[Footnote 8: An inaugural Address delivered to the Society of
Antiquaries of Scotland, Session 1860-61]
[Footnote 9: As an illustration of this primitive pastoral idea of
wealth, Dr. Livingstone told me, that on more than one occasion, when
Africans were discoursing with him on the riches of his own country and
his own chiefs at home, he was asked the searching and rather puzzling
question, "But how many cows has the Queen of England?"]
[Footnote 10: As some confirmation of the views suggested in the
preceding question, my friend Captain Thomas pointed out to me, after
the Address was given, that the name of the fort in St. Kilda was, as
stated by Martin and Macaulay, "Dun Fir-bholg."]
[Footnote 11: Including the works of Homer, Plato, Sophocles, etc. Her
library catalogue shows also a goodly list of "Latyn Buikis," and
classics. In a letter to Cecil, dated St. Andrews, 7th April 1562,
Randolph incidentally states that Queen Mary then read daily after
dinner "somewhat of Livy" with George Buchanan.]
[Footnote 12: See these stories in Mr. Dasent's _Norse Tales_, and in
Mr. Campbell's collection of the _Popular Tales of the West Highlands_.]
[Footnote 13: Among the people of the district of Barvas, most of them
small farmers or crofters, a metal vessel or pot was a thing almost
unknown twelve or fourteen years ago. Their houses have neither windows
nor chimneys, neither tables nor chairs; and the cattle and poultry live
under the same roof with their human possessors. If a Chinaman or
Japanese landed at Barvas, and went no further, what a picture might he
paint, on his return home, of the state of civilisation in the British
Islands.]
[Footnote 14: One of these Lives--that of St. Columba by Adamnan--has
been annotated by Dr. Reeves with such amazing lore that it really looks
as if the Editor had acquired his wondrous knowledge of ancient Iona and
Scotland by some such "uncanny" aids as an archaeological "deputation of
spirits."]
[Footnote 15: This alludes to the portion of a mutilated volume for the
year 1605, which came into Mr. Laing's hands, and was given by him to
the Deputy Clerk Register. But singular enough, as Mr. Laing has since
informed me, the identical MS. of Sir George Mackenzie, above noticed,
was brought to him for sale as probably a curious volume; it having by
some accident been _a second time sold for waste paper_! Having no
difficulty in recognising the volume, he of course secured it, and,
agreeably to the expressed intention of the Editor of the work in 1821,
the MS. has been deposited in the Advocates' Library, where, it is to be
hoped, it may now remain in safety.]