Greyfriars at Elgin, St. Blanes Chapel in the Isle of Bute. The present palatial house at Mount Stuart, Buteshire, designed in a Florentine style, under his supervision, by Dr. R. R. Anderson, stands on the site of the former house of the same name, which was burnt down on 3 Dec. 1877.
Bute travelled widely, frequently visiting the Holy Land and Italy. He systematically studied the languages of the countries in which he stayed, both ancient and modern. Hebrew, Coptic, and Arabic greatly attracted him. He published in 1882 'The Coptic Morning Service translated into English, with the original Coptic of the parts said aloud,' and in 1891 'The Ancient Language of the Natives of Teneriffe,' which he first gave as an address at Cardiff.
But his most absorbing literary occupation dealt with the liturgy of the Roman catholic church. Within two years of his conversion to the Roman church he began the work with which his name will be chiefly identified the English translation of the 'Breviary,' which, after the most assiduous labour, he completed in some nine years. It was published at Edinburgh in 1879 in two volumes octavo. In the preface he announced his aim to have been 'to reflect the ideas of the Latin in the best English mirror he could command.' 'In cases where the Latin of passages from the Bible is obscure . . . the original [in whatever language, Hebrew, Chaldee, or Greek] has been referred to when possible, in order to find out what the Latin is probably intended to mean.' Where it was possible to adopt the classical English of the 'authorised version,' he did so. The Latin hymns of the 'Breviary' appear in the form of metrical paraphrases by Drs. Neale, Newman, Littledale, Caswall, &c., and two not the least beautiful of them by Bute himself. He added to his translation a considerable number of critical and historical notes. From a literary point of view the English 'Breviary' is an excellent and lasting monument to its author. It was soon out of print, and much of its author's time in the latter part of his life was occupied in preparing a new edition of it, which will soon appear.
In 1875 Bute began to issue translations of the orders of service for the greater church festivals. Several of these he lived to complete, with other translations of a similar kind, such as 'Form of Prayers' in English for the use of catholics who are unable to attend mass (1896, new ed. 1900), and the services for Christmas Day (Glasgow, 1875), Palm Sunday and Whitsuntide (both London, 1898). He is said to have taken a large part in the preparation of a projected 'Proprium Sanctorum' for Scotland, which is under the consideration of the congregation of sacred rites at Rome, the office for St. Columba being mainly, if not wholly, from his own pen. 'The Altus of St. Columba,' with a prose paraphrase and notes, he published at Edinburgh in 1882 (sm. 4to). On all matters relating to liturgy, ritual, religious symbolism, church architecture, church antiquities, church history, and the canon law, he was an expert scholar, and was constantly a referee. Works on these subjects were frequently issued at his expense, and among the chief examples of this form of his munificence are : ' Registrum Monasterii S. Marie de Cambuskenneth, A.D. 1147-1535.' Edited by Sir William Fraser, K.C.B., Edinburgh, 1872, 4to ; presented to the Grampian Club ; ' Acta Sanctorum Hibernise ex Codice Salmanticensi nunc primum integre edita opera Caroli de Smedt et Josephi de Backer e Soc. Jesu hagiographorum Bollandianorum,' Edinburgh, 1888, 4to ; 'The Charters of the Friars Preachers of Ayr,' 4to ; presented by him to the Ayr and Wigton Archæological Society ; ' Ordinale Conventus Vallis Caulium : the Rule of the Monastic Order of Val-des-Choux in Burgundy,' by W. de Gray Birch, LL.D., London, 1900, 8vo. There were also in preparation at Lord Bute's death Gough's ' Itinerary of Edward I ' (published in 1901), a work on the 'Order of Knights Templars,' and another on the ' Forms of the Blessing of the Waters,' by Dr. Wallis Budge.
Bute's practical interest in books and bibliography brought him into relations with the Library Association, of which he was long an active member. Another topic that attracted his versatile mind was the investigation of psychic phenomena and evidence of second sight. In 1897 mysterious noises which were said to be heard in Ballechin House in Perthshire led to an elaborate controversy in the 'Times' newspaper, and he and Miss Ada Goodrich-Freer, who had inquired into the matter, issued together a volume entitled 'The Alleged Haunting of B—— House' (London, 1899, 8vo ; 2nd dit. 1900). In later life he purchased the ' Scottish Review,' a quarterly publication, and the extraordinary variety of his interests may be well gauged by the topics of his own contributions. They include, besides those already specified in this article, 'Ancient Celtic Latin Hymns' (1883), 'The New Light on St. Patrick' (1884), 'Patmos' (1885), Some Christian Monuments of Athens' 1885), 'The Scottish Peerage' (1886), The Bayreuth Festival' (1886), 'Amalfi
