[199] Calderwood, _History of the Kirk of Scotland_, vol. i, pp. 101-2. Another and less prejudiced account of this John Scott is given by Peder Swave, who visited Scotland in 1535, as Ambassador from Christian II of Denmark to James V: "On the 11th of May I met with a hermit, named John Scott, a person of noble rank, who had quitted a beautiful wife, and children, and all his household, and determined to live by himself in solitude. He ate nothing but bread, and drank nothing save water or milk. He is believed to have endured a fast of forty days and nights in Scotland, England, and Italy. He also says that, when impelled by a higher power, he could not perish by fasting, as by the kindness of the Holy Virgin he has already been able to prove; if he should wish to do this by way of wager or bargain, that he would fail. He declares that he has no sensation of hunger when he fasts, that he loses neither his strength nor his flesh, feels neither heat nor cold, goes about with head and feet naked equally in summer and winter, and that his manner of life does not induce the approaches of age. Asked by me why he left such a beautiful wife, he replied that he wished to be a soldier of Heaven, and that whether his wife determined to serve God or the world was a matter of indifference to him. By chance there was amongst us a canon regular who said that he had been asked by the hermit's wife to reconcile them, but had taken the task upon him to no purpose."--Hume Brown, _Early Travellers in Scotland_, p. 56. [200] Row, _History of the Kirk of Scotland_, Woodrow Society's edition. [201] _History of the Regality of Musselburgh_, p. 106. THE ISLE OF MAY I The May, situated at the entrance to the Firth of Forth, is the largest of the islets that stud the waters of the estuary between the coast of Fife and that of the Lothians. It lies ten miles to the north-east of Dunbar, and five to the south-west of Fifeness. Its greatest length is from east to west, and measures about a mile. Its width is greatest at the western extremity, and may be estimated at rather more than half a mile. The shape of the island is exceedingly irregular. At the south-western point a mass of precipitous rock gives it an imposing and picturesque appearance, but to the east and to the north the cliffs terminate abruptly, and are flanked by stretches of comparatively low-lying coast. Between their respective extremities the seaboard, which faces the north-east, is rugged and difficult of access, but does not otherwise present a striking outline.