Series 2 > Rentale Dunkeldense

RENTALE DUNKELDENSE
xii
* Alexander Myln.’ In one case the peculiar capital A is
exactly reproduced. The parchment manuscript of the
‘ Lives ’ was begun with laborious care. After some two or
three pages the writing becomes more perfunctory and
rapid. On the whole the hand is much more like Brown’s
than Myln’s. After the writing was finished, some one re¬
vised it with red ink, decorating certain capitals, inserting
points, making a few corrections, and adding marginal
indications of the subject-matter. In some cases the
capital A which Brown frequently adopted appears : in
one case Myln’s capital occurs; and the numbers on the
folios are clearly by the same hand as those in Brown’s
portion of the account-book. It seems not unlikely that
this manuscript was revised by Brown, if not written by
him, and even revised under Myln’s personal supervision.
An inscription at the beginning affirms the book to be the
property of Sir Thomas Greig, prebendary of Alyth ; and
it may have been this fact which led Cosmo Innes to think
that he was dealing with an inferior copy. It is not neces¬
sary to assume that Myln was incapable of one or two
bad grammatical blunders.
In spite of its literary defects, the contemporary section
of Myln’s ‘ Lives ’ is a very valuable document. Quite
apart from the definite information it contains, it reveals
in the writer a pleasant and attractive character, a very
lively and humane interest in administration, and an
attitude of mind which is not generally associated with
the churchmen of the time. The undignified squabbles
and ambitions of the political prelates and the reiterated
tale of obvious ecclesiastical abuses have been apt to
obscure from our view the sounder elements which sur¬
vived in a decadent church. There were men like John
Adamson, Provincial of the Dominicans, and Myln him¬
self, who, though they were not invited to occupy rich
benefices, were significantly called upon to undertake