Circulation by T. and A. Constable.)—Dawid Laing, who is probably
known to the general reader of to-day chiefly through Carlyle's commendation of him as the ideal editor of John Knox's works, was a very remarkable figure in the literary society of Edinburgh through two generations. He succeeded Napier as Keeper of the Signet Library, and in the forty-two years during which he held that pleasant post he ren- dered "immense personal services as guide, philosopher, and friend to two generations of literary men." Lord Guthrie, who contributes a charming introduction to this belated biography, does not go too far in claiming for Laing that be raised "the standard both of literary and artistic accuracy" in Scottish scholarship to its present high level. Mr. Goudie—himself an antiquarian of note—has performed what has evidently been a labour of love with great fidelity and completeness. Laing's life was that of the typical scholar, with no outstanding human episodes. To make such a life interesting to the public is a difficult task, which Mr. Goudie has executed so well that we trust that the work will in due course be made accessible to a wider circle of readers. A larger selection from Laing's correspondence might then be given.
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