ght, on the under side of which was sculptured the mark
of a human foot. The mound or tumulus was in all likelihood a
moot-hill, where justice was dispensed and the chieftains of the
district were elected. In the same county, in the wild recesses of
Glenesk, near Lord Dalhousie's shooting-lodge of Milldam, there is a
rough granite boulder, on the upper surface of which a small human
foot is scooped out with considerable accuracy, showing traces even of
the toes. It is known in the glen as the "Fairy's Footmark." There can
be no doubt that this stone was once used in connection with the
ceremonial of inaugurating a chief.

A similar stone, carved with a representation of two feet, on which
the primitive chiefs stood when publicly invested with the insignia of
office, is still, or was lately, in existence in Ladykirk, at Burwick,
South Ronaldshay, Orkney. A local tradition, that originated long
after the Pictish chiefs passed away, and a new Norse race, ignorant
of the customs of their predecessors, came in, says that the stone in
question was used by St. Magnus as a boat to ferry him over the
Pentland Firth; while an earlier tradition looked upon it as a
miraculous whale which opportunely appeared at the prayer of the saint
when about to be overwhelmed by a storm, and carried him on its back
safely to the shore, where it was converted into a stone, as a
perpetual memorial of the marvellous occurrence. In North Yell,
Shetland, there is a rude stone lying on the hillside, on which is
sculptured with considerable skill the mark of a human foot. It is
known in the district as the "Giant's Step"; another of the same kind,
it is said, being over in Unst. It is undoubtedly the stone on which,
in Celtic times, the native kings of this part were crowned. About a
mile from Keill, near Campbeltown, a very old site, closely connected
with the early ecclesiastical history of Scotland, may be seen on a
rock what is locally called the "Footprint of St. Columba," which he
made when he landed on this shore on one occasion from Iona. It is
very rude and much effaced; but it carries the imagination much
farther back than the days of St. Columba,--when a pagan chief or king
was inaugurated here to rule over the district.

In England and Wales there are several interesting examples of
footprints on boulders and rocks. A remarkable Tanist stone--which,
however, has no carving upon it, I believe--stands, among a number of
other and smaller b