mallet's Northern Antiquities, London, 1770, vol. i, p. 258 ; Sfthm's History of Denmark, tom. iv, pp. 282, 291.
* Appendix, Note i, “ The great Ship, Michail.”
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It is only from the sports and pastimes generally prevalent among a particular people that a just estimate can be formed of their character. The domestic customs and amusements of the ancient Manks appear to have been derived from the Welsh, the Scots, the Scandinavians, and the English, as they successively ruled the affairs of the Island; but when we see people engaged in any of the simple amusements that delighted, in a similar manner, the inhabitants of other countries, nearly a thousand years ago, it shows forcibly the difficulty of ascertaining with historical accuracy the exact limits of national manners and customs.
History informs us that Olaus, the piratical son of Tiyggo, king of Norway, after having plundered the coast of Northumberland, arrived in Man about the year 990, and being prodigal of gold he instituted many sports and warlike exercises there, which were at that time prevalent among the more northern nations.'
The ancient field game, called the northern spell, as described by Strutt, slinging, casting the bar, and throwing the javelin, are pastimes supposed to be of northern origin ;’ as were also the kayle pins.* These have been all practised in Man till a recent period, and some of them are even in vogue at the present day.
Those military exercises of the quintain, tilting at the ring, and justs, which under the general name of tournament, were the favourite pastimes of the nobility of southern Europe in the middle ages, seem not to have formed any part of the habitudes of the Scandinavians. Hawking and hunting were the field sports of the Norse
1	Antiquities Celto Scandica Hamite, 1786, page 69.
2	Strutt's Sports and Pastimes of the People of England, London, 1833, pp. 73, 74, 75, 109. Olaus Magnus says—“ They throw the sledge and cast the bar, that being one of their chief amusements,” p. 168.
♦	Appendix, Note ii, “ Singular discovery in the Moors of Galloway.”
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nobility; and all kind of mountebank performances were exhibited for their amusement.
The ancient author, whose authority I prefer in illustrating this part of my subject, mentions “ a dance or play where, upon a wooden engine men were carried into the air by the motion of the wheels. They likewisefsport with spears, about which they turn themselves nimbly; they walk on ropes by times, and will slide through a hoop like a fish, and walk on their hands with their heels upwards.”1
In the ■“ fire dance” of the Scandinavians may be recognised the prototype of similar customs observed by the American Indians. They sometimes “ make a great fire before the king’s palace, at midnight, and by beat of drum call the most valiant soldiers to dance round it, which they do so violently, and hold so fast, that the last man must needs fall into the fire ; then leaping forth again, as if he should break a strong chain, by the applause of the dancers, he is set on the highest seat^that he may, for spoiling the king’s fire, drink one or two great cups of the strongest ale. Thus they continue till midnight, falling almost by turns into the fire to procure the cup of ale.” “By means of these and other exercises the fresh-water soldiers gain such strength of body that they will endure firmly in fire, dancing and hard rubs, so that when war comes indeed, they can better sustain the violences of it. But if any man, by malicious presumption, commit an offence at the king’s gate, he seldom escapes being burnt alive in the bone-fire.”a
The ring-dance is of a more rational description. The dancers commenced slowly by “ singing modestly the deeds of famous men; and while the pipes played and drums beat, they moved round or stood at the command of
1 Olaus Magnus, p. 168.
2 Olaus Magnus, pp. 168, 169.
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a person called their king. That this might be done more solemnly, they bound little brass bells to tinkle at their knees, like morris-dancers. They also danced in their harness that rattled as in the wars, and these were governed by the minstrel who played slower or softer that they might leap so with their swords or bucklers. After dancing thus three times with their swords in their scabbards, they drew them forth and danced with the naked blades lifted up; then taking the points and pummels one of the other, they changed ranks and placed themselves in a hexagonal figure, which they called rosam. The dance was then finished by raising them up so as to form a square rosa above, drawing back their swords over each of their heads, and then by a most nimble whisking of them about collaterally, they quickly leaped back, and ended the sport with songs and the most vehement dancing.”1
The Danes, as before mentioned, were taught with great care in early life the rudiments of archery, and at a more advanced period the use of the “ strong steel bow and its accompanying wheels,” for which they manifested no small degree of affection, as by means of it they could “ with wonderful agility shoot the arrows with such force that they would pierce through a man in armour as through soft wax.” Their arrows, however, were of the most varied description ; some were made of iron, like broad knives, others had broad heads of wood, and many were used with a “ forked head.” Many thousands of them were carried with the army, “ because they were portable, and were seldom carried in vain.” They had also a kind of “three-pointed arrow dipt in venome,” which, however, as they made “ no great wound,” were lightly used, but when it was understood the enemy was fierce and cruel and would give no quarter.2
1	Olav* Magnus, pp. 167, 168.
8	Olaut Magnus, p. 95.
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The male population of Man was, in early times, also trained to the use of the bow. They met in companies to practise at the different parish churches, on holy-days, and periodically at other times. Many of the “ bowbutts” are still to be seen nearly entire. That in front of Peel Castle, called by some “ The Giant’s grave,”* is ninety feet in length and five feet in breadth. The sword and buckler with all the bows and arrows descended as “ corbes” to the male heir of the yeoman. The sword, bow, arrows, doublet, and habergeon of the garrison soldier, became at his death the property of the Lord of the Isle, and were added to the armory of Peel, for the future defence of the Island.”’
Hawking was another favourite amusement, particularly of the nobility, in olden times. In the most ancient luminated manuscripts now extant, the portraits of many of the kings of England are distinguished by their having hawks on their hands, as the symbol of its being a royal pastime.3 Hetzner, in his “Itinerary,” written in 1598, assures us that hawking was the most favourite sport of the English nobility. Sebastian Brant, a native of Germany, in his work entitled “ Stritifera Navis,”4 accuses his countrymen of taking their hawks and hounds into the church with them.
These birds were so highly appreciated as to be deemed presents worthy of royalty. The king of Scotland sent Edward III the present of a falcon, which he not only graciously received, but rewarded the falconer who brought it with a donation of forty shillings, a proof how highly the bird was valued. In the reign of king John, Geoffrey
1 “ The grave of an enormous giant is shown beneath the outer walls of the castle. It was lately opened by two young sportsmen from Manchester, who discovered no bones or other vestiges.”—Lord Teignmouth's Sketches, cap. xx.
2 MS. Statute Book, pp. 9, 16, 23.
3 Strutt's Sports and Pastimes of the People of England, London, 1833, p. 24.
4 Translated into English by Alexander Barclay, London, 1508.
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Fitz Pierre, the chief justiciary, gave two good Norway hawks to the king, that Walter de Madine might have leave to export a hundred weight of cheese out of the king’s dominions.'
Hounds and hawks were often made the tenure, by which land was held of the crown. Bertram de CroU held the manor of Seaton, in Kent, from Edward I, on the condition of his providing a man to lead three greyhounds, when the king went into Gascony, as long as a pair of shoes, valued at four shillings, would last him? The Manks hawks, like those of Norway, whence they were first imported, were for strength and flight the most famous in the world.
Sir John Stanley received a grant of the Isle of Man from Henry IV, “ to be held of the king, his heirs, and successors by the service of a cast of falcons, payable on the coronation day of each sovereign respectively.”3
The Manks laws refer to only one place in the Island where the hawks breed: “ If any person go to the hough where the hawks do breed to take the young hawks or their eggs, he is to be presented to the Great Inquest and punished at the discretion of the Lord of the Isle.”4 To rob the heron’s nest was likewise a high crime, as thereby a penalty of three pounds was incurred. It was a favourite amusement of the Manks princes to pursue this timorous bird with the falcon, which was called “heron-hawking.” Therefore great care was taken to preserve the species?
1	Madox’s History qf the Exchequer; Hume’s History qf England, cap. xi.
* Strutt’s Sports and Pastimes, p. 16, Appendix; Olaus Magnus, p. 195.
3	Seacome’s History qf the House qf Stanley, Liverpool, 1741, 4to., p. 204 ; Tytier’s History qf Scotland, vol. ii, p. 406.
4	In the Isle of Man, " Eagles and kites are in great plenty. The eagles sometimes seize on young children and carry them to a considerable distance, and are otherwise so troublesome, that any one who kills an eagle, may, by ancient custom, claim a hen out of every house in the parish where it was killed. Hawks and falcons have their nests in several parts of the Island. The Lord's falconer goes over every year and takes away the young."—Camden’s Britannia, edit. 1695, p. 1063.
* Lex Scripta, Douglas, 1819, pp. 13, 66, 68 ; Statutes, 1422, 1577.
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As the ancient Normans and Manks Danes derived their origin from the same stock, they differed little in their manners and habitudes, and still less in their amusements. The propensity for hunting was, at least, common to both. The Norman kings of England had their sixtyeight forests, thirteen chases, and seven hundred and eighty-one deer parks in different parts of England;' and the Danish kings of Man, even in that little Island, had their forests, their deer parks, their foresters, and consequently their forest laws.*
As the Manks Danes, like their ancestors, held in contempt every pastime or occupation where the highest honours were not attainable by bodily strength or reckless daring, they knew no medium of recreation between violent exertion and a state of lethargic inaction, except carousing amidst boisterous mirth. So much were they addicted to intemperance, that no marriage, baptism, or funeral could be attended or religious festival solemnized without feasting and drinking to excess?
On some of their solemn occasions, they drank out of the skulls of their enemies, to the memory of such of their relatives as had fallen bravely in battle, or to the manes of their heroes or kings. In Pagan times, at the festivals that usually followed the sacrifices, they quaffed what was called the “ cup of Odin” to obtain a victory and a glorious reign, and the “ cups of Niord and Frey” for a plentiful season. The Scandinavians were so much addicted to this custom, that the first Christian missionaries who visited them, being unable to abolish it, instead of false deities, substituted the true Messiah and the prophets, to whose honour they drank luxuriously for many ages?
1	Hume's History of England, Appendix to chap. xi.
♦ Appendix, Note iii, “ Forest Laws.”
2	Pellutier, ap, Mallet's Northern Antiquities, vol i, chap. xii.
2	Mallet's Northern Antiquities, vol. i, chap. xiii.
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APPENDIX.—Chapter XVI.
NOTE I.—Pagb 92.
THE GREAT SHIP “ MICH ALL.”
Lindsay, of Pitscottie, thus describes this singular vessel, built by one of the kings of Scotland:—“ The Kingbuiltit a great schipe, called the * Michail/ quhilk was ane verry monstrous great schipe; for this schipe tuik as muckle timber that schoe wasted all the woode in Fife except Falkland woode, forbye the timber that came out of Norway. For many of the schipewrights in Scotland wrought at her and schipewrights from other countries had their desyre at her, and all wrought busilie for the space of ane year at her. This schipe was twelff fortis length, thirty-sax feet within the wallis; schoe was four feet thick within the wallis of cutted rails of oak, so that no cannon could doe at her. She cumbered all Scotland to get her to the sea, and when schoe was committed to the sea and under sail, schoe was counted to the King to cost fourteen thousand pounds of expences by his ordoinies and cannons which she bare. Schoe had three hundred mariners to govern her, sax score gunners to use her artillerie, and one thousand men of warre, by captaines, and skipperies, and quarter-maisteries. Quhen this schipe passed to the sea and was lying in the road, the King caused to be shot at her ane cannon to essay if schoe was right bolt of cannon : and if any man misbelieve what we have said of this schipe, let him go to Tully Cardyone and he will find her length and breadth sett down.”— Chronicler qf Scotland, Edinburgh, 1814, vol. i, pp. 256—258.
NOTE II.—Pagb 93.
SINGULAR DISCOVERY IN THE MOORS OF GALLOWAY.
“ In the summer of 1835, as some labourers were casting peats at Iron Maccannie, when cutting near the bottom of the moss, laid open, with their spades, instruments of an ancient game, consisting of an oaken ball, eighteen inches in circumference, and seven wooden pins, each 13 inches in length, of a conical shape with a circular top. These ancient ‘kayle pins,’ as they are termed by Strutt in his Sports and Pastimes of the People, London, edition 1833, p. 271, were all standing erect on the hard till, equidistant from each other, with the exception of two which rcinttd
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towards the ball that lay about a yard in front, from which it may be inferred that they were overthrown in the course of the game. The ball has been formed of solid oak, and from its decayed state, must have remained undisturbed for centuries, till discovered at a depth of not less than twelve feet from the original surface. In the excavations making at Pompeii, utensils are often found seemingly in the very position in which they were last used. This may be accounted for by the awful calamity that befel that devoted city; but what induced or compelled the ancient gamesters in the wilds of Galloway to leave the instruments of their amusement, in what might be considered the middle of their sport, is more difficult to solve. These relics can now only be prized for their curiosity, the singular position in which they were found, and the relation they bear to ancient times. Little did the individuals by whom they were used conceive that the instruments which then formed a source of amusement to them, would prove subjects of curiosity at the present day/'— Dumfries Courier of July 7, 1835.
NOTE III.—Page 98.
FOREST LAWS.
“ The King's forest extended from Castle Rushen to Kentraugh burn, in Kirk Christ Rushen, and following up that burn to the Fell ditch on the N.E. of Kirk Santon burn; and along that burn to the sea side, and from thence to the Castle of Rushen.”—Lex Scripta, p. 84. In the year 1584, in pursuance of an ancient privilege, the King’s officers were again allowed to hunt in the forest of Rushen, at that time stocked with red deer.
On the north side of the Island there was a royal park extending from the burnfoot of Ballaugh round the shore to the Point of Ayre, and up again to Ramsey burnfoot. In 1666, these lands were farmed out to certain warreners at a yearly rack-rent.—Statute*, 1584, 1586, 1587, 1597, 1666. The forest was enclosed with a gray-hedge, to keep up which, it was enacted 44 That all gorse whins and ling that doth join to the out hedge as far as a man from the same can throw or cast his heath or grose hook shall be reserved for the maintenance of the said hedge.” Also, “ If a person shall set fire to any ling, gorse, or turf within the forest, either by day or by night, or dig or pull turf there, and not fill up the pit again with swarth, having the green side up, such as offend in that may be lawfully fined by the Great Inquest.”—Liber Placitorum, anno 1606, 1607, ap. Parr’* MS. Statutes of the Isle of Man; see * Forrester’s Duty/ To keep a gate at the entrance of the said forest, it was enacted that ” each person passing through the same with gorse, ling, or heath pay for keeping up the same.”—MS. Statute Book of the Island, folios 20, 39, 40, 64; Statutes, anno 157 7, 1618, 1638. While in Scotland, it was enacted, 44 That none hunt or hawlk within six miles of the king’s woods, parks, castles, or palaces under the pain of ane hundred pounds.”—Act, James 6th, par. xiv, cap. ccxiv. The Manks forest laws were less severe, 44 If any person goeth to the king’s forest by day or by night with bow and arrows, or with hounds or greyhounds to kill the king’s game, whether hart or hinde, you shall pre-
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sent him to the Great Inquest by virtue of your oath.”—Statutes, 1422,1577; Lex Seripta, pp. 13, 68; Statute Book, folios 7, 44. It was anciently the custom to impannel a certain number of persons throughout the several parishes of this Isle, to report such persons as committed any trespass within the Forest, to the Great Inquest. “ Such persons, upon a true presentment at the Great Inquest, to be fined in £vii for every such offence, as well for a young as for an old deer, and if it be a tame deer he is to pay £x, besides imprisonment at the descretion of the officers.” —Liber Ptacitorum, anno 1581; Liber Scaccarii, anno 1638, ap. Parr’s MS. Statutes; ‘Forrester’s Duty.’ The king’s forester was a privileged person. While he had on his hunting boots he was not liable to be cited to any court of judicature. His bugle was the horn of an ox, and his authority extended as far as the sound of his horn could be heard. On the eve of St. Columb, he or his deputy was required to ascend the summit of the highest hill in the Island, and after sounding his horn thrice, to repeat the forest laws with a loud voice that the people might hear and know the same; and on the third day after, he was required to go forth to the forest, taking such company with him as he might think fit to witness his proceedings, where, “if he find any sheep unshorn, if the same be not a milk sheep, he ought to take the same with his dog, and to take the fleece to his own use, and put his privy mark on the sheep, to the intent that if any such sheep be found the next year by the said forester, he is to certify the same to the comptroller and receiver, that they may be sold for the lord’s profit as a stray : the same to be done with any lamb, sheep, goat, or kidd found within the precincts of the forest.”— Statute, 1504 ; Lex Seripta, pp. 35,36; Liber Scaccarii, ap. Parr’s MS. Statutes; * Forrester’s Duty.’ “ And if any person be found to conceal any such strays, and assume them as goods of their own, and not be able to justify the same, but intentionally keep them to deprive the Lord thereof, such persons are to be proceeded against as felons, or fined severely.”—Liber Scaccarii, anno 1591, 1619; Liber Ptacitorum, anno 1577, ap. Parr’s MS. Statutes.
By a subsequent act, passed on 7th November, 1747, it was enacted, “That thereafter, it should not be lawful for the forester to go forth to clip such sheep on the commons as his perquisite till the twenty-first day of June in every year.”—Lex Seripta, p. 3, 21.
The forester's fees appear to have been very limited: “ Whereas the forester of this Isle is, by the laws, to have an ob.1 of every manner of person that goeth to the lord’s forest for turff and ling, and to have a penny halfpenny of all that put swine, horses, or cattle into the forests, and any person paying the said fee may have a waste rent imposed upon them by the Setting Quest.”—Lex Seripta, pp. 63, 64, 92 ; Mills’s Ancient Ordinances, p. 57. “ And the keeper of the forest gate to receive an ob. at the end of every seven years from every person allowed in any way the liberty of the forest.”
1 The Ob. is frequently mentioned in the old Manks statutes; it evidently bears reference to the ancient coin called the Obulus, regarding which we have the following notice in Plutarchs Life of Lysander:—“ A decree was passed that no coin whatever of gold or silver should be admitted into Sparta j but that they should use the money long in circulation. This money was of iron dipped in vinegar while it was red hot to make it brittle and unmalleable, so that it might not be applied to any other use. Perhaps all the ancient money was of this kind, and consisted either of pieces of iron or brass, which, from their form, were called Obelisci, whence we have still a quantity of small money, called Oboli, six of which make a drachma or handful, that being as much as the hand can contain.’*—Plutarchs Lives, London, edition 1825, p. S13. It is well known that coins of every country and denomination have been, from an early period, current in the Isle of Man, It, therefore, appears evident that allusion is here made to this ancient species of coinage. The forest fee being so small shews that the regulation was merely to uphold the Lord*s right.
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CHAPTER XVII.
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.
Retrospective glance at Manks Chivalry—Sports and Pastimes—Prize Shooting and Horse Racing encouraged by the Earl of Derby in the seventeenth century—Costume of the Peasantry—Carranes—Sunday Blanket—Character of the People—Formerly governed by arbitrary Laws—Yarding, a singular custom—Rural Tribunal—Choice Children—Peculiar Laws relating to the employment of Servants—Minor Punishments—The Quaaltagh—Festivals of Laa'l Breeshey—Shrove Tuesday—Good Friday—Laa Boaldyn—Vigil of St, John—Gule of August—Sanative Wells—The Mheillea—Halloween—The Hunting of the Wren—Christmas Usages—Marriage Customs—Peculiar Observances at Births and Baptisms—Funeral Rites and Ceremonies.
If the romantic spirit of chivalry, which overspread the greater part of Christendom in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, induced any of the Manks people to join the ranks of the crusaders, the part which they enacted in that great drama is now forgotten. But if the Manks knights did not go forth in search of adventures into foreign parts, neither were they cavaliers at a later period, nor their countrymen roundheads in the time of the commonwealth of England.
Bishop Meryk, in his letter to Mr. Camden, says “ they abhor the civil and ecclesiastical dissensions of the neighbouring countries. There never were any religious feuds in the Island, but there never were any penal or incapacitating laws to create them or impede the inhabitants from worshipping their Maker in the form which their consciences dictate.”1
1 Quayle'* Agricultural Survey, p. 150.
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Tn England, at this epoch, all recreations were in a manner suspended by the gloomy fanaticism and rigid severity of the preshyterians and independents. All the hears in London, which were kept for the diversion of the citizens, were destroyed hy the soldiery: this gave rise to the poem of Hudihras: horse racing was prohibited as one of the greatest enormities any people could be guilty of.1
Tn the Isle of Man, prize shooting and horse racing for plate was conducted under the permission of the Earl of Derby, previous to the year 1669, as appears by the following document, yet extant, in the handwriting of that nobleman:—“ It is my good will and pleasure that the two prizes, formerly granted by me for hors running and shooting, shall continue, as they did, to be run and shot for, during my good will and pleasure. Given under my hand, at Latham, the 12th of July, 1669. Derby.”
“To my Governor’s'deputy Governor and the rest of my officers in my Isle of Man.”
The value of the plate to be run for yearly, on the 28th of July, the birthday of Lord Strange, was five pounds. Cattle bred in the Island only were eligible to run for the Derby plate. The race course appears to have been on the sands near Derbyhaven. “ The two powles by the rocks are to be kept on the rider’s left hand, the fifth powle, which is set up at the lower end of the conney warren, to be kept also on the rider’s left hand.”2
It might be supposed that the bow and sling had now given place to the harquebuss, yet down to the middle of the last century “ the young men were great shooters with bowe and arrows. They had shooting matches frequently, parish against parish, and wagers were laid which side would have the better.”3
1 Hume98 History of England, cap. Ixii.
2 Waverley Novels, vol. xxviii, p. 210.
3 Waldron^s Description of the Isle of Man, pp. 156, 157.
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Like the Irish Gallowglasses, the ancient Manks peasantry wore their hair long and hound behind with a leathern thong: the ordinary covering for the head was called a bayrn. They generally wore what was called giare chooat, or short coatee and trowsers of kialter, a kind of untucked woollen cloth of the natural shade, called loagktyn. Sometimes the dress of the better sort was yn cheeir Ikeeah, which was russet or dark grey, generally milled. On their legs they wore either oaskyr voynnee, or the oaskyr slobbagk; the former is a stocking without a foot, the latter a stocking without a sole, but with a lappet over the instep, and a hole to loop on one of the toes of the foot.1
On their feet were fastened brogues of a very rude description, made of neat skin with the hair on, without having either been tarred or tanned—the skin being merely salted and dried; these they call carranes. In the summer of 1836, I had an opportunity of observing that many of the peasantry in the uplands were still wearing these primitive-looking sandals. The hide is cut up so as to cover the sole and meet over the foot from the toe to the instep, when laced, as they generally are, with a thong. Formerly the vanity of the Manks peasantry was indicated by the length of the hair on his carranes.* The spruce young bachelor cut it very short, while he of
1 Cregeen's Dictionary gf the Manks Language.
8 Camden, in his Britannia, vol. ii, p. 1446, calls these shoes kerr ones. They are not peculiar to the Manks : the peasantry of Calabria wore a kind of shoes of raw hide called curranes, or rough shoes without heels.—Anderson's Royal Genealogies, p. 753. The Scotch Highlanders, likewise, wore shoes of untanned leather. “ We, of all people, can tollerate colde going alwaies bare leggid, therefor the tendir gentlemen of Scotland call us ‘ reddshankes;’ we goe a huntyng, and after that we have slaine the redd deir, we flay off the skyne and setting of our foot on the insyde thereof, we play the sutter, i. e., the shoemaker, measuringe so much thereof aa shall retche up to our ancklers, pryckynge the upper part thereof with holis that the water may repass when it enters, and streuched up with a thwange of the same mentioned above our said ancklers.”—Letter from John Elder, a Highland Priest, to Henry VIH, ap. Transactions of the Iona Club, vol. i, part iii, pp. 29, 30.
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less fastidious taste perhaps preferred comfort to appearance, applied neither scissors nor knife, hut allowed all the hair to remain on the skin; latterly, however, it was generally shorn by the old as well as the young. The carranes, which are now very little used, were succeeded by the large-buckle shoe, which has made way for the present fashionable boot and shoe.
In order to resist the moisture that oozed through the raw hide when pressed against wet ground, some old persons make inner soles to their carranes of pitched sheepskin, when worn out in buoying the fishing nets; but this effeminate practice was far from being general, even among the aged and infirm. The Manks peasantry are generally very hardy. “ It is well known that more rain falls in hilly countries than in any others, and the Isle of Man is not singular in this respect; but we never, during a long residence there, knew a native change his clothes on account of his being wet through.”1
The women wore in former times a short gown, and an oanrey or petticoat of eglhinolley, which in English signifies linsey-woolsey, dyed a dark reddish colour with a kind of moss that grows on the rocks, called by the natives scriss-ny-greg or cleaysh-lheeah?
According to Bishop Meryk, “ the women never went abroad but with a winding sheet about them to mind them of mortality.” This winding sheet was, perhaps, nothing else than a cover similar to the broad plaid, formerly so common in the west of Scotland. Down to the close of the last century, women in Ayrshire seldom went abroad without having the plaid drawn over their heads, leaving only a small aperture for the eyes. Those of the poorer classes were made of plaiding, the natural colour of the wool. Young women wore them with a mixture
1	Communication to the Editor of the Liverpool Albion, November, 1841.
* Cregeen'e Dictionary of the Manke Language, pp. 60, 143.
vol. n. O
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of red and white yarn, and the colour of the aged matrons was generally black.
I am induced to believe that the winding sheet, alluded to by the bishop, was similar to the Ayrshire plaid from its being called a “ Sunday’s blanket” in the Statute Book of the Island, and from its descending by law in heritage as a corbe to the female line of the first owner.1 The dress of many of the married women, nowadays, in the upland district, consists of a close linen cap, such as was formerly worn by old women in Scotland and called there a mutch. Over this they wear a round black hat, such as is worn by the men, which, with a short blue camblet gown, and a linsey-woolsey petticoat, completes the female attire of the lower class.
“ A stranger is surprised to observe the small degree of complaisance which is paid by the male natives of the Island to the weaker sex. The men always ride to market on horse back, with a creel on each side, containing whatever they have to dispose of, while the women follow them on foot without either shoes or stockings, and carrying these ‘superfluous coverings,’ as they call them, under their arms, till they approach the market town, when they then sit down to arrange their dress ‘ for fashion’s sake,’ letting down at the same time their under garments, which before were tucked up higher than their knees, for the convenience of wading through the rivers, and to preserve them from the mire of the bogs and sloughs through which they have often to pass.”* AU these rude customs have now disappeared. Subsequent to Waldron’s time, when it was necessary for a female to accompany her husband to market, she generally rode behind him on the same horse, using the creel as a stirrup. The present method of conveying farm produce to market is by carts ; a horse with creels is seldom to be met with.
1	Le.v Scripta, p. 104.
2	Waldron, pp. 157, 187.
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If you hear flails at work, you may be sure to find them in female hands; and it is surprising to see how well they use them.1
The Manks peasantry have been severely stigmatised for their indolent disposition? “ It is said that so soon as the fishing season is over, they retire to their respective homes to enjoy the fruits of their toil, by indulging in the most unbounded latitude, in the only pleasure of life which they think worth attaining—intemperance and sleep.” This writer finishes his description of the character of the Manks people, by saying—“ The lowest classes are rude, ungovernable, and uncivilized, far below the common people of any other country I have had occasion to visit.”3 But so far as I have had the means of judging, he speaks with unmerited severity. Sacheverell, who was governor of the Island, gives a more favourable account of the people in his time:—“ The people are generally well-bodied, and inured to labour; and it is observed, that those who are refined by travel, prove men of parts and of business.”* “ The inhabitants of the Isle of Man,” says Bishop Wilson, “are an orderly, civilized people, and courteous enough to strangers: if they have been otherwise represented, it has been by those who knew them not; or perhaps because they have sense enough to see when strangers would go about to impose
1 Townley18 Journal. The Isle of Man does not seem to be the only place where women perform such work. u In the Isle of Arran, down to a very recent period, the work of the fields was entirely performed by women, as the men confined their labours to the fishing, and passed their winters in complete idleness.”—Lord Teign-mouth’* Sketches qf the Coast* and Island* qf Scotland, vol. ii, p. 394, London, edition 1836.
2 “ The workmen observe the singular custom of allowing an interval of two hours
of rest in the middle of the day, and. no inducement can. prevail on them to encroach
upon it. They may be seen at these times stretched under the hedge-rows by the
road side. A Manksman will sometimes lose the chance of obtaining sixpence for
a fish, if he has to walk a mile for it.”—Lord Teignmouth’* Sketches, chapter n.
His lordship has, I think, been misled in this instance.
8 Townley’* Journal, vol. i, p. 117, vol. ii, p. 194.
^ Account qf the Isle qf Man, p. 7.
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upon them, which they are not willing to suffer, when they can help it.”*
Colonel Townley visited the Island in bad health, and during his residence there, went out only in fine weather for an hour or two daily, either in a carriage along the shore to enjoy the refreshing sea breeze, or on foot for a few hundred yards to the top of some little eminence, to examine the state of the atmosphere, and if a cloud appeared portending the slightest drizzle of rain, he returned with all possible speed to his lodging for the remainder of the day. Surely such a course afforded him little opportunity of ascertaining, accurately, the true character of the people he has depicted in such harsh sounding language.
Had he wandered alone over the mountains, calling at every cottage on his way for the purpose of making statistical inquiries, and conversing with every person he could find, however mean his appearance, as I did in the course of my tour, I am certain he would have entertained quite a different opinion of the islanders in general. I found every individual with whom I had the slightest intercourse, not only civil but obliging in the extreme.
Though the friends of the maltster went only to the houses of his customers to drink ale,’ it is generally admitted that, considering their limited means, there is no people more benevolent to the poor, and more hospitable to strangers, notwithstanding the opinion of Colonel Townley and some others who have written in the same strain, without making due investigation. The Manks have a proverb—“ Tra ta yn derry vought cooney lesh bought elley, ta Jee hene garaghtee,” which signifies, in English, “ When one poor man assists another, God himself laughs.”
To the arbitrary and impolitic measures formerly ex-
1 Camden't Britannia, vol, ii, p. 1445.
* Cregeen't Dictionary, * Coamrey-vraghey.’
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ercised by the legislative authorities may be traced the cause of the Manks remaining in such a state of primitive rusticity, while surrounding nations were advancing in civilization. Like the Chinese, they were shut out from the rest of the world. “ If any inhabitant of the Island, not being a licensed trafficker, shall transport himself from it without special license from the governor, whether it be in his own boat or in the boat of a neighbour, he shall be proceeded against as a felon, and his goods and property confiscated to the Lord. And if any shipman shall transport, without license to do so, any person residing in this Isle, in any boat or ship without leave from the governor, he shall pay all the rent and debts of such person.”1 In the year 1736, this law was repealed; and it was enacted, that the master of any vessel, who shall hereafter carry any person off this Island, without the governor’s licence for his departure, shall forfeit any sum not exceeding ten pounds to the Lord of the Isle, besides paying the debts which such person did owe at the time of his departure; and if the master shall be absent or insolvent, the vessel to be then subject to the said fine and debts? This act, although not yet repealed, has fallen into disuse.
A privilege was given by an ancient customary law to deemsters, moars, coroners, and sergeants of baronies, of compelling certain persons of either sex into their services at a trifling fee, fixed by law. This they called yarding* The ceremony was performed by an officer called a sumner, who laid a straw over the shoulder of the person so required, and said, “ You are hereby yarded for the service of the Lord of Man, in the house of his deemster, moar, coroner, or sergeant of barony;” at the same time repeating the name of the person requiring such servant.
1	Statute*, anno 1422, 1664, and 1736 ; Lex Scripta, pp. 5, 21, 140, 272.
8	Mill*** Statute Laws, p. 242.
* Waldron, p 140.
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Persons declining or refusing to comply with the yarding authority of the sumner, were committed to prison and there kept on a daily allowance of one barley-cake and a pint of water, “ till they yielded obedience to perform their service;” the expence thereby incurred being deducted from the wages of the delinquent.
By virtue of the statute, all instituted parsons and vicars of the Thirds were allowed their “ bridge and staff,” which implied that their servants should not be taken from them by yarding. The servants of members of the House of Keys were likewise exempted from this arbitrary and unjust law. In every other instance the yarding of the sumner annulled all previous engagements of service; and it was enacted, “ That all servants yarded for the deemsters, moars, and coroners, shall be proclaimed and made known at the parish church or cross, where such servants then reside, the Sunday next after the day of yarding aforesaid, whereby the farmers may the tim-lier know, to provide themselves with other servants.”
There was a customary ordinance, that the porridge or sollaghyn of a yarded servant should be so thick that the potstick would stand upright in the centre of the pot immediately before dishing the porridge; and the cakes, given to a yarded servant, were required, by the same ordinance, to be as thick as the length of a barley corn.1
By an ordinance of the year 1561 and an act of 1609, the yearly wages of a yarded ploughman were fixed at 13s. 4d.; the wages of a driver at 10s.; and the wages of a horseman at 8s. In the year 1667 the wages of a ploughman were raised to 15s., and those of the household fisherman to 13s. Nine shillings were also fixed as the yearly wages of a strong maid-servant. These arbitrary enactments2 continued in force till the year 1777.
1	MS. Manks Customs.
’ Statutes, anno 1561,1577, 1609, 1667, and 1777; Lex Scripta, pp. 64, 89, 163, 406.
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Ill
As it had been customary for the privileged personages to “ make merchandize of such yarded servants as they did not require themselves,” it was enacted in 1615, “ That no person should receive any recompense for the goodwill of his yarded servant.” On 7th November, 1747, the privilege of the deemsters, moars, coroners, and sergeants of baronies, of obtaining servants by yarding, was suspended for three years; but it was again continued for fourteen years by an act of 1753. The legislature seems at length to have admitted that the wages of yarded servants were inadequate, and in 1763, some feelings of liberality were evinced, by the wages of yarded men being raised to £2, and those of women to £1. In the year 1777, it was revived and made perpetual, but has now deservedly fallen into oblivion.1
In the ancient contract of hiring betwixt the farmer and his servants, many peculiarities existed; some of which are observed at the present day. In the insular statute book, a species of rural tribunal is recognized, termed a “Jury of Servants,” which possessed the power of compelling the service in agriculture, of persons whom they considered as unemployed. “ If there be a scarcity of servants to work the Lord’s lands, the farmer, upon complaint thereof to the deemster, is to have the benefit of a sheading jury of servants, consisting of four in every parish, who are to enquire for vagrant servants, and to serve the greater rent first, and then every farmer according to his rent; and if there be no servants to be had, then he who bears a rent of five shillings to the Lord must serve him who bears a rent of ten shillings, and so on.”4
Young persons, who were required to attend old or infirm relations, were exempted from this service, by ob-
1 Statute, anno 1747, 1753, 1763, 1777; Lex Scripta, pp. 318, 348, 383, 406.
2 Statutes y anno 1577 ; Lex Scripta, p. 70.
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taining a certificate to that effect from the “Jury of Servants”—a triumvirate established for that purpose, and they who obtained this privilege were called choice children. These regulations were termed in the statute book “ Customary Laws,” a title always given to customs of unknown antiquity.1
Ploughing the sea was always more congenial to the Manks than the less adventurous employment of tilling the land. Out of this propensity, perhaps, arose the necessity of establishing the rural tribunal of servants; and a scarcity of hands to cultivate the soil was a circumstance resulting frequently from the great numbers that fell in battle, and at a later period, from the spirit of emigration.
We learn, by an act of Tynwald, “ that all the industrious people and good servants had gone abroad for the sake of higher wages, and that none were left but the drunken, the idle, and the dissolute.” By the practice of such emigration, was expected inevitably to ensue the utter decay, not only of husbandry, but of all kinds of trade. It was therefore enacted, “ That all natives who had ever done any kind of work for money, clothes, food, or other consideration, should not be permitted to leave the Island till they had obtained the age of twenty-five years, and had either been seven years in service or had served an apprenticement of five years.”* This was the last vain attempt of the insular government to curb the natural course of affairs.
Many antiquated laws appear in the statute book relating to the agreement between master and servants. A feed-man wishing to leave his master at the expiry of his engagement, was required by law to give him notice of his intention on a certain day, “but lest the master
1 Statute*, anno 1662, 1664, 1667 ; Lex Scripta, pp. 138, 149, 164.
2 Statute* f anno 1691 ; Wood1* Hietory, p. 237.
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might happen to he from home or might absent himself in a deceitful manner to take advantage of the servant, in either case the servant may repair with a competent witness to the place where the master usually sits, at the hearth or at meat, and there make a nick with his knife in such master’s chair, or if the door should be shut against him, he may make a nick in the threshold, which shall be authentic in law against such master.”1 “ If any servant shall either ignorantly, wilfully, through persuasion, or upon any other account whatever, hire with two several masters, he must serve the first, and the second shall have his wages; and if any servant shall hire more than twice, he shall be whipped at the parish church on Sunday, or at the market in the whipping stocks''*
Another singular punishment was inflicted on offenders at the market-place. If a person was convicted of having propagated a false report, he was placed in the whipping stocks with his tongue in a noose of leather, which they called a bridle. After having been thus exposed to view for a certain time the gag was taken off, when he was obliged to say thrice, “ False tongue thou hast lied.’”*
The whimsical punishment for slander was supplanted by others of a more modern date. Any person who spoke slanderously against either the chief officers of the Island, whether spiritual or temporal, or against any of the twenty-four Keys, and “ cannot prove the same, shall forfeit ten pounds and have his ears cut off besides.”4
If a common thief from the north side of the Island should be harboured by a person on the south side of the Island, or a thief from the south by a person in the north, the person affording such protection was a felon by law,
1	Customary Law, Original Statute Book, p. 105, ap. Parr's MS. Laws, p. 118.
* Customary Law, pp. 104, 105.
1	Waldron, p. 142.
♦ Appendix, Note i, “ Minor Punishments.”
4 Statutes, 1577, 1604, 1612, 1618, 1659, 1671, 1672, 1673, 1675.
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and should suffer accordingly.' Stealing or cutting beehives was “Felony to death, without valuation.” “ Stealing poultry, robbing gardens, or clipping other people’s sheep, if in any instance amounting to the value of sixpence, shall be considered felony to death as aforesaid, but if under that value, the person offending to be either whipped or set on a wooden horse at the discretion of the governor.”* Like the peasantry of other countries, in ancient times, the inhabitants of the Manks mountains yet attach ceremonial observances to particular days in the calendar, which shall now be noticed.
On New Year’s day, an old custom is still partially observed, called the Quaaltagh. In almost every parish throughout the Island, a party of young men go from house to house singing the following rhyme:—
“ OUick ghennal emu as blein feer vie, Seihll as slaynt da’n slane lught thie; Bea as gennallys eu bio ry-cheilley, Shee as graih eddyr mraane as deiney; Cooid as cowryn, stock as stoyr. Palchey phuddase, as skaddan dy-Hooar; Arran as caashey, eeym as roayrt; Baase, myr lugh, ayns uhllin ny soalt; Cadley sauchey tra vees shin ny Ihie, As feeackle y jargan, nagh bee dy mie.”3
Of which the following is a translation:—
“ Again we assemble, a merry New Year To wish to each one of the family here, Whether man, woman, or girl, or boy, That long life and happiness, all may enjoy. May they of potatoes and herrings have plenty, With butter and cheese and each other dainty, And may their sleep never, by night or by day, Disturbed be by even the tooth of a flea, Until at the Quaaltagh again we appear To wish you, as now, all a happy New Year I”4
1 Lex Scripta, p. 66.
2 Statute, folio 67, anno 1566, 1581, 1629 ; Lex Scripta, pp, 102,103.
8 Cregeenf8 Manks Dictionary, p. 132.
4 MS, Account of Manks Customs.
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When these lines are repeated at the door, the whole party are invited into the house to partake of the best the family can afford.1 On these occasions a person of dark complexion always enters first, as a light haired male or female is deemed unlucky to be a first-foot or quaaltagh on New Year’s morning.* The actors of the quaaltagh do not assume fantastic habiliments like the Mummers of England3 or the Guisards of Scotland,4 nor do they, like these rude performers of the ancient mysteries, appear ever to have been attended by minstrels playing on different kinds of musical instruments.4
It would be considered a most grievous affair were the person who first sweeps the floor on New Year’s morning to brush the dust to the door, instead of beginning at the door and sweeping the dust to the hearth, as the good, fortune of the family individually would thereby be considered to be swept from the house for that year.®
On New Year’s eve, in many of the upland cottages, it is yet customary for the housewife, after raking the fire for the night, and just before stepping into bed, to spread the- ashes smooth over the floor with the tongs in the hope of finding in it, next morning, the tract of a foot; should the toes of this ominous print point towards the door, then, it is believed, a member of the family will die in the course of that year; but should the heel of the fairy foot point in that direction, then, it is as firmly be-
1 Cregeen's Mania Dictionary.
* MS. Account of Mania Customs.
9 Eaby an'a Chronicle, edit. Pynson, 1516, fol. 169; Walier's Historical Chronicle qf the Iriah Barda, p. 152; Brand's Antiquities, by Ellis, vol. i, p. 250; Henry's Hist. Brit-, vol. vi, b. vi, c. v.
4 Chambers's Popular Rhymes of Scotland, edition 1826, p. 300; Jamieson's Scotch Etymological Dictionary, * Gy sard?
5 Strutt's Sports and Pastimes of the People of England, London, 8vo., 1833 page 160.
• MS. Account qf Manis Customs collected for this work by a talented native of the Island, who understands the Manks language, and is thoroughly acquainted with all the ancient customs, superstitions, and legends of the peasantry.
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lieved, that the family will be augmented within the same period.1
On the eve of the first day of February, a festival was formerly kept, called, in the Manks language, Laa'l Bree-shey, in honour of the Irish lady who went over to the Isle of Man to receive the veil from St. Maughold. The custom was to gather a bundle of green rushes, and standing with them in the hand on the threshold of the door, to invite the holy Saint Bridget to come and lodge with them that night. In the Manks language, the invitation ran thus:—“ Brede, Brede, tar gys my thie, tar dyn thie ayms noght. Foshil jee yn dorrys da Brede, as Ihig da Brede e heet staigh." In English:—“ Bridget, Bridget, come to my house, come to my house to-night. Open the door for Bridget, and let Bridget come in.” After these words were repeated, the rushes were strewn on the floor by way of a carpet or bed for St. Bridget.2 A custom very similar to this was also observed in some of the Out-Isles of the ancient kingdom of Man.3
The sportive fooleries described by Bourne,4 Brand,* and Sir Henry Ellis,® as observed on Shrove Tuesday in Great Britain, appear to have been as well known in the Isle of Man; nor were the feasting observances of the
1	MS. Account of Manfa Custom*.
’ Ibid.
3	The mistress and servants of each family take a sheaf of oats and dress it up in woman’s apparel, put it in a large basket and lay a wooden club by it, and this they call Briid’s bed, and then the mistress and servants cry three times, Briid is come, Briid is welcome. This they do just before going to bed, and when they rise in the morning, they look among the ashes expecting to see the impression of Briid’s club there, which, if they do, they reckon it a true presage of a good crop and a prosperous year, and the contrary they take as an ill omen.—Martin** Western Isles, 8vo., London, 1716,p. 119. “In Ireland, on St. Bridget’s eve, every farmer’s wife makes a cake called Bairinbreac, the neighbours are invited, the madder of ale and the pipego round, and the evening concludes with mirth and festivity.”—VaUancey9* Essay on the Antiquities of the Irish Language, 8vo., Dublin, 1772, p. 21; Ellis9* edition of Brand, London, 1841, vol. i, p. 190.
4	Bourne’s Antiquities of the Common People, Newcastle, edition 1725, cap. xx.
• Brand’s Addenda to Bourne, Newcastle, edition 1777.
8 Ellis’s Brand enlarged, London, edition 1842, vol. i, pp. 43—52.
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day neglected—Shrove Tuesday being the last day of the carnival or time when eating was allowed by the church of Rome, before Lent. On this occasion it was customary to have sollaghyn or crowdy for dinner instead of for breakfast, as at other times; and for supper, flesh meat with a large pudding and pancakes: hence the Manks proverb :
“Ee shibber oie innid tees olty volg lane, My jig laa caisht yon traaste son ahen.”
41 On Shrove Tuesday night, though thy supper be fat, Before Easter day, thou mayst fast for that?’1
Good Friday, which is considered the anniversary of the crucifixion of our Saviour, is, in some instances, superstitiously regarded in the Island. No iron of any kind must be put into the fire on that day, and even the tongs are laid aside, lest any person should unfortunately forget this custom and stir the fire with them ; by way of substitute a stick of the rowan tree is used. To avoid also the necessity of hanging the griddle over the fire, lest the iron of it should come in contact with a spark or flame, a large bannock or soddog is made, with three corners, and baked on the hearth?
On May-eve, the juvenile branches of nearly every family in the Island gathered primroses, and strewed them before the doors of their dwellings, to prevent the entrance of the fairies on that night. It was quite a novel sight to a stranger to the custom to see this delicate flower plentifully arranged at the door of every house he might pass, particularly in the towns, on the night in question or early on the following morning. This custom
1	MS. Account of Manto Customs.
8 MS. Account qf Manto Customs. In other places the same customs are adopted on different occasions. Martin tells us that in St. Kilda, one of the Out-Isles of the ex-kingdom of Man, 44 on the festival of AU Saints, the inhabitants bake a large cake in the form of a triangle, which, for some superstitious purpose, was to be eaten that night.”—Ellis, vol. i, p. 210. These triangular bannocks seemingly represent the soul mass catos of the Roman church—See Festa Anglo Romana, p. 109, ap. Ellis, vol. i, p. 217.
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is at present almost abandoned; indeed, it was continued to a late date more through the habit and amusement of children, than from superstition. Persons more advanced in life congregated on the mountains on May-eve, and to scare the fairies and witches, supposed to be roaming abroad on that particular night in numbers greater than ordinary, set fire to the gorse or koinney, and blew horns. Many of them remained on the hills till sunrise, endeavouring to pry into futurity, by observing particular omens. If a bright light were observed to issue, seemingly, from any house in the surrounding valleys, it was considered a certain indication that some member of that family would soon be married ; but if a dim light were seen, moving slowly in the direction of the parish church, it was then deemed equally certain that a funeral would soon pass that way to the church-yard. Many stories are yet related, by old people, tending to perpetuate a belief in these omens; but the present generation, in general, regard with indifference “ the signs” which formerly afforded matter of joy or grief to their ancestors.1
Laa Boaldyn* or May-day is ushered in with blowing of horns on the mountains, and with a ceremony, which, says Waldron, “ has something in the design of it pretty enough, and I believe will not be tiresome to my reader in the account. In almost all the great parishes they
•
i Communicated by Mr. P. Curphey, of Douglas. Such lights are common in Wales. u It is a very commonly received opinion that within a short space before death, a light is seen proceeding from the house, and sometimes, it has been asserted, from the very bed of the sick person, and pursues its way to the church, where he or she is to be interred, precisely in the same track in which the funeral is afterwards to follow. This light is called canwyll corpt, or the corpse candle.”—Cambrian Register, 8vo. edt. 1796, p. 431.
8 * * The etymology of this word is not well known; some say it is derived from boat, a wall, and teine, fire (Irish), referring to the practice of going round the walls or fences with fire on the eve of this day; others that it is derived from laa bwoailt chyn, the day that cattle or sheep are first put to the fold ; others, a corruption of blieauntyn, * the month of three milkings,’ as the Saxons called the month of May.”—Cregeen's Manks Dictionary, p. 26. In Gaelic it is called bealtuinn.— M* Alpin's Dictionary, p. 32.
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chuse from among the daughters of the most wealthy farmers a young maid for the Queen of May. She is drest in the gayest and best manner they can, and is attended by about twenty others, who are called maids of honour. She has also a young man who is her captain, and has under his command a good number of inferior officers.— In opposition to her is the Queen of Winter, who is a man drest in woman’s clothes, with woollen hoods, fur tippets, and loaded with the warmest and heaviest habits, one upon another. In the same manner are those, who represent her attendants, drest; nor is she without a captain and troop for her defence. Both being equipt as proper emblems of the Beauty of the Spring and the Deformity of the Winter, they set forth from their respective quarters, the one preceded by violins and flutes, the other with the rough music of the tongs and the cleavers. Both parties march till they meet on a common, and then their trains engage in a mock battle. If the Queen of Winter’s forces get the better, so as to take the Queen of May prisoner, she is ransomed for as much as pays the expenses of the day. After this ceremony, Winter and her company retire and divert themselves in a barn, and the others remain on the green, where, having danced a considerable time, they conclude the evening with a feast; the Queen at one table with her maids, the captain with his troop at another. There are seldom less than fifty or sixty at each board.”1 For the seizure of her majesty’s person, that of one of her slippers was substituted, more recently, which was in like manner ransomed to defray the expenses of the pageant. The procession of the Summer—which was subsequently composed of little girls, and called the Maceboard,*—outlived that of its rival, the
1 Waldron*9 Description, p. 154; MS, Account of Manks Customs.
2 The Maceboard (probably a corruption of May-sports), went from door to door inquiring if the inmates would buy the Queen's favour, which was composed of a small piece of ribbon.—MS. Account of Manks Customs.
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Winter, some years; and now, like many other remnants of antiquity, has fallen into disuse.
The Pagan rites of the festival of the Summer Solstice may be considered as a counterpart of those observed at the Winter Solstice or Yule, both being changed by the fathers of the Roman church into Christmas and the Eve of Saint John the Baptist.1
The Midsummer festivities were seemingly observed with much devotion in the Isle of Man on the eve of Saint John the Baptist: the natives lighted fires to the windward side of every field, so that the smoke might pass over the corn ; they folded their cattle and carried blazing furze or gorse around them several times ;* they gathered barran fealoin or mugwort as a preventive against the influence of witchcraft ;* and it was on this occasion they bore green meadow grass up to the top of Barule in payment of rent to Mannan-beg-mac-y-Leir.* From the earliest period the Manks have continued to hold their great Tynwald Court with the attendant mart on this festival day.®
The Gule’ of August or Lammas day, called in Manks Laa'l Lhuanys, is one of the four great festivals of the Druids, and was the day of the oblation of grain.7 The first Sunday of August is called by the Manks peasantry yn chied doonaght a ouyr. On that day they crowd in great numbers to the tops of the highest hills, in the north to the summit of Snafield, and in the south to the top of
1 Vide Bourne’s Antiquities, cap. xxvii.
2 MS, Account qf Manks Customs,
1 Pulling grass, as an offering, on Midsummer-eve, may be traced to Pagan origin. On such occasions metrical invocations were sometimes employed.
4 Vide Appendix, chap, ii of this work, Note i, p. 50.
* Lex Scripta, p. 131.
6 Dr. Pettingal, in the second volume of the Archaologia, p. 67, derives Gule from the Celtic or British Wyl or Gwyl, signifying a festival or holyday. This is confirmed by Blount, who tells us that Lammas day is otherwise called the Gule or Yule qf August,—Ap, Ellis, vol i, p. 191.
7 Vallancey’s Collectanea de Rebus Hibemicis, No. x.
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Barale..1 Others visit the sanative wells of the Island, which are held in the highest estimation? The veneration with which the Pagan deities were regarded having been transferred along with their fanes and fountains to Christian saints, sanctified and sanative wells became the resort of the pious pilgrim? and by the credulous invalid libations and devotions were, according to ancient practice, performed at these holy springs, which were believed to be guarded by presiding powers to whom offers were left by the visitants. Many a wonderful cure is said to have been effected by the water of Saint Catherine's well at Port Erin; by the Chibbyr Parick or well of Saint Patrick on the west end of the hill of Lhargey-graue; by Lord Henry’s well on the south beach of Laxey, and by the well at Peel, also dedicated to Saint Patrick,4 which, says the tradition, first sprung forth where Saint Patrick was prompted by divine instinct to impress the sign of the cross on the ground? Many extraordinary properties were ascribed to the Nunnery well ;* but the most celebrated in modern times for its medicinal virtues is the fine spring which issues from the rocks of the bold promontory called Maughold Head, and which is dedicated
1 The custom of going to the mountains on the first Sunday in harvest, (first Sun* day after the 12th August,) is said to be handed down from the Israelites, whose daughters went to the mountains yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah, the Gileadite, as recorded in the eleventh chapter of Judges.—MS. Account qf Manto Custom?.
* MS. Account qf Manto Customs.
9 Dalzell's Darker Superstitions of Scotland, chap. ii.
4 Feltham, pp. 241, 247, 258.
9 The author of the Irish Hudibras seems to have had this well in view, when he wrote the following lines :—
“ Have you beheld when people pray At Patrick's well, on patron'i dap T By charm of priest and miracle To cure diseases at this well. The valleys filled with blind and lame, And go as limping as they came."
SUis, vol. iii, edition 1841, p. 232.
Q
4 Waldron, p. 151.
VOL. II.
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to the saint of the same name, who, it appears, had blessed the well and endowed it with certain healing virtues. On this account it is yet resorted to, as was the pool of Siloam of old, by every invalid who believes in its efficacy. On the first Sunday in August, the natives, according to ancient custom, still make a pilgrimage to drink its waters; and it is held to be of the greatest importance to certain females to enjoy the beverage when seated in a place called the Saints chair, which the saint, for the accommodation of succeeding generations, obligingly placed immediately contiguous.1
The gathering in of the fruits of the earth has been generally celebrated by feasting and rejoicing from the earliest times.1 The harvest supper of the heathen nations was a custom taken from the Jewish feast of tabernacles,1 where the servant was indulged with the liberty of being placed on an equality with the master, as at our harvesthome or the mheillea of the Manks peasantry.*
The Manks mheil or reapers, at the close of harvest, bind up with ribbons the last handful of corn that is cut and bear it in procession to the top of a neighbouring hill, and there, while the Queen of the Mheillea waves the corn or kern baby* over her head, the reapers express their joy in loud huzzas. This is supposed to be a rude continuation of the custom of presenting the wave-offering of corn at the close of the harvest, mentioned in scripture.* After this ceremony is performed, the reapers retire to
1 Sketches of the Isle of Man, by William Bennet, London, 1829, p. 65.
8 “ After thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy vine, thou shaft rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow that is within thy gates/’—Deuteronomy, xvi, 13, 14.
3 Hospin. de Oriy, Fest. Jud. Stukius Antiq. Convival, p. 63, ap. Bourne's Antiquities, cap. xxxi.
4 MS. Account of Manks Customs.
5 Brand’s Observations on Bourne’* Antiquities, cap. xxxi.
6 Leviticus, xxiii, 10, 11, 12, 20.
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partake of the mheillea. The reapers, young and old, assemble, and, with the family and fidends of the farmer, join in the merry dance. This is called the mheillea or reapers’ rest, because the female share of the harvest labour then ceases, and they disperse.1
The Druidical festival of Allhalloweven, called by the Islanders Sauin, has been observed in the Isle of Man till a late period, by kindling of fires, with all the accompanying ceremonies, to prevent the baneful influence of fairies and witches. The Island was perambulated at night by young men who struck up at the door of every dwelling-house, a rhyme in Manks, beginning—
“ Noght oie howney hop-dy-naw.”
‘♦This w Hollantide Eve/’ &c;
On Hollantide Eve, boys go round the towns bawling lines, of which the following is an extract;—
Hop-tu-naa, This is old Hollantide night;
Trollalaa, The moon shines fair and bright.
Hop-tu-naa, I went to the weH,
Trollalaa, And drank my fill;
Hop-tu-naa, On the way coming back,
Trollalaa, I met a pole-cat;
Hop-tu-naa, The cat began to grin, Trollalaa, And I began to run;
Hop-tu-naa, Where did you run to ?
Trollalaa, I ran to Scotland ;
Hop-tu-naa, What weae they doing there ?
Trollalaa, Baking bannocks and roasting collops.
♦	♦♦♦♦»♦
Hop-tu-naa. If you are going to give us anything ? give us it soon,.
Or we’ll be away by the light of the moon—Hop-tu-naa I
For some peculiar reason, potatoes, parsnips, and fish, pounded together, and mixed with butter, form always the mrastyr, or evening meal,2 on Halloweven and Christmas the parsnips, however, being excluded from the Christmas dish.
1	Quayle's General View of the Agriculture qf the Isle qf Man, edit. 1812, p. 125.
4	MS, Account qfManke Cuetome.
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On the 21st of December, a day dedicated to Saint Thomas, the people went to the mountains to catch deer and sheep for Christmas, and in the evenings always kindled a large fire on the top of every fingan or cliff.— Hence, at the time of casting peats, every one laid aside a large one, saying “Faaid mooar moayney son oie'l fingan;" that is “ A large turf for Fingan Eve.”1
In some of the out-isles of the ex-kingdom of Man, many singular customs were observed after they had fallen into disuse at the seat of government.*
Hunting the Wren has been a pastime in the Isle of Man from time immemorial. In Waldron’s time it was observed on the 24th of December, which I have adopted, though for a century past it has been observed on Saint Stephen’s Day. This singular ceremony, says Mrs. Bullock, which is, I believe, peculiar to the Isle of Man,*
1	Cregeen’e Manto Dictionary, p. 67.
2	“ The inhabitants of Lewis had an ancient custom to sacrifice to a Sea God, called Stony, at Hallowtide, in the manner following:—The inhabitants round the island came to the church of St. Mulvay, having each man his provisions along with him. Every family furnished a peck of malt, and this was brewed into ale. One of their number was picked out to wade into the sea up to the middle, and carrying a cup of ale in his hand, standing still in that posture, cried out with a loud voice, saying— ‘ Shony I give you this cup of ale, hoping that you will be so kind as to send us plenty of seaware for enriching our ground the ensuing year;’ and so threw the cup of ale into the sea. This was performed in the night time. At his return to land they all went to church where there was a candle burning on the altar, and then standing silent for a little time, one of them gave a signal, at which the candle was put out, and immediately all of them went to the fields, where they fell a drinking their ale, and spent the remainder of the night in dancing and singing.’*—Mart in, quoted by Ellis, vol. i, p. 210.
9	Mrs. Bullock is not correct in this. In the south of Ireland, “ the wren is still hunted and killed by the peasantry on Christinas day, and on the following Saint Stephen’s day, he is carried about (Hall's Ireland, vol. i, p. 24,) in procession, made in every village of men, women, and children, singing an Irish catch importing him to be the Icing of all bird*,” as “ the Druid* represented the Wren to be.” It was the augur’s favourite bird, and the respect shown to it gave such offence to our first Christian missionaries, that they caused it to be hunted and killed by the peasants. —Vallancey, ap. Collectanea de Rebut Hibemicis, vol. iv, No. 13. The inhabitants of the town of Ciotat, near Marseilles, armed with sabres and pistols, commence an anniversary hunting qfthe Wren about the same period. When it is captured, it is suspended, as if a heavy burden, from the middle of. a long pole borne on the shoulders
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is founded on a tradition, that in former times a fairy of uncommon beauty, exerted such undue influence over the male population, that she, at various times, induced, by her sweet voice, numbers to follow her footsteps, till by degrees she led them into the sea, where they perished. This barbarous exercise of power had continued for a great length of time, till it was apprehended that the Island would be exhausted of its defenders, when a knight-errant sprung up, who discovered some means of countervailing the charms used by this siren, and even laid a plot for her destruction, which she only escaped at the moment of extreme hazard, by taking the form of a wren. But though she evaded instant annihilation, a spell was cast upon her by which she was condemned, on every succeeding New-year’s-day, to reanimate the same form with the definitive sentence, that she must ultimately perish by human hand. In consequence of this well authenticated legend, on the specified anniversary, every man and boy in the Island (except those who have thrown off the trammels of superstition), devote the hours between sun-rise and sun-set, to the hope of extirpating the fairy, and woe be to the individual birds of this species, who show themselves on this fatal day to the active enemies of the race ; they are pursued, pelted, fired at, and destroyed, without mercy, and their feathers preserved with religious care, it being an article of belief, that every one of the relics gathered in this laudable pursuit, is an effectual preservative from shipwreck for one year; and that fisherman would be considered as extremely foolhardy, who should enter upon his occupation without such a safeguard.”1 When the chase ceases, one of the little victims
of two men, carried in procession through the streets, and weighed On a strong balance, after which there is a convivial entertainment.—Sonnini Travel* t qp. Dalzell** Darker Superttition* qf Scotland, p. 422. .
1	Mac Taggart makes the following characteristic allusion to this belief. “ Cutty Wban.—The Wren, the nimble little bird: hoW quick it will peep out of the hole of an
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is affixed to the top of a long pole with its wings extended, and carried in front of the hunters, who march in procession to every house, chanting the following rhyme:
" We hunted the wren for Robin the Bobbin, We hunted the wren for Jack of the Can, We hunted the wren for Robin the Bobbin^ We hunted the wren for every one.”
After making the usual circuit, and collecting all the money they could obtain, they laid the wren on a bier and carried it, in procession, to the parish church-yard, where, with a whimsical kind of solemnity, they made a grave, buried it, and sung dirges over it in the Manks language, which they called her knell. After the obsequies were performed, the company, outside the church-yard wall, formed a circle and danced to music which they had provided for the occasion.
At present, there is no particular day for pursuing the wren; it is captured by boys alone, who follow the old custom, principally for amusement. On St. Stephen’s day a group of boys1 go from door to door with a wren, suspended by the legs, in the centre of two hoops, crossing each other at right angles, decorated with evergreens and ribbons, singing lines called “ Hunt the Wren.”*
If, at the close of this rhyme, they be fortunate enough to obtain a small coin, they gave in return a feather of the wren; and before the close of the day, the little bird may sometimes be seen hanging almost featherless. The ceremony of the interment of this bird in the church-yard,
old foggy dyke, and catch a pairing butterfly. Manks herring fishers dare not go to sea without one of these birds taken dead with them, for fear of disasters and storms. Their tradition is of a aea aprit that hunted the herring tach, attended always by storms, and at last it assumed the figure of a Wren and flew away. So they think when they have a dead Wren with them, all is snug. The poor bird has a sad life of it in that singular Island. When one is seen at any time, scores of Manksmen start and hunt it down.”—Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia, p. 157.
1 In 1842, no less than four sets were observed in the town of Douglas, each party blowing a horn.
♦ Appendix, Note ii, “ Hunt the Wren.,r
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at the close of St. Stephen’s day, has long since been abandoned; and the sea-shore or some waste ground was substituted in its place.
The Christinas festival is introduced by young persons perambulating the various towns and villages, in the evenings, fantastically dressed, and armed with swords, calling, as they proceed, “ Who wants to see the White Boys act?” When their services are engaged, they, like the Scotch Guisards1 or Quhite-boys of Yule* perform a rude drama, in which St. George, Prince Valentine, King of Egypt, Sambo, and the Doctor, are the dramatis personae. “The fiddlers” go round from house to house, in the latter part of the night, for two or three weeks before Christmas, playing a tune called the Andisop. On their way they stop before particular houses, wish the inmates individually, “ good morning,” call the hour, then report the state of the weather, and after playing an air, move on to the next halting place.
Every family that could afford it, had a brewing called Jough-ny-nollick, that is, Christmas drink,3 prepared for the festivities of the season.
On Christmas Eve every one leaves off work, and rambles about till the bells begin to ring at midnight.4 Then all flock to the churches, bearing the largest candles they can procure, and forming a brilliant illumination.3 The churches are all decked with holly, and the service, in commemoration of the birth of our Saviour, is called Oiel Verry.
1 Jamieson’s Etymological Dictionary qf the Scottish Language; Chambers’* Rhymes of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1826, p. 300.
* Mac Taggart’s Gallovidian Encyclopedia, p. 502.
• On such occasions, one brewing kettle generally served a whole neighbourhood, which gave rise to the Manks proverb :—“ To go about like a brewing pan.”—MS, Account of Monks Customs.
4 Waldron*s Description, p. 155.
6 Lord Teignmouth’s Sketches of the Coasts of Scotland and the Isle of Man, vol. ii, page 264.
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Meanwhile, “the singers” go round the towns and neighbourhood, chanting “ Christians Awake,” and other appropriate hymns on Christmas morning. The choir is composed of males and females, accompanied by various musical instruments. A great concourse of young persons follow “ the singers” in their perambulations; and if the night be dark, a large lighted torch is carried in the middle of the group. The music has generally a solemn, yet pleasing effect upon those persons who are awakened by its strains. The inhabitants are particularly partial to this old custom. '
As soon as the prayers at the Oiel Verry are over, says Waldron, Christmas commences, and there is not a barn unoccupied for the whole twelve days—every parish hiring fiddlers at the public charge, and all the youths, nay, sometimes people up in years, make no scruple to be among these nocturnal dancers?
To these merry makings, people often came from a great distance, carrying their children on their backs? “On the twelfth night, one of the fiddlers lays his head in the lap of some one of the wenches, and the mainstyr fiddler asks who such a maid, or such a maid, naming all the girls, one after another, shall marry; to which he answers according to his own whim, or agreeable to the intimacies he has taken notice of during this time of merriment ; and whatever he says is absolutely depended on as an oracle; and if he happen to couple two people who have an aversion to each other, tears and vexation succeed the mirth. This they call ‘ Cuttiny off the Fiddler's head,' for after this he is dead for a whole year.”*
When two persons agreed to become united in the bands of matrimony, and this had been proclaimed in the parish church on three several Sundays,4 all the rela-
1	Waldron*9 Description, p. 155.
* MS. Account qf Manic Customs.
• Waldron's Description, p. 156.
4 Milla* Statute Laws, p. 317.
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tions and friends of the young people were invited to the bridal, and generally attended, bringing with them presents for the “ persons about to begin the world.” Their weddings, as in Galloway, were generally celebrated on a Tuesday or a Thursday? The bridegroom and his party proceeded to the bride’s house, and thence with her party to the church; the men walking first in a body, and the women after them. On the bridegroom leaving his house, it was customary to throw an old shoe after him, and in like manner an old shoe after the bride on leaving her home to proceed to church, in order to ensure good luck to each respectively;’ and, if by stratagem, either of the bride’s shoes could be taken off by any spectator on her way from church, it had to be ransomed by the bridegroom.3 On returning from church, the bride and bridegroom walk in front, and every man with his sweetheart, in procession, often to the number of fifty. The expenses of the wedding dinner and drink are sometimes paid by the men individually.
Formerly, wedding processions to church were generally preceded by musicians playing “ the Black and the Grey,” the only tune struck up on such occasions? They have
1	Andrew Simpson, who was a minister in Galloway when he wrote his Large Description of that province in 1684, says—“ I myselfe have married neer 450 of the inhabitants of this countrey, all of which, except seaven, were married upon a Tuesday or Thursday ; and it is looked upon as a strange thing to see a marriage upon any other day.”—Description of Galloway, Edinburgh edition, 1822, p. 95.
2	This custom was not confined to the Isle of Man or to Galloway. In the works of John Heywood “ newlie imprinted in London, a.d. 1598, is the following distich:—
“And homeward, hitherward, quick as a bee, For good luck, an old shoe cast after me.”
2	MS. Account qfManks Customs.
4	“ I knewe a Priest whiche, if any of his parishoners should be maryed, would take his backe-pype, and go fetche theym to the churche, playnge sweeteleye afore them, and then would he laye his instrument handsomely upon the aultare tyll he had maryed them and said masse. Which thyng being done, he would gentillye bringe them home agayne with backe-pype. Was not this priest a true minstrell, thynke ye ? for he dyd not conterfayt the minstrell, but was one in dede.”— Vernon's Hunting qf Purgatory to Death, London, 1561, folio, book 51, ap. Sir Henry Ellis’s Notes to Brand’s Music at Weddings.
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bridegrooms-men and bridesmaids, as in England, only with this difference, that the former carry ozier wands in their hands as an emblem of superiority. Formerly, before entering the church, the whole party marched three times round it, but that ceremony is now omitted. The marriage ritual being performed, and the party having cleared the churchyard gate, returning homewards, some of the most active of the young people started off at full speed for the bridegroom’s house,* and the first who reached it received a flask of brandy, with which he returned in all haste to the wedding party, all of whom halted and formed a circle. He handed spirits first to the bridegroom, next to the bride, and then to the rest of the company in succession, each drinking to the health of the new married couple. After this, the party moved onward to the bridegroom’s house, on their arrival at the door of which, the bridecake was broken over the bride’s head, and then thrown away to be scrambled for by the crowd usually attendant on such occasions?
On returning from church, the party generally sat down to a sumptuous entertainment, which is thus described by Waldron:—“ Broth is served up in wooden piggins, every man having his portion allowed him. This they sup with shells called sligs, very like our mussel shells, but larger. I have seen a dozen capons in one platter, and six or eight fat geese in another; hogs and sheep roasted whole,
1	This custom was probably introduced into the Isle of Man when the Scots were masters of it, as the practice of riding for the broose is not yet wholly extinct in Scotland. On 29th January, 1813, was married at Mauchline, Ayrshire, by the Rev. David Wilson, Mr. Robert Ferguson, in Whitehill, of New Cumnock, to Miss Isabella Andrew, in Fail, parish of Tarbolton. Immediately after the marriage, four men of the bride’s company, started for the broose from Mauchline to Whitehill, a distance of thirteen miles, and when one of them was sure of the prise, a young lady who had started after they were a quarter of a mile off, outstripped them all, and notwithstanding the interruption of getting a shoe fastened on her mare at a smithy on the road, she gained the prize to the astonishment of both parties.— EUis's edition qf Brand's Antiquities, London, 1841, voL ii, p. 97.
’ MS, Account qf Monks Customs,
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and oxen, divided but in quarters.' Forks and knives are unknown to them, and though there were twenty guests at a table, there would not be more than three or four knives. They are admirably dexterous, however, in dissecting a fowl with their fingers, and if the operation happens to be more than ordinary difficult, they take one quarter in their teeth, and with both their hands wrench the limbs asunder. This I have seen done among very wealthy people, who would not deny themselves conveniences, if they had thought them of any consequence. On my growing better acquainted with the customs of the people, I carried a knife, fork, and spoon in my pocket.”* The Islanders, in the present century, know the use of knives, forks, and spoons, as well as their more fastidious neighbours. The night was generally spent in drinking and dancing; but on such occasions, the concord of the party is yet often interrupted by the inharmonious blowing of neat’s horns, by idlers, who generally congregate around the house where the marriage folks are convened, and wind their rude instruments, till a discontinuance of their annoyance is purchased by such a gratuity as they may deem a sufficient reward for the racket they have made.*
Blowing of horns at weddings is a very old custom, and was formerly not very complimentary to the bride, being intended to remind the bridegroom that conjugal infidelity on the part of the wife, placed the emblems of that crime on the head of the inoffending husband.
Old customs were frequently mixed up with broad jokes, which in latter times have tended to prevent their continuance in polite society.
1	Description of the Isle qf Man, folio, London edition, 1731, p. 169 ; Logan's Scottish Gael, vol. ii, p. 359.
1	Waldron,*e Description of the Isle of Man, London, 1731, p. 153.
3	MS. Account of Manhs Customs.
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There were in the Isle of Man, as elsewhere, even so late as the close of the last century, many indelicate customs connected with a “ lady in the straw,” which I here pass over. There is one case mentioned by Waldron* of a woman, “ who being great with child and expecting every moment the good hour, as she lay awake one night in her bed, saw seven or eight little women come into her chamber, one of whom had an infant in her arms. They were followed by a man of the same size, in the habit of a minister. A mock christening ensued, and they baptised the infant by the name Joan, which made her know she was pregnant of a girl, as it proved a few days after, when she was delivered.”
It appears that midwives, formerly, took an oath, inter alia, not to “ suffer any other body’s child to be set, brought, or laid before any woman delivered of a child, in the place of her own natural child, so far forth as I can know and understand. Also, I will not use any kind of sorcery or incantation in the time of the travail of any woman.”2
From the time a woman was delivered of a child till thanksgiving for her safe recovery was offered up by some divine, or, according to the Manks, “ till her candle was burnt,”3 as a protection for herself, against the power of
1 Waldron’s Description, p. 132.
e Sfrype’s Annals of the Reformation, anno 1567# vol. i, p. 537.
3 MS. Account of Manks Customs. This seemingly alludes to the custom of keeping a consecrated candle burning in the chamber of a “ lady in the straw.” The form of hallowing candles is thus described in the Doctrine of the Masse Booke, &c.f by Nicholas Dorcaster, 1554. “ Prayer—O Lord Jesu Christ, blesse thou this creature of a waxen taper, at our humble supplication, and by the vertue of the holy crosse pour thou into it a heavenly benediction; that as thou hast graunted it unto man’s use for the expelling of darkness, it may receive such a strength and blessing thorow the token of the holy crosse, that in what places soever it be lighted or set, the devil may avoid out of those habitations, and tremble for feare, and fly away discouraged, anti presume no more to unguiete that serve thee, who with God/* &c.— Ellises edition of Brand, vol. i, p. 25. The churching of a woman, in the Manks language is called lostey-chainley, from the practice of burning a candle, in former times, during sendee.—Cregeen’s Dictionary of the Manks Language, p. 109.
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evil spirits, it was deemed requisite that she should keep beside her in the bed, close to her person, a certain part of her husband’s wearing apparel; and to prevent her infant being carried off by fairies,1 before being secured from their grasp by the sacrament of baptism, a person was invariably appointed for its special protection, and when this nurse had occasion to leave the child in the cradle, she would lay the tongs across it till her return.*
“The old story,” says Waldron, “of infants being changed in their cradles, is here in such credit, that mothers are in continual terror at the thoughts of it. I was prevailed upon myself to go and see a child, who, they told me, was one of these changelings ; and, indeed, must own, was not a little surprised as well as shocked, at the sight. Nothing under heaven could have a more beautiful face ; but though between five and six years old and seemingly healthy, he was so far from being able to walk or stand, that he could not so much as move any one joint. His limbs were vastly long for his age, but smaller than an infant’s of six months; his complexion was perfectly delicate, and he had the finest hair in the world. He never spoke nor cryed; eat scarce anything, and was very seldom seen to smile ; but if any one called him a fairy elf, he would frown and fix his eyes so ear-
1 MS. Account of Manks Customs,	,
2 The belief that fairies could only change their weakly and starveling elves for the more robust offspring of men, before baptism, was not confined solely to the Isle of Man. Spenser thus alludes to it:—
** From thence a fairy thee unwitting reft. There as thou sleep’st in tender swadling band, And her bare elfin brood there for thee left';
Such men do changelings call, so chang’d by fairy theft.”
Faery Queen, book i, cap. x; see also Grey's Notes to Shakspeare, vol. i, p. 257. In the Isle of Man, it was formerly common for women, who carried their young children with them to the harvest field, to observe great care in not leaving the child at the “ headland,” but in keeping it at some distance from the end of the field. For want of this caution, say the old tales of the Island, many serious consequences ensued, such as the child being carried off and a fairy left in its stead.—MS. Account qf Manks Customs.
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neatly on those who said it, as if he would look them through. His mother, or at least his supposed mother, being very, poor, frequently went out a charing, and left him a whole day together. The neighbours, out of curiosity, have often looked in at the window to see how he behaved when alone, which, whenever they did, they were sure to find him laughing, and in the utmost delight.— This made them judge that he was not without company more pleasing to him than any mortals could be; and what made this conjecture seem the more reasonable was, that if he were left ever so dirty, the woman, at her return, saw him with a clean face, and his hair combed with the utmost exactness and nicety.”1 The thievish attempts of the Manks fairies, to carry off unchristened infants, were not, it appears, always attended with success :—“ Soon after a woman had been delivered of a child, the family, about bed-time, were alarmed by a cry of fire; all ran out of the house to see whence it proceeded, except the woman in the straw. Finding no cause for the outcry, they were returning, when, to their astonishment, they found the new-born babe at the threshold, where, they concluded, it had been left by a fairy thief, who had been foiled in attempting to carry it off.’”
From the birth of a child’ till after it is baptised, it is yet customary to keep in the room where the woman is confined, a peck* heaped with oaten cakes and cheese, of
1 Waldron’9 Description, p. 128. Sir Walter Scott quotes this story at full length in his introduction to the Tale ofTamlane in his Minstrelsy qfthe Scottish Border. It is also quoted by Ellis in his edition qf Brand.
2 Waldron, p. 129.
* A still-born child was not allowed to be buried in the church-yard, unless the mother made oath that she had received the sacrament since the quickening of the child.—Camden's Britannia, edition 1695, p. 1068.
4 This is a wooden hoop about three or perhaps four inches deep, and about twenty inches in diameter, covered with sheepskin, and resembling the head of a drum.— MS. Account of Manks Customs.
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which all visitors may freely partake, and small pieces of cheese and bread called blithe meat, are scattered in and about the house for the fairies? As baptism is only performed in the church, the woman who carries the infant thither is supplied with a quantity of bread and cheese to give to the first person she meets on the way? After returning from church, the remaining part of the day and often a great part of the night, is spent in eating and drinking, to which “ the whole country round” is invited, who, in return, give presents to the young Christian? If, after child-birth, a woman does not recover her usual strength, so soon as expected, then she is declared to be the victim of an evil-eye; some neighbour is soon suspected of having given the envenomed glance; and to counteract its malignancy, a square piece is secretly cut out of some part of her garment, and burnt immediately under the nose of the afflicted woman. This is considered an infallible cure for eye-biting?
“Before any person dies,” says Waldron, “the natives of the Island tell you that the procession of the funeral is acted by a sort of beings, which, for that end, render themselves visible. I know several that have offered to make oath, that, as they have been passing the road, one of these funerals has come behind them, and even laid the bier on their shoulders, as though to assist the bearer. One person, who assured me he had been served so, told me that the flesh of his shoulder had been very much bruised, and was black for many weeks after.— There are few or none of them who pretend not to have
1	Communication from Dr. Oswald, of Douglas, July, 1830.
8	MS. Account of Manic Cuctome.
9	Ibid. The person who receives this homely present must give the child in return three different things, wishing it at the same time health and beauty.—Ellie't edition qfBrand, vol. ii, p. 51. Hutchinton, in his Hittory tf Northumberland, voL ii, p. 4, tells us that when an infant is first sent abroad in the arms of a nurse to visit a neighbour, it is presented with an egg, salt, and fine bread.
* MB. Account qf Monte Cuetome.
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seen or heard these imaginary obsequies, (for I must not omit that they sing psalms in the same manner as those do who accompany the corpse of a dead friend,) which so little differ from real ones that they are not to be known till both coffin and mourners are seen to vanish at the church doors. These they take to be a sort of friendly demons ; and their business, they say, is to warn people of what is to befall them ; accordingly, they give notice of any strangers’ approach by the trampling of horses at the gate of the house where they are to arrive.
“ As difficult as I found it to bring myself to give any faith to this, I have frequently been very much surprised when, on visiting a friend, I have found the table ready spread, and every thing in order to receive me, and been told by the person to whom I went, that he had knowledge of my coming, or some other guest, by these good-natured intelligencers. Nay, when obliged to be absent some time from home, my own servants have assured me they were informed by these means of my return, and expected me the very hour I came ; though, perhaps, it was some days before I hoped it myself, at my going abroad. That this is fact, I am positively convinced by many proofs.”1
When a person dies,2 the corpse is laid on what is called a “ straightening board,” a trencher, with salt in it, and a lighted candle, are placed on the breast, and the bed, on which the straightening board bearing the corpse rests, is generally strewed with strong-scented flowers.’ The re-
1 Waldron9 s Description, pp. 139, 140.
* The Councell of xxiiij of the Land of Man, gave it for Law, a.d. 1419, that if any man dies, his son is to have, as corbes, his best pann or his best pott, a jack and sallett, bowe and arrows, sword and buckler, best board, and best stoole, his coulter and rackentree, his best chest, his best cup if it be wood bound with silver and gilt. Corbes for a woman—the best wheele and cardes, rackentree, a sucke or else a Manks spade, the best beade of jet or amber, the best broach, and the best crosse.— Lex Scripta, statute 1419.
3 MS. Account qf Manto Customs.
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lations and neighbours of the deceased, used formerly, to convene in great numbers, to the “ lyke wake” or farrar. The clerk of the parish sung a psalm, in which all the company joined. They afterwards smoked tobacco and drank strong beer, which was allowed them in great plenty. “ This custom is borrowed from the Irish, as are indeed, many others much in fashion with them.”1 The interment generally takes place on the third day after the decease. The relations and friends of the deceased attend the funeral, without any special invitation’—all considering it a moral obligation, to assist in conveying a fellow mortal to the place appointed for all mankind.3 “ I have seen,” says Waldron, “sometimes at a Manks burial, upwards of an hundred horsemen, and twice that number of people on foot. All those are entertained at long tables, spread with provisions; and rum and brandy fly about at a great rate.”4 As “ excessive sorrow is exceeding dry” the assembled company generally did ample justice to the funeral feast.6
1	Waldron’s Description, p. 170; Ellis, vol. ii, p. 143.
2	Neither was it in former times the custom of the Gallovidians,who are the nearest neighbours of the Manks, to give special invitations to their funerals. “ As soon as ever the dead corpse is taken out of the house, in order to its carrying to the churchyard, some persons left behind take out the bed-straw on which the person dyed, and burne the same at a little distance from the house. There may be, perhaps, some reason for the burning thereof to prevent infection; but why it should be done just at that time, I know not well, unless it be to give advertisement to any of the people who dwell in the way betwixt and the church-yard, to come and attend the buriall.*’ —Symson’s Description qf Galloway, Edinburgh, 1822, p. 95. When an Irish man or woman of the lower order dies, the straw which composed the bed is immediately taken out of the house and burned before the cabin door, the family at the same time setting up the howl, whereupon the neighbours dock to the house of the deceased, and by their vociferous sympathy excite, and at the same time, soothe the sorrow of the family.—Glossary to Edgeworth’s Castle Rackrent, London, edition 1810, p. 214.
8	MS. Account of Manks Customs.
* Waldron’s Description, p. 170.
8	The custom of giving a funeral feast was universally practised in Britain as well as in the Isle of Man, and also of giving a lyberal dole to the poor in proportion to the finances of the deceased. William de Montacute, ex-king of Man, directed by his will, “ that twenty-five shillings should be daily distributed among three hundred
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In the funeral processions of the Irish, it was the practice for the women to howl, and the bards to chant the virtues and achievements of the deceased,1 which was similar to the Scotch coronach. The Welsh played the owdle barnat before the corpse, on the way to the churchyard? The Manks carry out the dead with psalmody, as was customary in the days of the primitive church.’ When they come within a quarter of a mile of the church they are met by the parson, who walks before them singing a psalm, all the company joining with him.4 In the present day, it is the clerk that gives out a psalm and sings, on these occasions; the funeral is met by the minister at the entrance of the church-yard, and follows him into church. Psalm singing at funerals is rapidly falling into disuse.
All funerals used, anciently, to be solemnised in the night time, with torches, that they might not fall in the way of magistrates and priests, who were supposed to be violated by seeing a corpse.6 By the will of William de Montacute, earl of Salisbury, ex-king of Man, 29th April, 1397, twenty-four poor people, clothed in black gowns with red hoods, were ordered to attend his funeral, each carrying a lighted torch of eight pounds weight.6 But poor people, from the day of his death till the arrival of his body at the conventual church of Bustlesham, in which it was to be deposited.”—Warner's Typographical Remarks, vol. ii, p. 73.
1	Vallancey's Collectanea, vol. i, p. 124.
2	Logan's Scottish Gael, vol. ii, p. 383.
8	When the body of Babylas, the martyr, was removed by the order of Julian, the apostate, the Christians, with their women and children, rejoiced and sung psalms all the way, as they bore the corpse from Dauphne to Antioch. Thus was Paula buried at Bethlehem ; thus did Saint Anthony bury Paul, the hermit; and thus were the generality of men buried after the three first centuries, when persecution ceased. In imitation of this, it is still customary, in several parts of this nation, to carry out the dead with singing of psalms and hymns of triumph.—Bourne's Popular Antiquities, Newcastle, edition 1777, cap. iii.
4	Waldron's Description, p. 170.
8	Adams's Roman Antiquities, 8vo., Edinburgh, 1792, p. 476.
• Strutt's Manners and Customs, vol. ii, p. 108.
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torches at funerals were subsequently forbidden; and so late as the year 1594, it appears that other funeral ceremonies had also fallen into disuse; as in that year there is an enactment to prevent the carrying of bells and banners before the dead, and praying on the graves of the dead.1
Waldron observes,—“ In every church-yard there is a cross, round which the funeral procession moves three times before it enters the church, when the service for the dead is performed. Coffins are only used by the higher class; the poor are carried on a bier, called in Manks, yn charbyd, with only an old blanket round them, fastened by a skewer.”4 In like manner, a Danish warrior was always carried to the grave, on his shield.3 But this rude custom has long since been discontinued in the Isle of Man; the poorest person being now interred in a coffin made of stained deal, with as much solemnity as those in a higher rank of life.
1 Lex Scripta, Douglas, 1819, p. 72.
2 Waldron’s Description, p. 170. This pall or covering was called in the Manks
language marre-vaaith.—Vide Cregeen's Dictionary, p. 111.
• Ante, p. 89.
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APPENDIX.—Chapter XVII.
Note I.—Page 113.
MINOR PUNISHMENTS.
Among the changes that have taken place in this age of refinement may be mentioned the entire extinction of several punishments which were inflicted for minor offences in Great Britain as well as in the Isle of Man, even in the early part of last century. Both the instrument called the Branks and the Ducking stool, which were used for the punishment of scolding women, have now become obsolete.
The Branks was a sugar loaf shaped cap made of iron hooping, with a cross at the top, and a flat piece projecting inwards to keep down the tongue. When a woman was convicted of scolding, this cap was placed on her head, and fastened by a padlock behind, and a string annexed by which she was led by the hangman through the town.—Brand’s History of Newcastle; Mac Taggart’s Gallovidian Encyclopedia, In Scotland the Branks were used for more offensive purposes. In the church of St. Mary, at St. Andrews, is kept one of the implements, called “ The Bishop’s Branks,” which were worn by the martyr George Wishart, when he was burnt at the stake in that city. A model of these branks, which I got made in 1821, may be seen in the museum at Abbotsford.
The Lord Chief Baron Cornyns, in his Digest of the Laws, says, “ the timbrel is an instrument for punishing women that scold or are unquiet, now called a ducking stool.” In another work it is thus described :—“ A post was set up in a pond, with a transverse beam turning on a swivel, and a chair at the end in which the culprit was placed, and let into the water as often as the virulence of the case required.”— Brery’s Survey, vol. i, p. 343. These punishments, as well as standing in the whip-ping stocks” for slander, and riding on the wooden horse for theft or for other offences, were resorted to in the Isle of Man even since the revestment, but the infliction of these modes of punishment have now become obsolete. My friend, Dr. Underwood, of Castletown, in answer to a letter on the subject, says ” there are now no remains of the wooden horse or stang, as it is called in the Manks dialect, and luckily, I think, for the husbands of the present day.” This punishment was often inflicted upon military men, for dereliction of duty. The wooden horse was made of planks nailed together so as to form a sharp ridge or angle about eight or nine feet long. This ridge representing the back of the horse, which was supported by four posts or legs about six or seven feet high, placed on a stand, made moveable by truckles : to compete the resemblance, a head and tail were added. When a soldier was sentenced, either by a commanding officer or a court-martial, to ride the horse, he was placed on the back, with his hands tied behind, and frequently, to increase the punishment, had muskets tied to his legs to prevent, as was jocularly said, the horse from kicking him off.—Grose’s Military Antiquities, p. 106. This punishment is alluded to by Sir Walter Scott, in the fourth chapter of Old Mortality, where Halliday says “ we’ll
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have him to the guard house, and teach him to ride the colt, foaled of an acorn, with a brace of carabines at each foot to keep him steady.”
The whipping stocks were likewise used in the Isle of Man for the suppression of intemperance. At a Tynwald court, held on the 24th June, 1610, it was proclaimed “ that as oft as any man or woman shall be found drunk hereafter, the party so offend* ing, if not of ability to pay a fine, shall for the first time be punished in the stocks, the second time to be tyed to the whipping stocks, and the third time to be whipped therein.”—Lex Scripta, p. 92.
NOTE II.—Pagk 126.
THE HUNTING OF THE WREN.
We’ll away to the woods, says Robin the Bobbin, We’ll away to the woods, says Richard the Robbin, We’ll away to the woods, says Jackey the Land, We’ll away to the woods, says every one.
What will we do there, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.* We’ll hunt the wren, says Robin the Bobbin, &c.
Where is he, where is he, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
In yonder green bush, says Robin the Bobbin, &c.
How can we get him down, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
With sticks and stones, says Robin the Bobbin, &c.
He’s down, he’s down, says Robin the Bobbin, &c.
How can we get him home, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
We’ll hire a cart, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
Whose cart shall we hire, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
Johnny Bill Fell’s, says Robin the Bobbin, &c.
How can we get him in, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
With iron bars, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
He’s at home, he’s at home, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
How will we get him boiled, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac, In the brewery pan, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
How will we get him eaten, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
With knives and forks, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
Who’s to dine at the feast, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
The king and the queen, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
The pluck for the poor, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
The legs for the lame, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac. The bones for the dogs, says Robin the Bobbin, Ac.
He’s eaten, he’s eaten, says Robin the Bobbin, He’s eaten, he’s eaten, says Richard the Robbin, He’s eaten, he’s eaten, says Jackey the Land, He’s eaten, he’s eaten, says every one.
MS. Account of Manke Cut tome.
* Each Une is repeated four times, in the same manner as the first and last are.
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CHAPTER XVIII.
POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
attachment of the Manks to ancient Customs—The hair halter Riot-Fabulous Story of the Discovery of the Island—Mermaids on land— Freaks of the Tarroo Ushtey of Lhanjaghyn—The Sea-Glashtin— Wail of the Doinney (lie—The last Phynnodderee—Some Peculiarities of the Manks Fairies—Spectral Illusions—The Lhiannan-shee of Ballafletcher—Hom Mooar, the Fairy Fiddler—Occult Infections— Seer Teare, the Fairy Doctor—Mystical Properties of the Crossbone of the Bollans Head—The Chasms at Spanish Head—Sorcery and Witchcraft—Fascination of an Evil Eye—Submarine City— The Second Sight—Enchanted Palace—Death of the Dark Smith Maclibhuin,
Many of the rites, observances, and popular notions, adverted to in this chapter, have undoubtedly descended from very remote times, but, like the remains of ancient statuary, most of them appear to have been so mutilated, or parts of them so awkwardly transposed, in their descent, as to veil the causes that gave rise to them, even from the inhabitants of the Isle of Man, who have done much to perpetuate these remnants of antiquity; for
u Manksmen love their native vales, Island songs, and Island tales.”
On admission to office, every member of the governor’s council and of the house of keys is required to make oath “ that h^ will use his best endeavours to maintain and defend the ancient laws and customs of the Island with the prerogatives thereof.’” A circumstance occurred about the end of last century, which is here mentioned
1	Johnstone's Jurisprudence,
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to show the extreme acuteness of the people in observing any departure from an established practice, and how prone they are to resist any attempt so made.
A malefactor, who had been condemned to suffer the extreme penalty of the law, was taken from Castle Rushen to the place of execution, where a great concourse of people were assembled, from all parts of the Island, to witness a spectacle of rare occurrence. By an old customary law, it was ordained, that a person convicted of felony should be hanged by the neck in a hair rope;' but in the case alluded to, one of the constituted authorities had given orders privately, that a hempen halter should be substituted in its stead, as being more suitable for the purpose. The innovation was discovered by some of the spectators just as the convict was suspended from the fatal tree. The populace instantly became so infuriated at the introduction of a custom so entirely English, that not only had they well nigh killed the executioner for not publicly resisting such an infringement of the ancient statute, but also, having cut down the felon in the agonies of death, they even, after some lapse of time, again hung up the dead body in a hair halter, amid the patriotic acclamation of Mannagh vow cliaghtey, cliaghtey, nee cliaghtey coe. In English, “ If custom is not indulged with custom, custom will mourn or weep.” This has always been a kind of war-cry among the populace when their rulers have anywise attempted to deviate from an ancient custom.
The natives say, that many centuries before the Christian era, the Island was inhabited by fairies, and that all business was carried on in a supernatural manner. They
1	Many sanative virtues were ascribed to hair ropes. A person might obtain the second sight by having one coiled round his body like a screw, gazing at the same time through a hole left by a fir knot at a passing funeral, but if the wind changed while the mystical cord begirt the body of the novice, his life was in jeopardy.— Daly ell's Darker Superstition* of Scotland, pp. 469, 470.
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affirm, that a blue mist continually hung over the land, and prevented mariners, who passed in ships that way, from even suspecting that there was an Island so near at hand, till a few fishermen, by stress of weather, were stranded on the shore. As they were preparing to kindle a fire on the beach, they were astounded by a fearful noise issuing from the dark cloud which concealed the Island from their view. When the first spark of fire fell into their tinder-box, the fog began to move up the side of the mountain, closely followed by a revolving object, closely resembling three legs of men joined together at the upper part of the thighs, and spread out so as to resemble the spokes of a wheel.* Hence the arms of the Island.
Collins, the poet, in a note to his “ Ode to Liberty,” gives a different version of this story. “ There is,” says he, “ a tradition in the Isle of Man, that a mermaid having become enamoured of a young man of extraordinary beauty, took an opportunity of meeting him one day as he walked on the shore, and opened her mind to him, but her proposal being received with much coldness, occasioned by his horror and surprise at her appearance, was so misconstrued by the sea-lady, that in revenge for his treatment of her, she punished the whole Island by covering it with mist, so that all who attempted to carry on any commerce with it, either never arrived there, or were, upon a sudden, wrecked upon its cliffs, till the incantatory
1 Could this tradition be divested of the improbabilities by which it appears to have been surrounded in the course of time, it would, perhaps, resolve into the usual ceremony, performed by the Druids at the solstices, of rolling a wheel enveloped in straw to the top of the nearest consecrated hill, to kindle the straw by a spark from the sacred fire, and while blazing to allow the wheel to roll down the declivity, that the Arch-druid might see in its evolutions the events that would occur ere the sun returned to the next tropical point. Count de Gebelon, in his Allegories, printed at Paris in 1773, says that from the druidical ceremony of the wheel is derived the name wiel, jol, and yule, applied to Christmas in modern times by the Germans, Danes, and Scots respectively.
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spell or pishag, as the Manks say, was broken by the fishermen stranded there, by whom notice was given to the people of their country, who sent ships in order to make a farther discovery. On their landing, they had a fierce encounter with the little people, and having got the better of them, possessed themselves of Castle Rushen, and by degrees, of the whole Island.
Waldron tells another story of a mermaid, in the words of a native fisherman, whom he happened to meet at Port Iron. “ During the time that Oliver Cromwell usurped the government of England, few ships resorted to this Island, which gave the mermen and mermaids frequent opportunities of visiting the shore, where, on moonlight nights they have been seen combing their hair; but as soon as they saw any one coming near them, they jumped into the water and were soon out of sight. Some people who lived near the shore spread nets and watched at a convenient distance for their approach, but only one was taken, which proved to be a female. Nothing, continued my author, could be more lovely; above the waist it resembled a fine young woman, but below that, all was fish with fins, and a spreading tail. She was carried to a house and used very tenderly; but, although they set before her the best of provisions, she could not be prevailed on to eat or drink, neither could they get a word from her, although they knew these creatures had the gift of speech. They kept her three days, but perceiving that she began to look very ill by fasting so long, and fearing some calamity would befall the Island if they kept her till she died, they opened the door, on perceiving which she raised herself on her tail from the place where she was lying, and glided with incredible swiftness to the sea side. Her keeper followed at a distance, and saw her plunge into the water, where she was met by a great number of her own species, one of whom asked her what she had observed among the people on the earth ?—
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Nothing, answered she, but they are so ignorant as to throw away the very water they have boiled their eggs in.”'
The tarroo-ushtey or water-bull, it appears, was formerly a regular visitant of the Isle of Man. Waldron says, “ A neighbour of mine who kept cattle, had his fields very much infested with this animal, by which he had lost several cows; he therefore placed a man continually to watch, who bringing him word one day that a strange bull was among the cows, he doubted not but it was the waterbull, and having called a good number of lusty men to his assistance, who were all armed with great poles, pitchforks, and other weapons proper to defend therfiselves, and be the death of this dangerous enemy; they went to the place where they were told he was, and run altogether at him, but he was too nimble for their pursuit, and after tiring them over mountains and rocks and a great space of stony ground, he took a river and avoided any further chase, by diving down into it, though every now and then he would show his head above water, as if to mock their skill.”2
The belief in this imaginary animal is not yet become extinct. Only a few years ago, the farmer of Slieu Mayll in the parish of Onchan, was on a Sunday evening returning home from a place of worship, when at the garee of Slegaby a wild looking animal, with large eyes sparkling like fire, crossed the road before him and went flapping away. This he knew to be a tarroo-ushtey, for his father had seen one at nearly the same place, over the back of this animal he broke his walking stick, so lazy was it to get out of his way. This man’s brother had also seen a tarroo-ushtey, at Lhanjaghyn, in the same neighbourhood. When proceeding to the fold very early one morning in the month of June, to let the cattle out to feed before the heat of
1	Waldron, pp. 161, 162.
2	Ibid, pp. 147, 148.
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the day came on, he saw a water-hull standing outside the fold, when the bull that was within with the cattle perceived him, he instantly broke through the fence and ran at him, roaring and tearing up the ground with his feet, but the tarroo-ushtey scampered away seeming quite unconcerned, and leaping over an adjoining precipice, plunged into deep water, and after swimming about a little, evidently amusing himself, he gave a loud bellow and disappeared?
The glashtin is a water-horse, that formerly, like the tarroo-ushtey, left his native element to associate with land animals of the same class, and might frequently be seen playing gambols in the mountains among the native ponies, to whom the glashtin is said at one time to have been warmly attached, but since the breed of the native horses has been crossed with those of other countries, he has wholly deserted them?
The dooinney-oie or nightman, of the former Manks peasantry, seems to have been somewhat akin to the benshee of the Scots and Irish,3 who were reverenced as the tutelar demons of certain families, as it appeared only to give monitions of future events to particular persons. The MS. of Manks Superstitions before referred to says, “ The voice of the dooinney-oie was sometimes very dismal when heard at night on the mountains, something like h-o-w-l-a-a or h-o-w-a-a.” When his lamentation in
1 MS, Account of Manks Superstitions, collected for this work by a native of the Island. A superstitious belief in this imaginary water spirit is not confined to the Isle of Man. The water-butt is still believed to reside in Loch Awe and Loch Ran-nock, in the Highlands of Scotland. He is said to be vulnerable only to silver.— Macculloch's Description qf the Western Isles, vol ii, p. 185.
2 Cregeen’s Manks Dictionary, p. 79 ; MS. Account of Manks Superstitions. The glashtin seems to be merely a different shade of the superstition of the tarroo-ushtey ,- but, like the latter, is not wholly confined to the Isle of Man. The waterhorse is said to have been seen in Loch Lomond and in Shetland. The latter is represented as being very handsome, but when mounted carries its rider into the sea. —Croker, vol. i, p. 272.
3 The Benaaishnee of the Manks was a female fortune-teller.—'Cregeen’s Manks Dictionary, p. 24.
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winter was heard, on the coast, being a sure prediction of an approaching tempest, it was so awful that even the brute creation trembled at the sound. Perhaps the propensities of this creature more nearly resembled those of the daoine-shie or men of peace, of the Scottish Highlanders, who, according to popular fancy, “sometimes held intercourse with mistresses of mortal race, and were inconsolable when their suits were rejected.”1
Another cherished phantasm of Manks superstition is the phynnodderee. This creature of the imagination is represented as being a fallen fairy, who was banished from fairy land by the elfin-king for having paid his addresses to a pretty Manks maid, who lived in a bower beneath the blue tree of Glen Aldyn, and for deserting the fairy court during the re-hollys vooar yn ouyr, or harvest moon, to dance in the merry glen of Rushen. He is doomed to remain in the Isle of Man till the end of time, transformed into a wild satyr-like figure, covered with long shaggy hair, like a he-goat, and was thence called the phynnod-deree, or hairy one.
The Manks phynnodderee is seemingly analogous to the swart-alfar of the Edda,® somewhat resembles the lubber fend of Milton,3 and possesses several of the attributes of the Scottish brownie*
“ His was the wizard hand that toil’d At midnight’s witching hour,
1 Graham’s Sketches qf Perthshire, ap. Daly ell’s Darker Superstitions, p. 600.
2 Vide Northern Sagas; Jamieson’s Scottish Dictionary,
8 Vide L’Allegro,
4 Jamieson described the brownie as a 44 spirit supposed, till of late years, to haunt some old houses, those, especially, attached to farms. Instead of doing any injury, he was believed to be very useful to the family, particularly to the servants if they treated him well, for whom, while they took their necessary refreshments in sleep, he was wont to do many pieces of drudgery.”—Scottish Dictionary. 44 Some think the brownies not of supernatural origin, but distressed persons who were obliged to conceal themselves and wander about during some of the past turbulent ages.”— Mac Taggart’s Gallovidian Encyclopedia, p. 96. James Hogg, in his Tale of the Brownie of Bodsbeck, shows the brownie to have been one of the fugitive Cameronians.
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That gather’d the sheep from the coming storm Ere the shepherd saw it lour,
Yet ask’d no fee save a scatter’d sheaf From the peasant’s garner’d hoard, Or cream-bowl pressed by a virgin-lip To be left in the household board.”1
The phynnodderee also cut down and gathered in meadow-grass, which would have been injured if allowed to remain exposed to the coming storm. On one occasion a farmer having expressed his displeasure with the spirit for not having cut his grass close enough to the ground, the hairy one in the following year allowed the dissatisfied farmer to cut it down himself, but went after him stubbing up the roots so fast that it was with difficulty the farmer escaped having his legs cut off by the angry sprite. For several years afterwards no person could be found to mow the meadow, until a fearless soldier, from one of the garrisons, at length undertook the task. He commenced in the centre of the field, and by cutting round as if on the edge of a circle, keeping one eye on the progress of the yiarn foldyragh or scythe, while the other
“ Was turned round with prudent care, Lest Phynnodderee catched him unaware,”
he succeeded in finishing his task unmolested. This field, situate in the parish of Marown, hard by the ruins of the old church of St. Trinian’s, is, from the circumstance just related, still called yn cheance rhunt, or the round meadow.
The following is one of the many stories related by the Manks peasantry as indicative of the prodigious strength of the phynnodderee. A gentleman having resolved to build a large house and offices on his property, a little above the base of Snafield mountain, at a place called Sholt-e-wiU, caused the requisite quantity of stones to be
1 Mrs. E. S. Craven Green.
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quarried on the beach, but one immense block of white stone, which he was very desirous to have for a particular part of the intended building could not be moved from the spot, resisting the united strength of all the men in the parish. To the utter astonishment, however, of all, not only this rock, but likewise the whole of the quarried stones, consisting of more than an hundred cart-loads, were in one night conveyed from the shore to the site of the intended onstead by the indefatigable phynnodderee, and in confirmation of this wonderful feat, the white stone is yet pointed out to the curious visitor.1
The gentleman for whom this very acceptable piece of work was performed, wishing to remunerate the naked phynnodderee, caused a few articles of clothing to be laid down for him in his usual haunt. The hairy one on perceiving the habiliments lifted them up one by one, thus expressing his feelings in Manks :
Bayrn da’n choine, dy doogh da’n choine, Cooat da’en dreeym, dy doogh da’n dreeym, Breechyn da’n toyn, dy doogh da’n toyn, Agh my she Ihiat ooiley, sboh cha nee Ihiat Glen reagh Rushen.
Cap for the head, alas, poor head.
Coat for the back, alas, poor back.
Breeches for the breech, alas, poor breech.
If these be all thine, thine cannot be the merry Glen of Rushen.
Having repeated these words, he departed with a melancholy wail, and now
“ You may hear his voice on the desert hill When the mountain winds have power;
’Tis a wild lament for his buried love, And his long lost Fairy Bower.”8
1 MS. Account of Manks Customs.—Another large stone is pointed out to the visitor near Jurby Church, said to have been thrown by a giant from either Snafield or some of the adjoining mountains, after a companion who had insulted him, but who contrived to escape his rage by wading or swimming from Jurby to the coast of Scotland. Such memorials of fabulous achievements are also to be found in Scotland. In the town of Ayr, close to the Wallace Tower, is a block of blue whinstone of at least a ton weight, called Wallace^ putting stane, which, tradition says, was slung by the Scottish champion against a squadron of English cavalry.
8 Mrs, Craven Green.	'
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Many of the old people lament the disappearance of the phynnodderee, for they say, “ There has not been a merry world since he lost his ground.”
Doctor Langhorne1 is of opinion that the Isle of Man is the only place in the world where one would have the chance of meeting with a fairy, for on a fine summer evening they are frequently seen by brooks and waterfalls, and on the tops of the highest mountains, dressed in green.
“ Merry elves their morris dancing To aerial minstrelsey;
Emerald rings on brown heath tracing, Trip it deft and merrily.” 8
The fascinating power of the fairy minstrelsey must be great to verify the following anecdote related by Waldron. “ An English gentleman informed me, that having to swim on horseback across Douglas river when the tide was high, and when about the middle of the swollen water, he heard such fine symphony that he thought nothing human ever came up to it. The horse was no less sensible of the harmony than himself, and, notwithstanding the current of the tide, kept in an immovable posture all the time it lasted, which he said could not be less than three quarters of an hour. He who before laughed at all the stories told of fairies, now became a convert.”3
The following fairy tale, related by Lord Teignmouth, is of recent date :—“ The Manks,” says he, “ retain many superstitious notions common to the other branches of the Celtic family. My guide mentioned an instance of a troop of fairies having appeared, about six years before that time, to a man of Laxey, who, being somewhat intoxicated, forthwith began to abuse them, but they wreaked their vengeance on him by piercing his skin with a shower of gravel. The catastrophe did not terminate here: his
1	Wood^s History qf the Isle of Man, p. 159.
8	Lay qf the Last Minstrel, canto i, stanza xx.
3	Waldron, p. 138.
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only horse died next morning, his cow died also, and in six weeks he was himself a corpse ! He also assured me that persons, walking in the neighbourhood of a churchyard, sometimes found themselves entangled in a crowd which suddenly vanished—a sign that foreboded a funeral. He said also that a light issuing from a church-yard indicated a marriage.”1
In such veneration were the fairies held by the simple-hearted peasantry, that on a stormy night every person went sooner to bed that the “ good people,” as they called them, might get in to enjoy the comforts of the house.1
During the re-hollys vooar yn ouyr, or “ great harvest moonlight,” the fairies are considered to be always abroad, and many stories are related of their excursions throughout the Island, and particularly of their merry-makings in Glentrammon.
Spectral illusions were formerly common throughout the Western Isles. “In Skye, a woman repeatedly beheld another resembling herself walking at no great distance, and in changes of apparel like her own. A young woman in Lewis constantly beheld the back of her own image3 before her, in going into the open air.” A young sailor, returning from a long voyage, was put on shore at Douglas to visit a sister at Kirk Merloch. As he passed over a mountain on his route, he heard the trampling of horses and the sound of a huntsman’s horn. Instantly thirteen persons, all gallantly mounted and dressed in green, rode quickly past. He saw them again and again, and heard the sound of the horn die slowly away in the distance. When he told his sister what he had seen, she clapped her hands for joy that he had arrived in safety, adding
1 Teignmouth’s Sketches of the Coasts of Scotland and the Isle of Man, vol. ii, page 262.
2 MS. Account ofManks Superstitions.
3 Mac Leod on Second Sight, pp. 21, 27.
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" those you saw were fairies, and it is fortunate they did not take you away.”1
In these nightly hunting excursions, the fairies did not content themselves with the Manks horses to be found on the mountains, but made use of the English and Irish cattle, brought by gentlemen to the Island. Nothing was more common than to find these poor animals in the morning tired almost to death, when their owners thought them safe in their stalls. A gentleman, of Ballafletcher, assured Mr. Waldron that he had three or four of his best horses killed in these nocturnal journeys.* The tricks of these mischievous elves, however, must have been counteracted by a kind of good spirit, who appears to have been highly venerated at Ballafletcher, from a testimony which has reached our times.
The estate of Ballafletcher, on which stands the parish church of Braddan, now called Kirby, was long in the possession of a family named Fletcher. Colonel Wilks, the late proprietor of this estate, had in his possession an antique crystal goblet, resembling those old fashioned wine glasses still to be met with in the store of the curious housewife. This goblet was presented to him by an old lady, a connection of the family of Fletcher, the former proprietor of the estate. It is larger than a common bell-shaped tumbler, and is ornamented with carved sprigs and white lines. It is supposed to have been dedicated to the Ihiannan-shee, or “ peaceful spirit,” of Ballafletcher
1	Waldron, p. 133.
8	Waldron, p. 133. “ Not far from Ballafletcher is the fairy’s saddle, a stone so called, I suppose, from the similitude it has to a saddle. It seems to be loose on the edge of a small rock, and the wise natives of Man tell you it is every night made use of by the fairies; but on what kind of horses I could never find any who could inform me.”—Waldron, p. 176. From this it appears that the euack tieibh, or fairy horse, of which many wonderful stories are yet related by many old people in the Highlands or Islands of Scotland, was not unknown in the Isle of Man. The stone saddle was of itself sufficient to kill the gentleman’s horses. The stone is yet seen in nearly the same place, and from that circumstance, the way leading to it is still called the Saddle-road.
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by the former owners of the estate, and to have been held in great esteem, being only used once a year, at Christmas, when the lord of the manor drank a bumper from it to the Ihiannan-shee of his “hearth and domain.” This was treating the familiar spirits with greater respect than was usually done, they being often considered troublesome and dangerous. To break this fragile memorial would have been deemed a great misfortune to the family and displeasing to the spirit of peace. Colonel Wilks, honouring and respecting the fancies of olden times, caused it to be encased in a strong oaken box, mounted with silver: and in all probability, the old lady donor was glad at having got it safe out of her hands.1
The cup of the Ihiannan-shee is not the only relic of fairy superstition in the Island. The interior of the fairy hill of Rushen, as the natives supposed, was formerly the palace of the fairy king, and many a tale was told of the midnight revels there of the fairy court of Mona. In some of these tales of wonder yet related by the upland peasantry, the fame of a glashtin musician called Hom Mooar has reached our times, who had by the melody of his music, decoyed many a wandering wight into the hallowed precincts, from which few ever returned. One of Hom Mooar's achievements is thus related by Waldron:— A farmer belonging to the parish of Malew returning homeward from Peel, was benighted in the intervening mountains and lost his way; after wandering, he knew not where, he was insensibly led by the sound of sweet music into a large hall, where were a great number of little people sitting round a table, eating and drinking in a very jovial manner. Among them were some faces whom he thought he had formerly seen; but forbore taking any notice of them, or they of him, till the little people offering
1 Communications from Dr. H. R. Oswald, of Douglas, July, 1830.
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him drink, one of them, whose features seemed not unknown to him, plucked him by the coat and forbade him, whatever he did, to taste anything he saw before him; for if you do, added he, you will be as I am and return no more to your family. The poor man was much affrighted, but resolved to obey the injunction: accordingly a large silver cup, filled with some sort of liquor, being put into his hand, he found an opportunity to throw what it contained to the ground. On which the music ceased, and all the company instantly disappeared, leaving the cup in his hand. He returned home and communicated to the minister of the parish all that had happened, and asked his advice how he should dispose of the cup; to which the parson replied, he could not do better than devote it to the service of the church: and this very cup, they tell me, is that which is now used for the consecrated wine in Kirk Malew?
The Manks women are all spinsters: many of them regulate their work by some fancied control or interest, they think the fairies take in their operations.* For this reason, they will not spin on Saturday evening, as they deem it displeasing to the elfin race.’ At every baking and churning a small bit of dough and a bit of butter was stuck on the wall for the “ good people.”3 And great ceremony was formerly observed by ploughmen; before breaking the soil, they washed the plough with chamberlee, as a sure preventive of all malignant influence against the undertaking.4
Predictive dreams, in all ages, and in every nation, have formed a prominent article in the creed of popular
1 Waldron, pp. 126, 127. Several tales similar to the above have been placed at my disposal by friends in the Isle of Man; but as they are all of the same shade of superstition, it would have been foreign to my purpose to have inserted any of them.
♦ Appendix, Note i, 44 Suspension of Labour on Saturday Evening/*
8 Communications from Dr. Oswald, of Douglas, July, 1830.
3 Townley's Journal, vol. ii, p. 208.
4 MS, Account of Manks Superstitions.
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superstition. “ Among the Grecians, we find a whole country using no other way for information than going to sleep.”1 The English appear to have paid greater attention to dreams than the Normans, for when William Rufus was dissuaded from going abroad on the morning of that day on which he was killed, because the abbot of Gloucester had dreamed something which portended danger, he is said to have made this reply, “ Do you imagine that I am an Englishman, to be frightened by a dream or by the sneezing of an old woman ?”’* It was under the superstitious impression of a dream that Magnus Barelegs left Norway to spread fire and famine over the Western Isles and to plunder the Isle of Man.® From that early period to the present time, the Manks appear to have entertained a belief in predictive dreams. In the autumn of 1838, Norris Bridson, of Castletown, having, one evening, spread a new fishing net, which was in the process of tanning, on the ground at a place called the claddagh, retired shortly afterwards to rest. About midnight, he dreamed that a rich neighbour of his was about to steal the net, upon which, leaping out of bed, he hurried away half naked to the claddagh, where he actually found the individual, pointed out in his dream, carrying away the net on his back.4
If a person wishes to purchase an animal, but will not give the price demanded, the disposer lifts earth from the print made by the person’s right foot on the ground, where he stood at the time of his striving to drive the bargain,*
1 Brandi Observation* on Popular Antiquities, by Sir Henry EUis, edition 1843, vol. iii, p. 68.
8 Henry's History of Great Britain, vol. iii, p. 575, ap. EUis, vol. iii, p. 69.
8 Chronicles of the Kings of Man, anno 1098, ap. Camden; Macpherson's Critical Dissertation on the Origin of the Ancient Caledonians, No. xvi; History qf ths Norwegian Principality, called the Kingdom of Man.
4 Manx Sun newspaper, 14th September, 1838.
8 Touching or lifting the earth in different countries, always, in rude times, involved mystery. Varri speaks of curing the gout by touching the earth nine times fasting. For diseases of the eye, touching the earth was, by the ancients, a specific remedy.
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and rubs the animal all over with it, to prevent the effects of what is termed by the Islanders “ overlooking;” in illustration of which my Manks correspondent says :—Mr. Karran, the late captain of the parish of Marown, had a fine colt, to which a person in Baldwin took a particular fancy, and was very anxious to purchase it, though Mr. Karran had no intention of parting with the animal. On the evening of the last refusal, the colt became suddenly ill; and although every possible means were resorted to for its recovery, it continued to grow worse. On the third day a friend accidentally called at Mr. K.’s house, and on being told the circumstance thus related of the colt, undertook the cure of it. He immediately started off for Baldwin, in the hope of meeting the person whose evil-eye had infected it; he did so; and when the person with the evil-eye had passed Mr. Karran’s friend, the latter gathered the dust of the road out of his footsteps, and returned with it in his pocket-handkerchief. On rubbing the colt all over with the dust, it presently partook of food, and rapidly recovered, to the surprise of the proprietor and many of his neighbours.1
Occult infection was denounced in the ancient Manks statutes and ordinances,1 as well as in the acts of the Scottish parliament, in all the forms,1 particularly detailed in the Darker Superstitions of Scotland.*
Several years ago, Mr. Corlett, of Ballamona, in Kirk Braddan, sold a calf to a butcher of Douglas: but Mrs.
Earth taken from the spot where a man had been slain was prescribed in Scotland for a hurt or an ulcer.—Daly ell* 8 Darier Superstitions of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1835, page 125.
1	MS. Account qf Manis Superstitions.
* Booi qf Spiritual Laws, ap. Mills, p. 53 ; Ibid, anno 1594, p. 64.
3	Acts tf the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, edition 1685, p. 288.
4	“ Certain persons, either of divine endowment or by diabolical power, enjoy the supernatural faculty of infecting any living creature with disease and of curing it by various expedients without the use of medicine, also of reserving that faculty inactive instore for injury, and of transferring it from one being to another."—DatyelTs Darier Superstitions of Scotland, Glasgow, edition 1835, p. 288.
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Corlett, not being aware of the circumstance, sold the same calf again to another person of the same profession, who, upon concluding the bargain, paid the price agreed on, then took away the calf and killed it. As soon as Ballamona' discovered the mistake made by his wife, he called on the butcher to whom he had sold the calf, and after explaining the circumstance, offered to refund not only the sum which that butcher had paid for it, but the price which Mrs. Corlett had received from the other man, a sum considerably more; this the butcher not only refused, but with characteristic proneness to litigation, instituted an action at law against Mr. Corlett, for the unlawful disposal of his property.
Although this contest did not seem to extend to the old superstitious assertion, that if people differ about the right of possessing any animal, not only that beast but the whole stock of which it formed a part, ceased to thrive. This happened to be exactly the case with Mr. Corlett’s cattle during the continuance of the lawsuit. The mother of the disputed calf ceased to give milk, and became hide-bound, as did all the rest of the cows of the bowing, as if by contagion. This led to the belief that the whole were bewitched, and consequently labouring under the effects of sympathetic influence.' “ Nor were the cattle,” says my informant, “ cured till Mr. Corlett obtained a servant-maid from the north end of the Island, (where antidotes to witchcraft are thoroughly understood) who was so well skilled in the doctrine of sympathy, that she could take a mote out of any person’s eye, though at the distance of many miles from the afflicted person, and who, by the action of the knife on the cutting of the herbs to be applied to the cure of any animal, could tell the extent of the disease by which that animal was afflicted.”
1	Where the Manks language is principally spoken in the Island, the natives are generally called after their estates or localities, as above.
* Dalyell's Darker Superstitions qf Scotland, Glasgow, edition 1835, p. 318.
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When a beast dies from the supposed effect of witchcraft, the carcase is generally burnt by the proprietor, at the highway side, and the first person that passes that way after the fire is kindled, is recognised as the witch or wizard. A case of this kind took place in the early part of the year 1843, near the Union Mills, in the parish of Braddan, and was strongly commented on by the public press of the Island at the time, as an instance of the rankest superstition that could be resorted to in the present day.
Though a Wesleyan preacher, named Corjaig, affirmed some years ago, that he witnessed the departure of all the fairies of the Island, from the bay of Douglas, in empty rum puncheons, and that he saw them scudding away before the wind as far as the eye could reach in the direction of Jamaica, and though no person has dared to affirm positively that he has since seen even one of these elves, yet fairy doctors still continue to be employed in the Island.' At Ballayochie, eye-biting in every stage, whether in man or beast, was cured by one of these empirics down to a very recent period. At Ballasalla, lives, at
1	It appears from the following story that the fairies have also taken their departure from Scotland :—“ On a Sabbath morning, all the inmates of a little hamlet had gone to church except a herd-boy and a little girl, his sister, who were lounging beside one of the cottages, when just as the shadow of the garden dial had fallen on the line of noon, they saw a long cavalcade ascending out of the ravine through the wooded hollow. It winded among the knolls and bushes; and turning round the northern gable of the cottage, beside which the sole spectators of the scene were stationed, began to ascend the eminence towards the south. The horses were shaggy, diminutive things, speckled dun and gray: the riders stunted, misgrown, ugly creatures, attired in antique jerkins of plaid, long gray cloaks, and little red caps, from under which their wild uncombed locks shot out over their cheeks and foreheads. The boy and his sister stood gazing in utter dismay and astonishment, as rider after rider, each more uncouth and dwarfish than the one which had preceded it, passed the cottage and disappeared among the brushwood, which at that period covered the hill, until at length the entire rout, except the last rider, who lingered a few yards behind the others, had gone by. * What are ye little manie ? and where are you going ?’ enquired the boy, his curiosity getting the better of his fears and his prudence. ‘ Not of the race of Adam/ said the creature, turning for a moment in its saddle : 4 the people of peace shall never more be seen in Scotland? ”—The Old Red Sandstone by Hugh Miller t Edinburgh, edition 1842, p. 251.
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present,' a very extensive dealer in propitiatory charms and in antidotes to occult infection, but the most noted of whom at present is Mr. Teare,* of Ballawhane, in the parish of Andreas. When the prescriptions of other practitioners fail in producing the desired effect, this famous person is applied to. The messenger that is despatched to him on such occasions is neither to eat nor to drink by the way, nor even to tell any person his mission. The recovery is said to be perceptible from the time the case is stated to him.*
In spring, when the doctor is called to attend professionally at more places than he can accomplish at the time required, many very respectable farmers will suspend for days the operation of sowing, although the land should be fully prepared, and even in the most precarious weather, rather than run the risk of committing the seed to the soil without his accustomed benediction.4
It will be seen from the following anecdote, related to me at the place where the circumstance occurred, that Seer Teare has power over the birds of the air as well as over the beasts of the field. In July, 1833, the great fairy doctor had just entered the house of Mr. Fargher, inn-keeper, at Laxey, and seated himself in an old armchair, when he was greeted by the landlord, “ Well, Ballawhane, I am glad to see you ; my little field of wheat
1	June, 1843.
8 Feltham, who visited the Island in 1797, speaking of Mr. John Teare, of Ballawhane, in the parish of Andreas, says,—“ This gentleman’s family have long been in possession of some valuable medicinal preparations, which they liberally distribute to the relief of the poor.”—Tour through the Isle of Man, p. 150.
3	MS. Account qf Manks Customs.
4	This branch of the “black art,” though probably now confined to the Isle of Man, was formerly practised in Orkney. “ A woman was verrie anxious to know when David Cumlagoy would sow, and after shoe had heard, shoe went and stood to his face all the tyme he was sowing, and that yeir his seed failed him that he could not sow the third of his land.” Magnus Linay and his wife Geillis Sclaitter were accused of having learned from the Egyptians the art of taking the profit of their neighbour’s corn.—Records of Orkney, 13th June, 1616, fol. 74, and 1st June, 1643, fol. 278, ap. DalyelVs Darker Superstitions of Scotland, edt. 1835, pp. 8, 236.
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is nearer ripe than any grain in the glen, and the sparrows feed on it in such flocks, notwithstanding all I can do to prevent them, that they will have all the grain carried away before the straw is fit for the sickle.” “ I am quite aware of that,” replied Mr. Teare, “ and I am just come to try if I can put them away for you.” After returning from the field where he had performed some ceremonious rites, he remarked to the inn-keeper, “ these sparrows know well to take advantage of corn that has not been seen by me before it was sown, but I have sent them all away now, and I think they will not again venture into your field this season.” This singular exorcism of the sparrows soon became known throughout Laxey: the paper-makers and the miners in the neighbourhood were the only persons who had any doubt as to the doctor’s power in such matters, and for the purpose of satisfying themselves, they narrowly watched the field during the remaining part of the season. To their great surprise, however, though the sparrows flocked round Mr. Fargher’s park in greater numbers than before, casting many a wistful eye to the waving grain, yet not one of them dared to enter the charmed precincts.
The great fairy doctor of Kirk Andreas is the last of a class of professors formerly very numerous throughout the Western Isles, and as such he merits a particular description here. The first time I saw him he was mounted on a little Manks pony that seemed aware of its master having neither whip nor spur to quicken its pace, as it moved very tardily along the way side. The seer is a little man, far advanced into the vale of life; in appearance he was healthy and active ; he wore a low-crown slouched hat, evidently too large for his head, with a broad brim; his coat, of an old fashioned make, with his vest and breeches, were all of loaghtyn wool, which had never undergone any process of dying: his
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shoes also were of a colour not to be distinguished from his stockings, which were likewise of loaghtyn wool.
Mr. Kelly, chief magistrate of Castletown, was kindly driving me in his gig to Port Saint Mary, whither also Mr. Teare was proceeding, and where, he informed us, he was to remain for the night. Aware that it was not agreeable to many even of the most intelligent Manksmen to hear direct allusions made by a stranger to any of the superstitious observances of the lower orders of the people, I avoided as much as possible making any enquiries that might give offence. Mr. Kelly seeing, however, from the nature of my questions and from my travelling in the mountains and associating with the peasantry, that my chief object was to become acquainted with all the existing peculiarities of the people, on our arrival at the inn, generously introduced me to the great fairy doctor, as a person eminently qualified to give me all the statistical information which the Island could afford. After communicating to the seer my object in visiting the Island, Mr. Kelly remarked with a magisterial air, “ I know, Mr. Teare, that by probing the secret springs of nature you can either accelerate, retard, or turn aside at pleasure the natural course of events, but you must make oath before me, in presence of this stranger, that you never call evil spirits to your assistance.” The seer assented, and the oath was administered with due solemnity by the magistrate, who, after listening to some singular stories from the doctor, departed for Castletown, leaving us to spend the evening together. There was a pithy quaintness in the doctor’s conversation, and his answers were generally couched in idiomatic proverbialisms. He said he was required by his professional business to travel more than any person in the Island, and when I expressed my surprise at a person of his advanced years enduring such fatigue, he replied “ the crab that lies always in its hole is never fat.”
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Many virtues are ascribed by seafaring people to the caul, sometimes accompanying an infant in birth. This membrane, called by the Scots a halt/ hoo is by the Manks called crane bran er hect. The doctor related many wonderful anecdotes of persons possessing it, which was illustrated by many reminiscences of the landlady who was about eighty years of age, and whose mind seemed to be imbued with all the darker superstitions of the Islanders.
In various parts of the Island the seed potatoes had that summer become tainted in the ground and sent forth no tubers; this caused many persons to plant their lands anew. It was the opinion of the doctor that the disease of the potatoe was occasioned by the malevolence of the fairies, and in order to convince me of such being actually the case, he said that all the potatoes, which he had been induced to take under his protection, had vegetated vigorously, and until they ceased to do so he was sure every Manksman would affirm that he had combated most successfully all the destructive powers of the elfin race.
At parting with this very singular person, he advised me, as I was a stranger in the Island, and consequently unacquainted with the mazes of the mountains, to procure the cross-bone of the head of a bollan fish, which, he assured me, so long as I kept in my possession, would prevent my straying from the most direct road to any place to which I wanted to proceed either by day or by night. In my progress through the Island, I found the same superstitious opinion generally entertained. A Manks mariner seldom goes to sea without one of these wonderful bones in his pocket to direct his course at night, or in hazy weather to the wished for haven.
Although the Manks of the present day manifest an indifference for the olden times, yet, as they still believe in fairies and familiar spirits, stories descriptive of fairy influence constitute the chief part of their traditionary
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lore.1 Through the medium of Manks servants in the employment of Scotch families resident in the Island, I have heard many of the wild legends related by Waldron upwards of a century ago.
Near the old mines at Spanish Head there are chasms in the mountains several feet in width. These fissures in the solid rock penetrate into the hill and are so deep and dark, that looking from the summit it is impossible to perceive the bottom. They divide the part now remaining of what was formerly called the Mull hills into accu-minated masses, which overhang the sea that in tempestuous weather beats the base with irresistible fury.
I was examining with much attention one of the largest of these singular openings, when I was accosted by an old man, seemingly apprehensive of the danger to which I was thus exposing myself,—“ Stranger, if you knew the depth of that place as well as I do, you would not have approached so near its brink.” I thanked him for his kindness, and, on retiring a few paces from the edge of the fissure, solicited a relation of the event to which he alluded.
“We were gathering our sheep,” said he, “ in this very field, somewhere about forty years ago, when one of the best of them, to escape from a dog by which it was pursued, bounded into the mouth of that dark pit, at the mouth of which you were so lately standing with listless temerity. Being then young and not easily daunted, I determined to descend for the purpose of recovering my loaghtyn pet, notwithstanding the most urgent remonstrance on the part of my father, who was aware of many strange incidents that happened there to former adventurers. I caused myself to be let down, however, into the dark aperture, in a basket attached to a rope, and every rope in the village was knotted, one to the end of another,
1 Communication from Dr. Oswald, of Douglas, July, 1830.
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and all used in lowering me into the pit, but just as I reached the bottom of it, I was mortified to hear the last bleat of my poor sheep, evidently struggling under the knife of the butcher. As I advanced through a spacious cavern to a place whence the sound proceeded, I distinctly heard, in a neighbouring apartment, human voices in quick conversation, which, with the rattling of knives and forks, the drawing of corks, the decanting of liquor, and the uproarious noise which followed, tended to convince me that I was proceeding towards a company of bacchanalians, for whose gratification my poor sheep had probably been despatched. Lest, therefore, I should share the same fate, I made with all possible speed for the mouth of the cavern ; but just as I had set my foot on the sward, as many angry sounds issued from the pit as if a pack of harriers had been uncoupled at my heels. My descent and retreat had evidently been discovered by the gentry below,1 but not till, thanks to providence, I was out of their reach.”
I was afterwards informed that the person who related this singular story, was a respectable landholder in that immediate neighbourhood. The sincerity of his manner left no doubt in my mind that he had been himself deceived by the phenomena of sound, and that his heated imagination had readily embodied the particulars of his story.
The ancient Egyptians were the most superstitious of all people. Their wandering tribes are accused of having introduced the study of the black art into Europe.* This is at least probable, as we have no account of witchcraft in
1 The Fins and Laplanders have a species of Gnomes called Cobolds, who haunt dark and solitary places, and are often seen in mines, where they seem to imitate the miners, and sometimes take pleasure in frustrating their objects.—Sir Walter Scott*t Demonology and Witchcraft, letter iv. These were the prototypes of the Manks subterranean spirits.
* Haile’e Annale qf Scotland, Edinburgh, 1779, vol. i, p. 305.
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our annals of an earlier date than that ascribed to the arrival of the gipsies into Christendom.1 Though Saint Patrick obtained fire from heaven to consume nine wizards, clothed in white vestments, feigning themselves to be saints : these appear to have been Druids.*
We are informed that, early in the fifteenth century, the Manks women had obtained to such proficiency in the art of selling wind, that they could dispose of it in such quantities as mariners required. Thus they could control the elements, bind up the winds, or send forth tempests at will, to spread devastation over land and sea. “ In the Ilonde of Mann is sortilege and witchcrafte used; for women there sell to shipmen wynde as it were closed under three knottes of threde, so that the more wynde he would have, the more knotts he must undo.”3
Matholine, governor of the Isle of Man in 1338, wrote a treatise against the practice of witchcraft then prevalent there.4
1 The account of the three witches of Forres, who deceived Macbeth, is the first mention made of sorcery in Scottish history. The magical power of the Scottish islanders is thus described by the bard who accompanied Haco, king of Norway, in his expedition against Scotland in 1263. “ Now our deep enquiring sovereign encountered the horrid powers of enchantment and the abominations of an impious race. The troubled flood tore many fair gallies from their moorings and swept them anchorless before the waves. A magic raised watery tempest blew upon our warriors, ambitious of conquest, and against the floating habitations of the brave. The roaring billows and the stormy blast threw many of our shielded companies of adventurers on the Scottish strand. —Poem of Snorro Starlson, translated from the Flateyan MSS. by Johnstone, chaplain to the British embassy at Denmark, 1779. This shows the high opinion entertained by the Norwegians of the magical powers of the islanders even in the thirteenth century.
2 Proprium Sanctorum, f. Ixxi, v, ap. Daly el Vs Darker Superstitions, p. 239.
8 Hiyden Polychronicon by Trevisa, London, 1482, folio, lib. i, cap. xv; ap. DalyelVs Darker Superstitions, p. 250; Mallett’s Northern Antiquities, vol. i, cap. xii. This art was also “practised by the ancient Norwegian Finlaps; three knots were cast on a leathern thong, moderate breezes attended the loosening of one; stronger gales the next; and vehement tempests, even with thunders, followed the loosening of the third.” These knotted thongs were sold to navigators.—Olaus Maynus, lib. iii, cap. xv; Schefferus Lapponia, cap. ix, pp. 144, 145; see also Henry’s History qf Great Britain, 4to vol., p. 199.
* Sacheverell’s Account of the Isle qf Man, p. 72.
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The Manks statutes, relating to witchcraft and sorcery, bear that any person suspected of these crimes be presented to the chapter quest, then handed over to the bishop, and finally to the civil law.'
About two miles from Peel, opposite to the Tynwald Mount, there is a hill called Slieu Whallan, said to be haunted by the spirit of a murdered witch, which however, does not appear to mortal eyes, but every night joins its lamentations to the howling winds. This woman is said to have shared the fate of Regulus, having been put into a barrel with sharp iron spikes inserted round the interior, pointing inwards, and thus, by the weight of herself and the apparatus, allowed to roll from the top of the hill to the bottom.2*
Many other persons suffered here, in a similar manner. One of whom was a man named Thomas Carran, who died protesting his innocence of the crime of which he was accused. In proof of this, as he is said to have predicted, a thorn-tree has since grown, and marks the fatal spot on the summit of the hill, where the cask, in which he was enclosed, in fulfilment of the sentence awarded against him, was pushed over the brow, to roll, and bound, and dash with headlong speed to the plain below.
Another mode of testing and punishing witchcraft was: the suspected person was driven into the middle of the Curragh-glass, a stream near Greeba, in the parish of Kirk German. If she sunk to rise no more in this life, her body was taken out of the water, carried home, waked, and received a Christian burial; but if, to save herself from drowning, she managed to paddle to either side, she was instantly declared guilty of the crime of which she stood charged, and was consequently either
1	MilWt Lawt, pp. 53, 64.
* Woodt p. 160.
* Appendix, Note ii, “ Punishment for Witchcraft.”
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burnt alive as a convicted witch, or rolled from the top of Slieu WhaUan, in the manner just described.
In a lonely part of the northern district of the Island, stood the cottage of an old woman who had been long suspected of being a practitioner of the black art, to the detriment of many of her neighbours. A person of great courage having had occasion to pass that remote dwelling one night, at a late hour, and seeing a strong light within, on peeping through a chink in the door, perceived distinctly the old beldame busily turning an image before a large fire, and sticking pins into it occasionally, on which she muttered a cabalistic rhyme which he could not understand.
Next morning, on hearing that the minister had been suddenly seized by a chronic disease on the preceding evening, which lasted till midnight, the man who had seen the crone at work at the very time the minister was tortured by racking pains, publicly charged her of being the sole cause of his indisposition, which was seemingly confirmed by the captain of the parish finding in her possession the image or supposed effigy of the minister, with an old bladder containing rusty nails, pins, and skewers. After having been tried and found guilty, she walked seemingly quite unconcerned to the common place of execution, and just before she was bound to the stake, confessed the crime for which she was about to suffer.1
Suspected witches are now differently treated in the Island, as appears by the following case, of recent occurrence. A farmer named John Quine, residing at Balla-harry, in the parish of Marown, having lost in succession a heifer, a cow, and a horse, stupidly attributed the death of these animals to the influence of witchcraft, though it was plain to other people that his loss, in each instance, was only the effect of a natural cause. On
’ MS. Account of Manks Superstitions.
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the 19th December, 1843, he obtained from one of the deemsters a trespass warrant, under authority of which a jury was sworn and a great number of persons summoned as witnesses, and examined on the premises. The examination was conducted chiefly in Manks; and such questions as the following were put:—“ Did you ever witch Quine’s cattle ?” “ Do you bear any malice against Quine ?” “ Did you hear any body talking about Quine before his cattle died, and seemingly grudge him what he possessed ?”
The jury was ultimately adjourned, and on the following day similar questions were proposed ; but one of the jurymen interfered and refused to allow any interrogatories irrelevant to matters of trespass, and the proceedings were further adjourned till Thursday, the third day of January, in the present year 1844, when those who were summoned and did not attend on the previous day, were brought up in the custody of constables, amongst whom was Quine’s sister-in-law, a midwife in his immediate neighbourhood. After being sworn in the common form, the question put to her was, “ Did you ever come in any shape or form1 to do Quine or his goods an injury.” The poor woman confessed “ that she had once passed through Quine’s fields without leave, on being called, in great haste to attend a neighbour’s wife in labour; and being frightened into the belief that she was consequently liable for the expenses of the court, before a verdict was pronounced by the jury, she agreed to pay the costs, amounting to nearly five pounds.
While the advocate, employed in this case, was busily employed in taking minutes of the evidence, some wag managed to let loose, unperceived, in the room, a wild rabbit. On the appearance of this unexpected visitor, all
1 A witch was generally supposed to take the form of a hare when she intended to do any harm to a person’s cattle, Ac.
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in an instant became terrified, and a scene of confusion ensued, that may be better conceived than it is possible to describe. The jury, in particular, with staring eyes, hair on end, and mouths distorted, shouted “ the witch! the witch !” This uproar continued for several minutes, till one of the party, more courageous and daring than the rest, seized the supposed witch, and while depriving the harmless creature of existence, triumphantly exclaimed— “ You shall not trouble poor Quine again.”1
From the elder or trammon, being vulgarly supposed to have been the tree upon which Judas hanged himself,2 great reliance was formerly placed on its sanative and mystical virtues. The inhabitants used it as a physical charm to protect their houses and gardens from the baneful influence of sorcery and witchcraft; even at the present time, an elder tree may be observed growing by almost every old cottage in the Island.
In the fishing season, when a boat happens not to be so successful as those around it, the sailors invariably ascribe the cause to witchcraft. In their opinion, it then becomes necessary to exorcise the boat by burning the witches out of it. Townley thus relates one of these operations, which he witnessed in the harbour of Douglas in 1789:—“they set fire to bunches of heather in the centre of the boat,
1 Abridged from a more detailed account of these proceedings in the Mona's Herald of 10th January, 1844.
8 Cole's Adam and Ere, London, 12mo., 1656, ap. Brand's Popular Superstitions by Ellis, vol. iii, p. 155. It is curious to mark the sympathy formerly observed between the gallows, or a person who had ended his days on it, and sanative charms. ** The chip of a gallows, on which a person had been hanged, when worn in a bag on the breast, suspended by a string round the neck, would cure all diseases of the stomach. The halter that had served in hanging a criminal was an infallible remedy for the headache, when tied round the head. The hand of a dead man, who had just been cut down from the gallows, dispelled tumours of the glands by stroking the parts nine times. A ring made of the hinge of a coffin of a person who had been hanged, had the power of relieving cramps.”—Curiosities of Medical Experience, ap. the British Museum, London, 1835, vol. i, p. 120. “ The common people keep, as a great secret in curing diseases, the leaves of the elder, which they gather on the last day of April. To disappoint the effects of witchcraft, they affix these leaves to their doors and windows.”—Brand by Ellis, vol. iii, p. 147.
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and some made wisps of heather, and lighted them, going one at the head, another at the stern, others along the sides, so that every part of the boat might be touched.” Again he says, “ there is another burning of witches out of an unsuccessful boat off Banks’s Howe—the flames are very visible to the top of the bay.”1
I have heard a Manksman gravely tell of a superb city, with many towers and numerous gilded minarets, which once stood near Langness, in Castletown bay, on a place now covered by the sea, but which, he seemed to believe, is still sometimes seen to rise out of the sea in all its primitive magnificence.1
To this submarine city I have seen no other allusions made; but Waldron has furnished us with a striking counterpart to it in his story of the “ diving bell,” wherein an adventurer in search of treasure having descended to a great depth in the sea in a bell, “ made of glass, cased with tough leather, beholds many wonderful things through the windows of his cage.”3
The Manks people count it very unlucky to receive any thing given by turning the hand outwards. At table they will not turn a herring, but when one side is eaten, they will take away the bone and eat the rest: to turn the herring, they think, would be tantamount to overturning
1 Townley'8 Journal, vol. ii, pp. 197, 207. A similar mode of witchcraft seems to have been practised on the coast of Scotland. “ Isabell Young was accused of preventing the success of a certain fishing boat, though all the rest belonging to Dunbar had got a full ladening, whereby the owner was reduced to indigence.”—Daly ell'8 Darker Superstitions of Scotland, p. 267. In Orkney, “ the water, wherein a fisherman kept his bait, was cast into the sea or about the boat to propitiate the fishery.” —Records of Orkney, folio 49, May, 1629.
2 A similar superstitious notion is entertained of a submarine city being sometime* seen on the north of Ireland:—
“ On Lough Neagh’s banks, as the fisherman strays,
When the clear cold eve’s declining, Be sees the round towers of other days In the wave beneath him shining.”
Moore's Irish Melodies, Song “ Let Erin remember the days of old.”
• Waldron, p. 164.
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the boat into which it was drawn from the ocean, if it then chanced to be at sea. When a cow has newly calved, she is driven over a burning turf. When removing, also, from one place to another, a cock is put into the house, before any of the new tenants take possession, in order to thwart the bad wishes of the last inhabitant.
Besides these harmless superstitions, the inhabitants of Man believe in prognostication, denominated second-sight: with what has been written on this subject, libraries might be occupied to the exclusion of more profitable learning. The visionary gift is said to be now peculiar to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. It was the reputed prerogative of the inhabitants of the Isle of Man. “ There ofte by daye time, men of that Islonde seen men that bey dede to fore honde, byheeded or hole, and what dethe they deyde. Alyens setten theyr feet vpon feet of the men of that londe for to see such syghts as the men of that londe doon.”* Sometimes, however, “ it was derived by inheritance and transmitted from father to son.”*
Sacheverell wishes to make his readers think that he treated a belief in the marvellous lightly, by saying it was not for him to determine whether it proceeded from ignorance, superstition, or prejudice, or education, or from any traditional or heritable magic, which is the opinion of the Scotch diviners respecting the second-sight, yet he confirms it unconsciously in many instances which he quotes, affirming in conclusion, that he could give an hundred instances of a similar description.3
1	Higden Polychronicon by Trevisa, ap. Daly ell’s Darker Superstitions, p. 481.
2	Sacheverell’s Account of the Isle of Man, p. 14. It is further stated,—“ That families had the second-sight by succession, descending from parents to children; and as yet there are many that have it in that way, and the only way to be freed from it is, when a woman hath it herself and is married to a man that hath it also, if in the very act of delivery, upon the first sight of the child’s head it be baptized, the same is free from it, if not, he hath it all his life.”—Grose's Popular Superstitions, London, quarto, edition 1811, p. 114.
8	Sacheverell’s Account of the Isle of Man, p. 1? ; Martin's Description qf the Western Isles, London, edition 1703, pp. 1,313.
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Accounts of spectral illusions are communicated by many persons with the most religious sincerity. Some will tell you that amid the silence of night they have heard themselves called by name, when they were perfectly assured there was no earthly creature at hand. Others, that in their lonely rambles they have met a visionary funeral which followed them wherever they turned, till one apparition, the figure of a departed relation, seemed to touch them, when the whole vanished into air.1
Captain Leather, chief magistrate of Belfast in the year 1690, who had been previously shipwrecked on the coast of Man, assured Mr. Sacheverell that when he landed, after shipwreck, several people told him that he had lost thirteen men, for they had seen so many lights move towards the church-yard, which was exactly the number drowned? “A clergyman,” says Waldron, ‘’was one evening taking a solitary walk in the fields, when he was suddenly alarmed by a hideous bellowing, and something like a bull, but much larger, rushed past him to a cottage hard by. Upon enquiry, he found that a man had died there at that instant, who was generally reputed a wicked person. The general conclusion therefore, was, that this terrible apparition came to attend his last moments.”3
Almost every country has some person or race of high antiquity, whom they are accustomed to consider as the engineers of every antique monument for whose existence they cannot otherwise account. The Persians have their Deotas and Tins; the Greeks had their Cyclops; the Scots have their Picts and Brownies; the Irish, Fin Mac Coul; and the Manks, Mannanan Beg and a race of giants, one of whom, contemporary with St. Patrick, they say, had by his strength and ferocity become the terror of the whole Island. He used to transport himself with great
1	Roberlfon’t Tour in the Tele qfMan in 1791.
* Sacheverell, p. 15.
Waldron, p. 136.
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ease across the gorge between Peel Castle and Contrary Head. “ On a time, either for amusement or in a fit of rage, he lifted a large block of granite from the castle rock, and, though several tons weight, tossed it with the greatest ease against the acclivity of the opposite hill, about three miles distant, where it is seen to this day, with a print of his hand on it.”* In support of this legend, the Manks peasantry show strangers the giant's casting stones, which are two unhewn pieces of clay slate, each ten feet high, standing about half a mile from the fairy hill;* also the giant's cave, at the foot of Barrule ;3 and the giant's grave, a green mound thirty yards long, outside the walls of Peel Castle.4
In the giant’s cave, it is believed that a great prince, who never knew death, has been bound by enchantment for the last six hundred years. “ The great-grandfather of my informant,” says Waldron, “saw a huge dragon, with a tail and wings that darkened all the elements, and eyes that seemed like two globes of fire, descend into that cavern; and afterwards heard the most terrible shrieks and groans from within. If a horse or dog is taken to the mouth of the pit, its hair will stand on end, its eyes stare, and a damp sweat will cover its whole body.”4
An enchantress, it seems, also sojourned for a time in the Island. By her alluring arts, she ensnared the hearts of so many men around where she resided, causing them to neglect their usual occupations, that the country presented a scene of utter desolation. They neither ploughed nor sowed; their gardens were all overgrown with weeds; their once fertile fields were covered with stones; their cattle died for want of pasture; and their turf lay undug
1 Bennetts Sketch* qf the hie of Man, London edition, 1829, p. 79.
1 Wood, p. 139.
9 Waldron, p. 179.
4 Bennet ft Sketches, p. 79.
Waldron, p. 179.
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in the commons. This universal charmer having brought things to such a deplorable crisis, under pretence of making a journey to a distant part of the Island, set out on a milkwhite palfrey, accompanied by her admirers on foot, till having led them into a deep river, she drowned six hundred of the best men the Island had ever seen, and then flew away in the shape of a bat.
To prevent the recurrence of a like disaster, these wise people ordained that their women should henceforth go on foot and folloto the men, which custom is so religiously observed, that if by chance a woman is observed walking before a man, whoever sees her, cries out immediately “ Tehi! Tehi!” which, it seems, was the name of the enchantress who occasioned this law?
That tradition and superstition are most busy where real history is silent, is here amply verified. The person / who has read the preceding sketches will, I dare say,1 concur in the opinion of Sir Walter Scott, that “ Tales of goblins, ghosts, and spectres—legends of saints and demons, of fairies and familiar spirits, in no corner of the British < dominions are told and received with more absolute ere-dulity than in the Isle of Man.”
The following legend, in wild extravagance, inferior only to a few in the Arabian collection, I insert merely to illustrate a superstitious practice still observed in the Island :— In the days of enchantment, a certain magician raised by his art the most magnificent palace ever beheld, but it was inhabited solely by infernal spirits. Every mortal who, under any pretence, happened to venture within its portals, was instantly converted into stone. This spread such terror, that the country for several miles round became desolate.
It happened, however, one evening about dusk, that a poor man, looking for charity, who knew nothing of the
1 Waldr9nt p. 188.
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enchanter, was travelling on that side of the Island. Seeing no part where he might lodge for the night, he proceeded to the dreaded fabric, which rose before him in all its splendour, but not presuming to enter within its doors lest he should be turned out again by some churlish lacquey, he sat down beneath one of the large piazzas, by which the magnificent structure was surrounded. Being hungry, he took some bread and meat with a little salt out of his wallet, to eat, but some of the salt having accidentally fallen to the ground, instantly terrific groans issued from the earth, a dreadful hurricane arose, forked lightning flashed around, and thunder rattled over his head. In a moment the fine palace with all its lofty porticos and brazen doors vanished, and the mendicant found himself in the midst of a barren waste. When he communicated this wonderful adventure to the inhabitants of the neighbouring village, they would not give credit to his relation, till having gone to the spot where the palace of the necromancer stood, they were convinced of its truth, and all joined in prayers and thanksgivings for so great a deliverance. It was evident from the beggar’s story, that the salt spilt upon the ground had occasioned the dissolution of the enchanted fabric. For this reason salt has since been held in such high estimation with the Manks, that no person will go out on business without taking some in his pocket, much less remove from one house to another without making use of such a necessary precaution. Many will neither put out a child nor take in one to nurse without salt being mutually exchanged. The necessitous poor, although famishing in the streets, will refuse food unless salt be conjoined in the benevolence. Should any one ask the meaning of this veneration for salt, he will be told the story just related, by doubting which, he would incur the censure of the inhabitants as a very profane person.*
♦ Appendix, Note iii, *• Virtue anciently ascribed to Salt.”
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It was, formerly, customary1 for the soldiers of the Island before marching to battle, to fortify themselves with certain amulets/ in the belief of their thereby becoming impenetrable by swords or other weapons, and by heating their spears in the fire and anointing them with lard, they expected to ensure success in battle.® The Irish of the present day when they go to battle say certain prayers or charms to their swords, making a cross therewith upon the earth, and thrusting the points of their blades into the ground, that they may have better success in fight/ but above these, the enchanted sword Macabuin, worn by Olive Goddardson, king of Man, deserves to be particularly noticed.
According to tradition, there resided in Man, in the days of Olave Goddardson, a great Norman baron, named Kitter, who was so fond of the chase, that he extirpated all the bisons and elks with which the Island abounded at the time of his arrival, to the utter dismay of the people, who, dreading that he might likewise deprive them of their cattle and even of their purrs in the mountains, had recourse to witchcraft to prevent such a disaster. When this Nimrod of the north had destroyed all the wild animals of the chase in Man, he one day extended his havoc to the red deer of the Calf, leaving at his castle on the brow of Barrule, only the cook, whose name was Eaoch, (which signifies a person who can cry loud,) to dress the provisions intended for his dinner. Eaoch happened to
1	Waldron, p. 185.
* The toadstone was a most potent amulet; it “ is preserved to prevent the burning of a house and the sinking of a boat, and if a commander in the field has one of these about him, he will be sure to win the day.”—Daly ell, p. 142. This imaginary jewel, which has been celebrated more by poets than by naturalists, was believed to be contained in the head of the toad. The stone might be obtained alive by burying the toad in an ant-hill to consume the fleah. As the toad is not mentioned in Scripture, it may be asked whether the same vocable does not signify either toad or frog.
• Daly ell’s Darker Superstition* of Scotland, p. 158.
* Spencer’s View qf the State qf Ireland, ap. Lithgow’s Travel* in 1620, Leith, edition 1820, p. 141.
vol. n.	Y
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fall asleep at his work in the kitchen; the famous witchwife Ada caused the fat, accumulated at the lee side of the boiling pot, to bubble over into the fire, which set the house in a blaze. The astonished cook immediately exerted his characteristic powers to such an extent that he alarmed the hunters in the Calf, a distance of nearly ten miles.
Kitter, hearing the cries of his cook and seeing his castle in flames, made to the beach with all possible speed and embarked in a small currach for Man, accompanied by nearly all his attendants. When about half-way, the frail bark struck on a rock (which from that circumstance has since been called Kitterland), and all on board perished.
The fate of the great baron and the destruction caused the surviving Norwegians to believe that Eaoch the cook was in league with the witches of the Island, to extirpate the Norwegians then in Man, and on this charge he was brought to trial, and sentenced to suffer death. The unfortunate cook heard his doom pronounced with great composure, but claimed the privilege, at that time allowed to criminals in Norway, of choosing the place and manner of passing from time into eternity. This was readily granted by the king. “ Then,” said the cook with a loud voice, “ I wish my head to be laid across one of your majesty’s legs and there cut off by your majesty’s sword Macabuin, which was made by Loan Maclibhuin, the dark smith of Drontheim.”
It being generally known that the king’s scimitar could sever even a mountain of granite, if brought into immediate contact with its edge, it was the wish of every one present that he would not comply with the subtle artifice of such a low varlet as Eaoch the cook ; but his majesty would not retract the permission so recently given, and therefore gave orders that the execution should take place in the manner desired.
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Although the unflinching integrity of Olave was admired by his subjects, they sympathised deeply for the personal injury to which he exposed himself, rather than deviate from the path of rectitude. But Ada, the witch, was at hand; she ordered toads’ skins,1 twigs of the rowan tree, and adders’ eggs, each to the number of nine times nine, to be placed between the king’s leg and the cook’s head, to which he assented.
All these things being properly adjusted, the great sword Macabuin, made by Loan Maclibhuin, the dark smith of Drontheim, was lifted with the greatest caution by one of the king’s most trusty servants and laid gently on the neck of the cook. But ere its downward course could be stayed, it severed the head from the body of Eaoch, and cut all the preventives asunder, except the last; thereby saving the king’s leg from harm.
When the dark smith of Drontheim heard of the stratagem submitted to by Olave to thwart the efficacy of the sword Macabuin, he was so highly offended that he despatched his hammerman, Hiallus-nan-urd, who had only one leg, having lost the other when assisting in making that great sword, to the Castle of Peel to challenge king Olave or any of his people to walk with him to Drontheim. It was accounted very dishonourable in those days to refuse a challenge, particularly if connected with a point of honour. Olave, in mere compliance with this rule, accepted the challenge and set out to walk against the one-legged traveller from the Isle of Man to the smithy of Loan Maclibhuin, in Drontheim.
“ They walked o’er the land and they sailed o’er the sea;”
And so equal was the match, that when within sight of
1	Among the portentous animals familiar to sorcerers and an object of superstitious apprehension, the toad is most noted. Hiese animals are said to have been kept and fed for magical purposes decorated with ribands.—Bodinut, book ii, cap. viii, p. 208, ap. Daly ell, p. 407.
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the smithy, Hiallus-nan-urd, who was first, called at Loan Maclibhuin to open the door and Olave called out to shut it. At that instant, pushing past he of the one leg, the king entered the smithy first, to the evident discomfiture of the swarthy smith and his assistant. To show that he was not in the least fatigued, Olave lifted a large forehammer, and under pretence of assisting the smith, struck the anvil with such force that he clove it not only from top to bottom, but also the block upon which it rested.
Emergaid, the daughter of Loan, seeing Olave perform such manly prowess, fell so deeply in love with him that during the time her father was replacing the block and the anvil, she found an opportunity of informing him that her father was only replacing the studdy to finish a sword he was making, and that he had decoyed him to that place for the purpose of destruction, as it had been prophesied that the sword would be tempered in royal blood, and in revenge for the affront of the cook’s death by the sword Macabuin. “ Is not your father the seventh son of old Windy Cap, king of Norway ?” said Olave. “ He is,” replied Emergaid, as her father entered the smithy. “ Then,” cried the king of Man, as he drew the red steel from the fire, “ the prophecy must be fulfilled.” Emergaid was unable to stay his uplifted hand, till he quenched the sword in the blood of her father and afterwards pierced the heart of the one-legged hammerman, who, he knew, was in the plot of taking his life.
This tragical event was followed by one of a more agreeable nature. Olave, conscious that had it not been for the timely intervention of Emergaid, the sword of her father would indeed have been tempered in his blood, and knowing the irreparable loss which she had sustained at his hands, made her his queen, and from her were descended all succeeding kings of Man down to Magnus, the last of the race of Goddard Crovan, the conqueror.
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Not wishing to exceed the due limits of history in the preceding chapter, I have made only such extracts from the ample and diffuse stock of popular legends, not yet obsolete in the Isle of Man, as might tend to give a concise view of the most distinctive shades of superstition observed there. The curious observer may yet find amid the Mauks mountains the elements of another Thousand and one Nights' Entertainment.
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APPENDIX.—Chapter XVIII.
Note I.—Page 155.
SUSPENSION OF LABOUR ON SATURDAY EVENING.
Schools and public offices are generally closed in Great Britain on Saturday afternoon ; but the Isle of Man is now perhaps the only place where labour is even partially suspended on account of the near approach of the Sabbath: the custom is of high antiquity, and the observance of it was enforced by law.
Bourne, the learned antiquary, observes that in his time it was usual in the country villages, where the politeness of the age had made no great conquest, to pay a greater deference to Saturday afternoon than to any of the other working days of the week. —Antiquitates Vulgares, Newcastle, edition 1725, cap. xii.
So early as a. d. 958, king Edgar made an ecclesiastical law that Sabbath or Sunday should be observed from Saturday at noon till light should appear on Monday morning. —Selden Angl. lib. ii, cap. vii.
In the year 1203, William, king of Scotland, called a council of the chief men of his kingdom, at which was present the pope’s legate, where it was determined that Saturday, after the twelfth hour, should be kept holy, and that the people should be put in mind thereof by the tolling of the bell, that they should be present at sermon and hear vespers, and whoever acted otherwise should be severely punished.—Batins lib. de Scot, ex Hospinian, p. 176.
In a. d. 1332, it was appointed by the provincial council, held at Magfield by archbishop Mepham, among other things relative to holy days, that “ the solemnity for Sunday should commence upon Saturday in the evening, and not before, to prevent the misconstruction of keeping a Judaical Sabbath.”—Colliers Ecclesiastical History, vol. i, p. 531.
By an act of Tynwald in 1610, it was ordained by the Manks legislature “ that none shall be admitted to fish from Saturday morning till Sunday at night, after sunset, upon pain of forfeiture of his boat and nets.”—Mills’s Laws, p. 502.
It appears to be in observance yet of these obsolete laws, although dread of the furies is assigned as the cause, that the Manks spinster refrains from her wheel and the Manks fisherman from plying his avocation at sea on Saturday evening.
NOTE II.—Page 167.
PUNISHMENT FOR WITCHCRAFT.
History is full of these instances of barbarity. Towards the close of the fifteenth century, persecutions for witchcraft spread over Europe. By a bull of Pope Innocent VIII, in 1484, death was, for the first time, denounced against all who could
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be convicted of witchcraft or of dealings with Satan. Alexander VII and Leo X lent their aid in accelerating the course of this havoc. Contemporary historians say “ Europe became, as it were, a large suburb of Pandemonium.” About the year 1515, five hundred witches were executed at Geneva in three months. A thousand were executed in one year in the diocese of Como. In Lorraine, from the year 1580 to 1595, Remigius boasts of their having been nine hundred burnt. In France, about the year 1520, one historian says “there was an almost infinite number of sorcerers put to death.” In Germany, the number of victims was upwards of an hundred thousand. England was not free from the same madness; three thousand victims were executed during the reign of the long parliament alone. Barrington, in his Observations on the Statute 20 Henry VI, estimates the number of persons put to death in England, on a charge of witchcraft, at thirty thousand. Scotland, too, is stained with these bloody doings; soon after the reformation, a thirst for the destruction of supposed witches commenced. About the close of the reign of James VI, thirty-five individuals were publicly burned to death on charge of witchcraft; and between the years 1649 and 1660, thirty persons were condemned on similar charges. On one circuit made by the lords of justiciary in 1659, seventeen persons were convicted and burnt to death for witchcraft. Numerous, however, as the cases in the justiciary records appear, they are far short of the multitudes put to death throughout Scotland, under the commission issued by the privy council. The last execution for witchcraft in Scotland took place at Dornock, in 1722: the statutes were finally repealed in 1735.—Foreign Quarterly Review, No. xi, ap, Combed Constitution qfMan,
NOTE III.—Page 176.
VIRTUE FORMERLY ASCRIBED TO SALT.
Of all the multifarious ingredients of superstitious ceremony, none has been considered more essential than salt. In an early age of the world, the high priest of the Jews was enjoined to season all offerings with salt—Leviticust ii, 13 ; “ and salt was used in all sacrifices by the express command of the true God.”—Selden's Notes on the Polyolbion, song xi. Nor was salt ever deficient in the sacrifices of the Romans from the earliest times.—Pliny's Hist, Nat,, lib. xxx, cap. xli. Fossil salt, to be used in sacrifice by the Egyptians, was procured by the priests of Jupiter Ammon from the deserts around the temple of this divinity, as preferable to that of the sea. —Arrian de Expeditions Alexandri, lib. iii, cap. i, ap, Daly el? s Darker Superstitions, p. 97.
At a later period, salt was deemed, by the fathers of the Christian church, an acceptable portion of all oblations made by the inmates of the monastic institutions. Great coincidences may be recognised between the pagan customs and those of the early Christians.—Brand's Prrface to Observations on Bourne's Antiquities, The Decretalia explains that the use of the consecrated salt in the mouth of one about to
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be baptised is for rendering the rite more efficacious; but it is rather understood literally as for averting demoniac influence.—Gration Decretalia, part in. Both Greeks and Romans, in their lustrations, made use of salt and water; hence the origin of the holy water of after times.—Brand by Bilit, vol iii, p. 82.
The celebration of baptism in Scotland, by a layman, was afterwards confirmed by a priest, who taking a bit of salt out of a little silver box, kept for the purpose, said “ Receive the salt of wisdom, and may it be a propitiation to thee for eternal Mb.” —Stewart's Conformity between Popery and Paganism, p. 50, ep. Ellie, voL iii, p. 84. The use of salt in baptism is yet preserved by the ceremonies of the Roman Catholic church, it being the single ingredient employed in compounding holy water, esteemed of such importance in sanctifying the rites of that church and of such ineffable virtue in expelling demons.—Records of Orkney, anno 1629, op. Dalyeirs Darker Superstitions, p. 98.
In Ireland, “ before the seed is put into the ground the mistress of the family sends salt into the field” for the purpose of counteracting the power of the witches and fairies.—Gough's Camden, folio, 1789, vol. iii, p. 659.
As a preventive from disease, salt was put into a cloth and bound to a cow’s horn. It was put into milk when first drawn from the cow after calving.—Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account qf Scotland, vol. v, cap. xvi, p. 121. The Manks people yet throw salt into the chum “ lest the production of butter may be prevented by the fairies, for whom, after the churning is finished, a certain portion of butter is left stuck against the wall.”—MS', Account of Manks Customs.
The efficacy of salt and brandy, as a panacea for all diseases, is at present in high repute in the Isle of Man. The dread of spilling salt, as in the Isle of Man, is a generally known superstition elsewhere, even the falling of a particle of salt at table is “ received as a presage of some future calamity, to avert which it is customary to fling some salt into the fire over the shoulder.”—Pennant's Journey from Chester to London, p. 31.
Salt was an Egyptian hieroglyphic representation of life; and was placed by Christians on the breast of a corpse as an emblem of the immortality of the soul, which superstitious practice has only recently disappeared in the Isle of Man.—Brand's Observations on Bourne's Antiquities, Newcastle, edition 1777, p. 24.
“To trace the connexion of nations by their usages, and the similarity of the implements which they employ, has been long my favourite study. Everything that can illustrate such connexions is most valuable to me.”—Sir Walter Scotfs Antiquary, cap. xxx.
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CHAPTER XIX.
CONSTITUTION.
Historical Sketch—Feudatory Prerogatives of the ancient] Kings of Man—Ceremonies observed at the Great Tynwald—Instalment of the Governor—Council of State—Historical Sketch of House of Keys— Deemsters, of great antiquity—Peculiar Oath of Office—Breast Laws described—The Bonnock, a singular Custom—The Deemsters Court —The Coroners—Their Duty—Office Silver—Lockman, an inferior Officer of the Crown—The Office of the Coroner of Glenfaba des-cribed—The Great Inquest—The Moar, a ministerial Officer of the Manorial Courts—Civil Officers vested with high Authority—Court of General Gaol Delivery—Ancient Mode of Punishment—Remarkable Ceremony—Anecdote of two convicted Felons—Courts Leet or Baron—Durability of the Constitution.
The Manks exhibit, perhaps, the only example in history of a people preserving their ancient laws and forms of government unchanged under the rule of successive conquerors. Like the willow, which bends to the blast, but which resumes its former altitude when the storm is over, the Manks legislature appears to have adopted a course of policy in effect the same. The oath of office, before alluded to, taken by the insular placemen, to maintain the ancient laws and customs of the Island unimpaired, seems to have been the tiller by which they have steered their little vessel through many a political storm.
The first government of the Isle of Man was a sort of aristocracy under the Druids, which lasted till the end of the third century, about which time, says Nennius,1 the Island was conquered by Brule,8 a Scot, who divided the
1	Sacheverell, ap. Ward's Ancient Records, p. 5.
8	Thia person is called Binle, by Camden; see Britannia translated by Gibson, London, edition, folio, 1695, p. 1052.
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land between himself and his followers, and this “ original contract” became the foundation of their laws, which Manks tradition ascribes to Mannan-beg-mac-y-Leirr.
Soon after the expulsion of Brule, the Scot, the Island became subject to the princes of North Wales, as has been shown, who retained the sovereignty for nearly four centuries, not as a principality of North Wales but as a separate kingdom, consequently not a few of the laws, collected by Howel Dha and subsequently arranged by Bleddyn-ap-Cynvyn, have found their way into the Manks Statute Book.1
The Island was conquered in the tenth century by Orree, and in the eleventh by Goddard Crovan, who granted the northern part of it only to the inhabitants as tenants at will? Thus it appears that the Isle of Man has been, ever since its first plantation, a monarchical state; and whoever is, in right, lord of it may not only use the title of king, but may cause himself to be crowned even with a crown of gold. It is not improbable that in their first and original installation they made use of an iron crown, as had heretofore been done by the kings of England; but the Isle of Man being within the fee of the king of England, the Manksmen are adjudged to be the king of England’s natural born subjects, and are capable of inheriting lands in England.8
“ This little state differed from a county palatine, as also from the governments in Jersey and Guernsey, because the Lords of Man were feudatory kings. The service was little to the crown, but the power was great to the lord. He was admiral of the Island and had
1 Warrington*8 History of Wales, London, 1788, p. 241.
8 See vol. i, pp. 63, 78.
3 Camden*8 Britannia, London, folio edition, 1695, pp. 1066, 1069: Walsing-
ham Hypodig Neustria, p. 546. I shall conclude with the opinion of all the great
lawyers of England, who have had occasion to mention the Isle of Man, namely,
that it is a royal ftf of the crown of England.—Nisbet*8 Heraldry, vol. ii, p. 201.
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absolute jurisdiction over the people and soil; so that he was immediate landholder of every real estate with exception to a few baronies, and reserving his homage to the crown of England, no prince had a more ample authority. He was sole patron of the bishopric, as likewise of parsonages and vicarages, except three which were in the patronage of the bishop; and he exercised supreme authority over the church.' He had the power to make and repeal laws, by the advice of his deemsters and keys, who must have his approbation, otherwise he might reject them from his assembly. He had power of holding courts in his own name; might hang and draw or pardon malefactors in his own jurisdiction; and was entitled to all brooks, royal fisheries, and other distinctive marks of regality.”8 It was also provided by an ancient law “ that the queen of Man, by her prerogative, is to have all goats that belong to any felon.”’
The title of King of Man was retained by the rulers of
1 “ It hath been a clerical law within this Isle that any person, finding himself
aggrieved by any censure in the spiritual court, may appeal to the staff of government
or to the Lord of the Isle, as there shall be occasion, for it is a prerogative ; upon
which appeals the temporal may prohibit the spiritual officers from all further pro*
ceedings and censures untill a different tryall be had. But if the Lord take the
case upon himself or commissionate his prime officers here to determinate, then it is called the Lord’s Prerogative Royal, so that the spiritual court is not only to sincease in their proceedings, but also deliver over the party and cause to the Lord, tho’ it be in the case of suspension and excommunication, which is the utmost point of law the spiritual can proceed in. And if any person whatsoever shall presume to make his appeal, in any other course than is before prescribed, from any spiritual censure, by urging and preferring an appeal either to the Archbishop of York or the like, is to be punished at the Tynwald, and pay the fine of £6 3s. 4d. to the Lord of the Isle, or as the Lord or his officers shall think fit to impose.”—Liber Scaccarii, aim. 1614, 1627, 1637, ap. Deemster Parr’s MS. Ancient Ordinance and Statutes of the Isle of Man, p. 12.
9 Rolfs History of the Isle of Man, London, 1773, pp. Ill, 112; Campbell’s Political Survey of Great Britain, vol. ii, p. 535. The Isle of Man is a distinct territory from England, and is governed by its own laws; neither does any act of parliament extend to it, unless it be particularly named therein, and then an act of the British parliament is binding there.”—Blackstone’s Commentaries, p. 102.
8 Parr’s MS. Statutes, p. 73; Lex Scripta, p. 34 , Camden’s Britannia, edit. 1695, p. 1068.
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the Island for nearly a thousand years. It was first laid aside by Thomas, Earl of Derby,1 in the reign of Edward IV, and his successors followed his example, styling themselves Lords of Man and the Isles, but without any diminution of authority, down to the period when the sovereignty of the Island was purchased by the British government. They possessed nearly all the power and prerogatives of royalty. Since dropping the title of king, the only difference seems to be that formerly they created barons, made knights and esquires, whereas the lords never conferred any titles of honour.2
In the royal patent by which the possession of the Isle of Man was settled in the Derby family, the Jura Regalia was expressly mentioned and confirmed.3
When Sir John Stanley first visited the Island, being unacquainted with many of the customs of the people, as well as with the forms and ceremonies observed by the former kings in state affairs, he sent queries to the deemsters and the keys, who were always considered to be “ the wisest and worthiest men in the Island,” to which he required answers in writing, that they might be placed on record for the future guidance of himself and his successors. The forms and ceremonies which had been observed previous to the accession of the house of Stanley to the throne of Man, at the great annual assembly of the Islanders, at the Tynwald Hill, on the feast day of St. John the Baptist, is thus described in the Statute Book:—“ Our doughtful and gracious Lord, this is the constitution of old time, the which we have given in our Days: First, you shall come thither in your Royal Array, as a King ought
1 Seacome's History qf the House qf Stanley, Preston, edition 1793, p. 356.
• Camden's Britannia, p. 1067.
• “ Though no writ from the Court of Westminster was of any authority in Man, an appeal from a decree of the Lord of the Island to the King of Great Britain in Council was authorised by law.”—Blackstone's Commentaries, p. 102 ; Camden's Britannia, edition 1695, p. 1067.
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to do, by the Prerogatives and Royalties of the Land of Mann. And upon the Hill of Tynwald sitt in a chaire, covered with a Royall cloath1 and cushions, and your visage unto the East, and your sword before you, holden with the point upwards ; your barrons in the third degree1 sitting beside you, and your benificed men and your Deemsters before you sitting; and your Clarke, your Knights, Esquires, and Yeomen, about you in the third Degree; and the worthiest Men in your Land (these are the twenty-four keys) to be called in before your Deemsters, if you will ask any Thing of them, and to hear the Government of your Land, and your Will; and the Commons to stand without the Circle of the Hill,3 with three Clarkes in their Surplisses. And your Demsters shall make Call in the Coroner of Glenfaba; and he shall call in all the Coroners of Man, and their Yards in their Hands, with their Weapons upon them, either Sword or
1	“ The famous coronation chair was placed upon the Mutehill of Scone, and seated in it the Kings of Scotland, promulgated the laws, as is recorded of Kerinth Mae Alpine, Malcolm II, and Robert Bruce.”—Guthrie's History of Scotland, vol. i, p. 127. Olaus Magnus mentions a stone of a similar description near Upsal.— History of the Goths and Vandals, London, 1658, p. 13.
* There were different degrees of Barons, according to the extent of their holdings. The Barony of Bangor and Sabal, situated in the parish of Kirkpatrick, consisted of six computed, or seven real quarterlands. The barony of Trinians, in the parishes of German and Marown, consisted of five quarterlands ; whereas the barony of Bal-lelin, in the parish of Maughold, consisted only of half a quarterland. A quarterland was about an hundred acres.—Feltham, pp. 159, 216, 218.
8	According to the Norwegian custom, the great Thing or court was held in the Island of Guley, where there was a hill exactly resembling the Tynwald Hill, in Man, on which the court was held in the open air. This sacred place was paled off by staves stuck in the ground and cords run through the staves. These cords were called Vebond (the sacred cord) and the pales Vestengr, (holy pales) the place within was called Langretta, all corresponding with the Tynwald Hill. The Langrettomen or jury men were also similar to the Manks Keys. Perhaps some of the regulations of the great Thing of Norway may also be recognised by the Manks lawyer. It is prohibited for every man who is not a juror or one of the constituted authorities to sit within the sacred cords, and whoever goes out of court, that is outside of the sacred cords, without necessity, shall pay a fine of two ores of silver, and those outside of the sacred cords who shall make noise or disturbance, shall pay a fine of one ore of silver.”—Gulathing's Lang; Thingfarar, cap. ix; ap. Repp's Scandinavian Wages qf Law, pp. 47, 49, 51, 52.
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Axe. And the Mooares, that is, to Witt of every Sheading. Then the Chief Coroner, that is the Coroner of Glenfaba, shall make Affence, upon Paine of Life and Lyme, that noe Man make any Disturbance or Stirr in the Time of Tynwald, or any Murmur or Rising in the King’s Presence, upon Paine of Hanging and Drawing. And then shall let your Barrons and all others know you to be their King and Lord.
That your Commons come unto you, and shew their Charters how they hould of you ; and that your Barrons, that made no Faith or Fealtie to you, now make the same. And if any of your Barrons be out of the Land, they shall have the space of Forty Days.’ After that they are called to come and shew whereby they hould clayme Lands and Tenements, within your Land of Man; and to make Fealtie and Faith, if Wind and Weather served them, or els to cease their Temporalties into your Hands.’”
The ceremonies of this grand Tynwald assembly being so solemnly and minutely arranged and settled, the record proceeds to explain the ancient laws and duties of the people—The power and authority of the king’s lieutenant —Restrictions on leaving the Island without the king’s or governor’s license—The victualling and regulations of the garrisons—The power of the laws relating to the Annos of coroners—The rules and orders for letting the king’s
1	The Prior of St. Bees, the Abbot of Whithorn, and the Abbot of Banchor received lands from the Kings of Man, on which account they were Barons of Man, and were consequently obliged to attend the Kings and Lords of Man when required.—Camden's Britannia, edition 1695, p. 1069 ; Liber Placitorum, anno, 1577, ap. Parr'8 MS. Statutes of the tile of Man.
* The Kings of England required a similar homage from their barons. It appears from Seldon that Henry III, in the forty-seventh year of his reign, summoned one hundred and fifty temporal and fifty spiritual barons to perform the service due by their tenures. In the thirty-fifth year of the subsequent reign, eighty-six temporal barons, twenty bishops, and forty-eight abbots were summoned to a parliament convened at Carlisle for the same purpose.”—Mathew Paris, pp. 568, 579; Hume’s History of England, cap. xii.
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lands—And, finally, the laws of punishment for treason against the king or his lieutenant.
The king or lord proprietor, his governor aiid council, with the house of keys, so assembled, constituted a Tynwald court, or the three political estates of the Island. Since the revestment of the Island in the British crown, every act, before it can obtain the force of law, must be confirmed by his majesty, and ultimately proclaimed or read in the English and Manks languages, and signed by the governor, and such of the council and keys as are present before the people at the Tynwald Hill.1
As the ceremonies formerly observed at the promulgation of the laws are now much neglected and will soon belong solely to history, I will here describe the order of the last procession to the Tynwald Hill, where the Duke of Atholl presided as governor of Man.
The cavalcade of the dignitaries of the Island, with their attendants, arrived at St. John’s chapel, in the immediate neighbourhood of the Tynwald Hill, a little before noon, where the Duke of Atholl was received by the clergy and keys, and was saluted by the soldiery. After divine service the clergy and the constituted authorities, flanked by the military under arms, moved in the following order to the Tynwald Hill:—The Clergy, two abreast, juniors first—Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man—Vicars General—Deemsters—Sword Bearer—Duke of Atholl— Lieutenant Governor—Clerk of the Rolls—Twenty-four Keys, two abreast. “ Agreeable to ancient custom, every parish sent four horsemen, properly accoutred; and the captain of every parish presided over those of his own district. After all the business on the hill was gone through, three cheers were given to the lord-lieutenant
1 Johnston’* Jurisprudence, p. 19. Except when there are new laws to promulgate, the Governor now holds his Tynwald Court in Castle Rubhen. According to a modern Tourist “ as the laws are now promulgated, there is more of the ludicrous than the grave in this formerly august Court.”—A Six Days’ Tour, p. 131.
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and governor-in-chief. His grace then descended from the hill, and the procession moved back again to the chapel, in the same regular order.”
Formerly, the bishop of Man held the king’s stirrup as often as he mounted his horse while engaged in these processions, but this homage has not been required since the revestment of the Island to the crown of Great Britain.
As the king seldom resided in the Island he was represented there by a person called his lieutenant. That office is now held by a kind of viceroy, as representative of the king of Great Britain. He is styled governor, and is captain-general of the military force employed in the Island. In the capacity of governor, he is entitled to exercise some of the prerogatives of the British king.— He may, at pleasure, except in the “Passion Week,” convene the Tynwald, which may be styled the parliament of Man. He exercises over all the courts in the Island an appellate jurisdiction, subject only to the king in council. The laws enacted to support his authority were summary and severe. “ Whoever shall speak any scandalous speech against the governor, touching either his oath, state of government of the Isle, or what might tend to his defamation, and not be able to prove the same, shall be fined in ten pounds, and have his ears cut off.” “And if any person rise up against the governor sitting in any court or Tynwald, wherein he representeth the lord’s person, they are to be deemed traitors, and to be sentenced to death without any inquest passing on them by the deemster. That they be first drawn after wild horses, then hanged, and afterwards quartered, and their heads strucken off and set upon the castle tower, over the burn, with one quarter there, the second quarter to be set up at Halland town (now Peel), the third at Ramsey, and the fourth at Douglas.”1
1 Milh, p. 8 ; Lex Scripta, Douglas, 1819, 4, 5.
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Agreeably to the symbolical philosophy of the Druids, the governor received a white staff on his instalment, that this ancient mark of magisterial authority might be a constant monitor to him, to discharge with impartiality the duties of his office. Since the revestment, the governor on accepting office, is obliged to swear that “ he will deal truly and uprightly between the king and his subjects in the Isle of Man, and as indifferently between party and party, as this staff" now standeth,”' holding, at the same time, the ensign of his authority in the most erect position. Hence he and his council are figuratively called “ The staff of government.”4
This council is frequently mentioned in the early Manks statutes; “ and when on emergency summoned by the governor, acted in a summary way, without the concurrence of the house of keys or lord proprietor. From their proceedings not being conducted with regularity, or minutes kept of them, doubts are entertained respecting the persons who were to be considered as members of this council.”3
Camden says, “ the supreme officers of this Island were only five—the governor, the two deemsters, the comptroller, and the receiver-general: all of whom held their offices durante bene placito.”* These persons were called “ the lords of council and chief officers of state,” and formed a part of the king’s household, where a free table was kept for them all,5 with the exception of the deemsters, who merely attended the meetings of council, when requested to give their advice, and somewhat resembles
1	Johnstone’9 Jurisprudence of the Me of Man, Edinburgh, 1811, pp. 24, 25. The Arch Druid received in like manner a white staff, on his accession to office.— Toland’s History of the Druids, London, 1726, p. 21.
1	Hainmy’s Historical Sketch qf the Me of Man, p. 109.
3	Report of the Parliamentary Commissioners of 1792, ap» Feltham, p. 38.
4	Camden’s Britannia, edition 1695, p. 1067.
3	Seacome’s History qf the House qf Stanley, p. 35.
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the twelve judges in attendance upon the house of lords.1 It was, however, provided by an ancient statute, that “ when any matter of doubt happened, the governor might call the deemsters before him, with the advice and assistance of the twenty-four keys, to deem the law truly to the parties, that the same might be registered in the record, for a precedent, when any such case should happen.”*
When the lord of the Island died, the official power of these officers ceased, unless re-appointed by the succeeding superior: in the interim, the first military officer presided as governor.*
Immediately before the revestment of the Island to the British crown, the governor’s council consisted of the bishop, the receiver-general, the two deemsters, the clerk of the rolls, the water-bailiff, the attorney-general, the archdeacon, and two vicars-general; previously the abbot of Rushen had a seat in the council, but immediately after the revestment, the governor excluded the spiritual officers from the council, alleging that they only held their seats through courtesy, but they resolutely held it as their right ;* and notwithstanding the opinion of the governor, being supported by that of Sir Wardsworth Busk, the attorney-general, they were reinstated on the grounds that “ if ever they had the right, they must still continue
1 Johnstone’s Jurisprudence, p. 71; Rolfs History of the Isle qf Mam, London, 1773, p. 112.
8 Liber Scaccarii, anno 1599, 1600, 1601; ap. Parr’s MS. Statutes, p. 61.
• Rott’s History of the Isle of Man, p. 112. The power of the above officers with that of the water-bailiff and attorney-general ceases on the death of the king. The chief military officer who is generally styled major takes upon himself the preservation of the peace of the Island, by seizing the castle and forts, and preventing all tumults and disorders, until the civil power is restored and re-established by new commissions from the succeeding king.”—SeacQme,s History of the House qf Stanley, Liverpool, edition 1741, quarto, p. 34.
* The spiritual officers of the Island do not appear to have taken any share of the executive government before the seventeenth century. The first act of Tynwald signed by the Bishop, was promulgated on 24th of June, 1637.—Lex Scripta, p, 110; Mills’s Ancient Ordinances, p. 91.
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to enjoy it, for that it has not been altered by any express words, and cannot be taken away by mere implication.”1
The purport of the oath administered to the members of the council is “to maintain and defend the ancient laws, statutes, and customs of the Isle, with the prerogatives thereof, and with their best advice and council, to be aiding or assisting to his majesty’s governor-in-chief or his lieutenant-governor of the Isle for the time being, in furtherance of the government and benefit of the said Isle.”*
The council is resorted to by “ petition of dolance in cases where adequate relief cannot be otherwise obtained. The staff of government reviews the decisions of the deemsters, and hears all matters of complaint against the inferior courts and magistrates, and has cognizance of all matters of judicature, which do not appertain, in the regular way, to the jurisdiction of the other courts in the Island.” The act of the governor and three of the temporal officers is considered to be a valid act of the governor and council.
The House of Keys is the third branch of the Manks legislative government. It consists of twenty-four landholders of the Island, and was anciently called Chor na Faid, which, in the Manks language, signifies “ the assembly of wise men.” The nature or extent of their judicial functions, as originally constituted, cannot, however, be now ascertained.
A late writer supposes the first institution of the ** assembly of wise men” to be coeval with the kingdom itself? No document which has reached our time can warrant this assumption, but the following paragraph, written in 1422, from the statute-book of the Island, shows it existed in the time of Orree, the conqueror of Man, who lived in the tenth century. “ There was never xxiiij Keys in certainty, since they were first that were
1 Report qf the Parliamentary Commitfionert, ap. Feltham, p. 36.
9 Jahnetan^e Jitritprudence.
9 Hid, pp. 17, 18.
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called Taxiaxi, those were xxiiij free Houlders, viz. viij in the Out Isles, and xvj in your Land of Mann, and that was in King Orryes Days; hut since they have not been in certainty.”*
From the similarity of sound betwixt the pronunciation of taxiaxi and teagsag, an old Irish word, Dr. Campbell implies that it means “ elders” or “ senators.”* Another writer supposes taxiaxi to be a corruption of the Manks word taisgi-acci, “ a guardian of property.”3 But the Gaelic orthography of taxiaxi is taga-asibh, which signifies “ a selection from the people,” and hence many writers infer, that like the duinne-tagn of the ancient Irish,4 the persons thus selected were pledges or hostages taken both from Man and the Out Isles, to secure the allegiance of the people, till the dynasty of the conqueror became firmly seated on the throne of the kingdom of Man.5
This opinion is strengthened by these representatives of the people not having been convoked during the reigns of the twelve succeeding kings of the race of Orree. In the Chronicles of Man, which embrace an outline of the affairs of the Island from a.d. 1066 to 1270, there is no allusion made to the house of keys. They are thus lost sight of for a period of three hundred years. In 1344, however, immediately after Montacute wrested the Island from the Scots, they are referred to under the name of kiare as feed6 or twenty-four, a title by which they are sometimes distinguished at the present day. When they convened in 1419 to establish certain points of law, they
1 Mill*'9 Law*, p 17.
* Campbell*t Political Survey qf Great Britain, vol. ii, p. 336.
9 Johnstone*s Jurisprudence, p. 17.
4 In the Gaedhlic, taiece is a pledge or hostage, and aiece a trespass.—Letter from Mr. C. Vallancey, the Irish Antiquary, to Mr. Moore, qf Douglas, op. Felt-
ham, p. 139.
6 Camden*s Britannia! Chaloner, cap. iv; Coke's Fourth Institute, cap. box; Sacheverell, pp. 88, 95 ; Willis's History qf Cathedrals, vol. i, p. 369.
4 Manks Metrical History, 1344.
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were called “ the council of twenty-four.”1 When they assembled on the hill of Reneurling in 1422, they were called “ the commons of Man ;”* and in 1594, they are, for the first time in the statutes, designated “ the twenty-four keys of the Isle."3
Bishop Wilson, in his concise description of the Island, supposes the name to be derived from their office of unlocking the difficulties of the law.4 But in this forced signification, although it has been followed by subsequent writers, I cannot concur. The name of the assembly, as derived from the Manks language, or from the Scottish or Irish Gaelic, distinctly signifies either the house of pleas or the house of taxes.3
In the report of the commissioners, appointed by parliament in 1791, to enquire into the state of the Island, they say,—“ We are in doubt when, and the manner in which, the Keys were first elected, and we are not possessed of any documents which describe the mode of their election in early times; but from their being styled the representatives of the people, it may be inferred that they were chosen by them.” Since shortly after the accession of the house of Stanley to the sovereignty of Man, the members of the house of keys have been elected in a very peculiar manner. When a vacancy occurs, either by death or resignation, the keys meet and elect two
1 MUlt’s Laws, p. 27.
* Mill*’9 Lawt, p. 8.
8 Mills’t Laws, p. 73.
4 Camden’s Britannia, article “ Man”; Ward’s Ancient Records, p. 12.
8 The Manks, in writing their dialect of the Celtic, give the letters the same power as the English do; thus teeth, in Manks signifying “tax,” is pronounced keys. In Scottish Gaelic, the word cit, pronounced keesh, signifies “tax or tribute,” and figuratively is very often used to signify “ subjection.” In Irish Gaelic, the word riot is pronounced foes and signifies “ tax,” as shown below in a text of scripture:— Matthew, xxii, 17 :—“ Is it lawful to give tribute to Cesar.”	‘
Mankt version,—Vel eh lowal keeth y eeck da Cesar.
Scottith Gaelic, literally.—Ambheil e ceaderichte cit a thabhaist do Cheasar.
Irith, literally.—An cdir cios do thabhaist do Sheasar.
Welsh, literally.—Ai cyfreithlonwrn rhoddi teyrn-ged i Cesar ai nid yn.
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persons to be proposed to the governor for his dernier selection of either. The choice fixes the member for life,1 except in cases of resignation, criminal conduct, or the acceptance of a seat in the governor’s council?
It was provided, by a fundamental law, that no person serving the lord in any capacity should be chosen to hold office in the house of keys? The requisite qualifications are the possession of landed property in the Island, and having obtained the age of twenty-one years. The keys receive no salary or emolument. The privilege claimed by them is an exemption from certain services, which otherwise would be due to the lord proprietor. They are accordingly exempted from all common services of the country, unless especially commanded thereunto by the governor? Formerly very little importance was attached to the situation of a member of the house of keys; but it is now, by natives of the Island in particular, considered as highly honourable as that of knight of the shire is in Great Britain.
The following is the substance of the oath administered on the election of a key, since the revestment:—“ You shall use your best endeavours to maintain the ancient laws and customs of this Isle, and shall be aiding and assisting to the deemster in all doubtful matters, as well as to his majesty’s council.”
Although the principal duty of the house of keys is to act in a legislative capacity, its members exercise also a
1 It appears, however, that the Lord of the Isle had always the power of removing any of the keys at pleasure. In the year 1662, seven of the keys were removed from office, and a like number appointed solely by the Lord of the Isle.—Record qf the Trial qf William Christian on Dec. 29,1662,/or High Treason, Historical Natiees, p. 22; Note in Sir Walter Scott’s Novels, vol. xxviii, p. 24.
* Although this office is only held durante bene placito, yet, in modern times, individuals thus appointed are seldom removed.—Cantden’# Britannia, folio, edition 1695, p. 1068.
’ Sacheverell, ap. Wardes Ancient Records, p. 18.
♦ Uber Scaccarii, anno 1605, ap. Parr’s MS. Statutes, p. 93.
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variety of important judicial functions. They hold appellative jurisdiction over most of the law courts and have a right of determining all questions of defamation, submitted to them by the governor. They used also, along with the governor, council, and deemsters, to attend the ** court of general gaol delivery,” in order, by their presence, to give solemnity to the proceedings, and also, in dubious cases, to deliver authoritative information on points of common law: of late, however, they have not been summoned, it having been decided by his majesty that they do not form an integral part of that court.1
By an act of 1777, the liberty of traverse to the house of keys was only permitted in actions wherein titles of land came in question, but by an act of 1793, that clause was repealed and the appellate “jurisdiction of the house of keys was restored in as full and ample a manner as if the said act never had been made.”1 It was anciently the custom when any case was traversed unto the twenty-four keys that it should be first tried by six of their number, and from six to twelve, and from twelve to the full body of twenty-four, before a full decision in such a matter was given. But now when a case is removed from the traverse jury, it is brought before the whole body of the twenty-four keys, or a majority of them, in the first instance.*
The meetings of the keys are as often as the governor thinks proper to appoint; but their ability to continue the session and the governor’s authority to prorogue them before they choose to separate, are points not agreed on ;* and it has been settled that thirteen members are necessary to render valid any act in their legislative capacity. In their character of judges, they are the ultimum refugium
1 Oswald*9 Guide, p. 47.
1 Mills19 Laws, pp. 366, 381.
3 Liber Scaccarii, a. d. 1621, 1636, up. Deemster Parr's MS. Statutes, p. 94.
4 Report of the Parliamentary Commissioners, ap. Feltham.
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of the common law, in the Island, all appeals in question of titles respecting lands and other matters, agitated at the common law court, being determined by a majority of the whole body, only subject to a definite appeal to his majesty in council.1
The following extract from the official report of the parliamentary commissioners, appointed in 1791, clearly defines the power of the three estates of the insular constitution, respectively:—
“ The House of Keys, when called on by the lord proprietor or his governor, met in their legislative capacity, to debate upon and approve or reject any law proposed to them.
“ When the governor and .council and keys were assembled for the purpose of legislation, any intended bills or law might originate in either of these assemblies.
“ The draft of the bill being prepared, if it originated in the council, was in that assembly first considered and discussed. After it had been there settled and approved of, the governor convened the keys, to receive the bill, and it was then debated upon in the house, and they had a power to reject or return it to the governor and council, without amendments or with such as they thought proper. If it was returned with amendments, the two last mentioned branches of the legislature met, and settled the alterations proposed.
“ When the bill had passed through these stages, and was so far settled, it was engrossed. The keys were again summoned to attend the governor and council in the council chamber, and there the bill was read over in their presence, and signed by as many of the members of the
1 Johnstone’s Jurisprudence t p 21. It is not constitutionally incumbent on the governor to summon the whole twenty-four keys, which corresponds with the sovereign of England to grant or withhold a royal writ for the election of a member of parliament. With his council, the governor can, in his executive capacity, without the keys, in like manner as the British executive government can, act without the assistance of parliament.—Sacheverellt ap. Ward's Ancient Records, p. 16.
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two houses present, as had attended the progress, or approved of the intended law.
“ When any hill originated in the house of keys, and was approved of by thirteen of the members of that house, it was from them sent to the governor and council for their discussion, and they had a power to reject or approve of it, either with or without amendments, and when approved of, it was engrossed, read over and signed in the council chamber, in the same manner as if it had been first brought in by the governor and council.
“ After the bill had proceeded thus far, it was transmitted to the lord proprietor for his assent, and he had a power of rejecting, as well as of giving a general or qualified assent thereto.
“ When it was returned, with the approbation of the lord proprietor, the governor ordered a court to be held on the Tynwald Hill, and there the act was read over fully, in the English and Manks languages, in the presence of, and signed by, the governor and as many of the council and keys then present, as chose to attest this promulgation of the law. It then became an act of the legislature of the Island, and binding upon the inhabitants.”
Deemsters.—For the more convenient administration of justice, the Island is divided into two districts,1 with a deemster for each division. The first institution of this office is lost in the darkness of remote antiquity. Till by some modern acts of Tynwald their authority has been somewhat abridged, they possessed a higher magisterial power both in the administration of the common and criminal law than any other judges in Europe?
So little was form attended to in their proceedings
1 “ The Island is divided into two parts, south and north. The inhabitants of the former speak like the Scots, and of the latter like the Trish.”—Camden9* Britannia, folio, edition 1695, p. 1052.
9 Johnstoner9 Jurisprudence, p. 7Q \ Liber Scaccarii, anno 1599, 1600, 1601, ap. Parr, 61.
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that the deemster’s presence, whether walking or riding, constituted a court; and the plaintiff, meeting his opponent when the officer was in view, might drag him to an instant tribunal, and hold him till the case was decided P In such proceedings there was certainly more brevity than dignity, both on the part of the plaintiff and judge.
The warrant issued by the deemster, either -for the citation or apprehension of the delinquent, was a bit of stone or slate having the initials of his name scratched on it. Nor were those “ stone tokens for charges and executions finally laid aside till after the revestment.”1
The probable etymology of the name of these law officers may be traced to decisions which they were required to give to the lord and his council, for “in all greate Matters and high Points that are in Doubt, ever as they fall, I will that my Lieutennant, or any of the Councell for the Time being, take Deemsters to them, with the Advice of the Elders of your Land of Mann, to deem* the
1 Chaloner. The deemsters are the judges both in cases of common law and of life and death. Some cases are brought before a court, but most controversies are settled at their own houses.—Bishop Wilson, ap. Ward's Ancient Records, p. 13.
8 Mills's Laws, p. 342. It appears that the governor issued a token of a similar
description. In the year 1651, “ John Moore of Kirk St. Anne hath made unlawfull
and wrong Use of the Governor’s Token, and converted it otherwise than he hath
Directions for, for which he hath been punished by Imprisonment, and is still so to continue during the Governor’s Pleasure ; now for the Prevention of any such Error and Abuse to be committed by any Man hereafter, it is enacted, ordered, and
decreed, That whosoever shall hereafter counterfeit or make false Use of the Governor's Token, he shall forfeit nt. to the Lord’s Use, and suffer imprisonment during the Governor’s Pleasure; and whoever shall counterfeit or make false Use of the Deemster’s Token, he shall forfeit xs. and suffer also Imprisonment during die Gover-
nor’s Pleasure.”—Mills's Laws, p. 146.
8 The name of this officer is equivalent to “ the pronouncer of doom or sentence.” In this comprehensive sense the judges of the Isle of Man are called deemsters ; but in Scotland the word was long restricted to the designation of an official person whose duty it was to recite the sentence after it had been pronounced by the court and recorded by the clerk, on which occasion the deemster legalized it by the words of form—“ and this I pronounce for doom.” For a length of years the office wm held with that of executioner, for when this odious but necessary officer of justice received his appointment, he petitioned the court of justiciary to be received as their deemster, which was granted as a matter of course.—Waverley Novels, vol. xii, p. 173 ; Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. iii, p. 156.
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Law truely to the Parties as they will answer to me thereof.”1 They are styled in the Ancient Court Rolls, justiciarii domini regis.
Deemster is evidently an anglicised term, although mentioned in the Statute Book so early as the year 1422. The natives call this officer briw, a name nearly resembling that frequently mentioned in the Ancient Chronicles of Ireland.* He is always chosen out of the natives by the lord of the Isle, it being necessary he should speak and understand the Manks language, that he may comprehend the pleadings in court, to enable him to decide accordingly.*
Before entering on the functions of his office, the following singular oath was administered to the deemster: —“ By this book, and by the holy contents thereof, and by the wonderful works that God has miraculously wrought in heaven and on the earth beneath in six days and seven nights, I do swear that I will, without respect, or favour, or friendship, love or gain, consanguinity or affinity, envy or malice, execute the laws of the Isle justly betwixt our sovereign Lord the King and his subjects within this Isle, and betwixt party and party as indifferently as the herring’s backbone doth lie in the midst of the fish.”4 This is another symbolical institution, evidently derived from the Druids, by which the judge is continually reminded of his duty by his daily diet.’
The deemster, in ancient times, governed the people by a jus non scriptum, which, they said, was committed to
1 Mills's Laws, p. 18.
* They had judges called brehons, who, on a hill, seated on sods of earth, determined all controversies among the people, even murder, rape, and robbery were punished with a mulct, of which the brehon had the eleventh part for his salary. This kind of fine the Albanian Scots, who had of old the same kind of customs, called a cro cart.—Ware's Antiquities qf Ireland, Dublin, 1705, p. 22.
1 Camden's Britannia, 1695, p. 1067.
4 Johnstone's Jurisprudence, p. 71.
* Campbell's Political Survey of Great Britain, vol. ii, p. 536; Camden's Britannia, p. 1065.
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their fidelity as a sacred and holy thing, and which they were to transmit to posterity by oral tradition. Whatever, therefore, was pronounced by them was received as law. This custom they derived from the Druids who, as observed by Caesar,1 were peculiarly remarkable for their proficiency in the study of the law, but who would not communicate any thing, by writing, to the vulgar. Hence the decisions of the Manks deemsters were termed breast laws.
As the supreme will and pleasure of the deemster frequently constituted law, without reference to precedent, Sir John Stanley visited the Island in the year 1417 for the avowed purpose of causing the laws, said to be locked up in the breasts of the judges, to be promulgated, “ That henceforth injustice be done to no man under pretence of law.” After making the necessary investigation, he called a Tynwald, on 24th June, 1417, for that purpose. The people waited with the greatest anxiety to hear what had been artfully concealed from them for many ages. At length the eldest deemster rose, and with an audible voice, published the standing laws of the land, and answered various questions respecting established customs, all which were entered into the statute book, to be thenceforth considered the law of the Island.
The proceedings of this Tynwald ought to have gone far to unfetter the civil bondage of the natives of Man. Hitherto there had been no written laws in the Island “ from King Orry’s days till the time of Michael Blun-del ;”9 and the wisdom of that plan was highly question-
1	Commentaries, i, vi.
9	Statute Book, folio 93; Mills, p. 18. Thus was the Island governed till it was given to Sir John Stanley, by King Henry IV. At his coming hither, Sir John brought over with him one Michael Blondel, a very wise gentleman, of Lancashire, whom he made governor of the Island, and he, on observing the inconvenience of these breast laws, ordered, for the future, that all cases decided in their courts by their deemsters should be written down by the clerk of the rolls, and kept as a register of precedents, “ when like cases chanced to fall out again.” These books of precedents none are permitted to peruse except the lord's officers.—Camden's Britannia, edition 1695, p. 1065.
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able, which allowed one man to determine all matters brought before him, on a summary hearing, without the assistance of a jury. Justice ought always to be administered upon clearly established principles of law; and no nation ever possessed a lower species of jurisprudence than was that of the breast laws. But communities as well as individuals part reluctantly with ancient customs. In direct violation of the Tynwald in 1417, the deemsters continued to administer breast law justice down to 1636, although not to the satisfaction of lord Strange, as appears by his mandate.
“ Whereas, the Lord is informed that the deemsters of this Island do sometimes give judgement by laws unknown to his lordship or any of his council of the Island, called breast laws, his honor therefore declareth his pleasure, and doth order and direct that the deemsters do, upon notice of this his honor's order, set down in writing, and certify to his honor by the next passage boat after, what these breast laws are, and of what use and in what cases they are requisite, and how far the power and execution of them extends, and in particular, to certify whether the same be used in all cases; that is to say, criminal for punishment of offenders, and civil for decision of rights of lands and goods; and whether one breast law be contrary to another, and how the people may take notice thereof to frame their actions and contracts accordingly.”
From this period the more eligible plan was followed of keeping precedents of all the decisions of the deemsters in the various courts, as guides for future determination. Yet, for a long time afterwards, these documents were deposited in a chest, secured by three locks, the respective keys of which were kept by three of the chief officers of the state, to .prevent the writings from falling under the scrutinizing eyes of the vulgar.1
1 CamdM^ Brit<m*iat edit. 1695, p. 1065.
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The deemsters were entitled, by customary laws, to receive two-pence, called a cro cast, for every token granted by them; but in lieu thereof, they were anciently accustomed to send out a number of people called the bannock,' at AU HaUowtide, to receive custom from the tenants, such as they pleased to give in respect of the said fee, and thereupon the tenants to receive their tokens gratis that year; but if any refused to pay such custom to the bonnock, they were to cut three ropes of the thatch of his house, over the door, whereby he might be known to have refused the deemster’s custom; and the bonnocks presented this to the deemster respectively, with the person’s name; they were not to grant their token without the said fee for that year. Which custom is taken up now by the lockman of every parish, within the precincts of each deemster’s liberty.”*
In the year 1747, it was enacted, that the perquisites or customs heretofore paid and payable to the deemsters, about AU HaUowtide or Christmas, in Ueu of their token fees, usually coUected by a number of people called the bonnock or by the lockman of parishes, shaU cease, and that in place thereof, every person applying for a token shaU pay the fee of twopence for the same.” In 1753, the token fee was raised to threepence; but in 1763, the granting of stone tokens, either by the governor or deemster was, by an act of Tynwald, totally discontinued, as unbecoming the authority and solemnity of courts of justice.8 From the property of every person who had committed suicide, either by hanging or drowning, the deemster was entitled to four shiUings, or else to the third penny of the gross amount of such goods or chattels.4 In
1 This custom seems to be somewhat similar to that of the bowrmack, formerly practised in Orkney.—Transactions qf the Society qf Antiquaries qf Scotland, vol. ii, part ii, p. 415.
* MS. Statute Book, “ Deemster’s charge,” p. 11.
8 Statutes, anno 1747, 1753, 1763, ay. Mills's Laws, pp. 276, 308, 342, 343.
4 Statute, anno 1419 ; Mills's Laws, p. 27.
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addition to casual fees, he received a discretionary salary from the lord, of £7 10s. per annum, which was afterwards increased to £13 6s. 8d.; but, in 1636, was reduced by lord Strange, to the former sum.1 He was allowed, however, to yard one choice manservant and one choice maidservant out of every sheading within his district,’ and to have an immunity and freedom from the payment of customs for the lands which he possessed.'” The deemster has now a salary of £800 per annum.
In his court the deemster entertains all claims for debt above £2, and determines all disputes respecting lands, contracts, and engagements. He takes cognizance of all assaults and battery,4 and issues his warrant to summon six men to be a jury to take enquest of a felony. Trespass juries, summoned by his authority to examine and determine the damage, consist of only four persons living in the parish where the damage is sustained. When he wants to obtain information as to articles stolen, the whole neighbourhood is summoned to appear before him, and every individual must either acquit himself by oath, or by refusal be considered guilty.*
In order to obtain permission to appeal, the complainant must present a petition to the deemster for that purpose, which, if refused, may be followed by a petition of dolance to the governor, who, as a matter of course, will grant an order for the cause to be heard before him.® In
1 Mi lit’s Laws, p. 88.
1 Mills’g Laws, p. 309.
3 Orders and Directions given by Lord Strange, Nov., 1636; Mills’s Laws, p. 88.
4 The Deemster holds a court at Douglas once a fortnight. An idea may be formed of the number of cases that come under his cognizance there annually, from the circumstance that when the summary court was opened by Deemster Heywood at Douglas, on the 5th of February, 1838, “ There were one hundred and forty cases on the cause roll.”—Roll of the Deemster’s Court,
8 Homing*s Guide, p. 105.
6 Johnstone’s Jurisprudence, pp. 74, 124. By the Statute, 3 and 4, William IV, cap. 53, which commenced 1st September, 1833, for the prevention of smuggling, the Deemsters are invested with all the powers exercised by Justices of the Peace in
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former times, the voice of the whole people was necessary to the making of a new law; but now this custom is abrogated, and whatever is agreed upon by the lord of the Island, the governor, the two deemsters, and the twenty-four keys, obtain the force of law?
Justices of the Peace.—Magistrates have lately been appointed in the Island, as done under the municipal reform bill in corporate towns of England and Wales. This measure was effected by the issuing of a commission of the peace under the great seal. Eleven gentlemen are named in it, and their powers have been since enlarged by an act of the insular legislature.
High-Bailiffs.—By the statute of 1777, high-bailiffs were appointed in the four market towns of the Island, and are invested with authority to hear and determine all cases under forty shillings? They are the chief magistrates of their respective towns, in which they are required to maintain the peace and apprehend offenders.
The high-bailiff’s salary being only £25 per annum, the office is generally held by a practising lawyer. It is generally admitted that the duties of the high-bailiff would be performed more to the advantage of the public and to the discouragement of petty vexatious law-suits, by unpaid magistrates, similar to those already established, whose usefulness is said to be obstructed by the high-bailiff’s court.
The following are the parishes which come within the jurisdiction of the high-bailiffs of the respective towns:— Castletown—Rushen, Arbory, Malew, Santon. Douglas —Lonan, Onchan, Braddan, Marown. Ramsey—Jurby, Andreas, Bride, Lezayre, Maughold. Peel—Patrick, German, Michael, Ballaugh.
Great Britain, so far as regards offences committed against the customs.—Sec. 75,93. By an act of the British parliament, in 1838, the same power is vested in the Mank* Justices of the Peace.
1 Camden's Britannia, folio, 1695, p. 1065.
* Lex Scripta, p. 416.
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Coroner.—The two judicial divisions of the Island are subdivided into six sheadings or small sheriffdoms, to each of which a coroner is appointed by the governor. This officer has a power, in many respects, analogous to that of a constable, a coroner, and a sheriff in England, and in his own sheading he is the chief organ of the deemster's court.
The office of coroner is of the highest antiquity in the Island. He is called in Manks toshiagh jioarey, that is “ the chief man of the law,” similar to the tosio-derach of the old Mac Alpine laws of Scotland. An ancient law for continuing the coroner in office only one year was renewed in 1629.* In obedience to this statute, the coroner takes the oath of office annually, on his knees, in the presence of the governor, after which he receives a decorated wand as an emblem of his authority, which, should he die while in office, must be returned to the governor by the hands of the constable.
The coroner appears to have been a personage of great importance in ancient times: he was permitted to yard for himself three men-servants annually, but in the year 1662, he was restricted to one yarded servant.’ By an act of 1611, he was allowed a quarterland rent free for the performance of his duty,3 with a “ fixed stipend;” but in the year 1636, the stipend was discontinued and he was only “ to have recompence allowed according to his endeavours.”4 By a statute in 1419, it was enacted that four pence shall be paid yearly out of every quarterland to the coroner, with a smaller sum for intacks and cottages.3 He is also entitled to have all horses, oxen, and kine, not exceeding two years old, the property of a con-
1	Johnstone’s Jurisprudence, p. 151
* Mills’s Statute Laws, p. 116.
• Liber Scaccarii, anno 1611.
4 Mills* s Statute Laws, p. 87.
* Ibid., p. 29.
VOL. II.
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victed felon, with his rapier and dagger;’ also the outer garment of a person who had committed suicide. Out of the profits arising from his official employment, the coroner had to pay annually to the lord a certain sum of money called office silver*
It was enacted by a statute of 1692 that the coroner should, four times a year, for the lord’s profit, search throughout his sheading every house, coffer, or covered place; and every person resisting the authority of his yard, in that service, was to be indicted as a felon.3 In order that the coroner might be enabled to execute his various duties efficiently, he was allowed by the lord a deputy called a lockman.4 And it is enacted, that whosoever shall disobey the coroner or his lockman shall forfeit three pounds; but if it be in taking up the lord’s rents, when a soldier cometh out for that purpose, he forfeiteth his body and goods to the lord.5
1	LeT Scripta, p. 28. There was formerly a civil officer in Scotland called a crowner, who was vested with powers similar to the coroner, and was entitled to like rewards. By the act James III, p. 14, cap. cxiii, it was ordained “that the crowner have the goods of persons convict, the dauntoned horse, depute to work and not to the saddle, never shod nor used to shoone.”—Acts of Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, 1685, p. 79.
“ ^tS. Statute Book, “ Coroner's Duty.”
8	Statute, fo.io 41 ; Customary Law, 13 ; Parr's MS. Statute Book, “Coroner’s Duty.”
4	Camden's Britannia, edt. 1695, p. 1068. “ We know that the Manks coroner, like the sheriff of Great Britain, must execute the sentence of the judge, though it should extend to death.”—Johnstone's Jurisprudence, p. 81. And “like the Scotch sheriff, he has a deputy called a lockman, this being still the title of the public executioner in Edinburgh and throughout the greater part of Scotland. He is so called from having formerly received his salary by a kind of thirlage, which consisted of a perquisite of meal out of every sack brought to market. The expression lock, for a small quantity of meal or any dry divisable substance is still preserved.”— Jamieson's Scottish Dictionary. The finisher of the law in Dumfries exercised this privilege down to a late period. He went unmolested through the meal market, and received from each person exposing meal for sale the full of an iron ladle which he carried for that purpose. This ladle is in my possession. I have seen Peter Grant, the hangman at Ayr, collecting his tithe in a similar manner. From this statement it may be seen that the office of lockman, in the Isle of Man, and that of public executioner, in Scotland, were formerly analogous.
0 Liber Scaccarii, anno 1582, 1592, ap. Parr's MS. p. 65.
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The coroner of Glenfaba takes prebedsncej of all the, . others in the Island. It is his duty to fence the great Tynwald Court, where no man is allowed to murmur or stir in the lord's presence on pain of hanging and drawing.1
It is prescribed in the ancient proceedings of the common law or sheading court, that the coroner of Glenfaba fence that court both in Manks and English, and proclaim that it is the king of Man’s pleasure “ that men, both rich and poor, deaf and dumb, halt, lame, and blind, come hither upon horseback or on foot, or be drawn thither upon horse or car, that they may know the King of Man’s pleasure and the laws of his country.”2
Then he shall call in four honest men of every parish within the sheading to go upon the great inquest, who shall make oath to report to next court all petty officers not doing their duty according to law, and all petty craftsmen “ who do not execute their occupations justly, or otherwise than the old laws of the land permit, with presentations3 respecting meses, ditches, turberies, rescues, watercourses, trespasses, and other irregularities.4
This “ Great Inquest” was, in ancient times, held twice a year, between the outer gates of the Castle of Rushen,* where a large stone chair was placed for the governor and a lesser one for each of the deemsters. All the law courts, however, are now held in the interior of the castle. The act of revestment did not interfere with any of the courts of law; but since that period many important changes have been introduced.®
1	Mills's Laws, p. 6.
* Statute, folio 43 j MS. Common Statute, “ Common Law Court;” Mills's Laws, p. 60.
3	Statutes, 1589, 1595, 1602, 1609, 1610, 1618; Statute Book, pp. 7, 75; Parr's MS. Statute, “ Common Law Court;” Mills, pp. 60—62, 367, 382.
4	A salary of ^20 is now annexed to this office. Tne coroners are generally respectable yeomen.
•	Mills's Laws, p. 12.
•	There is another court of great antiquity called the setting quest. It consists of four landed proprietors, appointed for life, to determine boundaries, and to levy fine*
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Moak.—There is likewise an officer of unknown antiquity in every parish called a moar,1 who collects all escheats, deodands, waifs, and estrays. Like the coroner, he paid, formerly, two marks called office-silver to the lord, and had a portion of land rent-free. His quarterland, cottages, and intack fees, were similar to those received by the coroner; “ but he received no stouckes of corn at the breaking of the tallies;” out of every vessel that landed timber, within the boundary of his jurisdiction, he claimed two poles at the price paid for them in the wood.4 No action could be brought against the moar during the time he was in office, “ as his personal estate is to answer the lord’s rent if any want be.”’
The manorial or sheading court originally formed part of the court of common law, but by the act of revestment the manorial courts, for the several sheadings, were reserved to the duke and duchess of Atholl by the term of “ courts baron.” The moars are the ministerial officers of these courts, which are always held in April and October, at Peeltown, Castletown, Douglas, Kirk Michael, and Ramsey, respectively, for the purpose of collecting the quit-rents, and manorial fines of the abbey lands of St. Germains, the abbey lands of Lezayre, the abbey lands of Malew and of Rushen; and of the baronies of Bangor, Sabal, and St. Trinions, with those of the baronies of the bishop. Since the duke of Atholl sold his manorial right to the British government, in 1829, these rents and fines have formed an item in the revenue of the United Kingdom.
upon all such as omit to keep their boundary fences in sufficient repair. In cases of difficulty, the setting quest is assisted by a jury of twelve called, the grand gnat, 1 There were formerly officers, called mairs, with similar powers, appointed by the sheriff. “ Mairs or sergeants in royalty, regality, and burgh to have wands and horns in manner set down in the Act James I, Parliament 6th, cap. xcix.” If these officers were found guilty of falsehood or oppression in the execution of their office, they were, by the Act James VI, Parliament llth, cap. Ixxiii, to suffer the punishment of death.
s Statutes, anno 1422, 1582, 1592, 1600, 1602, 1607, 1611; Statute Boo*, folios 2, 7, 39, 45 ; MS. Statutes, “ Moar’s Duty.”
•	Liber Placitorum, anno 1602, ap. Parr’s MS. Statutes, p. 104.
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The coroner and moar were invested with such high authority, particularly when employed to recover any dues appertaining to the lord of the Isle, that it was enacted that, “ If any man of holy church, that is to wit, parson, vicar, parish priest, secular priest, or clarke, make any offence to the king’s officers, that is to say, if the moar, he shall suffer the amercement of vis. and viiid.; and if he do it to the coroner he shall lose iii lib ; and if the foresaid men of holy church lose any amercement, we give it for law, that if the distress be within the steps of holy church, the lord’s officers shall go to the high sumner,1 and he shall deliver to the lord’s officers a sufficient distress, and if the sumner shall not do so, the lord’s officers shall go in and take the distress themselves.”4
This ordinance is a direct proof that the civil power in this Island was, in ancient times, superior to that of the church. There were very few states in Europe at that time which dared to assert such supremacy, and very few officers who would have presumed to enter the sacred pale to recover even the dues and rights of their lord.
Court of General Gaol Delivery.—The court of general gaol delivery was originally a tribunal of peculiar dignity and splendour. The governor, the bishop, the archdeacon and vicars-general, the deemsters, the clerk of the rolls, the water-bailiff, and attorney-general, together with ;the twenty-four keys, all presided therein, for the purpose of trying crimes, which, by the law of the Island, were deemed capital.
There was no trial in this court save by jury, and the culprit required to have been previously tried by a jury
1 The high sumner is an officer of very ancient appointment, and is invested with very considerable powers. He is a kind of executor to all aliens dying in the Island. He can make an inventory and valuation of their effects to pay burial expenses and distribute the residue amongst the creditors.
*1 Townley’9 Journal, vol. ii, p. 282.
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of six men, of the sheading to which he belonged, who had declared that the evidence adduced was sufficient to put him on his trial for felony. The usual mode of selecting the jury in the court of general gaol delivery was admirably suited for the faithful administration of justice. Four men from each parish in the Island were summoned as jurymen, which made a total of sixty-eight persons. As the list of these persons was called over in court, the prisoner had the power of challenging any of them that he judged incompetent: out of the remaining number, a jury of twelve was impannelled.1*
If a felon, who was indicted, died before the day of trial, the jury, nevertheless, proceeded in the usual manner, and if he was found guilty, his goods were forfeited to the lord?
If a felon, when asked by the deemster whether he wished to throw himself upon the lord’s mercy or be tried by God and the country, put himself to grace, the governor then declared him reprieved till the lord’s pleasure be known.3 This mode of procedure is thus described in the Statute Book. It is an ordinance of Sir John Stanley, made at the Castle of Rushen, a.d. 1422:—“ If any alien, that noe faith or fealty hath made to the King, forfeit, in any case, life or lymne, and before judged in it, though it be theft in hand, or out of hand found, though he put him to the Lord's grace before the verdict be given, or knowledge made, the Lord needs not receive him to grace, except he list by the laws of Man. But if he be his borne man, or els hath made faith and fealty, and put him in grace, if he be indicted, and no manner on his band, or the verdict be given, he ought, by the law of man, to have his life, but he must forfeit his
1 Haining't Guide, p. 110.
* Appendix, Note i, “ Law Practitioners.”
« Statute, 1519.
^Statute, 1581.
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goods, and then shall have his choice of three things by the Deemster’s judgement. JFirst, he shall choose whether he will rest in prison a yeare and a day, with sustenance of the prisson, viz.: he shall have bread one part meale and another part chafe of the same meale, and the third part ashes, and to drink of the water next the prisson doore; the second is to forsweare the King and all his land, or els for the third to pay the King iij/.1” If any person convicted by a petty jury for felony or for treason “ doth submit himself before his trial and offer a reasonable ransom for sparing his life, the court may grant him the same, upon humble suit of himself or some friend on his behalf.2
When the prisoner wishes to be tried by God and the country, the prosecution is conducted by the attorneygeneral ; but counsel are allowed to plead for the prisoner, to cross examine the evidence for the crown, and to reply to the attorney-general.
When the pleadings are concluded and the jury are agreed on their verdict, a very ancient and remarkable ceremony ensues. The deemster demands of the foreman of the jury, in the Mank language,— Vod fir carree soie? “ May those that minister at the altar continue to sit ?” If the foreman answers that they may not, it is understood to be the precursor to a verdict of guilty, and the bishop and his clergy immediately retire; but should the answer be in the affirmative, the verdict of not guilty is returned, and the prisoner is instantly discharged.3
It is remarkable, that this custom is observed in the house of lords—it being determined in the earl of Danby’s case, that the lords spiritual have a right to stay and sit in court in capital cases, until the court proceeds to the vote of guilty or not guilty.4
1 Mills*9 Laws, p. 15.
1 Liber Placitorum, anno 1577, 1601, ap. Parr's Statutes, p. 47.
8 Camden, p. 1455 ; Sacheverell, p. 94.
4 Johnstone’s Jurisprudence, p. 63. Mr. Johnstone was, seemingly, not aware
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After trial and conviction, the senior deemster pronounces the awful sentence of death; but the execution must he delayed till the pleasure of his majesty be known.
Connected with the latter part of this law, a singular circumstance occurred, to which I shall give insertion here.
In the year 1816, Robert Quilliam, a reputed thief, was tried at Castletown for sheep stealing, and condemned to be executed. The papers connected with the case were forwarded, in the usual way, to the secretary of state for the home department, for the purpose of being laid before his majesty. From these papers a warrant for carrying the sentence into execution, was made out; but instead of being despatched to the Island, it was, by some singular mistake, mislaid at the home-office, and never reached its destination.
Two years after this occurrence, a person named Robert Kewley was likewise tried and condemned at Castletown for a similar offence, although the charge against him was of a very modified description, he having taken only a single loaghtyn from the fold of a near kinsman, under circumstances of peculiar necessity. Kewley was a native of the Island, and having up to the date of the crime for which he was condemned, maintained a highly respectable character, he was strongly recommended to mercy by the constituted authorities. All the petitions in his behalf, however, were rejected at the home-office, on the grounds that, notwithstanding the example made of Quilliam, sheep stealing had not been put down in the Isle of Man.
The warrant for the execution of Kewley not arriving at Castletown in time to admit of the mistake being
“ that all Bishops are prohibited, by the canons of the church, from being judges in cases of life and deaths See Encyclopedia Britannica, edition 1810, p. 633.— This usage was observed by the Anglo Saxons, even before the conquest, the bishop or a priest appointed by him always sat in their great mote along with the governor, till sentence of death was about to be pronounced, when the churchman withdrew.
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rectified in the quarter in which it originated, the unfortunate culprit underwent the last penalty of the law on the 5th June, 1818.
What adds to the singularity of this occurrence is the fact, that Quilliam, the more guilty criminal, who, under the suspended sentence, had been confined in Castle Rushen since his conviction in 1816, was compelled, by the authorities, to act as the executioner of Kewley. On this circumstance being made known to his majesty, Quilliam’s sentence was commuted to transportation for life.
Exchequer.—This court, as in Great Britain, takes cognizance of all matters connected with the revenue.— Proceedings are carried on here for the recovery of all penalties and forfeitures due to the crown, incurred by frauds upon the customs; there being no excise duties yet imposed in the Island. When the right of taking tithes was in dispute, previous to the passing of the Tithe Commutation Act, the prosecution for their recovery was carried on in the exchequer court; and previous to the act of Tynwald, in 1777, was cognizable only in the ecclesiastical court.
Chancery.—In matters of civil property, this court has the most extensive jurisdiction of any court in the Island. It is generally held on the first Thursday in every month, at Castletown. The governor sits chancellor, and is assisted by the attorney-general,1 the clerk of the rolls, the deemsters, and water-bailiff. The proceedings are conducted without the intervention of a jury, from which it is termed a court of law and equity. In order to prosecute a suit on the law side of the court, a common action is entered at the rolls’ office. The defendant must be summoned by the coroner or his deputy. Should the defendant neglect to appear personally or by
1 It is the duty of the Attorney-General to plead all causes in which the Lord of the Isle is concerned, and all cases of widows and orphans.—Camden"8 Britannia, edit. 1695, p. 1068.
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advocate, an attachment against him may be sued for; but subsequently, the case may be heard, and if denied or disputed by the defendant, the court may transfer it to the deemster’s court, to be tried by a jury at common law.
When an action for debt is taken out against a person about to leave the Island, the defendant may not only be arrested and imprisoned, but his effects may be taken possession of till he gives security for his personal appearance. If a decree be issued, his effects may be sold by auction to satisfy the creditors. On the equity side, the proceedings are carried on by bill and answer, as in the courts of Great Britain.
Revenues.—A committee of the insular legislature directs the application of the local duties, towards constructing and keeping in repair the high-roads and bridges.*
Since the revestment of the Island in the British crown, the insular legislature has acted with the same independence as it did prior to the passing of that statute. It exercises the right of making laws affecting the property, liberty, and life of all who reside within the shores of the Island. One branch only of the legislature was effected by the act of revestment, that which relates to foreign commerce. The king thereby became admiral of the ports of the Isle of Man, and in that capacity, was vested with the absolute right to the revenues arising from the imports into the Island, as well as the exports to Great Britain and Ireland. As that superiority was purchased with public money, the house of commons became entitled to be consulted by the lords of the treasury, on all points which might in future affect that revenue; and the British parliament, therefore, now exercises the same power over the fiscal regulations of the Isle of Man as over the revenues of the United Kingdom. .
♦ Appendix, Note ii, “ Schedule of Local Licence Duties.”
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In the year 1777 several ancient statutes were repealed and thirteen new ones were enacted, the cause of which, as described in the statute book, was, that many of the laws and customs of the Isle, having been found not only to be defective, but in many instances impolitic and very inadequate to the purposes of good order and government, it was therefore thought expedient to repeal all obsolete and useless laws, which, however properly adapted to more early ages, were then become insufferable and oppressive, and to institute a new arrangement and connection of the most wholesome laws, retaining every part possible of the ancient constitution.1
In England so much had been written on what was called the close system, that the islanders began to be dissatisfied with the mode of electing the members of the house of keys. In February, 1838, petitions were presented to the governor, which were reported to have been signed by persons possessing considerable landed property in the Island, praying that, by an act of the insular legislature, the people might be empowered to elect the members of the house of keys, by a franchise similar to that enjoyed by the people of Great Britain in returning members to Parliament. The answer returned by the governor to these petitions was as follows :—
44 Government House, March 26th, 1838.
“ Sir,—I have had under consideration the petitions presented by Messrs. Moore and Clucas, as a deputation from the petitioners, praying that a constituency of the inhabitants of the Island may be formed for electing the members of the House of Keys, and it is my duty to inform you that such a change in the constitution of the Isle of Man cannot be agreed to; and I have farther to inform you, that if a reform in the House of Keys is really wanted, a representation for the Island in Parliament, may be the measure of reform adopted.
I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,
° Major Stewart, Balladoole.	J. READY.**
It may be observed that it is generally strangers who
1	MUUf8 Law*, p. 359.
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have been domiciled for a few years in the Island, who are most active in opposing the vested powers of the constituted authorities. The landed men or natives, when left to the free exercise of their own judgment, are a peaceable and contented race.
When Sir John Stanley was engaged in ascertaining and confirming the ancient laws and constitutions of his little Island kingdom, in a. d. 1417, he found the “ twenty-four were elected by the suffrages of the people.”1 In 1430, Henry Byron, lieutenant of the land of Man, held a court between the gates of the Castle of Rushen, composed of “six men out of every sheading, chosen by the whole commons of Man.”3 While in 1422, when Sir John Stanley interrogated the deemsters and the twenty-four themselves, as to various points of the insular law, it was declared by them to be one of his prerogatives, “ that without the lord's will none of the twenty-four keys (were) to be.”3
It appears, therefore, that according to the ancient constitution of the Island, the keys were elected by the people as their representatives; and it would even seem, from the declaration of the deemsters and keys themselves just quoted, that unless it was agreeable to the lord’s will the keys were to have no existence at all. If this declaration, therefore, be held as explanatory of the ancient constitution of this branch of the legislature, it may be a question whether the present queen of Great Britain, as vested with all the rights and prerogatives of the lords of Man, may not, if agreeable to her will, dispense altogether with the house of keys. -
Regarding the efficacy and justice of their ancient executive, the Manks have the testimony of several eminent writers. “ That the laws were more strictly carried into
1	Ward’s Ancient Record*, p. 18.
1	Mills’* Ancient Ordinances, p. 11.
• Ibid, p. 18.
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execution and with less trouble than in any other place in the world.”1 Governor Sacheverell’s remark, on the same subject, a century afterwards, is still more flattering to the Manks people. “ There is one little barren spot,” he says, “ where law and justice, true religion and primitive integrity flourished in contempt of poverty, and all things the world calls misfortune.”2 If such were the happy condition of the former inhabitants of Man, a writer of the present time assures us that they are not less happy and contented now; “ As no people,” he remarks, “ are more blessed, so none are more happy and content than the Manks under their venerable laws, and simple, primitive, I had almost said patriarchal constitution. Universal suffrage, vote by ballot, annual, triennial, or septennial parliaments are terms unknown amongst us ; and heaven defend us from ever knowing them. Our flourishing and orderly state was well described to me by a traveller I accidentally met, two years since, on the continent : ‘ I have lately been visiting,’ he said ‘ the Isle of Man, and I found there what I did not believe existed, a legislature governing wholly and solely for the public good, a people desiring nothing less than to send members to parliament, and a bishop happy in his freedom from the house of lords.’ ”3
Although these testimonies to the perfection of the Manks constitution, and its effects on the people are, evidently, highly coloured, there can be no doubt that the secluded little Island of Man, amid all its changes and convulsions, has long maintained a degree of social prosperity, unattained by many a more important rival community.
1	Coke*9 Fourth Institute, cap. hix; Report qf Kellway, Surveyor qf the Court qf Wards in the eleventh qf Henry VIII: Calvin, lib. vii, cap. xxi; Campbells Political Survey qf Great Britain, vol. ii, cap. viii, sec. iii.
*	Introduction to Sacheverell’s Account qfthe Isle qf Man, London, 1702.
•	Ward’s Ancient Records, p. 21.—The Rev. W. P. Ward, ion of, and domestic chaplain to, the late bishop of Man.
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APPENDIX.—Chapter XIX.
NOTE I.—Page 214.
LAW PRACTITIONERS.
The permission granted to persons, not bred to the law, to practise in the Island as attorneys, being found to promote the spirit of litigation, it was enacted in 1777 that no person shall act as an attorney or plead in any case, other than his own, till he have received a licence from the governor. It is not usual to grant such licence to any but a native of the Island, nor even to such a person, till he has served an apprenticeship of five years with the Clerk of the Rolls or a practising advocate. By the act of the same year, if an attorney should become bail in any cause or carry any suit by way of champerty, he subjects himself to fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court, and is rendered incapable of practising in future.—Mills's Laws, p. 377. Notwithstanding all these regulations, I understand Jenyn’s couplet applies as appositely to the brothers of the quill in Man as elsewhere:—
•	* Attorneys, for a barley straw. Whole ages hamper folks in law.”
In the year 1796, an act was passed for the better regulation of the court of common law, and for making a new judicial division of the Island. During the reign Of the Duke of Atholl, many of the old laws were abrogated ; but the most important measure that has been effected for improving the jurisprudence of the Island is the act of 1817, for altering and amending the criminal laws.—Millses Laws, p. 447. The laxity of the old penal code called for this revisal. “ To take away a horse or an ox was only a trespass, but to steal a pig or a fowl was a capital misdemeanour and the offender punished withdeath.”—Statute, anno 1629; Mills’s Laws, p. 84; Johnstone’s Jurisprudence, p. 44.
The number of licensed practitioners at present is thirty-nine; but the following relation shows the people to have been prone to litigation, from a period prior to the establishment of advocates.
During my short stay at Peel, in July, 1836, I became acquainted with a gentleman of the Manks bar, who kindly pointed out to me, on the adjoining coast, the scene of the following singular story, detailed by Stevens in his Lectures on Heads.
A fisherman of Peel, after bringing to shore the fish which he had caught during the night, was in the habit of mooring his scowte in a well-sheltered creek, on the coast, near Ballaquane, by a suggane or straw rope, similar to those generally used in the Island in olden times, for such a purpose. One morning a bull belonging to the farmer of Ballaquane, while wandering among the rocks in search of sea-tangle, accidentally discovered a large coil of suggane in the fisherman's boat. Unable to
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get at the tangle from the state of the tide, his bullship succeeded in getting into the scowte, and commenced a very satisfactory mastication of the rope; when it gave way, the boat was drifted out to sea, and being caught in a squall, was sunk and the bull drowned.
This affair became a subject of complaint, by the two parties interested, to John Parr, who held the office of deemster, from 1696 to 1712.
The fisherman charged the proprietor of the bull with having stolen his boat; the farmer accused the fisherman of purloining his bull. It appeared in the course of the evidence, that the scowte being duly licensed, the owner had a right to moor it in any haven or creek within the territory of the Lord of Man, that the creek in question was then within the land occupied by the proprietor of the bull, and that the wggane was made, by his permission, of straw of said land. The deemster decided in favour of the farmer. The fisherman appealed to the governor of the Island, and the farmer, in turn, appealed from the judgment of the governor to the king in council.
Had his majesty, by and with the advice of his privy council, come to a decision on this subject, the decision, of course, would have been absolutely final; but this my informant had never been able to learn, nor does Stevens give any information as to the result of the plea.
NOTE II.—Page 218.
SCHEDULE OF LOCAL LICENCE DUTIES.
The Highroad Fund forms a most essential part of the Insular revenue. The following is the scale of Licence Duties imposed by Acts of Tynwald.
Banker’s		£20	0	0 1	Pointer or Hound		£1	1 0
Brewer’s		5	0	0	Spaniel		1	1 0
Hawker’s ..			2	0	0	Bull-dog ..	.. ^.	..	1	1 0
Ale and Spirits, in town ..	3	0	0	Terrier or Quester ..	..	0	6 0
Wine		2	0	0	Cur 		0	2 6
Ale and Spirits, in country	0	10	0	Every House (3 days’ labour)	0	4 0
Wine and Spirits, wholesale	4	0	0	Licence to kill Game ..	..	2	2 0
Four-wheeled Vehicle ..	1	0	0	Advocate’s Licence (one-half)		
Two-wheeled Vehicle ..	0	10	0	on admission		25	0 0
The following is an abstract of a certified copy of the amount of “ The High-road Fund in account with the Clerk of the Rolls and Committee of Highways, for the year ending 5th July, 1843.”
Amount of Ale, Spirit and Wine Licences ..	..	. £939 19 0	Game Licences.. - . Dog Tax		. ..£147 12 0 . .. 362 15 6
Common Brewers’ Licences 75 0 0		Carriage Duties .	. .. 371 00
Bankers’ Licences ..	.<	.	60 0 0	Fines		. ..	34 17 3
Hawkers’ Do	 Advocate’s Do		.	58 0 0 .	25 0 0		£2074 3 9
(Signed)	John M'Hutchin, Clerk of the Rolls.
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The high-road labour for houses, lands, &c., for the same year, was equal to ths labour of 29,702| men. This number, at Is. 4d. per man, is equivalent to /1980 3s. 8d. Thus it appear that the gross amount of the High-road revenue for 1843, was ^4054 7s. 5d.
It is shown in the schedule of licences that the duty required for liberty to retail ale and spirits, is higher than for permission to dispose of similar articles by wholesale ; which, it appears, frequently induces the latter class to encroach on the purchased privileges of the former.
In a court held at Douglas, on 15th January, 1838, twenty-five shopkeepers were, on information laid by the commissioners of high-roads, fined each in the penalty of jf5, for selling spirits in less quantities than one pint. These prosecutions were conducted, on the part of the commissioners, by the attorney-general. In Great Britain, the wholesale dealers, in exciseable articles, pay the highest licences.
Notwithstanding the assertion that “one-fourth part of the entire population of the Isle of Man have become Teetotalers,” (Speech of Finch, st pled King of the Teetotalers, delivered in the Townhall of Dumfries, 16th January, 1838,) the houses licensed to sell spirituous liquors are yet very numerous. But the small sum for which a licence to retail spirits in the country may be obtained, as compared with a licence for a similar purpose in any of the four towns, is a proof that the town pub-licans rely chiefly for support on the strangers who visit the Island.
So early as the year 1637, the number of alehouses were regulated by the Lords of the Isle, or in their absence, by certain members of the legislative government. The licence duty was fixed at sixpence per annum, (Mills's Laics, p. 94) ; but in the year 1734, it was raised to two shillings and sixpence; and by the same act of Tynwald, the number of alehouses was restricted to two hundred ; these, however, being found insufficient for the accommodation of the public in 1739, the number was augmented to 300, “fve score to the hundred.”—Mills, p. 264. In the year 1753 the licence duty was raised to nine shillings and ninepence, (Mills, p, 303); and in 1819, to the present rate. The number of public-houses in the Island is undoubt-edly great; but, perhaps, the governor agrees with Dr. Adam Smith, that “ it is not the multitude of alehouses that occasions a general disposition to drunkenness among the common people, but that disposition arising from other causes, necessarily gives employment to a multitude of alehouses.”—Wealth qf Nations, edit. 1819, vol. ii, page 126.
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•	CHAPTER XX.
TENURES, SUITS, AND BEQUESTS.
Ancient territorial Jurisdictions—Fiefs—Custom of Gavelkind—Quar-terlands—Tenure of the Straw—Conveyance of Property—Nuncupative Wills—Right of Inheritance—Fuel—Enclosures—Multure, Suit, and Soken—Ways of Ease and Suf erance—Bridges—Use of Lime introduced by Governor Greenhalgh—Old Implements of Husbandry—The Fodder Jury, a singular Tribunal—Laws for the Protection of Farm Stock—Condition of the Peasantry in the last Century—Description of a Manks Cottage—Progress of Agriculture since the time of the Revestmenf—Tenures of the Impropriate Fund —The Academic Masters and Academic Students Funds—Burning of King William's College.
All our historians admit that martial fees were the oldest fiefs throughout Europe.1 With these military tenures both civil jurisdictions and territorial honours were incorporated: and hence the origin of sheriffdom, thane-dom, and dukedom; but that which came to be most commonly granted was denominated a barony. In lieu of these holdings, the service of ward and livery was always required by the sovereign.*
Cawder is the most ancient thanedom in Scotland, of which any thing is known with historical certainty. It was from these lands that Macbeth, who afterwards usurped the Scottish throne, took his title of thane ;2 but nearly five centuries before that time, Aidon, king of
1	Montesquieu's Spirit of Law, b. xxx, c. iii and iv; Robertson's Charles V., pp. 260, 263 ; Abbe Millot's History qf France, vol. i, p. 190.
♦ Appendix, Note i, “ Military Tenures.” ,
1	Wallace's Nature and Descent qf Ancient Peerages, edition 1775, p. 103.
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Scotland, conferred the generic title of thane of Man on Brennus, his nephew, who, in performing the military services required for his lands in Man, fell in Scotland fighting against the Picts.'
In the little kingdom of Man the title of thane was succeeded by that of comites, vicecomites, and most of the other territorial honours which followed the Norman conquest in Britain? When the king of Man appeared in state at the Tynwald, he was surrounded by “ his barons in the third degree, and by his knights, squires, and yeomen.”3
The Romans were equally remarkable for their polity and economy. By the former they secured the countries which their valour had obtained ; and by the latter, they rendered them valuable to the state. Agriculture was, therefore, with them a principal object, and in order to promote its cultivation, they distributed lands to the soldiers, reserving only the payment of a certain rent for the use of the public. This example was followed by Goddard Crovan when he conquered the Isle of Man.
That the custom of Gavelkind, observed by the Anglo-Saxons, the Cambrians, and the ancient Irish, was the hereditary law of succession in Mona, during the period when the Island was governed by princes of the house of Powys, is uncertain; but the subdivision of property among the ancient inhabitants appears to have been in general as minute as if effected either by Gavelkind or an Agrarian law.4 The Island is divided into seven hundred
1 Shuydd’s Chronicles, 1731, p. 142; Collectanea de Rebus Albanius, vol. i, p. iii, p. 217; Annals of Ulster by Johnston, 178G; Hollinshead’s Chronicles qf Scotland, 1805, vol. i, p. 208.
2 Seaeome’s History of the Isle of Man, Liverpool, 1741, p, 4.
8 Mills’s Ancient Ordinances, p. 1.
4 Dickson’s Husbandry of the Ancients, Edinburgh, 1788, vol. i, p. 6. Gavelkind was an ancient Saxon custom, enacting an equal division of the lands of the parent among the children. It is a corruption of the German giel alls kind—give all to the children.—Grose’s Provincial Glossary, p. 73, London edition, quarto, 1811.
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and seventy-one portions, called quarterlands,1 supposed by some to be analogous to the hides of land, formerly so denominated in England, and which usually consisted of about one hundred acres.2
These quarterlands have immemorially been considered property of the highest nature in'the Island, and although now absolute estates of inheritance, are subject to the payment of an annual rent to the lord.3 All the other inferior holdings, called intacks, milns, and cottages, appear to be allotments out of, or encroachments upon, these quarterlands,4 with the exception of these holdings, which at a recent period have been erected out of the waste lands.
“ If there be two or three tenants dwelling on a farm, and. holding it by the same tenure jointly, if one of them wish the ground to be divided, he must divide it himself, and give the eldest his choice. But if they cannot agree in that division, then the one is to occupy one butt, another the nen’t butt, and so on.”5 This is evidently the cause of the irregularity that yet appears in the division of land in the Island, about which so many fanciful conjectures have been published. The epithet quarterland, as appears by
1 Quayle's General View of Agriculture in the Isle of Man, London, 1812, p. 134 ; Pliny, Natural History, lib. xviii, cap. ii.
2 Johnstone's Jurisprudence of the Isle of Man, Edinburgh, 1811, p. 36. Mr. Johnstone is of opinion that the “ Manks name quarterland is derived from the act of quartering or allotting the principal lands to the Lord’s tenants,” whereas, the name appears to be derived from the rent originally paid to the superior. “ Nothing is more perplexing, in Highland charters and rentals, than the various denominations of land, which we meet with, for instance, we have penny lands and their fractional parts—guarterlands, and others of still less value called marklands.—Collectanea de liebus Albanius, vol. i, p. iii, p. 179. These denominations appear to have been first applied by the Scandinavians, during their occupation of the Western Isles and Man.
3 Wood's History of the Isle of Man.
4 Though these quarterlands are not subject, generally speaking, to the payment of debts or devisable by will; yet, this is not the case with such as are newly purchased, for in the Island purchased lands, though quarterlands, are on an exact footing with intacks and cottages.—Feltham, p. 47.
5 Liber Placitorum, anno 1586, 1666—1668, ap. Parr's MS.
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the old statute book, is a term synonymous with farmland. Several of the original portions still remain, forming, as in the small Isle of Alderney, long narrow stripes, inconvenient for the modern system of tillage.1
The Norwegians, on the conquest of the Island, found it inhabited by a people evidently less advanced in civilization than themselves. When Magnus, the powerful king of Norway, arrived in Man, he found the inhabitants living in dens and caves; and even five hundred years after that period, the Islanders appear to have made little progress in the arts of civilized life, as at the accession of Sir John Stanley, “ the husbandmans son was the Lord's treasure."2 They seem to have made no exertions to better their condition; their houses were unprovided with doors; but to supply this want, they made bundles of gorse and heath, and therewith stopped up their entrances, to defend themselves from the injury of the weather and from the invasion of thieves.3 This was the result of their not having any right of inheritance in the Island ; they were only tenants at will, and held their lands of the king for the performance of certain duties and services, called by them the tenure of the straw*
It appears that, soon after the accession of the Stanley family to the sovereignty of Man, the Manks people began to take in lease, for a few years, the lands which they’
1 In his tour, Mr. Inglis says of Alderney,—The Island is all laid out in narrow stripes of different sorts of grain. These lie in all different directions, straight, across, and transversely; and to so great an extent has the division of property extended, that in looking at a proprietor ploughing his stripe, it is difficult to see how he will have room to turn his plough on his own land.—Inglis's Tour in the Channel Isles. The Isle of Man is somewhat similar—the cultivated parts presenting a singular appearance, owing to the very minute portions of property into which they are divided.
2 Customarg Statutes, ap. Mills's Laws, pp. 58, 59.
8 In the day when leaving their cabins to go to work in the fields, they set up two sticks across the door, or a couple of flails or any thing of that kind, which the law made it capital to remove, without permission from within, after thrice calling “ Fei peccagh sthie ?"—“ any body within ?”—Moore, ap. Feltham, p. 60.
4 Camden's Britannia, folio edition, 1695, p. 1067.
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formerly held by the “ tenure of the straw.” This is the most ancient right, now discoverable, of holding land in the Isle of Man. In transferring property, all the formality requisite was, that the person or otherwise disposing of his land, was to make consignment thereof by the delivery of a straw to the person who receives the same, and thereupon a record was made, which was all the assurance a succeeding occupier had of the estate in the nature of a copyhold, and was sufficient evidence of his holding without any writing.1* •
In what age this mode of conveying property originated, cannot be now ascertained. If such were the custom before the conquest of the Island by Goddard Crovan, son of the black king of Iceland, the old tenures must have become extinct by his dividing their lands among his soldiery, with the exception of a small part of the north end, which he granted to the remaining natives on condition that none of them should ever presume to claim any part of it by inheritance?
Down to the sixteenth century, no person could sell or in any way alienate his land by whatever title acquired, without licence from the lord proprietor, or from three of his principal officers?
The opinion of James, earl of Derby, on this subject, is thus recorded in a letter to his son, “ There comes this very instant an occasion to me to acquaint you with a
1 MS. Statute Book, Statutes anno 1587, 1594, 1612, 1636 ; Peck’s Desiderata Curiosa, p. 449. “ Upon the sale of a horse or any other thing, they make the stipulation perfect by the delivery of a straw.”—Coke’s Institutes, iv, 69. In some of the Out-isles of the ancient kingdom of Man, contracts by the tenure of the straw were made down to a comparatively recent period.—Martin’s Description of the Western Isles; Morrison’s Picture of Scotland, vol. ii, c. ix, s. iii.
♦ Appendix, Note ii, “ Sale of Lands.”
2 Chronicles of the Kings of Man, ap. Camden’s Britannia.
3 Sacheverell’s Account of the Isle of Man, p. 83. Bishop Wilson thus expresses his opinion on the subject. “ The Earl of Derby is absolute lord of the soil, and immediate landlord of every man’s estate (some few barons excepted), so that reserving his homage to the crown of England, no man hath a more full and ample authority.”—Ward’s Ancient I^ecords, pp. 17, 18.
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special matter, on which, if by reason of the troubles and dangerous times, I cannot bring my intent to pass, you may, in your leisure, consider thereof and make better use hereafter of my present labours in the matter of a certain holding called ‘ The Tenure of the Straw,’ whereby men think their holdings are in their own ancient inheritance, and that they may pass the same to any, and dispose thereof without licence from the lord, by paying him a base small rent like unto a feefame in England, wherein they are much deceived.”
William the Conqueror, among his plans for the benefit of his English subjects, adopted that of inducing them to surrender their allodial lands and receive them back under a feudal tenure. The Stanleys followed his example, although not with equal success. James, earl of Derby, endeavoured to abrogate wholly the tenure of the straw, by appointing commissioners, in 1643, to compound with the Islanders for leases either for their lives or for twenty-one years ; and for this purpose, by way of setting an example to the people, he induced the commissioners, who were his princij>al officers,1 to surrender their estates, remarking, that “ if they broke the ice, he might haply catch the fish.”2
The simple and unsuspecting Islanders following the example of their deemster, who was a native of the Isle, upon whom they placed their greatest reliance, and who, moreover, assured them that leases were title deeds, which would render their propei-ty more secure than the mere tenure of the straw, by which they could show no evidence of their right, were persuaded to make the voluntary re-
1 “ The commissioners consisted of the governor, the comptroller, the receivergeneral, and one deemster/’—Mills's Laws, p. 106.
2 Peck's Desiderata Curiosa, p. 448. This commission does not appear, to have been attended with any success, as another was appointed in 1650 for the same purpose, at which period only three persons had resigned their lands to hold them from the Earl of Derby, at a fixed rent.—Mills's Ancient Ordinances, p. 505.
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signation required of them; but, when they saw their favourite deemster1 reinstated, by an act of Tynwald, in his former possessions, their indignation was roused, and their discontents became so violent, that it was judged prudent to convene the keys. Some preliminary articles of agreement were entered into ; but fifty years elapsed before the difference between the lord and his people, respecting the abrogation of the tenure of the straw, was finally settled.
This important event was brought about through the influence and persevering exertions of Bishop Wilson, by the passing of the famous act of settlement, or as it is called,—the Magna Charta of Manksmen?
This act passed into a law in ^February 1703. It is therein provided, that “ in case his lordship should be pleased to declare and confirm unto his tenants their ancient and customary estates of inheritance, in their respective tenements, descendible from ancestor to heir, according to the laws and custom of the said Isle, that then the said tenants should, in consideration thereof, advance and pay unto his said lordship the same fines which they severally and respectively paid for their several and respective tenements, at the general fining, which was held about the year of our Lord, 1643 ;” and “that upon the change of any tenant, by death or alienation, the next succeeding heir or alliance should pay unto the Lord of the Isle, for the time being, the third part of the said entire sum paid for a fine at the said general fining in
1 The Islanders remark, that not one of the families, who assisted the Lord in his attempts to violate their tenures, has endured or retained an acre of land in the Island. This, it seems, was predicted in a popular song of the period. It is remarked too, as having been predicted in the same song, that a particular estate, the property of the celebrated Governor Christian, (who was put to death in the Island, after the restoration, on account of his political conduct) would return to his name and family. This prediction has also been recently and literally fulfilled.—Quayle*a Agricultural View of the Isle of Man, p. 18 ; Logan* 8 Scottish Gael, London, 1831, vol. i, p. 193.
* For Act of Settlement, see p. 129, vol. i, of this work.
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1643 ;” and “ that the tenants of the abbey lands, as well as the Lord’s tenants, be included in the said proposals.”
These conditions, which were proposed by a committee deputed on the part of the people for that purpose, were agreed to by James, earl of Derby, on reservation "to himself, his heirs, and. assigns, of all such royalties, regalia, prerogatives, homages, fealties, escheats, forfeitures, seizures, mines and minerals of what kind on nature soever, quarries and delfs of flags, slate and stone, franchises, liberties, privileges and jurisdictions whatsoever, as they were, or at any time heretofore had been, invested in him or in any of his ancestors, Lords of the same Island.”'
The Lord’s dues were then incontrovertibly fixed, however much the land, at any future time, might be improved, and the value increased, which was, certainly, a great point gained by the Manks landholder.2
The act of settlement absolutely and irrevocably confirms estates of inheritance which are descendible from ancestor to heir. Lands cannot be disposed of except by the first purchaser; when not disposed of by him, they remain assets in the hands of the heir at law, in default of personal property for the payment of debts; and often, one descent from the purchaser, are in the nature of estates of inheritance in manner prescribed by the act of 1645.3 It may be farther observed, that as the Manks have been adjudged to owe allegiance to the crown of Great Britain, they were, even before the revesting act, capable of inheriting lands in any part of his majesty’s dominions.
Some of the baronial lands were formerly held by paying an annual rent and rendering an heriot of an ox to each new bishop; but this has now, by custom, been
1 Statute, anno 1703; Lex Scripta, pp. 191, 192, 199.
2 Report of the Commisrioners o/1791, Appendix A. No. 71.
’ Ler Scripta, pp. 127, 128, 129, 130.
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commuted for forty shillings. Church-lands, properly so called, do not exist in the Island?
The common conveyance of a Manks freehold is a deed signed by both parties in the presence of two witnesses, without seal or stamp, neither of which are necessary to any deed executed in the Island.
With respect to wills in writing, there is no law which ' prescribes any particular form of execution, excepting that two witnesses are requisite where territorial property is embraced; but by the statute of 1777, “ No nuncupative will shall be valid that is not proved by the oaths of two witnesses.” *	'
Regarding the rights of husband and wife to freeholds or quarterlands of inheritance, it is enacted by the common law of the Island, that if a woman marry a man who is seized of a freehold inheritance and survives her husband, she is entitled to a moiety of his estate. She is likewise entitled to a moiety of her husband’s purchased lands, absolutely, and may dispose of it in his life time, either to himself or to any of her children, although even by a former marriage. This right of dower, however, may be barred by a settlement before marriage, or by joining any sale of mortgage during marriage. In case the man shall marry an heiress and survive her, he shall be entitled to one moiety of the estate acquired by descent as long as he remains a widower, and to a moiety of her land acquired by purchase, absolutely. It is farther enacted, that an heiress so married has no power to sell or lease her estate without the consent of her husband, and in like manner a husband cannot sell or make lease of his estate without the consent of his wife, so as to prejudice her right in case of survivorship.
Should a man marry a second wife, having issue by the
>
i Quayle’t General View of Agriculture, p. 18.
* Millet Lawe, p. 373.
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first, she shall, after his decease, enjoy only one-fourth part of his estate; but if there be no children living by the first wife, the second shall be entitled to a moiety.*
From these premises, it appears that nothing can be more simple or more easily defined than the modern Manks tenures, which are totally unshackled by abstruse family settlements, for no entail of hereditaments, within the Isle, can be created beyond the life of the grantee or the heirs of persons in esse.1
The insular laws do not seem to authorize leases being extended beyond twenty-one years. Previous to the year 1777, they expired with the life of the granter; but by a statute of that year, proprietors of lands were empowered to grant leases for any term not exceeding twenty-one years.
All tenants upon the lord’s lands enter to their farms in May. It is declared by the statute that “ The old tenant must goe his way soe that the new tenant may enter, at the court holden in May, upon the farm, and alsoe that he may enter upon the grass, because he pays the setting turff; provided always, that the old tenant shall have the cropp which he may take with his sickle or syth, as well grass as corne; and also he ought to have of the eddish as much as he can eat with his beast from morning till xii o’clock, and the new tenant to have the afternoon’s grass, and soe continue until he have stacked his corne, and then to have no more grass at all; but he ought to have a barn to thresh his corne in, or other house, at the discretion of the Deemster; and the old tenant to pay the yeare’s rent.”2
The greater part of the mountainous district, in the
♦ Appendix, Note iii, *‘ Law of the Descent of Hereditary Property."
1	“The Deemsters and Keys, after solemn argument in 1745, declared that they knew no law in the Isle of Man by which estates taillie could be created."—Johnstone^ Jurisprudence, Edinburgh, 1811, p. 40.
2	Statute, anno 1577, ap. Mills's Laws, p. 57.
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centre and south-western part of the Island, has not been reclaimed for the purpose of agriculture, but is occupied as a common. Every landholder has a right, by immemorial custom, to have his sheep or cattle fed upon the common,' the number being in proportion to the quantity of land which he holds. Every inhabitant possesses the right of quarrying stones for his own use, and also, on the annual payment of one halfpenny to the lord superior, of digging peat in the mountains. But moss mail2 is not now demanded ; neither is the penny every seventh year, for keeping the lidgate on the fell hedge at the highway, leading to the forest, exacted from such as draw turf or ling out of the common? The following are a few of the regulations established for keeping up the hedge that surrounded the common:—
All tenants whose lands adjoin to the fell or lord’s common are to make and repair the fences thereof; and if they neglect to do so they are, upon presentment to the grand enquest, to be severely fined. As it has been an ancient custom that “ all the gorse, whins, or heath that doth grow or join to the fell or out-gray hedge, as far as a man from the same can throw or cast his hatchet or gorse-hook, shall be reserved for maintenance of the said hedge;” it is declared that “ if any person shall presume to pull, cut, or carry away any of the said gorse, whins, or heath that groweth within the said limits, unless it be for the use of the said hedge, he is to be presented to the grand enquest and fined.” *
1	This right did not extend to all waste lands. By an ancient law, “ All persons taking up waste lands are to pay for the same as valued by the Great Inquest of the sheading; every person offending against the law shall have their enclosures demolished and be themselves fined, except they be such sort of tenants as have been anciently called julaynes, that is to say, the cottars or cottingers that hold enclosures or crofts, between farm-land and quarterland, that beareth the ancient rent to the Lord.”— Statutes, 1582, 1645 ; Mills’s Laws, p. 110.
2	Statute Book, anno 1583, 1637, 1645, 1662, 1703.
1	Statute, 1577, ap. Mills’s Laws, Douglas, 1821, p. 56.
4	MS. Statute Book; Customary Law, 1577 ; see chap, xix, note ii.
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It is also declared unlawful for any one to “ go to the mountains or commons after the hour of five of the clock in the afternoon, or before day in the morning, for the carrying off any turff or ling, seeing that complaint hath been made that some persons do frequent that course, especially upon days of baddy or dark mist, and do pur-loyne and carry away their neighbour’s turff and ling.”1
One of the most important objects of any government should be to excite, methodize, and direct the endeavours of the people towards the common benefit of the state; but the general policy of the ancient Lords of Man had, evidently, an opposite tendency. At a time when corn continued to be ground, generally by the hand, in querns, in Scotland, water-mills appear to have been used extensively for the same purpose in the Isle of Man ; but the spirit of improvement, which then existed, must have been checked for a time by an edict issued by Lord Strange, in the year 1636, ordering all “ new corn mills,” erected on intacks, copyholds, or customary lands entitled to pay mulcture, suit, or soken, to be demolished on account, as it appears, of their being preferred to the old mills.* By this edict it was ordered and provided “ that the officers of the Island make strict enquiry of such new erected mills, and report the same to the lord, that speedy course may be taken to demolish such new mills, that his lordship may have his ancient rents preserved to him, and the suit, mulcture, and soken continued.” “And if the ancient mill
1 Statute, anno 1661; Mills’s Laws, p. 114. The turf and ling of the Island afford but a scanty supply of fuel, even in ordinary seasons. In March, 1837, “ Sixteen vessels laden with coals arrived in the harbour of Douglas in one day. The news instantly spread throughout the Island, and the quays were immediately thronged with the inhabitants, who have been in a most destitute condition for fuel during this inclement season.”—Mona's Herald.
8 Orders of James, Lord Strange, 22nd November, 1636; Mills’s Laws, p. 89. According to Feltham the monastry of Rushen possessed sixty-six milns, (Tbwr through the Isle of Man, p. 272.J a much greater number than is to be found in the Island at the present day.
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of any tenant be so far out of repair that he cannot grind the corn brought to the same, he is to carry the said corn to another mill, and bring it back again without making any other charge than the usual mulcture of a twenty-fourth part of the said corn.” To obviate this hardship, however, it was farther declared by the edict to be an ancient custom, that “ the tenants bound to any mill should keep the fleam or damhead in repair, and give a proportion of straw towards thatching the mill, and also to bring home the millstones by land to the said mill, provided they be within the sheading.”'
These mills were of very peculiar construction, and from the account of them given by Bishop Wilson, appear to have been invented in the Island. “ Many of the rivulets not having water sufficient to drive a mill the greater part of the year, necessity has put them upon the invention of a cheap sort of mill, which costs very little. The water-wheel is about six feet diameter and lies horizontal, consisting of a great many ladles, against which the water brought down in a trough strikes forcibly, and gives motion to the upper stone, which, by a bar of iron, is joined to the centre of the water-wheel.”*
To construct such machinery required more ingenuity than some authors would wish to concede to the Manks; but it is as evident that the spirit of agricultural improvement commenced early in the Island, as that it would have prospered more, had the endeavours of the people met with suitable encouragement from the government.
> StaMet, anno 1579, 1595, 1597, 1609, 1636; Mil It’ll Law», pp. 21, 89. 166.
* Camden’i Britannica, vol. ii, p. 1448. Mr. Townsend informs us that he observed, while in Spain, that all mills there had horizontal water-wheels. “ These grind corn very slowly, being fed by single grains, but then to compensate for the defect, they place many near together on the same little stream, having communicated motion to one wheel, it passes in succession to the rest.”—Journey through Spain in the year 1791, ap Feltham, p. 124. Sir George Staunton also observed such waterwheels in China.—See Account qf China, vol. i, p. 88, Stockdale, edition 8vo.
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By an act of Tynwald passed in 1599,' all bye-roads leading to the king’s highway were allowed to be eighteen feet wide, although certain “ old ways of ease and sufferance” leading to church, market, or mill, were recognized and tolerated by law.
By an act passed in 1712, for repairing highways, “ every person holding a quarterland is required to send a horse with a carr or creels, and an able man with an English spade, to assist in repairing said highway.” In 1776, the penalty for non-performance of the statute labour was increased, and a tax upon dogs and also on ale-houses was likewise imposed for the purpose of repairing the highways. This act was continued by another in 1815?
Another proof of the early commencement of the internal commerce and cultivation of the Island, is the number of bridges that bestrode its rivulets and streams, even in the seventeenth century ;3 while in the neighbouring district of Galloway, to supply the want of these useful erections, stones were placed at the fordable places, even of the principal rivers, to mark the depth of the water, and intimate whether it might be forded in safety. I may here enumerate a few of the Manks bridges. That of Ballasalla was, even at the time to which I have alluded, supposed to have withstood the lapse of centuries ; while those of Marown and Millaroats were objects of curiosity to the antiquary. The bridge over the dark water at Kirk Braddan was a stately structure, and Peel bridge was generally admired for its strength. That of Laxey
1	Statute, anno 1599, confirming and extending the statutes of 15 7 7 and 1581. Another act was passed respecting the roads of the Island in 1615, and referred to settling disputes about meers, ditches, and commons,
2	Lex Scripta, pp. 31, 32, 66, 230, 390, 508.
8	No bridge can be built without an act of Tynwald. The expense incurred is usually defrayed by a poll tax of one penny per annum of all inhabitants, as well strangers as natives between 16 and 60 years of age.—Statute, 1739, ap. Mills*s Laws, p. 257.
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had seats on each side for the accommodation of passengers, and the arch of the one at Castletown was so high that a boat with a mast might pass under it. The bridge of the Nunnery had been swept away to the foundation, by reason of the turbulence of the river, and the one at Douglas fell by the rapidity of the current, during Mr. Waldron’s residence there ;—“ A woman who was going along it, with a bottle of brandy in her hand, at the moment when the accident happened, was saved by the stiffness of her hoop petticoat, which kept her above water.”1
A writer who, availing himself of every circumstance that will illustrate his subject, cites facts apparently ridiculous, may sometimes expose himself to the derision of the fastidious, and among this class of writers, I doubt not, some will be inclined to rank me for the following, among other stories, which I have made use of in this work.
That the Manks were acquainted with the process of preparing shell lime for building, may be inferred from its being used in the walls of the old fortifications; stone lime, on the contrary, was wholly unknown to them.* In the year 1642, Governor Greenhalgh2 made an ineffectual attempt to introduce the practice of using lime as manure ;s but he had no sooner built a kiln than it was circulated as an article of news that the deputy-governor was actually engaged in a project to burn stones for the improvement of the land. The people hastened in crowds to witness the result of this wonderful process, and probably not without some doubts of the governor’s sanity. When however they beheld large masses reduced to
1 Waldron'9 Description of the Isle of Man, p. 167,
♦ Appendix, Note iv, “ Ancient Mode of Burning Lime."
2 Mr. Greenhalgh was Governor of the Island from 1640 to 1651.
3 Sacheverell's Account of the Isle of Man, London, 1702.
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powder by the action of fire, they eagerly resolved to profit by an example from which they expected the most beneficial results. Earth pots, as they were termed, were raised in all parts of the Island, in which every kind of stone, flint, slate, or pebble were indiscriminately subjected to the process of burning. As might have been expected, their efforts were fruitless; but for the ill success which attended their exertions, they were at no loss to find an infallible cause—that the governor had intercourse with the fairies, by whose agency his minerals were converted into powder, whilst those of the more upright native Islanders were only condensed to a greater degree of hardness.
Of this curious fact many evidences still remain. Large quantities of calcined stones are frequently found in different parts of the Island.1 In the time of bishop Wilson, however, who wrote about a century after the period of the burning experiment, the Islanders seem to have understood the use of lime. “ The way of improving their lands is either by lime, by sea-wreck, or by folding their sheep and cattle in the night and during the heat of the day in little enclosures, raised every year to keep them within a certain space. In about fourteen days the ground is so well manured as to yield afterwards a plentiful crop. The little hedges are very easily raised, by a spade peculiar to the Island.”2 These sods being dried
1 Curwen*8 Agricultural Report, ap, Bullock*8 History of the Isle qf Man, p. 245.
8 Camden*8 Britannica, vol. ii, p. 1447. It may be remarked that the spade here referred to, which I find in use in the Island upwards of three hundred years ago, is still an implement of Manks husbandry. The iron part is throughout about four inches wide, and strongly constructed; near to the top, an iron spur projects at right angles, which the labourer presses with his foot. The use of this tool is principally found in raising the surface sods of which their fences are yet composed. It is a clumsy instrument, but not more so than the old Scotch spade, which made the initial letters of the owner’s name on each peat, as a protection for his property. Although the crooked spade is now peculiar to the Isle of Man, it appears to have been at one time common throughout the Hebrides. Martin, who visited St Kilda, the most remote of these isles, in 1697, thus alludes to it:—“They use no ploughs but a
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in the sun, and flung down before seed time yielded very good corn.
The Manks farmer has often been taxed with neglecting his agricultural concerns to pursue employments more hazardous, and eventually less profitable. For a century after the act of settlement came into operation, husbandry continued in a state of primitive rudeness. The plough then generally used resembled the old Scottish peeuch, but was of a construction still more rude. It was drawn by four oxen yoked abreast; the assistance of two men was also required, one to hold the plough and another provided with a fork to assist in regulating the depth of the furrow.* These furrows were seldom drawn in parallel lines, and no attention was given to forming ridges of an equal size.
If their ploughs were bad, their harrows were still worse; the teeth were made of wood hardened over the fire, and were sharpened every morning before yoking. With these the fields were scratched over, and part of the seed was covered. The crop, however, was seldom a thin one, weeds and coarse grass springing up in greater abundance than the corn, which was always of indifferent quality.1
A most primitive mode of transporting the harvest from the field to the farm-yard was also practised. This was performed either on horses’ backs or on sledges, formed kind of crooked spade : their harrows are of wood, as are the teeth in the front also, and all the rest are supplied only with long tangles of sea-ware tied to the harrows by Che small ends, the roots hanging loose behind scatter the clods ; this they are forced to use for want of wood.”—Voyage to the Hebrides, edition, London, 1749, p. 15.
* Appendix, Note v, “ Rude Manner of Tillage.”
1	The agriculture in Ireland, in the year 1620, was in a still more wretched state. It is thus described by Lithgow, the celebrated traveller :—“ I saw in the north of Ireland two remarkable sights: the one was the manner of tillage—ploughs drawn by horse tails without any garnishing, they are only fastened by straw or woollen ropes to their bare rumps, marching all side for side, three or four in a rank, and as many men hanging by the ends of that untoward labour. It is as bad husbandry as I ever saw among the wildest savages alive.”—Lithgow’s Travels, part x. For the other remarkable sight, totally unconnected with agriculture, I refer to this amusing traveller’s own work.
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of two shafts connected by five or six cross-bars, slightly widening at one end, which trailed on the ground; the other end being secured to the horse’s back by a rigwoodic of twisted twigs.
A principal object of extensive tillage is to afford straw or green-crop—the winter support of cattle. From an early date down to the present day, this has been an object of high concern to the Manks husbandman.
If any person gave notice to the coroner that a gentleman, farmer, or cottager had a larger stock of cattle than his apparent means could support, he was obliged to summon four men out of the same parish, three of whom must be farmers, who are to make inspection what grass or fodder the said person has provided for these cattle, as well in summer as in winter; and if it should appear that such provision is not sufficient for the support of the cattle, it shall be lawful for them to make sale of such at the current price, and “ to return the rates to the owner, deducting to themselves one shilling per pound for their pains, and presenting the same that they may be likewise fined according to their demerits.”' A case of this kind occurred in the spring of 1842, in the parish of Kk. Onchan.
The following laws, relating to the protection of cattle, are likewise singular:—“ If any person keep a foul horse, the coroner shall take the same to the next hough, and cast him down the same; and the owner is to pay a fine of three shillings and fourpence, whereof the coroner is to receive one shilling for his pains.”2 If any man’s beast becomes diseased or maimed and he cannot tell how, he is to have the benefit of a jury of enquiry, to swear all
1 MS. Statute Book, Customary Law; Statute, 1691. In 1748, the legislature again instruct their fodder jury strictly to do their duty; and in 1753, these commands were repeated. On account, however, of the inquisitorial powers exercised by this singular tribunal, it became unpopular and is now rarely convened.—Lea? Scripta, pp. 174, 316, 355.
2 MS. Statute Book, fol. 44, 54, 68; Statutes, anno 1502, 1584, 1602.
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his neighbours, and all others suspected, that they may clear themselves; and if there be any person whatsoever that cannot clear himself upon oath, or that will refuse to take an oath for the same before the said jury, such person is to be deemed criminal, and shall make satisfaction to the injured person.1
At the commencement of the eighteenth century, the houses in the country were mere cabins built with sods, and covered with the same rude material, excepting those of the better sort of farmers, which were thatched with straw.2
A gentleman who visited the Island in the year 1787, thus describes the abject condition of the peasantry at that period :—“ If the landed proprietors wish to better the condition of these poor wretches who are scarcely better fed than their domestic animals, they should begin by building them more comfortable habitations. At present they are no better sheltered from the inclemencies of the weather, than the beasts of the field that graze around their execrable huts.”3
The description of a Manks cottage, by Mr. Quayle, in his Survey, drawn up for the information and at the request of the general board of agriculture and internal improvement of the United Kingdom, brings our account of the Manks peasantry down to a recent period. On viewing the hovel in which the Manks peasant shelters himself, the first impression on the mind of a stranger must be that this is the abode of misery; the walls are constructed of sods of earth; at each side of the door appears a square hole containing a boarded window;
1 MS. Statute, anno 1673. •
* Waldron’s Description, p. 95. Of the condition of the people at that time, Sacheverell gives this account:—“ As there are few that can properly be said to be rich so neither are there many that can be said to be miserably poor, and there are fewer beggars in proportion than in any nation.”—Introduction to Account of the Me of Man.
3 Townleft Journal, Whitehaven, 1791, vol. ii, pp. 43, 45.
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chimney there is none, except a funnel of sail-cloth covered with a coating of lime, but a perforation of the roof, a little elevated at one end, emits great part of the smoke from the fire underneath. The timber forming the roof is slender, coarse, and crooked.1 It is thatched with straw, crossed chequerwise, at intervals of twelve or eighteen inches, by ropes of the same material, secured either by being tied to the wall by means of coarse slates, fixed and projecting, or by stones hanging from the ends of the ropes, called in Manks iwhid suggane? From that end of the roof whence the smoke issues to the other end, the roof generally declines in height. If the means of the inhabitants enable them to keep a cow, a continuation of the roof covers another hovel of similar materials. On entering that end which is destined for the lord of the creation, the appearance of wretchedness unfortunately continues—the floor is hardened clay; the embers bum on a stone placed on the hearth, without range or chimney ; the turf smoke, wandering at random, darkens every article of furniture till it finds an exit at the aperture in the roof or elsewhere.
These primitive dwellings of the peasantry are more common in the northern than in the southern district of the Island, stone quarries being less accessible and lime more distant.*3 It is singular that in the eighth section
1 Wood's History qf the Isle qf Man, p. 38. The cottages of the island of Wb formerly one of the isles of the kingdom of Man, were exactly similar at the time of Mr. Pennant’s visit.—Pennant's Tour, vol. ii, p. 246. The practice of thatching
their houses with straw appears not to be of late introduction in Man, as by an act
of the general council, passed in the year 1679, the wages of a person who could
thatch “ after the English fashion” was fixed at four pence per day with meat and
drink.—Statute Book, p. 63.
9 Cregeen's Manks Dictionary, p. 31.
♦ Appendix, Note vi, “ The Peasantry of Scotland, &c.”
8 In the northern corner of the Island, the lower class of farmers live very poorly. In autumn, when the receding tide leaves a large sandy tract of dry shore, every one hies away to a place called the Rue of Kirk Andreas to dig up sand eels, called in Manks gibbyn, The implements used for this purpose are a gripe, or fork with several prongs, and a hook resembling a reaping sickle. One person can turn up, in the
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of the act of settlement passed, as before stated, in 1703, the intacks and cottages, taken out of the highways adjoining the quarterlands, are represented as “great nuisances.”1
It has been observed, by settlers from other countries, that the Manks servants are in general indolent, although tractable and ready to adopt any new practice : many of them become good ploughmen; and as mowers, they are more expert than their neighbours in Cumberland, equalling them in quantity and excelling them in goodness of work.*
At the time of the revestment of the Island in the crown of Great Britain, nearly all the farms were occupied by native landholders, who cultivated small portions of their estates and submitted the residue to the undisturbed dominion of heath and gorse. Bigotted to their ancient habit, they thought if they could raise enough to supply the instant wants of their families and retain seed for the coming year, they had performed all that industry and foresight could obtain : and if taunted for their improvidence, they had the unfailing apology that it was the practice of their fathers before them. An instance of this was remarked by Mr. Curweh:—A person, who occupied at least four hundred acres of his own estate, had for the cultivation of it only one plough and one harrow. In years of abundance, the estate produced bread corn for the family; in failing years, not even so much. The cattle depended on the gorse and furze,3 with which
course of a single tide, a thousand of these little sand eels. Having placed them in a kind of basket called a kis han, the gibbyn fishers return merrily homeward rejoicing over what he terms ** a great manifestation.” When the eels are dried, they stow them away in bags or barrels for future use ; and while a poor Manksman, in this quarter of the Island, has a sand eel to eat with a potatoe he considers himself well provided.
1	Mills'* Laws, p. 167.
2	Quayle^ General View qf the Agriculture of the Isle qf Man, p. 126.
* The common, or uncultivated land of the Island, is estimated at rather more than
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the land was covered, both for food and shelter. The same estate is now let to a thriving tenant at £800 per annum.1
The Manks people, it is said, are indebted for any improvement they have lately made in the science of agriculture, “ to the spirited exertions and superior practice taught them by those of their fellow subjects, whom they are too fond of separating from themselves by the offensive designation of ‘ strangers.’ It is those strangers who have ascertained the grateful nature of the soil, called forth and applied the various species of manure, which nature, with abundant liberality, had for ages offered in vain to native indolence or prejudice; and by these means have transformed a sterile heath into luxuriant corn fields and verdant pasture.”’
A Scotch farmer, who had removed to the Island, first set the example of ploughing with two horses abreast without a driver. It was also this individual who introduced the quadrangular harrow with iron teeth to supplant the more ancient one with wooden pins; but neither precept nor example could induce some of the Islanders to part with their ancient customs.
In many instances, the Manks farmer yet uses horse
one-third of the whole. On it horses, cattle, and sheep are turned out to graze.
44 They have each a fore and hind leg tied together with a straw band, to prevent their straying far, and to increase the facility of catching them. An animal thus served is, in the appellation of the Manks, lanketted. The ever green furze yields them the chief nourishment in winter. Sheep can eat only the young shoots, and they keep the bushes so round and even that they appear to have been under the hands of the pruner. Horses, being accustomed to take in larger mouthfuls and longer branches than the sheep, cannot eat the furze in its natural state on account of the prickles. They trample upon the branches and paw them with their fore feet till the prickles become mashed together or rubbed off, and so completely do they perform their work that the food, thus prepared, might be squeezed by the bare hand with impu-nity.”—Wood^ History of the Isle of Man, p. 35. To save the horses this trouble, they now pound the whins in a mortar. I saw this operation performed at Balla-quinnea, near Douglas, in 1836.
1	Bullocks History, p. 246.
* Bulloch, p. 244.
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creels for the conveyance of manure into the field. When the cadger horse is stationed in the furrow, the peg must he drawn out of each muck creel at the same instant by a person who creeps under the belly of the horse for that purpose, otherwise the full creel would descend with its load on the head of the unfortunate operator.1 The greater part of the field labour is performed by the women, the male part of the population being engaged in the herring fishery, and nothing can exceed the activity and cheerfulness with which they undertake and effect labours apparently incompatible with their strength, particularly in reaping and thrashing.
The primitive mode of transporting the harvest from the field to the farmer’s yard, by means of rude sledges, which I have already described, is not yet wholly discontinued. I saw one of these awkward implements at work at the foot of South Barule, whilst I was traversing the uplands of the Island.
The first thrashing machine used in the Island was completed by a Scotchman in 1793. They have since multiplied considerably, although women may yet be seen thrashing in the uplands. The late Mr. Dunlop, a lineal descendant of the great Scottish patriot, Sir William Wallace, established on his farm of Ellerslie, in the parish of Kirk Marown, an Ayrshire dairy.* Another enterprising agriculturist from Ayrshire, Mr. Miller, of Ballaquin-nea, nearly adjoining Ellerslie, showed me thirty head of fine Ayrshire cows, which he had brought over only a few months previous to my visit. Several English farmers also, who have become tenants in the Island, manifest habits of industry worthy of imitation.
Many obstacles are said to stand in the way of the Manks farmer improving his land to the extent of its
1 Bennetfs Sketches of the Isle of Man, London, 1829, p. 27.
* Appendix, Note vii, “ Origin of the Ayrshire Breed of Cattle.”
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capability. His capital and his servants are often employed in prosecuting the precarious trade of the herring fishery to the manifest diminution of his stackyard; and the faulty system of boundary fences is too frequently the cause of litigations and often ruinous law suits.1
The Island possesses within itself the rich means of agricultural improvement. The southern extremity of the Island rests on a rock of limestone, extending nearly four miles along the coast and three miles inland. In some places the top of the rock is not more than six inches below the surface and it extends to a depth that has not yet been explored. In the northern division of the Island, an inexhaustible store of marl is found at the depth of a few feet from the surface/	'
In the creeks and curvatures of the several bays, the | remains of testaceous fish, mixed with fragments of marine vegetables or with pulverized limestone, may be gathered in abundance. These, together with large quantities of sea-weed thrown high upon the beach by the autumnal floods, afford the Manks farmer the means of fertilizing his land at an easy rate; yet with all these natural advantages at command, and having even models of improvement before his eyes, he deviates slowly from the ancient practice of exacting from the soil nine or ten crops of pease and barley.3
Large families of the rural population grow up and live under the same roof,4 in listless inactivity, until by
1 Quayle’s General View of Agriculturet ^c.t p. 156.
8 Quayle’s General View of Agriculture, ^c., p. 93. “ It is a singular drain* stance that notwithstanding there being abundance of marl in the northern part of the Island, marl and shell-sand were brought from Scotland, and sold at about six shillings per ton out of the vessels.”—Feltham’s Tour through the Isle qf Mm is 1797 and 1798, p. 167.
3 Mr. Quayle says, “ An instance is recollected of eighteen crops being taken by • native farmer, without cessation.”—Page 94.
4 “ In the villages and dispersed houses in the country, it frequently happens tint from the habitual early marriages, two or more families live under the same roof.
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the death of the parent holding the land, the younger branches are thrown upon the world, often wholly unprovided for;’ because, by the insular law, the estate must descend to the nearest heir, to the total exclusion of the rest of the family.3
These remarks only apply to a part of the old native race of agriculturists, there being now many active intelligent Manks farmers, who are sensible of the advantages to be derived from adopting the modern system of husbandry, in preference to the old mode of deteriorating the soil by incessant cropping.*
Within the last few years, a disposition has been manifested to beautify the country by planting belts and clumps of forest trees, which will, in due course of time, enrich the landscape. A taste for horticulture too is making some progress, nor is the mild and genial climate of the Island unfavourable to that delightful branch of rural economy. In shrubberies and pleasure grounds sheltered from the south west winds, the arbutus, the fuschia, the myrtle, the hydrangea, and many other exotics attain a perfection rarely exceeded in England.
No trace of garden ground appears to have been attached to any of the ancient baronial fortins, the remains
In the towns, particularly in Douglas, the population is peculiarly dense. Each house may be reckoned to contain ten inhabitants.**—Quayle's Agricultural View, ^c., p. 191.
* Bullock, p. 248.
2	However gratifying to the speculative philanthropist might be the aspect of a country parcelled out into small lots held by proprietors, transmitting them in hereditary independence to their eldest sons, the system appears to be practically vicious. When the proprietor of a quarterland becomes involved in debt, as he cannot dispose of his land, he borrows money on the security of a mortgage, and if he fails in redeeming it, is dispossessed of his property; accordingly, this class of proprietors are fast disappearing, multitudes of them having been already swallowed up in the extending estate of Mr. Gawne, and that of Englishmen and other strangers who have embraced opportunities of purchasing land in the Island. According to Mr. ft!‘Hutchin, the present clerk of the rolls, the mortgage on Manks estates, within these few years held chiefly by people in England, amounted to £800,000.—Lord T'eignmouth's Sketches, vol. ii, pp. 203, 414.
♦ Appendix, Note viii, “ Agricultural Society.*’
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of which are so frequently to be seen in Scotland; nor has any record reached our times tending to shew that roots or vegetables of any description were used for culinary purposes by the hardy occupants of these fortilages, in the middle ages.
The earliest allusion to horticulture being attended to in the Isle of Man, is in the Book of Orders, made by the commissioners, a.d. 1651, of Edward, Earl of Derby, where, by the concluding articles, it is ordered “ That the Clark of the Garden is to be appointed in either of the said houses, (Castles of Rushen and Peel,) by the receivers thereof, the same to be such as they will answer for.”*
Many farms in the Island are held by suit—covenant suit, custom, and even suit service are not extinct. An attendance of this description, of high antiquity, is rendered at the chapel of St. John and at the adjoining hill, as often as the Tynwald court is holden there to promulgate, according to the ancient form, the laws of the Island. The performance of this olden service, on 5th July, 1844, is thus alluded to by a talented Manks journalist:—“ This being midsummer fair-day, according to usual custom of time immemorial, the proper officers, at an early hour, began to make preparations on the ancient Tynwald Hill for the reception of his excellency the governor and ‘ his bcneficed men.’ The standard of England floated in the breeze, whilst the steps leading to the summit of the hill, as well as the entrance to the chapel, were plentifully strewed with green rushes, the boon from the occupier of an adjoining farm, who holds his lands tithe free on condition of this yearly service.”2 *
The tenures of the “ impropriate fund,” the “ academic masters’ fund,” and the “ academic students’ fund,” with
1	Mills’s Laws, p. 42.
8	Mona’s Herald of 9th July, 1844.
♦ Appendix, Note ix, “ Suit Service of Strewing Rushes.”
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other benefactions, remain yet to be adverted to. Soon after the restoration, Isaac Barrow, then bishop of Man,' obtained from king Charles II a grant of one hundred pounds a year, payable out of the excise revenue for ever, for the better maintenance of the poor vicars and schoolmasters of his diocese. He also procured from Charles, Earl of Derby and Lord of Man, a long lease of the impropriations of the Isle, then in the hands of his lordship, “ which belonged to him either as lord or abbot, and consisted of one-third of the whole tithes.”’ Beside which, he obtained the right to an old rent and Jine, formerly payable to the Lord of the Isle, which produced to the schoolmasters and clergy one hundred pounds annually. He collected in England six hundred pounds, the interest of which has been applied to the maintenance of the academic masters, and he left, as his own private charity, two estates in land, for the support of such young persons as should be designed for the ministry.3*
By letters patent, dated at Whitehall, 15th November, 1676, provision was made for granting certain schoolmasters, within the Isle of Man, a salary of three pounds per annum, and by Bishop Wilson's Ecclesiastical Code of 1703, the charge for teaching English was fixed at sia'-pence per quarter, with half that sum in addition if the
1	It was to Bishop Barrow’s illustrious nephew that King Charles paid the compliment mentioned in vol. i, p. 352, not to the Bishop of Man, as stated by my author.
lThe clear revenue of the impropriated tithes from 1754 to 1763 was as follows :
In 1754 ..................£179	18	8
In 1755 .„ ............... 185	17	9
In 1756 .................. 187	14	6
In 1757 ............... 14 7	5	0
In 1758 .................. 186	17	2
In 1759 .................. 187	15	0
In 1760 .................£287	13	1
In 1761.................. 318	1	6i
In 1762 ................. 317	15	4
In 1763 ................. 306	2	4
£2305 0 41
—Rolfs History qf the Isle of Man, London, 1773, p. 109.
8	Bishop Wilsons Works by Crutwell, page 456.
* Appendix, Note x, “ Bishop Barrow’s Bequest.”
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scholar was taught to write? These schools were generally kept by clergymen who were not wholly dependant on these small pittances for support, otherwise the schoolmasters of the Island must have been a very necessitous class of the community. It was not till the year 1813 that the masters of the parish schools were “ allowed to receive, over and above their salaries, the sum of two shillings and eleven pence per quarter for each scholar taught to read English, and three shillings and four pence for every scholar taught to read and write?
In the year 1827, the salary of the parochial teachers was raised to five pounds ten shillings respectively out of the “ impropriate fund,”* which, with two pounds thirteen shillings and seven pence from the donation of Lady Elizabeth Haistings, is the amount of the fixed salary of nearly all the parochial teachers in the Island? Among the lists of donations bequeathed for charitable purposes, required to be laid before parliament in the year 1830, none exhibited so many instances of what appears to have been true philanthropy on the part of the donors as that
1	Mills's Ancient Ordinances, p. 160.
* Isle qf Man Charities, drawn up by order of government, in the year 1831, p. 59.
* Appendix, Note xi, “ Parochial Teachers.”
8	Lady Elizabeth Haistings, of Ledstone, in the County of York, by a deed of settlement, dated 14th December, 1738, granted out of certain lands in Yorkshire, a sum to be distributed yearly to certain schoolmasters and mistresses of schools, in the Isle of Man. The sum thus distributed in the year 1826 was j€37 10s. 2d.— Isle qfMan Charities, p. 46. It thus evidently appears that the schoolmasters of the Island are badly rewarded for their labour, and the following letter to the Editor of the Manac Sun, shews they were ill provided with dwelling houses down to that period:—
“ Sir,—There are no suitable residences in the Island for parochial teachers. Most of the present dwellings arc wretched hovels—in some instances not habitable; their dilapidated state has been already noticed by the Lord Bishop, and it was only last week that he inspected the cottage attached to the school of Ballaugh, now nearly an hundred years old, and originally intended for a dwelling and schoolhouse. The walls are built of small shore stones, with mortar of mud, are cracked in different parts, the mud-mortar having lost its tenacity, and the walls shake with every high wind, so that the master and family are kept in a constant state of alarm : it is no uncommon thing for the candle to be blown out on the table by the wind through the walls ; and if a better dwelling house be not speedily provided, some of the inmates may be buried in its ruins. The Lord Bishop saw how unfit it was for occupation, and kindly offered to put his name the first to a subscription for the purpose of erecting a more Suitable dwelling.
“ November 14, 1838. •« J t. CREGEEN.*’
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of the Isle of Man. It is very amusing, however, to observe what importance some of the testators attached to small sums ;* but so far as I have been able to learn, the wishes of the testators have been carried out with fidelity. Bishop Barrow’s behefactions have produced the most satisfactory result.
The lands of Ballagilly and Hango-Hill, bequeathed by Bishop Barrow for the education of boys at the academic school, were then under lease at twenty pounds per annum. These lands, by indenture dated 19th May, 1769, were let for a term of thirty-one years at the annual rent of one hundred pounds. At the expiry of that lease in 1800, they were again let at the yearly sum of three hundred and forty-one pounds, fifteen shillings; and in the year 1826, they were re-let at a rental of four hundred and eighty-nine pounds, one shilling.
The trustees of this property are the governor, the bishop, one deemster, the archdeacon, vicar-general, and the attorney-general for the time being. They had an accumulated fund of £2,692 Is. 5d. in their hands, when it was proposed to erect a college on the academic lands in the vicinity of Castletown, bequeathed by Bishop Barrow.
A draft of the design of the proposed buildings, with the estimated cost of completing the plan, having been submitted to the trustees, they were induced to set a subscription on foot. Bishop Ward, without any consideration of personal interest, subscribed £1,200 ;’ this sum was increased by other private subscriptions, chiefly by inhabitants of the Island, to £2,000, and £2,000 was raised by mortgaging the funds,’ making in all £6,000,
* Appendix, Note xii, “ Extracts from Parish Registers.**
1 Speech of the Earl of Ripon, in the House of Lords, on 14th December, 1837.
2 Address to the Public t dated Bishop’s Court, 4th May, 1842.
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the estimated amount of the cost of erecting the proposed edifice.1
The first stone of this noble building was laid by the late lieutenant-governor Smelt, on the 23rd April, 1830, and in the summer of 1833, it was opened for the reception of students. The building is partly in the Elizabe-thian style, forming a spacious cruciform structure, two hundred and ten feet in length from east to west, and one hundred and thirty-five feet from north to south, from the intersection of which rises an embattled tower, one hundred and fifteen feet high, strengthened with buttresses, and surmounted by an octagonal lantern turret. This tower is intended for an observatory. The transept of the college is called Saint Thomas’s chapel.
The principal and other masters must be members of the church of England and graduates of one of the universities. The governor and the attorney-general have each founded prizes to be contended for immediately before the summer vacation. The first subject given for a prize poem was “ Scotland,” and that produced by Master William Kermode, in 1836, obtained the governor’s purse of five sovereigns. The number of pupils attending this seminary at first of January, 1844, was one hundred and ten, beside day-scholars. In preference to king William IV, who merely condescended to allow his name to be coupled with the establishment, it should have been unquestionably dedicated to Bishop Barrow.
On the morning of the fourteenth of January, 1844, these extensive premises unfortunately became the prey of a destructive conflagration, which broke out in the western wing of the building, and spread with uncontrol-able fury till the interior of the building was destroyed,
1	The original draft of the design was furnished by Messrs. Hanson and Welsh, architects. The contractor was the late Mr. Fitzsimmons, who, it is said, lost ^1,500 by that undertaking.
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with the exception of a few apartments in the eastern wing, occupied by the vice-principal of the college. The very valuable library of the college, containing many rare works, part of which was a carious collection of bibles from the time of Coverdale, in upwards of fifty different languages, with several manuscripts relating to Manks ecclesiastical affairs,’ and also much private property, were all completely destroyed.
On the fifteenth of January, at a meeting of the trustees, held in Castletown, it was resolved that instant measures be pursued towards the restoration of the college; which was acted on with so much spirit that on the 4th of June, the re-building was so far advanced as to allow of the annual examination of the students being held there, and on the 1st of August was again opened for the reception of pupils.
The building was insured for two thousand pounds; but the damage done to it by this calamitous fire was estimated at double that sum. The difference was soon however made up by subscriptions.
1 Fortunately duplicates of these ancient MSS. are now in the Seldonian Collection qfAncient Record*, in the British Museum. They are given also in Sir William Dugdale18 Monasticon, from which work they have been transcribed by Ward into his Ancient Record* of the Isle of Man, appendix, note xxi, and so much of these remarkable documents as relates to the ancient canons of the Manks church, are given in English.—See vol. i, page 380 of this work.
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APPENDIX.—Chapter XX.
NOTE I.—Page 225.
MILITARY TENURES.
Sir George Mackenzie’s Institutions, books 2—4 ; Wallace’s Ancient Peerages, Edinburgh, 1775, p. 103. “When land was held by a vassal during life or for a shorter period, it was commonly called a benefice; but when it was allowed to descend to the heirs of vassals, it received the appellation of fief.”—Miller's Distinction of Ranks, London, 1773, p. 212. The following extract from a charter, dated at Airth, 9th November, 1343, granted by David II of Scotland, will show the nature of these military tenures :—“ We grant, in favour of Sir Malcolm Fleming, knight, and of the heirs male of his body, for his homage and worthy services, the lands of Fraynes, Deal, Rynos, and burgh of Wigtoun, and all the lands of the whole sheriffdom of Wigtoun, with the advocation of the churches and right of patronage of the monasteries and abbacies existing within the said sheriffdom, and ordains that the said Malcolm and his heirs for ever take the name of Earl and be called Earls of Wigtoun. Farther, that the said lands be erected into a free regality, with power to judge for the four articles of the crown ; the said Earl and his heirs giving the service of fire knights or soldiers to the king’s army.”—Essay on British Antiquities, Edinburgh, 1747, pp. 85, 86. “Not only the highest jurisdiction, both civil and criminal, but of levying troops and of coining money were rights possessed allodially by the great proprietors of land several centuries before even the name of the feudal law was known in Europe.”—Smith’s Wealth of Nations, edition 1819, vol. ii, pp. 189, 190; Robertson's History of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1813, vol. i, p. 12.
NOTE II.—Page 229.
SALE OF LANDS.
On this subject, the parliamentary commissioners of 1790 remark :—“ Among the instances in which the commands of the lord proprietor have been intruded into the laws, we find, in 1583, a prohibition to dispose of lands without license of the lord, prefaced by the broad admission * that contrary to good and laudable order and diverse and sundry general restraints made, the inhabitants have and daily do, notwithstanding the said restraint, buy, sell, give, grant, chop, and exchange their farms, lands, tenements, and their liberties at pleasure.' Alienation fines were first enacted in
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1643.”—Report of the Parliamentary Commissioners, published 1791 ; Appendix A N 71, Report of Law Officers.
The commissioners have thus shewn from the Statute Booh that alienation fines first commenced in 1643, although Mr. Johnstone states, twenty years afterwards, with vaunted accuracy, that ** the records of the Island throw no light on that subject.”—Johnstone's Monks Jurisprudence, pp. 7, 32. This is a mistake, for the commissioners appointed by James, Earl of Derby, 20th April, 1650, granted to John Cannell, the tenament of Nerlogher, at the single rent of xxiiijs. To Robert Barrie, one dose ot land in the Treene of Scarlett, in the parish of Kirk Malew, at five shillings of yearly rent, with several similar grants made out in due form.—Lt^er Cancellarius, ap. Mills's Ancient Ordinances, p. 505.
NOTE III.—Pagk 234.
LAW OF THE DESCENT OF HEREDITARY PROPERTY.
To the eldest son of A, last seised, or his issue.
If his line be extinct, to the other sons of A respectively, in order of birth, or their issue.
In default of these, to the eldest daughter of A, or her issue.
If her line be extinct, to the other daughters of A respectively, in order of birth, or their issue.
In default of these, to the eldest brother of A, by the same parent, from whom the estate descended, whether of the whole or half blood, or his issue.
If his line be extinct, to the other brothers by the same parent, respectively, in order of birth, or their issue.
In default of these, to the eldest sister by the same parent, or her issue.
If her line be extinct, to the other sisters by the same parent respectively, or their issue.
In default of these, to the eldest brother of the parent through whom the estate descended.
The blood of that line of ancestors, from whom the estate did not descend, can never inherit it. If it descend from the father, the blood of the mother will be perpetually excluded, and so vice versa.
If the person last seised were a purchaser—(that is, took otherwise than by descent,) and to die without issue, the estate would descend as follows, viz. :—*
To his eldest and other brothers, of the whole blood, respectively, in order of birth, or their issue.
In default of these, to the father’s eldest brother, and other brothers, and eldest and other sisters of the whole blood,—the paternal grandfather’s eldest brother of the whole blood, &c., in infinitum, in the paternal line: the paternal grandfather’s mother’s eldest brother of the whole blood, or his issue, &c.—Jeffcott’s Statute Laws of the Isle of Man, Douglas, 1837, Appendix.
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NOTE IV.—Pagb 239.
ANCIENT MODE OF BURNING LIME.
The lime formerly used in building was made solely from shells. The process of making it in Galloway is thus described by Symson, who wrote his Description al that district in the year 1684 :—“ On a bank in the parish of Kirkinner, that lyes opposite to the sea, in winter time, the storms and high tydes cast in innumerable and incredible quantities of cockle shells, which the whole shore make use of for lime. The way of making it is thus:—Upon an even area, they set erected peiti (turffs) in a circle, according to the quantity of shells required, upon which they put a layer of shells a foot thick or more, and then upon them again lay peits, then another layer of shells, and so on till they bring it to a head like a pyramid. But as they put on these layers, just on the centre they make a tunnel of peits like a chimney, hollow in the middest, reaching from the bottom to the top; this done, they take a panful of burning peits and put them down into the tunnel or chimney, and so close up all with shells. This fire kindles the whole kilne, and in twentie-four hours space or thereby, will so burn the shells that they will run together in a harde masse ; after this they let it cool a little, and then, by sprinkling water thereon, it will dissolve into small white powder, which is excellent lime.”—Symson's Descriplion of Galloway, ftom MS. in the Advocates* Library, Edinburgh, 1823, p. 42; see also, Dickson's Husbandry qf the Ancients, Edinburgh, 1788, vol. i, p. 338.
NOTE V.—Page 241.
RUDE MANNER OF TILLAGE.
Quayle says :—“ The ox is wrought, not by the bow and yoke, but by a coltar of oat straw. The same material, twisted into ropes and woven into walletts of a square form, is slung across the horse and supplies the place of panniers: these are called creels.—Page 83. From half an acre to three quarters of an acre is thought a good day’s work for a team of four small oxen ; the same for a horse team of two horses. Small holders frequently join to make up a team.”—Page 110.
The Zetlanders, till a recent period, were wedded to a mode of agriculture still more antiquated. “ An old Zetland plough is a real curiosity: it has but one handle or stilt and a coulter, but no stock ; it ripped the furrows therefore, but did not throw them aside. When this precious machine was in motion, it was dragged by four little bullocks yoked abreast, and as many ponies harnessed, or rather strung, to the plough by ropes and thongs of raw hides. One man went before, walking backwards, with his face to the bullocks, and pulling them forward by main strength; anotlier held down the plough by its single handle, and made a sort of slit in the earth, which two women, which closed the procession, converted into a furrow by throwing the earth aside with shovels.”—Diary of Sir Walter Scott, ap, Memoirs of his Lfe by J. G. Lockhart, first edition, vol. iii, p. 154.
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NOTE VI.—Page 244.
PEASANTRY OF SCOTLAND FORMERLY AS POOR AS THOSE OF MAN.
Till near the end of the last century, the cottages of the peasantry, both in Galloway and Ayrshire, were equally miserable with those in the Isle of Man. “ Along the shores of Galloway, the cottages were of very humble and inartificial construction. The walls were rude poles of wood fixed in the earth having slender branches closely interwoven amongst them, and on both sides bedaubed with clay wrought by the intermixture of straw to a proper consistency. Under the same roof were lodged both the cottager and his cattle.”—Heron98 History of Scotland, Perth, 1794, vol. i, p. 365. Another author says :—“ They were wretched hovels built of stone and mud, thatched with fern or turff, and without chimneys.”—Smith’s Agricultural Survey of Galloway, London, 1810, p. 40. The state of Ayrshire was much the same:—“ The farm houses were mere hovels made with clay, having an open hearth or fire-place in the middle: the cattle starving and the people wretched—(this refers to about the year 1750.) The rent was commonly paid in kind, or in what was called half-labour by the steel-bow tenants.”—Fullarton’s General View of the Agriculture of Ayrshire, 1793, p. 10. The accouut of Dumfriesshire is different:—“ Some time ago, farm houses were built in the form of three sides of a square; the dwelling house formed the front, the stables and byres the second, and the barn, cart-house, and granary the third.”—Johnstone’s General View of the Agriculture of Dumfriesshire, London, 1794, p, 74.
NOTE VIL—Page 247.
ORIGIN OF THE AYRSHIRE BREED OF CATTLE.
The valuable breed of cattle known throughout Scotland and England by the name of Ayrshire, the county that produces them, are called in Ayrshire, Cunningham cattle, and in the district of Cunningham they bear the name of Dunlop cattle, from the family name of the gentleman upon whose estate and under whose care the breed originated—the result from the cross of the short-horned cow with the Alderney bull. The cross was first made about the year 1740; and the breed is still rising in estimation. Attentive breeders select the darkest brown with little white, these being found more hardy than the cream colour or those with much white, although it must be admitted the milk of the latter is richer.—Quayle’s Agricultural View, p. 107. The celebrity of the Ayrshire breed of cattle is not confined solely to the British dominions. The Prussian Government, in 1837, sent commissioners from that country to Ayrshire to procure some of the best specimens that could be had there of that superior description of agricultural stock. The number purchased by these gentlemen was twenty bulls and one hundred and fifty calf queys of from two to three years old.—Ayr Advertiser, 28th September, 1837.
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NOTE VIII.—Page 249.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
John Christian Curwcn, Esq., of Workington Hall, in the county of Cumberland, many years member of parliament for the city of Carlisle, attained great distinctioa as an agriculturist. He was founder of the Workington Agricultural Society, tn establishment which did more for the advancement of husbandry, perhaps, than any other association of a similar nature.— Quayle's General View of Agriculture in th Isle of Man, London, 1812, p. 1G2.
In an early stage of the Workington Society, some of the Manks gentry, who bad witnessed the good effects resulting from it, wished to form a branch of that assoeix* tion in the Isle of Man, which proposal having received the unanimous concurrence of the Workington members, the first meeting of the Insular branch took place al Douglas, in November, 1806, under the direction of the Workington president, Mr. Curwen, but with vice-presidents and a committee for managing their own internal affairs. '
The first premiums offered were for the year 1807 : a cup, value ten pounds, in given by the president for the best managed farm, and various sums were given by the society as premiums; namely, for the best entire horse for agricultural purposes, for the best crop of clover, for the best crop of vetches, best crop of flax, for the greater extent of land sufficiently marled, for the greatest extent of land sufficiently limed, for irrigation, for skill in ploughing, and to servants of both sexes, who had continued for the longest period in their respective services.—Ibid., p. 163.
The president visited the Island annually, and was thereby enabled to state in his printed reports the progress made by the Manks branch, in which he was individually concerned, being a large proprietor in the Island. Though his annual reports were always highly favourable to the improving state of the husbandry of the Island, the proceedings of the Manks branch, and more recently the agricultural survey made by Mr. Quayle, met with strong and decided opposition from the majority of the inhabitants of the Island. They fancied they perceived, under pretence of fostering the agriculture of the Island, the precursor of increased taxation and a deep laid plot to introduce the exciseman. Unfortunately, these suspicions were not confined to the poor and illiterate; many of the most opulent and learned persons in the Island entertained similar opinions.—Ibid., p. 163. Consequently the exertions of the society were not duly appreciated and did not receive adequate support. In 1813, it withdrew from that of Workington, and shortly afterwards, fell into a state of disunity. —Bullock, p. 242. Happily, however, the subject has now assumed a morefavoured place in public estimation. An association, denominated The Isle (f Man Agnnu-tural Society, has been again instituted for the encouragement of agriculture and for improving the breed of farming stock.
This society was formed on the 13th March, 1841. His excellency General Ready, lieutenant-governor of the Island, was then pleased to accept the office of patron; whilst Edward Moore Gawne, Esq., of Kentraugh—a gentleman distinguished for his knowledge of agriculture and, also, for his patronage of it—was unanimously elected president; Deemster Heywood, William Farrant, and Alexander Spittali, Esquires, were chosen vice-presidents, the number of whom has subsequently been increased to fourteen. Under the patronage of such men, and with the hearty concurrence and co-operation of the greater proportion of the scientific and wealthy farmcn
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of the Island, the society is at present in a state of prosperity, and its beneficial effects are evident—a most gratifying result in the minds of those gentlemen who, regardless both of time and money, so long as the true interests of the Island could be furthered, have exerted themselves in the farmers’ behalf. Four annual exhibitions have, since the formation of the society, taken place; namely, at Douglas in 1841, at Ramsey in 1842, at Castletown in 1843, and at Peel in 1844 ; and it is most satisfactory to state that the description of stock exhibited was such as to elicit unequivocal praise.
The Manks agriculturist has numerous obstacles to improvement to contend with, as has been already shewn ; yet the great extent of waste lands, capable of being brought under cultivation, with which the Island abounds, will, it is hoped, in due time, stimulate the members of the Agricultural Society individually, to dispel the evils set forth in the following extract from a memorial dated May, 1844, to the Lords of the Treasury, in reference to the importation of foreign corn :—
" Respectfully sheweth,—That in consequence of the humidity and uncertainty of its climate—the small extent of land, suitable for the growth of wheat, together with the increased number of inhabitants in the Island within the last few years, it has been found necessary to import considerable quantities of grain and flour, as will be seen from the following statement—being an average of the annual importation for the four last years ending the 5th Jan., 1844—and to which your Memorialists respectfully beg leave to refer, viz :—2,787 quarters wheat; 12,416 cwt. flour; 500 qrs. oats, and 4,545 cwt. oatmeal. Amounting in value, with other articles of agricultural produce, to a sum little less than ^25,000 of yearly outlay.”
The framers of this document, in order to have placed a fair statement before parliament, should have given an account of the amount of exports also for the same period, which far exceeded the imports, as appears by the following returns:—
“ Return to an Order of the House of Commons, on the motion of Dr. Bowring, 7th May, 1844 ;—for a Tabular Return of the quantities of Wheat, Hour, Meal, Barley, Oats, Potatoes, Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs, imported into the Isle of Man, in each year, ending the 5th day of January, from 1835 to 1844 :—
Year. From whence Imported. Wheat.
1835
1836
United Kingdom—* Foreign Countries—* United Kingdom-Foreign Countries— United Kingdom-Foreign Countries— United KingdomCountries— gdom— untries— gdom— un tries— gdom— tries-gd<-
1837
1838
QM. 393 11833 378 11589 1373
8870
3108
S 1546 1579 521
Flour.	Meal.	Barley.	Oat#.	Potato*.	Cattle.	Sheep. |Pig«.	
CWT.	CWT.	QRS.	Q*8.	CWT.	NO.	NO.	NO.
581	930	3	nil.	377	333	3838	1
		4764	3333				
389	3662	4693	1153	909	169	1769	
3335			967				
3187	1639	335	483	1170	132	2015	6
1656	3140	484	317	146	188	1433	1
3136	3301	1104	52	1780	258	1797	
1933	3304	1097	483	1759	157	1892	
385		470					
9734	4108	1293	776	553	37	1746	3
17							
9375	3889	649	344	833	88	1846	3
8							
'4	9009	880	515	3157	11	993	6
	1679		434	337	16	1120	"i
Thos. Jones, pro Collector.
G. H. Anderson, p^
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262
HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
“ Return to an Order of the House of Commons, on the motion of Dr. Bowring, 7th May, 1844 ;—for a Tabular Return of the quantities of Wheat, Flour, Meal, Barley, Oats, Potatoes, Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs, exported from the Isle of Man, in each year, ending the 5th day of January, from 1835 to 1844 :—
Year.	Where Exported to.	Wheat.	Flour.	Meal.	Barley.)	OaU.	Potatoe.	Cattle.	Sheep.	^r |
		QR9. 1	CWT.	CWT.	QR6.	QRS.	CWT.	NO. 1	NO.	NO. i
1835	United Kingdom— Foreign Countries—	19986	25	2	11352	469	92163	331 |	520	429
1836	United Kingdom-	18771	264	26	7431	812	24753	478 .	221	235
	Foreign Countries—									
1837	United Kingdom— 1	14383	130	171	6310	51*7	23324	442 ’	®6	878
	Foreign Countries—						67336	... 1	1 ...	
1838	United Kingdom-	8416	358	88	4141	2339		558 1	; 491	581
	Foreign Countries—						220	... I	290	
1839	United Kingdom-	8922	153	6	3136	2300	g4353	633		1487
	Foreign Countries—					806				•••
1840	United Kingdom-	8007	115	46	9413		119882	654	93	1317 !
	Foreign Countries—							•••	•••	
1841	United Kingdom-Foreign Countries—*	9265		463	1152	797	124832	840	80	959
1842	United Kingdom—***	7155	216	28	1411	1575	130652	778	H7	1487
	Foreign Countries-*				1076					
1843	United Kingdom—*	5929	72	18		484	176152	446	199	734
	Foreign Countries—					J370				• •w
1844	United Kingdom—*	7582	22	127	5015		117779	307	180	308
	Foreign Countries*—						600			
Custom-house, Douglas, Isle of Man, May 23, 1844.
Thos. Jones, pro Collector.
G. H. Anderson, Comp.
NOTE IX.—Page 250.
SUIT SERVICE OF STREWING RUSHES.
Any custom in England is said to be of time immemorial that has been in use since before the days of King Edward II.—Barclay’s Universal Dictionary, 4th edit. 1812.
A thousand years before the time of this monarch, the Manks, according to tradition, presented Mannanan Beg-Mac-y-Leirr with a quantity of coarse meadow grass or rushes annually, on Midsummer eve, either on the top of Barrool or at the residence of the chief at the foot of the hill.—Traditionary Ballad, vol. i, p. 30, of this work.
The payment of green rushes in the time of Mannanan-Beg was the tenure by which Islanders held their lands.—Quiggin’s Illustrated Guide, Douglas, edition 1840, p. 92.
The farm of Ballakilley, in the parish of Kirk German, is allowed yet to be holden tithe free, on the occupier performing this ancient service.
Rushes were strewed by the Druids over the floors of their temples, to absorb the blood of their victims; and the early Christians strewed their churches also with rushes or coarse meadow grass.
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In England, the custom of strewing churches with rushes continued down to a comparatively recent period. In the churchwardens’ account of St. Mary at Hill, in the city of London, is the following article :—“ Anno 1493, Howyton and Overy paid for 3 birdens of ryshes for ye new pewes, 3d.”—Ap, Brand's Popular Antiquities, by Ellis, edit. 1841, vol. ii, p. 10.
In Coat's History of Reading, page 227, among the entries of the churchwardens’ accounts of the year 1602, there appears—** Paid for rushes for the churche, when the Queen was in towne, xxd.” Hentyner in his Itinerary, speaking of Queen Elizabeth’s presence chamber, says:—“ The floore, after the English fashion, was strewed with rushes.” The English stage was also formerly strewed with rushes, as were the best rooms in private houses.—Reed's Edition of Shakspeare, 8vo., London, 1803, vol. xviii, p. 467.
In the Isle of Man the floors were strewed with green rushes, when such guests as St. Bridget were expected.—Ante, p. \16, Extract from MS. Accounts of Manks Customs.
NOTE X.—Page 251
BISHOP BARROW’S BEQUEST.
Bishop Barrow, by instrument, dated 8th February, 1667, assigned the impropriate tithes of Kirk Christ Rushen to Richard Stephenson, Richard Tyldesley, and others, on condition of their paying annually, in lieu of the said tithes, unto the master of the free school of Castletown thirty pounds. Mr. Castley, who was appointed master of the school, in 1758, received for some years sixty pounds salary, which was then the ascertained value of the said tithes, but which the trustees tried to reduce to the original stipend of thirty pounds. Mr. Castley, therefore, on the 28th October, 1780, filed a bill in the court of chancery against George, Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, William Mylrea, archdeacon, and Thomas Fargherand Robert Heywood, gentlemen, stating that the said Bishop Barrow, with the concurrence of the said Charles, Earl of Derby and archdeacon, fixed the said free grammar school at Castletown, and endowed the same with the tithes of the said rectory of Rushen, and that the said sixty pounds was the ascertained yearly value of the said tithes, and praying that the defendants might be ordered to pay the same. On the 21st February, 1782, the chancellor decreed that the complainant, as master of the free grammer school of Castletown, was entitled to the annual salary of sixty pounds in lieu of the impropriate tithes of Kirk Christ Rushen; and the defendants were ordered to pay the same. The defendants appealed from this decree to the king in council; and the appeal having come on to be heard on the 30th April, 1783, the decree was confirmed and the appeal dismissed.—Isle of Man Charities, p. 22. The salary of the master of the free school is now seventy pounds per annum.
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264	HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
NOTE XI.—Pagb 252.
PAROCHIAL TEACHERS.
KIRK PATRICK—PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
The Schoolmaster receives from the Impropriate Fund a salary of ..	£5 10 0
From Lady Betty Hastings’ charity ......................................    2	12 11
From Thomas Radcliffe’s bequest............................................ 4	58
£12 8 7
KIRK GERMAN, INCLUDING THE TOWN OF PEEL—GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
Income : Interest of mortgage passed by the Rev. John Cottier to the
Bishop and 24 Keys for £500, at 6 per cent, per annum............£30	0 0
About 16 scholars generally pay quarterage for being taught to read and write English.
MATHEMATICAL SCHOOL.
Rent of houses in Ireland, £20 Irish............................£18	9 11
Interest of Captain Stevenson’s donation, £100.................... 509
£23 9 11
No provision has been made for the repairs of this school, or the house and buildings bequeathed by Sir George Moore. The school-house is partly unroofed. The books and mathematical instruments are in a very bad condition ; and the whole establishment is in a state of rapid decay. There are at present only two scholars, and those not on the foundation.
Christian’s school, or petty free school.
Salary under the will of Phil. Christian	.............................£18	0	0
For providing books, pen, ink, and paper, for poor Scholars, by the said will ..	..	. *	..	.. ••	..	.. . • ;. > ..	.. •'	* "2	0	0
70 Scholars.	£20	0	0
The school-house and dwelling-house attached have hitherto been repaired by voluntary subscriptions.	-	'
'	bishop wilson’s school.
Salary: Interest of £50, Bishop Wilson’s donation, at 5 per cent. Mx. £2 10 0
Four, and sometimes five free scholars are taught, on the nomination of the vicar and wardens.
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APPENDIX, CHAP. XX.
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PAROCHIAL SCHOOL, ST. JOBM’l CHAPKL.
From the Impropriate Fund.............................................. £5	10 0
From Lady Elizabeth Hasting*’ charity .................................. 2	13 7
Interest of John Cain’s bequest......................................... 0	17 2
£9 0 9
The average number of scholars is about forty.
▼BANBT SCHOOL.
About six scholars in winter and twenty in summer attend this school.
KIRK MAROWN—PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
From the Impropriate Fund........................................... £5	10 0
From Lady Elizabeth Hastings’ charity................................ 2	13 7
£8 3 7
Has thirty, and sometimes forty scholars. Two free scholars are taught at this school on the nomination of the proprietors of Ballakilley. The Rev. Thomas Christian, by deed, dated 2nd May, 1741, granted a parcel of ground to Bishop Wilson, on which the school-house is erected.
It appears by deed, dated 29th May, 1742, and recorded in 1749, that Thomas Christian, of Ballahutchin, granted a parcel of his estate of Ballaquinney, viz., seven yards in the clear and five yards another way, in the most convenient place on the north-west side of Ballaquinney highway, within fifty yards of the Glenbeg river, to John Kewley and John Quilliam, in trust for the use and benefit of a school-house for the said parish.
KIRK LOWAB—PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
From the Impropriate Fund ......................................... £5	10 0
From Lady Elizabeth Hastings’ charity ........................ 2 13 7
£8 3 7
There are forty scholars on the roll, but the school is badly attended.
KIRK ON CHAN—PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
From the Impropriate Fund.........................................
From Lady Elizabeth Hastings’ charity .......................... ..
Interest of £10 Manks left by the Rev. Thomas Quayle .............
£5 10 0
2 13 7
0 8 7
£8 12 2
Thirty, and sometimes forty scholars attend.
VOL. II.
«K
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HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
KIRK MICHAEL—PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
Rfom the Impropriate Fond.......................................     .£5	10 0
From Lady Elizabeth Hastings’ charity................................. 2	13 7
£8 3 7 Scholars about thirty-five.
Bishop Hildesley, in the year 1764, purchased a plot of ground in the village, on which he built a dwelling-house for the schoolmaster, and a school-house for the mistress, and gave the sum of £30, the interest of which he directed should be applied in repairing the school-house. The school-house is repaired by parochial cess, and the interest of the said £30 is brought into the general assessment account.
BALLAUGH—PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
From the Impropriate Fund .» ...................................... £5100
Royal Bounty...................................................... 2	110
£8 1 0 And the profits of the glebe, about four acres, given by Dr. Walker, for the use of the schoolmaster, by deed, dated 29th April, 1721.
From sixty to seventy scholars generally attend this school.
JURBY—PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
From the Impropriate Fund.......................................... £5	10 0
From Lady Elizabeth Hastings' charity .............................. 2	13 0
£8 3 0
About twenty scholars generally attend the school.
KIRK ANDREAS-PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
From the Impropriate Pund.................................... £5 10 0
Royal Bounty....................................................... 2110
Raised by voluntary subscriptions for the education of ten poor children gratis, originally £5 per annum, now reduced to .. .................. 400
£12 1 0
About fifty scholars are taught to read and write at this school.
KERROO GARR00 SCHOOL.
This school is at present conducted by a mistress, who teaches upon an average about twenty scholars.
Salary arising from John Teare’s bequest .. .. .. .. .. ••	£1 11 0
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APPENDIX, OHAP. XX.
267
KIRK CHRIST LEZAYRB—-PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
From the Impropriate Fund .. ;. . • .. .. ........................ £5	10
From Lady Elizabeth Hastings* charity ......................... 2 13
Interest on Mrs. Curphey*8 and Mr. Corlett's bequests .......... 0 7
Major Christian bequeathed 10s. a year to the Petty School of Lezayre, payable out of lands called Close-hommy. vane ....................... 0 8
0 0
2
7
£8 18 9
Thirty or forty scholars generally attend this school: during harvest, about fifteen.
mrs. Christian's, or sulby school.
Income'arising from her charity in rents of lands, and interest on mortgages and notes.....................................................£11	6 10
Interest on bequests exclusively to the school .......................... 0	19 11
Interest of a note passed to Betty and William Tellet, £7 15 0, interest at 6 per cent.............................................................   090
£12 15 9
Thirty, forty, and sometimes fifty scholars attend this school.
The conveyance from Thomas Garrett and Thomas Christian, of the ground on which this school-house is built, bears date 26th February, 1771.
There are two other schools in this parish, but of no importance, one called 44 Kneale's School," the other “ Mountain, or Kelly’s School."
KIRK MAUGHOLD,* INCLUDING THE TOWN OF RAMSEY—PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
From the Impropriate Fund........................................... £5 10 0
From Lady Elizabeth Hastings’ charity .............................. 213 7
Half of the rents and profits of Mr. Edward Christian’s bequest ..	6 12 10 J
£14 16 5$ About forty children attend this school.
LHIAGGYN SCHOOL.
Mortgage from John Cottier to the vicar and wardens, dated 11th April, 1807, for £30 Manks. Interest, 5 per cent.
Bond and mortgage from William Corteen to the vicar and wardens, dated 22nd May, 1822, for £21 10s. Manks. Interest, 6 per cent.
The Interest on these two mortgages produces annually to the Master, £2 7 10.
Twenty to thirty scholars attend.
ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL AND SCHOOL.
This Chapel was lately built by subscription. No other provision is made for the Chaplain than what arises from the letting of the seats.
There are two schools in Ramsey, supported by annual voluntary subscriptions, where a hundred boys and ninety-six girls are taught according to Dr. Bell’s system of education.
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HISTORY OR THE ISLE OF MAN.
KIRK BRIDE—PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
From the Impropriate Fund...........................-................ £5	10 4
From Lady Elizabeth Hastings* charity	.. .. ....................... 2	13 0
From the Glebe, as Parish Clerk .. •• .. .. .. ....................... 2	20
£10 5 0
Thirty and sometimes forty children attend this school.
KIRK BRADDAN, INCLUDING THZ TOWN OF DOUGLAS—PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
From the Impropriate Fund .. .. ..................................... £5	10 0
From Lady Elizabeth Hastings* charity ....................... ..	2 13 7
£8 3 7
The average number of scholars is from twenty to thirty.
BAST BALDWIN SCHOOL.
Mortgage from Matthias Creer to the vicar and wardens, and to Matthias Coms, Robert Lewin, and Robert Kelly, trustees appointed to secure a fund for the support of Baldwin School, for £54 British, as appears by deed, dated 26th September, 1821, bearing interest at the rate of 6 per cent.
About fifty scholars attend.
st. Matthew’s chapel and school—chaplain and schoolmaster's incom*.
Interest of £460 10s.	9d................................... £27	12	6
Rent of Pews..............................................   12	0	0
Out of lands devised by	Mr. William Murrey, £12 Manks per annum 10	5	8
Royal Bounty..............................................    2	11	0
£5^’0’”*
st. george’s chapel—chaplain’s income.
Rent of Pews ................................................ £139	0 0
Endowment by the Rev. James Moore, as appears by the will of
Sir George Moore, for a monthly lecture against popery, and for early morning prayers, £20 Irish............................. 18	9 R
DAILY AND SUNDAY SCHOOL, DOUGLASk .'
This Institution was opened in the year 1810. The school is supported by annual subscriptions and donations, and an annual sermon in St. George’s Chapel.
A subscriber is entitled to send two children to the schddl for each guinea of his yearly subscription ; a life member, (by donation of five guineas andnpwbrdS,) tnfe child for each five guineas of Ms donation. The mode of instruction i# formed bn a combination of the plans of Dr. BeR and Mr. Lancaster. One hundred and ably boys and the same number of girls attend.	'	1	■ < ■ _ >
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APPENDIX, CHAP. XX.
369
Kill UFTON—PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
Iron the Impropriate Fund.................................   ,,	£5 IQ Q
From Lady Betty Hastings’ charity ............................... 2	13 7
Interest of William Leece’s legacy ...........................    6	00
£13 3 7
In the summer months fifty, and sometimes sixty scholars attend this school; but in the harvest and winter there are seldom more than ten.
KIRK MX LBW, INCLUDING THB TOWN OF CASTLETOWN—FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
Salary ........................................................... .£60	0 0
Rent of houses bequeathed by Catherine Halsall....................	5 14 6
£65 14 6
The schoolmaster has at present twenty-six scholars, fifteen of whom are free scholars.
Taubman’s school, castlbtown.
Salary ................................................. ....	£20 0 0
Has forty-five scholars, twenty-three of whom are free scholars.
CATHERINE HALSALL’S SCHOOL.
Salary........................................................... £8	00
Repairs .. .- .. ...............................................   2	0 0
£10~0~0 She has forty scholars, twenty of whom are free scholars.
C	PETTY SCHOOL.
From the Impropriate Fund .....................................   £5	10 0
Royal Bounty.......................................  ..	.. ..	2 11 0
£8 1 0
Has sixteen scholars.
PAROCHIAL SCHOOL, BALLA SALLA.
From the Impropriate Fund........................................ £5	10 0
X^dy Elizabeth Hastings........................................... 2	13 7
£8 3 7
Forty-five beys and thirty-five girls attend this school at present.
NATIONAL SCHOOLS, CASTLETOWN.
( These schools are supported by subscription. One hundred and six boys and mkicty’ giris are educated on Dr. Bell’s system.
Thorp are . three hundred sittings, free to the poor in the government chapel, Castletown, the church-building society having given £300 for that purpose, towards the building of the chapel.
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HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
ST. mask’s chapel and school.
This chapel is situate about five miles from Castletown. It was built by subscription in 1772.
Income of the Chaplain and Schoolmaster, the Rev. John Thomas Clarke f31 11 7
KIRK ARBORY----PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
From the Impropriate Fund.......................................... £5	10 fl
Lady Elizabeth Hastings’ donation ................................... 213	7
^8 3 7 The average number of scholars is forty.
KIRK CHRIST RUSHEN-----PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
From the Impropriate Fund .. .......................................f5	10 0
From Lady Elizabeth Hastings’ charity ............................... 213	7
Interest of £10 bequeathed by Alice Gawne, at 6 per cent .. .. ..	0 10 4
Tithes at Ballagawne, 10s. Manks.............................. ..	0	87
Interest of £5 Manks, at 6 per cent., Clucas’s legacy.	...••...	0	5	2
Interest of f 8 Manks, bequeathed by Mr. John Cain.................. 0	6	10
Bequeathed by Mrs. Clague, and payable out of the Grampians..	..	3	0	0
Bequeathed by the Rev. John Clague, payable out of the same lands,
£3 Manks............................................................ 2	11 5
£15 5 11
About forty scholars attend this school.
—Extracted from the Isle qf Man Charities, Liverpool, 1831.
An act for ascertaining and defining certain rights of ecclesiastical persons, parish clerks, and schoolmasters, in the Isle of Man, received the royal assent 27th March, 1844, and was promulgated on the Tynwald Hill, according to ancient form, on the 5th of July of the same year.
NOTE XII.—Page 253.
EXTRACTS FROM THE PARISH REGISTERS.
PARISH REGISTER OF KIRK LONAN.
Extract from the Will qf Jane Clague, A.D. 1804.
“ I leave to the proprietor of the estate of Ballavarane, a coverlid, a bolster, a blanket, and a stool, for the use of any poor person or persons that may have want for lodging occasionally.”—Memorandum in Parochial Register, January 7th, 1809; Isle qf Man Charities, p. 99.
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PARISH REGISTER OF JURBY.
Extract from the last Will and Testament of Patrich Moughton, who departed this life, 20th November, 1747.
“ I leave to the poor of the parish, six to be paid by my wife, five shillings by my son John, to the said poor; one shilling to be paid by my daughter Catherine to the said poor,—these twelve shillings to continue in the parish to yield yearly interest to the poor.”
Eight shillings were added to this legacy of twelve shillings out of the weekly cob lection at the church, to complete the sum of one pound, which was given out to interest at five per cent.—List of Manks Charities, printed in 1831, pp. 77, 78.
PARISH REGISTER OF MAROWN.
Extract from the Will qf the Rev. Thomas Christian, A.D. 1752.
" I leave and bequeath the sum of seventeen pounds, to be laid out on interest for charitable uses, the interest thereof to be applied to the relief of any poor person in the parish of Kirk Marown, suffering loss by death of cattle, or by fire, or any other great or grievous loss or calamity, that in such case twenty shillings shall be lent to •uch poor person, to be repaid if ever the said poor person be able.”—Page 71.
The example thus set by Parson Christian was followed in the year 1761, by Jane Quilliam, of Cooillingill, of the same parish, who bequeathed “ twenty pounds to interest, to be applied in assisting any poor person that shall accidentally lose a cow or horse, or any poor man that will have a large family of children.”—Page 71.
“ In the year 1789, John Kewley, of Baird, left to the paupers of Marown, the usance of twenty pounds perpetually.”—Page 71.
Elizabeth Heywood, of the parish of Kirk Michael, in the year 1752, made a will of a different description:—“ I leave the sum of ten pounds British, whereof the vicar and wardens for the time being are to be trustees, who are to lay the same out at interest for the perpetual interest of the poor; but my will is, that common beggars are to be excluded from any benefit of this my bequest.”—Page 73.
PARISH REGISTER OF KIRK CHRIST RUSHEN.
Extract from the Will of Thomas Gawne, of Ballagawne, Gent., A.D. 1777.
“ I bequeath, towards instructing poor people’s children, ten shillings by the year, to be paid by the minister and wardens on every Easter Monday. I bequeath to a schoolmistress in the parish, ten shillings by the year, to be paid in like manner.”
Extract from the Will qf William Lucas, of Port St. Mary, A.D. 1797.
“ For the poor children of the parish, I leave five pounds, to be put upon interest, to be taken care of by the vicar and wardens, and the interest to be paid to a qualified schoolmaster, for teaching and instructing some poor children.”
Secondly, to Norris Ciague’s son, I leave and bequeath half of the Grampian Hills, for teaching the youth of the parish of Rushen, the catechism every Sunday, two hours in the forenoon and two hours in the afternoon.”—Page 133.
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PARISH REGISTER OF KIRK ANDREAS.
Extract from the Will of John Kneale, Regaby, A.D. 1692.
“ I leave to the poor of the parish of Andreas, my part of a certain parcel of an intack in the curragh, at tenpence rent, purchased from John Barry deceased, and the rent or benefit thereof, being set to the best advantage, is to be distributed yearly by the minister and wardens of the parish for the time being, to such necessitated or decayed farmers as they shall find cause; and if there be none such, that it be distributed among the poorest sort of the parish.”
The rector and wardens have from time to time sold turf out of the above intack, and with part of the proceeds thereof have purchased from James Brew, a parcel of land called Robert’s Croft, in the said parish, for the consideration of £98, as appears by deed, dated 24th Feb., 1797.
The remains of the proceeds of said turf have been placed at interest, as appears from a promissory note from Wm. Cleator, dated Sth Oct., 1814, for the sum of £9 13s. 4d., and another dated 24th Feb., 1823, for the sum of ^30 3s. 6d., with one dated 6th January, 1827, for £7 10s. 6d., all at the interest of six per cent, per annum.—Pages 79, 80.
The above is a proof with what care benefactions have been managed in the Island.
PARISH REGISTER OF KIRK GERMAN.
Extract from the Will of John Craine, qf Ballnahown, Kirk German, A.D. 1750.
“ I leave and appropriate upon the school of the parish of Kirk German, the sum of twenty pounds, while the school is continued in the house in the Chapel of St. John’s, for that purpose, the use annually of the said sum to be enjoyed by the successive masters for their better encouragement, they being obliged to keep the said house in all repairs, except failure or decay of the wall, roof, or timber. The oversight and management to be wholly in the hands of the vicars of said pariah successively ; but in case the said school-house be not perfected, or the school be at any time hereafter removed from that place, my will is, that the said fund be recalled and effectually disannulled, and the use of the sum be settled upon the heirs of BaU-nahown for ever.”—Pages 64, 65.
PARISH REGISTER OF KIRK BRADDAN.
Extract from the Will qf Margaret Craine, qf Douglas, Spinster, A.D. 1819.
“ I leave and bequeath to three of the poorest objects in this parish of Kirk Braddan, the yearly interest of one hundred pounds, from and after my decease, for ever, but upon special confidence that my body be buried within the walls of the said parish church. If this is permitted, I shall leave the said interest to be paid to the said three objects for ever, as aforesaid; but in case the said privilege shall not be granted, then the said interest is only to be paid to the said poor objects for ten years, commencing three months after my decease.”—Page 108.
The Rev. James Moore, of Dublin, left by his will, dated January, 1763, “ ten pounds annually for the emolument of a person to be appointed by the bishop to read prayers in the new chapel of Douglas, every day in the year, Sundays and holydays excepted, at six in the morning in summer, and at eight during the winter months; with a like sum for a lecture monthly in said church against popery.”—Page 117.
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PARISH REGISTER OF KIRK ARBORY.
Extract from th* Will qf Matthew Taubman, qf Ballanorris, A.D. 1772.
“ I leave to the poor of Castletown, five pounds, and I order and direct that a brewing pan be bought for the use of the poor of Kirk Arbory, to contain a bowl, and the issues and profits thereof be distributed among them, as the vicar and wardens may think fit, by appropriating to them a house a piece, and also a bowl of barley to the poor of Castletown and Kirk Arbory, to be distributed by the vicar and wardens of each parish respectively.”—Page 124.
The exact meaning of this will, as far as respects the poor of Kirk Arbory, is not easily comprehended.
PARISH REGISTER OF BALLAUGH.
Extract from the Will qf Nichola* Thomson, A.D. 1720.
*• I leave to the poor of Ballaugh parish, six pounds, the yearly interest of the game to be kept and reserved by the rector and wardens for the time being, until such time as an accident by fire, or a poor woman lose a cow, or some such calamity happen in the pariah, then the said interest is to be applied by them to the use of such sufferers.”—Isle qf Man Charities, p. 71.
William Teare by his will, made in 1799, left “ six shillings annually as a legacy for ever towards the use and profit of the poor of the south part of the parish of Bellaagh.”*^—Page 76.
VOL. II.
sL
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CHAPTER XXL
ANCIENT COMMERCE.
Mona supposed to have been more populous in the time of the Druids than it is at present—Political Doctrine of Tacitus—Policy of the Danes—Revenue of the ancient Kings of Man—The Island impoverished by the many hostile Invasions of Foreigners—Restrictions generally injurious to Trade—Peculiarities of the Manks, Commercial Regulations—Annual Appointment of Traffickers to truck with Merchant Strangers—Market I owns—Fairs—Articles of Commerce most general in the Island—The Herring not a migratory Animal, as formerly supposed—Sea Birds mark the Arrival of the grand Shoals —Regulations under which the Herring Fishery is conducted—Sad effects of a Hurricane—Manner of curing Herrings for Exportation —The Manks Fisheries encouraged by the British Government— Fund for maintaining the Sea-ports of the Island.
If the principality of North Wales was in such a flourishing state, in the reign of Howell Dha, as to have thrice the number of inhabitants it has at present,' it is equally certain that the Manks were more numerous on the arrival of the Romans in Caledonia than they are at the present day. They were then a hardy, valorous race, and in the ranks of their Gallovidian neighbours, became very
1	Campbell's Political History of Great Britain, Dublin, 1775, vol. ii, p. 492. “ The circumstance of the churchyard of St. Maughold including a space of five acres of consecrated ground, certainly implies a larger population than that by which it is surrounded at present.”—Townley’s Journal, vol. ii, p. 172 ; Bullock's History of the Isle of Man, p. 235. Another writer states :—“ The country was well cultivated and well peopled. The Manks were equally versed in the exercise of arms and in the knowledge of the arts of peace. They had a considerable naval force, an extensive commerce, and were a great nation, although inhabiting a little Isle.”—Encyclopedia Britannica, Edinburgh, 1810, vol xii, p. 551. A poet of the north, in describing a dress unusually gorgeous, adds that it was spun by the Sudureyans. And even in science and literature this remarkable people had attained to no inconsiderable distinction.—Macpherson’s Illustrations, ap. Teller’s History qf Scotland, vol. i, p. 24 ; Transactions of the Society qf Scottish Antiquaries, vol. ii, part ii, p. 356.
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obnoxious to the cohorts of Rome.1 History is silent at that period as to the internal government of the Isle of Man, but the Druids, being senators as well as priests, directed all public affairs and private controversies.® We are told they were exempt from taxation and from military services, which implies that the rest of the people were subject to these aids, required by every government.® That the people were possessed of property appears from the Druids settling all disputes regarding the limits of land.4
In trading with each other, they used either rings or small plates of iron tied together, which passed by weight in the nature of money®—an instance of their ability, as no barbarous people made use of any medium in buying and selling.8 Tacitus has laid down the doctrine:—that the certain and secure possession of what a man hath acquired is derived to him from the security afforded by the government, under which he lives, whatever the form of it may be ;7 and for the sake of these and other advantages, every government is vested with power and intrusted with a revenue, which although derived from the public, cannot be said to be taken from them, because it is given for their use, and is therefore styled the public
1 Hollinshead's Chronicles of Scotland, edition 1805, voL i, p. 84.
2 Campbell's Political Survey, vol. iii, p. 292.
2 Campbell's Political Survey, vol. iv, p. 474.
4 Campbell's Political Survey, vol. iii, p. 294.
* The ancient Danes and Norwegians were expert merchants. Do Hick says, in his Thesaurus, that the Danes first introduced into the countries which they subdued the mercantile mode of computing a hundred by
** Five score of men, money, and pins j
But six score of all other things.'*
This they performed by using the greater decades, or units of twelve, which they called dusin, the French douzain, and we dozen. Hence is derived to us as well as to the Manks, the present mode of counting many things by six score to the hundred. •^•Brand's Antiquities, edition 1777, p. 348.
6 Campbell's Political Survey, vol. iii, p. 295.
7 Tacitus's History, book iv, cap. Ixxiv.
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revenue; and if, at any time, it becomes grievous or oppressive, it must be from being injudiciously levied or from its being divested of its proper use.*
The Danish system of polity was evidently calculated to support, at the expense of the multitude, the grandeur of a few, who held their possessions by the tenure of the sword : those who lived under them were villains oppressed by the public burthens. Yet, notwithstanding the industry of this frugal people, they were often reduced to a state of the most abject poverty. The manner in which Magnus Barefoot treated the inhabitants of the Western Isles is sufficiently characteristic of the spirit of the Norwegian government—when they patiently submitted, they were plundered of all they possessed, and if they offered any resistance, their dwellings were destroyed and themselves nearly exterminated?
When the Norwegian conqueror took possession of the Island in 1098, the inhabitants lived chiefly in caves in the mountains, nor were their circumstances much improved in the time of Sir John Stanley: “they provided neither doors nor windows to their houses, but made bundles of briars, gorse, and heath to defend them from the injury of the weather.” This fagot was called by the natives yn skeiy sy doarlish? From the time the Scots first conquered the Island to the accession of the Stanley family, a period of only one hundred and fifty years, Man was five times taken by the Scots and English. The natural result of so many changes in the executive government and consequent insecurity of property was the decline of husbandry, the extinction of commerce and of all stimulus to industry in the people, which occasionally reduced them to a state of the lowest wretchedness; even in the
1	Campbell*9 Political Survey, vol. iv, p. 473.
* Rerum Orcadeneium Hietoria, lib. i, cap. xvii, p. 71.
• Cregeen’e Manke Dictionary, p. 152.
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time of the commonwealth of England, Chaloner, one of the commissioners sent over by Lord Fairfax, says:— “ The poverty of this Island is its greatest security.” These circumstances do not accord with the assertions of the political writers who state the Manks, in ancient times, to have possessed an extensive commerce : this conjecture is unsupported by proof.1 But the Island must have been in a happy state when there was neither a lawyer nor beggar seen in it.’ .
The inland trade of the Island appears to have been at all times limited. There are no bodies corporate in the Island except the bishop, parson, vicar, churchwarden, and a few others who are rendered so by holding in perpetuity a trust inseparable from their offices. There is no trace of any guild or corporation having been established for the encouragement of artificers, nor of burghs erected with constituted authorities to regulate the proceedings of the craftsmen; and so far as the legislature has interfered, either as to artificers and agricultural servants, their decisions have been most arbitrary. “ It is observed that great cause of complaint, in this Island, respecting servants, has been the frequent binding of youth to trades for two or three years, who then, before they well understand the same, set up for themselves and marry, and so live meanly and poorly, and turning cottiers or inclosurers on some highway side, are commonly given to pilfering, and entertainers of vagabonds, and spoilers of the country’s goods put into their hands. It is therefore ordained that henceforth no person in this Isle take or entertain any apprentice to learn any science or trade, for a shorter time, term, and space than five years—nor shall the apprentice serving such number of years be
1 Harrison's Description qf Britain, p. 37 ; Campbell's Political Survey, vol. ii, p. 538 ; Macpherson’s Annals qf Commerce, vol. i, pp. 278, 279; Ay luff's Calendar qf Ancient Charters, p. 336. <
8 “ Lawyers in the Isle of Man get no fees and beggars no alms, for none of them are there.”—Histories Scotices Nomdatura by Christopher Irvine, Edinburgh, 1682.
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allowed to marry for one year afterwards, upon pain of severe punishment on the person of the offender, and a pecuniary mulct beside for a fine to the lord of the Isle.”*
If the axiom holds good—that commerce, like the arts and sciences, flourishes most where least restrained by law3—'the most ancient records of the Island tend only to shew how ignorant the Manks were of the true principle of trade : “ it is established and confirmed that no person buy any corn, or grain, or any other merchandise, or provisions, to sell the same again, whether in open market, or out of market, or in any private place or house, without licence from the governor or his deputy, upon pain of forfeiting the goods so purchased, or the value thereof, to the lord of the Isle.”’
It is also an ancient customary law that “ if any salt, iron, timber, or any commodity that is useful for the country be brought into any port or haven within the Isle to be sold, no manner of persons are to intermeddle therewith or buy the same at wholesale, until the same shall have lain for three tides after notice to the intent the country may be furnished according to the rate it is to be sold for by that time ; otherwise, if any offend therein, he shall, upon presentment to the Great Inquest, be severely fined, unless he do sell the same to the country at the rate which he bought it.”4
Such a mode of proceeding was very different from the open and frank manner of transacting business with foreigners, allowed by the Shetlanders.’
1 Statute, anno 1665 ; Mills’s Laws, p. 133.
8 Smith’s Wealth of Nations, edition 1819, vol. ii, p. 290.
• This singular custom was continued by Statutes enacted anno 1594, 1596, 1609, 1610, 1611, 1616, 163 7; MS, Statute Booh, pp. 74, 90; Milk's Law, pp. 63, 91, 92.
1 This custom was likewise continued by acts in the following years, 1584, 1596, 1604 ; MS. Statute Booh, p. 75.
4 u Before the Shetland Isles were annexed to the crown of Scotland, it is presumed the inhabitants were more numerous than at present.”—CampbelTs Survey, vol. ii, p. 678. “ The Dutch busses arrived there sometimes with more than twenty
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The foreign merchant or other person, who visited the Island either in the way of traffic or of pleasure, was laid under restrictions equally impolitic.1 Immediately on arriving in any of the ports or creeks of the Island, he was taken before the governor “ to tell the news from whence he came” and to show the bill of lading. If the governor thought the merchant stranger’s wares fit for the use of the commonwealth, he then endeavoured to “ drive him to a bargain;” but if that could not be effected, the clerk of the ships was commanded to summon the constituted country traffickers. These were four persons sworn, by the deemsters, to deal truly with all merchant strangers, but more for the country's profit. When these “ traffickers,” as they were called, and the merchants appeared before the governor, he strove “ to drive a bargain between them and the merchant stranger;” but if they could not agree, he allowed a certain time for concluding the bargain with the stranger, and whatever bargain was made by the four merchants, the country had to stand to it, and to take the commodities at the rates agreed upon; each person bringing wool, hides, or tallow, and receiving in proportion a quantity of salt, iron, pitch, or wine. If the commodities bought in by the country people did not extend to the value of the stranger’s goods, then the deficiency of the permutation on the part of the Islanders was made up by the four merchants assessing the country, every one in an equal proportion,* but the barter so received could not be exported without special licence3 from the
thousand raen on board. They had a place assigned them on shore, and were allowed to barter their goods with the natives, and the like privilege was allowed to Ham« burgers, Bremeners, and other strangers.”—Sibbald, pp. 30, 35, 38.
2	Anno 1523 ; Mills’s Lairs, p. 34 ; Camden’s Britannia, edition 1695, p. 1063.
*	Statute, anno 1523 ; Mills’s Laws, pp. 34, 35; Chaloner’s Account qf the Isle of Man, published in King’s Vale Royal, London, 1656, folio 30.
s Statute, anno 1527. By an act of 1692, exportation was allowed under certain regulations ; but by an act of Tynwald in 1736, “ all goods, the growth and produce of the Isle of Man, shall for ever hereafter be exported free and exempted from all duties and customs whatever.”—Mills’s Laws, p. 247.
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governor; and no stranger was allowed to carry money out of the Island?
The exactions, which the stranger was required to pay, were most oppressive. “ If a ship of salt be imported, the merchants are to have for their trouble, from the stranger, a barrel of salt out of every twenty barrels.” “ But it is to be understood that such loading of salt is from France or Portugal, no English salt is to be contracted for as a country bargain.”* If a ship of wine is imported, the clerk is to have one choice hogshead, paying for it as it is bought; and the merchant stranger is to agree with the clerk. My lord, the governor, bishop, and archdeacon only to have choice wines to drink free of cost in their own families.9 “ The clerk of the ship is to receive no poundage from the merchant stranger, as that is to be paid to my lord only.”4
In ancient times, the traffickers were chosen by the Great Inquest4 “ to truck and deal with merchant strangers ;” but in 1502, they were for the first time appointed by the governor, which authority was confirmed by an act of Tynwald in 1581.® The appointment of these traffickers had not gone into disuse in the middle of the seventeenth century, but was entirely laid aside in Bishop Wilson’s time?
It was not till the year 1422, that the produce of the Island was allowed to be exported on any pretext, or merchants permitted to leave the Island for the purpose of purchasing goods? “ Whereas shipmen and chapmen
1 Statute, anno 1422; Milled Laws, p. 27.
* MS. Statute Book, p. 21, ap. Parr, p. 103.
8 Statute, anno 1523; Milled Laws, pp. 27, 34, 35.
4 Liber Scaccarii, anno 1631, ap, Parr*9 MS. Statutes, p. 45.
* Statute Book, pp. 15, 27.
• Liber Placitorum, anno 1581; Camden’s Britannia, folio edition, 1695, p. 1064.
* Quayle's View of the Agriculture of the Isle of Man, London, 1812, p. 123; Camden’s Britannica, vol. ii, p. 1448.
• “ It is ordained that noe man, whatsoever condition he may be, go oat of tbs Island without licence from the Lord.”—S^a/Ww, anno 1422, 1594.
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might have noe lycence to pass the land with their goods and cattle to raise the lord’s farme as they were accustomed to do, which hath been a great hinderance to the lord, for better it were for them to thrive upon merchandize than foreigne merchants and chapmen. Therefore be it ordained that every chapman and shipman have lycence, as often as the profit serveth, for England, Ireland, or Wales, so that he warn the lieutenant, and have lycence to goe and knowe if he have any business to the coast they goe.” And “ when any person maketh suit to carry or transport any stuff or merchandize out of the Isle into any foreigne parts, the captain-general shall consult with the rest of the council what wares may be best spared by the inhabitants, and with advice of the council, grant lycence accordingly.”1
The intercourse allowed by these acts was not extended to Scotland, and the same exclusion, as respected that kingdom, was continued by another statute passed one hundred and seventy-two years after the one alluded to.2 In 1593, farmers were allowed to export, under licence from the governor, as much corn or grain yearly as might be required to pay their rent to the lord,3 but no more. And any person taking “ quick beeves” out of the Island was presentable to the Great Inquest, and the coroner or lockman was required to seize such beeves to the Lord of the Isle.4
So early as the year 1529, there was a revenue officer stationed at each port and creek of the Island, called a customer, whose duty it was to take an account of all goods imported or exported, and to receive for anchorage from any boat, vessel, or pickard that anchored within the heads—if with a cock boat, eightpence, and if without,
1 Statute Book, 1422, 1561; Wood, p. 279.
* Statute, anno 1422, 1594 ; Mills’s Laws, pp. 22, 66.
• Statute, anno 1593; Mills’s Laws, p. 77.	.	'
4 Statute, anno 1577 ; Lex Scripta, p. 68.	.	.	>
vol. n.	2 M
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one-half that sum? The form of the cocket granted to a vessel bound for a foreign port, was somewhat singular.*
On the first erection of the Saxon states, their monarch found it requisite to appoint certain places where the people might live together in safety, and carry on their dealings with freedom. These were called “ burghs,” a word implying in its primitive signification, “ a place of strength ;” and, for the convenience of the inhabitants, open markets were fixed in them with certain privileges?
Nearly all the nations of Christendom followed, in this respect, the example of the Saxons; but there never having been a burgh in the Isle of Man, is a proof that mechanics and merchants were never numerous there.
Rushen, now more generally known by the modern name of Castletown, was in ancient times the only market town in the Island, to which on the ordinary market day the inhabitants of the sheading of Rushen, and of the parishes of Santon, Marown, Glenfaba, Michael, and Ballaugh, were required to bring “ all the victual, corn, ware, and such like merchandize as they have to spare or sell, upon pain of fine aud imprisonment to the lord; and if they cannot sell them there, then they may dispose of them elsewhere within the Island.”3
At a Tynwald court, held on the 24th June, 1594,4 by consent of Randolph Stanley, captain of the Isle, and the rest of the municipal officers, it was enacted, “ That no fair or market be held upon the Sabbath-day, neither for the sale of victuals nor for anything else, upon pain of fine and imprisonment to the Lord; and that no countryman or stranger buy any commodity forth of the market before the market bell ring, upon pain of imprisonment and fine
1	Statute, anno 1529, 1517, 1610, 1628; Statute Book,pp. 13, 26, 29, 61.
♦ Appendix, Note i, 41 Ancient Cockets.”
2	Campbell's Political Survey of Great Britain, Dublin, 1775, vol. iv, p. 506.
8	Statutes, anno 1594, 1611 ; Mills's Laws, pp. 63, 64 ; Statute Book, p. 65.
* Mills's Laws, p. 63.
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to the lord.”1	Thia act does not appear to have been duly
observed, as it was renewed in 1610. At a subsequent j period, markets were held at Peel, Ramsey, and Douglas; I regulations were enacted for their management; and persons 1 were appointed to examine the articles brought to these markets for sale.
Barley, oats, and malt were sold by the heaped measure; while wheat, rye, vetches, beaus, and butter were sold by the stricken: and by an order of the insular council in the year 1582, this is stated to have been then an ancient custom. Wool is sold by the quart, containing seven pounds.’ The cloth yard consists of thirty-eight inches.3 Leather was not allowed to be sold till examined by persons appointed by the Great Inquest for that purpose, and stamped by them with the arms of the Island.
Any person bringing veal to the market before it was three weeks old, was liable to be fined, and the article either to be burned or given to the poor.* When the cattle were taken to the market, no person, whatever his rank might have been, was permitted to bid money for them “ till the lord’s steward had the refusal.”5
It was enacted that if any person selling a horse, cow, or any other animal, deliver, for* possession thereof, a handful of hay or strata, if such animal should miscarry afterwards, before the buyer takes away or even sees the
1 Statute, anno 1594; Milled Laws, pp. 63, 64.
* Quayle's Agricultural Survey, London, 1812, p. 139.
8 The Scotch ell is only 37 inches. A standard ellwand was kept in every royal burgh. That of Dumfries may. yet be seen indented in the outer wall of the jail. It is a rod of iron subdivided into inches. It was placed there, being till lately the market-place, for the purpose of checking what was called running measure, as the iron was in a similar manner placed at the market-place, for checking weight by the pound troy.
4 Statute, anno 1673. To constitute a bargain formerly in Scotland, the buyer
wet the point of his right thumb with his tongue, and afterwards pressed it against that of the seller. The transaction was then concluded, but if this ceremony was omitted, it did not stand law.
6 Waldron's Description of the Isle of Man, p. 140.
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same, the loss is to be his and not the seller's.1 But the wisdom of the Manks legislature is made still more manifest by the following enactments :—
“ If any man sell malt, that afterthe brewing thereof is found to be red, or is noisome to man, and not the fault of the ale-wife, she is to send to the seller to take away the same to his best use; and if he refuses to do so, he must loose both the beer and the price thereof.”* And “ If any sell ale in a can that is not stamped, the person to whom the ale is presented is at liberty to drink as much as he pleases without payment.”
“ If a man make sale of a swine that after killing is found to be measled, the buyer may return it to the seller, and by the Deemster’s authority, receive back the consideration or price.”3
“ If a farmer, upon credit, make sale of any grain to a townsman for payment of his rent, although the buyer deny the debt or price of the said corn, the farmer, upon his own oath, without any further testimony, is to have the price of the corn.”
An author who resided in the Island in the early part of the eighteenth century, says :—“ Their markets are on Saturday, but there is little butcher’s meat to be bought by the single joint. Most of the housekeepers, who do not bring up cattle themselves, join three or four together and buy a carcase; but they are persons of consideration
1 Ancient Customary Law.
* Statute^ anno 1588, 1597. Ale was the favourite beverage of the Manks previous to their commercial intercourse with France and Holland. The manufacture
of it was probably introduced into the Island by their northern masters. The Saxons and Danes were passionately fond of beer, and the drinking of it was supposed to form one of the principal enjoyments of the heroes admitted to the Hall of Odin.— Mallet's Northern Antiquities, cap. vi. Sacheverell, who was governor in the Island in 1692, gives this favourable report of Manks brewing :—“ I may mention the goodness of their ale, which is not only a commodity in the neighbouring kingdoms, but were we allowed the freedom of commerce, would be of great value wherever England
trades.”—Account of the Isle qf Man, London, 1702.
5 Statute, anno 1577.
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who eat any flesh meat at all—the natives generally, both rich and poor, living almost wholly on herrings and potatoes.”1
In the early ages of society, when the wants of the community were supplied chiefly by barter, fairs, fixed at stated periods, were of much convenience to the public. To give them a greater degree of solemnity, they were held on the day of the dedication of the church to a particular saint, and wares were sold even in the churchyards until prohibited by law. They were even held on Sunday when the usual fair-day happened so to occur.
Having the protection of a holiday, persons attending the fair were free from arrest, nor could the goods of merchants be seized or detained?
It was not till the year 1736, that every person was at liberty to buy and sell at fairs without any restriction,® excepting pedlars, who are not permitted to kawk their wares in the Island without a license from the government, under the penalty of five pounds.4
But the change which the manners of society have undergone, has in a great measure done away with the necessity that existed for holding fairs, and in the Isle of Man, as elsewhere, they are passing into oblivion. Of the forty-fi™ established fairs, there are not more than six or eight at which any dealing now takes place.® Waldron says :—“ They have no fairs worth mentioning except two which take place at Kirk Patrick. To these good housewives bring thread worsted of their own spinning. Here also you may buy a sort of cloth, manufactured in the country, but none else. They sell no eatables except butter and cheese, and no trinkets as in England. Butter, to a recent period, was sold by measure.”
1 Waldron’8 Description, p. 172.
* Jacob’s Law Dictionary, article “ Fair.”	*
9 Millas Laws, p. 236.
4 Statutes, anno 1741, 1758 ; Mills’s Laws, 267, 331.
9 Quayle’s Agricultural Survey, London, 1812, p. 138.
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Townley, who v^s present at the great annual fair of St. John’s, in July, 1787, gives a ludicrous description of it, which I shall here insert for the purpose of shewing the improvement that has since taken place in the roads, in the farming stock, and in the manners of the people:—
“ This is one of their annual fairs in this place, which has brought great numbers of country people from all parts of the Island, sadly bespattered with dirt in coming through such miry roads upon their little horses. Such a collection of cows and poor nags, chiefly from the mountains, was exhibited at this fair, as surely was never seen before collected together within European ground. To have purchased the whole of both kinds at forty shillings a head, would not have been a desirable bargain.
“ On two sides of a barren field are erected temporary booths, made up of sods aud covered with tattered remnants of old sail cloth. These are for the reception of the mixed multitudes resorting there—some few for business, but more on the call of amusement, by partaking of the joys of a country fair, and getting horribly drunk. Many of them partook very deeply of that first delight of a Manksman, ‘ grog,’ being seen by us in our return to Douglas either staggering along the road or in a deep sleep of intoxication by the sides of it.” *
The natural productions of the Island are neither numerous nor of great value as articles of commerce. Flax and hemp were raised at an early period “ in great plenty;” as was also wheat, barley, and oats; and kelp was manufactured on its shores to a small extent. Those, with some lead, copper, and iron, a limited stock of loaghtyn wool, with a few scores of cattle and a few dickers of raw hides, constituted chiefly the articles of barter with merchant strangers,’ who came chiefly from
1	Townley's Journal, kept in the Isle of Man, Whitehaven, 1791, voL ii, pp. 36, 265.
* Camden's Britannia, vol. ii, pp. 1439, 1444.
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Cumberland and Lancashire, down to the accession of the Stanley family to the sovereignty of the Island.
There does not appear to have been any fixed rate either of import or export duty, prior to the year 1577. A long list of the rates of custom on goods imported, as allowed that year by Henry, Earl of Derby, is recorded in the statute book of the Island. The duty on herrings imported was then fixed at one shilling per ton, and small as the duty may now appear, it was evidently intended to exclude the Dutch fishermen from the Manks market, they having established an extensive fishery on our shores long before that period.
The Hollanders fix the date of the commencement of their fisheries on the coasts of the British isles, in the year 1164. According to De Wit, “herrings are only found in abundance on the coasts of Great Britain, about Schet-land, Pharil, and Man, from St. Jameses to the elevation of the cross; about Brookness or Severvit, from the elevation of the cross to St. Katerines, in the deep water eastward of Yarmouth.”1
Brenus, who was governor of the Isle of Man from the year 1282 to 1287, was the first who taught the Manks people the art of fishing, and consequently, from this time may be dated the commencement of the Manks fishery,* although it would be now a difficult task to fix with historical accuracy, the time when they began to compete successfully with the Dutch.* Gottenburgh herring, says Lieutenant Governor Shaw, made once an article of
1 Account of the Dutch Fishery by John De Wit, pensionary of Holland, ap, Bindon's Essay on Commerce, Dublin, 1739, p. 167. In the year 1609, the Dutch paid ^30,000, and continued to do so annually for a long time afterwards, for liberty to fish on the coast of Scotland. Wellwood, in his letter to Grotius, says :—“ The Scots obliged the Dutch by treaty to keep eighty miles from the shore in fishing, and to pay a tribute at the port of Aberdeen, where a tower was erected for that and other purposes.”—Memorable Erents in History, London, 1818, p. 126.
2 Seacome's History of the Isle of Man, Liverpool, 1741, p. 23.
* Appendix, Note ii, “ Fishery Regulations.”
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commerce in the Island, of which it is now deprived and the importation prohibited, except one thousand barrels, in case of failure for home consumption.1
In the ancient Statute Book of the Island, it is mentioned in the year 1422 :—“ That the people be cherished to pay the Lord’s rent,' though there be no herring fishery;” ’ but it was not till 1610 that any law respecting the fishery was enacted. The following extract from that statute, plainly shews that at that period all recollections of herrings having been caught on the coast, was nearly lost, else why did the legislature apply to four aged men on the subject. “ The livetenante, deemsters, officers, and twenty-four keyes afforesaid, having taken the examinacons of fower anncyent men, who perfectlie did remember the hearing fishing in this Isle, and were themselves fishers driving for hearing in the north of England with Mancks fishing boats, doe ordeyne, appoint, and enact, for lawe to be observed everye heare after in this Isle, that all and everye the tennants and fermors within this Isle, whether they be lord’s tennants or baron’s tennants, shall have alwayes in redines prepared for the hearing fishing, eight fathomes of netts furnished with corckes or boyes, that is to say, out of everye quarter of ground eight fathomes, conteyning three deepings, of nyne score mashes uppon the rope.”3
One might suppose that it was the time previous to 1610, when the herrings had left the Manks shores, that Waldron alludes in the following passage:—“ What does them most damage is the dogfish, which, by reason of its
1 Parliamentary Commissioners' Report, 1792.
8 Mills's Laws, p. 21.
9 Liber Scaccarii, anno 1610 ; Mills's Laws, p. 501. There are not at present above three or four persons in a town that have small boats of their own for transporting and importing petty commodities, though in former times the Island was better stored with shipping, being able to equip a fleet of four score sail, (see Chronicles of the Isle of Man;) but at this day, they have not a bark above forty tons. —Camden's Britannia, folio edition, 1695, p. 1064.
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largeness, tears the nets in such a manner that they loose the herrings through the hole. This was so great a grievance that they at one time pat up public prayers at all churches, that the dogfish might be taken from them, after which they lost their whole trade, for the dogfish was taken from them, and the herrings also. Neither of which coming near their seas, they changed their tone and prayed with more vehemence for their return than they did before for their departure. God, they say, was pleased to listen to their complaints, and again sent them both herrings and dogfish.”1
Bishop Wilson must certainly have alluded to a period subsequent to 1610, when he remarks that “ herrings were formerly the staple commodity of the Island.” He says too, “ that in the memory of many persons then alive, twenty thousand barrels were exported annually to France and other parts of the continent of Europe.’” In 1667, herrings were so plenty that they sold for sixpence a mease of five hundred.’ But in the time of Sacheverel, who was governor of Man in 1692, the herring fishery had been lost to the Island for many years.4
An opinion has long prevailed that the herrings are migratory animals; that they breed in the north sea, whence they issue forth in a great body early in the season of each year; that the great body of herrings comes undivided to the Shetland Isles, where it arrives about the middle of June, and thence proceeding southward till it meets with the land, separates into two divisions—the one taking the west, the other the east side of this island
1	Waldron'9 Description qf the Isle of Man, p. 159.
* In June, 1798, a merchant of Leghorn informed me, says Mr. Feltham, that he received three cargoes of smoked or red herrings annually from the Isle of Man, which were consumed in Italy. Respecting salmon, he observed that the Italians received from two to three thousand barrels per annum from the Isle of Man, till checked by the French war.—Tour in 1797, p. 91.
’ Feltham, p. 220.
4	Camden's Britannia, vol. ii, p. 1448.
VOL. H.
2N
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—till, in their progress southward, they gradually fill the seas and bays on our coast; that they reach the Isle of Man in July, and Yarmouth1 and the North of Ireland in October and November, where they continue some time; and that the shoal, in its progress southward, gradually disperses, and disappears about the beginning of January, retiring, as it would seem, into the northern seas, where they again appear in the following year and repeat the same annual progress as before?
The reality of the migration of the herring is now greatly called in question. It is supposed that the fish, like the mackerel, is to be found during the winter months at no great distance from the shores which it most frequents at the commencement of the spawning season, inhabiting the deep recesses of the ocean; but at the vernal season, that it approaches the shallows in order to deposit its spawn in a proper situation? This is thought a sufficient explanation of the glittering myriads, which, at particular times, are to be seen illuminating the surface of the ocean for the length and breadth of several miles.
The approach of herrings at the usual season is always looked for with great anxiety by the Manksmen. They appear on the shores of Man about the middle of July. The first indication of their arrival is a small rippling of the water, a delicate phosphoric illumination of the sur-
“ The town of Yarmouth is bound by its charter to send the sheriff of Norwich annually, one hundred herrings in twenty-four pies or pates, and to deliver the like number to the lord of the manor of East Calton, who has to convey them to the king.”—Treasury of Knowledge, London, 1829, vol. i, p. 364. This singular custom shews the herring fishery to be of great antiquity at Yarmouth.
2	Anderson’s Account of the Fisheries, Edinburgh, 1795, p. 346.
* Mr. Neilson, the celebrated naturalist of Sweden, who was deputed by toe Swedish government, to survey the coast of Norway, for toe purpose of ascertaining as far as possible the accuracy of the opinions, advanced by various writers, respecting the habits of the herrings, asserts that the herrings found in the Gulf of Bothnia are a distinct species from those found in the Cattegat, while those that spread along the coast of Norway differ from both. The Report of the Committee of the Manis Legislature on Herring Fishery, in 1827, confirms the statement of Mr. Neilson as to the general habits of these fish.
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face, and the appearance of their usual attendants, the gulls and the gannets.1 When the flight of these seabirds is high, the fishermen know that the herrings are deep in the water; but when they are seen skimming near the surface, it is a sure sign the herrings are also near the top.
The person who first discovers the vanguard of the-grand shoals, sounds a horn? When the happy intelligence is announced, all is bustle and industry throughout the Island: every countenance is brightened and cheered with the joyous prospect of a good sea harvest. An admiral and vice-admiral are elected annually, whose province it is to conduct the fleet to the herring ground; and their boats are distinguished by appropriate flags. The water-bailiff directs the fishery proceedings on shore. By the statute 7th George III, chap. 45, sec. 17, the admiral of the herring fleet is allowed a salary of five-
1 14 The herring has many other enemies besides the gull and the gannet. From the vast number of sea fowls that seek their food on the shores of St. Kilda, we may justly conclude that there must be inexhaustible stores of fish there: but let us confine ourselves to the consumption made by a particular species of fowl. The solan goose is almost insatiably voracious : he flies with great force, toiling all day with little intermission : he disdains to feed on any thing worse than herring or mackerel. We shall take it for granted that there are a hundred thousand of these birds round the rocks of St. Kilda, as no less than twenty thousand are destroyed annually. If each of these destroy five herrings daily for seven months in the year, which estimate throughout is far too low, we have one hundred thousand millions of the finest fishes in the world devoured annually by a single species of sea fowl at St. Kilda alone.’7 Maccaulay's History qf St. Kilda, London, edition 1764, p. 249. But the herring is amazingly prolific :—44 One that weighs five ounces ten drachms, will have four hundred and eighty grains of spawn, containing thirty-six thousand nine hunted and sixty eggs.”—Phil. Trans., vol. Ivii. Dogfishes also destroy the herrings to such an extent that they are called by the Manks, 44 the tyrants of the sea.”—See Rj^aminaiion qf Sir John Dalrymple before a Committee qf the House qf Commons, qp. Report qfArts, no. 1, July, 1798.
3	Jqfferey's Account qfthe Isle qfMan, p. 173. The shoalis first met with about the middle of June, fifteen miles north of the Island, at a spot nearly equidistant from the Island, from Scotland, and from Ireland. The fish move slowly southward, and are opposite Peel about the middle of July, when they are in the richest state. They proceed around the Calf and up the eastern coast above Douglas, and in September, they reach the spawning ground off Clay Head, having then made nearly the circuit of the Island. The fishing season ceases in October.
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pounds per annum, the vice-admiral three pounds, and the water-bailiff or his deputy twenty pounds.
“ When it pleaseth God to send this blessing of fish about the Isle, the water-bailiff, upon first notice thereof is to take immediate care and course to have all the boats of the Island to come to such place as the fish is, to drive for the same, and see after my lord's custom fish,” and “ to see that every tenant, whether lord’s or baron’s, are provided with nets,1 corks, and buoys according to law.”*
Formerly, before leaving the harbour, a clergyman performed divine service to the assembled fishermen.1 He there read, in accordance with the form observed in all the churches of the Island during the fishing season, the last prayer but one in the litany of the church of England, beginning “ preserve to us the kindly fruits of the earth,” to which he added the more apposite supplication of “restore and continue to us the blessings of the sea.” This latter part was introduced into the church by Bishop Wilson.1 “ Nor were they by law allowed to fish from Saturday morning till Sunday at night, after sunset.”*
1	Statute, anno 1610; Milk*9 Laws, p. 502. It was enacted that all pawns working herring nets for sale, shall make every sling full twelve fathoms in length, computing two yards to the fathom, and fifty-eight meshes at least in breadth, under forfeiture of the nets otherwise made.—Statute, anno 1679. By act passed in 1796, the practice of tarring nets was prohibited under a penalty of ten pounds. But it appears that notwithstanding this enactment, tarred nets continued to be used as, by an act of Tynwald in 1817, the master of every boat was made liable, under a penalty of ten pounds, for each offence.—Mt/fr’s Laws, pp. 391, 466.
* Appendix, Note iii, “ Fishing Laws.”
s “ It is enacted and ordained that the vicar or minister of every parish, when the fishing is got, repair to the harbour every morning and evening to read divine service, and to deliver them good monitions, upon pain of every default to forfeit his tithe of fish the following night. And if any person neglect to come to such place where such service is to be read, when the admiral or vice-admiral sets out his flag, such person is to be excluded from the benefit of the fishery that night.”—Statutes, anno 1610, 1613, secs, i, ii.
1	This clause was first inserted in the edition of the Months Common Prayer Book, printed at Whitehaven 1779. “As dy chur er ash, as dy hannaghtyn dooin han-naghtyn * ny marry.* **
* Uber Scaccarii, anno 1610, ap. Mills's Ancient Ordinances, p. 502. The
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Townley thus describes the fishing fleet leaving the harbour of Douglas: “ the’ >ould not be a more pleasing or lively scene than to see the whole bay covered with hundreds of boats scudding before the wind in different tacks, in order to round the headland, and every crew most anxious to be first upon the proper station.”1
When the fleet arrives at the fishing bank, the nets are spread out in the sea on the starboard side of the boat, as required by an act of 1794? The herring is caught chiefly by the gills or neutral fins, and when drawn out of the water, gives a shrill squeak, like that of the mouse, but much fainter. The herring not being furnished by nature with organs of sound, this peculiar squeak is supposed to be occasioned by a sudden involuntary discharge of air from the swimm, which causes the instantaneous death of the fish. Hence the proverb, “ as dead as a herring”
Sea-faring people are generally accounted superstitious, and to this general remark the Manks mariner forms no exception. Down to a very recent period, they imagined they saw, when at sea, their old friend Mannan-beg-mac-y-Leirr in the phenomenon called, by sailors, the “ weathergaw,” forewarning them of an approaching hurricane. Numerous instances are related of disasters that befel people who neglected instantly to avail themselves of the friendly appearance of the warning spirit. The most calamitous in its consequences was that which happened in September, 1787, when nearly four hundred fishing boats with their crews were swallowed by the deep in a few hours, within sight of Douglas?
herring being a fish of passage, it has been pronounced lawfill by the Church of' Rome, to employ the Sabbath day in fishing for it. A whole chapter of the Decretals is assigned to the discussion. But the Manksmen do not avail themselves of the liberty granted by the Pope.
1	Townley*! Journal, p. 154.
1 Mills* s Ancient Ordinance!, p. 385.
• Manor’s British Tourist, vol. iv, p. 126. The recent failure in the fishery is
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On that occasion, the shoal of herrings was about three leagues off Douglas, and the boats sailed in the evening with every prospect of temperate weather; but about midnight, an equinoctial gale arose, and the fishermen, in their eagerness to gain the harbour, threw down a small lantern which was supported by the slender part of a former light-house. In a few moments afterwards, all was horror and confusion. The darkness of the night and the raging of the sea—-the vessels dashing along the rocks—the cries of the perishing men—and the screams of the women on shore imparted sensations of the greatest misery and horror. When the morning arrived, it disclosed an awful spectacle—the beach and rocks were covered with wrecks, and groups of dead bodies were floating in the harbour. In some boats whole families had perished.
It is in the evening that the vessels leave the harbour, and on the ensuing morning they return with the fruits of their voyage.
The unloading the boats and carrying the fish to their respective herring-houses, is wholly performed by women. Their first operation is to take away the intestines of the fish, if designed for a warm climate. In Man, they serve to enrich the gulls; but in Sweden, such refuse is boiled for oil.
Those designed for red herrings undergo a more tedious operation. Men shovel them up in layers, throwing a quantity of salt over each layer, and in that situation they are allowed to remain for several days. They are then spitted on hazel rods and hung up in the drying houses, where wood fires are lighted under them, and when they are sufficiently smoked, are packed up for exportation.
considered by the fishermen as a judgment on them for their unfortunate quarrel with Bishop Murray, respecting the green crop, in which the men of Peel took a violent and tumultuary part.—TeiptmottlA’f Sketchy cap. xx.
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This manner of curing, to produce red herrings, was introduced into the Island from Yarmouth, about the middle of last century.
By an act of 1703, fresh herrings might not be exported till the price was below one shilling and two pence per hundred; but that law was not repealed till 1796. By the act 5th and 6th Victoria, cap. 49, sec. 7, herrings, taken and cured by the inhabitants of the Isle of Man, may be imported from thence into the British possessions in the West Indies, South America, and the Mauritius duty free. And by an order in council, dated October 2, 1843, herrings may also be imported duty free into the Cape of Good Hope from the Isle of Man.
So early as the year 1566, the Scots prohibited strangers from Ashing in their salt water lakes;1 and the Manks, in retaliation, precluded the Scots from fishing on their coasts—a restraint that was only removed in the present century.’
Great encouragement has always been given by the British legislature to the Manks fisheries. By the acts 12th Geo. Ill, cap. 58, sec. 1, 2, and 26th Geo. Ill, cap. 81, sec. 33, 35, and 45, “ for all herrings caught by the inhabitants of the Isle of Man, one shilling per barrel of bounty was allowed, with a bounty of two shillings and eight pence for every barrel of white herrings, and one shilling and nine pence for every barrel of red herrings exported from the Island.” These bounties the parliamen-
1	“ For some kill as it has plesit God to oppin ane gret commoditie to the common weill of this realme, threw the fisching of Lochbroume and utheris Loches of the north seyis, and that after that divers strangearis had maist ernistlie required licence of our soverains to fische in the said Loches. Thair majesties thinking the mater partlie to conceive the estait of merchandis, and what skayth might happen gif the aayme were usit be strangearis, ordains that na strangearis of quhatumever nation that be come to saidis Loches, and use the commoditie of the said fisching in any time to cum." On 11th November, 1586, a proclamation was issued against exporting fish until the home market was first supplied.—Collectanea de Rebut Albani™, vol. 1, part ii, pp. 100,104.
1	Feltham,
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tary commissioners of 1792 found to average nine hundred and seventy-six pounds fourteen shillings and seven pence per annum; but they have been discontinued.
In the year 1786, the Duke of Atholl was, under the act 26th Geo. Ill, cap 106, appointed one of the commissioners of “ The British Society for extending the Fisheries and improving the Sea Coasts of the Kingdom.” The capital stock was limited to £150,000 stg,1 in £50 shares, which sum was to be laid out in building free towns, villages, piers, and fishing stations along the coasts. Oat of this fund, the greater part of the expense of building the new pier at Douglas was defrayed, and the various fishing stations improved.
This attention to the Manks fisheries has been productive of beneficial effects. In 1836, the number of Manks scowtes employed in the herring fishery was about three hundred, and the English and Irish vessels engaged in the same trade, on the Manks coast, were very numerous; but there was not even one vessel of any description from Scotland, up to the time of my departure from the Island?
By the statute 7th Geo. Ill, cap. 45, in case of any failure of the fishery carried on upon the coast of Man, the House of Keys is authorised to permit the importation of foreign herrings, not exceeding one thousand barrels
1 King George III was patron of this society. “ It had nearly the same fate as that incorporated in 1749. For a season or two basses were fitted out by the society; but if every herring caught had carried a ducket in its mouth, the expense of its capture would have been scarcely repaid. The bubble ended by the society purchasing ground in convenient situations for fishermen and carers settling, and letting them in small lots, building harbours, &c.”—Quarterly Journal qf Agriculture, ap, Mac Culloch** Com, Die., edition 1834, p. 649.
* Mr. Mac Kenzie, in his paper “ on the different sorts of herrings," published in the Traneaction* qf the Highland Society qf Scotland, vol. ii, states, that since the suppression of smuggling in the Isle of Man, the inhabitants have turned their whole attention to the herring fishery, and have, by degrees, invested their capital in upward* qffive hundred large boats. I have before me an account of the number of herring boats belonging to the Isle of Man, as annually returned by the coroner from 5th January, 1799 to 5th January, 1836, and it does not appear that the number in any year within that period exceeded four hundred.
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per annum, duty free. The quantity caught in 1843, was about sixty-one thousand barrels, and in 1844, was about fifty-seven thousand barrels, though in the latter year, some boats were very successful? The act of the 3rd and 4th Wm. IV, cap. 59, which came into operation on 1st September, 1833, permits “herrings from the Isle of Man, taken and cured by the inhabitants thereof,” to be imported into the United Kingdom duty free—a privilege not granted to any of the other British colonies.
The progress of agriculture may have been retarded by the diversion of the farmer’s capital and attention from the cultivation of the land to that of the herring fishery,’ and by a more judicious division of labour, the stores of the ocean might have been rendered more available to the wants of the community; but it is too fanciful to suppose that by efficient prosecution of the piscatory advantages of the Island, the inhabitants might become wealthy.3 A library might be filled with the tracts, plans, reports, and acts that have been printed in this country, during the last two centuries, containing regulations, schemes, and suggestions for the improvement of the fisheries and
1	“ Daring the last few days, the herring fishery has been singularly productive, nearly all the boats having been successful, and some specially so; the average take nightly being about forty mease, though some of the boats had as many as a hundred. On Tuesday night, one of the boats had a take which may, perhaps, be considered the most extraordinary in the recollection of the oldest inhabitant. She came in literally overflowing. Our only wonder is how the crew managed to get the teeming net on board. One of the men informed us, yesterday, that the fish, when counted out, just numbered one hundred and sixty mease, that is, ninety-two thousand two hundred herrings at one ‘ take J These, if sold at two shillings per hundred, would realize eighty pounds; a tolerably good night's work for seven men.”—Manx Sun, September, 1844.
8	Quayle99 Agricultural Survey, p. 156. Feltham, in his Tour qf the bland, made in the year 1797, p. 51, says the fishery then engaged upwards of five thousand men during the most important summer months, which appears also to be an exaggerated statement.
8	Campbell’! Political Survey, cap. viii, sec. iii. The commissioners of the herring fishery in the Report, a.d. 1827, recommend the employment of the fishermen in the cod-fishery, during the absence of the herrings, in order that they may become more efficient seamen, by being withdrawn from agricultural pursuits.
vol. n. 2O
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fishermen; but it is not too much to say that not one of those well meant endeavours, notwithstanding the enormous expense incurred in carrying some of them into effect, has been productive of any material advantage.1
The committee appointed by parliament in 1833, to enquire into the management of the channel fisheries, represent the fisheries as being generally in a very depressed state: this we may believe. Dr. Adam Smith, the great political economist, remarks, that from the age of Theocritus downward, fishermen have been proverbially poor?
1	Mac CullocNs Commercial Dictionaryt edition 1834, p. 580. Dr. Smith states that each barrel of merchantable herrings, caught in the year 1759, coat government, in bounties alone, £159 7s. 6d.—Wealth qf Nations, edition 1819, voL ii, p. 333.
2	Smith's Wealth of Nations, London, edition 1819, voL i, p. 136.
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APPENDIX.—Chapter XXI.
NOTE I.—Page 282.
ANCIENT COCKETS.
“ To all the King's and Queen’s M^esties’ officers. Know ye that A. B., master and merchant of the ship called the C. D, belonging to the Isle of Man, whereof the Right Honourable the Earl of Derby and E. F. Knight, Lieutenant to the said Earl, of the said Isle, are owners, hath well and truly laden aboard the said ship in the port of Douglas, in the said Isle, to and for the use of the said owners, five hundred and twenty barrels of wheat, every hundred five score ; twenty dickers of rough salt hides; and ten hundred rendered tallow, every hundred six score pounds weight, to be transported in the said ship, from the said Isle of Man, unto the Isle of Bion, in Galicia, or where the said ship may best make sale of her loading; and hath well and truly paid all duties and customs due for the same. In witness whereof, unto these presents, we, the Water Bayliff and Customer of the said Isle, have put our seal of office, the first day of February, in the twenty-fourth year (a.d. 1581) of the reign of our sovereign Lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God, Queen of England, France, and Ireland.”—Mills's Laws, pp. 45, 46.
NOTE IL—Page 287.
FISHERY REGULATIONS.
“ As the Herring Fishing is as great a Blessing as this poor Island receives, in enabling the Tenants for the better and speedier Payment of their Rents, and other Impositions, and have wherewithal to supply their other Wants and Occasions, when as all other their Endeavours and Husbandry would scarce advance any such Advantages and Gains unto them: So it hath been the incessant Care and Regard of the Government of this Isle always, when the Season of such Fishing falls out, and rather before, upon the Tynwald holden in June every Year, to make open and publick Proclamation to the whole Assembly of the Island, to remind them to be careful in providing their Boats and Netts to be in Readiness, whensoever it pleaseth God to send them that Blessing : And for the great Furtherance and Means to obtain such, it was the Care of the then Government, in the Year 1610,
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“That every Farmer or Tenant within thia Island, whether Lord’s or Baron’s Tenants, should provide eight Fathoms of Netts, (when as then there was not so many that kept Boats and Netts as now) tarnished with Buoys and Corks ready for Fishing, out of every Quarter of Ground, containing three Deepings of nine Score Mashes upon the Rope, to be as an Imposition upon the Tenants for the more effectual obtaining of a Blessing as aforesaid.
“ And lest that some Persons should be too forward to fish before the Fish should well ground about the Land, and so might frighten it away, it was also provided that no Person or Persons whatsoever should attempt to shoot for the Fish till after the sixteenth of July, which then was apprehended to be the Season for such Fishing.
“ And no Man is to shoot his Netts till the Admiral or Vice-Admiral have first taken in their Flags, or to give a Watchword if the Night be dark, that they may know when to shoot their Netts; and whosoever is found to offend herein, forfeiteth Ten Shillings to the Lord and Twenty Days’ Imprisonment.
“ And whosoever shall wilfully shoot his Netts across, over the Netts of another, or shall use any Draw-Netts or Stake-Netts during the Time of the Fishing, shall forfeit Ten Shillings.
“ And if any shall cut any Buoys or Corks off any Man’s Netts, or shake or take any Herrings out of the same, and it sufficiently proved, shall be proceeded against by a Jury as in the Nature of Felony.
“ And if any of the Fleet do, by God’s Blessing, meet with the Scul of Fish, or get good Store thereof, and reveal not the same to the next Boat to him, that so the same might be discovered from Boat to Boat throughout the whole Fleet, to the End every of them might be Partakers of that Blessing, that every One so offending is to be fined Forty Shillings besides Imprisonment.
“	Also, that if any shall lay violent Hands upon or strike any of his Fellows, or give him uncharitable Language on Sea-board, or under the full-sea Mark, such Person to be punished by Forty Days’ Imprisonment, and tq be fined besides, at the Water Bailiff’s Discretion.
“	And if any draw Blood by violent Strokes on Sea-board, or under tail-sea Mark, he shall forfeit his Goods to the Lord’s Pleasure.
“	Also, the Water Bailiff shall have out of every Boat, as oft as they Fish, a certain measure called a Kybbon full of Herrings; and whosoever refuseth to give the same, or Twelve Pence in Money in lieu thereof, shall be excluded from the Fleet.
“	And that upon every Saturday, by Two o’Clock in the Afternoon, during the Fishing Time, the Water Bailiff is to sit and hold an Admiral Court, as well to inflict Punishments upon all Offenders, as to reform all Wrongs committed through the Fleet.
“	And every Master of a Boat, and all others his Fishermen, are to attend the same Court, to serve upon Jurors or other necessary Occasions, as they shall be required unto, upon Pain of Fineing.”—Mills's Laws, pp. 502, 503.
Great difficulties arise from the disputes of the Manksmen with the English and Irish fishermen, who do not acknowledge the authority of the admirals, and submit only to the laws of the realm. There are at present belonging to the former, one hundred vessels ; those of the latter are also numerous. The chief subject of contention, between the Manks and Englishmen, is the period of their commencing the fishery, and of shooting the nets. The former never fish before the 5th July, and shoot their nets invariably after dark, to avoid alaiming the fish—a deviation of this rule being permitted only on special liberty from the officers or water bailiff; whereas the latter break through both these customs, taking the sea in June and shooting their nets when the sun is up.
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The Manksmen complained on the subject to the House of Keys, by whom their representations were submitted to the Board of Northern Fisheries, who decided in favour of the right claimed by the English, as being authorized by the Act of Parliament to fish at all seasons on the British coast.
Notwithstanding the jealousy excited by the difference, the English fishermen are in estimation for their orderly conduct and skill in the fishery. The old Manks statutes, prohibiting fishing from Saturday morning till Sunday at night, after sunset, on pain of forfeiting the boats and nets, are observed; and the take of Monday is generally superior to that of other days, inconsequence of the less previous disturbance of the fish.
The Manksmen had an old quarrel with the Irish respecting the side of the vessel from which the net should be cast, originating in the direction given by our Saviour to St. Peter, which produced the miraculous draught. This was determined by the act of 1793, which decided in conformity with the above precept, that the net should be shot from the starboard side.—Lord Teignmouth'8 Sketches cap. xx.
NOTE HI.—Page 292.
MANKS FISHERIES.
To George Quirk, Esq., receiver-general and water-bailiff of the Island, I am indebted for the following interesting communication, exhibiting a view of the Manks fisheries to the end of the year 1840. Mr. Quirk’s statements are based on an intimate knowledge of the subject, and form an additional evidence of the great value of the fisheries to the Island.
“	The natural history of the migration of the herring, is a subject not entirely free from controversy.
“	Several scientific works have affirmed that the large shoals which annually visit the coast of Scotland and Ireland, and the western shores of England, come from the arctic circle, beginning their migration in the spring, and appearing off the Shetland Isles in the months of April and May ; but the stomachs of jhe common whale and the narwal inhabitants of the northern regions have been examined, and their food has been found to entirely consist of the floating sapise, medusae, or sea blubber: never of herrings. The gullet of these animals, enormous as they themselves are, being so narrow, as scarcely to admit the passage of a single herring.”
The’gullet of a whale washed ashore on the coast of Scotland some years ago, and of the extraordinary length of ninety-six feet, was only one inch and a half in diameter.— Laughton's Guide, p. 178.
“	From evidence taken before a committee of the legislature of the Isle of Man, in the year 1827, it would appear that, contrary to the received opinion, a shoal or shoals of herrings entered St. George’s Channel from the south, in the month of May, when the fishing commences at Arklow, on the coast of Ireland. That the progress of the fish to the northward is slow—Arklow, Dublin bay, Ardglass, and the Isle of Man being the successive fishing grounds—and that the body of fish seldom reaches the Isle of Man before the middle of June or later; that two coral banks,
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situated to the west and east of that Island, and chiefly the latter, would seem to be their ultimate annual destination, these places being frequented by them for the purpose of depositing therein their spawn; that after the completion of this progress, in the month of October, the fish again return southward, retiring to the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and furnish a second or winter fishing at Arklow in November. The separate facts connecting this course of migration, seem to be distinctly shown in the evidence taken before a committee of the Manks legislature in 1827 ; and an Arklow fisherman states the very conclusive circumstance, ‘that in the summer fishery, the herrings always mesh with their heads to the north; and in the winter fishery, with their heads to the south; or in other words, that in summer they are caught to the south of the net, and in winter to the north of it.* Large bodies may, however, occasionally approach direct from the north to the coasts of the Isle of Man, one example of which, it is said, occurred in the great fishery of 1802.
“It is an interesting probable fact, that the fish, which annually visit the shores of the Isle of Man, always belong to the same families : they are of the finest quality and have ever been esteemed a great luxury, being of peculiar excellence during the months of June and July.
“The fishery, from the earliest times, has been a subject of deep interest to the inhabitants, and has occupied the attention of the local legislature from the remotest period of its history. The Statute Book contains, from 1610 down to a very late period, some of those concise gems of legislation, on the subject of the fisheries, that may be well contrasted with many of those verbose and often unintelligible productions that may be found coming from quarters said to be more civilized.
“The period for commencing the herring fishery is fixed, by the Manks law of 1610, at the 16th of July, or the 4th or 5th new style, that having been the period, from time immemorial, the shoals of herrings were believed not to have settled and embodied in the channel. This established custom continued to be generally observed until the summer of 1823, when the Cornish fishermen commenced fishing on the Manks coasts, disregarded the local regulations, and not allowing the shoals to settle, they took them in their progress.
“ The arrival and embodying of the shoal is, however, far from being sufficiently uniform to be registered by dates, and as the commissioners of the Scotch fisheries have expressed an opinion, that to attempt to prescribe a time either for the commencement or termination of the fishery would be impolitic and attended with more harm than good, the old regulation, of late years, has not been enforced. It is, however, the opinion of many intelligent and disinterested persons, and the same opinion prevails among the fishermen themselves, that the practice of premature fishing is very injurious, and combined with the destruction of the coral banks on the east coast of the Island by the modern introduction of trawling, is a sufficient cause for what the fishermen consider a declining state of the fishery on the Irish as well as on the Manks coast.
“ The Manks herring fishing fleet now consists of two hundred and twenty vessels, and is manned by fifteen hundred men. Of late years, great improvement has taken place in the construction of the vessels and in the habits of the fishermen themselves. They are chiefly genuine fishermen, are better clothed and better fed, and are more industrious and temperate than formerly.
“ The boats are half-decked, measuring from twelye to eighteen tons, smack rigged, with an out-rigger sail abaft. The nets are also better equipped than those formerly used, being longer and deeper, of which each boat is provided with fifteen or twenty pieces: each piece measures in length about one hundred and seventy feet, and in depth twenty-one feet. In these respects, the Manks fishermen appear to have successfully imitated, if not excelled, the Cornish fishermen.
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44 Captain Quilliam, of the Royal Navy, a native of the Isle of Man, who had always shewn a desire to raise the condition and multiply the comforts of the fishermen, was among the first to suggest the advantage of equipping a boat with nets on the present improved plan. He had no difficulty to induce two gentlemen, his friends, to embark in the undertaking; and a boat was accordingly fitted out in 1827, which fished successfully for several years. This example had the happy effect of inducing their countrymen to abandon a prejudice, which they had entertained for their own laborious mode of fishing.
44 In each boat there are six or seven men. The shares are generally divided thus : —For the boat, two shares; for the nets, six; for the crew, six. The crews are also allowed ten shillings to fourteen shillings per week for diet, which is taken out of the common stock.
44 The cost of a boat and nets, completely fitted out, may be estimated at two hundred and fifty pounds. The average annual expense of barking the nets of each boat is ten pounds. Of English and Irish boats, there are usually from seventy to one hundred engaged in the fishery on the Manks coast.
44 In the fishing season of 1840, eighteen fast-sailing smacks belonging to the Island and one hundred and twenty men were employed in the carrying trade ; that is, in the transport of fresh fish to the Liverpool markets, whence Manchester and the adjacent towns are abundantly supplied. These vessels cost from three hundred to four hundred pounds each. Owing to the difficulty, however, of maintaining a proper ratio between demand and supply, the market varies between the extreme points of glut and scarcity, and the necessary consequence sometimes is a low average profit to those engaged in this trade. Sudden fluctuations in the quantity taken, materially affect the price. The average price of fish, so purchased for the English market, was about twenty shillings per mease, or four shillings per hundred, (a hundred herrings contains one hundred and twenty-four) where it may realise from six shillings to nine shillings per hundred. Fifteen vessels from England and Ireland were also engaged in the same trade.
44 The increased demand and high price of fish in a fresh state, produced, it is considered, from the facilities of railroad carriage and the general improvement of the country, have tended very much to diminish the business of curing for the home and foreign markets, and this business has ceased, of late years, to be an object of much commercial speculation.
44 Messrs. Henry Holmes and Sons, bankers and merchants, are the only persons extensively engaged in this trade. They have curing and drying houses at Douglas and Derbyhaven, in this Island, and at Wick, in Scotland.
44 It is proper here to notice that it has frequently occurred when there is an abundant take, and the demand for the English market checked, the price is fixed not by the vender, but by the buyer ; and Messrs. Holmes never offer on those occasions less than ten shillings to twelve shillings per cran, justly considering that a lower price would not afford the fishermen a living profit.
44 From returns that have been made, and from inquiry and observation, the following account may be presented of the productive state of the fishery, for the year ending October, 1840 :—
MBASB.
Purchased and carried to the Liverpool markets in Manx boats .. 25,000
Do. do. by English and Irish boats................................10,000
Used and consumed in the Island, fresh and salt ................. 15,000
Cured in the Island for exportation in bulk and barrel........... 30,000
Total .. .. so.ooo
BBCEIPT8.
4^35,000 12,000 10,000
15,000
^72,000
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“ The cod fishery, an important branch of the fisheries, commences in February, and continues during the months of March and April. It requires no expensive outlay; but the season is perilous, and the risk therefore great.
44 The same boats that are used in the herring fishery are employed in this fishery. Fifteen Manks boats and one hundred and twenty men were engagedin the season of 1840. They fish with long lines, each man famishing four hundred and eighty fathoms of line and two hundred and forty hooks, which cost about thirty shillings.
44 In the above season, which was a successful one, three thousand five hundred cod were taken by one boat, and produced to the fishermen one hundred and forty-five pounds. They were sold at tenpence each, and were carried to the Liverpool market, where the usual price is from a penny to threepence per pound.
41 There is only one trawl boat belonging to the Island, which was fitted out last year. The coast is, however, frequented by trawl boats from Liverpool. They trawl throughout the channel, between Maughold Head, in the Isle of Man, and the lightship, stationed off Liverpool. They commence on the Manks coast about October. In the months of March, April, and May, the fish shift to the south-east; towards the end of May they are found further east, and approach the sands and muddy bottoms off the coast of Lancaster; there they are of inferior quality, and are preparing to deposit their spawn. The average earnings of each man may be about twenty shillings per week.
11 The turbot fishery is uncertain and unproductive.
44 From a comparative view of the expenses of outfit and capital employed in the herring and cod fisheries, with the prices and moneys realised, it may be estimated that a profit from sixty to eighty per cent, was obtained in the year to which the foregoing statement refers. And finally, it may be stated that these fisheries give employment annually to four hundred vessels decked, half-decked, and yawls, and to four thousand men and boys; and there is no question but that the Manks fisheries afford, and are capable of affording, a most abundant and profitable source of productive employment, and that their encouragement and improvement ought to be recognised as an object of essential importance to the wealth of the Island.”
The report of the committee of the Insular Legislature, before referred to, is a very valuable document; it directs public attention to a number of circumstances of great interest. It had been found that several practices prevailed among the fishermen which were injurious to the general trade, and as it was undeniable that the fishery in late years had much diminished, it became important to enquire into, and, as far as possible, prohibit these practices. The practices which had formed the chief ground of complaint were—
1.	Commencing 41 the fishery at too early a period of the season, thereby scaring and dispersing the fish before they had embodied and settled on or near their annual destination.”
2.	44 Shooting the nets at too early an hour of the evening,” from which the same evil consequences ensued.
On these points the report observes:—
44 It is of no less importance, however, to discover the origin, than to prevent the continuance, of the abuse ; and your committee have no doubt whatever that the prohibition of these two practices ought to be most rigidly enforced.
•4 The injurious practice of tarring the nets, or boiling them in a mixture of bark or tar; and there is still a more recent practice of soaking them in oil or other nauseous mixtures, probably offensive to the fish, certainly so to its consumer, and seriously affecting its commercial value. It were superfluous to insist on the absolute necessity of effective measures for the abolition of this practice.”
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The committee in conclusion recommend the following regulations :—
441st.—To regulate the commencement of the fishery by the verdict of a jury of fishermen as hereinbefore suggested, or to fix a date not earlier than the fifth of July.
44 2nd.—To prohibit shooting the nets before the lighthouses are lighted, or a signal be made by the admiral of the fishery, according to ancient law and practice.
44 3rd.—To prohibit strictly the use of tar, oil, or any other material than bark alone, in preparing the nets.
44 4th.—That all suitable encouragement be given to the reduction in size, and reform in rigging and equipment of the boats, and the reduction of the crew.
“ 5 th.—That one uniform mode of shooting the nets be enforced, either from the starboard or the larboard side of the boat.
44 6th.—It is submitted for consideration whether it be not an advisable precaution against the danger arising from the track of so many steam vessels passing so near the fishing grounds, that each boat be obliged to carry a distinguishing light after shooting the nets.”
VOL. II.
2 P
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CHAPTER XXII.
MODERN COMMERCE.
State of the Peasantry in the Seventeenth Century—Contraband Trade commenced by a small Band of Adventurers from Liverpool—The Islanders engage deeply in the illicit Traffic—Commodore Thurot commences his seafaring career as a Manks Smuggler—The Runtrade of the Island proves injurious to the Revenue of Great Britain and Ireland—All the Measures taken by Government to suppress this clandestine Commerce prove, for a time, ineffiectual—Commissioners appointed by Parliament to visit the Island—Management of the Insular Revenue revised—New Laws enacted—Fiscal Ordinances amended—Import Duties rescinded—And Harbour Dues abolished.
It has been already stated, that down to near the close of the s eventeenth century, the Manks remained vassals in a manner attached to the soil, employing themselves in fishing during the short season the herrings were on the coast, and for the remainder of the year devoting themselves to complete idleness, whilst the women performed the task of cultivating just as much land as, on the closest calculation, would supply the wants of the family and pay the lord’s rent.1 They dwelt in mud huts, without doors and windows, and which merely served the single purpose of defending them from the inclemencies of the weather.
About the year 1670, however, a company of adventurers, from Liverpool, settled at Douglas, for the avowed purpose of carrying on a contraband trade* with the
1 Quayle^ View of the Agriculture of the Isle of Man, p. 123.
2 Bullocks History of the Isle of Man, p. 190. Such advantages were held out by these illicit traffickers, as they were then called, to merchants engaged in the foreign trade, that many ships laden with the produce of the East and West Indies, touched at the Island, and met with a ready sale for their cargoes.
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surrounding shores, and to this date may be traced the commencement of a new era in their history.
The goods thus landed were, from the convenient position of the Isle, exported by the barks, boats, and wherries of the Island, into Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland, to the detriment of the revenue and the prejudice of the fair trader.
The profits attending this iniquitous trade soon induced many of the most wealthy of the Manks people to engage in it likewise. The great body of the people, who had no capital to embark in speculations, became carriers; for which hazardous employment they were suitably qualified, being inured to hardships and trained to a seafaring life. But a commerce founded on trick and fraud, could not be prosecuted without an entire surrender of principle; and of this Bishop Wilson must have been aware, when he wrote to his son:—“ Our people are mightily intent upon enlarging the harbours of Peel,. Ramsey, and Douglas; but the iniquitous trade carried on to the injury and damage of the crown will hinder the blessing of God from falling upon us.”
“ The Island became the great storehouse magazine for the French and Dutch to deposit vast quantities of Indian goods, which are carried off by the Islanders in wherries built for that purpose.” “ The loss to Great Britain,” continues the same author, “ and the gains to the French are inexpressibly great. As all the sums drained from us are employed by them, in time of war, to hire troops and pay armies to fight against us, it will be no exaggeration of truth to say, that since the peace of Utrecht, they have drawn more money from us, by means of their trade with the small Isle of Man, than was sufficient to maintain thirty thousand men with a train of artillery, during the late war in Flanders.”1
1	Scot^ Magazine, vol. xiii, pp. 225, 226.
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HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
The fatal practice of smuggling was attended with mischievous consequences to the revenue of Great Britain. In a memorial laid before the lords of the treasury by the “ fair traders of Cumberland,” the injury was stated at four hundred thousand pounds per annum; but other accounts state it at half a million sterling.
In the surrounding countries, the spirit of industry was likewise checked by a passion for smuggling, which was nourished by their vicinity to the Isle of Man.' Soon after the completion of the union between England and Scotland, in 1707, a proposal was made in parliament to assimilate the fiscal laws of the Isle of Man with those of Great Britain. This alarmed the Manks people so much that on the 31st October, 1710, the constituted authorities petitioned the Earl of Derby to lend a sum of money sufficient to pay the expense of a deputation from the Island to London, for the purpose of striving to ward off what they considered an impending danger. It appears that the Earl of Derby advanced a hundred pounds for that purpose, as on the 8th January, 1711, an act was passed to assess the inhabitants for that amount? The object of the deputation to London was not, however, attained.	f । 7 .'^-^^
In the beginning of the reign of'George I, an act was passed to prevent East India goods being landed in the Isle of Man,3 except when direct from a British port, upon pain of forfeiting the ship and cargo. This law not being found so efficient as was anticipated, another, more severe in its operation, was passed in the same reign,4 enacting that no goods not the growth, produce, or mana* facture of the Isle of Man, could be imported into Great Britain, under pain of incurring heavy penalties. Other
1 Chalmers Caledonia, vol. iii( p. 286.
3 Milled Laws, p. 193.
1 Statute, 7th George I, cap. xxi, Bec. ix.
4 Statute, 12th George I, cap. xxviii, sec. xxii.
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laws were enacted for a similar purpose; but as they also were rendered abortive, it became evident that only the strong arm of power could extirpate this nest of plunderers who had taken up their residence in the Isle of Man, in order the better to evade the laws of Great Britain.
In 1711, at the request of the British legislature, a law was passed by the Insular government against the smuggling trade with England, making it, however, a provision of the enactment that the British government * should grant some encouragement to their trade, agricult ture, and manufacture, by opening a free trade between the two countries.
This provisional measure was treated by the British legislature with silent contempt. Two years afterwards, therefore, the Manks government pretending “ that a continuance thereof would soon cause the misery and decay of the land,” repealed the law. This was openly divesting themselves of any thought of honest improvement?
The protection afforded to smuggling by the Manks is thus described by Waldron, who was then residing on the Island in the capacity of a commissioner from the British government:—“ His majesty of Great Britain is master of the seas, yet the Isle of Man has the jurisdiction of so much round the Island, that a master of a ship has no more to do than watch his opportunity of coming within the piles, where he is secure from any danger from the king’s officers. I myself had once notice of a stately vessel that was steering her course into this harbour, and would have boarded her before she got within the piles but for want of sufficient help to execute my design. * Her cargo was indigo, mastic, raisins of the sun, and other
1	It was enacted by the British parliament, that every person detected in anywise aiding or assisting in smuggling after the 1st day of May, 1757, should be sent to serve as a common sailor in the navy, for the apace of three years.—SmoUatfaHittory qf Englandt cap. xii.
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rich goods, which I had the mortification to see sold to traders in Douglas, without any duty paid to his majesty.”'
In gloomy or tempestuous weather, when the revenue cruisers had sought for safety under cover of the land, the adventurous smuggler generally set sail with his contraband cargo, alike regardless of the dangers of the sea and the power of the law. Among the many daring individuals engaged in that hazardous trade, no name is now so well remembered as that of Francois Thurot, who, about the year 1742, when only fifteen years of age, left Dunkirk with an Irish smuggler, who was a relation of his own, named Farrell, and took up his residence in the Isle of Man, where he entered into the service of a Welsh smuggler, in whose employment as a sailor, he remained some time, running goods betwixt the Isle of Man and Anglesey. It was here Thurot acquired a knowledge of the English language, and imbibed that spirit of daring and adventure, as well as that skill in a seafaring life and in the contraband trade, which subsequently distinguished his character. In 1752, he went to reside at Boulogne, and still continuing in the same line, his daring and experience soon raised him to eminence as a successful smuggler. His vessels ran immense quantities of goods between the French, Manks, and English coasts. On the breaking out of the war with England in 1755, he joined the privateers of Dunkirk, and by his brilliant exploits, speedily rendered his name terrible to the merchants of Britain. Being now well known for his bravery and experience in naval affairs, he was, in 1757, appointed by the French government to the command of a frigate, and soon afterwards to the command of a small squadron. As is well known, he fell in action off the coast of Man in the year 1760.2*
1	Waldron, pp. 102, 103.
8 French Biographical Dictionary.
♦ Appendix, Note i, “ Defeat and Funeral of Thurot.”
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As the lord of the Isle received certain duties which were increased by the illicit traffic then firmly rooted in the fancied interests of the people, he consequently being averse to its suppression, was for a long time hostile to all attempts, on the part of the British government, to subtract from his gain. At length, however, when the clandestine commerce, carried on with the Island, could no longer be tolerated,1 he entered into a treaty with the lords of the treasury, which was confirmed by the act of revestment.’	,,
The people became so much alarmed by the sale of the Island, that they looked upon that transaction as a certain forerunner of the individual ruin of the whole population. They even despatched commissioners to London to represent their miserable condition to the British parliament, but without effect. A song composed at that time is yet popular in the Island and in Galloway:
“ Ah ! babes unborn will lament the day When the Isle of Man was sold away ; And every old wife who loves a dram Will bewail the loss of the Isle of Man."
In consequence of this cession, another act was speedily passed by the British government for effectually preventing the illicit trade of the Island.3 In a third act, passed in
1 The following is an extract from an account of the smuggling trade, published in the year 1753:—“ Government does not know, perhaps, to what height it has come. The captain of a cruiser did venture to do his duty by following a valuable Dutch dogger into a port in the Isle of Man, and seizing her; but five of her men were thrown into prison, where they will probably be till their death. The captain himself, with his two men, narrowly escaped to Whitehaven. Are the officers of the Isle of Man not guilty of rebellion, in seizing the king’s boats and arms ?”—Poatlewaite’a Commercial Dictionary, vol. ii.
2 We are informed that there are at present (25th August, 1764) in the Isle of i Man, near one hundred tons of teas, five thousand gallons of wine and brandy, large 1 magazines of Irish wool, and large quantities of imported French commodities, now hoarded up for the purpose of smuggling, all which, by the new regulations, will be required to be duly entered and pay duty, or otherwise will be confiscated.—Scota* Magazine, August, 1764, p. 457.
3 Statute, 5th George III, cap. xxvi.
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the same session of parliament, it was judged expedient to give the inhabitants full liberty to export their native produce to Great Britain,1 and to allow bounties on linen* exported from thence. In the seventh year of the reign of George III, an act was passed for encouraging the trade, manufactories, and fisheries of the Island. To the person who should spin the greatest quantity of yarn, a premium of five pounds; to him who should manufacture the greatest number of yards of linen cloth, a premium of six pounds; and to the weaver who should weave the greatest number of yards of linen cloth, a premium of four pounds was annually given.
By the same act, salt, timber, and iron rods or bars, indigo, and naval stores were allowed to be imported into Douglas free of duty. But by the statute 11th, Geo. Ill, cap. 52, which took effect on 5th July, 1771,’ a certain duty was imposed on all spirits, tea, and tobacco imported into Douglas, and on all vessels entering the seaports and harbours, under particular regulations, according to the
1 Statute, 5th George III, cap. xxxix.
8 Statute, 5th George III, cap. xlix.
3 The following extracts tend to shew to what extent the contraband trade of the
Isle of Man was encouraged in Galloway and Ayrshire. Extract of a letter from
Barr, in Carrick, 20th April, 1771 :—u On Thursday last, at mid-day, in contempt
of all the authorities, civil and military, there marched through this parish, in the
direction of Dalmellington, upwards of one hundred smugglers, with about one hun-
dred and fifty horses, all laden with tea, tobacco, or spirits. They were laden at the
bay of Luce, in Galloway, from three luggers from the Isle of Man: there were about two hundred of the smugglers there, but the rest took another road, and the vessels being disturbed, sailed for the coast of Ireland to discharge the rest of their cargoes. The band that passed through this place had been attacked by a party of military and excise officers; but the soldiers, consisting of a seijeant and sixteen men, were defeated, got their firelocks broke, and several of themselves nearly killed.’*—Edinburgh Weekly Magazine for 17 71. Out of the proceeds of two seizures of contraband goods from the Isle of Man, made in December last, (i. e. 1777) at the Mull of Galloway, by Mr. Reid, inspector general of the customs, the military who assisted on that occasion have received as follows:—the lieutenant ^269 14s.; seijeant ^42 16s. lOd.; corporal £28 Ils. 4d.; each private ^14 5s. 8d.—Scot*9 Magazine for June, 1778, p. 239. On the appearance of excise-men, particularly if attended by military, the nearest church bell was usually rung with great violence, to alarm the neighbourhood, so as to give the people time to put the smuggled goods out of the way.
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tonnage of each. This act was followed by another in / ' , the same year, for establishing a regular pacquet between r l: I- Liverpool and Douglas, and empowering the postmaster' general of Great Britain to establish a post-office and postroads within the Island, and to levy for the inland conveyance such rates as were paid in England.1
The measures taken to carry this rapid succession of enactments into operation had the effect of extinguishing for a time the clandestine trade so much complained of? Some merchants of capital who remained in the Island, turned their attention to the cultivation of waste lands; and consequently greater quantities of wheat and flax were raised than formerly.
Manufactures improved, and the drunken and dissolute life which naturally attends smuggling, seemed to give place to more industrious habits; but it proved only a , temporary suspension of the wayward propensities of these Islanders.
The fostering aid of Great Britain, which allowed them many commercial advantages not enjoyed by the inhabitants of the United Kingdom, was undervalued by them. While they reluctantly submitted to the strong arm of law, they secretly sighed for the halcyon days of the/ree trade. The flame which appeared to be quenched, was only smothered as it were, to blaze anew when the means V used to suppress it were removed.
G A military force was maintained in this Island, and a i large establishment of armed cutters and cruisers were stationed in the channel for the protection of the revenue ;s but in the same ratio that this force was diminished, the
1	Statute, 7th George III, cap. 1. sec. v.
2	A royal proclamation was issued on the 30th March, 1778, offering the king’s ' pardon to every person who had been engaged in the contraband trade, who, within < six weeks thereafter, should enter his majesty’s service, either as a sailor or a soldier. Accordingly upwards of five hundred smugglers surrendered themselves, and were incorporated with the army and navy.—Scots’ Magazine for 1778, p. 449.
8	We have several regular regiments here, and in pursuance of the late order of
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contraband trade increased, nor was its progress impeded even by what was called “ Pitt’s burning and staving act,” passed in 1792?
The illicit intercourse carried on between the Isle of Man and the opposite shores of Scotland, was now carried on to a greater extent than at any former period. Many persons of capital engaged in the precarious enterprise. Companies of these adventurers, chiefly Manksmen, were stationed at Balcary, Clone, Furniness, and other convenient places on the shores of Galloway. Some of the buckkar captains were daring, resolute fellows, of great nautical acquirements. The exploits of Yawkins, a Dutch-' man, who commanded a smuggling lugger called the “ Black Prince,” are yet related by both the Manks and . Gallovidian peasantry, and the poetasters of the day employed their pens in his praise?
council to prevent smuggling, the lords justices of Ireland have despatched nine armed cutters to occupy the following stations on the Isle of Man :—three in Douglas bay, three in Ramsey bay, and three before Rushen harbour. By this disposition no vessel can possibly approach the shores of Man without having a thorough examination.—Scots* Magazine for Sept. 1764, p. 516.
1	Statute, 32nd George 111, cap. 1.
8 ** The thunder boomed loud, and the lightning was strong. As the buckkar of Yawkins went scrieving along The mountain>like billows, that washes the shore, Where Raeberry’s turrets stood frowning of yore.
The king’s men were foiled when she left the Isle bay, With a cask at her maintop in vaunting array;
The sails of the cutters spread fast in the wind. But the buckkar of Yawkins soon left them behind. Ah ! what could the buckkar of Yawkins assail, If there is at all any truth in the tale, That satan, for guarding her, claimed as his due, When landed his cargo, a tithe of her crew, But this might be said, just because she could sail, When no other vessel could ride out the gale;
Because skipper Yawkins could take any bay— Any creek in the Solway, by night or by day.
♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Oft at the Ross, with Yawkins and with Doal, And Manksmen gabbling from the manor hole, What noggins have I drank of smuggled rum, Just from the little 4 Isle of three legs’ come.”
-^-Huckston, ap. Mactaggart’s Gallovidian Encyclopedia, London, 1824, p. 85.
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On one occasion, as Yawkins was landing his cargo at the Manksman’s lake, near Kirkcudbright, two revenue cutters, the Pigmyand theDwarf, hove in sight, on different. tacks; the one bearing round from the Isles of Fleet, and the other between the point of Raeberry and the Muckle Ross. The dauntless free trader instantly weighed anchor, and bore down between the cutters so close that he tossed his hat on one deck and his wig on the other, hoisted a cask on his maintop to shew his occupation, and bore away under an extraordinary pressure of canvass, without receiving injury. To account for this and other hairbreadth escapes, popular superstition alleged that Yawkins insured his celebrated buckkar by compounding with the . old enemy of mankind, for one tenth of his crew every voyage. How they arranged the selection of the tithe, is left to our conjecture. The buckkar was, perhaps, called the “ Black Prince” in honour of the formidable insurer. On another occasion, when Yawkins cast anchor at the Manksman’s lake, an inexperienced tide-waiter supposing the Black Prince to be a timber ship then expected to arrive, went on board alone; but he saw his mistake when too late, for he was not permitted to land till the vessel arrived at Amsterdam, where he was set at liberty to find his way back to his station at Auchencairn in the way most convenient to himself.1
Goods run direct from the Isle of Man into Great Britain, were neither conveyed in such ships as the Black Prince nor commanded by such captains as Yawkins. The vessels chiefly employed in this department of the free trade, were a kind of small craft, called scouts, fash-\} ioned and rigged in a peculiar manner. During the darkest 'nights of winter and in the most tempestuous weather, when the best equipped cutters would make for shelter
1	In a letter, dated Castle Douglas, 16th May, 1829, I sent Sir Walter Scott an account of Yawkins, as related to me by an eye-witness, which he has acknowledged with his usual kindness.—See Waverley Novel*, vol. iv, p. 374.
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in the neighbouring bays, these fragile barks generally put to sea, under the command of mariners disqualified by their habits for such a hazardous employment?
A large establishment of revenue cruisers in the English channel and along the southern shores of Scotland was required for the protection of the revenue? Many skirmishes took place between the kingsmen and the contraband traders; but the briskest fight now remembered was that by Sir James Bristo, near the Isle of Whithorn, when striving to capture a smuggling lugger that sunk, with all hands on board, fighting till she was swallowed by the waves. Captain Cook, also, was long the terror of every smuggler who dared to navigate the Irish channel. These commanders ably acquitted themselves in the active discharge of their duties; and some of them amassed considerable riches? But none of their names is associated with such a tragical story as that of Sir John Reid, then commanding in the Solway Frith?
By the act, 12th George III, salt was allowed to be imported from Great Britain into the Isle of Man for the purpose of curing herrings; but this boon was turned to
1	It was proceeding from the Isle of Man to Galloway in one of these smuggling scouts that Alexander Millar, the hero of the beautiful song, “ Mary’s Dream,” was drowned near the Isles of Fleet. “ Mary weep no more for me” is known to every admirer of poetic excellence.—Murray9a Literary Hiatory qf Galloway, Edinburgh, edition 1822, p. 245.
2	The yachts in the service of the excise in 1794, werd the Royal Charlotte and ' Royal George, of sixty men each, and the Prince of Wales and Princess Elizabeth, of fifty men, with others of less dimensions. The cutters and sloops in the service 1 of the customs were the Royal George, the Prince of Wales, Prince William Henry, Princess Royal, Prince Edward, Prince Ernest Augustus, and Osnaburgh.
8	“ I was up at the Hague this morning to look at Captain Cooke’s new purchase, with which he seems much pleased. He has let it at £60 per annum, which gives him five per cent, for his purchase money.—Townley'a Journal, vol. i, p. 78. Cap-tain Crawford, of the Royal George, purchased an estate in the island of Cumbria. V
4	Near the farm house of Glenstocken, in the parish of Colvsnd, is a lonely spot, on the Solway side, called “ The Manksman’s Grave,” with which a tragical story is connected of an unfortunate young man, who, on the eve of his intended marriage, was, near the end of the last century, killed by a shot from a revenue cutter, when bearing up the Solway Frith with a few bags of run salt in a acout from the Isle of Man.
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the disadvantage of government, by smuggling from the Island back into Britain large quantities of such duty free salt.	'
The practice of depositing cargoes of vessels engaged in the smuggling trade in the Isle of Man, to elude the laws made for the protection of British commerce, rendered it necessary that secret places should be constructed for securing the goods from the grasp of the revenue officers. Waldron, whose name I have had occasion frequently to mention in the course of this work, resided on ■ the Island fifty years after the commencement of the smuggling trade there. In his time, many of the ample cellars which he describes, were used for concealing contraband goods. “ The former inhabitants of the Island,” he remarks, “ seem to have taken great delight in subterraneous dwellings; for there is not an old building in the Island, which has not, at least, an equal number of rooms , below ground as above it.”1
The Manks smugglers, who took up their residence on the coast of Galloway, constructed places of similar description below their houses. The cellars at Balcary remain as a specimen of the ingenuity displayed in the construction of these subterraneous apartments. Immense quantities of smuggled goods, however, were occasionally . concealed in caves, and among rocks on the shore, so as often to elude th# most diligent search of the revenue officers, unless pointed out by very direct information.
The carriers from the coast to the interior were called Lingtowmen, from the coil of ropes or Lingtows which they generally wore like a soldier’s shoulder belt, when not employed in slinging or carrying their goods. The fixed : price for carrying a box of tea, or a bale of tobacco from 1 the coast of Galloway to Edinburgh, was fifteen shillings; and a man with two horses could carry four packages.
1 Waldron, p. 152.
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Two hundred horses have been frequently laden in a night at Balcary, and at the Abbey-burn-foot of Dundrennan.
Annan Water-foot was another noted landing-place. Many a large cargo of contraband articles was discharged there during the time our celebrated poet Burns was excise officer at Dumfries.1
Had the officers, whose duty it was to guard the ports and creeks of the Isle of Man, exercised proper vigilance in counteracting the manoeuvres of those engaged in the illicit trade, such large shipments of run goods could not have escaped their observation.*
By the act 3rd and 4th, William IV, cap. 60, which . came into operation on 1st September, 1833, seeds, ashes, corn, cattle, sheep, and horses, with farming and fishing implements, and several other articles are allowed to be imported into the Isle of Man free of duty.
Application for license to import goods must be made between the 5th of May and the 5th of July, annually, to the collector of the port of Douglas, who, within fourteen days after, is required to transmit the same to the governor or his deputy, that he may allot the whole quantity of each article among native applicants, who are to be supplied before strangers.
A decked vessel bound from the Isle of Man to any part of the United Kingdom, is not permitted to have more than one-half gallon of spirits rad one pound of tobacco per man, for the crew as sea stores.’ An open
1	See Lockhart's Life qf Sir Walter Scott, edition 1828, p. 218.
8	By the statute 3 and 4, William IV, enacted for the prevention of smuggling, persons committing offences against the revenue laws, on the high seas, may be prosecuted in the Isle of Man; persons unshipping any prohibited goods in the Isle of Man, to forfeit treble the value or j£100 ; and every poor person confined in the Isle of Man for infringing the revenue laws, may receive, for subsistence, an allowance not exceeding seven-pence halfpenny nor less than four-pence halfpenny per day.—Sec. xliv, xlviii, xlix, Ixxiv, Ixxvii.
3	Act, 6th George IV, sec. xiv. But by the Act, 3rd and 4th William IV, cap. lx, sec. xiv., two pounds of tea are allowed for the crew of a decked vessel, and for the crew of an open boat one pound.
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boat or vessel is allowed one quart of spirits for each seaman on board, and one pound of tobacco for the crew ; but no tea as sea store.
These duties being lower than on articles of a similar description, when consumed in Great Britain since the revestment, have been in no ordinary degree injurious to the revenue and trade of the empire, without producing any real or permanent advantage to the Island. The illicit trade has always been carried on chiefly by strangers, who have reaped by far the greater part of the profit, all that the natives have derived from it being only higher wages for their perilous and precarious labour, and in some instances an advanced rent for houses, cellars, or magazines.
Since the Island became subject to Great Britain, it has been the peculiar care of the British government to improve the condition of the Manks people, by encouraging them to cultivate their lands and extend their manufactories. Two thousand five hundred quarters of grain were allowed by act of parliament to be imported annually into the Island, free of duty, from the ports of Liverpool or Whitehaven.1 By a subsequent statute, various kinds of goods, wares, and merchandise were allowed to be imported free of duty? The first of these laws was very acceptable to the inhabitants, as it delivered them from many of the restrictions of foMer statutes. The second was likewise beneficial in establishing a regular intercourse with Great Britain.
By an act of the British parliament, passed in 1828, certain duties were made payable in the United Kingdom, upon the importation of corn, grain, meal, and flour; but
1 Statute, 5th George III, cap. xxvi, sec. xxxix, xliii i and 7th George III, cap. xlr, sec. xxv.
8 The Act, 6th George III, cap. xlvi, empowers the commissioners of customs to grant licences to import into Great Britain a certain quantity of baffle* from the Isle of Man.
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such duties were not payable in the Isle of Man, although the surplus productions of Man were admissible, under existing laws, into the United Kingdom, without payment of any duty.1
Many British merchants, taking advantage of this lenient law, imported grain into the Isle of Man direct from foreign ports; not so much for underselling the Manks farmer as to export it from the Island into the United Kingdom free of duty. This subject was brought under the notice of parliament in a petition by the landholders of the Island; and to such an extent was this fraudulent practice found to have prevailed, that, in 1835, it became necessary, for the protection of the revenue, to enact that “ it shall not be lawful in future to import into the Isle of Man any foreign corn or grain, meal or flour, except upon payment of the same duties as are made payable on the importation into the United Kingdom of corn, meal, or flour.” *
This enactment had the effect of stopping, in a great measure, both the importation and exportation of all kinds of corn or grain.
So frequently have the fiscal privileges of the Manks been taken advantage of in every possible way, to the detriment of the revenue and the trade of the empire, that the president of the Board of Trade notified to parliament in June, 1836, that it was the intention of his majesty’s ministers to introduce a bill in that session, to assimilate the fiscal and commercial laws of the Isle of Man with those of Great Britain.
Being in the Island when the news of this proposed alteration first reached it, I had an opportunity of witnessing the high state of ferment into which the people were in consequence thrown.
1 Statute, 9th George IV, cap. lx.
* Statute, 5th and 6th William IV, cap. xiii, sec. i, iv. .
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At a Tynwald Court, held in Castle Rushen, on 5th July, 1836, it was intimated by Governor Ready, that he had just received information that it was the intention of his majesty’s government to introduce forthwith a bill into parliament to regulate the trade of the Island : that he understood the object of this measure was to assimilate the duties payable on the importation of license goods, with the duties payable in Great Britain; and that the duty on timber would be included, having reference to the ship building for foreign purposes, which had been carried on in the Island.
No circumstance had occurred since the revestment calculated to call forth feelings of alarm so generally as the announcement made by the governor, with regard to the proposed alterations in their laws. Every class of the community seemed to indulge in the most gloomy forebodings of the disasters which would inevitably result from such a radical change in their fiscal regulations.
When the public mind was at the highest pitch of excitement, information unexpectedly arrived that the proposed measure of assimilating the taxes of the Isle of Man with those of Great Britain, had been postponed till another session of parliament. This gave great satisfaction to the populace, as it afforded them time to use their best endeavours in warding off what they called the impending blow against the peculiar privileges of the Island.
After much disputation as to the choice of individuals, a deputation of three persons was sent from the Island to London in April, 1837, for the purpose of laying before his majesty’s ministers the objections of the Manks people to the proposed alterations in their laws. But on account of the death of the king on 20th J une, the session was brought to a close so soon as the most important bills, then in parliament, would admit: all others were ak lowed to stand over for the consideration of the first parliament of the new reign.
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This unexpected occurrence gave the Manks people a still further respite; hut the deputies, although they had remained several weeks in London, returned without being able to give their constituents any satisfactory information as to the future views of the government respecting the object of their mission.1
It has already been stated that the allotment of the articles enumerated in the act 6th George IV, cap. 151, and allowed to be imported under special licence, is a privilege reposed solely in the hands of the governor. Seeing the difficulty, however, of doing equal justice to every applicant, governor Ready, in the first year of his administration, established an open court for the adjustment of such claims; but that system having been discontinued, the public sentiment was loudly expressed at almost every public meeting and by every class of society against the partiality shown in the distribution of these allotments before the present fiscal law came into operation.
By the act for the regulation of the customs, passed in August, 1838, it is provided that goods, of the manufacture of the Isle of Man, “shall be charged with such proportion of the duties of importation as shall fairly countervail any duties of excise payable on the like goods in the United Kingdom. And whereas doubts have arisen whether such charge may be made in respect of the materials of such goods, it is enacted and declared that such goods are and shall be chargeable to such proportion of the said duties of importation as shall fairly countervail any duty of excise upon any of the materials of which the goods are manufactured.”
While this bill was in progress through parliament. Lord Lowther took the opportunity of asking Mr. Poulett Thompson, president of the board of trade :—“ Whether it was his intention, during that session, to bring in the Isle
1 The expense of sending these deputies to London was defrayed by voluntary subscription. The sum thus raised amounted to £213 4s. 8d.
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of Man fiscal regulation bill ?” Mr. Thompson stated in answer, “ that he had a bill prepared on the subject, in the last session, but so many objections were taken to it, that he was induced to abandon it; but if he could overcome these objections, or some of them, he would introduce the bill in the next session of parliament.”
The proposed alteration of the fiscal laws continued to be agitated by the Manks periodical press, notwithstanding Mr. Poulett Thompson being removed from the board of trade to be governor-general of the Canadas.*
By the act 5th and 6th Victoria, cap. 47, sec. 24, 25, and cap. 56, sec. 3, some regulations were made as to the Manks coasting trade and “ to certain manufactures of the Isle of Man.”1 These acts became the law of the land in July, 1843.
On the motion of Dr. Bowring, in the same session of parliament, a “ Return of the Receipt and Expenditure of the Isle of Man” was ordered to be printed by the house of commons.*
In March, 1844, governor Ready received from the home office a document containing the provisions of an extensive reform in the fiscal duties of the Island, which was forthwith laid by his excellency before a Tynwald court at Castletown, called specially for the purpose of taking that measure into consideration. At this meeting, it was resolved to publish the substance of the government proposal, and to communicate the same to the captains of the respective parishes to be laid before the whole community.
Public meetings were consequently held in various parts of the Island, where their views were freely expressed on the different points of the proposed alter-
* Appendix, Note ii, “ Return of the Import Duties.”
1 Bateman’s Laws of Excise, London, 1843, p. 282.
* Appendix, Note iii, u Parliamentary Paper.”
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ations of the existing laws. The point seemingly most at variance with the wishes of the populace was the retention of any part of the “ licence system.” The right of being allowed to have bonded warehouses in the Island for the purpose of storing foreign corn under modified regulations, was strongly urged, as provided by the act 3rd and 4th William IV, cap. 64. They did not object to the increased scale of duties, but they respectfully insisted that the surplus revenue, arising from the duties to be levied in the Isle of Man, should, for the future, be placed at the disposal of the Insular legislature, for local improvements—a principle amply acknowledged by the act, 18th George III, cap. 12, (a.d. 1778,) which declares the revenue of the colonies to be at the disposal of the colonists themselves.
Deputations were appointed to present their memorials to the Tynwald court, which had adjourned to the 9th April for the purpose of receiving such documents as the people might choose to present—this being the most legitimate channel for pressing their views on the British government. A deputation was also appointed to proceed forthwith to London,1 to lay the claims of the Islanders respectfully before the proper members of her majesty’s government, whose reiterated declarations were, that they did not wish to increase the pressure of taxation upon the inhabitants of the Isle of Man to a greater extent than was necessary for the protection of the revenue of the United Kingdom; and they acted most liberally in altering the draft of the bill, so as to meet the wishes of the Islanders.
This bill to amend the laws relating to the customs in the Isle of Man, was prepared by Messrs. Greene, Gladstone, and Sutton. Permission was given by the house
1 The deputation consisted of Messrs. S. S. Rogers, Thomas Garrett, jun., and Robert Duff, all gentlemen of high standing in the Island.
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of commons to bring it in on 24th May, 1844. On the 21st June, it was ordered to be printed ; and after having undergone several amendments in committee, was finally passed by the house of commons on 5th July; and after having been slightly altered by the house of lords, received the royal assent on 19th July, and immediately thereafter became the law of the land, without having been promulgated on the Tynwald Hill according to ancient form.
The Islanders thus, fortunately, have succeeded in obtaining a more favourable tariff than that proposed in the month of March. Their trade with the United Kingdom is no longer liable to the formalities of foreign voyages, it being now upon the same footing as the coasting trade of Great Britain, with the privilege of carrying bonded goods in smaller vessels. Though the license system is not wholly swept away, a check is put to huxtering in surplusages. Whoever shall not, within each year, import the whole quantity specified in his license, shall be disqualified from obtaining a license the following year. A license is only now required for the importation of brandy, geneva, colonial rum, liqueurs, and tobacco; and ; the quantities of these articles now allowed to be imported, ■ are greatly increased. Foreign corn is allowed to be imported and bonded under payment of the same rate of duties as that imported into the United Kingdom? Wines, tea, coffee, and sugar are henceforth wholly relieved from the license system, and may be imported in unrestricted quantities. The harbours of the Isle of Man will henceforth be “ harbours of refuge,” open to every tempest-tost vessel free of “ entrance tolls,”* which may be bailed as matter for general congratulation, not only by the Manks people, but by the shipping proprietors of the United Kingdom.
1	See Act, 5th Victoria, cap. xiv, sec. iii, 29th April, 1842.
• Appendix, Note iv, “ Table of Duties.”
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APPENDIX.—Chapter XXII.
NOTE I.—Pagb 310.
DEFEAT AND FUNERAL OF THUROT.
In the days of the Danish sea-kings, many a battle was fought on the coast of Man; but a sea fight there in the eighteenth century, was a rare occurrence.
Thurdt, the French pirate adventurer, whose name had become the terror of Great Britain by his enterprising achievements in the North Seas, was raised by the court of Versailles to the rank of commodore. In October, 1759, he left the harbour of Dunkirk with a squadron of five ships and seventeen hundred men, to make occasional descents on the Irish coast for the purpose of distracting the attention of the government, and by dividing the troops, facilitate the proposed invasion of that kingdom.— Smollet’s History of England, cap. xix. He lost two of his vessels at sea and a number of his men ' vCarrickfergus, where he came off* victorious. The success, however, which he had experienced on shore, was not destined to be of long continuance.
Captain Elliot, who commanded three frigates at Kinsale, hearing of Thurbt’i exploit in the north, set sail in quest of him; and on rounding the Mull of Galloway, on the 28th February, descried his fleet at anchor near the offing at the entrance of the bay of Luce. He attempted to embay them, which M. de Thurdt observing, weighed anchor with all dispatch, and stood out to sea in the direction of the Isle of Man. Elliot gave chase, and a warm action ensued, which was maintained with great spirit on both sides, for an hour and a half. The French commander at length struck his colours, and the whole squadron was conveyed into Ramsey bay by the capton. —Smollet's History of England, cap. xix.
“ Douglas, Isle of Man, 4th March, 1760. On receipt of the news of Thurdt being brought into Ramsey bay on Thursday last, I went there to see the ships. On getting on board the Bellisle, I was struck with astonishment: turn which way I would, nothing but scattered limbs, and dead and dying men met my view. The decks and sides of the ships could only be compared to a slaughter-house, there being nearly two hundred men killed on board the Bellisle, beside what the other two ships lost. The French must have plundered all before them at Carrickfergus, for I saw one of them stript who had eight women’s shifts on him. They had plenty of children’s clothes, shoes, caps, ruffles, buttons, thimbles, and pins, with a store of gray yarn. The English seamen looked upon the Frenchmen as a parcel of poltroons, by their behaviour.”—Scots’ Magazine for February 1760.
Thurbt is described in the Scots’ Magazine for February, 1760, as being about thirty years of age, of a low size, well made, having lively black eyes and a fresh complexion, and as being of a frank, humane, and affable disposition. The naval engagement in which this adventurer lost his life, has often been described by historians. They all agree in stating that he was killed early in the action, and that he was thrown
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overboard ; but none of them seem to be aware that his corpse was thrown ashore on the lands of Mochrum, in Galloway, and that he was interred in the old Kirkyard of Kirkmaiden, a small cemetery hard by the margin of the sea. I have conversed with several persons who, from the heights of Galloway, witnessed the action between Elliot and Thurbt, some of whom conveyed the remains of the unfortunate commodore to his last resting place.
The following particulars were communicated to me by the Rev. James Black, minister of the parish of Penningham, in Wigtownshire, who witnessed the engagement, and who followed Thurbt’s funeral to the church-yard:—
“The French ships, as already mentioned, were at anchor near the offing at the entrance of the bay of Luce, when Elliot’s squadron bore round the Mull and attempted to embay them. But the French commander instantly weighed anchor, and stood out to sea in the direction of the Isle of Man. Ere he had sailed a league from the Scotch coast, however, he was overtaken by the English squadron, when a brisk fire commenced which soon obscured both fleets in a dense cloud of smoke.
“	Every consecutive tide, for two or three days after the action, cast a number of dead bodies ashore on the coast of Galloway. Among the last thus thrown up by the influx of the sea, was that of the French commander, whose remains were easily distinguished from the others, by the silk-velvet carpet in which they were sewed up. Some historians say he was thrown over board by mistake; but from the circumstance of his having been thus sewed up in his cabin carpet, I think that unlikely. It appeared that he had been attired in his full dress of commodore when the engagement commenced, as his remains were clothed with all the insignia of hia rank as a naval officer. He was identified most particularly by marks on his linen, and by a silver tobacco-box with his name in full engraved on the lid.
“The remains of this gallant young seaman were removed from the beach to the house of a person in the vicinity, who, acting under the direction of Sir William Maxwell, of Monreath, the lord of the manor, invited every respectable person in that quarter to the funeral. Sir William himself acted as chief mourner, and laid the head of that distinguished individual in the grave.
“	The carpet in which the corpse was sewed was for a long time kept at Monreath-house, and my informant supposes it to be there still. The tobacco-box was presented by Sir William Maxwell to the victorious Elliot, in whose family it is yet perhaps an heir-loom. Thurbt’s watch, which fell into the hands of one of Sir William’s domestics, is now in the possession of a person in Castle Douglas.”
How these circumstances, so honourable to Sir William Maxwell, and so interesting to historians—as filling up a blank in the history of that period—did not find their way into any of the public journals of the day, and thence be placed on record, ia a question which I am now unable to solve. It is true that the farmers in that remote quarter of Galloway, had then little intercourse beyond the boundary of their own small district. Even Sir William Maxwell himself does not seem to have taken such an enlarged view of the subject as might have been expected. He defrayed, certainly, the funeral charges, but there is no monumental stone to point out the spot where the remains of Thurbt are laid. On visiting the old Kirkyard of Kirkmaiden lately, I could not find any person who could point out Thurbt’s grave, except one old man who came for that purpose from some distance, and I thought even he acted with uncertainty. It moved me much when I thought that he whose name had filled with terror many of the inhabitants of some of the sea ports of Great Britain and Ireland, whose defeat was celebrated with all the rejoicing that could be manifested for the most important victory, and whose name will go down to posterity with the reputation of an intrepid warrior, should thus be laid in a remote corner of tha
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Island which he threatened to conquer, without the spot being exactly known where his remains have crumbled to dust.—See History Galloway, vol. ii.
This is the substance of a communication which I sent to my friend Mr. George Chalmers, author of Caledonia, in 1819. His reply was :—“ The paragraph which you have pointed out in the Scots’ Magazine for July, 1760, respecting Thurot, and the facts in your hands which have not appeared in any contemporary history of that eventful day, are enough to make a life of that enterprising sailor.0 With fewer original materials he wrote a Life qf Mary, Queen qf Scots.
To commemorate the defeat of Thurot and the arrival of the captured French fleet in Ramsey bay, Mark Hildersley, bishop of Sodor and Man, erected, in 1760, a monument in the immediate neighbourhood of his palace, at Kirk Michael, which is an instance of the Manks having been even then friendly towards Great Britain. Shortly after the action, a print twenty- four inches by fifteen inches was made from a painting by Wright, representing the ships in Ramsey bay as they appeared immediately after the battle, and was dedicated to the merchants of Liverpool.—See also my letter on the subject of Thurbt'a interment in the History qf Galloway, wl ii, p. 439.
NOTE II.—Page 323.
RETURN OF THE IMPORT DUTIES.
A Return of the Amount of Duties levied on Imports into the Isle of Man; distinguishing British from Foreign; and specifying the various Articles on whieh the said duties have been raised, for the years 1840, 1841, and 1842.
ARTICLES.	1840	1841	|	1842
British manufactured Goods, Consisting of Woollens, Cottons, Silks, Haber-dashery. Hardware, Groceries, Leather, &c. ..	SB s. d. 1050 12 2	4 b. d. 1005 15 4	jff B. d. । 1570 10 6
Foreign Goods admitted upon Licence, Wine 	 Brandy 	 Geneva 	 Rum		 Tobacco .. Black Tea		 	 Green Tea		 Coffee ..	..	.	.		 Liqueurs	 Eau de Cologne		 	 Refined Sugar	 	 Muscovado 		769 8 2 2253 7 6 2204 17 0 5193 0 0 3920 9 6 1945 11 0 243 IS 0 134 11 8 9 14 4 11 6 0 33 14 3 351 7 10 '.		1023 7 7 2243 18 0 2247 10 0 7471 1 0 3833 8 0 1799 15 6 202 18 0 127 13 4 5 19 3 11 5 0 35 17 5 559 10 6	1048 15 0 2249 2 0 2224 2 5 8251 13 0 3958 1 0 1950 10 6 237 9 0 130 19 8 7 1 9 115 0 33 I 6 515 4 11
	'17118 5 9	19562 4 7	^^" 9_
Foreign ad valorem Goods		I	2600 15 1 1	1309 3 0 |	1 1022 14 11
ABSTRACT Duties on British Goods		 Duties on Foreign Licence Goods	 Duties on Foreign ad valorem Goods	1050 12 2 17118 5 9 2600 15 1	1005 15 4 19562 4 7 1309 3 0	157# 16 0 20026 11 9 1022 14 11
	 Total of Duties..	21369 13 0	22477 2 11 1	23220 3 2
Custom House, Douglas, Isle of Man.
20th March, 1843.	’
F. Cassell, Collector.
K. M’Kenzie, Comptroller.
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NOTE III.—Page 323.
PARLIAMENTARY PAPER
A Return of the Receipt and Expenditure of the Isle of Man, for the year 1842, exhibiting the various Sources whence derived, and the various Purposes to which applied; and showing the Appropriation of the Surplus Revenue, and the Author, ity upon which that Appropriation has been made, distinguishing Ecclesiastical from Civil Revenues.
1842.	RECEIPT.	EXPENDITURE.	1842.
Import Duties, derived from the following Sources: viz., British Manufactured Goods . .Z* 1570 10 6 Foreign License Goods..	.. 20626 11 9 Foreign ad valorem Goods	..	1022 14 11	Payments for Services specially connected with the Collection of the Revenue: viz., Customs Establishment	..4^182313 1 Incidental Charges ..	..	1198 3 3
	^3021 16 4 Superannuation Allowances to Officers formerly in the Service and Pensions to Widows of deceased Officers ..	..	940 4 1 Over-Entries and Duties returnd 42 8 4 Necessary Expences attending the Government and Administration of J nstice: viz., Salaries to Officers on Civil List 4743 7 8 Fine Fund	 472	16 6 Constabulary Force ..	..	565 0 0 Attorney.General’s Prosecution Expences			 56 17 0 Expences incurred in taking the Census of the Island ..	..	172 5 0
	Civil Government .. 6010 6 8 Balance remitted to the Receiver-General of her Majesty’s Customs	 13205	7 9
4^23220 3 S	4^23220 3 2
Observations—Appropriation of Surplus Revenue, etc.—All payments made by the Collector under Orders received from time to time from the Lords of the Treasury and the Honourable the Commissioners of Customs, in virtue of the powers vested in them by the Act 3rd and 4th William IV, cap. 60, sec. 16. The balance, forming the Surplus Revenue, is remitted to the Receiver-General of Her Majesty's Customs, and paid into the receipt of her Majesty’s Exchequer, distinctly and apart from all other branches of the public revenue, to make part of the Conspl-idated Fund, agreeably to sec. 16 of the foregoing Act.
F. Cassell, Collector.
K. M’Kenzie, Comptroller.
Custom-House Douglas, Isle of Man, 31 March, 1843.
VOL. II.	2 S
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A Return of the Receipt and Expenditure of the Irie of Man, for the year 1842, exhibiting the various Sources whence derived, and the various purposes to which applied ; and showing the Appropriation of the Surplus Revenue, and the Authority upon which that Appropriation has been made ; distinguishing Ecclesiasticri from Civil Revenues, in so far as relates to the Department of Her Majesty's Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings.
1842-43.	RECEIPT. Amount of Quit-Rents & Fines j£1190 13 8$ Amount of Baronies ..	..	10	15	Hi Rent of Demesne Lands	..	101	10	7 Amount received for Royalties on Mines	 3756	IS 4 Amount received for Royalties on Stone Quarries	  43	6 3 Amount of Abbey Spiritualities 509 15 0 Amount of Abbey Temporalities 158 4 Sj	EXPENDITURE.	IM2-U. Salary and Allowance to the Re-	1 ceiver	 jT2»	0	* Amount paid towards Stipends of	1 Ministers *	39	17	5 One Year’s Allowance for Lieut.-	1 Governor’s Official Residence.. 150	0	4 Rent of the Gaoler’s House at	| Castle Rushen	 30	0	* Contributions towards the Repairs	1 of the Chancels of sundry Churches	 ..	39 5 * The Attorney-General for the Isle	, of Man Law Business and Dis-	| bursements		 48 4 9 Expences of removing Convicts to the Hulks of Woolwich..	..	<9 14 6 Miscellaneous Payments ..	..	3 1 • 561 3 1 Surplus Revenue	5148	14 11
j£5709 18 0	^5709 18 »
Observations—Appropriation of Surplus Revenue.—By the Act 10th George IV, cap. 50, secs. 8, 110, 111, and 113, the Revenues of the Isle of Man are declared to be a part of the Possessions and Land Revenues of the Crown, to which that Act relates, and as such are applicable only to the purposes specified in the said Act. The surplus of the Annual Income of the Land Revenue is carried to the Consolidated Fund, in compliance with the provisions of the above Act.
Lincoln, 1 Commissioners of Her Majesty’s A. Milne, I Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Charles Gore, J Works and Buildings.
Office of Woods, &c., June 2, 1843.
NOTE IV.—Page 325.
TABLE OF DUTIES PAYABLE ON GOODS IMPORTED INTO THE ISLE OF MAN.
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DESCRIPTION OF GOODS.	New Scale pr Act 7&8 Vic. cap _43.	Formerly charged per Act 3 & 4 Wil. 4, cap. 60 ^—a~1. Free. 0 0 4 OOI 0 0 1| 10 0 0 0 4 6 0 4 6 0 3 0 0 1 0 2 10 0 For every .£100 value. 0 0 6 0 1 0 0 1 6 0 1 6 16 0 0 10 0 0 For every jg 100 value. 0 4 6 per gallon. 0 4 6 0 6 0 2 10 0 15 0 0	All such Goods to be imported into the Port of Douglas, and by Her Majesty's subjects, and in British ships cr vessels of the burden of Fifty Tons or upwards.	
Coals, from the United Kingdom Coffee, the Duties of consumption in the United Kingdom not having been paid thereon, pr lb. Hemp, the cwt	 Hops, from the United K., per lb. Iron, from Foreign Parts, pr ^100 Spirits (Foreign); viz., —— Brandy, pr gal. 	 Geneva, pr gal. ——— Rum, of the British Plantations, not excecdg. the strength of Proof, by Sykes’s Hydrometer, & so in proportion for any greater strength per gall	 Sugar, Muscovado, the cwt. .. — Refined at Li rerpool pr cwt Tea, viz., 	Bohea, the lb	 	Green, the lb... Tobacco, the lb	 	 Cigars, the lb	 Wine, the tun of 252 gallons Wood from Foreign Parts; viz., Deal Boards and Timber, eight inches square and upwards, per load	 Eau de Cologne, per flask Do.	do. per gallon Liqueurs, per gallon Goods, Wares, and Merchandise, imported from the United Kingdom, and entitled to any Bounty or Drawback of Excise on Exportation from thence, and not hereinbefore enumerated, or charged with duty, for every j£ 100 of the value 	 Goods, Wares, and Merchandise, imported from the United Kingdom, and not hereinbefore charged with duty, for every #£100 of the value	 Goods, Wares, or Merchandise, imported from any place from whence such goods may be lawfully imported into the Isle of Man, and not hereinbefore charged with duty, for every j£100 of the value thereof	j£ s. d. Free. 0 0 2 Free. »> 0 4 0 0 2 0 0 1 6 0 1 0 0 14 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 6 0 3 0 12 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 4 0 10 0 0 10 0 Free. Free. 15* 0 0		Such Rum, Brandy, and Geneva to be imported or brought in casks containing not less than Twenty Gallons each. That the respective quantities of such Spirits shall be estimated according to the strength of proof by Sykes's Hydrometer. Upon importation into the Port of Douglas of any such Goods, the License for the same shall be delivered up to the Collector or Comptroller of that Port. Such Tobacco is to be shipped only in Ports in England, where Tobacco is allowed to be imported and warehoused with payment of duty. No drawback of Excise to be allowed on any such Goods until a certificate of the due landing of the Goods at the Port of Douglas be produced from the Collector and Comptroller of the Customs at that port. If any Goods be laden at any foreign port or place, the species and quantity of such Goods, with the marks, numbers, and denominations of the casks or packages containing the same, shall be indorsed on the License and signed by the British Consul at the port of lading; or it there be no British Consul, by Two known British Merchants.
* By an order of the Treasury, dated /th Sept., 1814, the articles here enumerated to be admitted into the Isle of Man d uty free.
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SCHEDULE OF LICENSE GOODS TO WHICH THE FOREGOING ACT REFERS.
Spirits, viz., ------ Foreign Brandy, gallons -----Foreign Geneva, gallons ----- Rum. of British Plantation, gallons ..	..
Tobacco, lbs. ..	..	..
Segars, lbs......................
Liqueurs, gallons................
Eau de Cologne, gallons..	..
R«tric-ti«n Act 7 & 8 Viet, cap, 43.
20000 20000
70000
55000 5000 50 50*
Restriction Act 3 & 4 Wd. 4 cap. 60.
10000 10000
60000 60000
From the United Kingdom, or from any place from which the same might be imported into the United Kingdom, for consumption therein.
From Great Britain.
* By an order of the Treasury, dated 23rd January, 1845, twenty gallons Eau de Cologne, in addition to this number, have been allowed to be imported annually into the Isle of Man, in compliance with a petition from certain dealers of Douglas to the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury.
The passing of the above Act (7th and Sth Viet., cap. 43) gave so much satisfaction to the inhabitants of the Isle of Man, that the visit of Dr. Bowring, M.P., on the 23rd September, through whose instrumentality the measure was passed, created quite a sensation amongst our Manks friends. The hon. gentleman was received with the most gratifying marks of distinction, thousands of the inhabitants being present on the pier when he landed. Indeed, the learned doctor made a complete triumphal entry, the most elevated as well as the most lowly personages of the Island doing their utmost to evince respect and gratitude. Processions were formed, boofires kindled, cannons fired, flags hoisted, bells rung, houses illuminated, and banquets given. The movements of the honourable gentleman are chronicled at great length in the Manks papers. He seems to have spent a most delightful week.—Liverpool Albion, 30th September, 1844.
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CHAPTER XXIII.
GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY.
Sheading of Ruehen—The Calf hie—Ruins of Bushel's House—The Split Rocks of Spanish Head—Villages an the Coast—Castletoion— House in which the Keys meet—Law Courts and Prison—Sheading of Ayre—Ossified Man—View from the summit of Snafield—Sheading of Michael—Fossil Elk—Ballaugh—Bishop9s Court—Sheading of Garff—Villages—Ramsey—Sheading of Glenfaba—The Sacred Mound—Peel—The ^Fishing Fleet—Middle Sheading—Country Seats—Kirk Braddan Church and Churchyard—View from Douglas Bay—The Lighthouse—Tower of Refuge—The Pier—Pullock Rock-Douglas— Parochial Distribution — Modern Institutions — Cholera Doctors—Life-boat Association—Churches—Courts and Post Office Department—Miscellany.
The formation of the six small judicial departments called sheadings,’ into which the Island is divided, is ascribed by the Islanders to their great legislator ‘Mannanan-Beg-Mac-y-Lierr?
Sheading of Rushen.—This sheading includes the ecclesiastical divisions of Arbory, Malew, and Kirk Christ Rushen.3 By the government census of 1841, the popu-
1	This term signifies a small district or division of six.—Cregeen's Dictionary qf the Manks Language, p. 148 ; MAlpine's Galic Dictionary, p. 231 ; See vol. i, pp. 32, 39, of this work ; Mills's Ancient Ordinances, pp. 393, 394.
* MS. Account qf the Island, preserved in the Rolls* Office, Castle Rushen, a copy of which is in my possession.
9	By a circular letter from the bishop, in 1790, the boundaries of these parishes, as well as of all others in the Island, were enjoined to be perambulated on Holy Thursday, according to ancient custom.—Pe/f Aim’a Tour, p. 254. This ceremony is of the highest antiquity, having its origin in the Roman offerings of the Primatise, (Bournes' Antiquities, Newcastle, edition 1725, cap. 26) and was adopted by the first Christians. On Holy Thursday, or the feast of our Lord’s ascension, each parish minister, accompanied by his church-wardens and parishioners, perambulated the bounds of his parish, deprecating the vengeance of God, singing the 103 psalm, and saying:—“ Cursed be he who translateth the bounds and doles of his neighbours." —Inunction, 19th Elisabeth, qp. Brand's Observations on Popular Antiquities, edition 1777, cap. xxvi.
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lation was ascertained to be 10,137. Part of this district is fertile and well cultivated, but the greater proportion of it is mountainous and barren. The hills of Brada, Mule, and Slieunycranane rise in great majesty in this part of the Island; whilst the western aspect of South Barrule rises to the height of one thousand five hundred and forty-five feet above the level of the sea.
The Calf islet is about five hundred yards distant from the southern promontory, in ancient times called the Mull.1 It is separated by a rocky channel or sound, called the Race, through which the sea often runs with such fearful rapidity, as to sweep vessels coming within its current, to almost certain destruction, either on jutting crags or on the formidable rock of Kitterland, which lies between the Calf and the mainland.3
Several high columnar rocks surround the Calf, which, in the course of ages, have evidently been detached from it by the impetuous dashing of the sea. On the western side, two natural pillars, of a triangular shape, named the Stacks,3 rise to a great height above the ocean; while on the southern point is a towering rock called the Eye, from an arch singularly perforated through it near the top. Besides the Eye, there is another rock of still more peculiar appearance, called the Burrough, near the summit of which is an excavation in the rock in the form of
1 “ From Cranston village in the north unto the Mull hill* in the south, it stretches
about thirty miles.”—MS. Sketch of the hie qf Man, written a.d. 1648, op. Tbvn-
ley19 Journal, vol. ii, p. 187.
8 By the erection of two lighthouses on the Calf, one three hundred and ninety -six feet, and the other three hundred and five feet above the level of the sea. Mariners
are now enabled to avoid this dangerous passage, as well as the group of sunken rocks called the Chickens, on the south side of the Calf, on which many a noble vessel has been dashed to pieces. The lighthouses are furnished with double revolving lights, which make the revolution in two minutes, and at their greatest splendour
may be seen like stars of the first magnitude, at the distance of seven leagues.—
Mariners’ Guide—Manks Coast.
8 Stack, in the Gaelic language, signifies a steep pyramidical rock or conical hilL— M* Alpine’s Galic Dictionary, Edinburgh, edition 1833, p. 246.
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a cross, each of the two longitudinal cavities being six feet long, three wide, and two deep.
Though the Calf was once fortified,1 the only remains of any building of antiquity now to be observed in the islet, is the ruins called “ Bushel’s house,” situated on the highest part, and within a few yards of a rugged cliff overhanging the sea. The entrance to it is narrow, and the place appears to have had only one small room and a closet, scarcely sufficient to hold a bed. This was the residence of a recluse, whose motives for taking up his residence there, is thus described by himself in a petition to parliament, containing a mineral overture after his return to England :—“ The embrions of my mines proving abortive by the sudden fall and death of my late friend, the chancellor Bacon, in king James’s reign, were the motives which persuaded my pensive retirement to a three year’s unsociable solitude, in the desolate island called the Calf of Man, where, in obedience to my dead lord’s philosophical advice, I resolved to make a perfect experiment upon myself, for the obtaining a long and healthy life (most necessary, for such a repentance as my former debauched-ness required,) as by a parsimonious diet of herbs, oil, mustard, and honey, with water sufficient, most like to that of our long-lived forefathers before the flood, (as was conceived by that) which I most strictly observed, as if obliged by a religious vow, till divine providence called me to more active life.”2
According to tradition, this spot was also the haunt of a person, who by his splendour and affluence, had been distinguished in the court of queen Elizabeth ; but having, through an ill-founded jealousy, murdered a most beautiful woman, he sought shelter here from the vengeance of her
1 “ Before the south promontory lies a little island called the Calf of Man, which is defended by a pretty good garrison.”—Gibson’s Camden, p. 1441.
2 MS. Description of the Island, written in 1648, ap, Townley’s Journal, Whitehaven, 1722, vol. ii, p. 87.
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friends and the punishment of the law, and amidst the caves and recesses of this lonely isle, lingered oat a miserable existence of contrition and remorse?
The islet is now the property of Mrs. Drinkwater, whose husband purchased it from the crown for the sum of three thousand pounds sterling, It is tithe free, and is at present let to a person who chiefly depends on the sale of feathers and rabbits, as the means of paying his rent. The rabbits are generally taken by rat-traps, placed close to the burrows, although occasionally by a long net, suspended between the burrows and pasture ground, supported perpendicularly by poles. When the nejs are thus prepared, men go round and frighten the rabbits by driving them in the direction of the net, in which they soon become irrecoverably entangled, and are consequently taken. Upwards of two thousand rabbits are thus entrapped annually,between the months of October and April.
After the memorable tempest of the sixth and seventh January, 1839, had subsided, thousands of the sea birds that inhabited the Calf were found dead on the beach, chiefly about Spanish head. Among these the alca torda or razor-bill were very numerous, and not a few of the species called thalassidroma polagica or stormy petrel, known to seafaring people by the name of mother Cary’s chickens, the smallest of the web-footed ocean birds.
In the year 1588, some ships of the Spanish Armada were dashed in pieces on the southern promontory of Sparolett, which, from that circumstance, has been since called Spanish head. From this bold headland, the table rock which rises about three hundred feet above the level of the sea, is, for a considerable way inland, divided into masses of a conical form, by fissures several feet wide respectively, which lead to subterraneous caverns, resembling, it is said, in miniature, the Eldenhole
1 Jeffery't Deecriptive Account qfthe hit iff Man, 1808, p. 90.
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of Derbyshire.1 These remarkable chasms, twelve in number, do not run according to the veins in the stone, but across them. An earthquake is recorded to have taken place in Man, in an early age of the Christian era, which was most probably the cause of this singular phenomenon. The following is an account of another earthquake felt also in the Island :—
“ Douglas, Isle of Man, March 18, 1843.
° A slight shock of an earthquake was felt in this town audits vicinity yesterday morning, about one o’clock, a.m. The shock lasted a few seconds, and, in some cases, produced considerable alarm to the inhabitants, who were awoke by the oscillation felt in their houses. The shock was preceded by a rumbling noise, and followed by a sensible vibration from east to west. At the time of the shock the wind became instantly calm, but a considerable motion was observed in the sea after it had subsided, and the waves dashed violently against the adjacent shore. After the lapse of a few minutes, the wind again rose to a stiff breeze. From all we can hear, the earthquake appears to have been felt throughout the Island, and particularly at Castletown, where the inhabitants of the College were fearfully alarmed by the shaking of the buildings. We are happy to say that no worse results happened than alarm to the timid, and general surprise to those who were disturbed in their midnight slumbers by its occurrence.
“ To Mr. Court, of the Underwriters’-room, Liverpool.”
Experimentswere made many years ago at Ronaldsway, to ascertain if coal existed there, but the only coal substance discovered, was that termed by geologists anthracite, or blind coal, and that even in such small quantities as not to repay the expense of working it. Subsequently a number of spirited gentlemen obtained a lease from the crown, of all coal that can be found in Man, on paying a royalty of one-seventh part of the gross produce, of such mines as may be worked? The lessees of the crown, in October, 1837, published a prospectus for the formation of an “ Isle of Man coal company,” to consist of one thousand shares, at three pounds per share. It was announced
1 One of the greatest natural curiosities of the Island is the Split Rocks, so called from the promontory being, from two or three miles in circumference, rent and torn asunder like a rotten garment, and presenting frighful chasms and crevices of great depth.—d Six Days’ Tour in the Isle of Man, in 1836, p. 118.
* Published Prospectus, dated Douglas, 20th October, 1837.
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in the periodicals of the day, that “ a valuable mine of fine sea coal has been discovered at a place called Glen Crossack, in the Isle of Man, which is being worked by the Isle of Man coal company, with every prospect of a rich harvest.”’ But some are of opinion that there is yet as little chance of finding any considerable quantity of this useful material, as the alchymists of the middle ages had of discovering the philosopher’s stone. The absence of coal is a serious loss to the Island.
The villages of this sheading are chiefly on the coast. Purt Shearain,* or as it is called in the present day, Port Erin, is a fishing village consisting of about forty houses: “ it sends to market the first samples in point of excellence of all the choice kinds of fish frequenting these shores; the herrings taken here are superior to all others.”’ Port St. Mary is another fishing village, erected principally close to the harbour. It was anciently called Purt-noo-Moirrey, and evidently derived its name from a catholic chapel which stood adjacent to it. The harbour of Port St. Mary is now protected from the violence of the sea by a stone pier two hundred and thirty yards long, with a light-house on its northern extremity: more than fifty vessels of from fifteen to thirty tons burthen belong to this little place : they are chiefly employed in the herring fishery. Poolvash, on the immediate margin of which a village of the same name is situated, signifies the “ pool of death,” a name probably derived from the number of lives lost there in consequence of the sunken rocks in the bay, the largest of which, the Carrick, is invisible at high water. In all the modern charts and maps of the Island, the “ bad anchorage” of Poolvash bay is pointed out, and
1	Address of the Provincial Committee qf the Isle qf Man Coal Company, pubfisbed 15th September, 1837.
8	Cregeen's Dictionary qf the Manks Language, p. 132. In Bleaks Allas, published at Amsterdam, a.d. 1658, it is called Portell Morrey.
’ Feltham's Tour, in 1797, p. 249.
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mariners, consequently, avoid the dangers formerly so fatal to strangers.
Ballasalla is the largest village in the Island; it was formerly a place of great importance. Even in the last century, it had a weekly market, “ where you might have the greatest variety of choice fowls, of any place in the Island,”1 a circumstance that may be accounted for by the great number of monks formerly supported there. Prior to the Tynwald act of 1796, when the office of deemster of the southern and northern districts were united in the person of Thomas Moore, he held his courts at Ballasalla, a proof that it had not even then lost all its former importance? The scenery of Ballasalla is beautified by the ruins of the ancient abbey of Rushen, in its immediate neighbourhood, which is faithfully represented by Grose, even to the number of trees which surround it. In the year 1798, vestiges of a subterraneous passage were discovered, supposed to extend between the abbey and the castle of Rushen, a distance of more than two miles: of these vestiges, however, no trace can now be found.
The parish church of Kirk Christ Rushen, situated about four miles west from Castletown, is an unadorned edifice, adapted to hold a congregation of only four hundred and fifty persons; although, when it was built in 1775, the population of the parish was upwards of twelve hundred. By the census of 1841, the population was three thousand and seventy-nine; consequently, the parish church is not capable of containing one sixth part of the population of the parish. There is, evidently, a great want of church accommodation throughout the Island. An indirect proof of this is to be found in the success which has attended the exertions of the Methodists in the Island, their chapels at present outnumbering the parish churches in the proportion of three to one.
1 Waldron's Description of the Isle qf Man, p. 110.
* Robertson's Tour, ap, Manor's British Tourist, vol. iv, p. 132.
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The parish church of Kirk Malew was formerly dedicated to St. Lupus? It is somewhat celebrated on account of the famous William Christian, who was shot in 1662, being interred in its chancel. The interior of this little place of worship is decorated with ensigns of the Stanley family and of the Island, carved in wood and with monumental slabs, the oldest of which is a stone in the wall of the chancel, erected to the memory of “ Elin Corwyn, daughter of Robert Corwyn, of Cumberland, wife of Henry Stafferton, receiver of the castle, who departed this life in 1578.” This monument bears the oldest date of any in the Island.
The parish church of Arbory was dedicated to Saint Cairbre, one of the early converts of St. Patrick in Ireland.
Castletown, or Balley-chashtal, was also anciently called Russen or Rushen. Not only the town, but also the abbey and parish have derived their name from Saint Russen, one of the twelve fathers who accompanied St. Columba from Ireland to Iona in the year 563, and who, according to Maguir and the Martyrologies of DungaUan, was a native of one of the Pictish Isles? This little metropolis is so very ancient that the oldest records, which allude to the internal policy of the Island, do not reach to the date of its foundation. The market-place, in the centre of the town, forms a fine area of considerable extent, ornamented in the centre with a column of freestone, after the Doric order, fifty feet high, erected in 1836 to the memory of the late lieutenant-governor Cornelius Smelt. The market-house and assembly rooms were built in 1830. On one side of the square stood the chapel of St. Mary,
1	Seacome's History of the House of Stanley, p. 614. St. Lupus was bishop of Troyes. He came over to England with St. Germain, in the year 429, to suppress the Pelagian heresy, where he obtained such a high reputation for sanctity, that several churches were dedicated to him, as well as that of Kirk Malew. He returned to Troyes, where he died in 478.—Butler's Lives of the Fathers, Paris, edition 1834, vol. v, pp. 291, 292, 293. In Morden’s map of the Isle of Man, this parish is called Mail.—See Camden's Britannia, edition 1695, p. 969.
1	Smith's Lfe of St. Columba, Edinburgh, 1798, pp. 12, 160, 161.
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erected by Bishop Wilson in 1698. This was taken down in 1826, and the present edifice, also dedicated to St. Mary, erected on its site, at an expence of £1,600. The society incorporated for building churches having granted £300 in aid of the erection, there is a corresponding number of free sittings in it appropriated to the poor.
Opposite the George hotel is a singular old sun-dial, which, very probably, was the only horologe in Castletown before the placing of Queen Elizabeth’s clock in the castle. The clock was a gift from the queen when she held the Island in trust till the claims of the daughters of Ferdinand and William, earl of Derby, as to the lordship of Man, were decided by law.1
Down to the year 1706, the house of keys occupied an apartment in the castle for their meetings ;a but, in that year, they presented a petition to the earl of Derby, to be allowed to raise the sum of twenty pounds, by a general assessment, to be employed in erecting or procuring a convenient place for “ the twenty-four keys to meet on public business.” This petition being granted, the ground story of the school house in Castletown was purchased from Bishop Wilson for that purpose, which they continued to occupy till 1818, when they purchased the upper part of the same house from Bishop Murray, for twenty pounds, the sum paid for the lower part one hundred and twelve years before. On this site has been erected the present house of the insular parliament.8 It is on a very small scale, not being designed for the
1 Rolfs Isle of Man, edition 1773, pp. 42, 43.
2 u The extremity of a long winding passage brings you into a room where the
keys sit. They are twenty-four in number—they call them the parliament; but, in
my opinion, they more resemble our juries in England, because the object of their meeting is to adjust differences among the common people, and they are locked in
till they have given their verdict.”—Waldron*s Description of the Isle qf Man,
London, 1732, p. 97.
2 Lex Scripta, Douglas 1819, p. 213 ; Isle of Man Charities, printed 1831, pp.
138, 139.
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accommodation of the people, as they are not permitted to listen to the deliberations of the legislative body. This not being in accordance with the spirit of the age, has, of late years, been the cause of much political disquietude in the Island.1*
In 1837, the interior of the castle underwent considerable alterations; the court house was considerably enlarged, and the rolls’ office was removed from the castle into the old government house, immediately adjoining, where large apartments are appropriated, and to which the council chamber, the secretary’s office, and jury rooms are attached. When these operations were in progress, the workmen who were engaged in pulling down part of the wall of the old government house, discovered a number of small recesses which had been built up, and in which were deposited a considerable quantity of small bones.
The keep of the castle, which is the only prison in the Island, was formerly a dreary dungeon, in which prisoners were crowded together in dark and damp cells; in 1815 it underwent considerable alterations, but, as it appears, did not add much to the security of the gaol.
On 12th September, 1843, six criminals contrived to effect their escape from this place of confinement, in consequence of which, commissioners were appointed by the governor, on the 14th December following, to ascertain by what means this escape was effected, to report fully thereon; and also, to report as to the general state regulations, interior economy, and defects of the prison of Castle Rushen.**
1 A memorial to the queen, praying for an alteration in the present mode of electing the house of keys, has been signed by five thousand two hundred and sixty-one persons in the Isle of Man.—Liverpool Albion, 17th February, 1845.
* Appendix, Note i, “ Memorial to the Queen in Council.”
♦ Appendix, Note ii, M Commissioners* Report to the Governor on the present State of the Prison of Castle Rushen.”
2 The commissioners were :—the honourable John Joseph Heywood, deemster of the southern district; John Mac Hutchin, Esq., clerk of the rolls; John Kelly,
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Sheading op Ayre.—This sheading occupies the north corner of the Island, extending along the coast from Ramsey round the Point of Ayre to Bluehead, including the parishes of Kirk Christ Lezayre, Kirk Andreas, and Kirk Bride. By the census of 1841, the population was 5,808. The isthmus terminating at the Point of Ayre, is an extensive waste, chiefly of sandhills tenanted by rabbits;1 but as the land recedes from the sea, it becomes more fertile. Lezayre implies in the Gaelic language "•the garden of the Island." It is studded with respectable mansions and thriving plantations. Sulby, the largest village in the sheading, comprises only a few houses ranged along the main road to Ramsey, from which town it is four miles distant.
From Snafield issues the little rivulet which, winding down Glion-mooar, waters the vale of Sulby, and after a course of about eight miles, debouches at the port of Ramsey. It is the largest stream in the Island and affords great sport to anglers. Some parts lying to the north of Sulby, are subject to inundations by the rising of the floods, especially at spring tides, which flow upwards of two miles above Ramsey. The glions, gills, or valleys afford fine echoes; on the north side of Skyhill there is a remarkable one.
The new church of Lezayre is erected in the old English style of architecture, with double lancet windows,
Esq., high-bailiff of Castletown and visiting magistrate of the castle of Rushen; and John Quayle, Esq., member of the house of keys.—Extracted from the original Draft of the required Report.
1	The extreme northern point of the Island is a sandy fiat beach Proceeding coastwise in a southerly direction, the front to the sea, on the eastern side, impending over the beach, is a sand and clay cliff from sixty to eighty feet high, which continues nearly to the town of Ramsey. The high tides, during the winter months, undermining this cliff, large fragments of it occasionally fall down and are worked to sea; no mode of preventing the evil appears ever to have been in contemplation.—Quayle* s General View qfthe Agriculture qf the Isle qf Man, London, 8vo., 1812, p. 4. In Morden’s map of the Isle of Man, ap. Camden’9 Britannia, edition 1695, the north headland of Ramsey bay is called Shellack Point, a name I have not seen in any n odern map or chart of the Island. It is evidently part of the land alluded to by Mr. Quayle as having been swept away by the sea.
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and a tower surmounted by a spire. In the parish register which commences in the year 1636, is the following curious memorandum:—“ A.D. 1660, Rob Cottier’s wife was delivered of a child that was baptized upon the Monday, and she came to the church and was churched upon the Wednesday next after, and after returning home, she fell in labour and was delivered of another child, and came and was churched on Saturday next after, being thus churched twice in the same week. This I testify to be truth. (Signed,) Edward Crow, minister.”1
Dr. Crow, bishop of Cloyne, in Ireland, was a native of this parish.2 The reverend Philip Moore was also a native of this parish.8 By an act of Tynwald in 1800, a new parish church was ordered to be built in Kirk Andreas ; and it was thereby enacted:—“ That no manner of person should presume to inter, or cause to be interred, any corpse within the said church, or within twelve feet of the walls thereof, under any pretence whatever.”4 The font of this church, which is of marble, once belonged to Philip I. of France. It was confiscated at the breaking out of the French revolution, and fell into the hands of a Manks gentleman, who presented it to this his native parish.
The living is a rectory in the gift of the crown. It has generally been held by the archdeacons of Man. The
1	Felt ham1 s Tour through the hie of Man in 1794, 1798, ap. Parochial Tbur.
2	By a deed dated February, 1718, he, in consideration of his respect and affection for the Isle of Man, and more particularly to the parish of Trinity, Lezayre, granted all and every, the houses and lands, of right belonging to him, in the said parish, to the vicar and his successors for ever.—hie qf Man Charities, p. 88.
3	He was born in 1705 and died in 1783. He translated many religious works into the Manks language, among which were the “ Book of Common Prayer,” “ Bishop Wilson on the Sacrament,” and, in conjunction with the Rev. J. Kelly, revised and corrected the version of the Old Testament.—Encyclopedia Britannia, see p. 387.
4	Mills1 s’Ancient Ordinances, p. 404* No church can be erected at the public expense without an act of Tynwald, and the money required for that purpose is raised by a general assessment on every quarterland, intack, and mill.—Statute, anno 1726 ; Mills1 s Laws, p. 215. Every parishioner is bound to keep up the body of the church, in all ornaments, books, and other necessaries; and the parson is bound to keep in repair the chancel.—Spiritual Laws; Lee Scripta, p. 59.
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archdeaconry, however, is not essentially connected with the rectory of Andreas, several archdeacons having held the rectory of Ballaugh, which is the second in value.1
In the parish of Bride, died not many years ago, an ossified man, who was considered by every one who saw him, a most extraordinary phenomenon? The ossification of his flesh went on progressively for many years. Before his death, he was reduced to one solid mass of bony substance, and had only the use of one or two of his toes, all other parts of his frame being immoveable. He was buried in Kirk Andreas churchyard, and great efforts were made by medical men to get possession of his body, but his grave was strictly guarded by his friends. After some ineffectual attempts to carry him off, the surgeons at last succeeded, and his remains are now in the possession of Dr. M’Cartney, in Dublin. Anatomists consider his skeleton to be the.most singular ever seen.8
From Snafleld, which rises in the southern extremity of Ayre, may be obtained a bird’s eye view of a space not less than three thousand square miles, comprising within its range the mountains of Cumberland and Lancashire, in England—the mountains of Carnarvon and Anglesea, in Wales—the mountains of Arklow and Morne, in Ireland—and the mountains of Galloway and Dumfriesshire, in Scotland, all towering in majestic grandeur, and all associated with historical recollections that rush into the mind on beholding such a varied scene, while the fairy
1 The Act, 33rd Henry VIII, placing the dioceses of Chester and Man under the metropolitan jurisdiction of York, provides that the subordinate officers should be appointed and installed in like manner in the Isle of Mann as in Chester, the bishop of Sodor and Man appears to possess a substantial claim to the patronage of the archdeaconry. But the bishops of olden time uniformly waved their right in favor of the lord proprietor, and hence the patronage of the archdeaconry came to be considered as belonging exclusively to the lord.—Laughton’s Historical and Parochial Guide, pp. 90, 91.
2 Thomas Radcliffe was the name of this singularly affected person. In the Lancet, tor October, 1831, his peculiar case is minutely described by Dr. Oswald, of Douglas.
3 Six Days' Tour in the Isle qf Man, pp. 164, 165.
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hills and glens of Mona, interspersed with woods, waters, hamlets, villages, and towns, spread out like a panorama of unequalled splendour at the feet of the meditating beholder. Before the gazer descends from the eminence which affords him such a magnificent and gorgeous pros* pect, let him scan the surrounding sea, perchance he may heboid the herring fieet in greater numbers than he can count, leaving the harbours of the Island to assemble on the fishing ground; while steamers, regardless of wind and tide, pass to and fro in rapid succession to every quarter of the habitable globe.
Sheading of Michael.—This sheading extends along the southern shores, from Ballabeg to Ballagawne, and comprises the parishes of Jurby, Ballaugh, and Michael, with a population of 3,955 according to the census of 1841. Those portions of the district which margin the sea are fertile and well cultivated ; but a range of mountains bound the eastern side, which seem to defy the reclaiming efforts of the agriculturist.
Sortyl rises to the height of 1,560 feet; Slieudoo, Slieuchurn, and Slieuvoilley, though inferior in height, are rugged and steep; but the most noted hill in the sheading is Cronknrleigh, “ the hill of the eagle,” where the Tynwald courts were held down to the year 1428.'
In the low lands extensive lakes have been drained, and wastes reclaimed.* A large sheet of water, called Balla-lough, communicated with the sea at Ballamona-moar. Though this loch has long since disappeared, the name of the parish has probably been derived from it.’
1	Several places in the Island yet retain the Norwegian names, imposed on them by the northern conquerors—for instance, Jurby, Sulby, Greeba, Smeayll, Scround-hill, Carradhill, and Norrisdhill.
* In a Map of the Island, published at Amsterdam, a.d. 1658, in BW« AtkUi lakes are shewn in the northern division of the Island, where fertile lands now appear.
9	Mr. Radcliffe thinks the parish of Ballaugh evidently derives its name from Boayl ny laagh, which, in Manks, signifies the place of mire.—MS. referred to, see p. 43. .
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Lough-malor, which was nearly a mile in length and a quarter of a mile in breadth, fell into the river Sulby, near Kella; and another lake of large dimensions fell into the sea at Lhen-moar »•1 but these inland waters were carried off by a deep drain, made about the end of the seventeenth century,3 and now form part of the curragh, where, in the peat turbary, so much old timber has been raised as plainly to shew that the Island was formerly well wooded,’ and where fossil remains of the great Irish elk have been found, which probably once traversed the Manks forests, affording additional evidence of the original connection of the Isle of Man with Ireland.
1 Morden’s Map of the Isle of Man, ap, Camden's Britannia, folio edition, 1695, p. 969.
* SachevereWs Account qf the Isle of Man, London, 1702, small 8vo, p. 3.
3 Camden’s Britannia, edition 1695, p. 1061.
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On the coast from Ballagawne to East Nappin, the sea is gaining rapidly on the land. Morden’s1 map of the Island, before referred to, shews an island on this coast named Neward, which is not now to be found in any map, chart, or mariners’ guide of the coast of Man; and “ I am told old people yet remember a meadow, which, by being overflowed every tide by the sea, has become a sand bank. A fine spring of fresh water issued from the centre of the meadow in olden time, which continued, down to a late period, to issue from the sand bank. The sea has also nearly, or altogether, washed away what was thought to have been the remains of a Roman camp.”*
Ballaugh is a straggling village, with a population of about three hundred individuals. The village of Kirk Michael is not so large; but it derives some importance from the deemster of the northern division, and the vicargeneral holding their respective courts there. The old parish church of Jurby was taken down in 1813, under the authority of an act of Tynwald; and the present one was erected near its site, on rising ground, about a quarter of a mile from Jurby Point. The church of Ballaugh is an elegant structure, after the old Norman style of architecture. It was erected in 1832, chiefly by money collected in England, as was the church of Kirk Michael. Bishop’s Court, a mile east from Kirk Michael, is a domain of upwards of three hundred acres, the mansion of which is the episcopal palace of the diocese, and is of high antiquity. The original part was a strong, massive, castellated building, called “ King Orry’s Tower,” and was surrounded by a deep fosse. When bishop Wilson succeeded to this see, in 1698, he found the residence appropriated to him, in ruins, which he repaired. Many additions have been made since to this pile, particularly
1 Camden*8 Britannia, edition 1695.
* Communication from the Isle of Man, 20th June, 1843.
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by bishop Murray, who added a neat chapel to' it, and beautified the gardens and pleasure grounds.1
Sheading of Garff.—This sheading extends from Ramsey to the headland of Banks’s Howe, and includes the parishes of Lonan, formerly called Loman,8 and Maughold, with a population of 5,919. The mountain of North Barrule rises on its confines. Great part of the sheading is mountainous and unsusceptible of culture; but in many places between the bases of the hills and the sea, it is fertile and well cultivated. It has two principal rivers ; one of which, called Gliongawne, rises near the foot of the mountain Unus, and falls into the sea at Garwick; the other, called Laxey river, rises at the foot of Snafield, and is lost in the ocean at Laxey village. The highest cascade in the Island is at Ballaglass, and is surrounded by pretty woodland scenery. The romantic grandeur of Laxey Glen is likewise peculiarly interesting.
According to Speed the historian, “ Laxi Towne” was a place of importance in the sixteenth century,3 although
1 Bullocks History of the Isle of Man, p. 157.
* Camden'8 Britannia, edition 1695, p. 969. St. Lomanus, to whom the parish church is dedicated, was the son of Tygrida, one of the three holy sisters of St. Patrick, and thought to be the first bishop of Trim, in Ireland.—Feltham's Tour in 1798, p. 246.
3 Thomas Castine, one of the most conspicuous military chiefs of the French republic, was born at Ballaneille, in the parish of Lonan. So little seems to be generally known of the early part of his history, that I cannot refrain from inserting a few particulars that came under my own notice. When a youth, he enlisted in a British “ regiment of the line,” called the u king’s own,” in which he rose to the rank of serjeant. Having returned, after a few years’ absence, to his native Isle, on leave from his regiment, he married a young woman named Helen Colace, with whom he had been acquainted previous to his departure; but indulging too freely with his former companions in the dissipation which then prevailed in the Island, he out-stayed his pass so long that he was about to be apprehended as a deserter, when he escaped on board a smuggling lugger to Dunkirk. He then entered into the French service,
and, it is said, served some time in America.—Bioyraphical Anecdotes qf the Founders qfthe French Republic, London, 1798, vol. ii, p. 303. Having the repu-
tation of being a brave soldier, he was, at the commencement of the French revolution,
promoted to the rank of colonel of infantry. From this time forward his history is
well known. In the year 1792, when Dumourier was invested with the sole command
of the French army, Castine was appointed general of division. By his memorable
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the number of houses in this village does not exceed forty. There is an oyster bank from Laxey bay, extending towards Maughold Head; this bank is about two miles broad, and one mile and a half from the shore.
The village of St. Maughold, although now sunk into insignificance, is of high antiquity. It was formerly more populous than Ramsey, which probably arose from the resort of pilgrims to the shrine of St. Maughold, in its vicinity, which was held in great veneration, down to the time of the reformation.1 The church of St. Maughold stands on a lofty eminence, when viewed from the sea. The churchyard is said to contain three statute acres. From the vast number of depositories for the dead yet discernible there, Colonel Townley was of opinion that the Danes must have used it as a place for their slain, before the mode of cermatition was adopted by them?
The followers of William Penn, shortly after the promulgation of his doctrines in England, found their way into the Isle of Man, and were successful in converting several of the natives to their mode of worship. Quakerism, however, was soon opposed by the clergy and the lord of the Isle. Its professors were ultimately banished from the Island, and their property confiscated, but were afterwards
defence of Ments, the bulwark of the Rhine, he gained everlasting laurels; but, flushed with his good fortune, he committed some political mistakes that brought him to the guillotine in August, 1793. Mrs. Castine did not accompany her husband to France. When he was beheaded at Paris, his son Thomas, then in his twentieth year, was a servant in the Isle of Man. He afterwards enlisted in the Manks fencibles, and was subsequently a serjeant in the Galloway militia; at present (a.d. 1837) he is a merchant in the village of Auchencairn, in Galloway. Understanding that his father died possessed of some property in France, Mr. Castine, through the medium of Cutlar Ferguson, M.P. for the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, applied to Prince Talleyrand when ambassador at the court of London, in the hope of obtaining any reversion which might still exist of his father’s property. But on the prince causing an examination to be made in the proper quarter, it was found “ that if General Castine had really been possessed of property at the time of his death, all trace of it was lost amid the confusion into which France was thrown subsequent to the year 1793, the time of his death.”
1	Butler'» Live* qfthe Fathers and Martyrst Paris, edition 1838, vol. ui, p. 209.
2	Townley's Journal, vol. ii, pp. 172, 173.
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allowed to return and take possession of their land, in the parish of Maughold, a small portion of which they subsequently inclosed and occupied as a burying place. It is a small enclosure in the corner of a field, about a mile from the church, and is called RuiUick ny Quakeryn— signifying the grave yard of the Quakers.
The precincts of this consecrated ground constituted the only sanctuary in the Island where criminals were safe from punishment, under the protection of the church.1
The town of Ramsey is pleasantly situated at the mouth of the Sulby, and on the margin of a fine bay, to which it gives its name. The streets are narrow and irregular, but have evidently been improved in appearance since the time of Wood’s visit, as he says:—“ The houses abound with broken panes of glass, the want of which is supplied by pieces of old tea chests, &c.”* The houses are now neat and clean, and the windows glazed. A new approach has been made from the Douglas road, which is much superior to the narrow lane, formerly the only access to the town in that direction. In the centre of the town is a neat court-house, where the deemster of the northern division, the vicar-general, and high-bailiff hold their respective courts. In the market place is St. Paul’s church, built in 1819, by subscription, aided by a grant of £300 from the church building society, in consideration of which,
1 In a communication received from Robert Fargher, Esq., of Douglas, on this subject, he says :—“ I have in my possession a black letter bible, printed in 1630, on a blank page of which is the following memorandum:—41, Will. Callow, of Ballafeld, Manksman, who have been banished out of y* Isle of Man by ye bishop and priests for conscience towards God, above 2 years and 3 months from my dear wife and tender children, have bought this book, rate eight shillings and ten pence, in London, where I am now, this 4th day of the 11th month of the year 1667/ Other memorandums in this book shew that he afterwards returned to the Island. I have also in my possession a quaker’s licence for a marriage that took place at Ballafoeyle in the year 1683.”
2 The ruins of the conduit that brought water to the refugees along the north wall of the burial ground, are still, or were within these few years, discernible.—Otways Guide, p. 116.
3 Wood’s History of the Isle of Man, p. 169.
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one hundred sittings are set apart for the poor. The chapel, consecrated by bishop Wilson in 1753, when in the ninety-third year of his age, is now in ruins. It is without the town, and is now only used as a burying place for strangers. There is also a chapel dedicated to St. Peter, with several other places of worship. There is a stone bridge with three arches thrown across the Sulby at Ramsey. Its length is one hundred and eighty feet, and it is twelve feet wide.
The bay in front of the town is capacious, and affords shelter from the western gales. The harbour has been recently improved. It is now accessible to vessels of one hundred tons burden. From this port, the principal part of the agricultural produce exported from the Island, is shipped.
Glenfaba Sheading.—This sheading is the largest in the Island, and consequently the coroner of Glenfaba takes precedence of all other officers of that class. It comprises the parishes of German, Patrick, and Marown, formerly called respectively, St. Germain’s, Kirk Patrick of Peel, and St. Maronne,4 and extends thirteen miles along the western coast, and nine miles inland. Marown is the only parish in the Island that is not washed by the sea. Patrick was separated from that of German, in the year 1714.’
1	In the early part of the present century, the inhabitants of Ramsey appear to have had a peculiar taste for the drama. During the winter of 1801, a society of ladies and gentlemen was formed there, and met three evenings every week for the purpose of reading and acting Shakspere’s plays, and such a number of copies was procured, that each character of the drama was supported by a separate individual.— Encyclopedia Britannia, edition 1810, vol. xii, p. 551.
1	Morden’s Map of the Island, ap. Camden.
* For the purpose of carrying this measure into effect, a meeting of the inhabitanta of Kirk Patrick was called by order of the bishop, on the 13th June, 1710, which was attended by fifty-one of the chief parishioners and four church wardens, who all agreed as to dividing the parish, each man, according to his holding, to convey a proportion of the materials required for the erection of a new church, from either port or quarry to Knockaloemoar, where the church was to be erected upon the bishop defraying all the other expenses of building. A document being made out to that effect, it was subscribed by the bishop and a few other persons ; but thirty-nine make a cross thus X .—Millie Ancient Ordinances, pp. 188, 189.
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By the census of 1841, the population of this sheading was 8115. Glenfaba is much diversified with hills and valleys. On its southern confines, Barrnle rise to the height of 1545 feet above the level of the sea; and Greeba, Archal-laghaghan, and Slieauschian, also rise within its boundary. Peel Glen is so low that the sea is supposed to have flowed through it at some early period; but that in the course of centuries, the surface of the valley was raised above the sea by the shale abraded from the contiguous hills through the action of the elements. This opinion is in some measure strengthened by the soil of the valley being alluvial, and abounding with marine exuviae; and by the remains of an ancient boat having been found many years ago at Greeba. But similar remains are frequently found at the bottom of fresh water lakes in Scotland.1 Of late years, however, the sea has been making rapid encroachments on the town of Peel: indeed, within a few years, of many well known properties which occupied sites on the margin of the bay, not a vestige is now remaining.2
A waterfall in the sequestered dell of Glen Meay/ and
1 In the dry summer of 1826, nine canoes were discovered in loch Doon, three of them were lifted entire, the largest of which are now in the museum of Glasgow, the others are sunk in a place made for them at the foot of the loch, where they are placed for the gratification of the curious.—History qf Galloway, vol. i, Appendix, Note i. One exactly similar was found in the Carlinwork loch, near Castle Douglas.—See Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland—° Parish of Kelton.”
s Six Days' Tour, Douglas, 1836, pp. 128, 146.
3 Glen Meay is thus graphically described by my highly>talented and worthy friend, William Bennet, Esq., of Wester Duddington, in the county of Edinburgh :— “ To the eye of the inland wanderer, the Island presents a variety of soft secluded beauties, which amply repay the toil of a pilgrimage to visit them. Of these the fall of Glen Meay, about three miles distant from Peel, is perhaps the most delightful in the whole Island. A small rivulet descends from the hills, and enters this secluded little glen at a short distance from the sea. The rivulet, in its angry moods, has here worn the channel into a deep chasm, which is now beautifully overhung with a profusion of trees, underwood, and wild flowers ; and at the deepest part of the gorge, a pretty high cascade is formed by a ledge of rocks running across it, by which the attrition of the water has been more effectually resisted than by the surrounding soil. In a broader part of the same glen, within hearing of the fall, is planted a small
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a range of grotesque and romantic caverns on the coast, formed by the incessant operations of the sea, are generally pointed out to strangers as an object worth visiting. In another part of this sheading, is seen the celebrated Tynwald hill, the mould of which, according to tradition, is composed of friable loam, originally brought from every churchyard in the Island, conveyed thither under some superstitious impression, the nature of which I have not been able to learn. When Robertson, the tourist, visited this place in 1791, there were vestiges remaining of two gates, and a wall which had once surrounded the “ sacred mound,”* but of these no traces are now to be seen.
Peel is the only town of any note in the sheading of Glenfaba. It is situated at the estuary of the river Neb, or as it is sometimes called the Great River, which rises in the mountains of Michael. In the exchequer book of the Island, it is mentioned that the court was held at the “ Holme Town, near unto the Peele,”’ which shews the town to have been a place of considerable importance in the sixteenth century, though a very few of the houses of Peel appear to have Stood even since the commencement of the seventeenth century.3 The town consists of five irregular streets, and some narrow lanes, which in par-
onsteading of neat straw-thatched cottages, surrounding a mill, whose * wheel' is driven by the current; and never did poet fancy a more perfect picture of shelter and repose. The stream dances in smiles past the walls of the cottages ; the brows of the chasm overhang and defend them; the trees wave over them, amid winds which they scarcely hear ; and beneath, like a fond maiden clinging to her lover, the gentle ivy adorns and softens their appearance with its embraces. It is a spot where the contemplative recluse, whose passion is to dwell alone with and worship nature, might well fancy himself in heaven,—it is a spot which every pilgrim in Mona ought to visit, almost in preference to any other.0—Sketches of the Isle qf Man, London, edition 1829, pp. 60, 61.
1	Manor's British Tourist, London, edition 1807, vol. iv, p. 142.
2	Anno 1582, ap. Mills'8Laws, p. 68.
1 In 1765, Philip Christian, of London, left twenty pounds per annum for the education of poor boys, and bishop Wilson established a school for the instruction of girls. A grammar school was founded in 1746, and a mathematical school in 1763, from which it appears that Peel is well supplied with seminaries for the instruction of youth.—Account of the Isle of Man Charities, printed in 1831, pp. 60, 68.
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ticular exhibit some of the characteristics of an old Scotch fishing village. Old nets are spread over the roofs of the houses to keep down the thatch ; and old inverted boats are ranged alongside the walls, offering shelter to poultry and pigs—while rumpy cats may be seen basking in the heat of the sun by the cottage doors.
On the stone seats, placed in front of almost every house, may be seen frequently, hardy-looking men, in blue jackets and trowsers, with hats covered with pitched canvass, lounging either in listless idleness, or nursing half-naked children; but during the fishing season, all is bustle and activity.
The people of Peel generally ascertain by a simple gnomonic expedient the hour of high-twelve, when the sun is shining. Near the entrance of the castle gate,1 a space of one foot broad, and ten feet perpendicular of the rampart is whitened with lime, in the centre of which a
1	The brass plate which was supposed to have been lost, or stolen, about fifty years ago, from the tomb of Bishop Rutter, who was buried in the cathedral, in Peel Castle, in 1662, was found on Sunday last by some boys, in the well near the sally-port of that ancient structure, the water in which is now (June, 1844) very shallow. The venerable relic is in a good state of preservation, and the engraving is very perfect. The only injury the plate has sustained is at one corner, which has been broken off. We subjoin a diagram of the interesting relic, which is sixteen inches long, and seven inches and six-eighths broad, and now in the possession of R. Harrison, Esq., high-bailiff of Peel:—
In hac domo quam a verm \ ACCEPI C0NFRATRIBU8 MEIS 8 X.
Resurrectionis ad vitam ^
Jacco Sam : Permissions divjna Episcopus Hujus Insulae
Siste Lector J-= ^ Vide ; ac Ride Palatium Episcopi
Obijt : xxx=e die mensis May, 1662.
—Manks Paper. The inscription given by us from Feltham^ Tour, it appears is not a literal copy, and there is also an error in the date, as will be observed by comparing the above with that given.—See vol. i, p. 352.
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black stripe, four inches broad, extends from top to bottom. When the rays of the sun are not impeded by clouds at noon, the shadow of the castle gate reaches the black line in a particular manner, according to the season of the year. By this primitive dial, called in Manks ooreyder-grieney, most of the time-keepers in the neighbourhood are still regulated, and the guard of the castle was formerly changed by the same expedient. The country people, down to a late period, did not reckon time by the hours of the day, but by the traashirveish, or service time.1
Purt-ny-Hinshey, literally the harbour of the Island, was the original name of the port of Peel, which shews the importance of this haven in early times, over every Other creek on the coast of Man?
In the halcyon days of the free trade, Peel was also a place of considerable importance. The houses built at that time have generally deep vaults under them, made for the purpose of depositing contraband goods; but are no longer required for that purpose. The herring fishery may now be considered the staple business of the place: there are upwards of seventy scowtes, of from sixteen to thirty tons each, belonging to the harbour.
On the morning of the 18th July, 1836, I had the pleasure of viewing from the rock behind Peel Castle, called the horse hill, the grand herring fleet at sea, amounting to nearly two hundred sail. These little craft were ranged in a curving line along the coast, from Dalby Point to Contrary Head. They had finished their fishing, and were returning to harbour. The watery plain was beautifully studded with the little vessels, which, in the oblique rays of the sun, appeared like so many shadows in motion. Many stood away for other ports, but the greater part of them made for the harbour of Peel. They
1 Bishop Wilson’8 Description of the Isle of Man, ap. Camden.
8 Cregeen's Dictionary of the Manks Language, p. 132.
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had all been tolerably successful, and had what they call “ a good take.” As they neared the land, it was pleasing to observe so many joyful faces. Transferring the herrings to the vessels lying ready to receive them, was a busy scene. The bustle, however, was soon over, and the cadgers bore away on different tacks to their respective markets.
Middle Sheading.—This section of the southern district is subdivided into the ecclesiastical divisions of Santon, Onchan, and Braddan, containing, according to the census of 1841, a population of 14,052 souls. The mountains of Injebreck, Beinn-y-phot, Garraghan and Ulican are within the verge of its upland boundary, and it extends along the eastern coast from Aragon Beg to Banks’s Howe. The gorse and ling that surmount the high eastern fences, encircling small patches of cultivated land, give to a large range of this sheading, along the base of the hills, the appearance of a half-cultivated common. As the lands again slope towards Douglas, the fields become larger and hedgerows more frequent, while neat cottages and ornamented villas, skirted with belts of thriving trees, beautify the foreground of the landscape.
Kirby house is distinguished by the luxuriant plantations that surround it. This elegant seat was the property of Colonel Wilks, governor of St. Helena, to whose charge the Emperor Napoleon was committed on his arrival there in 1815. Colonel Wilks was author of the History of Mysore, and, it was said, was engaged in collecting materials for a history of his native Isle of Man. That he did not live to accomplish this design, is much to be regretted, as no man could have been better qualified for the undertaking.
The Nunnery is a very ancient building, calculated to fill the contemplative mind with many associations. It was founded by St. Bridget in the sixth century; but, excepting some parts of the chapel with its gothic
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windows, and some old fonts in the garden, hardly a vestige of this ancient structure remains. A modern castellated mansion, bearing the same name, rises in this lively retreat, and is occupied by General Goldie, late speaker of the house of keys.
Port-e-chee is noted as being the first residence of the Duke of Atholl in the Island. It is not more than two miles distant from the princely residence of Castle Mona.
The superb edifice of Castle Mona is built of white freestone from the Isle of Arran, and is said to have cost upwards of £40,000 sterling. It was opened with great pomp in 1802. On that occasion the clergy, the members of the Insular government, and nearly all the gentry of the Island were invited to a splendid entertainment. That this noble structure, in the course of thirty years from the date of its erection, should have been converted to its present use, could not certainly have been anticipated ; but no circumstance which has latterly occurred has given such an impetus to the growing prosperity of the Island as the opening of Mona Castle, as a place of entertainment.
Two miles distant from Douglas is the parish church of Braddan, a plain little edifice, rebuilt in 1773, and seats only four hundred persons, although the population of the parish was then nearly 5,000. By the census of 1841, the population had increased to 10,769. What a want of church accommodation was there? A small chapel of ease, however, was erected at Baldwin in 1836. The parish church is dedicated to St. Brandon, now called Braddan, who was an abbot and confessor in Scotland, and who, according to the custom of his time, lived a recluse in the Isle of Arran, where he died a.d. 1066.1
1 Keith’s Historical Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, Edinburgh, 1824, p. 377. Hollinshead’s Chronicles qf Scotland, edition 1805, vol. i, p. 18. “ This name has been corrupted into Braddan, which Chailoner supposes to signify im/rmi'1 (ap. Wood, p. Ill) but this fanciful derivation is incorrect.
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Mark, bishop of Man, held a synod at Kirk Braddan in 1292, where thirty-nine canons were made.’ So far back as 1680, Patrick Thomson, vicar of Braddan, left a legacy of three pounds to the poor of the parish, forty shillings of which was directed to be put in bank, and the interest to be forthcoming and truly payable to the poor from time to time during time.3 So far as I have been able to discover, there was no banking establishment in Man at this period. The bank of England was not established till 1694, and the bank of Scotland commenced in 1695. The charitable vicar, therefore, must have intended his bequest of forty shillings to be deposited either in the bank of Venice or that of Amsterdam.
Vicar Thomson appears to have been a very eccentric person. Close to the principal entrance of the church is his grave stone, with this remarkable intimation:— “ Here underlyeth the body of the Reverend Mr. Patrick Thomson, minister of God’s word forty years, at present vicar of Kirk Braddan, aged 67, anno 1678, deceased anno 1689.”3 This stone appears, consequently, to have been engraven eleven years before he died, during which time he was represented as lying under it, although he was at present vicar of Braddan.
There is an old fort at Cas-na-hown called bythe natives a castle. At Port Soderick,4 near the ruins of the old
1	Keith’s Catalogue, p. 301.
2	Tsle of Man Chari ties, p. 102.
3	There is a similar epitaph on a gravestone in the churchyard of Kirkcudbright, in Galloway, erected to the memory of a namesake of the vicar of Braddan :—“ Here lies the corpse of Patrick Thomson, deakon of the weavers in Kirkcudbright, who departed this life 6th Dec., 1775, aged 57 years.” Thus he appears to be the present deacon of that body, although he died in the last century.
4	In a letter dated 20th September, 1844, from a highly respected correspondent in the Isle of Man, he says:—“ Are you aware that the septennial appearance of the Island, said to be submerged in the sea by enchantment, near Port Soderick, is expected about the end of this month.” Though the spell by which this fancified Island has been bound to the bottom of the ocean, since the days of the great Fin M’Coul, and its inhabitants transformed into blocks of granite, might, according to popular belief, be broke by placing a bible on any part of the enchanted land when
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chapel, there was found the fragment of a flat pillar, representing a man on horseback. It is a slab of green stone, exceedingly hard; and it is worthy of remark, that the cross, a feature so prominent in most of the ancient stones found in the Island, is not on this. From this circumstance, we are led to infer that it belongs to the earliest age of this description of Manks relics. This stone is now in the possession of Dr. Oswald, of Douglas.'
In the year 1773, as the workmen were preparing to lay the foundation of the present church of Santon, they discovered, six feet under ground, a rough whinstone, in its natural state, with an inscription supposed by Dr. Oswald to be in the Phoenician or old Greek character.1
The town of Douglas is situated on a river, which is formed of two branches; the one rising in the west side of Mount Garraghan is called the Dhoo—the other rising in the group of hills, of which Beinn-y-phot is the centre, is named the Glass. These streams unite a mile from the sea, and, from the place of their junction to where they disembogue in the bay, the river is called Douglas.1
at its original attitude above the waters of the deep, where it is permitted to remain only for the short space of thirty minutes : no person has yet had the hardihood to make the attempt, lest in case of failure the enchanter, in revenge, might cast his club over Mona also.
1	Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries qf Scotland, vol. ii, part ii, edition 1831, p. 503.
8	Respecting this inscription, Dr. Jamieson, of Edinburgh, makes the following observations:—“In regard to an inscription on a whinstone found on laying the foundation of the present church of Santon, it seems evident that N is a combination of A V, and that = is the contraction of U M. Thus I read it as barbarous Latin for Avitum Monomentum. The characters seem pretty nearly to resemble the old Teutonic, as given by Astle, table i, p. 64, and table xi, p. 84, which inscription he asserts to have been written in Italy above eleven hundred years ago, probably by some Latin priest.”—Transactions qf the Society qf Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. ii, part ii, edition 1831, p. 499.
3	Campbell's Political Survey of Great Britain, Dublin, 1775, vol. ii, p. 534. In the Gtelic language, dubh signifies “ black,” and glass “ white,” which, when united, form the name of the town. In Bleau’s Map of the Island, published at Amsterdam in 1658, there appears Douglas town, Douglas haven, and Douglas point; but the streams above alluded to are called the black water and the white water.
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From this the town is supposed by some to have derived its name ; although, according to Hume, of Godscroft, the town of Douglas, the tower of Douglas, and Douglas haven, all derived their appellation from William seventh, earl of Douglas, called the Hardy, who was governor of Man about the year 1300.1 The parochial distribution of Douglas is remarkable, presenting a very curious anomaly. As relates to spiritual matters, the town is in the parish of Braddan; but as relates to the civil jurisdiction, in that of Onchan.3
From its advantageous situation for inland commerce, and its spacious bay affording every facility for intercourse by sea, one might suppose the town of Douglas to be the most ancient in the Island; but such a conjecture, so far as I have been able to find, would not be supported by history. Douglas is not mentioned in any of the historical transactions of the Island prior to the conquest of Alexander III,3 which, in my opinion, gives considerable weight to the assertion of Hume.
1	Hume of Godcroft's History of the House of Douglas, Edinburgh, 1643, p. 20. The Isle of Man was peopled by the Scots, for to this day the old language is spoken there, and has places named from the Douglases and others, who were notable families of the Scots, before Mr. Camden mentioneth any progress of the affairs in the Isle of Man.—Irvine's Historical Scotica Nomenclatura, Edinburgh, 1682.
2	On this subject the following interesting extract of a letter from the Rev. Edwd. Craine, vicar of Onchan, will be found to supply all that is accurately known on the subject:—“ In respect to the civil and ecclesiastical limits of this parish and Kirk Braddan,—in the former jurisdiction we include the whole of Douglas, but in the latter we only go as far as the stream at the quarries, near the sands, and which supplies the town with water. But some are of opinion that we extend as far as the rivulet near Mrs. M’Crone’s house. This is, however, doubtful. When a person residing in Douglas is cited in the deemster’s court, he is called an inhabitant of Onchan ; but when the same individual is cited in the v:car-general’s court, he is called an inhabitant of Braddan. This is a very strange distinction, and cannot be satisfactorily accounted for.”—Laughton's Historical and Parochial Guide, p. 108.
8	Even in the Chronicles of the Kings of Man the word Douglas is only once mentioned, and that with reference to the removal of the Monks from the Abbey of Rushen to that of Douglas ; but this is known to be incorrect, they only removed from Rushen to the Friary of Bowmaken. So far as we can learn, there never was a monastry at Douglas. If the Chronicles of Min were written in Norway, as it is supposed they were, such a mistake might easily happen by the author not knowing exactly the topography of the Island.
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At the commencement of the eighteenth century, Douglas was only a fishing village, composed of a group of clay built cottages; but as the contraband trade increased, it tended to enrich the inhabitants. Adventurers who had accumulated wealth by means of this traffic, generally pulled down their paternal habitations and built others on the former sites, every one according to bis own fancy, and more suitable to the wealth he had acquired. The number of inhabitants increased so rapidly, that in the year 1757 it amounted to 1,814; and, going on progressively, it had reached in 1831 to 6,786; and in 1841, by the government census, the population of Douglas was 8,647. The house property of Douglas has been valued at £356,788. This valuation was made for the purpose of assessing the proprietors for the damage done by the potatoe and copper rioters.1
On approaching Douglas by sea, the camera lucida brings within the compass of the leaf of a common sketch book, a rich and varied scene. The town rises in the foreground, on the left hand side of the picture, in the form of a triangle; while sketching away to the right, is seen the fairy grounds and crescent of Strathallan, with the Island palace of Mona.1 These are overlooked by the whitewashed houses of Kiondroghed and its little gothic church,3 formerly dedicated to St. Oncha, the mother of St. Patrick. In perspective, the village is relieved by the dark foliage of the uplands, receding till
1 Antet vol. i, p. 254—vol. ii, p. 78.
2 The late Duke of Atholl set the example of building good houses in the Island for lodgings. He erected the first four houses on the Crescent, and let them furnished at a moderate rent. To those who build houses there, the feu duty is three shillings per foot. ’
8 During the erection of this church in 1833, Mr. Skillicorn, the builder, said to be the wittiest wag in the parish, caused the gravestone of Elizabeth Hayes, which has a peculiar inscription on it, to be taken from the churchyard and placed as one of the pediments of the spire, for the purpose of puzzling posterity. In March, 1838, the British government granted the sum of j£130 towards the erection of the parsonage house of this parish.
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the distant view is bounded by a mountainous range, diversified by woods and falling waters foaming and sparkling in the sun. The beach of Douglas bay resembles an elongated crescent, with its concavity presented to the sea.
A picturesque building in the centre of the bay, called “ the Tower of Refuge,” erected in 1832, is a particular object of attraction : it is situated on St. Mary’s, or the Connister rock, as it is more frequently called, which being covered with the sea at high water, spring tide, was a place on which vessels were frequently wrecked during stormy weather, and it, therefore, became desirable to erect some building on it, where the shipwrecked mariner might take refuge and outlive the storm.1 This benevolent object was projected and carried into effect, through the persevering agency of Sir William Hillary, the philanthropic founder of the “ National Institution for the preservation of life from shipwreck.”’
On rounding Banks’s Howe, the pier arrests the attention of the visitor. The first stone of this handsome building, the most attractive feature in the aspect of
1	“ From ancient records, and such authorities as can now be obtained, it appears that the loss of life and of property from shipwreck, on the coast of the Isle of Man, has at all times been awfully great. By an accurate and attested list which accompanies this memorial, it will appear that from the year 1821 to the present time, the vessels totally wrecked or stranded on the shores of the Island amount to upwards of one hundred and twenty—that above one hundred and sixty lives are returned as lost, and property to the amount of two hundred and fifty thousand pounds. That in the immediate vicinity of the great port of Liverpool, during the tremendous hurricanes which sometimes sweep the seas, many large and valuable vessels, unable to find shelter on those perilous shores, are frequently wrecked, and but too often their numerous passengers and crews inevitably perish, when a refuge might have been found in Douglas bay. And it has been further estimated that within the last ten years more than one thousand persons have perished, and property to the amount of one million sterling has been lost by shipwreck in those seas by which the Isle of Man is surrounded.’'—‘Extracted from a Memorial to the Lords of the Treasury, in favor of the erection of a central harbour of refuge in Douglas bay, agreed to at a numerous meeting held in the court-house of Douglas on 18th March, 1845.
s	See Sir William Hillary’s work on that subject, published at London, in the year 1823.
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Douglas, was laid by John, duke of Atholl, on 24th July, 1793. The total expense of the erection was twenty-two thousand pounds sterling. This sum was not wholly defrayed by the British government, as has been frequently asserted: the greater part was paid by the society, established by act of parliament in 1786, for promoting and improving the fisheries of Great Britain, as mentioned in a former chapter.1
The length of the pier is five hundred and forty feet, and the breadth forty feet. At the distance of four hundred and fifty feet from its commencement, it expands to ninety feet, terminating in a circular area of greater elevation, having in the centre a handsome lighthouse, which, as well as the pier, is built of freestone, brought from the vicinity of Runcorn, in Cheshire. The pier was built for the protection of the shipping in the harbour; but being badly planned, when the east wind was strong the sea rolled into it with such unbroken strength, as often to force the vessels from their moorings. A jetty, however, was erected in 1837, on the rock opposite to the harbour, which has, in a great measure, remedied that defect. The harbour of Douglas has been esteemed the best dry one in the Irish sea. It admits vessels of considerable burden, the depth of the water at spring tides being nearly twenty feet. As a bathing place, in fine weather, Douglas bay is unsurpassed. The water, flowing over a rocky bottom until within a short distance of the shore, is beautifully clear; so clear, indeed, that small objects are plainly perceptible at a depth of several yards. The clearness of the water off Douglas head was, on one occasion, a very great consolation to an old lady from Yorkshire, who had suffered some little from sea-sickness,
1	Townley’s Journal, vol. 2, p. 223. In 179 7, the sum of £7000 was granted by government for the completion of the pier and repairing the harbour. In 1798, the sum of £3,500 was voted by the House of Commons to be expended on public buildings in the Island.—Felihamt p. 229.
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and more from freight, during a rather windy passage. She observed:—“ She was glad they had got into a place where they could see the bottom, as there was no fear of being drowned!” forgetting the packet of which she was on board drew ten feet of water.1
The anchorage of the bay and the entrance to the harbour are protected by a three-gun battery, erected during the panic excited by Napoleon’s threatened invasion. It was, perhaps, to be under the cover of this battery that the entrance to the harbour was changed from beyond the Pollock rocks to its present channel, which, according to the statement of a modern author, renders the place very strong on the side of the sea.2
The pier, in fine weather, is a promenade for the inhabitants of Douglas, which they generally take advantage of. On the arrival of a steamer they congregate in crowds to gratify their curiosity, affording strangers, as they land, an opportunity of viewing a sample of the inhabitants of the Fairy Isle. As soon as a stranger sets foot on shore, he is assailed by a host of waiters from the different hotels, inns, and lodging houses of the town, all thrusting their direction cards into his hands, and extolling the superior accommodation which their respective establishments afford. He is then conducted to some one of the inns or lodging houses that abound in all the narrow, crooked, and incomprehensible streets of the town.3
1	On 10th January, 1845, according to the almanack, the tide, which was at its height about twelve o’clock, should have risen eighteen feet seven inches ; but owing to the strong southerly wind which prevailed, it rose several feet higher. At twelve o’clock, the water had covered the tongue, and had overflowed the north quay, in some places half-way to the houses. At Callow-slip the sea flowed up into Dukestreet, rendering that thoroughfare impassable for some time, but not damaging property to any great extent. About half-way down Strand-street, where the backs of the old houses abut on to the beach, the unusual rise of water, and the heavy surge which attended it, did some injury—in one place breaking in a wall, knocking down an old smithy, and undermining the outer corner of a somewhat dilapidated, but occupied, dwelling house.
a	Malte Brunts System qf Geography, edition 1832, book cli.
3	Bennnet’s Sketches, London, 1820, p. 8. •
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This remark now applies only to the centre of Douglas. The inequality in the appearance of the houses, and the irregularity of the streets, have undoubtedly been occasioned, as previously stated, by every person building his house, not only to suit his whim or convenience as to size and structure, but also by placing it to face either the rising or the setting sun, as pleased him best, without any regard to the situation of the houses previously erected.1 So disjointed are the lanes and alleys, that he would be a most active charioteer who could drive steadily through them without coming into contact with the corner houses. The proprietors of such tenements, seemingly aware of the danger to which they are exposed, have generally taken the precaution to defend the most exposed angle of each building by an old cannon placed perpendicularly, with the muzzle sunk into the ground. I observed with a degree of curiosity, the great number of old pieces of ordnance thus dispersed throughout the Island in the different towns, as well as the numbers set up on the quays for mooring vessels.
It is a singular circumstance, that down to the year 1808, the streets of Douglas were without names; and the houses unnumbered to 1843. All went by the general name of Douglas, with the exception of the northern suburb called Sena, which signifies old; and the place called the “ Fairy Ground,” near the quay. My friend Dr. Oswald, asks if this Sena can be the site of the Druidical nunnery,* mentioned by Mela. It was not till the year 1829, that there were any public lamps in the streets, and few are yet to be seen; but the quays and principal shops are now
1	Harrison's Description qf Britain, p. 38; Speed's theatre qf the British Empire, folio 91.
* Oswald*s New Guide, p. 84. Pomponius Mela speaks of an island called Sena in the British sea, celebrated for the oracle of the Gaelic divinity, whose priestesses, nine in number, enjoyed the faculty of raising the wind and the sea by verses, of predicting futurity, and of changing themselves into animals.—Mela de Situ Orbis, lib. iii. j ap. Daly ell’s Darker Superstitions qf Scotland, pp. 250, 251.
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lighted with gas by a company, whose works are~situated on the South Quay.
The town was formerly supplied with water from carts; but a water company was formed in 1834, which supplies the public with water from a reservoir at the Crescent. In the centre of the town, a spacious market place was formed in 1836,1 having an extensive range of stalls erected on each side. The market day is on Saturday, and is well supplied with provisions. Vegetables are brought to it from the most distant parts of the Island, but are sold at a higher rate than in the days of Sacheverell, 1702, when a fat goose cost no more than sixpence ; a hen or duck, threepence ; eggs, thirteen for a penny; rabbits, twopence per pair; crabs, a penny per dozen; and lobsters, one penny each. According to the Manks Mercury newspaper, of February 12, 1793, in Douglas market beef sold at threepencehalfpenny per pound; pork at threepence Manks and twopence-halfpenny English per pound; mutton at two-pence-halfpenny English per pound. The general tendency of the increased intercourse of one portion of the empire with an other, by means of steamers and railroads, is that of raising the price of marketable produce where low, and depressing it where high. The former has been so much the case in the Isle of Man, that it is questionable if the produce of the Island can be had cheaper there at present than what similar articles can be purchased for in Great Britain.
1 These buildings, called the Wellington Market, were first opened to the public on 20th of January, 1838. The greater part of the stalls were let by auction, from that time till the 20th of November following, at a rent averaging about seven pounds each; but such is the self-willedness of the country people that they never avail themselves of it, though they could do so without any charge or toll; they prefer standing with the produce of the dairy or fowlyard in a small dirty square near to the harbour. Once, on asking the reason of this, we were answered by a native— that she “ could get a better price for her stuff on a wet day, as the English and strangers would not stand chaffering with her in the rain.”—Liverpool Albion.
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The harbour of Douglas extends the whole length of the town, from east to west. The best shops are situate in Duke-street; but there are several excellent houses facing the pier. Such are Harold Tower, the residence of James Quirk, Esq., high-bailiff; and Fort Anne, occupied by Sir William Hillary. In Atholl-street and terrace, Finchroad and the Crescent, forming the most modern part of the town, there are also many elegant houses.
It is only by adverting to the accounts of former writers that we can shew the progress recently made in the Island. When Wood the tourist visited it in 1808, he says, there was only one person who sold books, and he was by trade a bookbinder. He adds that he tried in vain to get a sheet of blotting paper. The case is very different now, at least in regard to Douglas, there being five booksellers and stationers there, with eight printing offices, from four of which issues a weekly newspaper. There are, besides, three monthly periodicals.1 The insular press is wholly confined to Douglas, and as newspapers printed in the Isle of Man are unshackled by either a duty on paper or on advertisements inserted therein, and privileged to pass postage free, without a duty stamp, through the postoffices of the United Kingdom and most of the British colonies, a great stimulus has been given to periodical printing in Douglas, and newspapers established there for the purpose of being circulated in the United Kingdom, have attained a high circulation.*
There are two extensive circulating libraries in Douglas, and one called “ The Isle of Man Subscription Library.” A mechanic’s library has also been in existence for some years; it is liberally supported, and the working part of the community have derived great benefit from it.
1	The population of the Channel Islands, although only about 60,000, support twelve newspapers, eight of which are published in Jersey, and four in Guernsey.— Pigofs Commercial Dictionary, p. 172.
* Appendix, Note iii, “ Manks Periodical Press.”
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'There has been no legal provision made by the Insular government for the support of the poor. They are now partly maintained as out-pensioners of the house of industry. A soup kitchen is regularly opened for their relief during the winter months.1
A house of industry was completed in 1837, by means of a grant from government, and by private subscription. It is a handsome structure, with a square tower in the centre. This institution is supported by voluntary contributions, and the collections made in the churches in Douglas every Sunday, for the relief of the poor of the town. Its income for 1844, according to the annual report, amounted to seven hundred and twenty-eight pounds nineteen shillings. A medical dispensary has been likewise established, and is well supported. It is recorded, that during the pestilence which followed the famine in 1740, there was not a medical practitioner in the Island except the bishop? At present there are twenty-two in Douglas, including druggists.
Such is the blind reliance placed on those impostors called “ fairy doctors,” and female empirics, that when the cholera broke out in 1832, some of the people who were affected with that malady refused all medical aid or interference on the part of the regular medical practitioners, although frequently offered gratuitously by some of those gentlemen in the most handsome manner. Having more faith in charms, and the mysterious virtue ascribed to certain
1 The contributions of the Ladies' Soup Dispensary, commencing November, 1843, and ending June, 1844, amounted to ^383 10s. lOd. ; the donations to it— two hundred and six pounds of beef, and a large quantity of vegetables.—Annual Report, published 9th November, 1844.
* Life of Bishop Wilson, ap. Bullock's History, p. 179, 410. I may, however, here remark that there are several benefit societies in Douglas, and in other parts of the Island, which often afford great relief to their members and are seemingly in a flourishing state. The funds of the Kirk Onchan Friendly Society, amounted at Whitsunday, 1838, to the sum of ^1560 12s. lid., having increased ^84 in the preceding year. The funds of the Kirk Christ Rushen Friendly Society increased in the same period £80, and the funds of that of Kirk Michael £14.
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plants, than in the skill of the most experienced physician or pharmacopolist. Fairy doctors and certain old women were brought from the most remote parts of the Island to Castletown and Douglas, to administer to those unfortunate persons who were suffering under the dreadful epidemic ; while all those of the school of Esculapius remained, not only unemployed, but were obliged to keep out of the way, their lives being endangered by popular prejudice. An absurd report was spread abroad, and believed by a greater proportion of the community, that the springs of the Island were poisoned by the doctors, in order to receive a premium of ten pounds from government, to be paid them for every individual that fell a victim to cholera.
Another singular instance of the influence of the empirics of the order of seer Tear, over the minds of the people, occurred in 1837. The small pox made great havoc in Douglas, and yet the majority of the inhabitants rejected with scorn* the “ genuine variola,” even when gratuitously offered by all the humane practitioners in medicine.
The Isle of Man District Association of the Royal National Institution for the preservation of life from shipwreck, of which the governor is patron, is held in Douglas. It provides with food, clothing, and medical assistance, and with the means of returning to their homes the destitute sufferers from shipwreck of all nations. A life boat, with master and apparatus, invented by Captain Manby, for assisting mariners in distress from the shore, has been placed by the association at each of the principal ports, with experienced sailors to manage the same.
A short time ago, it unfortunately happened by some mismanagement, that while rendering assistance to the crew of a stranded ship, two of the lifeboat’s men fell overboard and were drowned. By this accident, such a
♦ Appendix, Note iv, 44 Aversion of the Islanders to Vaccination.”
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prejudice was raised in the minds of the whole seafaring community in that quarter, against the unlucky boat, that not a single individual could be prevailed upon to set foot in it again. The association was consequently under the necessity of substituting a boat, made on the common principle, in its stead. It is the superstitious notions entertained by the Manks fishers that prevents them from being adventurous seamen ; yet the Island supplied the British navy with many a brave sailor during the late French war?
There are other associations and friendly societies in Douglas, with schools of every variety and grade, amounting to nearly thirty in number.* A schoolhouse was built by subscription in 1810, at an expense of £1,120 sterling, in which upwards of 5,000 children have been educated. The churches are likewise numerous; but the following are the most deserving of notice :—
At the upper end of the harbour there is moored an old ship, formerly employed in the transport service, but which has now been converted into a place of worship? In 1810, a benefit society erected a club-room in Atholl-street, but having cost a much larger sum than was originally anticipated, the society became bankrupt, and the meeting house was purchased for a theatre. The histrionic art, not meeting with due encouragement, the house was again disposed of and converted into a Roman Catholic chapel. On an eminence, a little to the west of the town, is the chapel of St. George, which was erected by subscription. The building was commenced in 1761, but was not finished till 1780. Funds sufficient to com-
1	There are at present several naval officers in the Island who rose from before the mast, one of whom, impressed out of a collier in Castletown harbour, became Nelson's first lieutenant at Trafalgar.
♦ Appendix, Note v, “ State of Education, &c."
2	This ship was a present from Earl de Gray, when first lord of the admiralty, to Bishop Ward, who fitted it up for its present use at his own expense.
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372 HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
plete the undertaking were placed in the hands of the bishop, but he became insolvent, and many of the artificers remained unpaid.1
A new church, dedicated to St. Barnabas, was founded by bishop Ward, on 11th June, 1830. It is a neat building, after the early English style of architecture, having a turret crowned with pinnacles at the angles and nave. The interior is lighted by a range of fifteen clerestory windows on each side. At the west end there is a handsome tower, surmounted by a spire one hundred and forty feet high. This church, capable of containing a congregation of 1500 persons, was built by subscription raised in England, and was originally designed for the accommodation of the poor; but when it was nearly finished, the bishop sold it to a church-building society in London, for £1300.
In 1787, the Wesleyan Methodists of Douglas erected a chapel in Thomas-street; but which a few years afterwards, owing to the rapid progress of Wesleyanism in the Island, proved too small for the congregation, who consequently raised a new building in the same street in the year 1816, which contains about one thousand sittings. Another Wesleyan chapel was erected in Well-road in 1836, which will seat about six hundred individuals. In connection with these chapels are daily and Sunday schools, commenced in 1838, which have proved of good service, having educated hundreds of children since their establishment.
The Primitive Methodists have also a chapel in Douglas, built in 1823, which accommodates about seven hundred persons.
Previous to the year 1830, there was no presbyterian church in Douglas in connection with the kirk of Scotland, although a large room had been for some time previously
1 Isle of Man Charities, printed 1831, pp. 115, 116, 117.
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used as a place of worship. In that year, a subscription was commenced for the erection of a church and manse, by the late Mr. James M’Crone, crown agent in the Island, by whose indefatigable exertions, as well among the Scotch families resident in the Island as with the government, a sum was obtained sufficient to warrant the commencement of these buildings. In the course of the following season, both kirk and manse were erected—the former capable of accommodating three hundred persons, and the latter equalling in its accommodations the generality of the manses in Scotland. They stand at the south end of Finch-road, commanding an extensive and interesting view of the bay and of the distant ocean. The congregation is in connection with the presbytery of Lancashire.
The first clergyman of the new church was Mr. Mellish, afterwards minister of Tealing, in the presbytery of Dundee. The next was William Maclean, a man of no mean talent, and of considerable attainment, who stood high as an every-day preacher with his congregation for several years. Through his persevering agency a savings’ bank was established at Douglas in the year 1835, which has succeeded beyond the most sanguine expectations.1 The annual statement of this valuable institution, for the year ended the 31st December, 1844, seems to augur well for a numerous class of the community?
1	Tour in the hie (f Man in the year 1836, by a Stranger, p. 67.
’ The following is an abstract of balances of depositors’ accounts, on 31st Dec., 1844 :—
194 accounts, whose respective balances (on 31st December,
1844, including interest) did not exceed £ 5 each	..	£ 442	17	9|
106 accounts above £ 5 and not exceeding /10	..	..	734	8	3|
134 accounts above £10 and not exceeding £2 0,. .,	..	184 7	6	9|
70 accounts above £20 and not exceeding £30.................... 1691	17 11
124 accounts above £30 each .................................... 6229	17 01
628 accounts amounting to................................£10926	7 01
—Report qf the hie qf Man Bank for Savings 30th Jan. 1845.
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Mr. Maclean was succeeded, as minister of the presbyterian kirk of Douglas, by the Rev. William Wilson, in 1841. On the 14th October, of that year, Mr. Wilson was inducted into his pastoral charge by my highly valued friend the Rev. Dugald Stewart Williamson, minister of the parish of Tongland, in the county of Kirkcudbright; and on the next Sabbath, the same reverend gentleman, in an eloquent address bearing testimony to the merits, superior attainments, and high character of Mr. Wilson, introduced him to his congregation. Mr. Wilson resigned this charge in 1843, and is now minister of the parish of Balmacallan, in the presbytery of Kirkcudbright.
Mr. Wilson was succeeded in the ministry of the Scotch church at Douglas, by the Rev. Mr. M’Clelland, formerly of Bolton, the present pastor, who is much beloved by his congregation.
It may be considered one of the peculiarities of Douglas, that the natives of every country have there the advantage of attending their own church and their own minister. The native Manks have their St. Matthew’s or St. Maughold’s, with a native pastor. The English have their church dedicated to St. George, with an English minister. The Scots have their kirk, with a clergyman connected with the presbytery of Lancashire; and the Irish have their St. Barnabas (it should have been St. Patrick); while the old ship is a common receptacle for the outcasts of all nations. In most of the parish churches throughout the Island, divine service is performed alternately in English and Manks.
The courts of the vicar-general—of the deemster of the southern district—of the high-bailiff—and of the seneschal, are all held in Douglas. The general post-office of the Island is in Douglas. The mail packets from Liverpool arrive here twice a week in winter and daily in summer, by which thousands of strangers visit the
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Island, during the bathing season, annually. Ship-building, tanning, and brewing may be reckoned among the chief articles of public industry. Few towns in the British dominions have, without the aid of manufactories, improved more within the present century than Douglas has done ; but it has had of late years occasionally serious casualties to withstand.
The act of the legislature passed in the year 1814, taking away the protection from foreigners, was more severely felt in Douglas than in any other part of the Island, this being the place most generally frequented by strangers; consequently many houses were for years afterwards shut up, and the shops lost that animated appearance of business formerly visible in them.1 The agricultural interest of the Island did not escape the depression which, in the years 1841 and 1842, visited the United Kingdom: it blighted to a certain extent the business of Douglas in its various departments ; but the greatest commercial calamity that has hitherto befallen the Island, has been occasioned by the failure of the joint stock banking company, in August, 1843 : according to an insular journalist, “its effects on this small community have been tremendous ” It has no parallel in the annals of banking except the disastrous disruption of the Douglas and Heron bank at Ayr, about sixty years ago, and it is to be hoped the Isle of Man will in due time recover in like manner as did Ayrshire from that shock. “ After the general distress consequent on so disastrous a scheme was somewhat relieved, the improvement which the land had received during the profusion of money fallaciously poured into the country, enabled the new settlers, who were mostly men of great fortune, to follow out what had been
1 Bullock's History nf the Isle of Man, London, edition 1816, p. 206.
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376	HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
thus commenced, and hence the improvement of the country was rather promoted than retarded, by an event which threatened to overwhelm not only Ayrshire, but the greater part of Scotland in the gulf of bankruptcy
1	Encyclopedia Britannia, 4th edition, Edinburgh, 1810, vol. iii, p. 291.
* Appendix, Note vi, “ Incidental Sketch of the Isle of Man Joint Stock Bank."
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APPENDIX.—Chapter XXIII.
NOTE I.—Page 342.
PETITION TO THE QUEEN.
7b Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, Victoria the First, Queen qf the United Kingdom qf Great Britain and Ireland.
The humble petition of the undersigned, being landowners, merchants, tradesmen, and residents in the Isle of Man, sheweth,—That the following preamble appears in an act of Tynwald, passed in the seventeenth year of the reign of his late majesty George the third :—“ Whereas many of the laws and customs of this Isle, have been found not only to be defective, but in many instances impolitic and very inadequate to the purposes of good order and government, it is now thought expedient to repeal all obsolete and useless laws which, however properly adapted to more early ages, are now become insufferable and oppressive, and to institute a new arrangement and connection of the most wholesome laws, retaining every part possible of the ancient constitution, and being made to bear the nearest resemblance to the system of English jurisprudence, which, it is conceived, may greatly conduce to the honour, welfare, and happiness of this Isle; we, your majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the governor, council, and keys of the Isle of Man, being deeply interested in promoting the salutary purposes aforesaid, now mosthumbly beseech yourmajesty;”—Thatintheyear 1792, nearly one thousand of the proprietors of lands in the Isle of Man, signed a petition to the honourable John Sprainger, William Osgoode, William Grant, William Roe, and David Reid, Esquires, commissioners appointed by his majesty to inquire into and report the then present situation of the Isle of Man, stating that the petitioners conceived themselves considerably aggrieved by various acts of Tynwald, passed since the revestment of this Island in his majesty, affecting the rights and interests of the memorialists, without their having it in their power to state their objections to such acts, which became binding upon them before they knew the purport of them; the petitioners, amongst other things, prayed that the House of Keys might either be chosen in a manner more consistent with the title they assumed—that of representatives of the inhabitants—or that their legislative acts might be prevented from passing without knowledge on the part of the memorialists.
That in the year 1833, several thousands of the most respectable inhabitants signed a petition to his late majesty King William the fourth, representing to his majesty with the utmost humility, that the legislative assembly of this Island, denominated the House of Keys, having assumed to themselves the right of self-election, had then hitherto been in the practice of enacting laws, binding the persons and properties of the petitioners and the public of this Island in general, without the petitioners and the public being at all made acquainted with, or consulted on the provisions of such
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enactments, until the time of their being promulgated and becoming effective law; and praying that his majesty would be pleased to restore to the petitioners the rights of which all his majesty’s other subjects in common happily possess—that of choosing their own representatives.	*
That in the year 1834, two several petitions to his excellency colonel John Ready, the lieutenant-governor of the Isle of Man, were numerously signed, praying that his excellency would be pleased to convene the legislature for the purpose of taking into consideration the election of the House of Keys by the voice of the people.
That in the year 1838, a petition very numerously signed was presented to the said lieutenant-governor, praying that his excellency would be pleased, at his earliest convenience, to adopt such measures as he might think would be most advisable, to form a constituency of the inhabitants of this Island, for the purpose of electing the members of the House of Keys, and forming that house of the members so elected, that it might thus become the representatives of the people ; and in case of his excellency failing to succeed in obtaining a compliance therewith from the Insular legislature, the petitions further prayed that his excellency would be pleased to transmit their petition to your majesty’s secretary of state, for the home department, confident that the petitioners’ reasonable and just claim to be represented in the Insular legislature would be complied with by your majesty’s government.
That his excellency returned the following answer to the above petition :—
“ Government House, March 26th, 1838.
“ Sir,—I have had under consideration the petition presented by Messrs. Moore and Clucas, as a deputation from the petitioners, praying that a constituency of the Inhabitants of the Island may be formed for electing the members of the House of Keys ; and it is my duty to inform you that such a change in the constitution of the Isle of Man cannot be agreed to, and I have further to inform you, that if reform in the House of Keys is found to be really wanted, that a representation for the Island in parliament may be the measure of reform adopted,
I have the honour to be, Sir, your obdt. servt.,
“ To Major Stewart, Ballavale.”	“ J. Ready.
That your petitioners deprecate the idea of any reform which may tend to the abolition of the House of Keys, but your petitioners cannot close their eyes to the manifold advantages which arise alike to nations and small communities, from a representative form of government wisely and efiiciently constituted. And with these feelings your petitioners approach your majesty’s throne, and in the language of governor Smith,—the council, and keys, deliberating with closed doors upon the interests of your petitioners, however properly adapted to more early ages, is an impolitic custom, and very inadequate to good order and government, and is at the present day insufferable and oppressive.
That the inhabitants have from time to time in vain besought the Insular government to be relieved from this oppression, and to have extended to them that privilege of being represented in their own legislative body, which your majesty has most graciously granted to the remotest colony in your majesty’s dominions fitted to exercise the duties thereof.
That the letter of his excellency lieutenant-governor Ready having precluded all hope of relief in the premises from the Insular legislature.
Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that your majesty may be graciously pleased to take such measures as to your majesty’s wisdom may seem meet, in order to confer on your majesty’s loyal subjects of the Isle of Man the privileges and advantages of popular representation in our Insular legislature. Or should your
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humble petitioners’ prayer appear to require any additional corroboration, that your majesty would be graciously pleased to appoint commissioners to inquire into the grievances of which your humble petitioners complain. And to suggest such modification in the existing system as may harmonise the institutions of the Island, with the advance of political knowledge and the recognition of public rights, so that they may produce the greatest amount of felicity and prosperity.
And your petitioners will ever humbly pray.
NOTE II.—Page 312.
COMMISSIONERS’ REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR ON THE
PRESENT STATE OF THE PRISON OF CASTLE RUSHEN.
“ The commissioners will now proceed to examine the defects of construction and management which tended to facilitate the escape of the prisoners; this will also embrace the other considerations connected with the second head of the report.
“ The doors of the cells for confining criminals are in many respects insufficient, some of them not being lined with iron, or having an iron plate between the planks, so as to make them impervious to fire, so easily procured by lucifer matches, as late experience has shewn—especially in the case of John Gelling, who burned the wood around the hasp irons of two of the doors by igniting the straw and boards of his bed, and by these means nearly effected his escape. Neither are the gudgeons which secure the doors to the jambs properly placed, being both in a similar position, and therefore permitting the doors to be easily raised off their hinges, whereas, if the upper one was inverted that insecurity would be obviated.
“ The doors being secured by one common padlock, easily picked, offers great facility to escape. There is but one door dividing the criminals’ rooms and the debtors’, which is not sufficient to prevent communication and intercourse between them. By placing another door between them at the end of the thick wall, this very desirable object would be obtained.
“ The cells on the first and second stories, used as sleeping rooms, and the small room in the rear thereof are not sufficiently secure. Some of them are floored with deals and have lath and plaster ceilings. The iron bars which secure the windows have, from age, become corroded and might be easily broken or cut through.
“ The cells on the ground floor are, from their position and from want of ventilation, unfit for sleeping rooms, and ought only to be used as places of close confinement for refractory prisoners.
“ The partition wall of the criminals’ yard, which is twenty-three feet four inches high, ought to be raised two feet four inches, the same height as the rampart wall; and on the tops of both some projecting impediments, either iron spikes or stones, should be placed.
“ A systematic separation of felons to the full extent that their relative number and that of the strong room will admit, and the frequent change of rooms at uncertain periods, and without previous notice, as an efficient means of disturbing plans of escape.
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“ The commissioners cannot close their observations on the crown side of the jail without noticing the glaring impropriety of confining criminals who may have committed crimes of the deepest dye, with persons committed for breaking the peace, some of whom may be in a comparatively respectable walk of life, or of placing them in the same cells, and even in the same beds, with criminal lunatics, often of dangerous character. From the present construction of this division of the prison, the paucity of its accommodation, and at times the great number of criminal prisoners, this is unavoidable. It is our opinion that all the prisoners should have separate beds, and that greater attention ought to be paid to the cleanliness of the bed clothing.
“ Some additional circumspection in having the room No. 2 (generally used as a day room and for cooking in) more frequently washed and cleaned, and if the walls were whitewashed more frequently, it would be conducive of beneficial results to the health and comfort of the prisoners; and if the walls of the area or inner square of the keep, into which the windows of this room look, were whitewashed to a proper height, a great relief to the dark and gloomy appearance of this part of the jail would be effected.
“The discipline of the prison has of late years been considerably more rigorous and better observed. Ardent spirit has been totally prohibited except when ordered by the household surgeon, and then in very limited quantities. Still the jailor complains of spirit been smuggled in, principally by the wives of the prisoners, who, for want of a female turnkey, can not, consistent with delicacy, be strictly searched. The appointment of such an assistant would be producive of much good, and during the hours of the jail being closed, might be advantageously employed in washing and looking after the prison clothing. The appointment of an active and intelligent assistant turnkey is much wanted, the jailor and turnkey, who is well advanced in years, having no assistance in guarding and attending to the prisoners excepting a constable, who is, in fact, the porter of the jail, and is generally employedin bringing in food and other necessaries. This appointment has become more essentially requisite since the removal of the sentries from the jail gate and ramparts.
“The commissioners, in taking a general survey of the different divisions and appointments of the jail, are strongly impressed that, notwithstanding the great strength and perfect state as a fortress of Castle Rushen, it is not, in these days when in all civilized countries, and particularly in Great Britain, the health and, so far as may be, the comfort of prisons are so minutely attended to and provided for, calculated as a jail for debtors. These observations have been made by observing the following facts:—the immense height of the walls ranging from seventy to eighty feet, entirely excludes the rays of the sun from the surface of the area in the central court of the jail, a space of about twenty-seven feet square, which is appropriated for air and exercise to the debtors ; and these walls being all built of limestone, the atmosphere enclosed must consequently be damp and unwholesome, and is rendered still more so by being the common receptacle for the debris of the prisoners. The effects of the unwholesome air in this confined space is always very apparent in the health and complexion of those whose fate it is to respire it. To counteract this evil, the debtors are, during the day time, permitted access to the top of the castle— a boon granted sometimes by your excellency, and at other times by the interposition of the visiting magistrate, but at all times against the inclination and consent of the jailor, who complains that this indulgence endangers the safe custody of the prisoners, and the fact of two debtors having, on 25th September, 1840, effected their escape by lowering themselves from the top, fairly justifies his objection.
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/
44 The windows and ventilating apertures of the criminals’ and female division of the jail are lighted by an opening from this central court, so that the whole of the prisoners, of every description, (the number of whom may be estimated as ranging from twenty-five to forty-five,) can communicate with each other, the evil and immoral consequences whereof it is needless to comment upon.
4 4 There being at present no house for the jailor, he has to reside in the town; although the turnkey’s house is within the precincts of the castle, he cannot be aware of what may be passing in the jail during the night or during the hours of the day, when it is closed.
44 The commissioners have annexed to this report particulars of the evidence taken before them, with papers referred to, and also plans of Castle Rushen.
44 Signed by the commissioners as under and delivered to the governor, 10th May* 1844.
44 J. J. Heywood, Deemster.
J. M’Hutchin, Clerk of the Rolls.
John Kelly, High Bailiff.
John Quayle, Member of the House of Keys.”
Formerly, on particular occasions, the castle of Rushen seems to have been guarded by the inhabitants. 44 The castle of Castletown has been, for some time past, guarded night and day by twenty men, who are relieved every twenty-four hours, by each parish in rotation, and they are summoned to it by the ancient mode of fixing a wooden crow over their door every night ”—Mank* Mercury, No. xii, February 12, 1793.
NOTE III.—Page 368.
MANKS PERIODICAL PRESS.
The temperance movement, like all other movements, has its press, having already established at least half a dozen periodicals, besides numerous separate publications in behalf of the eause. London, Bristol, Ipswich, and Glasgow appear to be the principal seats of pubheation on the mainland of Britain; but from none of these towns is there such a mass of temperance literature issued periodically as from the Isle of Man. The National Temperance Advocate, issued from the Douglas press, seems a well managed affair, and according to its own account, has a circulation of 10,300. Its price sent by post, is only three-half-pence.—Chambered Edinburgh Journal, new series, vol. ii, p. 350. The Odd-Fellows’ Chronicle, also mentioned in the above article of the Edinburgh Journal, as being published in the Isle of Man, has a circulation of 10,000 ; and the Truth Seeker, of 4,000. The old established papers have a more limited circulation.
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HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
LIST OF NEWSPAPERS, &c., AT PRESENT PUBLISHED IN THE ISLE OF MAN.
|	TITLE. Manx Sun	 Mona’s Herald .. .. Manx Liberal .. .J National Reformer .. Temperance Advocate Odd-Fellows’ Chronicle Truth Seeker .. .. Church Chronicle ..	COMMENCED. । PUBLISHERS’ NAMES. April 24, 1821. P. Curphey & Co. Aug. 3, 1833. R. Fargher	 Sept. 3, 1836.1 Penrice A Wallace .. Nov. 16, 1844. Jas B. O'Brien .. Jan. 1, 1811. Lees & Robinson Oct. 25, 1844.|Com. of Odd-Fellows. Jan. 15, 1845. Lees A Robinson April 24, 1845.1W. Dillon 		POLITICS. ! Conservative. Liberal. Do. Chartist. Neutral. Do. Do. Conserva.	WHEN PUBLISHED | Every Saturday. 1 : [Tuesday in Sum- < mer, A Wednes [ day in Winter. Every Saturday. 1 Do.	1 1st of each Month. | 15th do.	1 15th do.	1 Every Thursday. 1
LIST OF NEWSPAPERS, Ac., FORMERLY PUBLISHED IN THE ISLE OF MAN.
TITLE.
time or COMMENCE* MENT.
PUBLISHED BY
CONTINUED. •
The Manks Mercury, and Briscoe’s \ K Douglas Advertiser.............. J	wov.,
Manks Advertiser.................August,
Isle of Mau Weekly Gazette..............
New Series, continued in...............
True Manksman...........................
Manks Patriot......................
Temperance Guardian, now merged 11 into the Temperance Advocate J f Manxman ........................
1792.
1801.
1812.
1815.!
1823.1 1824.
1836.
January, 1842.1
C. Briscoe .. ..
G. Jefferson Beatson & Copeland ’M. A. Mills . ..
I J. Sumner ..
J. Sumner ..
। R. Fargher .. .. |w. Walls .........
115 Years.
‘2
'll Months.
NOTE IV.—Pagb 370.
AVERSION OF THE ISLANDERS TO VACCINATION.
The following is an extract from a letter published in the Manks newspapers by Dr. Oswald, of Douglas, who has practised medicine and surgery in the Island for the period of twenty-six years:—
“ It must sadden every humane mind to witness the number of victims to small pox, which, in Douglas alone, has not been fewer than six daily for the last six weeks—and this mortality has occurred in that class of the people who reject vaccination. With whom then does the responsibility of this mortality rest ? At the first view, it would seem to rest negatively in a defect of the means offered to the poor for vaccinating their children. For my own part, I can state confidently that three or four times every year I have, as far as my means and opportunity went as a private practitioner, and I believe my brother practitioners in this town have done the same, offered vaccination to all who choose to avail themselves of the opportunity; and have as often been chagrined to witness only a very few amongst the poor avail themselves of the offer ; nay, some respectable, but illiterate, people have rejected my practice broadly by saying :—‘ If they had twenty children they would not put the cow-pock on one of them.’
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APPENDIX, CHAP. XXIII. 383
“ For my own part, I am still so much convinced of the inestimable value of vaccination, that I consider it degrading to human nature to see ignorant people not only neglecting it, but depreciating it, and actively opposing it; and not even hesitating to tell falsehoods in order to put it down.
“ Philanthropy and benevolence would certainly be a failure, if valued according to their usefulness among the poor despisers of vaccination in the Isle of Man. Far sterner measures suit their tastes than the milk and water benevolence of preservation of life by cow-pock: they prefer dying by a loathsome disease, whilst in other countries, the uneducated class, such as the * wild Irish,’ as some are pleased to call them, set a proper value upon and adopt it with alacrity.
“ In speaking of cow-pock, a late writer on medicine says :—* The discoverer has been justly and liberally remunerated by parliament: vaccine inoculation has passed with rapid progress over every quarter of the globe from the arctic circle to the extremes of Asia and Africa, and been adopted by civilized and uncivilized nations, by blacks as well as by whites, by the Fin, the Hottentot, and the Hindoo.* In the Isle of Man, however, it is laughed at by the ignorant and not encouraged by the government, the strong arm of which alone can overcome the prejudices and scepticism of illiterate men.
(Signed) “ H. R. Oswald.
“ Finch Road, Douglas, 9th Nov., 1837.”
At this time the empirics seem to have been in full employment. On 17th Nov., 1837, it is stated in the Manx Sun that one of these Cannie Carls at Kewague inoculated nearly one hundred persons in a few days, while other fellows were going about the country occupied in the same way, thereby extending the ravages of this fatal malady to a frightful degree. The editor adds, “ such iniquitous practices should be stayed by the insular government, which has the power of confining public medical practice to regularly educated professors. We have heard that the late Duke of Atholl on a similar occasion once prevented small-pox inoculation in the Island ”
In one parish of the Island in the month of October, 1837, sixty-five persons died of small-pox, and in November, eighty-five.
NOTE V.—Page 371.
THE STATE OF EDUCATION, TEMPERANCE, AND CRIME IN THE ISLE OF MAN.
In the Isle of Man, with a population of 40,985, according to the census of 1831, there are
432 inhabitants to one school.
1,242
661 4,098 6,831
„	endowed school.
,,	unendowed do.
., bookseller.
,, public library.
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40,985 inhabitants to one mechanics' institution.
190	„	,,	alehouse.
2,277	,,	,,	person committed for crime annually.
3,153	„	„	offender who could neither read nor write.
8,199	„	„	who could read or write imperfectly.
The above is compiled from facts, obtained by personal inquiry, and also from parliamentary and other documents. It is intended to shew the means of education, so far as schooling is concerned; and the proportion of educated people, so far as that can be ascertained from the number of booksellers, libraries, and mechanics’ institutions.—Extracted from Historical Tables, published by Pigot and Son, Lon* don and Manchester.
NOTE VI.—Page 876.
INCIDENTAL SKETCH OF THE ISLE OF MAN JOINT STOCK BANK.
A prospectus was issued, early in the year 1836, for the formation of a banking company in Douglas, to consist of 10,000 shares of ^5 each. The company consisted of one hundred and forty*six shareholders, and the deed of partnership was dated 2nd of July of the same year. The association was styled the “ Isle of Man Joint Stock Banking Company," and was licensed by the governor and council on the 6th of April, 1837. The bank of Messrs. Wulff and Forbes, which had been established in 1826, was merged in the Joint Stock Bank, and a bonus of ^2,500 was given for the transfer of their business to the new concern. Mr. Forbes was appointed manager, and Mr. Wulff was made a director. Messrs. Williams, Deacon and Co., bankers, who had been the London agents of Wulff and Forbes, were continued in the same capacity to the Isle of Man Joint Stock Banking Company. This bank was closed in August, 1843.
THE END.
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INDEX.
VOLUME THE SECOND.
A
Abbey tenants, disposal of effects forfeited by them, 3; removal of, 4.
Account of two convicted felons, 218.
Agriculture, progress of, since the revest* meat, 245.
Agricultural society, 260.
Amulets, 117.
Ancient boat, 353 ; ceremony, 215 ; coins, 69; commerce, 275; mode of punishment, 215; territorial jurisdiction, 225.
Archdeacon, authority of, 16.
Armorial ensign of the Island, 69; bearing of the see of Sodor and Man, 79.
Armour of the Norwegians when masters of Man, 86.
B
Banking, 76, 83.
Barons and baroness perform fealty to the lord of the Isle, 2.
Bishops, homage of the, 2; their ecclesiastical authority, 13; sword-bishop, 54.
Bequests of bishop Barrow, 251, 263.
Bonnack, a singular custom, 206.
Bowmaken, formerly a house of Friars Minors of the Cistercian order, 51.
Braddan, church of, 358; synod held there by bishop Mark, 359; eccentricities of a vicar of, 359.
Brenus, governor of Man, was the first who taught the Manks to fish for herrings, 287.
Bridges, 239.
Buggane of St. Trinion, 44, 61.
VOL. II.
C
Calf islet, description of, 334 ; formerly fortified, 335 ; ruins of the house of a recluse, 335 ; abounds with sea birds and rabbits, 336; a silver crucifix and weapon of gold were found here, 66.
Castle Mona, 358.
Castletown, patron saint of, 340; monumental pillar, 340; assembly rooms, chapel of St. Mary, old sundial, 341; House of Keys, 342; Castle Rushen, escape of prisoners, 342.
Cattle, origin of Ayrshire breed, 247,259. Ceremonies, marriage presents, 129 ;
throwing of the shoe, 129; proceeding to church, 130 ; wedding dinner, 131; blowing of horns, 131.—At funerals, straightening-board, trencher, salt, and lighted candles, 136 ; lyke wake or ferrar, 137; funeral procession, 138 ; bells prohibited, 139.
Chapmen and shipmen not to leave the Island without licence, 281.
Chapel of Rushen, 50.
Chasms,orsplitrocksof Spanish head, 164 Church-lands, ancient limitation of, 62. Church-yards, crosses in, 39.
Chivalry, retrospective glance at 102.
Choice children, 112.
Clergy exempt from many insular imposts, 5 ; remarkable ceremony, 215; right of making wills, 10 ; tithes in the hands of lay proprietors, 12; courts of the vicar-general, 16; tithes formeriy received, 5 ; corps-presents, 8.
3A
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386	HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
College, burning of the, 254.
Conveyance of property, 229.
Constitution, historical sketch of, 185 ; feudatory prerogative of the ancient kings of Man, 187; homage at the great Tynwald, 189; instalment of the go* vernor, 193; council of state, 193; his* torical sketchof the House of Keys,195; their legislative capacity and judicial functions, 198; deemsters of great anti* quity, 201; oath of office, 203; breast laws, 204 ; courts, 207 ; high-baiilff, 208; coroner, 209; great inquest, 210; the moar, an officerof themanorial court of high antiquity, 212; court of general gaol delivery, 217; court of exchequer, 217; court of chancery, 217.
Currency, the first Manks coin struck, 72; brass succeeded by leather, 73; pewter money called ducketoons, 73 ; Butcher’s brass money, 74; Johnnie Murray’s pennie, 74 ; copper money to be examined by the captain of the parish, 75 ; promissory cards, 76; copper coinage assimilated in value to that of the United Kingdom, 77 ; tu* mults called the copper riots, 78.
Customs and sports, baptismal, 134; the northern spell, 93 ; kayle pins, the quaintain, 93; rope dance, hoop dance, fire dance, ring dance, 94; sword dance, 95; archery, 95; hunting, hawking, 96; cups of Odin, Niord, and Frey, 98; the quaaltagh, 114; Laa'l Breeshey, 116; Shrove Tuesday, 117; Good Friday, the bannock or soddog, 117 ; Lao*I Boaldyn, or May-day, 118 ; the queen of May, and queen of winter 119; the maceboard, 119; midsummer festivities, 120 ; the Laa'l Lhuanys, or Gule of August, 120 ; queen of the mheillea, 122; Allhalloweven, 123 ; hunting of the wren, 124 ; the white boys, 127 ; Oiel Verry, 127 ; Christmas wake, 128 ; cutting off the fiddler’s head, 128.
Cumpurgators, 20.
D
Danish polity in the Isle of Man, 276.
Death of the dark Smith Loan Maclib-huin, 177.
Debts, singular law relating to, 19.
Deodands, 321.
Dooinney-oie or nightman, 147.
Douglas, situation of, 360 ; parochial distribution, 361 ; historical sketch, 362 ; tower of refuge, 363 ; pier and harbour, 364 ; hotels, inns, lodging houses, 365; streets, 366; marketplace, 367; periodical press and libraries, 368 ; house of industry, medical dispensary, 369 ; fairy doctors, 370 ; life-boat and other associations, 371; churches, 372; ministers, 373 ; courts, 374 ; its trade and commerce, 375.
Druidical remains, 25; circle on the hill of Ballown, 26 ; Castle Corry, 27; Mount Murray, 27; Glen Darragh, 28; Gritchveg, 28.
E
Eagle and Child, 75, 82.
Earthquake felt in the Island, 337.
Effigies, monumental, 65.
Enchanted palace, 176.
Enclosures, 235
Encroachment of the sea, 348.
Evil-eye, 157.
Experiments made in search of coal, 337.
Exports, 262.
Eye-biting, 159.
F
Fairy elf, 133.
Fairy minstrelsey, 151; their moonlight excursions, 152 ; winding-horn of the fairy huntsman, 152 ; the islanders* sympathy for the fairies on a stormy night, 152; the Ihiannan-shee of Bal-lafletcher, 153 ; Hom Mooar the fairy fiddler, 154; fancied departure of the fairies from the Isle of Man, 159.
Farm stock, singular laws for the protection of, 242.
Fiefs, generic title of thane, 226 ; Manks nobility, 226 ; gavel kind, custom of, 226; quarterlands, 227.
Fiscal laws of the Island, revised by parliament, 320 322, 323, 324, 325.
Fishing fleet, view of, 356.
Fodder jury, a despotic tribunal, 242.
Font, an ancient one in the church of Lczayrc, 344.
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INDEX, VOL. II.
387 ’
Foreign merchants, on visiting the Island, laid under certain restrictions, 279.
G
Garden, clerk of the, 250.
Giant's cave, 174 ; giant's casting stones, 174 ; giant's grave, 96.
Glashtin or water-horse, gambols of, 147. Glen Meay, description of, 353.
Government, the staff of, 20. Governor-bishop, 54.
H
Hair, halter riot, 143.
Herring fishery, 287; Manks first taught to fish, 287 ; migration of the herring, 290; appearance of the grand shoal on the Manks coast, announced by the blowing of a horn, 291; bishop Wilson’s fishery prayer, 292; the water-bailiff to see that every fishing-boat is provided with nets, corks, and buoys, according to law, 292 ; bishop and archdeacon permitted to keep each a herring scoute tithe free, 5; divine service formerly performed to the assembled fishermen before leaving the harbour, 292 ; ravages of the dog fish, 289; fleet at the fishing station, 293; activity there, 293 ; return to harbour, 294; process of curing the herrings, 295; encouragement given by government to the Manks fisheries, 295.
Highways, repairing of, 238.
Horse-racing in olden times, 103.
Howell Dha, in his day the inhabitants of Man more numerous than they are at the present time, 274.
Hunting of the wren, an ancient sport, 141.
Husbandry, old implements of, 241. I
Island, fabulous account of its discovery, 144.
Image tombs, 66.
Imports, 261.
Industry of the Manks females, 107.
Inhabitants mor enumerous than at present, in early times, 274.
Inheritance, right of, 234, 257.
Irish elk, 347.
J
Justices of the peace, 208.
K
Keys, chamber of the, 341.
King Gorree’s tower, 348.
Kitter, the Norwegian hunter. 177.
Kirby house, the seat of Col. Wilks the keeper of the emperor Napoleon at St. Helena, 357.
L
Lady in the straw, 132.
Lands, division of, 3; conveyance of, 226 ; sale of, 229, 256.
Laws and antiquated customs relating to agreements between masters and servants, 112.
Laxey town and bay, 350.
Lime, first attempt to use it as a manure 239.
M
Manks cottage, description of an ancient one, 244.
Manksman's grave, 316.
Manners and customs, review of, Scandinavian infants exposed to frost to harden them, 85; children taught to handle the bow, wield the spear, and throw the javelin, 85 ; military habiliments, 8 6; accoutrements and weapons of war, 87.
Mary, of Rushen, chapel of St., 50.
Maughold, village of, 350.
Mermaid on land, 144.
Midwives, a singular oath taken by them in olden times, 132.
Minor punishments, whipping stocks, and bridle, 113; the wooden horse, 114.
Multure, suit, and token, 237. N
Navigation, Manks knowledge of, 89 ; Hebridean gallies, 90 ; Reginald, king of Man, fitted out a fleet of one hundred ships, 91 ; engage to furnish Alexander III with large ships, 91 ; Hacon, king of Man, commanded a most powerful fleet, 91.
Nuncupative wills, 233.
Nunnery founded by St. Bridget, 357.
O
Oanrey, part of a female dress so called, 105.
Occult infections, 157.
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388
HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
Old chapels, remains of, 41.
Omens of death, 135.
Ossified Man, 345.
P
Parish clerk, his duty, 9.
Peasantry, condition of formerly, 104, 243.
Pedlars in former times not permitted to hawk the Island, 285.
Peel town, anciently a place of considerable importance, 354 ; streets, 355; houses, primitive sun-dial, 356.
Phynnodderees, the last of the, 148.
Port-e-chee, a seat of the late Duke of Atholl, 358.
Port Soderic, antiquities of, 359.
Predictive dreams, 155.
Prison of Rushen, escape of prisoners from, 342.
Punishment of supposed witches, 167.
Q
Quakerism, 350; grave-yard of the quakers, 351.
Quarterlands, 227.
R
Ramsey, situation, 351; streets, courthouse, courts, market-place, churches, bay, 362.
Revenues, 218; officer of, anciently called a customer, 281.
Rough shoes or carranet, 105.
Royal proclamations, 313.
Runic inscriptions, 32.
Rushen, ancient abbey of, its subterraneous passages, 339.
S Sacrist, his duty, 10. Saturday, superstition of labour at midday, 155, 182.
Second sight, sometimes derived by inheritance, 172.
Seer Teare, the fairy doctor, 160; his supposed power over the fruits of
earth and the birds of the air, 161; account of an interview with him, 162.
Senna, 366.
Servants, their peculiar bondage, 109; arbitrary custom in support of what is termed “Bridge and Staff/’ 110; the customary practice of making merchandize of servants repealed, 111; jury of servants, 111.
Shellack Point, 343.
Snafield, view from, 345.
Sorcery and Witchcraft, 165.
Spectral illusions, 152.
Sparolett, old name of Spanish Rd., 336.
Spiritual hw relating to property, 18.
Submarine city, 171.
Sulby, the largest stream in the Island, 343.
Sumner, this officer’s duty, 7.
Sunday blanket, 106.
T
Tarroo~wMeyf freaks of the, 146.
Tenures, military, 256; of the straw, 228. Thurbt commences his seafaring career, in the service of a smuggler 310.
Tillage, rude manner of, 256
Traffickers chosen by the great inquest, 280.
Treasure trove, 68; broad sword dug up at Ballaugh, 68; iron gauntlet in the battle field at Ronaldsway, 69; two urns near the church of Maugboti, 69; coins, 69.
W
Wells, consecrated, formerly held in high estimation, 40, 60, 121.
Windy cap, 180.
Witchcraft, selling wind to sailors, 166; spirit of a murdered witch, 167; recent punishment for exercising, 170.
Wizards consumed by fire from heaven, 166.
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ERRATA IN VOL. II.
Page 28, last line of note Hi, for part read parl.
----- 29, first line, note ii, for there read these.
— 37, twenty-fourth line, forfegs read fess.
— 60, eighth line, for marshes read marches.
— 75, seventh line, for chapean read chapeau.
— 75, seventh line, for charger read changer.
----- 81, twenty-fifth line, for ground read or.
— 93, note i, for antiquities read antiquitates.
— 99, note i, omit inverted commas,
— 229, fourth Une, for persons or read persons selling or.
----- 235, nineteenth line, for enquest read inquest.
— 236, twenty-third line, for enquiry read inquiry.
----- 258, note v, for cottar read collar.
— 283, note ui, for iron was read iron weight was.
— 288, tenth Une, for recollections read recollection.
—— 296, note i, for ducket read ducat.
-----318, note i, for trebble read treble.
----- 360, twenty-first Une, for attitude read altitude.
— 365, first line, for freight read fright.
— 367, tenth Une, for vegetables read which.
— 370, tenth Une, for greater read great.
— 374, twelfth Une, for Balmacallan read Balmaclellam.
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