doctrine Ordour and maneris Proponit to the Precheowris of the protestantis in Scotland be the Catholikis of the inferior ordour of cleirgie and layit men crwallie afflictit and dispersit Be the sadis precheowris. Writtine Be Niniane Winziet At the ferwent desyire off his faythful afflictit brethir.

"Ne sis sapiens apud Temetipsum sed Interroga patres tuos Et annunciabunt tibi maiores tuos et dicent tibi. Proverbiorum z et exodi 32."

The MS. begins with an address to "The faythfull sonnis of the halye Catholik Kirk in Scotland," thus wanting the address "To the Christiane Reidar" written by Winzet in Louvain in Oct. 1563. It closes with the word "Amen" at the termination of “An exhortation to mature and Godly deliberation in the premisses" (vol. i. p. 137), and does not include the letter to Knox, written at Antwerp in Oct. 1563.

The penmanship is neat, and of the style of the sixteenth century. It is all enclosed within double marginal lines. There are thirty-two lines of writing, on the average, to the page. The title of each question usually begins with an ornamental initial letter followed by capital letters, which are continued to the end of the first line of the first paragraph. The questions beginning at "cap. 12" are enumerated by chapters. The MS. is not paged. "Cap. 70," which is omitted in the Antwerp edition, is found in the MS.; but "cap. 81," of the Antwerp edition, is omitted from the MS.

The misspelling of Winzet's name on the title-page— "Winziet "-omissions, and mistakes, indicate that the MS. is not a holograph of Winzet.

The transcriber initials Question 43, p. 47 MS., and the Exhortatioun," p. 82 MS., with this monogram 1—

This MS. seems to be one of those inaccurate copies which Winzet mentions as being in circulation before he printed 'The Buke.'

The transcriber does not display a great proficiency in writing the Scottish language-making mistakes like schame for schism, throwchle for throwch, do wreitt for Deborah, sing for sign, leaving a blank for the interesting word insprayth, and omitting many clauses.

The spelling is phonetic, and thus the MS. is important for affording reliable illustrations of the pronunciation of the maternal tongue in the sixteenth century. In the patois of some parts of the Lowlands, at the present day, we find characteristics of pronunciation and of dialect similar to those indicated in the MS. There are more archaic forms in the MS. than in the printed edition, and the writer also writes generally with a more antiquated style of spelling. Final e occurs oftener-oure, zoure, twiche, beinge, hade. The plural termination is is frequently used. A consonant within a word is often doubled, when the word stands in the plural number or possessive case-selffis, Goddis Kirk. The termination ed of the past participle, which appears as it in the printed edition, is et in the MS.-married, mariit, mariet. The MS. uses ane for a; y for i, as in lernynge, wyle, samyn; y for e-grytt for grete; but vice versa, wrett 1 Cf. Winzet, 'Certain Tractates,' vol. i. pp. 104 and 137.

for writ. The writer prefers the open sound of a to that of e, in eldar, writtar, workaris; and also to that of i, as in baptisat. In the participles, the terminal -and is used for -ing — haveand, apperand, professand. This is quite in keeping with the thick and indistinct mode of pronunciation still common in some parts of the Lowlands.

EDITIONS OF WINZET'S WORKS.

The first edition of the 'Certane Tractatis' was published in Edinburgh on the 21st May 1562, and embodies "The First Tractat," addressed to Queen Mary, her Pastors, and Nobility, The Secvnd Tractat,' consisting of the "Thre Questionis" addressed to Knox along with the three "Wryttings" delivered to Knox in March 1561, and 'The Thrid Tractat' or "Declamatioun sent to the Provost and Magistrates of Edinburgh. This work is an octavo measuring 8 inches by 51⁄2 inches, and consists of 19 leaves which are not numbered. There are 32 lines of print to the page. Large initial letters are used at the beginning of each tractate. The printer's name is not given, but the printing gives evidence of having been impressed on Gothic type which had been well worn. The title-page bears the impression of the well-known woodcut of Hercules and Centaur, used by John Scot on the title-page of Quintin Kennedy's 'Compendius Tractive,' and the book is concluded by a curious representation of the Transfiguration, also used by Scot in his edition of Archbishop Hamilton's 'Catechism' (fol. lxxxi). The typography is undoubtedly the work of the press of John Scot, printer in Edinburgh and St Andrews, 1539-1572, whom we find the Magistrates

of Edinburgh apprehending in 1562 for printing Winzet's The Last Blast of the Trompet,' &c.1

A copy of the Certane Tractatis,' preserved in the University Library of Edinburgh, has been used in the preparation of this edition of Winzet's works. Its press mark is Dd. 7. 57. Across the title-page, beneath the date, is written, "Hoc volumen dedit D. Gulielmus Hog de Hercus 1700: " beneath these words appear, "S. 1628." This copy, from which the Maitland Club edition of 1835 was reprinted, is complete, and in perfect condition. It is neatly bound up with the sole vestige of 'The Last Blast of the Trompet,' together with a MS. copy of 'The Four Scoir Thre Questions.'

Another copy, formerly preserved in the Scots College in Paris, was reproduced verbatim by Bishop Keith in his History.2 Keith writes in reference to it: "I am told there is not another copy of it now extant besides that one from which this is taken, . . . and is the book which the magistrates of that city (Edinburgh) seized in Mr Scot's printing-house when the author narrowly escaped." Mr Gracie points out that 'The Last Blast of the Trompet,' of whose existence Bishop Keith was unaware, was most probably the work referred to by Bishop Leslie.1

This Paris copy of 'The Tractatis,' which Dr Jameson bequeathed to the Scots College, as Keith tells us, is now preserved in St Mary's College, Blairs, Aberdeen. It is in excellent condition—a few leaves, however, being slightly

1 Cf. Note on John Scot, Lindsay's Works, vol. iii., Appendix, pp. 256258. Laing's edition. Edin., 1879.

2 Keith, 'Hist.,' vol. iii., Appendix, p. 412 et seq.

3 Ibid., p. 413.

4 Winzet, 'Certane Tractatis,' preface, p. xv. Mait. Club ed.

eaten through. It is bound in one volume, together with 'Ane Compendius Tractive' by Quintin Kennedy, in old French leather binding.

At the foot of the title-page the following inscription appears: "Ex Bibliotheca Collegii Scotorum Parisiis. Ex dono Venerab. Viri D. Joannis Jameson Presbyteri Aberdon. S.T.D. Liber singularis et unicus." On the same page, written lengthwise, are the words: "Ex libris Scholæ Aquortisiensis, 1824." On the page facing the title-page, the following note is inscribed: "This book being the only (one) that is extant of its kynd, is not to be lent owt upon any account whatever."1

THE LAST BLAST OF THE TROMPET, &c.

This rarest of books, of which only a small fragment remains, was printed in Edinburgh "ultimo Julii 1562." All that exists of this work consists of five leaves, the last of which breaks off abruptly in the middle of a sentence. It was probably the very work whose passage through the press John Scot was superintending when he was apprehended. No part of this treatise seems to have been even published, this fragment alone escaping destruction. Its existence was unknown to Bishop Keith and to the early biographers of Winzet. This treatise is an octavo similar to the Certane Tractatis' in size and typography, and is not paged. Its full title is given in the Scottish Text Society's reprint of Winzet's 'Certain Tractates,' vol. i. p. 35. This fragment is bound along with the 'Certane. Tractatis,' in the Edinburgh University copy.

1 Private letter from Professor Fraser, Blairs, to Editor.