In recognition of his distinguished literary services in historical and antiquarian research.
"Edinburgh is to me as Jerusalem was to the old Royal Hebrew, as the city of the violet crown was to the Athenian. I can say with all sincerity, 'If I forget thee let my right hand forget its cunning.' Edinburgh is, in the truest sense of the term, the heart, not of Midlothian, but of Scotland. It is intimately bound up with the natural history of that little corner of the land which has so many associations and memories which the world will not willingly let die; for here through centuries the long battle was fought for liberty and independence which secured the treasure of the freedom you now enjoy... The greatest charm of Edinburgh lies in its historical associations, and what a story does it tell!"