Tweet
Here is the Preface...
DURING his leisure hours of relaxation from business, for the last twenty years, the Author of the following pages has taken great mental delight in perusing old books and ancient documents, for the purpose of culling and collecting some scattered fragments of the history of his native place. An opportunity was afforded last winter of throwing these memoranda together, and delivering them in Lectures before the members of the Mechanics' Institution of this Town. The essence of these now appear on the pages of this unpretending little volume. It has been undertaken at the request of friends, and by the solicitation of the Directors of that valuable Institution. It is therefore launched into the world under their benign auspices. An author once published a book with this title, "Pen, ink, and paper well employed." It would be not a little presumptuous in him to imagine that his humble unostentatious production deserved the above designation; but still he might have employed these useful materials, during hours of relaxation, to purposes of less utility, than in thus sketching a brief outline of the history of the ancient "City of Alcluith." He has only acted the part of a rough pioneer, in digging anxiously for matter amongst musty volumes, ancient and modern; and the materials thus thrown together may prove useful to the future Historian.
Dumbarton, 1st February, 1847.
And you can read this book as we get it up at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...rton/index.htm
Alastair
DURING his leisure hours of relaxation from business, for the last twenty years, the Author of the following pages has taken great mental delight in perusing old books and ancient documents, for the purpose of culling and collecting some scattered fragments of the history of his native place. An opportunity was afforded last winter of throwing these memoranda together, and delivering them in Lectures before the members of the Mechanics' Institution of this Town. The essence of these now appear on the pages of this unpretending little volume. It has been undertaken at the request of friends, and by the solicitation of the Directors of that valuable Institution. It is therefore launched into the world under their benign auspices. An author once published a book with this title, "Pen, ink, and paper well employed." It would be not a little presumptuous in him to imagine that his humble unostentatious production deserved the above designation; but still he might have employed these useful materials, during hours of relaxation, to purposes of less utility, than in thus sketching a brief outline of the history of the ancient "City of Alcluith." He has only acted the part of a rough pioneer, in digging anxiously for matter amongst musty volumes, ancient and modern; and the materials thus thrown together may prove useful to the future Historian.
Dumbarton, 1st February, 1847.
And you can read this book as we get it up at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...rton/index.htm
Alastair