The contents of the volume are as follows:

(i) Printed prospectus of the Sanitary Protection Association of Edinburgh, late 19th century. (Folio 1.)

(ii) Printed list of members, with subscriptions, of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries (Konungliga Norraena Fornfraeda-Felag), 1849, in Icelandic. There are also an extract from the constitution of the Society (in French), a note on the subscriptions (in Danish), and a list of the books published by the Society. (Folio 5.)

(iii) A vellum leaf, headed `Ordo librorum biblie`, and containing a list of the books of the Old and New Testaments, in the order of the

Vulgate, with the exceptions that 2 Esdra is added after Nehemiah, and that the Acts of the Apostles are placed after the Epistle to the Hebrews. Presumably originally the title page of a volume, the leaf has been used in the binding of another book. (Folio 9.)

(iv) Minutes and opinion of the Lord President in the case, Lieutenant Charles C Hook against Mrs Hook, for divorce, 1852. (Folio 10.)

(v) Miscellaneous notes of, with some letters to, William Forbes Skene, the Historian and Celtic Scholar, 1836, and undated. (Folio 36.)

(vi) The beginning of a sermon, in a late 17th century hand, on 1 Peter 3, 21. It is marked `Sermon 8`, and the folios are numbered 50 to 56. (Folio 67.)

(vii) Copies, 18th century, of the rental of Church Benefits in Galloway, 1561; and note, 1765, of some writs in the charter-chest of John Dalziell of Fairgirth, concerning the lands of Carsluith. These were found loose in Adv.MS.81.4.10. (Folio 74.)

(viii) Letter of introduction, undated, for James Buchanan, Professor of Theology at New College, Edinburgh, from Andrew Mitchell Thomson, Minister of Saint George`s, Edinburgh, to Walter Dickson, Writer to the Signet, and a newspaper cutting, 1868, on Buchanan`s retirement; notes, late 19th century, on the salaries of sheriffs. These were found loose in Adv.MS.81.4.11. (Folio 78.)

(ix) Letters to Baron David Hume, of Robert Home, 1816, and of John Hay Forbes, Lord Medwyn, undated. These were found among Hume`s lectures, Adv.MSS.81.6.1-81.6.41. (Folio 83.)

(x) Letter, 1701, of David, 5th Viscount Stormont, to Alexander Barclay, writer in Edinburgh. (Folio 87.)

(xi) Letter, 1711, of the Duke of Queensberry to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, concerning a reprieve for Robert Fleming, with a copy of the Lord Provost`s acknowledgement. (Folio 89.)

(xii) Letter, 1712, of Josiah Burchett, Secretary of the Admiralty, to Sir Robert Blackwood, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, concerning the provision of convoys. (Folio 92.)

(xiii) Letter, 1716, probably of the Lord Advocate, to the Magistrates of Edinburgh, requesting an exact list of all prisoners in custody in the Tolbooth for taking part in the late rebellion: with part of a copy, 18th century, of the minutes of the enquiry instituted thereupon by John Campbell and John Wightman, respectively Lord Provost and Magistrate of Edinburgh. (Folio 94.)

(xiv) Notes, 18th century, of various events in England of ecclesiastical importance of the 16th and early 17th century. (Folio 98.)

(xv) Draft of a letter and relevant notes, 1711, containing extracts from newspapers on the peace negotiations. (Folio 101.)

(xvi) Fragment of a paper, 17th century, concerning the Royal College of Surgeons. (Folio 143.)

(xvii) Glossary of medical terms, 18th century. (Folio 144.)

(xviii) Fragment of a paper, 18th century, on the Earls of Winton. (Folio 145.)

(xix) `La Genealogie de la Tres Noble tres Ancienne et tres Illustre famille des D`Arcy en Angleterre avec leurs Alliances`, from the Norman Conquest to the end of the 17th century. (Folio 146.)