Memorials of Edinburgh - In the Olden Time #266316

The following Memorials of Old Edinburgh differ perhaps as much from the picturesque traditions of the latter writer, as from the stately historic quarto of Arnot, or from Mait land's ponderous folio. They are pen and pencil sketches, professing, in general, con siderable minuteness of outline, though with a rapid touch that precludes very elaborate finish. Accuracy has been aimed at throughout, not without knowingly incurring the risk of occasionally being somewhat dry. I am well aware, however, of having fallen short of what was desired in this all-important point, notwithstanding an amount of labour and research in the progress of the work, only a very small portion of which appears in its contents. Some hundreds of old charters, title-deeds, and records of various sorts, in all varieties of unreadable manuscript, have been ransacked in its progress; and had it been possible to devote more time to such research, I have no doubt that many curious and interesting notices, referring to our local antiquities, would have amply repaid the labour. Of the somewhat more accessible materials furnished in the valuable publications of our antiquarian book-clubs, abundant use has been made; and personal observation has supplied a good deal more that will probably be appreciated by the very few Who find any attraction in such researches. In the Appendix some curious matter has been accumulated which readers of moderate antiquarian appetites will probably avoid — to their own loss. I am not altogether without hope, however, that should such readers be induced to wade through the work, they may find antiquarian researches not quite so dull as they are affirmed, on common report, to be; since, in seeking to embody the Memorials of my native city, I am fortunate in the possession of a subject commanding associations with nearly all the most picturesque legends and incidents of our national annals.