I imagine the first question anyone will ask is what is a column called "Scottish Flotsam". I guess we will have to begin with what is "flotsam". Among the definitions of the word are "things washed ashore" or "miscellaneous trifles". Well, we believe you can find some great treasure on the ocean shore. But -- you will never know what you will find or its value. So we decided that is what this column is - flotsam. We wanted a place to put things that didn't fit anywhere else and might be of interest. Each item could be a column itself and might be some day but for now it will be the flotsam, which washes our way.

BELL, Henry (1767-1830). Bell was the son of a son of a prominent West Lothian millwright, though he himself was apprenticed as a mason before taking up his father's trade. He served under various engineers before going south to London as an apprentice to the young civil engineer John Rennie (1761-1821), who had earlier been associated with the work of James Watt (1736 - 1819). In 1790 Bell settled in Glasgow which was already becoming an engineering and shipbuilding centre, and was able to enter a partnership soon after.

Bell apparently began his experiments with steam navigation about 1798 and in 1800 fitted a steam-engine in a small vessel. His appeal for government assistance fell on deaf ears and he had also to face the challenge of foreign competition from the United States, where Robert Fulton sailed a steamboat on the Hudson River in 1807. Nevertheless, in 1812 the Comet, a 30-ton vessel driven by a 3-hp steam-engine built to Bell's design, began the first commercial service on the Clyde. This was maintained until 1820 when the Comet was wrecked. Although Bell had his precursors, notably another Scottish engineer, William Symington (1763 - 1831), he can nevertheless claim to be on the leading pioneers of steam shipping found practical solutions to many of the problems involved.

Source: A Source Book of Scottish History III, Nelson 1963

Here is a famous Scot whose name you may recognize.

RICCIO, David (c.1533-66). Born in Turin he accompanied the Savoy ambassador to Scotland in 1561 and first attracted the attention of Mary (1542-87) by his musical accomplishments. By 1565 he had become a Secretary attached to the department handling matters relating to Mary's role as dowager-queen of France. Following the defeat of the Chaseabout Raid in September 1565 and the Queen's greater reliance on his services due to Darnley's (1546-67) shortcomings, Riccio gradually became the proposed victim in a complex assassination plot. Darnley undoubtedly was the key figure in the whole business since on the apparently groundless assumptions that Riccio and Mary were lovers, he had become insatiably jealous and wanted the secretary removed. Darnley's vengeful obsession enabled Moray (1531-70) and some of the Chaseabout Raiders due to stand trial before Parliament in March 1566 for their misdemeanours to strike a deal with Mary's husband. Thus they would assist him against Riccio and support his claims to a share in royal government if he in return would prevent any action by the Estates against them. Others attracted to the conspiracy included Morton (c.1516 - 81) and Ruthven (c.15220 - 66) who objected to foreign influence in the government and, in the former's case, the rumoured possibility that his chancellorship was to be transferred to the Italian. Allegations that the secretary was also a papal agent ensured the support of Knox (c.1512-72) and others for the enterprise

The murder of Riccio at Holyrood on the night of 9 March was a particularly squalid episode notable only for Mary's astute handling of the situation in the immediate aftermath. However, the most important and sinister aspect of the Riccio assassination surrounds the actual objectives of the conspirators. Unquestionably the secretary was an insignificant person and it seems highly likely that the real target was either Mary herself or at least the creation of a state of affairs where the Queen and her weak husband would be mere puppet manipulated by a powerful noble faction.

DONALDSON, C., Mary, Queen of Scots, English Universities Press, 1974.
FRASER, A., Mary, Queen of Scots, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1969.

Now lets look at some specific dates:

1789 - July 6
'Red Parliament' - so called because nobles wore red gowns and cloaks - was held in Perth: bishops reappeared for the first time in many years.

1691 - July 8
Kirkwall, Wick, Inveraray and Rothesay were exempted from a visit by a trade commission set up by the the Convention of Burghs because they were said to be too difficult to reach.

1813 - July 18
A thirty-foot whale was stranded on the shore at Irvine, Ayrshire

1597 - July 23
North of Scotland shaken by a breakfast-time earthquake; it was seen by reformers as God's displeasure with Papists and their supporters.

1915 - July 28
An exhibition to launch a campaign against flies opened in Scottish Zoological Park in Edinburgh, illustrating the fly's connection with disease.

Source - Scotching the Myths by Jim Hewiston can be found in the History Book Section of Scottish Radiance.

It is time to stop combing the library but we can not quit without some quotes from Quotable Scots another great History bookshelf resident. Let's see what quotes we can find.

Three failures and a fire make a Scotchman's fortune.
Alexander Hislop, Proverbs of Scotland

Surfeits alay mair than swords.
Scottish Proverb

All things helps (quod the Wren) when you pished in the sea
David Fergusson Scottish Proverb 1641

He that has a mouth will also have a purse.
Gaelic Proverb

Humff hamff quod the Laird of Bamf.
David Fergusson

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