PREFACE. 



V 



William Feilden, Bart., and that of James Keddie,^ his 

 father's gamekeeper. 



At that time the Feildens were resident at Rankeillour 

 in Fife, and had the shootings of Cambo and Rankeillour.^ 



Mention of the late Mr. Robert Walker is frequently- 

 made in the text, and an appreciative memoir will be found 

 in the Scottish Naturalist, along with a list of his natural 

 history papers {loc. ext., 1881-2, p. 147). He died 5th 

 February 1881, aged fifty-six years. 



^ Col. Feilden supplies the note here given: "James Keddie was born at 

 St. Andrews, •20th December 1823. He was employed as under-keeper by my father 

 at Cambo, and went with him in the same capacity to Gray House, close to Inver- 

 gowrie, in 1849." Keddie then went to Edinburgh in later years, and worked for 

 Sanderson, bird-stuffer, etc., where he remained, and I knew him well between the 

 years 1860 and until the time of his death. 



2 The Lower Rankeillour estate belonged originally to the forbears of Sir Robert 

 Sibbald, Bart., the historian of Fife. His father was Mr. David Sibbald, third 

 brother to Sir James Sibbald, Bart,, of Rankeillour, Keeper of the Great Seal. The 

 above dates back to about 1660. Sir Robert was born loth April 1641. The Upper 

 Rankeillour estate is of more modern date. The house was built by Lord Hopetoun, 

 whose monument is on the Mount Hill. 



Much other matter of interest can be gathered from the MS. which is preserved 

 in the Advocates' Library in Edinburgh. I have a MS. copy, from which the above 

 is taken, and the following also. 



After tracing out his own history up to the point of his returning from abroad 

 to his native country, he says as follows : Under the encouragement of Doctor 

 Andrew Balfour, " I came by conversation with him to know the best writers on yt 

 subject {i.e. 'naturall history'), and I had, from my settlement here, a designe to 

 informe myself of the subject of the naturall history of this country . . . 

 and I began to be curious in searching after ym and collecting ym, which I con- 

 tinued to do ever since," Much other interesting account is given in this MS. 

 of his further career, but I have no room to enlarge upon it, except in the most 

 compressed manner. He married, on the 26th April 1677, Miss Anna Lowes, of 

 Merchiston, and he had one living daughter who was named Katerin. He became 

 physician to the Earl of Perth, and through him Geographer to King Charles ii. for 

 Scotland, and thus came to publish his Natural History of the Kingdom of Scotland 

 and The Geographical Description of the Kingdome. Further information is given of 

 the publication of Scotia Illustrata, etc., of which he gave away some seventy copies 

 in presents — including one to King Charles ii. and another to His Roj-al Highness 

 the Duke of York, to both of whom it was dedicated. Finally, he details the many 

 honours which in later life were conferred upon him, and he relates his second 

 marriage with account of the issue thereof. 



