236 Obituary Notices. 



notable document whose historical significance he illustrated in 

 an independent publication. This was the original dispensation 

 for the marriage of Bothwell with Lady Jane Gordon, which 

 was discovered among the records of Dunrobin Castle. The 

 paper, which was believed to have mysteriously disappeared at 

 the time, had been the subject of much speculation; and while 

 its recovery had an important bearing on the legality of Both- 

 well's subsequent marriage with Queen Mary, it afforded Dr 

 Stuart the opportunity of discussing, as he did in the volume en- 

 titled "A Lost Chapter in the History of Mary Queen of Scots," 

 the law and practice of Scotland relative to marriage dispensa- 

 tions in Roman Catholic times. This book was published by 

 Messrs Edmonston & Douglas in 1874. 



To complete the tale of this laborious writer's work, there re- 

 main to be mentioned two volumes of " Extracts from the Burgh 

 Records of Aberdeen, 1625-1747," edited for the Burgh Records 

 Society, and an edition in two volumes of the " Archaeological 

 Essays of the late Sir James T. Simpson." A fitting recognition 

 of the unflagging industry bestowed on so many curious and use- 

 ful researches was made in 1866, when the University of Aber- 

 deen conferred on Mr Stuart the degree of LL.D. By the Arch- 

 aeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland he was elected 

 an hon. member; as also by the Royal Irish Academy ; and a 

 similar compliment was paid by the Society of Antiquaries of 

 Zurich, and the Assemblea di Storia Patria in Palermo. As has 

 been indicated, his line of study lay for the most part within a 

 comparatively limited range. In the more general bearings of 

 archaeology — its relation, for "example, to the great question of 

 the antiquity of man — he seemed to take conrparatively little in- 

 terest. But in the deciphering of dim old records, and the in- 

 vestigation of correlative matters calculated to throw light upon 

 them, he has undoubtedly done yeoman service ; and his success 

 in this direction is all the more remarkable when it is considered 

 that, apart from a good knowledge of classical and mediaeval 

 Latin, his linguistic acquirements were rather meagre. Taking 

 him all in all, the Scottish Society of Antiquaries will sadly miss 

 their assiduous and indefatigable secretary. 



For a considerable number of years Dr Stuart had resided at 

 Newmills, in the parish of Currie, an estate which he had pur- 

 chased, the vicinity of which to Edinburgh enabled him to enjoy 



