Ward & Lock's descriptive and pictorial guide to the Isle of Man ...

Douglas. 35frequently of a rather strange kind. The great majority ofnames on the island appear, at first, to begin with C, K, orQ, the last being very uncommon in English names. Christian,Oaine, Clucas, Kelly, Kissack, Quayle, Quilleash, Quilliam,and many others having the same initials, appear to beubiquitous. They are advocates, grocers, druggists, andbutchers, keep bazaars, and let out carriages and boats. Ifthere is a place in all the world to find " Q in a corner," it isDouglas. These names appear to be corruptions of Celticnames having the prefix " Mac," the " c " sound only beingretained, with various modifications. The Clucas is (Ma)cLucas ;and Quilliam, (Ma)cWilliam. Many names beginwith Myl, an abbreviation of Macil, "son of." The mostcommon names in all parts of the island are probably Christianand Kelly. The first Scott has made familiar to all readersof " Peveril of the Peak." If names indicated anything, theisland ought to be the most " Christian " country in theworld ; but we find in the local records several entriesshowing that possessors of the name were not exempt fromthe frailties of human nature. In 1701, for instance, aclergyman named Thomas Christian, curate of the churchat Rushen, was fined five pounds for " clandestinely buyingof wreckt goods, and for cutting and taking away part of thewreckt timber, to the great scandal of his character andfunction, thereby giving bad and pernicious example toothers." The name Kelly has passed into a catchword, withwhich visitors are tolerably sure to be saluted by the Manxboys and girls in all the counky roads. There is a story,authentic or otherwise, that an English visitor had engagedII man named Kelly to meet him at the pier for the purposeof carrjdng his luggage, but not seeing him in the crowd,shouted lustily, " Hi ! Kelly !"The response was a rush offifty (more or less) active individuals who bore that name,and since then " Hi ! Kelly " 1 has resounded through theisland.Athol Street leads to theRailway Station,reached by flights of steps. The booking office is a neat littlewooden structure. This is the terminus of the Castletownand Peel lines, and passengers can be booked for Eamsey,through carriages being attached to all the trains. Beyondthe station is JDougJas Bridije, consisting of two arches acrossthe little river which forms the harbour, and close to it is theBailway Hotel, a large and comfortable hostelry.