Page:Shetland Folk-Lore - Spence - 1899.pdf/211

 command of language, expresses his ideas in his own words, whereas the illiterate man uses the proverbial expressions which tradition has handed down and daily usage rendered familiar, and he justifies his action or verifies his argument with a proverb.

The following old saws were jotted down by me about 30 years ago, while I was lodging in the house of the late Mr. James Manson, of Scraefield, Unst. He was born about the beginning of the century, had a most retentive memory well stocked with folk-lore, and to him I am indebted for many of the sayings. I also received a list from the late Mr. Robert Jamieson, Sandness, which contained several proverbs that were new to me.

The meaning of many of these old sayings is self evident, while it may be said of others that one must live in their environment in order to understand or appreciate them. Many of them throw considerable