J. F. Campbell Collection > Popular rhymes of Scotland

70 POPULAR RHYMES OF SCOTLAND.
the seventeenth century, as it appears as the title of the
air which still bears the same name in Skene's Manuscript,
circa 1628.
PEOPLE OF THE MEARKS.
The merry men o' the Meai'ns.
The Men <?' the Mearns is a common phrase, probably
from alliteration. There is a saying in Aherdeenshire — ' I
can dae fat I dow [ do what I can] : the men o' the Mearns
can dae nae mair.'
ABERDEEN.
The brave town of Aberdeen.
' Panmure with all his men did come ;
The provost of hraif Aherdene,
Wi' trumpets and wi' touke of drum,
Came schortly in their armour schene.'
—The Battle ofHarlaw.
Spalding, the annalist^ speaks often of the ' brave town'
of Aberdeen.
THE HIGHLANDS.
Tir nan gleaun, 's nam beann, 's nam breacan !
That is—
The land of glens, of hills, and of plaids.
SLEAT, IN THE ISLE OF SKYE.
This district was famed for the beauty of its female popu-
lation, as expressed in the following Gaelic distich • —
Sleibhte riabhach
Nam ban boidheach.
In English —
Eusset Sleat of beauteous women.
POPULAR REPROACHES.
There is a nationality in districts as well as in countries;
nay, the people living on different sides of a streamlet, or
of the same hill, sometimes entertain prejudices against
each other not less virulent than those of the inhabitants