with the masons' marks
frequently to be seen in old churches, and is even regarded as
possibly of prehistoric origin.[13]

[Footnote 12: Pennant pronounced the view from Stirling heights "the
finest in Scotland."]

[Footnote 13: The vulgar explanation of the sign is "4d. discount
on the shilling," and some of the guide-books are not much better
informed when they assume that it marks Stirling as the fourth city
of Scotland, for in the old roll of Scottish burghs Stirling stands
fifth.]

FIG. 95.--AT BLAIRGOWRIE.

The stone copied at Blairgowrie is an enigma which I scarcely dare to
unravel, but it will admit of several interpretations. "I.E." probably
stands for John Elder and "M.H." for his "spouse," but to set out John
Elder's name in full, and at the same time to insert his initials,
shews either a misconception of, or disregard for, the principles and
usages of the Presbytery. Otherwise, in some respects, this example
is almost worthy to be classed with the more degenerate forms of
churchyard sculpture in England; the skull, the crown, the hour-glass,
the coffin, and the bones being all well-known and conventional signs.
The compasses may stand for John Elder's profession, but the figure
which resembles a cheese-cutter, just below the crown, can only be a
subject of conjecture. This stone, which is one of the least artistic
I have met with in Scotland, is an evidence to shew that the rural
sculptor was as ready in the north as in the south to blossom forth
had he not been checked by the rigours of the Church. At times indeed
the mortal passion for a name to live to posterity was too strong to
be altogether curbed, as we may see manifested even in the prescribed
initials when they are moulded of heroic size, from 8 to 10 inches
being no uncommon height. Remarkable also is the fact just mentioned
(page 86) that, concurrently with the erection of these dumb
headstones, there were flat or table stones[14] allowed, upon which not
only were the names and virtues of the departed fully set forth,
but all sorts of emblematical devices introduced. The table tomb was
probably in itself a vanity, and, the boundary passed, there appears
to have been no limit to its excesses. There are a great many
instances of this at Inverness, Aberdeen, Keith, Dunblane, and
elsewhere, and the stone which appears in the sketch from Braemar is
only one of several in that very limited space. Such exceptional
cases seem to indicate some loca