b THERE are here printed two manuscripts by Sir John Lauder, Lord Fountainhall, and portions of another. The 61'8t is a kind of journal, though it was not written up day by day, containing a narrative of his journey to France and his residence at Orleans and Poictiers, when he was sent abroad by his father at the age of nineteen to study law in foreign schools in preparation for the bar. It also includes an account of his expenses during the whole period of his absence from Scotland. The second,2 though a small volume, contains several distinct portions. There are narratives of visits to London and Oxford on his way home from abroad, his journey returning to Seotland, and some short expedi- tions in Scotland in the immediately following years, observa- tions on public affairs in 1669-70, and a chrônicle of events connected with the Court of Session from 1668 to 1676 also at the other end of the volume some accounts of expenses. The third may be described as a commonplace book, for the most part written during the first years of his practice at the bar and his early manried life, but it also contains some notes of travel in Fife, the Lothians, and the biérse in continuation of those in MS. H., and a list of the books which he bought and their prices, brought down to a late period of his life. These manuscripts have been kindly 1 Referred to as }.IS. x. 3 Marked by Fountainbàll K. ~i v = e S ~;` II~- ODUCTION THE Di~INU8C8IPTS :1 Marked by Fountainhall H.