14 JANUARY 1905, Page 24

Literary Landmarks of the Scottish Universities. By Laurence Hutton. (G.

P. Putnam's Sons. 5s. net.)--Mr. Hutton labours under a considerable disadvantage in the scarcity of materials. The Scottish Universities have not been wanting in distinguished alumni. Every one of them can produce a great roll of honour, but the " landmarks " are not numerous. The social system which has done so much in enriching the personal aide of University history in England has never prospered in Scotland. There are traditions which connect this and that great man with one spot or another, but they are mostly recent. The result is that Mr. Hutton's book is more of a catalogue of names—great names, indeed, in many cases, but little else—than he would have liked to make it, or his readers would wish to have it. There are many things worth preserving in it, but as a whole it is a little thin. Four Universities are disposed of in less than a hundred small pages, and the youngest of these, Edinburgh, is some way on in her fourth century ; Glasgow completed its four centuries and a half in 1901; Aberdeen dates back to 1490, and St. Andrews to 1411.