The Sun.
London, England, 1815-08-23 00:00:00

THE SUN REVIEW.

(NV. X(11.)

• , .
The CtrgoSICLEs of SCOTLAND, by RGEERT LaNnsAY of Pits--
eOttie, published from several 01a Manuscripts.. 2 Vols.
1,10.1;39. : printed for A. Constable ant Co.;
aml Longman, Hurst, Rees, Ornie, andßrowtk. ,
1814.

This work, by LINDSAY of Pitscottie, is fand-
liar to every one who has made any proficiency
in history.--To say that it is familiar; is to'say
that it is a favourite, "for we will venture to assert
that there are very few of the many persons that
are acquainted with the book, who have not been
delighted with the rich collection of facts which
it contains, a; well as with the curious and pithy,
though sometimes rather gossipping style in which
, they arc na, rated.
The volumes, before us are a new edition of this
interesting and valuable work. Several Manu-
scripts have been ,employed by the learned and
judicious Editor, from the collation and compa-
. rison of. N\irich many -expressions hitherto of
doubtful import, have-now, and not until now,
been. satisfactorily explained :—the meaning being
frequently made perfectly' clear, by merely restor-
ing the words of the original.
Although Robert Lindsay, of Pitscottie, has
claimed 'the whole of this xsork, and his title to
it ha's been sanctioned by the prescriptive custom
of the two last centuries, yet, even now, with,all
the new light that has been thrown upon the
subject'by the present industrious Editor, it can
hardly lie affirmed that the real- Author has been
satisfactorily establtshed. " The older Mann-
sc77pts,"we'quote the words of the -Preface to this
Edition, " the older MSS. are silent on this lte.:!41;
nor throughout the contents of any, is there the
most remote allusion to his name or quality." A
prefatory notice to two of the Manuscripts which
came to the hands of the,preSent Editor, anti with
which he has enriched these volumes,_ affords the
' most light respecting iheauthor. It st;ites, with
relation to the His'tOry of the Reformation (which
ct,mpriscs that pirt or•the Chronicles, front 1558
to 1575), that it is " gathered, written, and col-
leeted by • me Robert Lindsay, of Pitscottie, in-
structed and learned, and. laitly inTorrned be thin
atithoris as after •followes ;" and then is given a
list of the. authors, including Lord Lindsay, of

Byres ; Andro Ferule, of that ilk ; Sir David
Lindsay, of the _Mount, Lyon King at Arms, &c.
admit whir the Editor,
that this delightful production is due in-) so far to
the labours of successive individuals who flourished
at distant. intervals, as Pitscottie has availed him-
self of the materials which they collected.
Of Pitscottie, to whom so much of the credit
aeraing from
.the work is.to attach, it may not
be amiss for us to state, some facts which
may illustrate his biography.. We may ob-
serve by the way, that-it is,rather strange that
no aceount• of his Life has been prefixed to
any edition of hiS works ,which has ever come in-
'to our hands. He was born at Pitscottie, in
Fife, in the year 1527, during the reign of James
y of Scotland, and Henry VIII. of England. At
the University of. St. Andrews, which was then in
great repute, lie received the most complete edu-
cation which the age 'afforded, and took out his
degrees. lie awn spent some years in travelling
over France, Italy, and other countries of the
Continent, but the time when he returned to his
native I;3nd is not exactly known. first
accso'unt OF Nal that appears alter this period, is
in 1559 at ‘‘*icit Oriie he was actively engaged in`
promoting the Reformation. Full of the spirit of
the Scotch reforming Party, lie in 1565 sided
with the Nobles against the unhappy Mary. For
some cause' which has never been clearly develop-
ed, he soon retired' in disgust, as sonic .say, be-
eaoSe he got no ogicialemployMent as he expect-
ed,' but according to those, who are most worthy
of 'credit, because lie, froM 'his conscience, dis.-
approved of the ulterior eondoct, of the Party
„which he liad joined, and had strong scruples as
to the rectitude of the course of political conduct
he had heretofore pursued. In
his re-
tirenieothe wrote the
.work .now befo!'e us.. He
(lied in 1502 io the 6fith year of iiis age.
persons who ure unacquainted with this Work,
notst form some adequate idea of its (TtTlue from
the circumstance of its embrricing the atmals lit
.
the interesting -period of Sottish hita-ory,
drawn tip by a man of exceilent education, con-
,
cerniug whose means of information it is enough
to say,• that 'he himself tooe a prominent part•in
of the time. As to the
• the.polifical traitsact;ons
other peri.ods which the Chrbnicies embrace, he
baktaCces-s to the very best inTormation, and men--
tions in this edition the aulliKities on which be

rested; As to :the general .clidi.:icter of the Work
itself, it is rcplete with fat "narrated for the roost

With 11111C11(111allit,leSg, thoug:i sornetialps chibrac-
iilg such tutuuti.m as 't.c.) cittails, that copious