Part II.), as a sample of prehistoric ware from the Outer Hebrides.

The joke was explained later, but not before, or so it is asserted, some high archæological authorities in London had been taken in by the “primitive” appearance of the work.

The travellers, presumably on the homeward journey, began a joint composition in heroic verse describing their adventures; but this masterpiece seems never to have been committed to paper, and perhaps never progressed very far.

The tour was apparently short, for James Geikie writes from Bathgate, under date 28th November:--“This last year has been a year of close work and some anxiety, and not having had any holiday to speak of I feel jaded and down in the mouth.”

In all his letters of this year he speaks of his laborious work among the collieries, and his note-books are filled with the usual details of appointments made and notes of information received from different quarters. The following spring saw him in more congenial surroundings in the Border counties, and this chapter may fitly end with the completion of his coalfield work. It may be added, however, that letters from Ramsay, received at the close of the year, and dealing with the problems raised by James Geikie’s paper on “Changes of Climate during the Glacial Epoch,” a paper of which Ramsay thought highly, show clearly what the years of preparation had done for him, despite their almost ceaseless toil.

It must not be supposed, however, that life was made up of nothing but toil, alleviated by occasional holidays. For many years a considerable amount of the Survey work was done in London, and parts of many winters were spent there. In addition to the Survey men, James Geikie had a considerable number of friends and acquaintances in London, his father’s musical connections opening various musical and artistic circles to him. Both in scientific and artistic circles his social gifts were much appreciated, and he himself must have found the winter glimpses into a wider social life than he could find either in the country districts or in the smaller towns of Scotland a most welcome change.