SOLD TO SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. 



In Thirty Parts, at zs. each ; or in Six Volumes, at 15s. each. 



THE PICTORIAL 



HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 



NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION 



By JAMES TAYLOR, M.A., D.D., F.R.S. A.Edin. 

 ILLUSTRATED WITH SUPERIOR ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL 



FROM DRAWINGS BY EMINENT ARTISTS. 



" The true history of a nation is not of its wars but of its households. 1 ' — Ruskin. 



'THE history of a country should be the history of its inhabitants, and not a mere record of battles, 

 court intrigues, and diplomatic treaties. A description of the manners and customs, industrial 

 pursuits, and amusements of the mass of the people ought to be much more interesting and instructive 

 than a record of the follies and crimes or even of the warlike exploits of their rulers. The early Scottish 

 historians, however, devoted their attention mainly to fabulous narratives of the reigns of a long bead-roll 

 of apocryphal sovereigns, while the works of their successors aie occupied with spirited sketches of 

 character and picturesque descriptions of clan feuds and border forays, court revolutions, and ecclesiastical 

 conflicts, intermingled with philosophical disquisitions characterised by great learning and critical acumen ; 

 but the history ol the people of Scotland has been to a great extent overlooked. Materials for such a 

 history have accumulated in great abundance. The numerous works belonging to olden times which 

 have been rescued from oblivion by the Bannatyne, Maitland, Spalding, and other kindred Societies, the 

 volumes issued by the English Record Commission, and the mass of correspondence, public and private, 

 deposited in our national lepositories, and now thrown open to the public, have placed within reach of the 

 historian the most ample means lor enabling him to describe the pursuits, habits, literature, and religious 

 opinions of our forefathers. It is noteworthy, also, that Scottish historians have, with only one or two 

 exceptions, confined their attention to comparatively brief periods of the history of their country. Even 

 Tytler's great work comprises a period of only three centuries and a half, from the reign of Alexander III. 

 in 1242 to the Union of the Crowns in 1603 ; while, without encroaching on the domain of mere tradi- 

 tionary fable, we may now re'y upon an authentic historv ot nine hundred \eais. 



Impressed by these considerations, the Publishers, thirty years ago, issued a work intended to form a 

 history of the people as well as of the kingdom of Scotland, in which due prominence was given not 

 only to public events, civil and military, but also to the condition of the people, their national industry 

 and manners and customs. The preparation of the work was undertaken by Dr. Taylor, assisted by 

 several eminent Scottish prolesscrs, who possessed a thorough knowledge of the subjects entrusted to 

 them. The unprecedented sale of the historv, not only in the United Kingdom, but in the British Colonies 

 and America, afforded a gratifying proof that it had supplied a desideratum in our national literature. 



Since the woik was hist issued, great additional light has been thrown upon many interesting portions 

 of our national annals by the publica'ion, under the charge of the Lord Clerk Registrar, of the Accounts 

 of the Royal Chamberlains and Treasurers and the records of the Privy Council of Scotland, and by the 

 laborious researches of Dr. Reeves and Dr. Skene into the constitution of the Celtic Church, and the 

 tenure of land under the early Scottish kings. A considerable number of valuable works have also been 

 printed for private circulation under the editorship ol Dr. William Fraser, containing an account of great 

 historical families of Scotland, with selections from their letters and other documents preserved in their 

 archives, which furnish most interesting information respecting the habits of the nobles and the condition 

 ot the people. The Publishers have therefoie resolved to issue a new and enlarged edition of the Pictorial 

 History, embodying the information thus brought to light, and continuing the narrative down to the 

 present day. The last volume, which is entirely new, will contain sketches of the agriculture and of the 

 trade and commerce of Scotland duiing the last century; the manners, customs, and amusements of the 

 people ; extinct Scottish chaiacters ; the disruption of the Scottish Church, and the national system of 

 education. 



The Work will be copiously illustrated with appropriate engravings of scenes rendered famous by 

 great historical events, portraits of eminent men, fac-similes of seals and coats-of-arms, &c. 



CONDITIONS OF PUBLICATION- 



The Work will be issued in Thirty Parts, at 2s. each ; or in Six Volumes, at 15s. each. 

 Each Part will contain Eighty pages of Letterpress and Ten Steel Plates. 

 The size of the Work will be Demv Quarto. 



NO ORDER WILL BE RECEIVED FOR LESS THAN THE ENTIRE SET. 



LONDON : J. S. VIRTUE & CO., Limited, CITY ROAD and IVY LANE. 



