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The Heart of Mid-Lothian - Penn State University

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NOTE T.—Tolling to Service in Scotland.<br />

In the old days <strong>of</strong> Scotland, when persons <strong>of</strong> property<br />

(unless they happened to be non-jurors) were as regular<br />

as their inferiors in attendance on parochial worship,<br />

there was a kind <strong>of</strong> etiquette, in waiting till the patron<br />

or acknowledged great man <strong>of</strong> the parish should make<br />

his appearance. This ceremonial was so sacred in the<br />

eyes <strong>of</strong> a parish beadle in the Isle <strong>of</strong> Bute, that the kirk<br />

bell being out <strong>of</strong> order, he is said to have mounted the<br />

steeple every Sunday, to imitate with his voice the successive<br />

summonses which its mouth <strong>of</strong> metal used to<br />

send forth. <strong>The</strong> first part <strong>of</strong> this imitative harmony was<br />

simply the repetition <strong>of</strong> the words Bell bell, bell bell, two<br />

or three times in a manner as much resembling the sound<br />

as throat <strong>of</strong> flesh could imitate throat <strong>of</strong> iron. Bellu’m!<br />

bellu’m! was sounded forth in a more urgent manner;<br />

but he never sent forth the third and conclusive peal,<br />

the varied tone <strong>of</strong> which is called in Scotland the ringing-in,<br />

until the two principal heritors <strong>of</strong> the parish<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Mid</strong>-<strong>Lothian</strong><br />

664<br />

approached, when the chime ran thus:—<br />

Bellu’m Belle’llum,<br />

Bernera and Knockdow’s coming!<br />

Bellu’m Belle’llum,<br />

Bernera and Knockdow’s coming!<br />

<strong>The</strong>reby intimating that service was instantly to proceed.<br />

[Mr. Mackinlay <strong>of</strong> Borrowstounness, a native <strong>of</strong> Bute,<br />

states that Sir Walter Scott had this story from Sir Adam<br />

Ferguson; but that the gallant knight had not given the<br />

lairds’ titles correctly—the bellman’s great men being<br />

“Craich, Drumbuie, and Barnernie!”—1842.]<br />

End <strong>of</strong> Volume 2

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