Some were religious, with names like _Dew of Hermon_ and _Cool Siloam_; some were innocent narratives, _How Tommy saved his Pennies_, _A Missionary Child in China_, and _Little Susie and her Uncle_.

There was a _Life of David Livingstone_, a child's book on sea-shells, and a richly gilt edition of the poems of one James Montgomery.

I offered the selection to Mr Linklater, who grinned and chose the Missionary Child.

'It's not the reading I'm accustomed to,' he said.

'I like strong meat--Hall Caine and Jack London.