Emeralds Chased in Gold. By John Dickson. (Oliphant, Ander- son,
and Ferrier. 4s.)—Under this perhaps too rhetorical title an enthusiastic and well-read Scotch antiquary gives an account of the curious little islands in the Firth of Forth, which the construction of the Forth Bridge has enabled English tourists to establish a bowing acquaintance with on easy terms, and which have already obtained a species of gazetteer immortality in these doggerel lines :—
s Inehgarvle, MIckery, Colm, Inchkelth, Cramond, Fldra, Lamb, Craiglelth ; Then round the Base to the Isle of May, And past the Carr to St. Andrew's Bay."
Most of, if not all, of these islets played a not unimportant part in the Christianisation—and Roman Catholicisation—of Scotland. Inchcolm in particular—the word " Inch " means island, and is allied to "Links," now naturalised on this side of the Tweed—was a seat of ecclesiastical learning, scholars and teachers in all probe- 'Say seeking the seclusion of an island for the protection it easily afforded them. In more recent times, some of the islands, particularly the Bass Rock, have been used as prisons, and one of the most important of them all, Inchgarvie, has been utilised for the building and support of the Forth Bridge. Mr. Dickson's book is extremely Interesting and forms a valuable contribution to Scottish local history. The English reader will have no great difficulty in taking his enthusiasm with the necessary number of grains of salt.
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