Series 1 > Journals of Sir John Lauder, Lord Fountainhall, with his observations on public affairs and other memoranda, 1665-1676

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to investigate ? Here was matter already at their hand. Then,
in a similar way, if a noble thought, if a fine feeling, was in any
way expressed in verse or in prose, that came out of some moment
or moments in the mind of some individual, and it must have corre¬
sponded and been in sympathy with the community in which it
was expressed. Nothing noble had come out of any man at any
one time, but that man, in the way of expression of literature,
must have had a constituency of people who felt as he felt. Un¬
fortunately there was a long gap in what we called the finer
history of Scotland from the time of the Reformation to Allan
Ramsay—in literature of certain kinds. There were muses in
those days, but they were muses of ecclesiastical and political
controversy—very grim muses, but still they were muses. But
from Allan Ramsay’s time to this, to study the history of the
literature was to know more of the history of the country than we
would otherwise. David Hume, Adam Smith, Burns, Scott—all
these men were born and bred in Scotland so poor and so squalid
that we should say we would not belong to it now. Nobody was
asking us to belong to it. But these men, their roots were in a
soil capable of sustaining their genius and of pouring into their
works those things in the way of thought and feeling that delighted
us now, and that were our pride throughout the world.
Mr. D. W. Kemp seconded the adoption of the Report, which
was agreed to.
The vacancies in the Council were filled by the re-election of
Dr. Hume Brown and Mr. Balfour Paul, and the election of Mr.
John Scott, C.B., in room of Mr. G. W. Prothero.
In reply to Mr. James Bruce, W.S., Dr. Law said that the death
of Dr. Mitchell had caused some delay in the preparation of the
third volume of the Records of the General Assembly, but it had
already been transcribed for the printer.
A vote of thanks to Professor Masson concluded the pro¬
ceedings.