The Highland monthly - National Library of Scotland

The Hospital of Invrmcss. 245
bounds, with an account of the value put upon the said
books by Mr Henderson, stationer in Edinburgh." This
valuation was £77^
donations and books gifted to the Librar\-, the \ aluc of
O-^ ^cl Scots. Next follows a list of
each in most cases being stated and the names of the
donors, also of books purchased from 1706 to 17 14. This
list includes books gifted b}' Mr Baillie himself to value of
^69 2s od Scots, and "books bought b}- Mr Robert Baillie
in conjunction with a Committee of the Presbytrie :" the
value of the whole was about £12^0 Scots and ^^15 sterl-
ing.
Then follows " A Catalogue of the Presb}-terial Librar\'
of Inverness digested into an alphabetical order as follows,"
dated 1709, and showing their value in sterling money.
The extent of the Librar\' at this date may be judged from
a summary showing 259 volumes folio, which, added to the
number of quarto and octavo \-olumes, made a total of
about 502 volumes.
The next catalogue is headed " A Catalogue of the
Books which were preserved when Skipper Bell's ship was
cast away upon the rocks at Cairnbulg Head, in two large
cases and a cask of 32 Scots gallons full of books ; the
cases from Mr Stretton " [a minister in London] " and cask
from ^\x Fraser at Chelsea, with an account of the ordinary
value of the Library, as if none of the books were damnified,
yet where the letter D is prefixed signifieth that the book
is damnified." Although the books were " preserved,"
there are but few that were not " damnified."
The next entry is one of considerable interest, viz.,
" The names of benefactors to the Library of Inverness,
with an account of their donations since the time the said
Library was erected, being January 1706 to January 1717."
The names are arranged alphabetically. Under letter " F "
we find "Mr James Fraser" [with "Chelsea" added in
margin] " in books £\6o, by him in cash £^^ i is i/^d."
The next list is " A Catalogue of Books sent to the
Library of Inverness by Mr James Fraser, Secretary and