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POPULAR REPROACHES. 79
This is a proverbial saying- of ill-doing- persons, as ex-
pressive of there being no hope of them. How the children
of Falkirk came to be so characterised, it would be difficult
now to ascertain. The adage has had the effect of causing-
the men of Falkirk jocularly to style themselves ' the bairns ;'
and when one of them speaks of another as ' a bairn,' he
only means that that other person is a native of Falkirk.
ECCLESJIAGIRDLE.*
This is a small village situated under the northern slope of
the Ochill Hills, and for some considerable part of the year
untouched by the solar rays. Hence the following rhyme —
The lasses o' Exmagirdle
May very weel be dun ;
For frae Michaelmas till Whitsunday,
They never see the sun.
PATHHEAD.
Pickle till liim in Pathhead ;
Ilka bailie burns another !
Pathhead is a long-, rambling- village, connected with
Kirkcaldy. The meaning of the reproach seems to be be-
yond reach ; but, till a late period, its effect in irritating the
good people of Pathhead was indubitable. It is said that
a stranger, being made acquainted with the story, and told
that it was dangerous to limb and life to whisper these
mysterious expressions in the village, took a bet that he
would proclaim them at the top of his voice, and yet come
off uninjured. He set out, while his friends followed to
witness the sport. But this was a more cunning loon than
he of Tyninghame, for he gave the formula with a slight
addition — ' Theyh^e coming behind me, crying. Pickle till
him in Pathhead ; ' whereupon the infuriated villagers fell
upon his tail, who paid the piper in more ways than one.
KIRRIEMUIR — {Forfarshire).
Faare are ye gae'n ? — To Ealliemuii- !
Faare never ane weel fare,
But for his ain penny-fee.
* The name of Ecclesmagirdle Avas derived from a place of worship, and
seems to signify ' Church of St Grizel.' Ma is Gaelic for Sanctus. Camerarius
has omitted St Grizelda in his Catalogue of the Saints of Scotland ; but many
saints had places dedicated to them here who were not canonised as saints of
other countries.
This is a proverbial saying- of ill-doing- persons, as ex-
pressive of there being no hope of them. How the children
of Falkirk came to be so characterised, it would be difficult
now to ascertain. The adage has had the effect of causing-
the men of Falkirk jocularly to style themselves ' the bairns ;'
and when one of them speaks of another as ' a bairn,' he
only means that that other person is a native of Falkirk.
ECCLESJIAGIRDLE.*
This is a small village situated under the northern slope of
the Ochill Hills, and for some considerable part of the year
untouched by the solar rays. Hence the following rhyme —
The lasses o' Exmagirdle
May very weel be dun ;
For frae Michaelmas till Whitsunday,
They never see the sun.
PATHHEAD.
Pickle till liim in Pathhead ;
Ilka bailie burns another !
Pathhead is a long-, rambling- village, connected with
Kirkcaldy. The meaning of the reproach seems to be be-
yond reach ; but, till a late period, its effect in irritating the
good people of Pathhead was indubitable. It is said that
a stranger, being made acquainted with the story, and told
that it was dangerous to limb and life to whisper these
mysterious expressions in the village, took a bet that he
would proclaim them at the top of his voice, and yet come
off uninjured. He set out, while his friends followed to
witness the sport. But this was a more cunning loon than
he of Tyninghame, for he gave the formula with a slight
addition — ' Theyh^e coming behind me, crying. Pickle till
him in Pathhead ; ' whereupon the infuriated villagers fell
upon his tail, who paid the piper in more ways than one.
KIRRIEMUIR — {Forfarshire).
Faare are ye gae'n ? — To Ealliemuii- !
Faare never ane weel fare,
But for his ain penny-fee.
* The name of Ecclesmagirdle Avas derived from a place of worship, and
seems to signify ' Church of St Grizel.' Ma is Gaelic for Sanctus. Camerarius
has omitted St Grizelda in his Catalogue of the Saints of Scotland ; but many
saints had places dedicated to them here who were not canonised as saints of
other countries.
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| Early Gaelic Book Collections > J. F. Campbell Collection > Popular rhymes of Scotland > (87) |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/81375638 |
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| Description | Original poems / by Robert Chambers. |
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| Shelfmark | Cam.1.f.9 |
| Additional NLS resources: | |
| Attribution and copyright: |
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| Description | Volumes from a collection of 610 books rich in Highland folklore, Ossianic literature and other Celtic subjects. Many of the books annotated by John Francis Campbell of Islay, who assembled the collection. |
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| Description | Selected items from five 'Special and Named Printed Collections'. Includes books in Gaelic and other Celtic languages, works about the Gaels, their languages, literature, culture and history. |
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