After I had collected a considerable stock of material during a month’s stay in Lerwick, I decided to make a journey to the remote island of Foula in the west before the season should be too far spent and communication between Mainland and that island rendered difficult.
Foula lies about sixteen miles west from Walls, the nearest point of land. A post-boat went there every fortnight. I first made a short stay in Sandness, where I found the schoolmaster, Robert Jamieson, an enthusiast for Old Norse associations. He and his wife showed the most lively interest in my undertaking. I visited Sandness again after my return from Foula; and the main portion of the word-stock I collected on the Westside, excepting Foula, I obtained in Sandness, especially from Jamieson (now deceased) and Mrs. Jamieson.
From Walls I proceeded to Foula, where I stayed for a month. The people of the island are lively and intelligent. Here I collected some fragments of Norn; but the Hildina-ballad, recorded by Low in 1774, was irrevocably lost.
The present Foula-dialect is not in any special way more old-fashioned than that of the Westside, in the main; but conversation with the old people in the Islands soon convinced me that ancient modes of life and language had been maintained longer here than on Mainland, — indeed, than in all the rest of Shetland. Recollections here in Foula were more vivid than elsewhere, even taking the North Isles into account.
Among my authorities in Foula I will name David Henry of Guttern (Guttorm), a descendant of Wm. Henry of Guttorm, who repeated the Hildina-ballad to Low in 1774. To David Henry I am indebted for a valuable little collection of words, a fragment of the Eagle-song, and a proverbial expression in Norn; and to a man and his wife in Lerabakk for another fragment of the Eagle-song, and for the verse “I have malt meldra min”, and the Fairy-verse “Høredu, høredu ria”. The masquerader’s verse, Skekla, etc. was repeated to me by the two sisters Manson, de Mires. Finally, I will name Robert Gear, schoolmaster, who afforded me much indirect help by introducing me into many homes in Foula, and much direct help by giving me information regarding the Nesting dialect. Gear was a native of the parish of Nesting on the east side of Mainland.
After a month’s stay in Foula, I returned by the post-boat to Walls, and from there went by land to Sandness, where R. Jamieson had collected some new material. From Sandness I crossed to the island of Papa Stour and stayed there for a week.
Returning to Lerwick I made another long stay there, partly in order to arrange my collections and partly in order to obtain information from people belonging to the country districts who had settled in Lerwick, but had preserved their old home-dialect. Winter was now setting in, the worst season, of course, for undertaking journeys.
After a fortnight’s stay in Lerwick I went south to Conningsburgh, where I remained for a week. The inhabitants of Conningsburgh are intelligent and lively and generally differ somewhat in appearance from most of the people of Shetland; they are rather shorter
