28 Transactions. 
4th March, 1887. 
Mr Barsour, Vice-President, in the Chair. 
Forty-five Members present. 
New Members.—Mr G. F. Scott-Elliot of Newton, Dumfries ; 
Mr W. R. M‘Diarmid, Edinburgh and Colvend; Miss L. 
Chrystie, Dumfries ; and Mr R. Barbour, Belmont. 5 
Donations.—The Transactions of the Essex Field Club were 
laid on the table as a donation from that Society. 
Exhibits—Mr Dods exhibited pieces of a Roman brick from 
the wall at St. Albans. Mr J. J. Armistead showed some ova of 
trout, and some recently hatched fish under the microscope. 
Relics of the Stwarts.—Mr Watson exhibited, on behalf of Mr 
James 8. Thomson, the following interesting objects, kindly lent 
by Mr Witham of Kirkconnell for inspection by the members. 
They are:—(1) A copy of the prayer used by Queen Mary when 
on the scaffold immediately before her execution. It was— 
“OQ, Domine Deus, speravi in Te! O, care mi Jesu, nunc libera me! 
In dura catena, in misera pena, desidero Te! Languendo, gemendo, 
et genuflectendo, adoro, imploro ut liberes me !” 
The English of which is—‘‘O, Lord God, I have hoped in Thee! O, my 
dear Jesus, now release me! In hard chains, in wretched punishment, I 
yearn for Thee! Suffering, groaning, and kneeling, I implore Thee to 
release me !” 
This interesting memorial of the unfortunate Queen was given to 
Mr Maxwell Witham by Rev. Father Edmond Huckles, Prior of 
the Dominicans, Woodbridge, in 1879. (2) A miniature portrait 
in oils of Mary’s grandson, Charles I. This is mounted as a 
lady’s pin, and is neatly executed. The reverse of this gem 
contains a replica in gold, inlaid on enamel, of the emblems of 
death—the skull and cross bones—and the initials C.R. These 
were formerly manufactured into a locket that had been issued 
by the Royalists to the leading Jacobite families. This relic has 
been in the Kirkconnell family for more than 150 years. (3) A 
manuscript volume of letters, meditations, and prayers composed 
by Charles’ unfortunate son, James II., when in exile at St. 
Germains. This volume was sent to the Kirkconnell family in 
1702, after the death of James, and is a copy of the original. It 
is entitled “ A collection of several of his late Majesty’s papers 
of devotion, copied exactly out of the original manuscripts left 
