Blair Collection > Book of Common Order, commonly called John Knox's Liturgy

Preface. xi
' of the most interesting language in existence —
' combining all the charms of living excellence, and
' all the prestige of unfathomable antiquity, and
' this on the very verge of extinction — one life in
' a lease of incalculable value! Oh, do try and
' convert that terminable lease into one of lives
' renewable for ever.'
In the following Volume the Editor has en-
deavoured to accomplish the object thus described.
He has given a transcript of the original Gaelic
of Carswell's translation, page for page, and line
for line. He has printed the language just as
he found it, including the errors of the press.
The English version of the Prayer-book, given
along with the Gaelic, is taken from that in the
Works of Knox, Edited by David Laing, Esq.,
ELD. In some cases, however, the Editor was
obliged to translate from the Gaelic. There is
one Prayer of which he was unable to find the
exact original in any copy of the Prayer-book
which he has seen. He has been unable further
to find any original for the Catechism of Carswell
beyond the first few questions, which correspond
with Calvin's. The mode of blessing a ship going
to sea seems also to be original, while the graces
before and after meals are so changed from the
originals which the Editor has been able to
discover, that he has preferred giving an English
rendering of them. Some other fragments are