Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 8.djvu/398

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. vm. NOV. 9, 1901.

obelisk. A hymn to, Amen Ra addresses him as

Great one of splendours in the Benben house. See Wiedemann, 'Religion of the Ancient Egyptians,' p. 116; Budge, ' Book of the Dead' (1895), p. cxxxv. The Rev. J. King, in his book on 'Cleopatra's Needle,' asserts, 1 know not on what authority, that the word for obelisk on this monument is tekken, which signified mystery, and was used as an esoteric symbol of light and life (p. 76).

A. SMYTHE PALMER. S. Woodford.

" RIDING THE MARCHES " (9 th S. viii. 265). The good old rule

Sufficeth them, the simple plan That they should take who have the power,

And they should keep who can, was mainly responsible for the necessity of " riding the marches." The marches were the boundaries of town's lands, and it was necessary to make periodical examinations of the boundary marks in order to see that no neighbouring laird had enlarged his posses- sions by the simple method of removing the boundary marks to suit his own desires. The ceremony of inspecting the marches was once, I fancy, a regular custom in every town of any size, but the growth of a stricter morality and saner ideas of meum and tuum rendered the custom unnecessary, and in most places it has fallen into disuse. The practice is still observed and carried out with great zest in Hawick, Langholm, Selkirk, Linlithgow. Lanark, and Innerleithen, the last mentioned having revived the custom only this summer. And doubtless the council records of other towns would show that it was formerly carried through with regularity and with considerable ceremony. I am inclined to think that there is some connexion between the ceremonies of to-day and those of the primitive village communities of remote times. At any rate, there are some formalities which it is difficult to explain on any other ground. It is not always easy to say what are ancient ceremonies and what are modern accretions, but there are some features connected with the riding of the marches which must have had a significance in former times that they do not now possess.

In the minute book of the burgh court of Linlithgow, under date 19 October, 1541, there is the following entry :

"That all the common lands of the burgh mure and utheris, and all common passages, als weill without the burgh, as wyndis within the samyn, be yesitit. seigne and considerit zeirlie, upon Pasche Tyisday, be the Provost, bailies, consul, and com- munitie, and reformit and mendit quhair neid is,"

This is the earliest reference to the riding of the inarches in Linlithgow. It is still held on the Tuesday after the second Thursday in June. On the Friday previous to the said Tuesday the inhabitants are warned by tuck of drum to turn out on horseback on the day appointed. The magistrates, accompanied by the town's officers and band, march to the High Street, and the Town Clerk reads a proclamation forbidding any one "to molest the magistrates with the burgesses in their peaceable riding of the town's marches." The marches are then examined, and on the return of the party salt fish and oatcakes are par- taken of.

At Langholm the ceremony takes place on or about 27 July, and it is carried out, not by the magistrates, but by a " cornet " elected annually from among the young men of the town. The cornet is followed on horseback by as many young men as can get mounts, and the ceremony is not municipal, but popu- lar. Here, again, at a point in the perambu- lations the company is entertained to salt herrings and barley bannocks.

At Selkirk the ceremony takes place in the third week of June, and is carried out by a cornet and his followers. The incorporated trades of the town take part, and the cere- mony winds up with a race meeting.

At Lanark the riding takes place the day after the June fair, and is known as " Lanimer Day," a corruption, I suppose, of Land March Day. The ceremony is carried through by a cornet and his followers. At one point in their journey they all provide themselves with small branches of birch. There is also an elaborate ceremony akin to " May Queen " rites and customs. A girl is chosen and crowned as the Lanimer Queen ; she is deco- rated with flowers, and plays an imposing part in the festival.

At Hawick the ceremony is carried through with much enthusiasm. It takes place on the Friday after the first Monday in June. A cornet is elected, and is generally followed by a large number of horsemen. They all wear sprigs of oak, and on the Saturday morning they visit the old Mote Hill (a conical tumulus standing on a height near the town) in order to see the sun rise. There are also a public dinner, race meeting, ball, and other modern additions.

If MR. ANDREWS wants further information he should try to get the local papers for the week following the ceremony. Consult also Chambers's 'Book of Days.' It would be interesting to know if there are any similar ceremonies observed in any other parts of the country. The visit to the mote hill and the