THE design of this hand-book will be greatly misunderstood, and
even some measure of injustice, unconsciously it may be, directed
against the Compiler if it is looked upon in any light as intended to
minister to national vanity by exhibiting the achievements of Scots-
men in the way of challenge to other divisions of the Kingdom.
With old Scottish traditions still influencing national life, and with
her own legal, ecclesiastical, and municipal systems yet preserved in
all their bristling peculiarities, there might be much interesting in-
formation conveyed by working on such lines; but the whole
tendency of modern civilizing influences being to draw together
people of kindred race or interest, it has been thought better to
design the book only as a contribution to the Biographical History
of the United Kingdom. Such history the writer would like to
see more complete and recent than anything presently existing.
The Biography of Counties or Shires, of Parishes, and even of
single families, might all be made full of interesting details, and at
the same time fitted to be of vast use to the general as well as to the
local historian. For the avoidance of another kind of error, a
sentence or two more may be necessary. "The Book of Scotsmen'
will be found essentially a Brief Dictionary-reasonably accurate,
it is hoped, so far as it goes, but, at the same time, suggestive
rather than exhaustive. The names of most of the old historical
families will be found represented by some specially prominent
member, yet no pretension is made to mere genealogical or family
history. This has already been well and fully done in various
compilations of easy access, Current Parliamentary Guides, and
Guides to the Church, the Bench, and the Bar, may be in the
hands of anybody who requires them. Then, in the case of authors
and artists, a few of their best-known works are mentioned; but
"The Book" is not to be accepted as either a Scottish Bibliography
or a Scottish Art Catalogue. To accomplish such a task perfectly,
even were it possible, would require many volumes equal in size to
the present. Instead of discussing or estimating conduct, what has