xii Froceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh. 
Alba,” which is the old nominative. “ A nominative form derived 
from the genitive is,” he says, “ also found ; and the names of 
places ending in a vowel seem to have a tendency to fall into this 
form in current speech.” In Gaelic, as in other tongues, an 
oblique case, through the loss of flexion, is frequently raised to 
the nominative. The particular case selected for this preference 
is that most frequently heard in current speech, and in place names 
the case raised to the nominative is in Gaelic always the locative- 
dative, — the genitive never. In this particular instance, the choice 
lies not between the old nominative Alba and the old genitive 
Alban^ but between the old nominative Alba and the old dative 
Albin. The fact is, Alban and Aran are, like lona^ names invented 
for use in books and maps only. The correct forms, like Erin 
and Ratldin^ are Albin and Arin (in Gaelic orthography Albainn^ 
Arainn). 
When Mr Skene took up his abode permanently in Edinburgh, 
he and several gentlemen interested in Celtic literature and 
history founded the Iona Club. The club came to an end on the 
death, in 1837, of one of its most active members, the late Donald 
Gregory, W.S., author of a valuable History of the Western High- 
lands and Isles of Scotland. The club published but one volume 
of Transactions, a book now rarely met with, the Collectanea de 
rebus Albanicis, in which are printed extracts from family charter- 
chests, national records, Gaelic MSS., Irish annals and IS’orse 
sagas, which throw valuable light on the history of the tribes and 
clans of the IN’orth of Scotland. In these early years the Highland 
Society of London offered a premium for “ the best History of the 
Highland Clans.” Mr Skene competed, and his essay proved the 
successful one. It was afterwards enlarged and published in two 
volumes in 1837. The Highlaiiders of Scotland, as this work is 
entitled, is now a somewhat rare book. With the conhdeace of 
youth, Mr Skene states that in the preparation of this essay he had 
given a long and attentive examination to the early authorities in 
Scottish history, and had thoroughly investigated two new and 
most valuable sources — the Icelandic Sagas in their original 
language, and the Irish Annals. The author afterwards found cause 
to modify several of the views advanced in this early work ; but in 
its main features the juvenile production is characterised by the 
