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Printed by the Heirs of David Willison,

FOR ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND COMPANY, EDINBURGH:

AND LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME AND BROWN,

LONDON.

LELAND STANFORD UNIOR

LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY
A13157

Edinburgh:-Printed by J. Hutchison,
for the Heirs of D, Willison.

THE

EDINBURGH REVIEW,

OCTOBER, 1821.

No. LXXI.

ART. I. Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland, from the Restoration of Charles II. By SIR GEORGE MACKENZIE of Rosehaugh, Knight. Edinburgh, 1821.

OR this curious fragment of Scottish History, we are indebted to Mr Thomson, whose zeal and assiduity in the preservation of the public muniments of Scotland, are pretty generally known to his countrymen, and who, amidst more arduous labours, has been able to give us this very accurate publication;-although it were to have been wished that his other avocations had permitted him to bestow on it'some of that collateral illustration, of which the genuine sources are so peculiarly under his command. His edition of the Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland is a more accurate, complete, and splendid publication of the proceedings of a national legislature, than any other country in Europe possesses. We look with anxiety for the preliminary volume of that noble collection, in which the constitutional antiquaries of all other countries, as well as those of Scotland, may expect to find all attainable satisfaction respecting the constitution of our ancient government, and the progress of our early legislation. He has related, in the Preface to the present volume, the singular circumstances in which the MS. was rescued from destruction. The works of Sir George Mackenzie had been published at Edinburgh, in two volumes folio, in 1716 and 1722. In the second volume appears the following advertisement.

Advertisement. Whereas, in the list of the author's manuscripts, there is mention made of an History of the Affairs of Scotland from the Restauration of King Charles II., 1660, to the * 1691, which

* It is somewhat curious to find this Scotticism, still frequent in speaking, used in a learned work. In 1722, many Scotchmen, and VOL. XXXVI. No. 71. A

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