Druidism Exhumed. By the Rev. James Rust. (Edmonston and Douglas.)—Mr.
Rust's object is to prove "that the stone circles of Britain were Druidical temples." This he seeks to effect by bringing forward copious etymological proof, proof which, bristling as it is with dangerous Celtic roots, we shall prefer to leave alone. To us the most interesting part of the volume is the archaoology. There is a very carious account, extracted from the parish records of Slains, of which Mr. Rust is minister, of the proceedings of the Kirk Session in the middle of the seventeenth century, how" the minister ask it at ye Elderis for delationes, and desyrit them to try if yer was aney halloue fyres set on be aney of the paroohiners upon a halloue ovine "; and how "the ad day the minister requyrit of the elderis if they knew aney peices of land within the paroche that was calit the goodmanes land or fauld, or dedi- catit to Satane or lattiae ly unlabourit " ; and how "they said yr was ane peice land in Brogane calit the Garlet, or gnidmans fauld, within Andrew Robes tak that was not labourit this manie yeires, for quhat respect they knew not." Afterwards we read of a certain Thomas Patteraone being convened anent a certain piece of uncultivated ground, and being made to promise that it should be left so no longer. Mr. Rust, however, tells us that though two such pieces of land in the parish were broken up at this time, a third was left untouched, as lying with other like hollows among some small elevations, and being supposed to be unworkable ; and he further informs us that he knew the woman, dead not many years, who was the last person laid down in this spot, as being supposed to be a changeling. Our author argues with some ingenuity that the All Hallows celebrations were connected with the November star-shower (the two are found to synchronize when we consider the alteration of style), a phenomenon which he imagines the Druids to have observed and turned to a religious purpose.
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